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.