From: "Jim"
To: "Patrick"
Sent: Monday, May 04, 1998 8:20 AM
Subject: Re: eJournal 4.010 :: Shanghai'd in Shanghai.

A couple of thoughts for you. Although Mao wrote a great deal about the proletariat, he and the elite of the party certainly did NOT live like them. Al least not after they came to power. Somehow in all communist nations the party elites were more equal than the masses and lived a much better life style. That said I also think in many of those countries, especially Russia, the gap between the top and bottom was considerably narrowed and the lot of the bottom rung greatly improved. Its just at some point revolutionary zeal becomes the dogma of the new aristocracy. At that point maintaining personal privilege and promoting your own family becomes more important. Somehow the children of high officials seem better suited to senior office than the masses too. Human nature, wonderful thing eh?

Another thought, although the party is still quite repressive of political thought and expression, how intrusive is it into the daily lives of the people in either the cities or the countryside? The numbers of dissidents that we know about seems pretty small compared to the 1 billion population of China. I suspect one could argue that compared to many Central or Latin American 'western' governments, the level of oppression and violence is much lower per capita. As I think is the case in Cuba where arbitrary executions, death squads and torture seem to be a pretty low levels. Locking up dissident voices in very unpleasant places yes, but taking them out at night and shooting them in the back of the head no. Or beating to death a Catholic bishop who blows the whistle on human rights abuses. (Last week in Central America, Guatemala or El Salvador, I firget which) Of course as they are still communists, they are still the enemy. The old terrorist vs freedom fighter argument, same acts different lens.

Anyway, enough of my tirade, have fun. - Jim

PS in case you are not getting hockey results, Montreal, Ottawa and Buffalo upset Pittsburgh, Jersey and Philly in round one, Wash beat Boston, Detroit beat Phoenix, Dallas beat San Jose and Edmonton-Colorado play game 7 tonight. Baseball started too but as an ex-American resident, i assume you don't care about it as I don't.

From: "patrick jennings"
To: "Jim"
Sent: Monday, May 04, 1998 11:47 PM
Subject: Re: eJournal 4.010 :: Shanghai'd in Shanghai.

<grin> China Daily publishes NHL results, and usually recaps two or three of the games (though NBA and European Football got the column space this week. However, I didn't know the outcome of the Sunday games. Gotta love those early round upsets.

Baseball doesn't count until September. It's not really worth watching until October.

<smile> I'm trying to lay off the politics and history--my constituency has spoken. I'm saving up for "Mao's Little Red Book" which will be coming in a couple more weeks. In any case, your analysis differs very little from mine, or Orwell's for that matter.

As for intrusiveness, I have been pointedly asked to *not* write about certain events in personal histories. Apparently, some members of the CPC still care what is said by the population, enough that the population is concerned for reprisals. Not, as you say, a bullet in the brain, but unpleasantry nonetheless. I've also spoken with several people who were present at Tienanmen in 1989. Most of them now consider the demonstration a 'waste of time' and energy. Politics and struggle do not interest them. So, when I am told "Let bygones be bygones" it means several things: the past is too painful to recall; the past is not safe to recall; the past proved nothing could be done to alter the future.

Under these conditions, a bullet is hardly necessary.

I haven't been in South America yet, but I've been all over South-East Asia. The living conditions of rural Chinese are quickly being surpassed by the rural Vietnamese. That in itself is a strong statement.

Cheers,

Patrick.

From: "Jim"
To: "Patrick"
Sent: Monday, May 04, 1998 12:45 PM
Subject: Re: eJournal 4.010 :: Shanghai'd in Shanghai.

Ya gotta just love high tech sometimes. Here we are swapping emails within an hour, me in an office in Vancouver and you on a portable in Beijing!


From: "patrick jennings"
To: "Jim"
Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 1998 3:43 AM
Subject: Re: eJournal 4.010 :: Shanghai'd in Shanghai.

<'grin> Sure beats postcards.

The other Jim and I once debated the relative merits of bell hooks' and Naomi Wolf's versions of feminism. I was in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysian Borneo and he in Vancouver. We traded about 3 or 4 emails each over the course of the day (my evening, Jim's day) and a few more over the next couple days.

Kewl.

Patrick.