Does the Chinese Government understand Christianity better than America?

I was in a meeting a couple weeks ago with some Americans and the topic of the U.S. election came up.  O.K., full disclosure, I was watching the Republican National Convention with a group from Republicans Abroad  here in Hong Kong.

(Hey, it included breakfast at The American Club whose club membership I could never afford in a million years so...yes...I shamelessly took the opportunity to have coffee and bagels in such a swank setting  even if it did mean having to endure watching Fox News on the big screen)

Of course being Republicans somehow the conversation meandered on to the topic of God and as I am a pastor and have had a little history with Republican politics my opinion was sought.

"Well," I said, "sometimes I wonder if the Chinese government might understand Christianity more than the American government."

Yes, jaws dropped... and then they wanted to know what I meant.

"Well," I explained, " the Chinese government understands that Christianity is an alternative way to order society.  That it places Jesus as Lord of everything in Heaven and Earth.  For Christians to truly follow Christ is to ultimately have an authority higher than the State.  China rather frowns that; seeing any authority higher than itself as not such a good thing.  Hence, they actively persecute it"

"In America we have a Christianity that tends to put American patriotism and "We the People" as the highest authority.  Yes Jesus is our "Personal Lord & Savior" but it better stay just that...personal.  Any public proclamation of Christianity is expected to be accompanied by tacit approval (and blessing) of general domestic and foreign policy."

I went on to explain in Rome the disciples of Christ were executed, as was Jesus himself, for proclaiming a king other than Caesar. Rome was fairly tolerant of other religions and if the the disciples had basically stuck to an American styled Christianity and just told people if they accepted Jesus Christ they could go to heaven one day, followed up by a "God Bless the Roman Empire", hey, they probably would have lived to a ripe old age.

The early church, however, tended to take the words of Christ seriously.  That the Kingdom of Heaven which had come to Earth through Jesus Christ was fundamentally at odds, not just with Rome, but with the power structures of the age.   As Christians we certainly can honor governmental authorities and engage in the civic process, but when the church simply performs the role of a chaplain called in to bless the latest government policy we lose our prophetic voice which is calling all people everywhere to be citizens of the Kingdom of the Heaven.

When I see American friends who have been walking with Christ for years angrily attacking political rivals  and defaming even fellow Christians who have a different political view I realize the Kingdom of Heaven is but a soft whisper in their ears that, sadly, is all too easily silenced by the kingdom of this corrupt age.

In the end my breakfast companions polietly thanked me for my thoughts on that but, you know, Clint Eastwood was coming on now so lets give the God stuff a rest and watch what Dirty Harry had to say.

Steve's Letter to the Editor

Some of you saw my photo on Facebook of the "Letter to the Editor" that I wrote and was published in the South China Post newspaper this week.  Some asked for a full reprint as they couldn't read the top of the picture and, not being in Hong Kong, did not have quick access to the paper.

Just for a bit of context;

The letter is a response to an op-ed piece from a few days previous when a columnist was really calling into question some aspects of legality in Hong Kong.  What was especially troubling to me was that this columnist sits on the Basic Law Committee of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.  For the layman, that means he helped arrange the mini-constitution (The Basic Law) which protects the rights of Hong Kong since the assumption of sovereignty by China from Great Britain 15 years ago.

Meaning this guy is supposed to be protecting the Rule of Law in Hong Kong...not call it into question!

The piece was really chafing against me all that Friday evening and the little voice inside said "Just forget about it..."

Saturday morning came and I couldn't forget about it...

... so I banged out the following response to the op-ed:

To the South China Morning Post:

I found the premise behind Lau Nai-keung's recent opinion piece (Hong Kong needs a time out from self serving legislators) to be very troubling.  Without coming out and saying it he uses the recent incident of the Legco filibuster to call in to question the very idea of "rule of law" in Hong Kong.  He contrasts a "Western mindset" whose legal procedure trumps common sense as being responsible for the filibuster as opposed to the Chinese way where, "legality has no overriding authority." 

First, creating a confrontational dichotomy between Western and Chinese ways is not entirely helpful in an International city like Hong Kong.  Second, to suggest that  Hong Kongers may find a society where "legality has no overriding authority" appealing is largely insulting.  Mr. Lau would replace legal authority with "rules (that) should be adaptable to changing conditions....if that purpose is good, then it is OK; but if bad, then no way."  The Hong Kong people would then be subject to the whims of what was thought to be "good" that day.  And whose version of what is "good" do we use?  Mr. Lau's idea of what is good would certainly be different than that of "Longhair" Leung Kwok-hung, and our new Chief Executive elect Leung Chun-ying's version of "common sense" may be different from other community and business leaders. 

In the years leading up to the Handover, when even the most ardent Hong Kong Chinese nationalists were asked if there was any positive contribution British colonialism made to Hong Kong, most would grudgingly admit, "the rule of law".  To chip away at this precious commodity Hong Kong has, and which many countries desire, is to do so at our peril.

Steve Hackman
Park Island, Ma Wan

My letter was published 4 days later...

Walking Home From Mongolia with Rob Lilwall

 Last Sat. afternoon Tammy, the boys and myself had the opportunity to walk with Rob Lilwall and his companion, Leon McCarron, on the final stage of their 5,000 kilometer walk from Mongolia, through the Gobi Desert and China, all the way to Rob's home in Hong Kong.  The reason for the walk, besides the adventure, was to raise money for the children's charity Viva.  The guys started back in November and after 6 months on foot made it to the border between China & Hong Kong on Friday evening.

