Life and Travel in China

And like I said, the Chinese failed this tennis match! They showed some fragments of the decorations when the Chinese competitor was on the podium and giving an interview. Back then, two TV programs broadcast it. How can you not show the semi-finals of an event you organize? Very interesting... I'm not even waiting for the final, let politics and propaganda rule in China, down with sports! If anything, let the Chinese win and let the television present them beautifully as national heroes.

In China, people who work in the so-called "budget", i.e. all officials, military, police, as well as journalists (full control over the media), or employees of the energy industry, engineers, controllers... all these employees are usually not very busy, and they receive very high salaries. I have already met young people several times who had to deal with such a work system: they start work whenever they want, without rushing, they sit - they drink tea, read newspapers, prepare a report or write a few sentences, 90% of the time in the office is free time. People who have at least a bit of ambition run away from such places. They don't want the money, they don't want to sit idly by. My friend escaped from a fuel company to a Japanese corporation, he trades in electronic components, he is ambitious, he works hard, he tries to develop. He may be an exception, but there is a whole army of people who are happy with sitting in state offices, they participate in this system, they are a cog in this big hypocritical machine, and all in all, they are very happy with it. Moreover, they are "untouchable", connections, arrangements and positions allow them to send their children to study abroad, avoid responsibility for crimes or accidents, benefit from many privileges (cars, fuel, hotels, massages, bribes, gifts, insurance, apartments), and even send their enemies to prison, or simply make the lives of other people who stand in their way difficult. I'm just wondering what the percentage of these people is in society as a whole? If this is a large group (and I'm guessing it is), these people will never allow this system to be destroyed or changed.

I witnessed an unusual situation. In a small provincial town in Zhejiang Province. The scene took place in a four-star hotel. We saw about fifteen policemen and one policewoman in the hall. They calmly went to the first floor where there is a karaoke club (for fun and escort girls). After 10 minutes, they left the hotel with four young girls. They talked before entering. Their club matron and some guy showed up, clearly annoyed that they had taken these girls away (the others were still there). They tried to call somewhere and explain something. The girls had indifferent expressions. It turned out that the police finally took them away. Interestingly, they drove in small cars, without license plates. As if the policemen were doing something off duty. And so many of them came to take the girls out by force. There was no officer among them, only constables. It follows that they simply took these girls for some commander or dignitaries who are bored. Maybe the girls were also a bit of a disgrace to someone earlier, but that's unlikely. The police here are definitely above the law. They can rape or kill these girls (this is a worst-case scenario) and basically no one can do anything about it. They can arrest them, send them home, or offer them a one-night stand to some local dignitaries who were looking for excitement. The worst thing is that the police had serious faces and not very good intentions. If they did it officially, they would come with an officer in a police car, a police gang was sent here in Chinese minibuses without any markings. And that's how it is with the authorities in the Middle Kingdom - it's best to stay out of their way.

I have bad news - CHINA DON'T NEED US ANYMORE! Us, i.e. Western investors, recipients of goods from China. While shopping recently, I was terrified by the crowds of people. It wasn't a holiday, but you couldn't even get out of the subway this weekend. Large shopping centers were overcrowded, there was absolutely no crisis in sight. We had to walk single file on the sidewalks and stand in lines to get somewhere at all. The Chinese buy a lot of underwear, clothes, shoes and even jewelry. In electronics stores, cameras like Nikon D300 and Canon 5D Mark II sell like hot cakes, people pay for everything in cash or with ATM cards. Hardly anyone buys such things on credit or in installments. In Poland we can only dream of such mass consumption. Even the bakery offering French rolls was overcrowded and there was no free table. Whatever it is, such rolls are not among the nutritional priorities of the Chinese. Simply put, in big cities, every shop, restaurant, bakery, salon, and bookstore is full of customers. It's not like in Poland, where everyone goes around, compares prices, analyzes, thinks, and finally buys cheaper online or in installments. Here you just go to the store and shop. What's more, it's not cheaper here than in Poland. There are more and more company stores and branded clothing. A small leather bag costs PLN 400-500 here, a shirt (not even cotton, but polyester) costs PLN 200-300 in such stores. I'm surprised by this demand, they simply buy in droves. Their market is already doing very well without Western interference. They have already developed their products and patterns, copied a bit from us, added something on their own, learned the technology and are really doing great. We can be afraid now! China is becoming a power in its own right.

More and more people come to the conclusion that English is the hardest language to communicate in China. Many travelers, businessmen and students always have problems on the street, in shops, on trains or buses. Some people are lucky to meet someone young, educated and then they can communicate better or worse in English. I remember once watching an American reality show: "Race Around the World". The pair of players couldn't communicate with the taxi driver at all (sometimes even a Chinese address doesn't help in finding the right place). The Americans were furious and the taxi driver didn't understand a word! They finally gave up, died in China, dismissed the taxi and threw away their backpacks shouting "freaking China". I have noticed that in Indonesia and Thailand a large group of people speak English. It happens that in Africa you can also communicate without any problems. However, China is an exception! What amazes me is the number of English schools, courses, private teachers, books, DVDs, multimedia, language bookstores - I wonder where the effects of this teaching are!