The Beauty of Anarchic Roads
The traffic system in most Chinese cities are frighteningly chaotic, and Kunming is no exception. Several major intersections have no control whatsoever. Red-light running is endemic. Drivers will do anything- anything- to avert gridlock, including driving on the sidewalk or down the wrong way of one-way roads. When you add in silent electrical bikes, motorcycles, trucks, mianbao che, and all other contraptions that pass as vehicles, Chinese roads resemble a Hobbesian nightmare where survival is by no means guaranteed.
Yet for all of its flaws, Kunming's roads seem oddly safe. I cycle on them without reluctance, even at night. Every so often, I have to slam on the breaks. Once or twice, I've bumped into pedestrians, vespas, or other small vehicles. In a city with such a large population crammed into a small area, these incidents are by no means unusual.
The very lack of rules on the roads in Kunming, in a way, explain why they're so safe. Cars violate traffic rules all the time. Pedestrians jaywalk with impunity, bikes go against the grain of traffic, and everybody everywhere do what they're not supposed to. Yet there's one rule that everybody follows in China: try not to hit other people.
Keeping that rule in mind makes everyone drive reasonably slowly. The scenes I witness in northern California, cars zipping by at high speeds, don't happen in China. In California, people follow the rules so assiduously that any deviation seems extraordinary and a cause for panic. In China, nobody drives well, and for that reason there's a certain sense of security amidst the madness.
MySpaced
While I organize my photos of Banna, allow me a quick whine about MySpace. Over a year ago, I deleted my account because I was hardly using it anymore and besides, everyone I needed to interact with online was already connected to me through Facebook.
Yesterday, I received an e-mail from MySpace notifying me what my 'friends' were up to. Evidently, they failed to delete my account properly and decided that, perhaps, after one year I might be persuaded to begin using their service again.
Needless to say, I was pretty peeved. I logged in and cancelled my account again, this time leaving a scathing note expressing my displeasure with their failure to adhere to my deletion request. Let's hope this time they get the message.
I'm not a conspiratorial or paranoid fellow when it comes to technology, but more incidents like this might turn me into one.
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Proxy Servers To End Censorship?
I recently (due to a tip from James Fallows) downloaded HotSpot Shield, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that is free with advertisements. Unlike other proxies I've tried in the past (FoxyProxy, Gladder, Tor, etc.) HotSpot Shield is completely reliable and fairly fast. For a person who spends a lot of time doing research online, I cannot overstate how nice this is.
The Chinese government spends a lot of money, time, and energy managing the Internet, either employing teams to firewall sites (such as Wikipedia or BBC News) or people to write pro-government slogans on the country's numerous bulletin board forums. While savvy Internet users can always find the right information if they look hard enough, the goal of the firewall is to make it sufficiently annoying so that nobody wants to bother.
I wonder if enough people use HotSpot Shield (or, like Fallows, commercial VPNs without advertisements) the Chinese government will eventually decide internet censorship isn't worth it. In fact, technological advances give the government a perfect face-saving excuse; we didn't stop censorship because it was wrong, but because it wasn't working.
China likes to tout that it has the most Internet users in the world, and this is undoubtedly true. However, only a minute percentage of people I suspect are particularly bothered by censorship. Walk past any 网å§; virtually everyone there is busy playing games, not writing anti-government manifestos. Bulletin boards that discuss politics typically veer into frightening nationalism rather than pleas for liberalism. Even potential dissidents understand that were they to successfully post an impolitic blog post or remark online, they may face severe consequences.
In the end, technology will probably slay internet censorship. But it likely won't make much of a difference.
Lost Laowai Profiles NeoCha
Direct your browsers to Ryan's interview with NeoCha CEO Sean Leow over at Lost Laowai. NeoCha is a site that serves as a platform for independent musicians in China, ones who slip under the radar screen of the country's radio stations. For those who scoff that nobody produces good original music in the Middle Kingdom, NeoCha is a welcome antidote. Browse away.
Full disclosure: Sean and I were high school classmates in Atherton, California in the late 1990s. But forget all that- the site is well worth checking out.
