Eric's Beijing Diary

The German Connection. Germany has been in the news this week, mainly, I'm sure, because of the new chancellor. But all the discussion about Germany has highlighted a phenomenon that I haven't completely figured out yet. China seems to have a real interest in Germany. Perhaps what I am seeing is a reflection of China's interest in developing relationships with the EU to balance the US relationship with Taiwan--I don't know. But there is a fair about of news about Germany on CCTV. And I probably meet more Chinese speakers of German than any other European language. On the way home from the English Corner this evening, a guy rode up beside me and started speaking German to me. Wishful thinking on his part, I think. He had lived in Germany for 12 years, and his German was better than his English.

And then there is the Japan thing. Japan is constantly being compared to Germany. So many times I have been asked, "Why doesn't Japan apologize like Germany did?" Last summer, in a seven-part documentary on the Bataan Death March, and subsequent imprisonment of US POWs in Shenyang, the narrator began every presentation by comparing the number of prisoners who had died in German prison camps with the number who died under the Japanese after the Bataan Death March.

One hundred years ago, the Germans had a concession in Shandong Province. The pretty coastal city of Qingdao was sort of a German Hong Kong. The Germans built a brewery that has survived the revolution of 1911, two world wars, the Sino-Japanese war, the Communist revolution, the Cultural Revolution and every other conceivable political upheaval in between. To this day, when there is need for maintenance of machinery at the Tsingtao (old spelling) Brewery, the parts are ordered from Germany. Beer is not native to China, but consumption to some level or another is widespread, because Chinese restaurants do not serve water (unless you want it scalding hot). No matter where you go in China, the choice is between Tsingtao and the local brew. It's ironic that what is undoubtedly the most widely consumed German beer in the world is brewed in China. Most Chinese don't seem to be aware of this history. I would venture most Germans aren't either. But both the Germans and the Chinese seem to be aware of the importance of their relationship.

This morning, I watched a fascinating discussion on Dialogue with the German ambassador on the subject of reunification. It is a subject the Chinese have an obvious interest in because of Taiwan, but there are certainly many differences. The ambassador did not dwell on that issue, but he did discuss some of the problems that Germany had because of the great economic disparity between the two Germanys at the time the wall came down. And it has been interesting to watch the recent election between the center-right candidate, a Lutheran pastor's daughter from East Germany, and the Social Democrat, who is from the West. And the future of the new government is very hard to predict, because of the kinds of compromises that had to be made. When the two Germanys first united, there was a lot of talk about the perceived threat to their neighbors, no doubt drawn from the memory of two world wars. But it must be remembered that Germany lost both of those wars, a result predicted by Tolstoy in War and Peace:

Bonaparte was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He has got splendid soldiers. Besides he began by attacking the Germans. And only idlers have failed to beat the Germans. Since the world began everybody has beaten the Germans. They beat no one--except one another. He made his reputation fighting them.

Tolstoy wrote those words a couple centuries back. Would he express himself quite the same way if had seen the results of World Wars I and II? I don't know, but I think Tolstoy would agree that the unification of Germany is not a threat to the other countries of Europe. And it's interesting that the unification has been used as a model when discussing countries like Korea, or even the Mainland--Taiwan relationship. In any case, the relationship between China and Germany is likely to become more prominent in years to come, and the results of the recent election give hope that there might be needed economic reform. Merkel's finance guy is an advocate of a flat tax. There is one thing about Angela Merkel though that troubles me a bit. I found out the other day that that little old lady is younger than I am.