China

When I get to the office today, one of my tasks will be to purchase tickets for a business trip to China scheduled for September. I will then pass the flight information to the home office. The home office will procure an invitation letter for me which will then allow me to apply for and obtain the visa required in order to enter China.

This will be my second trip to China. I went for the first time in February of 2009. Unlike the first trip, I am looking forward to going this time.

Prior to my first trip, I had a lot of preconceived notions of what to expect when I got there. I anticipated that the hotel would have rooms which were small, dingy, uncomfortable, and quite possibly a health hazard. The food would be inedible and dangerous. The streets would be narrow and clogged with ox-drawn carts. The people would have the lifeless faces of worker drones. I fully expected a goon in military dress to confiscate my Gideon’s pocket New Testament and haul me off to a reeducation camp.

Upon arriving at Shanghai Pudong airport, the company van whisked us to the hotel. The minute I entered the hotel I realized it was equal to the best hotels I had ever occupied. Unlike the European hotels at which I have stayed, the bed was a king size “American” bed. There were only a few clues which prevented me from thinking I was in a Houston Marriot.

Our host collected us for an evening meal. We went to an Indian restaurant. As we exited the cab, we entered a shopping area which had a McDonald’s, a KFC, a Pizza Hut, a Papa John’s, and a Subway. I joked with our host that all China needed was a lawyer to sue McDonald’s and it would be America. How was I to know that two days later I would enter a cab which would have an advertisement for a lawyer staring at me from the back of the headrest?

The food was fantastic. The worst meal was pizza from a Howard Johnsons. It seems the Chinese like their pizza sauce on the sweet side. It reminded me of catsup. It was far from inedible, just different. I was stunned by the quantity. Most meals we left more food on the table than we consumed. And we consumed a lot. I asked if the leftovers would be given to the poor. I was told it would be thrown in the trash.

I did not see an ox-drawn cart while I was there. The wide streets were clogged with automobiles. I learned that the Chinese people are hard workers. The harder and smarter they work, the richer they become. They will initially purchase a more affordable car. There were a lot of Ford Focus and Chevy Malibu types running around. The goal is to move up the car ladder. A black or dark blue Buick Lacrosse would be a stepping stone car. To be honest, I had never seen a Buick Lacrosse until I went to China. It wasn’t until my return to the States that I realized they actually sold them here. From the Buick, the Chinese may then graduate to a black Lexus. The goal is to own a black Mercedes.

I am still not clear about religion in China. We hear a lot of negative reports in the States. All I can do is report what I saw while I was there. There was a bible in the nightstand by the bed at the hotel. Inside the front cover there was information that it was placed there by a Bible Society. The Gideon name was not mentioned. The Bible was in English and Chinese. Additionally, the map of the city which is produced by the government showed the locations of Christian churches in Shanghai. Granted, it also showed the locations of Mosques and Temples. In America the Mosques and Temples would have been shown but the ACLU would have assured that the Christian churches would be excluded.

There is still a lot I don’t understand. However, from what I have pieced together from information given to me by my Chinese co-workers and what I have personally observed, I have drawn a conclusion. It seems that the Chinese government officials allow and even encourage personal initiative which results in wealth building. When the people prosper, the government officials prosper.

The down side seems to be that if a government official is corrupt, the Chinese cannot vote them out of office. This differs from the United States where it seems that we will not vote them out of office. I must do more research before I decide which system is worse. Maybe the American voters will do the right thing this November.