Rob's journey made the front page

I first became acquainted with Rob last year when we arranged for him to come speak to the  students at the school where I work about his first big adventure where he cycled from Siberia to London.  The stories he shared with the school were inspiring to student and staff alike and so when he announced that he would be participating in a new adventure walking from Mongolia to Hong Kong for charity, we were excited to see how we could be involved. For that reason we have been doing  morning assembly updates, showing video, photos, and blog entries so the students could follow along on the journey.

Rob & Leon at the finish!

On Saturday Tammy and I joined about 60 other volunteers to walk with Rob & Leon on the final leg of the trip. The route would start in Discovery Bay, go over the mountain near the Trappist Monestery, and down into Mui Wo where the journey would end at the beach in Silvermine Bay.

I would not want to carry that pack!

In hindsight, we probably would NOT have brought 16 month old Ethan George.  Although the hike was only about 7 kilometers, hauling the baby with stroller and carry-all, on a hot humid Hong Kong day was pretty tough.

But, we wanted to do it as a family!

Anyhow, the big moment as we waited at the Discovery Bay pier to begin was wondering where Rob would be joining us.  He ended up arriving on a small "junk" (boat) and as the junk approached Rob suddenly jumped in the water and swam to the group to applause and cheers of "well done".  We could all only imagine what it would be like to have been walking for 6 months straight and now, to be joining friends and family for the final 7 kilometers.

With Rob and his wife Christine

We all journeyed together for about 2 hours until Rob & Leon, leading out front, reached the Silvermine beach.  They dove into the water together completing an astounding 5000 kilometer odyssey.

It was a family affair!

Afterwards we joined with everyone for a celebratory dinner and welcomed our friends home after a long, and fruitful, adventure.  For Tammy, myself, and the friends with us, we considered it a real privilege to participate in a small part of their grand journey .  Our family raised HK$ 1200 in donations for the walk but we felt like the blessed ones being able to join in on Rob & Leon's special day.

 

Beijing Daily stung over Ambassador Locke's finances

Locke buys a coffee at Starbucks with daughter

"Careful what you ask for", the old saying goes, "you just may get it."
  
In Mainland China of late there has been a growing demand by the public for government officials to make public their finances and personal wealth.  This demand however is near anathema in a system renowned for its lack of transparency and opaqueness of accountability.


The Beijing Daily, in an attempt to deflect criticism, chose to show that United States officials would be no different. They did this by attempting to embarrass  U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke. 
But first a little context to this story.


Gary Locke is the first ethnically Chinese American to assume the post of ambassador to Beijing.  Since he took up the position last August his easy manner and "man of the people" demeanor has already won praise from the Chinese public as well as scorn from the Chinese government.  The humbleness of an official of his level carrying his own bags and using a coupon as he pays for his own coffee at Starbucks has served as a stark contrast to the airs of privilege and indulgence so often associated with officials in Mainland China.  Such contrast has served for fodder for the micro bloggers who make up the voice of the people in China nowadays...much to the chagrin of the Chinese government.


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In addition, the recent escape of blind activist Chen Guangcheng to the U.S. Embassy and Ambassador's role in the affair has only made Beijing more irked with the charismatic Mr. Locke.
It's in this context that the government's mouthpiece, the Beijing Daily, demanded, "Gary Locke, please disclose your (financial) assets."  


But the plan backfired because lo and behold.. he did!


All U.S. public officials personal finances are available as a public record so the embassy issued a copy of  Ambassador Locke's financial disclosure  to the Beijing Daily.  In addition, many Chinese "netzians" found the financial statements of the Ambassador and notified the paper.


The article making the demand online was quickly deleted. (funny that)


People who have their hand in the till make the wrong assumption that everyone  has their hand in the till...only to be surprised when they don't.  

Mainland China Students Irk Some At American Universities

A recent blog article I read grabbed my attention today.  It highlighted the complaints many local American students have with foreign Chinese undergraduates* studying at U.S. universities.  Complaints such as:

•  "They don't come here to learn. They just come here for the grades."
•  "They are killing class discussion. They never contribute."
•  "You will never see any of them at any school function. Never ever ever. Unless it can  help them with a grade."
•  "They never make any effort to talk with anyone other than those who are also from China."
•  "They cheat all the time. It is pretty unbelievable how often"
•   "This is a great way to ruin relations between China and us."
  
  * The article noted these were complaints concerning students from Mainland China and not ethnic Chinese from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, or Singapore.

I was intrigued and immediately asked some of my Hong Kong Chinese peers about their thoughts on this.  One responded to me that the reason is that maybe ten years ago very few students from China went to the States for study and those that did were the best and brightest.  He mentioned there was often great sacrifice incurred for it to happen and the students made the most of their opportunities.

"Now", he explained, "there is so much 'new money' in China that all these corrupt businessmen and officials are sending their spoiled brat kids to the States not because they are the best educated, but because they can afford the big dollars." 

Essentially he was saying was that the best and the brightest are being replaced with a "less than stellar" representation of China.

That's a lot to digest but consider the following statistics:

Number of Chinese undergraduate students at American universities

 2006 - 2007 academic year - 9,955 students
 2011 - 2012 academic year- 56,976 students

Such an explosion of population lends credence to the notion that less strict criterea is being used.  In fact, an MSNBC article noted 90 % of  Mainland students submitted false recommendation letters on their college applications and 70% of them had a professional write their entrance exam. 

Worrying to say the least!
I can say my own experience with Mainland Chinese students in America has been limited but very positive.

In 2006 my family and I attended the "Mid-Autumn" Festival celebration at the University of Colorado hosted by the Chinese students association.  Tammy and I were missing Hong Kong and thought we would take advantage of a little piece of it on display 10 minutes from our Boulder home.  When the students found out our connection with China and the fact that Gabriel was born in Hong Kong they really went to great lengths to make us feel welcome and at home.  They were a wonderful group of young people who were a very positive representation of China.

