The Good, The Bad & The Censored

Just in the past month that I’ve been in Beijing, there’s been 2 major shutdowns on websites due to internal political strife in the country. It’s irritating to say the least when because of a crackdown on porn in the country, there was a 12 hour blackout on access to Google websites; or when Facebook and Twitter are also now blacked out because of the violent outbreak in XinJiang that started two days ago. Then there’s the pullback on the government’s recent decision to install additional firewall softwares on all new computers sold within the country as a form of virus protection. Many objected to it, seeing it as another guise to curtail privacy. So the government’s eventual pullback was seen as a cornerstone, causing a minor celebration among people here. Many know it’s the government's usual tactic reminding the people who's boss. But they also believe strongly that the government cannot permanently shutdown these websites due to retaliation in the form of local public outcry and international criticism. In addition, it's also a common perception among the people as well as government that it's virtually impossible to completely shutdown all information transmitted thorough the world wide web anyway. So in essence, they’re merely temporary blackouts, intended to ‘punish’ these online companies or bend them to accommodate the government’s needs. There’s a prevalent attitude among local people of a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ sentiment as they realize all too well that politics is a sensitive topic with the government. Do people talk? Yes. But behind closed doors and with friends.

Though these were major news internationally, people living in Beijing itself are not affected, so it’s business as usual. In short, does the average individual support their government’s decisions on censorship? No. In fact I was surprised to find out that the CCTV channels I’ve enjoyed subscribing to in the States to keep up on going ons in China, are perceived by locals here as annoyingly conservative vehicles of propaganda with totally biased news reporting. They much favor the smaller television companies which even though are also government owned, are much more flexible and open and less biased. So what they do is tolerate it. Mainly because it’s part of life here in China. But the nagging concern though, is that nobody knows what is the truth really is or what is really happening, as censorship is as real here as politics is a dirty word.

What I’ve found to be most curious about the censorship here is not so much about how the Chinese government exercises their all-supreme vetoing power on every political move. That is an undeniable fact. Whats more interesting is that there seems to be a very real concern about the dangers of uprising among the masses against the government resulting in bloodshed and loss of lives, as has been demonstrated in their political history time and again. So in this sense, the Communist Party is very much aware of the ‘power of the people’ and use these measures as a form of extreme caution towards a potentially powerful dissenting voice that could drastically change the political landscape. It’s a very delicate balance. Interesting to see how they walk this very thin line and where it’s heading.

Another interesting thing about this country are the huge communities of new South Korean and Russian immigrants into China. Guangzhou is an African emigration haven. There are major suburbs in Beijing which are almost completely dominated in all aspects of life by Russians and South Koreans. This means supermarkets, schools, restaurants and housing areas specifically targeting these groups. I’ve been told that this is also true in other major hubs like Hainan, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Apparently, this is testimony that despite this irritating governmental control here in China, the business opportunities and cost of living to standard of living ratio apparently still far exceeds that of many other countries.

Interestingly enough, these communities are not very much favored by the locals. The Russians living in these Russian areas are known to be ‘thug’ like in the way they do business and are socially arrogant. Though China is not known for a high standard of living, for many Russians, China is the place to be. This is largely due to the historical relationship shared between the two countries during the Cold War period of the 1950s. Many Russians complain of heavier and heavier governmental control and crackdown on censorship of public information in Russia in the last five years. This has resulted in a massive influx of Russians into China for business opportunities in the past 10 years.

Many Korean teenagers who do not qualify for the local Universities in South Korea are sent here by their parents for school to study for the HSK entry examinations (much like the GRE exams) and then entry into Chinese Universities. Unfortunately, due to the lack of parental supervision, they have a reputation of being obnoxious, rude, spoilt and playful. Many skip classes and spend much of their time smoking and drinking in the bars. As a result of the much lower cost of living in China compared to South Korea, many families end up emigrating here. I guess for some people China isn’t so bad after all. For many on this side of the world, it is now the new Land of Opportunity.

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