China IS communist in name only

Last time, I talked about why we should not call China communist anymore. It seems that Foreign Policy magazine does not agree with me.

It says "If Vladimir Lenin were reincarnated in 21st-century Beijing and managed to avert his eyes from the city's glittering skyscrapers and conspicuous consumption, he would instantly recognize in the ruling Chinese Communist Party a replica of the system he designed nearly a century ago for the victors of the Bolshevik Revolution."

True, but maybe Signor Mussolini, Chiang Kai-Shek or even Herr Hitler can also recognize this system as a replica of theirs. Foreign Policy argues that the party controls personnel, propaganda and military. But that is the case for most dictatorship, and even a lot of autocratic regime.

I believe communism has two key parts: political and economic. Losing its economic nature, the communist (or socialism) system is not there. If the strict central planning system with collectivization in the rural part is not used anymore, China is hardly different from many non-communist regimes in the world. Thank about it, Foreign Policy.

Stop calling China communist

20 years after the end of the Cold War, many people still persist using the term "Communist China". True, China is still a one-party state ruled by the Communist Party, but this usage of this term is not very accurate.

The beginning of the usage of Communist China was resulted from the division of China. Communist is an adjective to distinguish it from the legitimate government, or Nationalist China. Nowadays, only 24 countries still recognize the government in Taiwan, and that government itself has ceased to call itself China. In this sense, there is no need to add that adjective for distinguishing them from each other.

You can still say that the usage of the adjective was aimed to indicate the nature of the regime. Most people would know that China adopted capitalist economy more than three decades ago. It is not on the path to the glorious communist utopia. Even the political environment is much looser compared with any communist society in the past, let alone China in Cultural Revolution. People can choose their own lifestyle, and people can freely travel (I mean most of them). Those privileges were not enjoyed by the citizens of any communist state.

Granted, the party is still called Communist Party. But you cannot call it Communist China just because of that. It is like calling North Korea "Democratic Korea" because it has Democratic in its official name. That was true for East Germany as well.

So how should we call today's China? Considering the complexity of this large and populous country with a long history, maybe no adjective can fit. One thing is for sure, it is not longer communist any more.

Glorious return of territory? Not for China.

I am finally back. With the job problem solved, I should enjoy the last months of freedom. Therefore, I should have no excuse to not coming here.

Today, I will talk about the reported approval in the Tajik parliament to return 1,000 square kilometer of land to China.

Glorious victory for Chinese government? It does not seem that they are proud of that. Moments after that news was put on the official news websites, they were all taken off. After many years of negotiation, silence was what the government was aiming for?

It does not seem that is happening. This news quickly spread to the netizen community. Many people were not very happy. China claimed that Russia illegally forced China to cede huge chunk of territory to them in the 19th century. The land in dispute with Tajikistan was not even part of those cessation. Although China never talked about how much land was in dispute, but we could see, thanks to the official map of the Republic of China (Taiwan), which indicates that constitutionally Taiwan still claims 25,500 square kilometers in nowadays Tajikistan.

One Chinese netizen made an analogy: Someone robbed you 25,500 dollars. After fierce argument, he finally gave you back 1,000 bucks. Then you are happy and bragging about it all the time.

China is not bragging at all. But there are also other problems in this analogy. It seems that the one who returns the money was also the victim of the robber in the past. He was forced to return 1,000 dollars even though it only has 140,000 dollars, compared with the millionaire recipient, who owns 9.6 million dollars.

On the number of 9,600,000. Every Chinese knows this number. But for people who are good at mathematics, this number seems abnormally simple, with only two significant digits, compared with precise number for other countries with similar sizes. Why is that? Because the government is not sure how large China is. If they truly believe that South China Sea is Chinese territorial waters, how could China just have 9.6 million. Had that been the case, China could have been larger than Canada (and the United States, by the way, and China is claiming it is already).

The government is claiming this land, that island, but it knows that China cannot take everything. But officially giving them up will certainly lead to public anger giving the growing nationalism.

"Every square inch of land needs to be fought for." The Chinese idiom says for all. But what land is yours? In the long history of humanity, every inch of land has been changed hands many times. From when were they set and the status quo of then serves as evidence for future? Nobody knows. Be realistic and pragmatic, keep what you want, do everything to keep the interest of the people in those part of the world is the best and only solution.