Of course that was 2006...I wonder if it has changed any?

China News Still Not "Newsworthy" in America

Obama greets troops in Australia

Living in Hong Kong I am sometimes amazed by what International news is important in this region versus what is deemed front page news in America.  Being a bit of a "news junkie" I follow both region's news cycles fairly in depth...and they just don't match.

Case in point:

Last week I was chatting with a couple old friends from high school via Skype.  All though we are all Republicans my politics have vented back toward the center a bit in recent years causing some enjoyable and "lively" discussions.  In fact one of my friends is not so much "Republican" as he is "Ayn Rand"...hence the lively discussions.

Anyhow, I asked them what they thought of Obama's move to station 2500 marines in a new upgraded base in Darwin, a city on the north coast of Australia.  Truth be told, I've known this group of friends for 30 years and we have a fun (my wife calls it mean :) way of "baiting" each other to provoke a response.  I was being a little cheeky I admit.  Obama energizing America's military might in the region I knew would appeal to their Republican blood.  It would be a "good thing".  But I also knew that their politics didn't allow for Obama doing a "good thing".   This could be fun...

It was not unlike the strategy used by Captain Kirk from Star Trek.  When ever he had to get by the "super computer / killer robot"  he would feed it a question that would put it into a an endless logic loop.  Kirk would then sit back as it rattled the question around a bit and then finally popped a circuit allowing him to get free and save the girl.  So I thought I'll feed them a "good thing done by Obama", watch them try to process it through their "Obama can do no good" programming, then sit back and wait for a circuit to blow.

Understand it's not that I've become a fan of Obama (I'm not) so much as I absolutely love arguing with my friends.

My strategy didn't work though...but not for the reason's I would have guessed.  "Steve," said one of them, "we've heard nothing about this."  I was frankly...shocked!

Understand, the papers in Hong Kong and in the Pacific region have been almost daily running stories and editorials either celebrating or deriding America's increased engagement in the area.  It is possibly the most important ongoing news story this side of the Pacific.  Not only the deployment of marines to north Australia but Obama's raising of the issue of Maritime claims in the South China Sea at the recent APEC summit in Hawaii against China's objections. 

Most analysts have said it has been a diplomatic win for Obama and a setback for China yet for some reason the news cycles in America were not jumping on it.  I suppose Kim Kardashian divorcing her husband after a few hours of marriage might have something to do with it but come on?  My friends are well read and well informed individuals.  I thought they would be bringing this topic up to me?

It has just demonstrated to me though that although this region has built the China - United States dynamic into the major geopolitical balance of power issue de jour, China and the Asia Pacific region still does not register on the average American's radar.  Because the news channels cater to the American appetite, stories of China and the region, while increasing in importance, still tend to focus on the human interest stories of development and are buried on Page 3.

That's likely to change though in the coming decade as China continues to develop its military and tests America's commitment to the region,  well, unless Kim Kardashian gets married again that is...

Touring the U.S.S. George Washington

Last week I received an e-mail from a friend at the U.S. Consulate.  He said be that the U.S.S. George Washington would be in Hong Kong for a few days and would I like to go out with a guest and have a tour?  Mmmm...let me think this over for 5 tenths of a second?

Nimitz class aircraft carrier, rows of F-18 Hornets, AWAC planes, helicopters, all sitting pretty under the American flag... do I want to take a trip out there?

Yep!

So Gabriel and I set out for Fenwick pier down in Wanchai where the launches out to the carrier originate.  Years ago the U.S. Navy set up a "Fleet Arcade" at the pier to accommodate the thousands of sailors who spend their shore leave in the territory.  There are retails shops, ATM, American style food, Internet etc.  Even when ships are not in town its fun to head down there to buy some "American" stuff.

My son and I were led out to the pier and onto a 90 seater launch for the 30 minute ride out to the George Washington.  I sat down next to a blurry eyed young man who still had more than a faint trace of booze on his breath.  We chatted on the ride and it turned out he was one of the young pilots who had spent the evening in one of the local Hong Kong watering holes.  "I told myself I wasn't going to be out all night, to get back and sleep on the ship, "he said, "...that didn't quite happen."

As a pastor I thought I should come up with some spiritual consoling but all I was able to muster was, jokingly, if he was going to "hurl" on the bumpy ride to let me know so I can get out of the way.  He smiled and said, "Will do.".

On the flight deck

If I'm honest the little boy comes out in me in these situations because when I was a teen-ager all I wanted was to be a fighter pilot...and here was Mr. "Top Gun" himself.  (Granted it was Mr. "Top Gun" after a night in Wanchai).  We chatted on the way out and he said how he's learned not to assume they will actually be able to land in Hong Kong until his foot touches Hong Kong Island.  That's because often China will use Hong Kong shore leave for the Americans as a diplomatic tool.  "If we've sold a missile to Taiwan, or one of our ships goes through the Taiwan Strait, I know we aren't going to Hong Kong." he said.  In 2009 the George Washington was due to spend Thanksgiving in the territory.  Family members from America flew out to spend the holiday with their sons when, just hours before the ship was to enter Hong Kong, China denied entry and the whole fleet sailed off back out to sea.

Sitting in the Captain's Chair

Of course Hong Kong bears the real brunt of China's decision as local businesses lose about US one million dollars that these visits pump into the local economy.  The pilot went on to say some of the "old guys" on the ship liked to reminisce about when the British had Hong Kong and there was no diplomatic tension as "we were entering the port of an ally."

