Eric's Beijing Diary

The language school is looking a lot better these days. It was torn up during the May holiday--really a mess when we got back from vacation. They have been doing a lot of remodeling. Added a bunch of classrooms. But they have finally gotten the place cleaned up. Looks pretty nice. I hope this doesn't mean that the rates will be going up. Probably not, because business is booming. This place is owned and operated by a Korean businessman. The attraction of it is that the schedule is so flexible. You can pick any two hours during the day: 8 to 10, 10 to 12, 1 to 3, 3 to 5, 5 to 7, or 7 to 9. Cost is 15RMB per hour, so 30RMB for a two-hour class. But if you pay for at least ten days, you get a 3 kuai discount. So you're looking at 24 kuai a day (about $3 US). They have a chart in the office showing which classes are offered during each two-hour time period. The chart shows which book each class is using, and which chapter they are on. When your ten days are up, you can either stay with that class, or drop out and pick another one. The classes are not graded--this is not an academic institution in the strictest sense. So while a teacher may give homework, you don't have to do it if you are too busy, since you aren't getting a grade anyway. In short, it is a language school for working people who really don't have time to go to language school. I think that is perhaps the main reason for its popularity. Another is that the school also offers business or student visas for anyone who pays three months in advance. So it is very attractive for folks who want to "check out" China, but do not have specific work authorization.

Reviewed the mid term examination in my PL/SQL class today. The test I wrote contained a question portion, and a programming portion. One of the students came to me very anxiously because I had given him a zero on the coding portion, which is one third of the grade. He actually did a pretty good job, and even added some unique features that were not required by the assignment. The problem was that I found another script that was identical to his. There is no way this could have happened accidentally. Everyone gets the same assignment, of course, but the odds that they would all solve the problem in precisely the same manner are small indeed. At the risk of boring you to death, I am going to show you the code, so that you understand what I mean:

declare
v_major students.major%type := '&major';
v_id students.id%type;
v_firstname students.first_name%type;
v_lastname students.last_name%type;
v_credits students.current_credits%type;
v_id_copy students.id%type := 1;
v_error number := 0;

cursor c_find is
select * from students
where major = v_major;
begin
open c_find;

if v_major = 'History' then v_error := 1;
end if;
if v_major = 'Computer Science' then v_error := 1;
end if;
if v_major = 'Economics' then v_error := 1;
end if;
if v_major = 'Music' then v_error := 1;
end if;
if v_major = 'Nutrition' then v_error := 1;
end if;

if v_error = 0 then
dbms_output.put_line('No this major error!!!');
end if;

loop
exit when v_error = 0;
exit when c_find%notfound;
fetch c_find into v_id,v_firstname,v_lastname,v_major,v_credits;
exit when v_id = v_id_copy;
dbms_output.put_line('Student ID: '||v_id);
dbms_output.put_line('First Name: '||v_firstname);
dbms_output.put_line('Last Name : '||v_lastname);
dbms_output.put_line('Major: '||v_major);
dbms_output.put_line('Credits: '||v_credits);
dbms_output.put_line('');
v_id_copy := v_id;
end loop;
close c_find;
end;

This is a simple PL/SQL code block that produces a desired output. The two students in question had both turned in this exact piece of code. So I gave them both zeros for no other reason than that their code was identical. The student who came to be was very distraught. He insisted that he had written the code himself without help. I asked him how these two assignments happened to be exactly the same. He told me that he had shared his code with another student using QQ (a popular Chinese chat client). I told him that it was not appropriate for him to share his code, that sharing code during a test was cheating, and that he was just as guilty as the one he shared it with. He said, "But he was my roommate!" He further remonstrated that he had not expected his roommate to actually copy the code. "I was just trying to help him"

After class, I went to meet my language tutor. I told him the story without the names. He told me that I didn't understand Chinese culture. "We Chinese cannot say no to this kind of request." I told him that was nonsense. "I taught in an American university. American students cheat, too. Cheating is wrong, and it doesn't matter what culture you are in."

So what are we to make of this idea that cheating is somehow part of Chinese culture? I, for one, do not buy it. Cheating does not come from culture, it comes from human nature. True, China has had a reputation for chicanery and corruption. But I say again, the problem is not culture. It is Godlessness. I suppose then, that you could say it is a result of the spiritual culture. But beyond this, it is a mistake to write this off to culture. The simple fact is that any nation or people that has lived without God, or submission to His dictates, will tend toward corruption. I have long said that the primary problem with Communisim is not the folly of Marxist economic philosophy, but the atheism encouraged by Communist systems.

