Life and Travel in China

A few days ago, something tragic happened in a modern office building in Shenzhen. A man with a can of gasoline entered the floor of a company. As it turned out, the ex-boyfriend of the company owner. He grabbed her and held her next to him, starting the gas. I don't know the details, but there were some casualties and the office was destroyed. The most interesting thing is that there are many security guards in the building, a reception and gates in front of the elevators - strangers have to register, and employees have contactless cards to enter and leave. I am afraid that similar incidents will become more and more common in large cities. Lonely young people, without family or parents, renting apartments or living in workers' hotels, or even rich people who own apartments - when they fail in life, they become dangerous. Loss of job, loss of honor, heartbreak, everyday social injustice - all this increases frustration. Additionally, in big cities you can't rest and calm down, noise and crowds of people (now even in the park) cause some sick aggression. Just add envy, lack of understanding, rejection by a group and you have a tragedy. It was similar with the attacks on kindergartens. I have also witnessed such sudden outbursts of aggression. Generally, the Chinese are calm, friendly and content, but some are like time bombs - just a small thing is enough for their frustration to explode, then such incredible aggression, hatred appears, you can even see some madness in their eyes.

In some parts of China, there is a tradition that older people (even those who are not so old) arrange their coffins in advance. I would say it's kind of light hardcore. It is true that we also have people who reserve places at the cemetery in advance. My friend's in-laws will be organizing their own coffins this year, and they are about sixty years old. Later they will keep these coffins at home. In fact, such a coffin reminds me every day - "I'm waiting for you, maybe it's time? Don't you feel like lying down? At least try something on?" Our retirees want to live as long as possible, they make investments, go on trips, pilgrimages, and take care of their grandchildren. Although in the Middle Kingdom older people are also active and lively, just look at my photos, all the exercises, dancing, singing... But this is the case in big cities, but it is probably different in the countryside. There, life flows slower, there are certain rules, traditions and rules that do not change. In cities, old people want to have fun, play mahjong, cards, bet on horse races, arrange meetings in the park, etc. Moreover, in cities they usually have smaller apartments, so they have nowhere to put coffins. Every country has its customs...

In Hong Kong, it has already happened that wealthy Chinese families decide to give birth to children in Hong Kong. Hospitals sometimes lack beds for legal, insured Hong Kong residents. Maternity wards and beds are occupied by women from China who can give birth in Hong Kong for quite a lot of money. This theoretically ensures better delivery conditions, but above all, a different citizenship for the child, more privileges and freedom. Unfortunately people from Hong Kong are starting to complain about this. There were even comments in the press comparing the Chinese to cockroaches who crawl everywhere. The Chinese from Hong Kong write that they feel sorry for them, they have no freedom, they have no rights and freedoms, but they are starting to dominate Hong Kong too much. On the one hand, they are happy to earn money from tourists, but on the other hand, they do not want to see people from mainland China in their offices and hospitals. That's a conflict of interest. They like money from China in Hong Kong, but they don't like people from China!

In China, I was sometimes amazed by the behavior of bus drivers. In Poland, drivers usually try to help each other: they let each other pass at intersections, wait calmly for one to drive away so that the other can drive to the lay-by, etc. In China, it is completely different - drivers there simply fight with each other! They can push each other at an intersection, fight for space in traffic jams, or cross three other lanes from the far left lane to stop at an angle at a bus stop. They can also cut into each other's way at bus stops, some buses stop next to others instead of waiting behind them. They fight forcefully for every meter of the road or bay, but unfortunately mirrors and lights often suffer in this fight. I have seen many collisions and crashes involving only buses. It's better now anyway, because there are no mini-buses in cities. They still operate on the outskirts or in smaller towns, but outside the center of large metropolises. They didn't care about any regulations at all - they just wanted to move forward and take as many passengers as possible.

In some Chinese villages, local authorities (read "local warlords") are putting pressure on residents to build bigger, newer houses. The main point is that a given commune wants to present itself better to attract investors - new factories, hotels, restaurants, warehouses, etc. The worst thing is that the land does not belong to the villagers. Thus, they build houses for show, the most important thing is that they are big. In this way, large houses with even 2-3 floors are built, in which, for example, an elderly couple lives, while the younger ones live and work in cities, sometimes in completely different provinces. It comes to the point that these older people borrow money from friends, closer and extended family to build a larger and new house. Others are in a more comfortable situation - because their children or even grandchildren have better jobs and can "sponsor" such a house. The problem, however, is that these properties will never officially belong to them. If, for example, the authorities from Beijing plan a highway or a power plant there, they will simply evict these people by force, and the "new" houses will be demolished. And this is what the violation, or rather the lack of, of human rights in the Middle Kingdom looks like. We usually associate it with the death penalty, but it has a more local, everyday dimension.