Another thing the pilot said really struck me.  I asked him what they generally did out on the sea and he replied a lot of flying and drills but, "when we heard about the flooding in Thailand we began moving the fleet in that direction in case they asked us for humanitarian assistance."  I thought, "Wow".  You have to give old Uncle Sam credit.  We moved our whole fleet on the off chance we may be called upon to save lives.  It made me proud as an American to think we're still the "good" guys...mostly.

View from the bridge

After about 30 minutes we reached the George Washington and docked with the pier set up at the rear of the ship.  We were ushered out and down a long hallway decked out to receive visitors into the hanger bay where a number of aircraft had been set out specifically for display.  The ship is huge and the hanger bay can accommodate 70 aircraft.  A large American flag and Chinese flag was set up side by side undoubtedly for public relations purposes.

We were escorted to one of the hanger elevators that carry the planes from the hanger bay up to the flight deck.  The elevator can carry 2 planes at a time and was surprisingly fast...as I suppose it would have to be if you are in a battle.

My apartment as seen from the flight deck

The flight deck is huge and were told that they can launch 2 fighters every 45 seconds.  And as big as that deck looked, I imagine to a pilot trying to land on it...it looked pretty small.  In fact one of the pilots told us that when a pilot is landing and misses the cables on the deck that helps him stop and has to swing around for another pass, thats called "bolting".  When the pilot gets back there is a bolt hanging over his cabin door and it stays there until the next pilot "bolts" and then he gets it.

Gabriel and I climbed the many levels finally reaching the bridge where we were given a tour and explanation of how things operate up there.  We even got to sit in the "Captain's Chair"...which for a guy, its pretty cool.

Gabriel with F- 18 fighter pilot!

After about an hour Gabriel and I left the U.S.S. George Washington and headed back to Fenwick Pier with great memories of our time together on the ship.  And because the American restaurant was in full swing with sailors watching American football on big screen TV's, We treated ourselves to the best American cheeseburgers we'd had in a LONG time!

Chris Patten, Hong Kong's last Governor, back for a visit

Chris Patten, Hong Kong's last Governor, returned to the territory for the first time in 3 years to a receptive audience of well wishers.  Patten, or Fat Pang as he is also affectionately known, remains popular among the people of Hong Kong for his championing of democratic reforms in the run up to the handover of sovereignty from Great Britain to China in 1997.

Last week I was sitting with some Hong Kong Chinese peers and the subject of next years Chief Executive election came up.  (The Chief Executive is the post created to replace the Governor after the handover)  My friends were bemoaning the choice of the the two front runner candidates that they felt would be ineffective in leading Hong Kong into the 21st Century.  There seemed to be a consensus that either candidate would be too scared of upsetting Beijing to be very effectual. 

It was at this point I piped in and suggested, "Sounds like Hong Kong needs a Chinese Chris Patten as a candidate." 

Surprisingly (or perhaps not surprisingly) there seemed to be universal agreement on the subject.
"He was good for Hong Kong" responded one
"He didn't care what Britain or China thought...He put Hong Kong people first." responded another.
"The Hong Kong people still think very highly of him." added a third.

Its easy to see why, even after 14 years, Fat Pang still holds a certain soft spot in the locals hearts, particularly with the older generation of Hong Kongers.  Unlike previous Governors, and later Chief Executives, Chris Patten was known for frequently strolling along Hong Kong streets in an attempt to meet everyday Hong Kong people.  In fact, many a Hong Kong restaurant would have a picture on the wall of the Governor stopping by their establishment and posing with the owner.

I remember once in the late 1990's after the Handover the owner of a restaurant Tammy and I frequented in Wan Chai told us a story.  For a number of years he had a picture of himself with Chris Patten on the wall when Patten had dropped by out of the blue one day to meet him in his back kitchen.  Some local government officials who were part of the new post-British administration came in for lunch one day and called him over to their table. He said to me, "Steve,  they pointed at the picture of Chris Patten and me shaking hands and asked whether it wasn't about time I took that picture down."  

He told them, "No, the picture stays but any time Tung Che-Hwa (the then Chief Executive) wants to come around and shake my hand, I'll be happy to put his picture up as well".

The officials never came back...

Patten was well known for his love of local egg tarts and the South China Morning Post newspaper reported that his plane had landed at 4:00 PM and the former Governor was able to sample his first local egg tart at "quarter past five".

Although Patten's visit to Hong Kong is not political in nature he did have three pieces of advice for the two men seeking to run for his old job;

"Understanding the profound honor of serving  the people of Hong Kong.  Understanding the reasons for the city's success are prerequisites for success.  Comprehending the full meaning of 'one country, two systems' is important too."

Border Crossings: The New Shenzhen Bay link

Just got back from a few days in China.  Rather than fly out of Hong Kong Internationally into China, we decided to go over the border locally and take a domestic flight from Shenzhen airport. (Significantly cheaper but a bigger hassle) We bought tickets for a cross border bus from Kowloon Tong and headed north through the territory for about 45 minutes.

Now, I've been through just about every border point between Hong Kong and China.  There are bus borders like the one we were on, pedestrian borders, ferry borders, and even train borders.  However as we got on the new Shenzhen Bay bridge, separating Hong Kong and China, I was confused.  As we got about half way over I realized something was different.  The road signs had changed to Chinese only (rather than English and Chinese on the Hong Kong side) and we were obviously entering Shenzhen which is the border city with Hong Kong on the China side. We had entered China but we hadn't passed through customs "exiting" Hong Kong.