This morning I was reading in the Wall Street Journal about the credibility problems besetting most Chinese banks. This is because many times, loans are given with no collateral to people who have no intention of repaying their debts, because of their relationship to the Communist party. And I have not met a single investor who has expressed any confidence whatsoever in the Chinese stock market. But I maintain, again, that the roots of this unrighteousness are to be found in the lack of moral accountability inherent in an atheistic society.

America, of course, has a different problem. America is a nation which once knew the truth, but has turned from it. America is a culture that is turning from light toward the darkness. More and more, Americans are inclined to rationalize dishonesty or shadiness by pointing to the desirability of the results produced by that lack of integrity. The recent "war" (America has not declared war since World War II.) in Iraq is no doubt the most prominent example. America's invasion of Iraq was justified on the basis of what we now know to have been, at best, an appalling presumption, and at worst, a complete fraud. Yet, you would not believe how many people have told me that this chicanery was justified because "Saddam Hussein is a bad guy, and Iraq is better off without him."

If you asked the average American if they believe that the end justifies the means, I would submit to you that most of them would say they did not. But the reality of life is that most Americans do, in fact, believe that the end justifies the means. "All's well that ends well." The recent democratic elections in Iraq have been lauded by freedom lovers the world over, and rightfully so. But I am betting on history. The chickens will come home to roost.

Just flew back from Guangzhou. Boy, it sure is good to be back in the North country! Don't get me wrong--I do like a good steam bath. But I don't really prefer to live in a steam bath.

I think Beijing has about the nicest climates of any place I have ever lived. I will admit, the middle of the summer does get a little humid--somewhat like what Guangzhou has been like this past week. But Spring and Fall are indescribably beautiful, and the winters are dry, mild, and sunny.

This morning, before I left, I was sitting by the lake there on the campus of SISE, having my devotions, when a young student walked up to me. She was an English major. She saw me reading my Bible...

"What book is that?"

"It's a Bible."

"Is it a good book?"

"Yes, it's a very good book."

"But have you ever read it all the way through?"

"Well, I have read it through in English, but not in Chinese."

The ignorance of scripture that I see exhibited by Chinese students is disconcerting. Not that American students or scholars have a better attitude toward the Bible. A professor at the college were I graduated walked into his "Bible as Literature" class, and said, "I don't want any 'soul-savers' in this class!" Nevertheless, the book is still studied, and regarded as having influence and credibility.

I took a mythology class in college. My professor announced to the class that every time he got a hold of a Bible, he took the books written by Paul an ripped them out. I believe it, too, because this guy was a little crazy. But the same professor said that the Old Testament historical books were absolutely impeccable in their accuracy.

China is not a Christian country. One should not expect to see the Bible accorded the same respect that might be normal in a "Judeo-Christian" culture. But such complete ignorance of the Book which has had such a profound impact on Western culture is hard to justify.

