MY ACCOUNTS AND PERCEPTIONS ON THE TRIP TO CHINA

Amidst all the debate, discussion, and protests in regards to the conflictive issue between China and Tibet, I embark on the business trip to visit the Canton Fair and some of Mohan International's suppliers for 'Moon Rabbit'. I fundamentally dissent the Chinese stance on Tibet, and being an INDIAN I respect the notion of secularism, pluralism, freedom, and "equality for the most extensive of liberties" (John Rawls). This is the point of view, with which I started off my trip to China.

The past few months, I have been hearing a number of complaints from some of my friends and family regarding unfriendly behavior types of Chinese people. I always tried to pacify them by explaining that every individual is different from the other, and that experiences linked to one or more persons does not justify stereotyping an entire population. With the half-hearted expectation of being treated with grace and commitment to hospitality, I began my journey to the Far-East. As a young child I used to watch a TV series, and later on a movie, which is popularly known as 'Journey to the West', as I perceive it, it’s an ancient Chinese epic with perhaps a similar sense of significance to that of the Mahabharat and Ramayan in INDIA and notably in Sri Lanka. The 'Journey to the West' as I perceived, portrayed the elaborate social teachings of Confucius, the great scholar and thinker! As impressed as I was with the expression of wisdom that illustrated the paramount necessity for universal respect and tolerance, again as I interpreted it, I felt, just as I was sitting in the flight for about three hours, the lack of wisdom for universal grace and respect that has been transcribed and transcripted within today's Chinese population. I base this opinion solemnly on the attitude of the crew members of the flight so far.

I agree and understand the flaw within my opinion so far; the basis of my judgment is too narrow, and the expectations that I have may be considered as stereotypical and arguably not compatible with the ethos of communication and interaction being linked to the country's historical background. So far my account and perception may be regarded as too subjective, normative, and contingent on the basis of individual thought. However, following this paragraph, I would like to comment and express views that could be considered as more objective and tangible, and in certain ways accommodate my expression in the above text.

Air China, the air line company that I chose to travel with for most, if not all of my journey scored much lower to my expectation in terms of the quality of flight delivered in relation to the alternative air line companies I have traveled with in different parts of the "flattening globe" (Thomas Freidman), as I describe our relatively broad location. As soon as I entered in the flight, I tried to be culturally and socially mixing with the Chinese and greeted with a 'nihow' as best and accurately I can pronounce as an ordinary Chinese would. I was greeted back with a cold and smile-less 'nihow' (greeting in Chinese, perhaps translating to 'hello'). As I walked down the aisle to my window seat, and took my assigned seat, I noticed the lack of the basic flight facilities provided. In most of the air line companies, there is at least some reading material no matter what language it may be, a magazine, newspaper, or a travel brochure. This flight eminently lacked any sort of reading material except for the flight safety guide. The finishing quality of the seats and the tables seemed rather cheap and distorted as well. However, the safety on the screening was not audible without the headphones, something that I respected since it left that option open for the passenger, however I am uncertain as to how it would translate to when considering health and safety measures. I will not comment on the quantity of food provided, since I felt that I either eat too much or that the flight was in a state of famine!

Later on I arrived at the airport. The scene had transformed from desert to oasis. The airport was humongous with significant details given to the aesthetics. Different terminals within the airport were connected with mono-rails. I was utterly impressed! When comparing the terminal size and beauty, and for that matter efficiency too, I felt that it was far better than the much lauded for no reason London Heathrow, it was by far better! I thought to myself, f LHR is "developed", then Beijing Airport is for sure "over-developed". From then on my flight to Guangzhow was rather smooth and pleasant with a fair in-flight service, though I still persistently believed that the Chinese were too stingy with their quantity delivering with food.

While returning back to "Charlie base camp", I realized that the last week or so has changed my perspective of China from a negative one to a more positive one at a civic level (definitely not from a social and political point of view). I was received in Guangzhou by my hotel, a four star! However the number of communication issues I have had over my Chinese visit has been abundant, hence my experiences equally animated. Though overall, I have been satisfied by my hotel that I felt met the international average for that rating and price. My excitement to see my parents disabled me from further analyzing the country further, though I must emphasize on how impressed I have been with the visible infrastructure of the southern mainland part of the country (I have heard that the north and exterior regions of the western side are much less developed, and are in fact considered under-developed). Massive four lane highways with overlapping fly-overs and cross-bridges for pedestrians and interestingly air planes too! The wealth invested for this infrastructure would've amounted to a fortune!

The subsequent three days were spent at the 'Canton Fair', which of course has been the focal point of my visit. The Chinese hospitality started showing from here. My hotel arranged a free shuttle service to the fair, and before boarding the bus I was always, without fail, offered a bottle of water. As I arrived the fair, I saw massive architectures that were made and designed intrinsically for the fair. Just as one massive building was completed or near completion, I believe they started building another one. This expressed the enthusiasm and zeal the Chinese government and its people had in promoting their business globally. When registering for the fair, I was in a queue amongst hundreds, maybe even thousands of other people, but the registration process was over within forty five minutes with a laminated, pictured, stamped, and authenticized ID card for me, so that I could gain access to the fair. Once again, positively bamboozled! Over the three days I must have visited hundreds of business booths, and passed by at least 2000-4000 booths, until I realized that I had not even seen five per cent of the fair, and more amusingly there were other fairs across the country and city at the same time with equal if not more business capacity.

