Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Gripping Guanzhou (or China)














I spent two weeks in Guangzhou recently on a business trip. It was an eye opener, both good and bad. It made me appreciate how far China had come, how impressive their acheivements are and also how insular of a country China really is in spite of the World Stage it commands.

I was there when the Olympic torch came through town and that was quite an experience. The Chinese are extremely proud (and rightly so) that the Olympics are being held in Beijing. Just like the Olympics in Barcelona was a coming out for that city, the Beijing Olympics will be a place for the China to show who they've really become. This isn't simply a land where cheap goods are produced (I could not beleive how cheap things are though. And i was paying tourist prices)


This is a country confident of who they are, confident of where they are headed. They are proud of their accomplishments. They have lifted millions of people out of poverty. They have built some of the grandest cities in the world and are continuing at a breakneck pace. Guangzhou is not on my radar as far as world class cities but it is getting there fast.. The amount of construction that is taking place is breathtaking. And this isn't Soviet architecture that is being raised. The skyline is rising with what looks like amazing looking structures. The city is being built with big boulevards and iconic buildings (Now if they could just deal with the smog)


They have a unique system (socialism mixed with capitalism, authoritarianism mixed with a relatively relaxed social environment) which is working surprisingly that allows them to address whatever ails them in a unique fashion, a path that no other government has. The government has absolute authority and gets things accomplished when things need to get done. They are adept at outside of the box thinking and with their political system are able to devise and implement unique solutions to deal with their problems. The challenges they face are immense (environmental, social, policitcal) but from what I see, they are well equipped to deal with these issues. Their people trust the government to better their lives, not by giving them a handout but by providing the opportunity for people to do better their own lives. For me, this is absolutely extraordinary. Its capitalism on a grand scale. It’s a system even the most jaded of American conservatives would be impressed with.

One only need to look to my motherland, India, to see where a goverment has failed in this regard. With all the positive coverage showered on its successes, India’s failures are on open display on every street in every town: families living on sidewalks, children begging in the streets, trash and litter everywhere. None of its cities compare in any way to the grandness of China’s big cities. The people have no trust in the government’s ability to better their lives. It is in spite of the government that the country is moving forward. Democracy and human rights have done little to increase literacy rates, provide basic services to its people, or better the lives of its poorest citizens (who are also its most numerous)

The insular nature of China has to do with my experience as being a person of color in a wholly homogenous country. Though I only had a handful of bad experiences (mostly having to do with taxi drivers), the overwhelming impression was of a country that does not embraces foreign cultures, foreign ideas. With the exception of the US, it’s the only country that I’ve visited where most people do not speak a second language. It’s either Mandarin or nothing. Perhaps it’s a remnant of the country’s history of which I am completely ignorant.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

27 Dresses

Always a bridesmaid
27 times. Hence the
title. Fun movie.
Waiting: A Novel

Man in love. Maybe.
Man wants divorce. Really?
In Maoist China