Sitting here at the "Darling Coffee Fort" on Shamian Dao. Shamian is an island in the Pearl River, which runs through Guangzhou on the south side. The community which surrounds Samuel Lamb's house church could be taken from the pages of National Geographic. It is the quintessential Cantonese neighborhood. But Shamian Dao is slower paced community. The landscape is dominated by large victorian architecture dating from the colonial period. Hard to believe this place could have survived all the cultural upheaval which has plagued this country since the early part of the Twentieth Century. The most imposing structure on Shamian Dao is the White Swan Hotel. I didn't stay at the White Swan Hotel; I stayed at the Youth Hostel across the street, because I'm cheap. But I did have the afternoon tea buffet there yesterday afternoon. The place is buzzing right now, because there is an Amway convention in town. And then there is the adoption crowd. Lots of people coming to pick up their new babies. Yesterday morning, Fengwei and I took in the Tuesday morning service at Samuel Lamb's church. We spoke with him briefly after the service. I had read his testimony since the last time I was here, and understood a little better his feeling about the Three-Self Church of which he refuses to become a part. I told him that I went to a Three-Self Church in Beijing. He said, "Three-Self Church no good!" I told him that I thought the Three-Self Church had changed since it's inception in the early fifties. The question, of course, is just how much it has changed. Although the Communist Party would probably deny it, the TSPM was widely believed to be just the first step in the intent of the party to first neutralize, and ultimately eliminate Christianity as an influence in society. But that has changed. The key year that sticks in my mind is 1989. Of course, the change was much more gradual than can be confined in one calendar year, but it was during that time period that, both in the Soviet Union and China, as well as in other areas of the Communist world, there developed a spirit of "resignation" among the ruling elite. Gorbachov expressed it this way: "The Communists were stupid (remember, Gorbachev was a Communist) to take religion away from the people. Trying to take religion away from people is like trying to take vodka away from people." I have not heard this precise sentiment expressed in China, but the general attitude is very much on that order. This change has happened so gradually, that many, even in China, seem unaware of it. In fact, the well known "Cross" video series also misses this point. The second video contains some excellent historical information, but there is one point where the narrator says that the TSPM exists as a cover for China's desire to wipe out Christianity. This certainly appeared to be true in the early days of "New China," But the narration is spoken in the present tense, and as such, it is simply not accurate. The Communist Party is not intent on destroying Christianity. Official China has resigned itself to controling religion, which is now recognized as an inevitable part of culture. In today's China, this is manifested in several ways. On the campus where I teach, there is a Muslim cafeteria. This cafeteria has two rooms. One is for ordinary people who want to sample Muslim food, or who have come to favor some of the dishes usually identified with Muslim culture. The other room is reserved for Muslim minorities who are not supposed to eat with "infidels." The Han are not allowed to enter this room. If you can imagine a cafeteria where Han Chinese are strictly forbidden, and that in the capital city of China, then you are beginning to get a picture of how China deals with religion today. You see, Islam is accomodated because it is one of the "faiths" which are recognized as "normal" religions. There are several. Protestantism is one of them. Catholocism is too, as long as the Catholic church in question is not loyal to a foreign power (the Vatican). How has this fundamental change affected the Three-Self Church? Well, in my experience, since the Three-Self church is clearly an attempt to control Protestant Christianity rather than to wipe it out, two significant things have happened. People who really were not interested in Christianity as an expression of genuine faith have left. And those Christians who really do want to go to Church to worship God have returned. Whatever you say about the Three-Self church, the bulk of people I have met in these churches are simple, Bible believing Christians. When I mentioned this change to Samuel Lamb, he said, "The Three-Self Church is worse than liberal." He said that if he registered with the Three-self movement, he would not be allowed to preach about the second coming. Well, I can't argue that point, because I have heard that charge from several places, but I have never been able to verify it. And it certainly would be a proper justification for any preacher to refuse involvement. So Samuel Lamb does make some very good points about the Three-Self Church. But there is also something he misses, and that is that the Three-Self churches have become, in many cases, post-denominational evengelical communities. I have a very high regard for people like Samuel Lamb. This guy spent fifteen years in the pit of a Shanxi coal mine during his twenty-year incarceration. He has paid the price. And he is spending his retirement years caring for the spiritual needs of hundreds of people. But what will become of these people when he is gone? I asked him that question. He said, "The Lord is coming soon." I got up to leave, and Samuel Lamb asked me to pray before I left. He does that a lot. This is a wise man. He is not hesitant about soliciting prayer.

Labels: Christianity, Persecution

Fengwei was animated at lunch today. He has been reading the book I loaned him. I picked it up at Borders when I was in the States during Spring Festival. The book, Chiang Kai Shek : China's Generalissimo and the Nation He Lost is a scholarly, and yet readable, journalistic exploration of one simple historic question, "Why did Chiang Kai-shek lose China?" It is a fascinating book. I showed it to Fengwei last time I was here, and he wanted to read it, so this week I am letting him borrow it while I am here.

The conundrum of Chiang Kai-shek, who he was, and why he lost, has occupied the attention of historians perhaps as much as any issue of the time. Different explanations have been offered, but he most significant and credible center around two key issues. One is the fact that Chiang Kai-shek was very slow to fight the Japanese as they were moving across China. Chiang always said, "The Japanese are a disease of the skin; the Communists are a disease of the heart." I have struggled with this, because in some respects, history has proven Chiang to be correct: The "force" that finally did him in was not the Japanese, it was the Communists. But the more I study this painful period of history, the more I am inclined to believe that their is some truth to the charge that Chiang Kai-shek was defeated, at least in part, because of his hesitation in fighting the Japanese. Chiang's main problem was that the Americans were not interested in coming to the aid of China until they themselves were attacked, and by that time, it was too late. And Chiang, because of his hesitation, lost the support of the common people, which the Communists, with their peasant roots, were very good at exploiting, and exploiting with all sincerity, because they really, really believed in what they were doing.

