Dueling human rights reports

On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department released its 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The next day, in keeping with tradition, China released its own report on human rights in the United States. I look forward to this all year.

It's not that the U.S. shouldn't be subject to the same scrutiny, but a report like this would be so much stronger if it came from practically anywhere else. My favorite parts:

1. The report repeatedly cites Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, organizations whose websites are inaccessible in China except by proxy server. The government regularly dismisses their reports on China, criticizing AI in the run-up to the Olympics for its "tinted glasses."

2. The report calls out the U.S. for restricting the voting rights of convicted felons - a problem, to be sure, but coming from China? Really?

3. The section on women and children mentions the hundreds of women killed in Juarez, a border town which is actually in Mexico.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton downplayed human rights during her visit here last weekend, saying economic issues, climate change and international security should take priority in the U.S.-China relationship. Human Rights Watch and American editorial pages were not pleased.

Both countries can do much better than this.

China Fun Fact: China overtook the U.S. in monthly auto sales for the first time in January.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Another Beijing Review article:

On the first day of Christmas, China gave to me
A bird that can say ni hao
A partridge in a pear tree has nothing on a caged bird that will greet me in Chinese as I pass by-although I worry that one day I'll try to engage the bird in conversation and find out it speaks better Chinese than I do.

On the second day of Christmas, China gave to me
Two lucky apples
China is understandably short on Christmas traditions, but there is one: Some people eat apples on Christmas Eve for health and good luck in the coming year. The practice stems from the fact that the Chinese for Christmas Eve, Ping'anye, contains the character for apple, ping.

On the third day of Christmas, China gave to me
Three plastic Santas
For my Christmas decorations last year, I went to Carrefour to stock up on colored lights and Santa hats that were too small for my head. If only I had known about Beijing's Tianyi Market, which is probably better supplied than the North Pole. Want a life-size Santa and eight reindeer for your nonexistent lawn? (Or maybe a Christmas giraffe?) Done.

On the fourth day of Christmas, China gave to me
Four shopping malls
In its typical pragmatic way, China has taken this major Western holiday and distilled it into its purest commercial form. The Christmas trees, Santa Clauses and shiny gift boxes in store windows all suggest one thing: shopping.

On the fifth day of Christmas, China gave to me
Five Peking ducks!
Who needs turkey or ham when you can feast on crispy, succulent roast duck? When I eventually leave China, I just might insist on continuing it as a holiday tradition. Turkey is too dry anyway.

On the sixth day of Christmas, China gave to me
Six yams a-roasting
Cranberry sauce is hard to come by, but other foods available in China evoke a holiday meal back home. A hot sweet potato or bag of chestnuts from a street vendor is the perfect snack on a chilly winter night.

On the seventh day of Christmas, China gave to me
Seven crowds a-shoving
Christmas is about togetherness, and you don't get much closer to people here than on the subway. My favorite part is when I find myself surrounded by fur-lined winter coats, spitting out tiny hairs. The subway is also a great spot to catch that other yearly ritual, the Christmas head cold.

On the eighth day of Christmas, China gave to me
Eight horns a-honking
It's not exactly silverbells, but all the hustle and bustle lends Chinese cities a certain holiday cheer -- even if a chorus of car horns at four o'clock in the morning shatters peace on Earth and seriously erodes my goodwill toward men.

On the ninth day of Christmas, China gave to me
Nine cellphones ringing
It doesn't compare to the 600 million text messages sent on Spring Festival Eve this year, but cellphones rattle constantly with holiday greetings over Christmas as well -- often between friends making plans for a big meal out on Christmas Eve.

On the 10th day of Christmas, China gave to me
Ten vendors shouting
In China, there is no excuse for Christmas shoppers stumped for gift ideas. From Hello Kitty thermos sets to Yao Ming bobbleheads, the markets have something for everyone -- and if you're truly stuck, half a dozen people will be right there to guide you.

On the 11th day of Christmas, China gave to me
Eleven carols playing
It's no surprise that Starbucks started piping in Christmas music in November. But I didn't expect to hear the same music last year in a suburban shopping center, far from the downtown core where most foreigners congregate. I guess I wasn't the only person there whose music collection includes A Very Special Christmas 1989.

On the 12th day of Christmas, China gave to me
Twelve laoren laughing
Christmas is more popular among young urban Chinese than their parents or grandparents, but older people gathered around a mahjong game remind me of the lighthearted spirit and good company that make holidays special in every country.