With so many territorial disputes still not close to be solved, this model is certainly not encouraged, but it maybe the only solution for China. More humiliation seems to be unavoidable. Why not end the irredentist education earlier?

Revolutionaries never retire!

Fidel Castro is back. Although without the usual endless diatribes, his short speech in the parliament showed his determination to continue leading his people. Weak as he is, no sign of retirement can be smelt in the air. As Fidel once said, "revolutionaries never retire."

Indeed, they don't. Mao, Stalin, Kim Il-Sung. All of them died at the height of their power. Similarly, Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Chiang Kai-Shek and other non-communist dictators didn't give up their power voluntarily until they were beaten by enemies or their healths.

Some people asserted that had Hitler died in 1938, he would have been one of the greatest leaders in the history of Germany. Why don't they simply give up their power early to secure a good legacy? Because they believe they can do better to realize their ideals? Hitler might have thought so, but history proved it wrong.

The desire for power is certainly a main reason. When Alvaro Uribe reluctantly accept the decision of the Supreme Court that he wouldn't be allowed to seek a third term, Colombians felt relieved. They certainly admired Sr. Uribe, who has brought huge positive change to his nation in his two terms. But endless amendments of constitution will remind us of their increasingly dictatorial neighbor, Venezuela. Losing him is a loss, but the political structure is strengthened. Uribe will also be remembered as a great leader in the history. There is rumor that Uribe would like to run for the mayor of Bogota. The lust of power is unstoppable. But fortunately, Uribe has chosen to come to Georgetown. I hope he can stay longer to let his successor rule without his shadow.

Russians are not that lucky. Mr. Putin found a better way to stick to power. In countries without a strong rule of law, positions in the government doesn't necessarily represent power. Deng Xiaoping ruled China as a Vice Premier, and after his semi-retirement, as the Chairman of Military Commission. But his influence was paramount, and different factions in the government needed to seek his approval to gain an upper hand. In Russia, Putin re-interpret the power distribution between the President and the Prime Minister. People are speculating whether he will return to the office after 2012, but it seems that being Prime Minister can prolong his influence forever.

But Uribe and Putin are not dictators. They were elected, and they are genuinely popular. What about the dictators without democratic mandate? Being in power can certainly give them more time to collect wealth as what many African leaders did. But when you are rich enough, why not leave the office and take their time to enjoy those wealth?

I think fear is the best reason to explain. Without the rule of law, there is no protection of former leaders. They can have immunity for life (Mr. Nazarbayev did that), but that can be revoked. They cannot even trust their proteges, because there isn't a lack of examples of betrayal. For leaders of rogue states like Bashir from Sudan, there's one more reason to stay put. As Professor Vreeland said, the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court only strengthened their determination to stay in power for fear of being extradited by their successors. Gripping the power in their hands is the only way to prevent retribution. Passing power to their children can ensure that their tombs and legacies will be properly guarded.

But there are examples that show us transfer of power is possible without a liberal democratic system. Since 1980s, Chinese leadership has adopted the rule of retirement. For different levels of officials, there is a mandatory retirement age, up to 68 years old for politburo members. The welfare is luxurious, with private cars and private secretaries funded by taxpayers. Although the previous leaders keep their influence to some extent, meddling is rare. Political struggle exists, but no shots have been directed to retired top leaders. Apparently, China is not a good example of rule of law, but the ruling party can be run with proper self-regulation to ensure the continual survival of the party. This is certainly an interesting case to study. For Fidel, Chinese leaders are no longer revolutionaries. I think they wouldn't mind as long as there are golf courts for them to enjoy their lives.

Mr. Kim goes to China

It's time to end the hiatus. The school is scarily close, and I already can smell the challenges we are going to face in the next 4 months. But I will try to blog as often as possible.

According to some mysterious news sources, Kim Jung-Il is in China right now, in spite of his ill health. More interestingly, former President Jimmy Carter is paying a visit to North Korea to secure the release of a U.S. citizen.

When Bill Clinton visited North Korea earlier this year, Kim was glad to meet him and take a nice picture with his guests. Also a former president, is Carter not cool enough for him? Maybe he is too sick that he needs an excuse to not meet him. But wouldn't sickness be a better excuse than taking a trip to China, which clearly signals a snub.

