Life and Travel in China

Coming back to the previous topic. Maybe that's why the Chinese go so crazy when they go on a trip. Just euphoria! I remember once when we were rafting near Zhang Jia Jie (Hunan), suddenly it rained heavily, the mountains cooled down, my wife was shivering from the cold, and I was paddling to end this crazy trip as quickly as possible. Other groups, delighted with the entertainment! Not only were they wet from the rain, but they also rented toys to pour water on others, and we got hit too. Great fun! After returning, I was furious, my underwear was even wet and of course no one said that we would get wet there (regardless of the rain). We could rent a shower - renting a shower is one thing and renting a towel is another! I was really angry, as were maybe a few other people. However, most of them were delighted. I might also have had more fun if I had some decent protective clothing if I didn't get cold. Many Chinese during such company trips (rafting, walking in the mountains, mountain railways, downhill skiing, paintball, cycling, go-karting, some shows, dancing) - they simply go crazy like monkeys. Of course, I'm also happy, excited, involved, but they just scream with joy and don't complain about anything. The hotels may be crap, the food very poor, the planes delayed by several hours, but for them it's great fun. This amazes me! Apparently the Chinese are the most positive nation in the world and I think I noticed this during such trips. Recently, in Guilin, on a 4-hour bus ride to the terraced fields, I saw a French family. My father was constantly complaining and commenting on the traffic and was very loud. At the end, he was furious that they had to pay extra for some show and they separated from the tour for a while. He was just complaining! Another young French woman (not from this family) was fascinated by China and studied in Beijing for a year. We managed to see these famous rice fields together, even though it was raining quite heavily, but eventually the sky cleared up and as if on cue, a wonderful landscape appeared. Despite everything, Europeans have some moderation, distance, they are moody, demanding, complaining, expecting. The Chinese - minimum expectations, maximum satisfaction. And now who is right? Who is happier, who spends time more pleasantly?

The 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II is rather irrelevant in China. For the average Chinese, the most important thing is the war with Japan, and the hatred of the Chinese towards Japan is still being fueled. Regarding the war in Europe - they know that Germany easily and quickly defeated Poland (there is such a myth), no one mentions the attack of the Soviet Union on Poland or the lack of Allied support in the first days of the war. The World War is perceived more through the prism of Hollywood movies. In this way, the Chinese know about the heroic English, Americans, French and practically nothing about Poland and the fighting Poles. Moreover (regardless of European history), the Chinese really like and appreciate the Germans in terms of business cooperation and reliability. Russians have been friends of the Middle Kingdom for years - therefore, the same 'version' of history is circulating in both countries. I wonder what the Chinese would say if I praised the Japanese for their progress, ideas and diligence? Well, they would grimace and return to the war and the crimes of the Japanese. Comparing the mutual attitudes of the Chinese and Japanese, Poles and Germans are probably better, with greater reconciliation and understanding.

Returning to the previous topic... during the official celebrations at Westerplatte, the Chinese television CCTV 4 presented a journalistic program about World War II, the current situation in Europe and plans to build an anti-missile shield in Poland. Quite an interesting program, the presenter invited a historian and military specialist. The guests spoke quite objectively, they even mentioned Katyn. I thought that after these conversations they would show a report from Poland, but there was only a short live insert showing the laying of wreaths. The program lasted 30 minutes and I hope that it made the Chinese people a little closer to the current situation in Poland, as well as our position in 1939. Yesterday, a colleague of my wife's work mentioned something about a discussion on an internet forum in which the Chinese presented the view that before the outbreak of the war, Poland was uniting with other Slavic nations to destroy the USSR! True, it's strong! Yes, with the help of Czechoslovakia we would definitely destroy Russia, ha ha. It is possible that the Chinese believe in a 'defensive' war for Russia! They were simply defending themselves against the Polish invader! This is what happens with propaganda and distorted history.

A few days ago, China went to war against drunk drivers. This sounds serious, but as usual, such a law does not apply to everyone. A driver under the influence of alcohol recently killed 5 people and was sentenced to death (the first time for such an offense). The media immediately showed Chinese police officers with breathalyzers in their hands. The problem is that there are few such controls (unless this is to change quickly). I witnessed it myself when during a business dinner only the driver drank vodka, then he drove us halfway through Canton to the train station. Another time, after visiting the KTV club, a very tipsy Chinese man always insisted that he would take us to the hotel. He felt even more confident because he knew the police chief in this provincial town. And that's the way it is with Chinese law. If someone has an uncle in the police, an aunt in the government, a father in the city hall, or is himself an officer or official, he is practically untouchable. If someone like that killed 5 people, the case would be covered up immediately, and the media would not even have the right to report it. In the worst case scenario, they would find a scapegoat for such a crime. Ordinary people don't even have a clue how this system works. The main point is that there is no free media and any faults of the authorities will never see the light of day.

I have already written that in China there is no compulsory insurance (like ZUS). Of course, now people buy private insurance, or companies do it on their behalf. If you are a resident of a given city and registered in that city, you have a social security card. Regardless of whether you have insurance or not, for a hospital, a patient is like an ATM. A friend dislocated her finger. The first day of the examination in the hospital, X-ray, a lot of paperwork, 3 hours have passed. Doctors insist that she stay in the hospital, but she stays at home overnight. The second day of blood and urine tests... what does this have to do with orthopedics? They insist on a second X-ray - sure, it's healthy to have X-ray exposure. They are planning a procedure, they need to insert some element worth PLN 1,300. The girl next door in the hospital room says she's been here for a week because she cut her finger. The longer in the hospital, the more tests, the more money. It's not like in Poland, where a hospital works for free to help someone and has millions of dollars in debt. The doctor told my friend on the first day that she had to pay a deposit of about PLN 900, she said PLN 450, he agreed... is this a health service or a marketplace? The way insurance works is that you pay in cash - and then, based on the documents, the insurance company covers these costs. If someone has a minor illness and doesn't have insurance, I guess the doctors will scare him into staying in the hospital for 10 days (because that's what they said about the dislocated finger). They will put you through drips, injections, take three x-rays, test your urine and blood twice, and all this is like a list of services provided on an invoice. Nothing is done for free in a Chinese hospital. Now imagine a worker who lost an arm or broke a leg on a construction site? His fate depends on the head of this company. He can simply wave his hand at him and the person will be crippled for life, or he will get help in a hospital and become hundreds of thousands of yuan in debt to his family and friends (if they are able to help him at all). In some emergency cases, patients would probably prefer to die, because when they wake up from anesthesia and see the bills for every time the bed was moved and the temperature was taken, they will simply cry. And this is communism, ladies and gentlemen! According to these beautiful slogans, the state should take care of everyone and we are all equal, we have the same rights and privileges (in China there are no privileges, but there are obligations). Ultimately, my friend decided against the procedure. In my opinion, it is better this way, because here the hospital will only look for an excuse for further tests and procedures... the worse the patient's condition, the better for the hospital. That's the philosophy here.