Normally on the bus borders (and a big hassle) is you approach the Hong Kong immigration point and then everyone gets out of the bus. You go through customs, get back on the bus, travel through the border, get off the bus again, and the then finally enter China passing through their immigration point.

As we came to the end of the new bridge across the bay I saw the Hong Kong flag at the front of a brand spanking new customs building... but we were obviously "in China".  We got off the bus and entered the terminal.  Using my "smart" ID card I exited Hong Kong through the e-channel avoiding the long immigration lines for non-residents.  Then just a few meters ahead was the China immigration point.

Now I got it!  They put the whole process under one roof to eliminate some of the time and hassle involved.  Very cool and then I thought, "This could never happened when Britain controlled Hong Kong!"  But now, with China exercising sovereignty over the territory having a Hong Kong check point on Chinese soil was not quite as big a deal...and a whole lot more convenient.  (Or, was the the beginning of Hong Kong exercising control over China... mmmmmm ...interesting...)

 Looking up the check point on Wikipedia they went on to note that Hong Kong phone coverage, both mobile and landline, are provided via Hong Kong (which explained why I could still call Tammy from the border) and Hong Kong's power company provided the electricity for the Hong Kong side of the building.  (That must have been a fun design for the planners)

Despite the new convenience, I have to leave for Qingdao China later this morning and this time I'm just leaving from Hong Kong International Airport which is still the easiest way to cross the border by far.

Diversity: or How America makes Americans

My 9 month old son, Ethan George, attended his first Republican meeting this week.  Being that I am in Hong Kong I need to qualify that statement to say I am referring to the American political party and not any organization designed to abolish the Monarchy.

God Save the Queen!

No, the Republicans Abroad is the group in Hong Kong for Americans of the Republican Party to gather together for networking and political events.  This last Thursday's Lan Kwai Fong event was a reception to get to know Philip Yin, a state of Washington native working in Hong Kong, who is returning home this week to run for the U.S. Senate.

As someone who had run for the U.S. House of Representatives, Yin and I had a bit to talk about.  We hold a similar position on a number of issues, tend to favor a more "moderate" approach in general and both shook our heads in embarrassment at the performance of a majority of the Republican presidential candidates in the previous night's debate.  I was able to encourage him in the undertaking he was preparing to start and I always applaud anyone willing to "enter the arena" so to speak.

As Philip Yin addressed the group of about 30 who had come out to wish him well though I was struck by a thought.  He talked about his father immigrating to America as a young man from China speaking no English but working hard to achieve the American Dream.  He stated although he supports China he is American and his loyalty is to America.  The thought that struck me was the pride I felt in our country that we can absorb the best and the brightest from around the world and create Americans.  This son of a poor Chinese immigrant is making a legitimate run for the U.S. Senate.  Its as if America says to the world, "Yes, you to can be American".  There would (most likely) never be the reciprocal opportunity for an immigrant's child in Asia.  I mean the child of a Filipino maid could never get elected to public office in Malaysia, Japan, or South Korea.

Even in cosmopolitan Hong Kong, the Legislative Counsel is made up of only ethnic Chinese and is likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future.

In 2008 I was teaching a class in Qingdao China made up primarily of Korean International students.  It was election week in American and I asked the class who they wanted to win the U.S. presidency...McCain or Obama?  The class mostly supported Obama.  I asked one young South Korean student why? She responded, "Because it's good for America to have a minority president to promote diversity."

 I responded that was very thoughtful and true that because of past racial tensions in America the election of Barack Obama may help demonstrate new opportunities for diversity in America.  Then I furthered the notion, "So you would also be open to more diversity in South Korea as well and perhaps have a minority president in the future...possibly a black president?"

She quickly dropped her head and I sensed a wave of discomfort among the mainly Korean students.  They whispered in Korean for a moment and then she looked up at me and embarrassingly responded,

"No, that couldn't happen in Korea."

Apparently diversity is good... you know, for Western nations who are into that sort of thing.

But at that Republicans Abroad reception I realized for all the bumps, bruises, and challenges that come from our vast melting pot...its still cooking up a pretty good dish!

"Big Brother, Little Brother" comment riles Vietnam in the South China Sea

The potential for conflict in the South China Sea is heating up.  While American forces continue to concentrate on Afghanistan and the 40 or 50 al qaeda members still left there, more ominous issues in the Pacific region are developing. 

Last week Chinese fishing boats allegedly attempted to cut the cables of Vietnamese gas and oil exploration vessels.  China lays claim to roughly 90% of the South China Sea and responds that it is simply exercising its jurisdiction despite the fact that the incident occurred within the Exclusive Economic Zone of Vietnam recognised under International Maritime Law.

China has been using these "fishing boats" on a regular basis in an attempt to enforce  its claim to a number of island chains supposedly full of untapped oil and natural gas.  Vietnam has responded by holding live fire navel maneuvers off its coast near the disputed region in an escalating show of force that is designed to highlight its view on the matter.

As various foreign affairs experts weigh in on the geo-politics of the dispute one particular comment, made by Mainland born academic Wang Hanling recently, has grabbed the headlines.  In response to Vietnam's use of naval drills in the area he says,

 "If the big brother bullies the younger brother it is not good and is something that should not happen, [but] if the younger brother challenges or bullies the older brother, it's just ridiculous."

This comment demonstrates the gulf in understanding between the West and China in regards to foreign affairs.  The West wants debate on territorial disputes to center on aspects of Internationally recognized maritime law.  China in contrast tends to see its role in International relations, particularly in Asia, as a paternalistic father that  will deal favorably with its children, or in this case "little brother" provided they display proper filial piety or "proper relationship" in keeping with the Confucian view of the world.