But the other main issue is the question of corruption. The KMT was notoriously corrupt, and this corruption seemed to extend to the Soong family, which was very influential in the development of China's history during this time. Chiang was tied to the mob in Shanghai. He was supported by "Big-Eared" Du of the Green Gang, who controlled the opium trade in Sin City. And the KMT soldiers were notorious for taking from the people whatever they needed. This book does not end the debate, but it supplies very good insight into the question.

Hillary has been bugging me and bugging me to fly on Air China. Hillary just graduated from Beihang, and has started her new job as a flight attendant. One might wonder why a graduate from one of the key universities in China would want to be a flight attendant. But Hillary is an English major. She just graduated from one of the top engineering schools in China, but she herself is not an engineering student. Even though working as a flight attendant is not the kind of job that generally requires a college degree, it is actually a fantastic career opportunity for someone like her.

Anyway, I have been e-mailing her my flight information every time I fly Air China, but so far, she has not been able to get on the flight. She was disappointed, so this time, I called her cell phone as soon as the office gave me the ticket. She called me yesterday to say that she got the flight, but she was so excited she couldn't talk. Today when I boarded the plane, I was kinda hoping she would bump me up to first class. Instead, she moved me to the back so that she could keep my coffee refilled. That's OK. It was a beautiful flight. Bright and sunny riding right above the clouds. The 737 is a small bird, and a little crowded, but the flight was very smooth.

And then there were the pictures. Always the pictures. I remember last summer, when I was in Dali, there was this guy with a little sheepcart who carried an umbrella, and would put it in front of the sheepcart every time I tried to take a picture. I'm guessing now, but I imagine the reason was because he wanted money. But he didn't say that. He just blocked my view with his umbrella every time I tried to take a picture. If he were smart, he would have put up a sign--"Five Yuan for a Picture," or something like that. He probably would have gotten some foreigners to pay up. Still, it doesn't seem fair that I should have to pay money to take a picture of something just because it is strange or unusual. People take pictures of me all the time, and I don't get a kuai for it. I'm thinking of putting a sign on myself and going into business. Five RMB for a picture. Problem is, if a young lady comes up to me and tells me that she wants a picture taken with me because I am handsome, that's worth ten kuai right there. So I would be giving back more than I got, and pretty soon I'd be broke. Better just leave things the way they are. Smile, pose, say "Thank-you." Smile, pose, say "Thank-you." Smile, pose, say "Thank-you." Everybody wants to be good-looking, but I can tell you from experience, it ain't all a bowl of cherries.

Well, it looks like the old dollar twenty cabs are going the way of history. I did manage to find one today, but I really had to look.

Sometimes I think China is too image conscious. Everybody is getting ready for the Olympics, so all the old taxis are being replaced. Right now, there are dollar twenty cabs and dollar sixty cabs. The dollar twenty cabs are small rough-riding Xialis. Not much for comfort, but they are cheap. The dollar sixty cabs are a little bigger, and they are now all being replaced with Hyundais or Volkswagen sedans. But the little red Xialis are not being replaced. They are just disappearing.

Perhaps I should not make such a big deal of the difference. The small cabs start with a base of 10RMB. Then each kilometer adds an additional 1.20 RMB (about 15 cents). So what's the difference between 1.20 RMB and 1.60 RMB? Four mao is about a nickel. But that is what frustrates me. Because the difference is small, people just let it slide. It's always that way.

I remember when the price of the daily paper (Wall Street Journal) went up from 50 cents to 75 cents. I was in the trucking industry at the time. I said, "No way. I won't pay it." So I started buying USA Today, which was still fifty cents. But after a few days in kindergarten, I got tired of it and decided to bite the bullet and pay up. So it is with the good people of Beijing. They will have to bear the brunt of China's image-consciousness re: the coming Olympic games. But maybe it's fair in the end, because they will have more than their share the government funded upgrades, including several new church buildings, that are being built in preparation for that event. We'll see.

I read an article in the Asian Wall Street Journal today by the mayor of Taipei. There is considerable wisdom in what he says, and the article is not long, so I will let you read it yourself here, since I can't link to it:

An Unhealthy Spit on Taiwan

By Ma Ying-jeou (mayor of Taipei)

Everyone knows that China and Taiwan have strong differences, but sharp contradictions and deep divisions also exist within Taiwan itself over cross-Straits relations. This was dramatically illustrated by two recent events.

The first was a protest against the Anti-Secession Law passed by Beijing in early March. It drew 275,000 people on the streets of Taipei on March 26, the second largest rally in the city’s history. But then, a series of trips to the mainland by opposition leaders, culminating in the recent visit by Kuomintang Chairman Lien Chan and the current one by People First Party chairman James Soong, have won widespread public approval. How can such different reactions be reconciled?

