China: Lack of Freedom

When we touched down in China, I soon realized that I couldn’t check my email, post on Facebook or even Google search without using the VPN (virtual private network) to pretend I was in Miami.  The Chinese government is so strict in limiting its citizens, you cannot use many different online tools we might take for granted in the US.  With a VPN, we can access all of these tools we normally couldn’t in China. 

By coming to China I know that there is no freedom of speech, press, assembly and religion.  I recently read 1984 by George Orwell, and I realized that modern day China is much like the world depicted by 1984.  The government is always watching.  Security is tight when trying to get into Tiananmen Square, the most important in the country.  You need to wait in line next to rows of police, then walk through a metal detector and get your stuff scanned.  My mom made me read a couple of articles in the Global Times, the English newspaper run by the government.  I read an editorial that says Beijing is not interfering with Hong Kong’s democracy.  I think that “One Country. Two Systems”(OCTS) is hard to implement.  OCTS means that Hong Kong still has a capitalist economy but is politically controlled by Beijing.   I think it’s hard to have to listen to a city many miles away from yours, and still have your own economy. 

Personally, I wouldn’t want to live in China.  Besides the fact that everyone speaks Chinese, you can’t check Facebook or use Google products.  I would feel constrained with no freedom of speech and press.  The religion part doesn’t bother me as much. 

Hong Kong

"Wow this kinda looks like a big Chinatown," was the first thing I said as I sat in the back seat of an air-conditioned taxi next to my sister and my mom, staring at the world outside.  There were Chinese signs with English translations, bakeries with delicious looking foods, run down shops, and both Mandarin and English being spoken.  So there I was, staring at a whole new continent, and the only thing I could think of was how much it looked like Chinatown.

Almost everything I imagined Hong Kong to be was exactly the opposite.  I thought it would be a poor not-so-modern city, but the tall glass buildings and banks proved me wrong.  I thought it would be crowded with not an inch of space to yourself, but the streets proved otherwise. While crowded, the streets are not uncomfortable.  I thought there would be little to no cars.  But the stores filled with Ferraris, Rolls-Royce's and Cadillacs proved me wrong.

I've only been here for a day and I'm looking forward to the arrival of my American cousins, meeting my Chinese cousins, hiking on Victoria Peak, and taking the bullet train to Changsha.