Maybe Mr. Kim wants to snub his guests because he may have demanded the visit of a current official. Mr. Carter has been to many rogue states, Cuba as the most famous example. Obama administration maintains that dispatching a current official will send a wrong signal. Therefore, North Korea didn't get something big in exchange for the release of the American citizen. Why not sending Carter's counterpart, a former leader, to show him around? Unfortunately, in a dynastic dictatorship, they don't give up power until the divine being asks them to.

What can Mr. Kim do in China? He was in China in May. Repeated visit in a short period of time can tell us something, can't it?

Maybe some of you don't know that. The relations between China and North Korea is not as simple as what media described as "close allies". China paid a huge price to create a buffer zone from the West, but the increasing belligerent clearly annoy the Chinese leaders, who prefer a peace environment to continue the economic advancement in China. For North Korea, they have always been wary of China. Kim's father has never trusted China. Neither has he. They regard China as a bigger enemy than the United States, because China has exerted pressure on them to reform as what China has done. They regard this a threat to Kim's Dynasty. Therefore, North Korea has tried to abandon the Six-Party talks, which means they want to talk directly to the United States, giving China no role in its affairs.

But no matter how "naughty" North Korea is, China has to treat it properly, by providing it aid, and keeping Kim's schedule in China a secret. As Kissinger once said, they are SOB's, but they're our own SOB's.

Anyway, I hope Mr. Kim will enjoy his time in China. I also hope his son will not be afraid of taking flights, so that the railroad won't be blocked by his trains.

Who said China wasn't in South Africa?

Who said Colombia didn't make it to the World Cup? Shakira and her song is played again and again in every host city. Who said China was absent? True, Chinese football team was too much a joke to make it, but China was present, both during the game and after.

Vuvuzuela caught people's eyes, or ears rather, with its annoying loud noise being played non-stop during every game. It has become a symbol of South African culture, but where were they produced? Of course in China. It was reported that 90% of them were made in China. While the soccer fans around the world were enjoying expelling elephants with their vuvuzuelas, Chinese sweatshop owners were counting their money.

Another report said China exported more than a shocking 100 million condoms to South Africa this year in preparation for the World Cup. Of course, the demand rose when the tourists came to South Africa. As a country famous for its high AIDS rate, South Africa can benefit from the comprehensive trade relationship with China. But the sheer number was still big enough. Chinese products are known to be poor in quality. It is not a small risk to use this Chinese product. I hope the soccer fans had not only enjoyed the time in South Africa, both in the stadium and out, while China had contributed its part.

Anthony, the Octopus: The common misperceptions of languages of China

Paul, the Octopus, as you may know, has become an international celebrity. Although he doesn't have a spine, its bold predictions were certainly not spineless. So as a man with a spine, I would like to share my thoughts with you guys.

Many Chinese think the Western world doesn't understand China enough. There surely are a lot of misperceptions, but the question is, we don't understand ourselves any better.

The language issue is one of them. It has a big impact on the Chinese society. People rarely talk about it nowadays, but it can potentially cause a lot of trouble. The lack of attention is alarming. There is a lack of knowledge about the languages of China in the West, but that is very understandable since nobody can tell them the story. Let us now discuss what's wrong with our perception of Chinese languages.

1. Chinese language is Mandarin.
That is a common belief, and Chinese and Mandarin has become interchangeable in English. But there is a serious problem of that, what is Mandarin? If you bother to check Wikipedia, you would learn that Mandarin is a group of Chinese dialects. There is no doubt it is the most widely spoken one, but it doesn't mean that there are other groups. Actually, there are at least 6 other big groups (many linguists call them language). Cantonese is best known for it is the lingua franca for oversea Chinese. Wu includes Shanghainese. Taiwanese belongs to Hokkien (or Min Nan) which is a subgroup of Min. Hakka is widely spoken in the Chinese communities in South East Asia, and it is the native tongue of my grandpa. There are more.

