On Authority
On the drive back from Los Angeles, somewhere along the 101 freeway between Santa Barbara and Pismo Beach, I was pulled over by a police officer for the first time in years. Like everyone else, I had slowed down when I caught sight of the cop in the lane next to me. I drove next to him for awhile, holding at 70 miles per hour, until I finally sped up a little and passed him. Almost immediately, I saw his lights flicker behind me and pulled over to the side of the road.
I couldn't figure out why he stopped me, but guessed I was speeding earlier and he was just now getting me for it.
He walked over and I rolled down the window. "Was it your plan to annoy me? Because you certainly did a good job," he said.
"No, officer, I wasn't trying to annoy you. I was trying to avoid getting a ticket," I replied.
He then explained that he was driving slowly enough so that I could pass, but instead I lingered in his blind spot, which annoyed him. He didn't seem to realize that I might have been reluctant to pass him for fear of getting a speeding ticket, especially as we were cruising at 70 mph (speed limit, by the way, is 65).
He looked at me, and I said as sweetly as I could: "I'm sorry for driving poorly, officer". He smiled and said, "See ya" and walked away. I drove off.
As relieved as I was that I didn't get a ticket, I still felt a twinge of shame for not confronting the police officer about the unnecessary and stressful incident. As I drove on, I thought up lines I could have used, such as "Aren't there drivers actually breaking traffic laws for you to go after?" or "Wow, it must be boring out here in the middle of nowhere". Both lines would have undoubtedly triggered a ticket (at least) but a small part of me wished I had used them anyway.
Later, it dawned on me that in all of my encounters with police officers or other authority figures I've been meek and completely cooperative, even in situations that were completely unfair like the one I encountered driving home. Yet in China, whenever I've had a problem with an authority, I've often resorted to loud defiance rather than sweet obedience.
Why is this? Is it an insidious form of Orientalism, in which I subconsciously see the Chinese as being weak and effeminate and easy to dominate? Is it because I'm aware that in China I could pass off any unpleasant situation as a miscommunication? Is it that I innately have more respect for the police in the U.S., even when they do idiotic things like hassle innocent drivers? Perhaps I know that the Chinese characteristically do not react with violence and anger to provocations by foreigners. In any case, I still find my divergent reactions puzzling.
I'd dearly like to find out, for ideally I'd like to be consistent in my reactions to authority figures no matter which country I am in. If anything, I should be even more meek in China because it isn't my home country and I would have less legal recourse in the event that something goes seriously wrong. In addition, I've generally been treated well by the Chinese authorities and have no reason to bear a grudge against them. Yet I still can't figure it out.
Has anyone else gone through something similar? Comment away.
Burma and China
While Burma's* recent uprising is a purely internal affair sparked by rising fuel prices, some Asia observers have begun wondering if, or when, China will involve itself in the affairs of its neighbor. Should Beijing decide to intervene, we might see the first chinks in what has been China's successful international relations philosophy.
In the past five years China has positioned itself as the ideological opposite of the United States in foreign policy, a convenient position due to the globally unpopular Iraq War. Broadly put, China's mantra has been "stability". Any regime that supports Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan, remains silent on issues of human rights, and allows Chinese companies access to its raw materials will have friendly relations with Beijing. China regards human rights issues as domestic concerns only, and has criticized the US for bringing up human rights as an issue in foreign relations.
Given China's support for stability and its indifference to democratic movements, Beijing naturally would prefer the junta to remain in power. A chaotic civil war would threaten Chinese business interests or possibly spill over into sensitive border regions here in Yunnan Province. In addition, the Communist Party might fear that a successful transition to a democratic regime (a so-called "Orange Revolution") would inspire China's own internal dissidents. China's interests in Burma would be for the protests to cease as peacefully as possible and for the status quo in Burma to continue.
Yet what if the Burmese do manage to topple the junta and establish a government less friendly to Chinese interests? Beijing would be faced with a dilemma: either respect its foreign policy norm by staying out of Burmese affairs, or using its status as an emerging global power and East Asian hegemon to force the Burmese to accede to its wishes. The latter action would elicit a harsh condemnation, something Beijing certainly doesn't want less than a year before the Olympics. Either way, what China decides to do (or not to do) will say a lot about its commitment to its very public non-interventionist rhetoric.
*Burma's official name is "Myanmar" but I've elected to use its original name throughout this post.
(Photo of monks in Burma by Reuters and featured in The Daily Telegraph)