Ever since President Chen Shui-bian and his Democratic Progressive Party took power in 2000, an odd phenomenon has emerged in cross-Straits relations. While the two governments remain locked in confrontation, people-to-people exchanges continue to scale new heights.

On the one hand, there has been no dialogue between the two governments since the DPP took office, compared with 27 rounds of talks that were held in the 1990s while the KMT was in power. To be sure, the KMT was in power in 1996, when China launched dummy missiles over Taiwanese waters. But these days, unfriendly diplomatic tussles erupt with monotonous regularity and the threat of military conflict, whether through miscalculation or accident, looms larger every year.

But if the cross-Strait situation is one of the world’s most military explosive, the area is also one of the most economically integrated and interdependent. In the last four years, two-way trade has more than doubled to reach $61 billion in 2004, up from $27 billion in 2001. Taiwanese investment in the mainland increased by 150% to around $7 billion, from $4.6 billion in 2003, with the contracted amount totaling $79 billion since 1991. The number of visits by Taiwanese to the mainland increased by one third, to 3.7 million in 2004 from 2.7 million a year earlier.

All these figures are unprecedented in the history of cross-Straits relations and reflect the political/economic dichotomy that currently exists within Taiwan. One might say that Taiwan is in the midst of a personality split, with its “heart” and “head” going in different directions.

The heart is exemplified by the identity issue. The number of those who identify themselves as Taiwanese only has risen substantially over the past decade and now stands at roughly 45% of the island’s population. By contrast, those who identify themselves as both Taiwanese and Chinese has remained stable at 45%, while the number who identify themselves as only Chinese has fallen to just 10%.

But the head can be seen in opinion polls on whether Taiwan should seek unification or independence. Here there has been far less change over the past decade. Now, as then, the vast majority support a continuation of the status quo, with only a minority favoring unification or independence.

So while the heart now more closely identifies with a purely Taiwanese identity, the head remains strongly in favor of the status quo. That’s a distinction President Chen’s DPP failed to recognize last year when it misinterpreted popular support for a purely Taiwanese identity as a green light to move ahead with steps that were widely interpreted as taking the island closer to de jure independence. These steps included the government’s plan to adopt a new constitution in 2008 and to use the name “Taiwan” rather then “China” or “Taipei” in state-owned enterprises and overseas missions. That not only rocked the boat internationally, but brought an adverse reaction from most ordinary Taiwanese, whose heads told them it was the wrong thing to do.

Taiwan’s deep divisions were only too evident in the March 26 rally. Those who turned out to protest were showing, with their hearts, their anger at Beijing’s behavior. But many of the other Taiwanese who stayed at home that day were just as unhappy with Beijing’s unilateral and non-peaceful approach toward cross-Strait relations. However their heads told them it was better to nurture accommodation through a continuation of the status quo, rather than resort to confrontation.

This split is extremely unhealthy and the political/economic dichotomy that currently exists is neither stabilizing nor sustainable. The recent about-face by prominent business tycoon Hsu Wen-lung—a long-time DPP supporter with substantial business interests on the mainland, who declared his opposition to independence and his support for the “one China principle.”--only goes to show how painful the dichotomy can be even for those who have long identified themselves as purely Taiwanese.

The way to improve the situation is through bilateral exchanges rather than the unilateral actions to which both sides have resorted over the past year.

Beijing first reached a 10-point consensus on cross-Strait relations with KMT Vice Chairman Chiang Ping-kuen in early April and then a five-point “common vision” with KMT Chairman Lien Chan a few weeks later. Earlier, President Chen had separately reached his own 10-point consensus on cross-Straits relations with James Soong. Since these consensuses or visions are largely compatible, and in view of the highly successful trips by Mr. Lien and that of Mr. Soong, which is also likely to succeed, I see no reason why Beijing and Taipei shouldn’t be able to sit down and merge them together into a single, mutually acceptable and enforceable document.

That would reduce the risk of military conflict and bring benefits to Taiwan, China and the whole Asia-Pacific region. It’s time to move forward with bilateral exchanges to ease cross-Strait tensions.