One could only imagine what would happen if President Obama reacted to trade issues with Canada with speeches suggesting that "Little brother" Canada needed to be less belligerent to its "Big Brother" if it wanted to stay in favor within the family.  While this line of reasoning seems peculiar to Western audiences, it is a way of looking at the world held by a country that is quickly becoming a regional, if not yet a global, superpower.

This Sinocentric view of International relations held by China, while largely ignored by the West in past decades, will have to be taken more seriously as the Middle Kingdom expands economically and militarily in South-East Asia.  Long held International laws are chafed at by a China that had no say in their creation and thus feel less bound by their stipulations.

The United States needs to keep its eye on the ball.  As a global player with no territorial claims in the area its role as peace broker is needed now more than ever.  The smaller countries of the region are looking to America for leadership on the matter.  The last thing they need is an America that is war weary, debt ridden, and withdrawn. 

Macau trip post lost!

Had one of those crazy computer glitches last week.  I'd been on a roll trying to keep up with the blog posts here at Beyond the Pale and a few days back I spent about an hour writing a post on my recent trip to Macau.  It included anecdotes of a good time spent there as well as a little history of the 500 year old former Portuguese colony for those readers not from Hong Kong or China. 

Alas, when I had the photos correct and the post just the way I wanted it, I hit "Publish Post"...and then whole computer froze!  A sudden panic turned to relief thinking that blogpost saves regularly and the loss, if any, should be minimal.  Re-booting the computer however proved otherwise.  For some reason, nothing was saved...and for those of you saying, "Did you try such and such"  the answer is "Yes, I did...and it didn't help" 

My wonderful blog post detailing our stay at the Hard Rock Hotel, exotic dinner at Fernandoes, and the Vegas style extravaganza show "House of the Dancing Water" was forever lost into the digital abyss.  The thought of trying to recreate it was too depressing a thought to contemplate. 

Actually, I was furious... but rather than pounding on my desk like a madman and using language that my mother would disapprove of, I went to the gym and had an amazing work out. Now after avoiding this blog for the last 5 or 6 days....I'm back!  Here are the pictures from the post you never got to see




I'm back... and some thoughts!

I had made it a point at the beginning of this year that I would get much more frequent with my blog posts.  I've come to like this little trafficked corner of cyberspace and enjoy the interaction with new friends as well.  Though since the end of March I have have been traveling for business 4 weeks and in the intervening time I finished my University work to get my teaching certification.  (My thoughts on that process are forthcoming).  With those two issues pressing in plus the taking on of a new project at work (and a new baby at home) means I've been "crazy busy".  So the thought of putting even more thoughts to paper, or computer screen, was unthinkable.  In the last 7 weeks I've managed to travel to Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, the earthquake area of Sichuan, and all across Greece (and no, contrary to what you may have heard, I was not in Pakistan doing anything a couple weeks ago :)

So...some thoughts on things that I would have blogged on had I been around:

* The Royal Wedding- I'm an unashamed Anglophile who remembers being about 14 years old when Charles & Diana were married.  Our whole family got up at about 4:00 AM Detroit time to watch it together.  The wedding of William & Kate was just as beautiful and, I suspect, will turn out much more successfully.  As a family we went to a little reception at the home of some British friends of ours.  We ate scones, cucumber sandwiches, and drank Earl Grey Tea (which admittedly gave way to red wine as the evening progressed).  It was a fantastic event for Mother England so God Save the Queen!



* It appears that while the Royal Wedding was going on, President Obama was giving the order for Navy Seals & CIA para military to engage in an operation to eliminate Osama bin Laden.  U.S. forces entered deep into Pakistan entered the house he was suspected to be in, found him, killed him, brought him back to a U.S. ship, performed a Islamic funeral and then dumped his bullet riddled body overboard into the sea.  I don't usually celebrate the death of anyone and to perhaps say I "celebrated" would be an exaggeration...but I'm glad he's dead and I have no problem with how we did it.  I'm against the death penalty so perhaps that makes me a hypocrite...but thats OK, I can live with it.

* This kind of is an add-on to the previous point but an issue I wanted to blog on.  Do you think we can not invoke religion, and specifically Christianity, in every argument that has little to do with religion?  I was seeing Facebook and news articles where the lines of argument started out on the legitimacy of U.S. actions in the death of Osama, meandered into the views of evangelical Christians, which eventually descended into the Old Testament, Leviticus, and homophobia. It's like 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon.  Take an issue and somehow link it to homophobia in 6 degrees or less. I think debate on serious issues may be better served by not linking them to Leviticus!

Just some thoughts...oh, and I'm back

"Roughing it" in China

Just got back from a week travelling in China.  I had the opportunity to go to a fairly remote area of central Sichuan that you may recall was struck by a devastating earthquake in 2008.  The education foundation I work for helped rebuild a school in this area so we took a group of students from our schools in Beijing & Shanghai to go and do some service projects there.  As you can tell from my last post, I enjoy the Rugby Sevens alot so it took a pretty noble cause to get me to leave Hong Kong during this time.

Now I knew I was going to be "roughing" it.  This was a no frills trip to bless a poorer region of China and I told myself I was ready for it.  Hey, I have spent over 1300 hours travelling by train crisscrossing China before, mostly on what is known as "hard sleeper" (hard beds stacked 3 high with six to a compartment), I have traveled across Borneo trekking in the jungle and sleeping on bamboo.  I know how to "rough" it.

But if I'm honest, that was in my 20's and early 30's.  In the last few years I've gotten a little "squishy".  "Roughing it" these days pretty much means the outrage of staying in a hotel that doesn't have room service.