2. All Chinese speak Mandarin as their first language.
First of all, there are ethnic minorities who speak their own language. But here, for ethnic Han Chinese, it is still not true. True, most Chinese nowadays can understand Mandarin (though it is not totally true for older generations), but their first language is not the same thing. We can say that most Chinese outside Beijing are bilinguals, since we not only speak our own "dialects", we learn the Beijing dialect of Mandarin in class. It is the only version allowed on TV, radio (although it is looser in Guangdong where Cantonese is allowed). Dialects everywhere are suppressed by the government. The government wants to build a national identity for more than 1 billion people. Needless to say, they need to do a lot to achieve that. But still, people speak there own dialects or languages at home and between each other. Although any dialects other than Mandarin has been described as uneducated language (such as improper during business conferences or other formal occasions), people still stick to their local culture. Just go to Shanghai, no matter how many migrants there are, people still speak Shanghainese on the streets. The situation of language in China is not as simple as many people think.
Also, Mandarin is also diverse. The Mandarin in Beijing and the Mandarin in Xiangtan, where Mao was from, is totally different. So is the Mandarin in Sichuan. We can well say that Mao does not speak Mandarin because when he is speaking, I don't understand what he is talking about.

3. The difference among different "dialects" in China is small. People can understand each other.
The difference is huge. People can speak one dialect for one hour and the other guy doesn't understand anything at all. I think this is not the case for Spanish and Italian speakers, but this is what is happening in China. I have mentioned that there are at least 7 different groups inside Chinese languages. Among different groups, they are totally unintelligible. Linguists think that their differences in phonology, syntax and lexicon are big enough to call that they are different languages. Although there is still a heated debate on the definition of language and dialect, if you call Croatian and Serbian two languages, there are hundreds of them in China.
One thing for sure is that there is only one official script in China. There is no written system for the other languages (although there are unofficial written systems for some, using Chinese characters with similar pronunciation). But this doesn't mean they are not independent languages. Written languages are based on oral ones. Each "dialect" can easily have its own written system if the language is recognized and there is an effort. It is amazing that although China mostly remained a unified country in its long history, the diversity in language is still huge.

4. There is no language issue in China.
Language has become an important issue. There are debates in Shanghai about the status of Shanghainese. There is a Defend Shanghainese Campaign. There is also huge opposition from those new migrants. Shanghainese could well be a good example. Most people in Shanghai are descendants of recent immigrants. My grandparents are from 3 different regions and none of them were originally from Shanghai. But people came to Shanghai, a metropolic transformed by the West from a small fishing village. They not only came, they adapted to the local culture. They spoke Shanghainese, and they also changed it, just like immigrants did to English. But the more recent immigrants, who envied the opportunities in Shanghai, turned out to be less willing to learn the local culture. They prefer to study more foreign languages. Worse is that they demand Shanghai people to stop speaking Shanghainese. The government stands on their side, and the officials in Shanghai government, few of whom are from Shanghai because they are not elected, don't stand up for the local population. This is also happening around the country. Many local culture has been lost, but more people are fighting on. This is not about local pride. People should cherish the local culture their ancestors created. I agree that China needs to a language that everybody can communicate with each other in, but it doesn't mean that you have to kill their mother tongues. Han Chinese, as described by the government, is the majority of the population, but Han Chinese is so diverse inside, it can hardly call it an ethnic. There needs to be some changes, otherwise, the language issue will be a potential thong that will cause trouble in addition to the numerous problems existing today.

Disaster and unity

There have been many destructive earthquakes this year. It seems the movie "2012" is going to realize, which is clearly not a good news for people who don't have a billion euros. Also, considering the fact that those arks are being built in Tibet, I hope they are not affected by this earthquake.

National disasters are also tragic. People lose their lives. Survivors lose their home. But it is also a time to unite people. Just like Poland after the air crash, that country was united for a while. In China, there has also been sign of improvement.

For Han Chinese, most of them saw it on the TV that how bad the living conditions the Tibetans have, and how wrong the propaganda has been. This can change their previous perception that Tibetans are simply not thankful for the Chinese who help them raise their life quality.

For Tibetans, the rapid and timely rescue efforts really saved a lot of lives and many are, indeed, thankful to the government, even in front of the international media, without any sign of being forced to do so. For people around the world, they also see for the first time that there is cooperation and gratitude between Han Chinese and Tibetans sometimes.

