After several blogs on China and HK, it is time to go back to U.S, politics. Saw some of the Democratic debate on CNN/Youtube with ordinary people presenting questions. It was actually pretty good and I think it got the candidates open up a little more. The one thing that interested me was the battle between Obama and Clinton. When asked if during the first year of presidency would the candidate meet unconditionally with the leaders of rogue nations such as North Korea and Iran, Obama answered that he would while Clinton said she would not. Later Clinton said that Obama showed his lack of experience in his answer. Obama fired back by saying that by refusing to meet with these leaders one would be continuing the failed policy of the Bush administration.

I am not sold that Obama has enough experience to be president but I agree with him here. A good president should not be afraid of meeting a rogue leader face to face. By meeting with your enemy you gain an understanding of that person and will be able to deal with him better. There is an old Chinese saying that if you know your enemy well then you will win every battle. George Bush has been using name calling as a way of diplomacy which is about the same as people like Kim and Chavez have been doing. Of course Bush has very little understanding of other leaders. Remember him saying he looked into the eyes of Putin and saw he was a good guy? Maybe with misjudgments like that he has to avoid meeting leaders other than those of ally nations.

I don't buy the argument that by meeting with these leaders you are lending them legitimacy. They are already leaders of their nations whether we choose to recognize them or not. By refusing to meet with them and calling them names it just makes it easier to arouse nationalism within their countries. None of these people are popular in their own country. But by having the U.S. as an enemy it makes it easier for them to get support. I mean if the greatest military power on earth is calling your country part of the axis of evil, wouldn't that arouse your nationalism? It would have been much better if you give your message to your enemy directly and see if he blinks. You will have a better idea what to do afterwards.

It is obvious that I like HK more than mainland China. I am biased because I was born in HK and spent the first eleven years of life there. I will always root for the HK people because the only thing that has been certain for them in recent history is uncertainty. From British rule to now Chinese rule, Hk people have had very little say about their future. They can only work hard and hope for the best. It is amazing that after all these years they are still the "Pearl of Asia".

Ten years ago HK was already a world class city. For the time being China has pretty much left it alone to run its economic machine. Since 1997 Hk has built a new airport. It is almost an absurdly big airport for a city of 7 million. It has shuttle trains to get from one part to another and still there is a lot of walking. It was built on another island away from the congestion of the HK and Kowloon. There is a train from the airport to HK along with a highway connected by a bridge. The view from the train or the highway is spectacular. Along the way we also pass the port of HK which is considered the most efficient in the world with computer automation everywhere. It certainly looked cleaner and more organized than the LA/Long Beach port which has resisted the latest innovations due to labor unions' fear of losing jobs.

The subway and bus system in HK are excellent. All the public transportations are clean and safe. English only speakers can get around the city with public transportation easily. Of course the hotel reception staffs are way better in English than those of China. The only problem in the hotels is that the rooms are very small. The prices of everything are similar to those of the U.S. so it is way more expensive than in China. The income average of HK people had surpassed the British in the 1980's and is close to those of Americans. Except for occaisional disabled people begging on the streets, there are very few homeless people in HK.

Since China took over Mandarin has become an official language along with Cantonese and English. On the subway train the announcements for each stop and connections are given in all 3 languages. When politicians speak they often have to speak three different ways. Many of the maids are now from the mainland and the busboys and sometimes waiters in hotels are also from the mainland and thus do not speak Cantonese. This was kind of annoying to me as I feel that Cantonese people built this city and now you cant't always be understood if you speak Cantonese. I can better understand the feelings of the angry white male who can't get somebody to understand them in their own country!

Just as there are backlash against illegal immigrants in the U.S., there are many HK people who are against people sneaking in from the mainland. Ironically the HK people import many workers from other countries particularly maids from the Phillipines. Yet they are trying the best to keep mainlanders from entering illegally. This is because the vast numbers that can possibly flood across the border. In HK people have to carry an identity card to show that they are residents or are there legally. We saw policemen stopped a woman on the street to see her card. She was legal even though she was from the mainland. My wife asked the cop how he knew whom to stop. He said he can spot people not from HK base on how they act. What about Chinese Americans who don't have their passport with them? He said most cops speak English well enough plus it is obvious to them who is a westerner even if he looks Chinese!

HK people work very hard. Twelve hour days, six days a week are not unusal. The education system is still hard. All my wife's friends' kids are having a hard time and are getting tutorial help. It speaks volume of the value of education when you see that in newspapers there is a section on education everyday that is as big as the sports section. And the sports section includes a lot of international sports. Of course they also have a horse racing section that is BIGGER than the regular sport section! So I guess gambling trumps education in HK.