Censorship
Jeremiah writes:
Ah the vicissitudes of a government petrified of information€¦after a brief revival this past week, blogspot is YET AGAIN blocked in Beijing. This time joined by the popular workaround site anonymouse which has, until now it would seem, been a decent way to access blocked sites. Hopefully this is all temporary and somebody will get the nanny a cocktail and a neck massage.
But for the moment can I just address (again) the purple elephant sitting in the corner: societies that block information and are afraid of alternative viewpoints cannot be considered modern and developed€¦and no amount of high rise buildings, synchronized hand claps, Audi A6s, or Olympic games will make it so.
Sorry.
Amen. Blocking blog hosting software only scratches the surface of media censorship in China. I used to read the China Daily until its sycophancy became depressing, and while TV news broadcasts are good for Chinese listening comprehension they don't convey much in the way of useful news. Chinese people brave enough to challenge official government policy on virtually any issue usually end up silenced if not incarcerated.
As Jeremiah writes, the booming economy and increasingly cosmopolitan nature of the country do not mask the fact that China remains a rigid, authoritarian dictatorship that is completely controlled by one unelected political party. Admission of this fact usually elicits feeble excuses, such as that China is somehow "different" and that Chinese people are somehow not ready for participatory democracy or a free press. Some go so far as to say that authoritarian systems "work better", belying the fact that most dictatorships crumble under the weight of their own inefficiency. China's impressive growth has been in spite of its government, not because of it.
Some months ago I read Sam Harris' anti-religion cri de couer "The End of Faith". Drawing on an impressive command of epistemology, Harris argues that some ideas are better than others regardless of context. For instance, he writes that religions that practice "honor killings" are inferior to those that do not, and that atheism (or scientific rationality) ranks higher than religious faith of any kind in the hierarchy of ideas.
Whether or not one agrees with Harris' take, I do believe that his rejection of relativism can be extended into the political sphere. Societies that allow freedom of information, protect individual rights, and limit governmental power are inherently more humane and vibrant than those that do not. I do not mean to endorse a violent overthrow of the Chinese government, but am merely pointing out that despite its glowing facade, China remains, in many ways, a deeply backward country.
A caveat or two: I would totally oppose any effort from the United States, United Nations, or any other country to attack China in order to change its political system. China's sovereignty ought to be respected, just like those in nations whose institutions we may find more admirable.
The Great Firewall Explained
The March issue of The Atlantic, America's best magazine, is now online (available with free registration). Included within is a fascinating piece by the magazine's man in China, James Fallows, that unravels some of the mysteries behind what expats have dubbed "The Great Firewall of China": China's sophisticated method of censoring the internet.
What's notable is how easy the firewall is to evade- it isn't as if men in black suits and sunglasses will appear at your front door if you mistakenly type "Taiwan independence" in your Google search bar. Most internet-savvy foreigners I know in China use proxy servers (available free on the internet) that renders the entire firewall completely moot. In effect, it simply isn't difficult at all to find any information you want on the internet from within China.
Yet the simple hassle of circumventing the censors makes most people unwilling to go to the trouble. Fallows points out that Chinese cities are simply teeming with media and that most information that affects people's lives is convenient to obtain.
Here's a follow-up interview with Fallows for those who have read the article. The rest of the issue is excellent too-as always.
On Electronic Chinese-Language Guides
Recently I wrote a comparison of the Chinese learning software Wenlin with the online dictionary Nciku, concluding that each compensated for the other's weaknesses, making both useful. Today my aim is more ambitious: what is the essential combination of web/software/electronic devices for the English speaking Chinese student?
1. Wenlin
As I wrote, Wenlin is best suited for deepening one's understanding of Chinese characters and how they function in the language. I use Wenlin if I encounter a character whose origins I'm unsure of, or am curious in which other words a certain character appears. Wenlin's other main use is for translating paragraphs written in academic or vernacular Chinese, as its ability to render Chinese sentences in accurate English is unsurpassed.
2. Nciku
Nciku's English to Chinese dictionary is far larger than Wenlin's, often providing accurate translations of relatively obscure English terms. Nciku also includes useful example sentences in each of its entries (something Wenlin does only occasionally) which have the unintended effect of improving your grasp of Chinese grammar. Finally, Nciku's writing function recognizes even badly-written characters, so whenever I scribble one with my mouse I always seem to find what I'm looking for.
