Posted on 06/15/2002 7:36:33 AM PDT by Enemy Of The State
This is one area "Qi si wo le". I suppose that perhaps Im being a bit too nit-picky but irks me to no end when I hear people discussing their political views regarding China and their distaste for the "Chinese". (In other words, lumping the people and thier govt. together as one) Perhaps because my fiance is Chinese, born and raised and the fact that I have actually spent time abroad in China off and on, that I am able to distinguish between the Chinese govt. and the Chinese people with the utmost clairty. Chinese people are some of the finest and most genuinely kind-hearted human beings that I have ever met. It has long been my experience that if you ask most Chinese people how they feel about their govt. they will express thier strong disatisfactions with the govt. but then reply that there is no point in worrying over it for there is nothing they can do to change it.
Most of them are truly peace loving people at heart and simply do not have an interest in politics as long as they are able to live in peace and feed their families. I wish more Americans could undergo the rich experience of spending time in China amongst their people, perhaps many would become humbled as well as find a greater respect for America.
This was true even in the big cities.
The cops were all WW2 veterans, and would take no guff from anybody. They certainly weren't about to go easy on someone who deserved otherwise because of skin color.
Of course, the "foreign country" I refer to was known as the USA in the 1940's and 50's, before it was destroyed by the Left.
On the other hand, I don't begrudge foreigners their desire to read psychologically comforting stories such as this. Same goes for the idea that is always spread among foreigners that America is filled to the brim with guns. It's a harmless rumor - perhaps actually helpful - and it makes them sleep better at night in their pathetic places, knowing how lucky they are not to be in the Ultra Violent United States. Who am I to burst their bubble? "Yes, this author is right, we're all paranoid! Stay away!" ;)
We know this gal's full of bullscat, but the article she wrote is not for American consumption- it is for the consumption of English-speaking Chinese. Here's another amusing bit the person or persons by the alias of Elyse Singleton has written, although she forgets that much of the reason the Chinese are resourceful is because there is not an abundance of food there and what there is is costly. Chinese get thrown out of apartments at will, even if they had a sort of co-ownership agreement wherein they have placed part of their wages. For such people, choice in food is a luxury. Funny how she doesn't wonder why that is:
Pets loved and relished
By Elyse Singleton, Shanghai Star. 2002-05-02
I swear the frog was looking at me. All the other frogs in the tank seemed complacent. They were motionless, eyes closed. But this one was frantic. Every now and then he would make an attempt at escape. On realizing the futility of his mission, he would return to staring at me. Our eyes locked. His pleaded: "Save me."
Live animals on display in restaurants can be off-putting. I understand that the food that ends up on one's table is guaranteed to be fresh (although some of these fish look under the weather at times). But I harbour a squeamishness when it comes to such a reminder of where dinner comes from.
In the West, we tend to err on the side of delicacy. When we serve our dishes, they rarely resemble whatever animal they came from. It's not common to see a recognizable body part. Even fish are transformed from a mass of scales, bones, eyes and heads into a neat, inoffensive and anonymous fillet. We even have a selection of euphemisms. Pig is pork or bacon. Cow is beef. Sheep's stomach lining is tripe. We alienate ourselves to assuage our guilt.
I'm mainly vegetarian, but I indulge in the odd seafood dish. I feel bad and responsible when I see the array of creatures on offer. It's like a mini-death row. Call me over-sensitive or accuse me of possessing a fevered imagination, but I have seen a chicken trembling on its way to its death.
For selection of animals, Guangzhou takes the cake. Restaurants resemble pet shops. Cages contain snakes, rabbits, dogs, chickens and cats. I guess it's a question of attitude. My students were asked to write about which animal they thought made the best pet. Aside from the usual qualities such as loyalty, gentleness or beauty, they rated taste and flavour as worthwhile attributes.
Sometimes it seems cruel. For example, killing a snake at the table and draining its blood for the spectators. In Guangzhou, I was disturbed by what can only be described as a turtle funeral pyre. In a shop window, a large pile of turtles was slowly roasting. I was unable to discern whether or not they were dead when they were placed there, but I have my doubts.
The Chinese are resourceful, they certainly don't waste anything. Take the pig. Every single part of that animal from lips and snout to tail are incorporated into some dish. It's the same with chickens. In the past, I did not deeply consider chicken's feet. However, if I had chosen to contemplate them, they would have definitely ended up on my very long list entitled "inedible". They are hardly fleshy, they are ugly. Sitting there, all scrawny and wrinkled complete with nails. Yet here they're a snack. Give me a muesli bar any day.
Every culture is different. Yet when I felt that frog's eyes on me, I felt a long way from home.
else_7@hotmail.com
Well, she is living in China now.
Anyone who cycles home at night should fear being hit by a pickup truck.
This is so obvious that it makes me doubt that the writer ever lived in the US.
You know, I used to hear ALL the time during the Cold War that, "Well, the Russian PEOPLE are the greatest/they are really good people, but their Soviet Government is what stinks." We could empathize with their lot because they looked like us in many respects (if you are a white American').
You really don't often hear such de-linking of the people and their communist oppressors in China. I have only one plausible explanation for that.
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