True, this doesn't tell us a lot. This is just what government has to do. But I hope the bad things can help people to bridge their difference and live together peacefully. That depends on what people do after the disasters. If they do it like what Poles do to put the President's grave in the controversial cathedral, the natural disasters will turn into human disasters and people will turn from sadness to anger. If they do it like what Indonesians did in Aceh, they can help us find a solution which is beneficial for everybody.

Revolutionary Textbook and Maths Exam

Cultural Revolution was a part of history my government wants us to forget. And most of my peers don’t know much about it. Even my parents are reluctant to tell me too much. Like those 20-year-old Americans who are coveting the magical drink, I am intrigued in this part of history.

At the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, Mao asked the students to quit classes and launch revolution against their teachers and principals. This lasted almost a year and its devastating effect on the whole nation is unimaginable.

Later, realizing this could not continue forever, Mao said students should return to classroom to continue the revolution. But their textbooks are still heavily influenced by the personality cult of Mao.

Recently I found an interesting excerpt of the Chinese textbook:

Chinese Textbook for 5th Grade, 1970 Fall:

1. Four Poems of Chairman Mao

2. Foreword for “Quotation of Chairman Mao” -- Vice Chairman Lin

3. Telegram to Chairman Mao from the Celebration of the Establishment of Hebei Provincial Revolutionary Committee

4. There is a a red sun never set in our hearts forever.

5. Long long live to Chairman Mao.

6. People in the world admire Chairman Mao.

7. Soviet People Wish Chairman Mao Live Forever.

8. I love New China, I love Mao Zedong!

Wow, this textbook is awesome. But I doubt they can learn a lot of characters in that. But as you know, you don’t have to know a lot of words to live in Oceania because the fictional totalitarian government designed by George Orwell want to destroy all words which can help people think of their government in a bad way. Yeah, the best way to prevent protest is to delete the word protest from the dictionary.

Here is an exam of maths:

1. “We do have sincere friends from places afar. Deep ocean will never do us part.” China and Albania are thousands of kilometers away, but our hearts are altogether. The distance from Beijing to Tirana is 7805 kilometers, but on a world map, the distance is 22.3 centimeters. Please calculate the scale of this map.

2. Mao Zedong Thought is the talisman of the revolution. Two young Argentineans came to their dreamland, Beijing, against all odds. On a map with a scale of 1:50000000, the distance between the capital of Argentina and Beijing is 36.7 centimeters. What is the actual distance between the two cities?

3. In the Proletariat Cultural Revolution, Red Guards learn from the Red Army veterans. They walked from Jinggangshan to Zunyi, then from Zunyi to Yan’an. Calculate the actual distance between those distances.

Political correctness in Chinese Foreign Ministry's Press Conference

When Qin Gang, the spokesman for Chinese Foreign Ministry, was answering a question raised by a journalist about whether Obama will meet with Dalai Lama, his answer was funny, but probably normal for Chinese.

Dalai Lama was the head of Tibetan slavery system. In 1959, China abolished slavery in Tibet, which was the same as what President Lincoln did in 1863. As a black man, President Obama should understand China's policy and stop supporting Dalai Lama.

Tibet before 1959 was a slavery. This is basically the fact. But linking this to race shows Chinese people's insensibility to racial issues. Even the Foreign Ministry's spokesperson, who should be most careful before uttering any word, would make this kind of statement.

Indeed, racial problem is new to Chinese. When a half-Chinese, half-African-American girl took part in a reality show, what she faced were jeers. In 1988, before the before Tiananmen square protest, there was an anti-African demonstration in Hehai University in Nanjing just because some Africans had Chinese girlfriends.

Chinese are generally hospitable, and they are very nice to foreigners. But the thing is they don't want you to join their family. This is not an issue limited to China. In Korea and Japan, foreigners are also complaining it's hard to be accepted by the society. But if China is able to continue its growth, more foreigners will come to China, and even there will be some immigrants. The society will face the test and I hope the mentality will change.

Obama shook hands with my friends~

Obama had a town hall meeting with Shanghai students, therefore, many people I know took part in that meeting, and rightfully, sat in the front rows.

Probably my friends didn’t have the chance to ask questions, but a question about whether Chinese should have the freedom to use Twitter still impressed me, that the government would allow this question to be asked since it is something about the freedom of expression, a sensitive topic in China.