All together now: On the 12th day of Christmas, China gave to me / Twelve laoren laughing / Eleven carols playing / Ten vendors shouting / Nine cellphones ringing / Eight horns a-honking / Seven crowds a-shoving / Six yams a-roasting / Five Peking ducks! / Four shopping malls / Three plastic Santas / Two lucky apples / And a bird that can say ni hao.

Elections from afar

I wrote this for this week's Beijing Review:

Packed into a Beijing café on November 5, 6,000 miles and 16 hours away from the U.S. presidential election, the crowd excitedly began counting down the seconds until West Coast polls closed: 10, 9, 8… Earlier voter surveys had shown Barack Obama would win California, Oregon and Washington by wide margins. Together with the states he had already won, these states would give him more than enough electoral votes. As soon as the countdown ended, up flashed on the TV screen: “Barack Obama Elected President.”

It was a very different scene on Election Day 2004. I was at university in Canada, where we gathered in the campus bar to watch the results. For people who hoped Americans would vote President George W. Bush out of office, it was a disappointing evening. I could feel the cold, accusing stares from the Canadians around me each time a state on CNN’s electoral map turned red for Bush.

By the next morning, when Bush’s victory was clear, discussion had already turned to what would happen in 2008. American presidential elections are years-long affairs –Obama formally announced his candidacy in February 2007, followed by John McCain two months later. They campaigned for well over a year before they officially became their party nominees.

Last spring I followed the Democratic and Republican primary elections with my students, who were leaving China to study in the United States. We watched American television news every day as the fight for the Democratic nomination dragged into June. English class became civics class as I explained that Americans don’t actually elect their president directly. “Electoral college” and “superdelegate” went up on the chalkboard as new vocabulary words. It was among my proudest moments as a teacher when a student sent me a text message to say Hillary Clinton had won the Pennsylvania primary.

So when it came time to vote in the general election, I wanted to be ready and assist others as well – no matter whom they were voting for. Requesting an absentee ballot can be a confusing process, especially if you can’t remember your Chinese address. Each state has different rules, requirements and, most importantly, deadlines, sneaking up on some overseas Americans a full month before the election.

I signed up to volunteer for Democrats Abroad. We set up at laowai hangouts around town and scoured the surrounding neighborhoods for any voting-age American we could find. It was a little intimidating at first to step out into the streets of Sanlitun, clipboard in hand, and canvass voters: “Excuse me, are you a U.S. citizen? Hi, are you American?” The responses I got mostly fell into five categories:

1. “Yes, but I’m already registered.”
2. “Yes, but I’m just visiting China.”
3. “Hell no.”
4. Obvious incomprehension, followed by a response in another language
5. “Where can I buy that Obama T-shirt you’re wearing?”

Occasionally, however, I encountered someone who wanted to vote but didn’t know how, or who was fretting because his or her absentee ballot hadn’t arrived yet. “No problem – come with me,” I’d say. “So, where are you from?” It turns out the United States is well represented in China. I met Americans from all corners, from Wisconsin to Hawaii to Washington, D.C. We even registered an Obama supporter from Wasilla, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s tiny Alaska hometown.

For Americans abroad, the U.S. election was an instant conversation starter, something to bond over. It also reignited my long-dormant patriotism. Watching the presidential debates had an entirely different meaning here than it would have at home. Sure, the candidates were pandering to undecided voters and distorting their records, but they were my pandering candidates, and watching them contort themselves into every possible position to win over Joe the Plumber filled me with absolute pride.

Watching the election from abroad, away from emotionally charged political rallies and constant cable news commentary, also gave us a broader perspective. Here it is actually possible for Americans on opposing political sides to have a reasonably calm discussion. We may not see eye to eye on much else, but we can agree that the divisiveness in American politics has to change.

Likewise, McCain and Obama agree that America’s reputation has suffered in the last eight years. Hopefully President-elect Obama will be able to repair some of the damage. The world is certainly rooting for him. A China Daily online poll showed that 75 percent of Chinese people support Obama, while an online poll by The Economist estimated that in a “global electoral college,” Obama would win every country but four.

The long, long presidential election is over. Americans in China, thank you for voting. But don’t tune out just yet: The 2010 midterm election is just around the corner.