Most booths had catalogues and business cards on the display, with at least one representative of the business on task. The exchange in information regarding each other's businesses took place with the firms and companies based in China and to put it simply, with business representation from almost every commercial corner of the world dealing with items ranging from robotics to simple stationary, and consumer electronics to the more complex types of manufacturing production system line-ups. It was an experience that was VERY memorable and interesting, and at the same time exhaustive too. It was then I realized the attention and importance the Chinese government gives to its very own home-made businesses in the global market. Never have I seen or even read of such strong government support to local businesses unless of course it deals with the arms-trade, where I believe China, once again plays a crucial role in the international market. I could safely label China as the export hub of the globe.

Guangzhou, a city that is hardly considered cosmopolitan had not only organized an international trade with such success for the 103rd time, but also accommodated these business men from all over the world and China as well. This meant that most hotels linked to the corporate world strongly supported the fair with its logistics, cuisine, and hospitality in general. I noticed various international food chains including Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and the cruel Starbucks. This must have made the westerners feel rather nostalgic or homely. As far as we INDIANS are concerned, there were three well known restaurants out of which I got to visit two, which both served food of quality, quantity, and at reasonable rates too. We, the neighbors too had the chance to feel nostalgic and homely to an extent.

Following the fair, I paid a visit to Wanzhou, a city; in terms of population and economic output comparable to Rajkot, but when it comes to clean air and infrastructure, I won't comment on how superior Wanzhou felt. The people of that city welcomed us with grace, dignity, honor, and appreciation. They promptly looked after our vegetarian requirements with some of the BEST Chinese food I've ever had. This regional specialty was known as Shezuan cuisine, a 'must eat' form of cuisine before dying. In this region I noticed that guests, whether it be restaurants or otherwise offered some green or herbal tea that needed a taste to be developed for. The Confucius tradition was now exposed with grace and gratitude more prominently than ever during the trip. The beautiful yet large Yanxi River following across the mountainous city just absorbed my attention towards that location.

I could not emphasize more on how respectful and patient the Chinese citizens were towards us aliens. Whether it is a person walking on the road, a waitress, or a shopkeeper, or even a taxi driver, everyone was ready to cooperate and help. Despite the numerous communications that either ended in success or failures, I must admit that the people were patient enough to try and understand one's needs, and in some cases went outside of their way to help out. The body language of the people was eminently respectful. The attitude of the local Chinese population and its Diasporas was at a complete level of contrast. I need not say further about their Diasporas to my experience.

For all this development, discipline (in various forms) and prosperity, the price that the people have had to pay is much greater. Their freedom, voice, dignity, individual confidence, and regional and global awareness was at an appalling and dismal state. I did not come across a single person who expressed dissent over the government and its policies or actions; at the very least I did not even hear anyone murmur about the Tibet issue. The media only seemed to express the perspective that favored the Chinese government, and not a single person I met seemed confident enough on an individual basis to converse anything outside the "comfort zone" of a particular opinion or issue. What seemed to be a very transparent bureaucratic system suddenly became, in my eyes, a blurred vision. It almost felt as though people's thoughts were controlled (1984 by George Orwell style), and the notion of a free culture became more like a taboo.

So in the end when people ask me to compare INDIA with China today, as an almost inevitable question one is faced with. I safely say that the politics, culture, economics, geography, society, and history of INDIA and China are very distinct from each other, hence their level of development must not and cannot be compared, although what is in comparison is the rate of their growth, INDIA's economic growth of 9% and China's 11%. Though the most important point is that Chinese people have lost their voice, and we INDIANS are free citizens. I noticed that the level of plurality in China is, like INDIA rather high, but the difference is that while China tries to standardize their plurality in order for elitist and Maoist-Capitalist modes of governing to be enabled with more ease, the INDIAN government cherishes and treats every culture and difference (whether it be on a group or an individual basis) with honor and dignity, moreover with freedom!

Some one mentioned, during the trip, that the Chinese development has been fast and advanced in terms of infrastructure and discipline, and therefore the nation is at a much superior stage to that of INDIA. My reply to that is that if a person in China cries over the pollution s/he gets in his/her house because of the fly-overs, that person will be suppressed. In INDIA, there will be several protests and petitions to stop a fly-over from its making, but still, within 61 years of independence, here we are as global players with a 9% growth rate despite our outspoken plural and diverse population. The counter argument that I received was that, no matter what is being said, the Chinese people are happier than the INDIANS. My response to that was that the Chinese people may be materially be more happy (as Karl Marx much professed), however their happiness is comparable to those of pet dogs, who are constantly ordered to perform tasks that they don't necessarily like in return for food (idea of Ronak Kothari), whilst in INDIA a person is supported for freedom and prosperity at a pluralistic level. In short, INDIAN people progress with free will, whereas Chinese people progress with a hammer on their head. Now tell me, what is the definition of development, and which population is more developed? Before one judges my question, I would like to present a quote by Victor Hugo, "Ce besoin de l’immatériel est le plus vivace de tous. Il faut du pain; mais avant le pain, il faut l’idéal." (This translates as "The need of the immaterial is the most deeply rooted of all needs. One must have bread; but before bread, one must have the ideal.").

In conclusion, I was rather satisfied with my trip to China in terms of the wealth of knowledge and experience I gained. As a general remark, I cannot complain much about the trip!