3. Kingsoft
Unlike Wenlin or Nciku, Kingsoft does not require one to copy and paste Chinese or English terms into a separate interface. Quite simply, Kingsoft will translate any English word it finds on your computer into Chinese, and any Chinese character it finds into English. Note that I said character, not word. One of Kingsoft's weaknesses is that it often fails to pick-up multi-character words, creating a good deal of confusion. Its lack of pinyin on English to Chinese can also be a hindrance if you don't recognize the characters it gives you. Kingsoft is ideal though for IM conversations which value speed over accuracy.
4. Pleco
There are many hand-held dictionary devices, but in my experience Pleco is the best. Available mainly for Palm products, Pleco combines a huge dictionary with an easy-to-use interface, making word searches simple and fast. As a hand-held device, I have used Pleco mostly in class and in situations when I'm outside and am curious about a certain character I see on a sign or shopfront. A must-have for a Chinese student.
Here's a situational guide for each device:
1. You're reading a Chinese newspaper article on-line, but are having trouble with some of the more difficult characters: Wenlin
2. You're understand a Chinese word but are not sure how to use it in a sentence: Nciku
3. You're looking for a ready-made source of Chinese slang: Nciku
4. You're chatting on QQ with your Chinese friend and don't understand a few of the things she's written: Kingsoft
5. The new software you've installed doesn't come in English and you're reluctant to press the wrong button: Kingsoft
6. You're on the bus and are curious about an advertisement that keeps flashing on the screen: Pleco
7. You've seen a certain character before but are not sure what it is, or where else it appears: Wenlin
8. You're reading a Chinese novel at home and can't figure out a tricky phrase: Nciku.
9. You've gotten drunk and lost your Palm PDA, your internet connection expired because you're too lazy to pay the bill, and you are too cheap to buy Kingsoft or Wenlin and too wimpy to download them off of a torrent: a good old-fashioned paper dictionary.
Hundred Flowers Campaign Redux?
Via Richard, the Chinese government plans to relax internet censorship this summer in advance of the Olympic Games in Beijing. For those of us long frustrated with the ever-unpredictable cyber nanny, this is good news- no longer will we (presumably) need a proxy to access sites such as BBC News or blogs hosted by Typepad and Blogspot.
The cynic in me is reminded of the Maoist era Hundred Flowers Campaign, launched in 1957 when the Chairman solicited criticism from the country's citizens. When Chinese intellectuals responded with complaints about the Communist Party's monopoly on political power and abrogations on free speech, Mao suddenly reversed the campaign and detained a large number of domestic dissidents, labeled them as "rightists" and sent them into labor camps. Historians differ on Mao's motives: some say he launched the campaign in order to weed out undesirable elements, while others believe he was alarmed by popular discontent and compelled to react strongly . In any case, the Hundred Flowers Campaign was but an eerie prelude to the forthcoming Cultural Revolution. The rest, as they say, is history
To the current Chinese leadership, a temporary relaxation of Internet censorship amounts to little more than holding their breath until the Olympics are over. They are undoubtedly aware of the Olympics' political history- of the Mexican government massacring protesting students in 1968 and the Seoul 1988 games triggering the end of South Korea's military dictatorship, to name just two examples. I suspect very little will happen, in practice, as high economic growth and national pride in holding the games should dampen unrest somewhat. Then again, every foreign journalist worth his salt will try to work politics into his reports: from environmental damage to the destruction of the hutongs to the occasional mass protests by factory workers and outlawed religious groups, and any other angle that might intrigue foreign audiences.
The Olympics will focus the spotlight on China as never before, and I would hope that foreign watchers will see the country for what it is: a prospering, developing country with many complex problems but hardly on the verge of revolution or collapse.
Geography Fun!
Since I was a small child I've always had a knack for geography. Something about maps fascinate me, and having a good memory for names means I've been able to cram tons of geography trivia into my head over the years. Add that to a passion for travel, and you have the recipe for being a geography maven.
Facebook, the ultra-addicting social networking site that everyone I know seems to belong to, has an application in which one can test his geography knowledge. The game is simple: you have ten seconds to find the location of a particular place on a map, and your score is calculated based on how close you get to your intended point and how much time has elapsed.