Speaking of education. Like in the U.S. there are more women going to college than men in HK. I guess women are working harder than men everywhere. Boys are wasting their time playing video games just like here.

Overall HK continues on a path that was similar to ten years ago. I am sure the democratic activists and the press are being monitored closely by the Chinese government. So far China has keep its hands off. We went to HK University and we saw a large sculpture that was dedicated to the people who died for the cause of freedom at Tiannamen Square in 1989. If this sculpture ever comes down then we will know that the end of HK as we know it will have come.

Now that you have had a good laugh at my expense, it is back to analysis of world importance! Not really, but hopefully this will answer some of your questions about China.

It is true that China is making a great effort to improve its service sector so it would be more impressive next year at the Olympics. But most of the effort is aimed at Bejing where the Games will be held. As I said, Bejing has improved greatly with people much more friendly and the transportation system expanding rapidly. Ten years ago there were 4 subway lines, today there are 9 and by next year, 13. The level of English has improved a lot in the city but surprisingly at our hotel we found a bellhop who was more knowledgeable than people at the reception desk. Overall I think Bejing will be ready next year. It may not be as westerner friendly as Sidney was but I think it will be better than Athens and will have less snafu than Atlanta had.

The same cannot be said for other cities which are not holding the Olympics. Shanghai is supposed to be the past and future financial center of China, replacing HK. But I find the servce level below that of Bejing and nowhere as good as HK. The level of English is also behind Bejing. Even at the Bund where westerners congregate you don't sense any excitement. There are still people selling fake merchandise in the open in Shanghai. There were street vendors laying their goods right on the ground. This was hardly seen in Bejing and Canton. With the history of foreigners dominating in Shanghai's past, you would expect the government to be sure it looks more impressive now. But this does not seem to be the case. In another city Hangzhou the reception desk practically speak no English. My wife tried to ask where the pool was and they had no idea in English or Mandarin. Well, her Mandarin may not be great, although she got by elsewhere. But the woman actually thought she is telling her that there is something wrong with the water in the room!

Now Canton, being so close to HK, is probably the most prosperous of all the Chinese cities. Yet as I mentioned the reception desk fouled up our check out, causing us to be late and desperate for any cab. With all the business Canton gets from HK, many from non-Chinese based in HK, you would think that they would be better educated in English and services. The large number of non-Cantonese speakers is unsettling. Also the view from HK people, such as my wife's friends, that Canton has a lot of crime, particularly against foreigneers, is alarming. This may not be an accurate perception, but it would still be damaging to China. I did not get robbed as my wife feared, but the fact that a visitor think that it is a distinct possibility would not be good for the city. The incompetence of the cab drivers certainly would not leave a good impression to visitors.

Also while foreigners are able to move about anywhere in China now, they require a visa everytime you enter and reenter the country. There is a fee for each entrance of course. But more aggrevating is to have to apply at all. Going to HK, for example, requires no visa, just your passport. It is little things like that that still makes China not as visitor friendly as HK.

I never did try out the public toilets in the streets. Fortunately my illness affected me the worst in the morning while I was in China. So if I did not eat the rest of the day I was able to make it back to the hotel. I was more sick the first day in HK and I stayed in the hotel all day. I got sick probably from using a lot of hot sauce at a restaurant in Shanghai where we boiled our own food in a pot of hot water. The hot sauce was not refrigerated which we didn't think of at the time. My wife and older son also got sick, though not as much as me. The other three didn't use the sause so they were fine. If the timeline doesn't make sense, it is because we went from Shanghai to HK for one day as part of the tour and then we had to go back to Canton to get a picture of my wife's ancestor in the old house they used to live in. This is where the whole fiasco occurred. By the time we were back to HK I was almost back to normal. So I don't think I was more of a couch potato than while I am in the U.S. Although don't ask my wife that.

Next time I will talk about HK.

As promised a story that demonstrates some of the problems that still plague China. I have to admit I bear some responsibility to get us in trouble in the first place.