Just so we're clear

In case any question remains about whether the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is using the Beijing Olympics for political gain, here's the answer, from a Xinhua interview last month with BOCOG President and CPC official Liu Qi:

The success of the Beijing Olympics is attributed to the strong leadership of the CPC and the Chinese Government and the concerted efforts of the Chinese people. It testifies to the need for us to unswervingly follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and make the most of its institutional advantage that allows us to concentrate resources on our major tasks.

China Fun Fact: At least 8 million people visited Beijing during the National Day Golden Week holiday from September 29 to October 5. The Bird's Nest and Water Cube received 493,000 visitors in one day, while the Forbidden City received about 100,000 visitors per day. To put those numbers in perspective, the Bird's Nest holds about 90,000 people.

Tai Shan

During the National Day holiday I went to Tai Shan, a Daoist mountain in Shandong Province (photos here). Apparently everyone else in China had the same idea, because it was packed.

On Monday I took the bus down to Tai'an, where I met some friends who teach in Zhengzhou. That afternoon we visited the Dai Temple in town, then wandered around looking for a place to eat dinner.

The next morning we left our bags at the train station and took the city bus to the Tai Shan entrance, where we began the steep four-hour climb to the top. The plan was to spend the night there and wake up early to catch the famed sunrise, but when we reached the top the hotel prices were so high we decided to turn around and climb back down the same day. The pollution at the top was so bad it wouldn't have been a great sunrise anyway.

I think this worked out for the best, because as we climbed down we passed hundreds of people climbing up, hiking overnight to arrive in time for the sunrise. Somehow I think jostling for a spot on the lookout with all these people, cameras raised, would spoil what should be a peaceful, reflective moment. We spent that night in town again and I returned to Beijing the next day.

On an unrelated note, this article made my blood boil. Xinjiang is a resource-rich autonomous region in western China that is home to the Uighur ethnic minority. Uighurs are Muslim and chafe under Chinese rule that denies them job opportunities and undermines their culture, with some calling for independence. Over the years the movement has occasionally become violent, with bomb attacks as recent as this summer. The United States lists the East Turkestan Islamic Movement as a terrorist organization.

The United States detained about 20 Uighur men with ETIM ties at Guantanamo Bay, with no evidence they posed any threat to the U.S., solely to maintain China's support in the war on terror. Seven years later, the Uighur detainees have been repeatedly cleared but now find they have no place to go. China might greet them with torture or execution, the U.S. won't let them set foot on American soil and no other country will accept them because they're afraid how China would react. On October 7 a U.S. District Judge ordered their release - they were supposed to stay with Uighur families in Florida - but the next day a three-judge panel granted an emergency stay while the Bush administration appeals the decision. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino had this to say, according to a Reuters report:

The district court's ruling, if allowed to stand, could be used as precedent for other detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, including sworn enemies of the United States suspected of planning the attacks of 9/11, who may also seek release into our country.

So because the U.S. knowingly rounded up people who bore no ill will toward the United States and grouped them with people who do, the former will end up with the same legal rights as the latter - that is, none at all.

China Fun Fact: The Chinese version of "cheese" when smiling for photos is chiezi, which means "eggplant."

The Tomato Panic of '08

Earlier this year, farmers in China's Guizhou Province overestimated the demand for tomatoes and ended up with 60,000 kgs of tomatoes they couldn't sell. The local government's solution was to order public employees to buy 50 kg each. "Oh, China," I thought when I first read about this. "You are so zany."

But then I started thinking about the proposed bailout of the U.S. financial system, and parallels immediately appeared as I read a discussion about the tomato tempest in the magazine I work for.

Those who support the mandatory tomato purchases argue that the government has a responsibility to intervene to prevent further losses, even if it means violating market economy rules: "If it had done nothing in this crisis, the government would not be blamed for interfering with economic affairs, but the price to pay would have been a huge amount of tomatoes rotting in the fields."

Opponents say the farmers found themselves in this situation because they were left to their own devices, and that a better solution would be more government supervision (hello!).

But the comment I found most interesting came at the end: "Compared with guiding the restructuring of the entire agricultural sector, it's much easier to create a favorable market within a certain region, but this practice is in nature abusing the government's administrative power."

China Fun Fact: Big news this weekend as China conducted its first space walk. So here's a new vocabulary word: An American in space is an astronaut, a Russian in space is a cosmonaut, and a Chinese person in space is called a taikonaut.

Medal Count

In case you weren't following the Paralympics, which ended September 17, here is the final medal count:


China Fun Fact: It took a reporter 113 minutes to circle the 32.7-km Second Ring Road the morning after Olympic driving restrictions were lifted.