There are several different challenges, of course, and by far the most popular one is the World Challenge, in which the whole globe is in play. I've spent far too much time recently playing the Asian challenge, as a friend of mine here in Kunming and I have engaged in a friendly competition to see who can get the top score. We've taken this to ridiculous proportions, and he recently admitted to me that he spent an hour studying a map of Russia and looking up the names of UNESCO heritage sites in Asia.
Most computer games are pointless time-wasters, but I've actually learned quite a lot about geography from playing this game. For instance, I can tell you precisely where in Turkmenistan one can find the Parthian Forests of Nisa, or that a nickname for the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar is "Red Hero". Another unintended consequence of my recent addiction is that I've discovered new places I'd like to travel, adding to an already lengthy list.
So there's nothing absolutely wrong with the geography challenge- it's wonderful, try it. Though for someone who has an exam in Chinese in three days and hundreds of characters to learn, I could perhaps think of better ways to use my time.
The Anti-Midas
Recently, a student of mine said during an TOEFL simulation that surfing the Internet was one of his hobbies. Curious, I asked what he liked to read. "News, blogs, politics, et cetera," he said, adding that he reads foreign sites in order to improve his English. The previous year, he had lived in Battle Creek, Michigan as a foreign exchange student, so intrigued I decided to ask him a fairly loaded question: what did he think about the Chinese firewall? For those of you unfamiliar with the term "firewall", it refers to the practice by the Chinese government of banning certain "sensitive" websites from public consumption. When one tries to load a firewalled page, a short message appears informing you that the page can not be loaded- no different from the message you get when your internet connection isn't working. The firewall affects many political sites in both English and Chinese, and is a perennial source of frustration for internet-savvy foreigners in China.
"Ah," he said when I asked him for this thoughts, "why do you Americans always want to know about this? It just isn't that big of a deal. You can always work around it."
His answer interested me for the simple reason that he made no qualitative judgment about the firewall at all. He simply chafed at being reminded of it by Americans. I wondered whether privately- or amongst other internet savvy Chinese people- he feels the same as I do about the firewall. Perhaps, but perhaps not. In any case, his response elicited two thoughts from me in trying to understand what he meant.
First, one explanation for his indifference toward the firewall is that as a Chinese person, he doesn't have the cultural understanding that free speech is an inalienable right. For example, if a group of Americans decided to meet and form a government, say on a desert island somewhere, you would expect almost all of them would agree on having elections, free speech, a free press, and the freedom of religion. These cultural values, or political values I should say, are accepted by broad swaths of the American polity.
Would a group of Chinese, if similarly stranded on an island, do the same? It could very well be that for the Chinese, social harmony and stability are core political values that trump freedom of expression and individuality. From this perspective, an internet firewall merely protects people from potentially harmful and disruptive material, and its abrogation of individual human rights are of secondary importance.
A second explanation might be what I call the "anti-Midas" effect. In a reference to the greedy king whose very touch transformed all objects into gold, could my students' reaction simply be a reflex against unwanted American criticism of China? The Chinese may share the same political values as Americans yet do not want foreigners meddling into their affairs, such as the recent Western focus on human rights. A Chinese might say to a countryman that he supports democratic reform, but he might not admit these beliefs to his American friend.
Both explanations are plausible, and I suspect the true answer combines elements from each. In any event, one cannot deny that Chinese and Americans have vastly different perspectives toward issues that might, on the surface, seem to be universal.
This belief- that American political values are universal- has been the foundation of President Bush's post 9/11 foreign policy. The Iraq War was a gamble that not only do Iraqis share American values, but they'd also welcome an occupation by said Americans who ostensibly would help them. Events in the past four years have thrown water on this proposition, but if anything, recent saber rattling toward Iran confirms that several influential people think invading Iran and installing a Western-style democracy there would be a successful mission for the reason that several Iranians are sick of the mullahs and would like a more modern political system.
If anything, recent history (and Chinese history over the past century or so) proves that while political values might be important, the desire to be free from foreign meddling seems to be the largest factor in shaping peoples perception on matters like free speech. I hope the next American President is aware of this not only in his (her?) dealings with China but with those throughout the world.