We were leaving Quangzhou (Canton) by train to HK. It started with a problem at the hotel where we were delayed because of the incompetence of the staff. As a result we took the first two taxis that came by. You see we were warned by friends that there are taxis drivers that were incompetent and some vans that were unlicensed driven by crimnals who may rob you. This is in one of the major cities of China! We were told that the green taxis were the best and had the most competent and honest drivers. But since we were delayed I decided to take a red taxi because it was first one. I figure that I speak Cantonese and this is day time and the train station is not too far away, I should be all right. I went in with my 2 girls and my wife and 2 sons would take the next taxi. My wife told the driver to go the the "east" railroad station. Now if I was at some place where they spoke Mandarin I would have checked the tickets and make sure I got it right. But I was over confident and I thought she said "main" station. Main and east sounded alike in Cantonese and I figured this being a train that crosses the border that it would make sense that it would originate from the main station rather than a sub station.

I noticed that the driver didn't seem to know Cantonese well. It turns out that there are a lot people from rural and northern areas moving into southern cities to find jobs. Whereas before almost everyone spoke Cantonese in Guangdong province, it isn't the case anymore. I was not worried still because when we got to the station a big sign said main station in Chinese. I asked the guy if this is where the train to HK is at and he nodded. Obviously no clue to what I said. The place is a zoo. In retrospect I know why the train to HK is at east station. This is so the foreigners will be more comfortable and avoid the crowd! I only saw trains to other cities in China but no HK line at this station. Finally I stopped a staff member and asked her. Of course she does not speak Cantonese! But I get the message that this is the wrong place and I then checked the ticket and realized my error. I started running to the taxi stand. But people were lining up to take taxis. I was stopped by a policeman for trying to cut in line. Fortunately he spoke Cantonese and I was able to explain that the previous cab driver had messed me up and I was running out of time. He sympathasized with me and let me go to the front of the line!

The second cab is a green one! The driver also spoke Cantonese! He told me that we were 3 miles away and that we can make it. Of course he drove crazily through traffic (not unusual in China). But of course the traffice was horrible and it was much farther than 3 miles! He dropped us off at an underground entrance with no signs. I asked him where is the station and he said go down the stairs of the entrance and we would be at the train station. I had my doubts but I had no choice but to run down the stairs. Well, at the bottom of the stairs was a subway station, not a railroad station! I asked the guard there how do get to the railroad station and he said pay the token and then walk to the end of the corridor, turn left and walk to the end of the next corridor, go up the escalators and you would be there. So I don't have to take the subway? No, he replied. So I still have to pay? Yes, he replied. Can I just pay you some American money and you let us jump over the turnstile? No, he replied. You must buy the tokens at the machine here. So we spent another minute or two buying 3 tokens and started our way down the corridor.

I must mention at this point that I have had diarrhea for 3 days and had not eaten for 3 days. I had very little energy to begin with. So after we went thru the turnstile and saw the length of the corridor, I knew I was in trouble. But adrenalin was flowing and I started out sprinting much faster than my 2 daughters. About 100 yards or half way through the corridor my adrenalin ran out. My legs became wet noodles, and my lungs were burning. In slow motion I saw my daughters pulling past me, probably laughing. As we turned left I realized that the next corridor was just as long with just as many people. My daughters waited for me at the escalators. People moved over to let us run up but I was too exhausted. I was breathing so hard that they must thought I may need cpr soon. When we got to the top we found the gate with 5 minutes before departure time! Alas, they stopped us. We had to pass the gate with 15 minutes before departure time. I was livid and I demanded to know what should we do now. The guard said go back downstairs and talk to the ticket agents!

Of course the ticket agent downstair told us that the tickets are not refundable and that we would have to buy new tickets if we want to catch the next train. Of course they do not take American dollars nor credit cards. Where can we exchange money? Upstairs, of course. Of course I cannot make it upstairs so I sent my daughters upstairs. I lied down on the floor and then it hit me! My wife has our passports. If she had gotton on the train which it seems to be the case as she and my sons are not here, then we are in trouble. I can't even get on the train without the passport. This is why they closed the gate 15 minutes before departure because you have to show your passport before getting on the train. If my wife had gone to HK she can't come back to get us today because it requires a visa to return to China. I am really in trouble here.

Suddenly a familar voice called out my name. I thought I had passed out and was hallucinating my wife's voice. But it was her! She had realized that she had our passports! When she got to the terminal and didn't see us there, she went up to the gate and was told that nobody can get on the train without a passport. So she knew we had not make it. Of course she is worried that the cab driver had taken us hostage or rob us and left us at some remote place. She decided to send the boys ahead to HK and stayed behind to wait for us outside the terminal figuring that hopefully we would show up at the front door in a cab. Of course we had not come from the front door but from some subway station at least half mile away. She came in a couple of times but with all the people with yellow skin and black hair she thought she was at Berkeley and went back outside. This time she was able to spot me because all my blood had gone to keep my lungs and heart working so my skin was as pale as can be. The equivalent of about 140 American dollars later, the 4 of us were on the way to HK.

