The sprawling metropolis' of Shanghai and Beijing, and the almost completely reclaimed Hong Kong, are testiment to that. But China is at a crossroads in many ways. Mao Zedong would probably be turning in his grave if he knew the direction his country was taking today. The speed at which it is clearly hurtling towards domination of the financial world and a place at the head of the globalisation table, is plain to see. In 1921 Mao, a library assistant, and his young revolutionary colleagues met in Shanghai for the first time, and the manifesto was clear; The people should have control and ownership all of things Chinese and no one should be more important than the republic. Based on the theories of Marx and Engels, the Communist Party of China (CPC) was formed and are still very much in power today under the leadership of Ju Hintao. However, the focus has shifted to economic reform and wealth generation, trends seen in Cuba and other "red' countries around the world. Perhaps this is an admission and realisation that human nature is such that it will not let all humans be equal. Greed and money are too powerful for that.
The centre of Shanghai is a classic example of the crossroads the republic is at. The Huangpu rivers flows through the centre of Shanghai and a walkway laongit, known as The Bund, is a very pleasant way to see the city. On one side of the river is a long stretch of beautfiul old buildings, many of them art-deco in style, which look quite beautiful. The other side of the river is the City and along with numerous sky scrapers, China's tallest building, The Shanghai World Financial Centre (looks like a big bottle opener if you ask me). This symbolism was striking to me and reflected where I see China right now. Its on the cusp of crossing the river from the old ways to the new and it will be fascinaiting to see who is willing and who digs in their heals.
Chairman Mao may not have expected his country to go this way when he and his contempories met some 89 years ago, but I also wonder whether he could imagine the pain and heartache his policies caused the millions of people who refuted the party line over the years. The museum of the first meeting of the CPC is set up in a way where you can't help feel they were great young thinkers who wanted a new beginning for the country they loved. There was not a mention of the "Iron-fist" (reference: Chris Jarrey) with which the party ruled over the years, not surprisingly of course.
A walk through Tian'anmen Square in Beijing is a strange and somewhat disturbing one. Its soulless and dull facade cannot hide the pictures in the mind's eye of the demonstrations in 1989 and particularly the man standing in front of the tank, then laying down in front of it. The protests were about the governments over-zealous and heavy-handed influence in peoples lives and was triggered by the death of a party official who was popular with the people. The way the government and the army dealt with the increasingly hot headed situation was to murder somewhere between 500 and 3000 people, depending which report you read. Yet, despite all this it is very clear to me that the party and particularly "The Chairman" Mao are still very popular in many parts of China. I have seen many posters and photos of Mao on the walls of restaurants hotels and peoples homes, in fact he has almost become a retro symbol with is statue being soled in many markets and shops. I find it hard to correlate the clear popularity of the man with the history of his regime. I also can't dispute this may all be a farce demonstrtaing the power the party still has over it's people but China is a very complex place and a month travelling around it isn't enough to truly get a grip all these things.
One of the major challenges for China now to is to engage the rural areas. The country's population is about 80% rural (that's 1 billion people!) and many provinces are relatively poor and have little or no access to the services and benefits a city dweller has. A good example of this is the situation for China's people with disabilities. The 2008 Paralympics and current Asian Para games have had a positive effect on raising the profile of this huge group of people. During a press conference I watched recently, the organisers of the Asian Para games talked about the issues facing the government today. There are 83 million people with a disability in China, 80% of these live in rural areas and have poor access to services. One representative talked about the organisation of the games being more difficult that the Asian Games or Olympics, prior to it. This is due to the challenge of accomodating so many people with particular needs, in a city (Guangzhou) which, much like the rest of China's cities, have had no thought for access and social inclusion for disabled people in their development and architecture over the years. It's a massive challenge and one which I believe will be a litmus test in the future if China really is to call itself a "modern society".
So the country which can call itself the "oldest civilisation on earth" is becoming a new one. I loved China and would love to go back one day and I will follow it's journey with great interest. I sincerely hope the skeletons in the cupboard re: human rights violations will be swept clean as at this time there is still a huge question mark. According to Amnesty International, in 2008, there were still 180 prisoners being held for protesting about what they beleived, in 1989 in Tian'anmen Square. This can't be the actions of a government of the modern day, and as Confucius did actually say "An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger" (Confucius Circa 500BC).
As I write I am on the island of Koh Ya Noi in Thailand. I was unable to blog in China as the site is blocked. Our 8000km trip round China was amazing and I would recommend anyone to go there. For me now though there is a beach and a cocktail waiting. Merry Christmas.
Ps. No photos this time.. it's a long story but the memory card with our China photos on didn't arrive in Thailand with us. It is very sad and annoying but things like this happen and we are still alive so onwards and upwards!
