Another Visit to China
Yes, here I am back in China. My journey took me from Detroit to Tokyo and then on to Hong Kong. I spent much of the morning traveling into China and I couldn’t help but think about how stupid Barack Obama’s comments were in regards to English only speaking travelers abroad. Seriously, has this guy ever left his front porch? Many of you know that I travel around the world extensively. I have NEVER felt embarrassed because I only speak English and more importantly, NEVER had any difficulty getting around. There is no question that speaking multiple languages would certainly be helpful but it isn’t a requirement. Additionally, these people that claim that American’s are hated throughout the world need to get off their front porches as well! I’m a very social person and love to meet and speak with people about their lives. Every where I go, people love to hear about America which is not to be confused with loving all Americans. Does anybody like those loud and obnoxious New York City types?
One recent trip brought me home through LAX airport for reentry into the country. After leaving customs I wanted to recheck my bag which is usually a simple matter of placing it on the correct conveyor. I could not find a single English speaking attendant to tell me where to put my bag so I literally ended up taking it with me as a carry on. Less fortunate people that had large bags were forced to endure the painful guess work of picking the right conveyor and hoping for the best. This true story is a clear example of how Obama DOESN’T GET IT! I don’t think it’s too much to ask that the people of my own country speak to me in our countries primary language.
Here in China I am very impressed with the attitudes of the people. Since former chinese leader, Deng Xiaoping, opened parts of China to the world markets, the Chinese people here have many opportunities. I am visiting a City called Shenzhen where industry is flourishing. This area was started as a Chinese experiment in capitalism where businesses are mostly privately owned. I'm sorry to disapoint all those social liberals but capitalism is transforming more people here in China out of poverty than any other place in history. The devide between rich and poor is still quite large but that's better than everyone being poor (oops, I think that's the liberal goal). All my perceptions of China have been completely erased due to my visits here. The city now contains a population of roughly 6 million people and for the most part is pretty clean. The streets here are safe to walk at night and actually, for me, a real pleasant experience because the people are so friendly. Mass transportation is clean, safe, affordable and abundant. English is not widely spoken here although all the young kids must take English in school. Most of them know as many English words as I know Spanish words from my school years. You know, the basics, where’s the bathroom? How are you? Etc...
What impresses me the most is how hard the people work and how eager they are to do the best job they can. Based on my observations, most of the businesses here are literally run by young people ages 16 – 25. I’ve yet to see an older person supervising or managing. The competence of these young people is striking. They are nicely dressed, with no body piercing or tattoos, very polite and go out of their way to please the customer. I’m sorry to say but that is of complete contrast to the majority of the working youth in America. I’m told that Chinese pay is quite low, about $600 a month, for many long hours of work although you'd never know it based on how happy these people seem working. The cost of living here is not much lower than places I’ve traveled in the US.
So now you’re probably saying, “The working conditions in China are dangerous and environmentally unsafe.” There again you’d be surprised. The work environments are reasonably safe, meaning not over the board stupid regulation, yet work injuries are not common and they have many recycle and environmentally friendly policies. Its true there is a large degree of air pollution due to bus and automotive exhaust but even that is being addressed. There are many levels of wealth here ranging from the very wealthy, driving nice cars, to the poor living on the streets. This isn’t any different than a city of six million people back in the Sates. Each time I visit here I have no doubt that china will soon be the largest economy in the world and the people here seem to know it!