As you can see just writing about this experience have exhausted me. So I will wait till next time to analyze this whole thing.

Some more observations from China and HK. Ten years ago Chinese t.v. in the hotel had CNN and BBC and maybe couple of Chinese stations. CNN and BBC were available only in hotels. While these stations are probably not widely available outside of hotels, the number of Chinese stations have grown to over thiry. In Shanghai, some HK stations and ESPN Asia were also available. The Chinese stations now depend on advertising for their survival and there is almost no obvious propaganda from the government. (more on that later) As a result the programs in Chinese are much better than before. The downsided is that you get bad commercials just like here. Kids are dragging their parents to KFC or McDonald and with the one child policy and the emphasis on sons, there are a lot of fat boys walking around now.

Even though there are no overt propaganda on t.v. now, I learn from this trip that you have to take what you see in the media with a grain of salt. This is the 10th year of the hand over of HK to China. It is interesting how that is being portrayed in the media. On CNN and BBC Chinese democratic activists would be brought on the air complaining about the lack of universal suffrage in HK and that China has total control of HK. On the Chinese channels inevitably when it comes to HK they would bring in a westerner working in HK who would say how great it has been in the last 10 years and that Hk will prosper as part of China. Of course neither side is completely honest. People in HK did not have complete freedom under British rule, something the BBC should know. It is just that the political decisions that used to be made in London is now made in Bejing. And HK has not survived the Asian economic depression, the bird flu and SARS during the last 10 years and still prosper because of the help of China. The continued success of HK is mainly due to resilency and skills of the HK people, whether they be Chinese or Westerners.

As a matter of fact China still has a lot to learn from HK. Despite the transition to capitalism in the large cities, many people in China do not have the skill to compete in a capitalistic world. For example despite being more friendly as I mentioned, many service worker do not know how to provide good service. A shop at the airport had about 10 employees but when my wife asked a question nobody could answer it. In an airport shop in the U.S. or HK there would be 1 employee and he/she would be able to answer the question. In restaurants there would be 10 waitresses standing around but nobody fill the teapot unless being asked. Despite trying to get ready for the Olympics next year, Bejing is not world class yet. Neither is Shanghai. On my next blog I will tell of something that happened to me to illustrate why China still has a long ways to go.

Wrote a post yesterday but somehow got erased! Can't figure out these computers. Just returned from China. I was surprised that I was not stopped by any customs agents. I thought that they would be stopping all physicians since the UK terrorists attack was blamed on physicians. Also my son Michael was stopped a couple of times because he had cut his hair and didn't look like his passport picture. My passport picture is the worst mug shot in history so I was offended that the agents didn't even take a second look at me. This means that I might actually be ugly! There are many things I want to write about the trip. I will start with the positive things I saw in China. Over the next few days I will write about the negatives and the situation in HK and how this relate to the world we live in.

By the time I got into Bejing airport I noticed that besides structural improvements there are many changes. Ten years ago there were PLA soldiers all over the place. The custom agents were soldiers. Now all the staff are civilians or ordinary policemen. There are many more shops and a lot more advertising. The propaganda posters were all but gone. This was true on the streets as well where communist slogans were gone and replaced by Walmart or KFC signs. Despite the pollution the air seem cleaner as less coal was being used. While there are still lots of bicycles, the numbers are much lower. There are more and higher quality cars owned apparently by middle class people. There is no question that economically China has made great strides in the last 10 years. Overall the people are friendlier, dressed better and smiled more. In 97 when I visited, I thought Bejing was about where HK was in 67. Now I don't think Bejing is 30 years behind anymore although HK is still way ahead.

The first morning we got into Bejing we were on our own to explore the city. So we walked around the area near the hotel. People were pouring into factories, offices and schools at 7 a.m. It was unbelievably crowded. Somehow we wandered into a park. This green oasis in the middle of madness. We found old people doing tai chi and kicking this thing I think is called something like hackysac? All of a sudden someone turned on a boom box and Chinese music with western instrumental filled the air. Bunch of old people started ballroom dancing! These people are my in-laws generation. I have heard them talked about learning ballroom dancing when they visited Russia when they were young. I guess the communists eventually stopped this practice as being a decadent western act. Now these old folks are able to practice this art once again, in the middle of this communist capital. How cool is that?