Over spring break, we travelled to China to see its most famous sights and experience something of its culture. During our trip we spent time with several different guides, which gave us a small window through which to glimpse what it’s like to be Chinese. One thing that struck me was the great irony of China: Despite ditching imperialism, the Chinese are still ruled by autocrats interested more in the preservation of their power than in the welfare of their people. Instead of a single emperor, it’s a group of Communist Party leaders, but the end result is the same – repression for the Chinese people.
The Communist Party leaders of today continue that venerable tradition, using the labor of citizens to build for the government a strong protective shield – international economic power. In fairness, today’s workers are paid for their services, but while the Chinese government has amassed an estimated $2 trillion in foreign exchange reserve, the average Chinese household earns $3,000 a year. While China is becoming a serious player on the world’s financial stage, about 60 percent of its 1.3 billion citizens remain farmers, many of them living in poverty.
Analysts estimate that half of China’s foreign exchange reserve is invested in American Treasury bonds and other notes. You don’t have to think about this too long to realize that relying on China to finance our way of life makes it risky to pressure the regime in any meaningful way on human rights or other issues. As Maureen Dowd wrote in a February 10 op-ed piece for the New York Times: “When, exactly, can China foreclose on us and start sending us toxic toys again?” Like China’s emperors of old, its Communist rulers have found a way to use Chinese citizens to protect their power – in this life, if not the next.
What do Chinese citizens get in return? More irony. I met a man who was removed from the prestigious teaching job he loved for having a second child. In Tiananmen Square, I spoke with a young woman who, despite having a college education, told me she knew nothing about what happened there in the spring of 1989. When I asked people we met about the recent closing of Tibet, I was told, “It’s not closed.” I saw it argued online that this piece of news hasn’t been reported in Chinese media because the border isn’t closed to Chinese nationals, only foreigners. If the U.S. Government stopped letting foreign tourists into Alaska, is it conceivable that there’d be no mention of it in the press – even if Americans could still travel freely in and out of the state?
I heard from a man with personal experience that 95 percent of Chinese citizens who apply for visas to travel outside their country are denied. It’s a mystery to me how people can square in their own minds a positive feeling toward their government with the very clear and obvious fact that they are captives in their own country, but somehow many Chinese manage to do it. That, perhaps, is the saddest irony of all.