I knew I was in trouble when one of the other adults on trip asked where my sleeping bag was.
"Excuse me...sleeping bag?" I asked.
"Yes, didn't you see the e-mail that said we would need a sleeping bag on the trip"

Apparently I missed that memo.

So we had one night in the city of Chongqing before taking a three hour bus ride the next morning.  I was assigned the corner section of floor and the local staff where we stayed was able to rustle up a couple of blankets for me so I didn't freeze.  But sleeping on the floor of a clean room with spotless toilet was a King's Palace compared to what lay in store the next couple days.

"Nite John-Boy"

We arrived the next day at the primary school and it really was something.  The people of the village (as opposed to the Village People) even came out to greet us as it seemed that a busload of foreigners suddenly arriving was not normative in these parts.  All the boys were assigned to a single room with about 9 or 10 handmade bunks all up against one another, I'm told, for additional support.  So there we were that night, all sleeping on wood planks only a foot or two away from one another.  Laying there I couldn't help but envision myself on Walton's Mountain  and had to restrain myself from giving a "Nite John-Boy" to a gang of people for whom the cultural reference would all be but lost.

The toilets were the real challenge.  The men's loo was essentially 4 holes in the cement with no water flushing it away.  Likewise for the urinal.  Also there were no doors or walls (something we are hoping to address on subsequent trips) which for me was the real challenge.  Having traveled throughout Asia for the last 20+ years I am used to less than ideal toilet situations, but they always at least offered a measure of privacy.  I did not relish the thought of a student walking in on me while I was squatting over a hole doing "my business".

Even the sewer monster refused to visit...and no thats not water!

Fortunantly, my body was in agreement with my mind on this one and cooperated on Day One by shutting down all "bowel" systems.  Day 2 was a different matter though and I began to feel a pressing need develop that was not going to wait for my return to civilization.  I made a tactical decision...since sleeping on a wood plank in a room without heat doesn't make for a night of interrupted sleep, I used my 4:00 AM wake time to good use.  Knowing the bathroom would be clear I slipped on my flip-flops, grabbed my torch, (flashlight for my American readers) and headed over to the bathrooms.  

Even in the dark, I just had to follow the smell which even from the outside was overpowering.  Walking into this place in the middle of a freezing cold night was pretty spooky.  I had to stick the torch in my mouth to do the delicate balancing act that any foreigner using an Asian "squatty potty" is familiar with.  As my light beam danced up and down creating shadows on the wall I couldn't help but think that some sewer monster was going to jump out of one of the other holes, whack me on the head, and drag me down to the underworld.

Apparently, even the sewer monsters were turned off by this particular toilet...

Our Policeman assigned to "protect" us.

Also in all my travels in China I have never needed to have a police escort.  (Well, I take that back, there was another incident a few years back but thats for another blog post).  Apparently the area in Sichuan where the 2008 earthquake occurred is a sensitive area.  Because there has been negative stories about building conditions and the amount of people that died because of "dodgy" construction the Chinese government has closely monitored outsiders coming into the region.  When I asked the guard (our assigned policeman) if I could go out he had to say no.  After a little persistence he agreed but only if he could go to "protect" us.  When operating in China you have to distinguish between the "real" reason for something and the "official" reason.  Not making this distinction can lead to real frustration. 

Although my point of this post was to talk about my "roughing it" I do want to mention that we were able to do some great service projects for the school.  The kids were wonderful and so appreciative of our being there.  We met one little 9 year old girl who lost her parents during the earthquake and is now being raised by friends in the village.  She shared how she is happy again being able to go to the new school.

And the school staff went out of their way to accommodate us to the best of their ability.  There are no showers at the school so the cooks heated water in the kitchen so we could wash a little in the evenings.

When I finally got back to a hotel room in Chongqing I saw the toilet and shower when I opened the door and never even minded that they didn't have room service.

Return of the Gweilo

I lived in Hong Kong in the years leading up to July 1, 1997 when the territory was returned to China from Great Britain.  During those days it was common to see gweilos (a vaguely pejorative term given to Caucasians meaning at worst "foreign devil" and at best "pale ghost") holding political office alongside Chinese counterparts.  During that time members of the Legislative Council (Hong Kong's version of parliament) were just as apt to have a last name like MacGreggor as they were to be a Lee or a Chan. 

With resumption of sovereignty by China in 1997, any smattering of diversity, at least in the politcal arena, disappeared almost overnight.  The International flavor of Hong Kong was still visable in other city sectors however.  Business, religious, and  entertainment sectors to name but a few, still mixed the majority Chinese population with many other ethnic minority Hong Kongers to create a vibrant cosmopolitan fabric.  But in the political sector, save a few civil service positions, the ethnicity became quite homogenous.  (I recently saw a "gweilo" police officer and was surprised to be told there were still a few around)

Recently though a couple items hit the news here in Hong Kong that raised a few eyebrows. The first was that in an election last September, Paul Zimmerman, became the first non-Chinese elected to political office as a District Councillor when he was voted in by 60% of the Pok Fu Lam residents.  Zimmerman, who admits his Cantonese is poor, still saw a large portion of the local Chinese population of that district tick a gweilo's name in the ballot box.

This is followed by a recent South China Morning Post article that details British born, but long time Hong Kong resident, Andrew Brown's trials since winning a village election by a single vote in 2003.  Seems Brown has had trouble with one of the long time ruling families to the point where he has not even been allowed into the village office he is supposed to work from.

But "foreigners" winning elections in post-Handover Hong Kong??  I can almost see the movie poster now:

                                           "Return of the Gweilo"

      starring Joaquin Phoenix as Paul Zimmerman and Hugh Grant as Andrew Brown. 