Obama answered the question in an indirect but perfect way to ensure that the transcript would be put on the website of Chinese official news agency. I applaud Obama’s attempt to reach out to Chinese student, who will be the future of China. State-run education is still cultivating anti-west mood and a charismatic American president would be really a good way to win support from China’s future.

Today’s students are more docile than those 20 years ago, but they can be the force to make change in China. Obama, the president of change, can make a difference.

New York Times mentioned that all students are hand-picked by the government and most of them are Communist Youth League members. It doesn’t tell a lot. I believe I would have had the chance to be be “hand-picked” if I had been there. They pick us because we study international relations. We could have maverick perspectives, but we won’t bring it up during such high publicity occasion. (One of my friends told me she didn't know this.... It seems people were using their connection to get a ticket)

New York Times should also understand almost every student in China are member of Communist Youth League. If one is not, he/she must have joined the Communist Party. The Youth League is the like the Young Pioneer. We didn’t have a choice to not join it without a risk to be weird and isolated from the others. It, by no means, shows our support for the system and the government. I am still a member of Communist Youth League, by the way, though I have no intention to apply for the party membership whatsoever.

The Ridiculous Chinese College Entrance Exam

This is the exam which called "Life and Death test" since it will literally determine your future. If you are from a village and fail to pass the university line, you will have to go back home and become a peasant for your life. I took it in 2005. Fortunately, I was able to go to the university I liked.

An intern journalist's article was used in a reading comprehension in the Chinese test in National College Entrance Exam. But when he tried to do the questions about his article, he only got 1 out of 15 points. Probably, the examiner understood the article much better than he did.

This news once again ridiculed the current system of entrance exam. Many people claimed this exam is the only way to ensure the fairness against the corruption and nepotism. But the negligence of practical abilities is the destroying generations of Chinese people, including myself.

You can do well in English test without being able to speak English. You can do well in maths and physics but not knowing how to apply them to life or to the further study on science. For social science, especially literature, we know there could be different understandings of one thing because of the different backgrounds and mentalities of people. Sticking to one way of thinking only restricts students' intelligence, constraining creativity. People can work like machine but not innovate. I believe this would have a huge implication on Chinese future unless the government makes some changes immediately.

Secretary Hu's new achievement -- Starting the great revival of Chinese football

The sports of China is like her GDP, competing in the very top level. But China's national football team is still in the same level of GDP per capita, wandering outside top 100.

Recently, several politburo members met with veteran football stars and FA officials. They intelligently noticed the terrible status and demanded them to spare no efforts to satisfy the numerous football fans in China. Yesteryda, Hu also stepped into this campaign.

Football is beautiful because its diversity. People from different countries have their own advantages. However poor a country is, its national team could never be written off easily. Iraq won the 2007 Asian Cup, and North Korea qualified for 2010 World Cup.

But why can't China do well? The government has already spent plenty of resources into it. The obstacles are the corrupt professional league and lack of support for youth training. However well Chinese athletes do in the Olympics, without a national support for basic sports facitilies for general population, those results are useless. And football, is just a parometer of this.

Without a reformed league, Chinese football will never have a bright future. Corrupt and bureaucratic as the political system is, please leave football alone.

Finally, Egyptians are protesting Chinese import -- artificial hymen.

If you have read my recommended articles, you would know this news.

Selling sex may be the oldest profession in history, but selling virginity?
That's new. Chinese naughty toys company Gigimo (motto: Let's play!) has advertised an artificual hymen kit throughout the Middle East that has sparked controversy in Egypt.

From Associated Press:

It is intended to help newly married women fool their husbands
into believing they are virgins — culturally important in a conservative Middle
East where sex before marriage is considered by many to be illicit. The product
leaks a blood-like substance when inserted and broken.
In a country and a region where pre-marital sex is so taboo it can even lead to a
woman's murder, the debate over the virginity-faking kit has revived Egypt's
constant struggle to reconcile modern mores with more traditional beliefs —
namely, that a woman is not a virgin unless she bleeds after the first time.
Egyptian lawmakers officially banned the product, but its availability was
made public when a reporter from Radio Netherlands aired an Arabic translation
of a commercial advertising the product. Gigimo currently still offers shipping to Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries, and promises "no side effects, no pain to use, no allergic reaction."