Labels: Taiwan

A few years ago, the government of China instituted the "Golden Week" holidays. With these additions, there are now three official vacation periods for Chinese workers. The first begins with May Day. The second begins with the October 1st National Day (birthday of New China). The third, of course, is Spring Festival, which varies according to the lunar calendar. These holidays are supposed to be a great boon to the tourism industry, but this business of having all the working people of China take their vacations at the same time does create some problems with travel. I had a tough time getting a low cost room in Dalian, and I could not get train tickets. I decided to go anyway, but I only stayed one night. It was worth it, though, because I think I have figured out how to do this. Next time I will take my laptop with me and just wait out the holiday.

Dalian has a reputation for being a pretty city, and of course it is, but so is Beijing. I didn't go to Dalian to see a nice city. If I want to see a nice city, I can just get on my bike (as I did this morning), ride down to Houhai Park, and get lost among the Hutongs of "old town" Beijing. When it comes to day-to-day living, Beijing is hard to beat. But there is a lot of history in Manchuria. The reason for this is the wealth of resources in Northeast China. Because of this wealth, Manchuria has a very painful history. It has seen a lot of conflict, particularly during the first half of the 20th Century. It's so much different now. China's roaring economy has a lot to do with it. The prosperity of the present is burying the past. The young people bungie-jumping on the beach, and riding hot air balloons along the coast see a very different world than was seen by the people of this city not too many years ago.

Bought some flash cards today. I have slowly, slowly been increasing my repertoire of hanzi (kanji). I try to write a few every day in my little notebook. The kind with the squares that go across the page. I was using a regular pen, but Jean told me that I need to start with a pencil. I feel like a first grader. But if you're serious about learning Chinese, you really do need to learn characters. There are so many good Mandarin language books available now. Especially in Beijing. But the books are basically useless if you can't read. So, the process continues. And there is much to learn from it. Some of it makes sense, and some of it doesn't.

For example, it turns out that the character for "jia," which means "home," consists of a roof, under which is the character for "pig." I confronted my Chinese friends with this problem,

"OK, you guys. Who let the pig in the house? You should never let the pig in the house! That's why you had a problem with SARS, because you let the pig in the house."

My friends in Beijing were quick to pass the buck,

"No, no, no. That's Guangzhou. We don't do that."

So I confronted my friend from Guangzhou,"

"OK, I found out you're the culprit. You're the one who let the pig in the house."

She was indignant,

"SARS doesn't come from pigs. SARS comes from wild animals. There is nothing wrong with pigs. Pigs are good."

Well, she does have a point. Every one in China eats pork. Well, everyone except Abdullah. Abdullah and I go to a Muslim restaurant over by the South Gate of Beida that has the most incredible....never mind. Anyway, as Piano once told me, pork is the "default" meat of China. If the menu says, "niu rou," it's beef. If the menu says, "yang rou," it's mutton. But if the menu just says, "rou," you can assume it's pork.

But that still doesn't explain who let the pig in the house.

Heard a discussion on the BBC today regarding the 11th Panchen Lama. The 11th Panchen Lama was chosen by the Dali Lama. But the government of China did not accept this, so they named their own choice, and kidnapped the one chosen by the Dali Lama. The eleventh Panchen Lama, who is now 15 years old, has been held under house-arrest, or some such confinement since he was kidnapped in 1995.

It was interesting to hear the interview with officials in Beijing, who insisted that the boys parents really don't want to speak to foreign reporters. As if they could possibly express any other preference. But more absurd is the idea that an atheistic government could take it upon itself to select the Panchen Lama. One would think they would just disavow the one selected by the Dali Lama. But they chose their own.

This whole thing is just one more reminder that China is a controlled society, and that the government believes that it has the responsibility to control the belief patterns of the Chinese people.

Sitting in the Japanese restaurant at the Dalian Hotel. Dalian, known to history as "Port Arthur," is situated on a peninsula jutting out from the coast of Manchuria (Dongbei). This hotel was built a hundred years ago by the Japanese, and was used in the filming of The Last Emperor.

The strategic importance of this unique piece of real estate has long been recognized, and it was alternately controlled by the Russians and Japanese before coming, once again, under the domain of China after World War II. Foreign interest in this area is understandable. The Liaoning Peninsula, on which Dalian is situated, is blessed with some 2000 kilometers of coastline. It has a phenomenal natural harbor, and the most casual glance at a map of China would show the strategic value it's location.

One of the things that attracts people to Dalian today is the pristine sea air. I tried to get a train ticket, but was unable to, so I ended up flying. I always ask for an aisle seat, because I like to be able to get up and walk around, but this is one time I should have sat by the window. This place is really pretty from the air. Dalian has another interesting feature I have not seen other places in China. The policemen are women. Men need not apply. Dalian wants to project a friendly atmosphere to visitors.