Thoughts

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Being here has challenged my understanding of Communism, which was limited in the first place I admit. I Here, the rich get rich - mainly becuase they don't have to pay for anything as everyone is constantly trying to curry favour with them - and the poor either stay in the same state or get poorer. As a rule, rich people tend to be very showy and ostentatious with ridiculous expectations of the treatment they should receive. Even more ridiculous is that they are actually treated like the royalty they think themsleves to be.
I have read a lot about China in the past couple of years, from the days of the First Emporor to the Cultural Revolution and I know enough about other versions of Commuinism to know that the practicality rarely lives up to the ideal but I find it really galling to be here and to see it in action. It is the most classist society I have ever encountered and it would do my head in if I had to live it. I find it really sad and frustrating when I think about the injustice and grovelling and stupidity and real, grinding poverty and the complete lack of opportunity that accompanies it. Although, that said, if I think about some of things we allow in the UK it also makes me mad so really, I should probably just move to Mars.....

The other thing that is playing on my mind at the moment is China's one child policy which has, to my limited observation, created a generation of simultaneously spoiled and highly pressured children. These kids work so hard and have the weight of all their parents expectations on their shoulders. At the same time, they are cosseted and protected (especially the girls) to such an extent that I have met women in their mid 20s who are far more immature than teenage girls in the UK. Okay, I know I've only been here three weeks and can't proclaim myself an expert on China but my experience hasn't been the typical tourist one - I've been getting to know real people in China and delving into my brother's business has given me an insight into how things really work here. It's really very intersting and I think I might start an anonymous blog as there are some things that I'd like to write about that might be misconstrued if they were linked back to this town and this business....

And I can now browse facebook but can't leave any comments, 'like' anything or access chat.

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Comments

[ZahraT]

:-O
ha ha - just re read this - how miserable am I? It's not so bad, and like I say the UK is so far from perfect it makes me ashamed sometimes. I stand by everything I wrote in this, but just want to say that it doesn't get me down all the time!!