Personally, I fully support China in this issue. It helps give more personal freedom in those closed society. But even today, this traditional obsession of virginity till wedding is still influential in China. If we really want to liberate women, the society should be transformed.

China should support all international sanctions!

China, again, became the debacle of international effort to punish Iranian regime by threatening to veto any new severe sanctions. The strong ties with Iran, especially the import of oil, are the reasons.

But since China is doing business with Sudan and Myanmar despite the international outcry, and benefiting a lot from the lack of competition from other countries, China should staunchly support all the sanctions against any dictatorship (of course not include any country in East Asia), and ignore it anyway. This could provide China a even better trading condition, helping her find the resources she urgently needs.

China helps people living in dictatorships?

Every Chinese were taught that China sacrificed a lot in building a railway between Tanzania and Zambia, which is a display of Sino-Africa friendship. It was the biggest foreign aid of China at that time when millions of people were starving domestically. This railway built by sweat and blood should make China forever a popular friend in Africa.

Mostly, it is still the case now. The Sino-Africa Summit a couple of years ago attracted more than 40 heads of states and governments and representatives from all African countries. But today, China is no longer attractive because its moral high standard in international relations with Third World countries or its Maoist ideology, but for its gigantic economic power (though sometimes it is not that good, such as scandal in Namibia).

Days ago, when President Kagame of Rwanda spoke to a German press, he declared African countries needed and liked Chinese aid. Of course, a deal without precondition of domestic political change is attractive to anyone. Today, China signed a huge mining and oil deal with Guinean authorities only days after a massacre by the military government. (BBC)

While many people still believe this Guinean government has no legitimacy to sign on trade deals, the Guinean government official claims that this deal will only benefit the innocent people. It sounds reasonable. Is it really true?

Kagame said African governments prefer to have trade instead of foreign aids, for this is the only way for them to develop themselves. In this aspect, China is doing still the right thing. It is the only way for Africa to go out of the malicious cycle to have a sustainable progress.

You can say that because corruption is rife, those trades can never make a difference. This is not true. Even 80% of the trade went to the pockets of the corrupt officials, people can still benefit from the 20%, which is much better than nothing (Western sanction).

The only thing is this would help those dictators to maintain their power. That's true, but history tells us sanction is not an efficient way to end dictatorship. Knowing this, trading with this country should be a dominant strategy.

But how on earth can we transition African countries into democracies? I believe communication, not isolation, would be the only way. Only after people are exposed to the fact that democracies are more prosperous can they really support this movement. Isolation will only lead to starvation, forcing people to support whoever can provide them food. Western countries should change their mindset on how to deal with Africa if they don't want China to take control.

30 MILLION Chinese men won't be able find a woman. Hope I won't be one of them!

Due to the great "One Child Policy", the sex imbalance is becoming a huge issue.

Check this news at Fox News. It talks about parents and grandparents advertising their children in Shanghai!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,562341,00.html

People without a family would do anything. Rape, murder, suicide, or... work against the government. For the sake of a harmonious society, end the "One Child Policy"!

China almost shaved

I finally finished the paper for Globalization. Feeling relieved a bit, two exams and tons of readings and homework is waiting for me. Oh, gosh.

The magnificant parade on Oct 1 in Tiananmen Square impressed a lot of people (I'm not one of them). Though Hu's the speech was as boring as always. Yawn! It seemed the government spent more effort on enforcing the 125 km pigeon ban than on his speech, which was supposed to exhibit China's determination to lead the world.

The new uniforms made the goose steps as attractive as ever. High tech weapons displayed China's military prowess. But the longest part of the parade was the allegedly civilian groups. The exhibition cars showing the development in all the provinces and the huge achievements under four generations of communist leadership. Everything seemed as normal as the Mao suit Hu wore on that day when he was inspecting the troops.

But news came out that the car group for Mao era wasn't in the plan until the politburo decided to put it in on September 22, only 8 days before ceremony. It showed a failed attempt of "shaving" (because Mao in Chinese means body hair, shaving means eliminating Mao from the history), indicating the conservative force in the party is still influential.

However, this was still unexpected. Probably now it's time to bet on whether picture of Mao will be shown in the parade in ten years' time. If not, the future of China could be less dim.