An Oscar contender for sure :)

Christmas Shopping with Obama and the Republicans

Its Christmas time and President Obama and the Republicans have been out shopping just for you.  Using China President Hu Jiantao's Platinum MasterCard they have bought a mountain of presents for the American people I know you're just going to love!

You got to hand it to the Republicans, when they come into power, they know how to deal. The new plan they worked out with President Obama and the Democrats will balloon the American budget deficit by a whopping ...wait for it... 1 TRILLION Dollars!

Funny then how both parties had agreed in principal to address the deficit crisis.  The Democrats of course, want to do it by raising taxes, targeted predominately at "the rich."  The Republicans in turn want the deficit to be curbed through budget cuts aimed at social entitlements.

What happened though was that in mental abyss that we like to call party politics, somehow we ended up with lower taxes renewed and spending increased.  The thinking being, "Hey, why tighten the belt and make hard choices when our Chinese friends seem more than happy to keep lending us money."

A trillion here, a trillion there, sooner or later it starts becoming real dinero.

The deficit troubles really began to hit hard when President Bush decided to engage in two wars AND cut taxes. That made as much sense as saying to my wife, "Hey Hon, let's remodel the kitchen, buy a new car, and take a vacation overseas, oh, and by the way, I've decided to go to part time at work."

Then, rather than asking the American people to stand with the soldiers fighting overseas by making sacrifices at home, the narrative from the White House was "this doesn't have to affect you much at all. Don't make sacrifices and whatever you do, keep shopping."  This just reenforced into our national psyche that important things have no cost associated to them whatsoever

The downside of a democracy with a very large credit rating is that you can use that credit rating to keep showering presents on the electorate to keep them happy.  Its like these celebrities who you find out are broke, but still live a high lifestyle for sometime.  Their perceived wealth gives them the ability to live beyond their means for much longer than the average guy.  Thats America right now.  Its living a lifestyle in really can't afford and we now need politicians that can make some of the hard choices.

Either that, or we can end up like Greece where the hard choices were forced on them against their will.

Great Britain has done it though.  Finding themselves in an even higher deficit than the U.S by percentage of G.D.P.  they have instituted an austerity program program where they are cutting 25% almost across the board over the next five years.  The people there are generally supportive of it as they see, and can appreciate, the dire consequences for them if they don't begin acting now.

Obama can't seem to make the hard choices though because he has to get himself reelected in 2012...and so the Christmas presents keep coming out...

...even though they're all Made in China!

Nobel Peace Prize puts China "On Tilt"

In the 1998 film Rounders Matt Damon narrates the subtleties of No Limit Texas Hold-up poker:

A brilliant player can get a strong hand cracked, go on tilt...
and lose his mind along with every single chip in front of him.

In poker parlance to "go on tilt" means to so frustrate a player to point where they are not playing rationally. The other players enjoy a great advantage because the flummoxed player keeps throwing good money after bad rather than mentally acknowledging they lost a big hand, cool down, and play the next hand fresh. A guy going "on tilt" can be fun to watch...provided you're not the guy.

That Matt Damon Rounders line has been ringing in my ears as I've watched the proceedings surrounding the Nobel Peace Prize award given to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo this week. The Nobel Committee's naming of Liu for the prestigious award has managed to put the Middle Kingdom into full on "tilt" mode.

China's normally restrained and carefully calculated "soft" diplomacy was thrown out the window in favor of earlier, and more proven, ways of dealing with dissent. Both Norway, and countries that sent representatives to the ceremony were threatened with future punitive actions, Chinese nationals were not allowed to travel to Oslo for the occasion, and Chinese dignitaries labeled the award to Liu "obscene" and a "political farce". In China words like "Liu" and "Nobel Peace" were censored preventing texts and Internet searches from yielding results and news broadcasting the award ceremony were blacked out.

Ironically, if China had simply ignored or down played the award, most people, both inside and outside of China, would have remained ignorant of Liu Xiaobo's existence.

So why has China lashed out so vocally and let itself "go on tilt"?

Part of the reason can be explained in that China is a "face" driven society. Most westerners see "face" as the need to give someone respect but having lived over here for many years I'm beginning to see it as a much deeper trait. It really is part of the soul of the country. The Nobel Prize, although publicly ridiculed now by Chinese leaders, is really held in high regard for the prestige it confers. And in China, prestige is paramount. The country has been trying for years to get some of its "approved" writers awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature to no avail. Thus the awarding of the Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, whom the government has labeled a criminal, stung pretty bad.

China has in turn accused the whole event of being politically motivated. And you know what?

...they're probably right.

The Nobel Committee is far from being a neutral and unbiased body. Did they intend to provoke China? Of course they did and you know why?

Because they could.

Being a "face" based society makes China more susceptible to "going on tilt" as it feels compelled to respond to diplomatic slights that most Western nations can simply ignore. Hence, anytime a Western nation wants to "tilt" China, they mearly need to increase ties with Taiwan,  have the Dali Lama 'round for a Bar-B-Q, or you know, give the Nobel Peace prize to a dissident. There is no reciprocal action that China can have on the West that can provoke it. The West is not "face" based and can fall back on a yawn.

China is sitting at the big boys diplomatic poker table now but its at a distinct disadvantage. It's sincere desire to be respected in the world's eyes exposes it to pressure points that can be poked at by the other players ad infinitum.

Matt Damon goes on to say in Rounders:

Some people, pros even, won't play No-Limit.
They can't handle the swings.

China is seated at the "no-Limit" table;  it better learn to handle the swings fast because a China "on tilt" won't be fun for anyone.