Origin of Chinese National Day

It's been 60 years. So much has happened in the past decades in China. It would be concluded by a certainly magnificent military parade in 3 hours' time.

But does anyone know why the communist party established the new regime on this day?

You may say, there is no reason why. Because they felt they were ready on that day. Yeah, you are right. But communist troops had occupied Beijing since Jan 31 without fighting. Why didn't they pronounce their success earlier?

You may also say, because they didn't announce until they finisht the war. But on Oct 1, 1949, 50% of Chinese territory is still either under KMT control (southern and southwestern), or controlled by local government (Tibet, Xinjiang). We could well say that the war was far from over (which was verified by the division along Taiwan strait later).

I believe, as the tradition of communism, symbolism is always important. The first communist country, Soviet Union was established during October Revolution (though it's November 7 on Gregorian calender because Russian Orthodoxy used a different calender). As a continuation of great communist campaign, being established on October is a important.

Also, there was a negotiation with Soviets underway. Stalin wanted to continue controling Mongolia, Xinjiang and Manchuria. As a nationalist, Mao wouldn't allow this kind of humiliation for the new regime. The negotiation was so fierce that Soviet embassy even moved with KMT government to Guangzhou (the very south of the country) while the American ambassador refused to move and wanted to talk to new regime. The bargaining finally resulted in independence of Mongolia for the return of Xinjiang and Manchuria but a lease continued in Dalian. Without ensuring the Soviet support, any proclamation would be premature (Soviet established diplomatic relations with China on Oct 2, before any other country).

Any delay after October 1 would be risky because a cold snowy winter day wouldn't be a good one for a communist regime to showcase its power in a military parade (which was a problem for Soviet leader to stand in bleeding cold Red Square for several hours, which was a touch job for elderly Soviet politburo members).

No divorce on Oct 1!

China is going to celebrate the 60th anniversary of people's republic on October 1. According to the Chongqing municipal government, they divorce appointment could be made for that day, while the wedding registration will still be working.

Of course, divorce is in contrast with the harmonious society. At this sensitive moment, the government would try to prevent any potential threat to the harmony, either Tibetan separatist movement or domestic conflicts, from disrupting the rosy atmosphere in this country to celebrate the huge achievements and forget the negligible disasters in the past six decades under communist rule.

On the other hand, this day is so proud for the nation that so many people want to make it their happiest day in their lives by setting the wedding day on Oct 1. This would possibly overwhelm the capacity of the government, simply rendering it incapable of accommodating people who want to divorce. Having lived under the same roof together for several years, one day is not that hard to wait, isn't it? Probably seeing the country is so strong and prosperous, some couples would change their minds, and the society would be one step closer to "harmony".

Election watch:

Ther result of German federal parliament election has come out. Christian Democrats (CDU) led by Chancellor Angela Merkel won by a larger margin than last time, thus ending the uncomfortable "Grand Coalition" with center-left rival Social Democratic Party (SDP). Actually, out of the five main parties, only social democrats lost seats, and all the other gained significant number of seats. The biggest winner is the third party, natural ally of Merkel's party, Freedom Democratic Party (FDP), surging from 61 to 93 seats. Together with the CDU and its partner in Bavaria CSU, they won over 50% of the seats, sufficient to form a coalition government without the leftist parties.

This is certainly a good result for German people because Merkel government has performed well in the past four years. The country is moving out of the recession, faster than most of the other developed countries. Plus, a grand coalition turns out to be quite inefficient and slows down the necessary reforms in this country. A period of opposition status can also help the SPD reform itself to compete with CDU in the future.

The incumbent Socialist Party won the parliamentary election in Portugal, but its leading margin is reduced and it needs to form a coalition with other parties to get a majority in the parliament. A grand coalition with center-right PSD is likely to happen, though allying with two smaller leftist parties is also possible. But forming a coalition government is not insurmountable and José Sócrates is set to remain in the office.

Party	Votes	%	Change	Seats
PS	2,068,665	36.56	-8.4	96
PSD	1,646,097	29.09	0.3	78
CDS/PP	592,064	10.46	3.2	21
BE	557,109	9.85	3.4	16
CDU	446,174	7.88	0.3	15

The presidential election in Somaliland has been delayed again due to the "current political, economic and technical conditions."