Cold stuff

The last week has been cold and windy. I didn't do much this last weekend. I spent most of it inside avoiding the weather outside. On Monday I went out to lunch and some pickpocket stole my phone, so I had to buy a new one. Sometimes little things happen here that get me thinking about leaving. Well, not really the little things so much...

There are times when you talk to people here, or read an article about China (such as China sees religion as stabilizing force), when you start to think that maybe China is finally getting its act together, and this could be a great place for everybody. Then you see stuff like this video,...



... and you have to wonder what planet the rulers of this country are from.

I was talking with some co-workers, a man from Holland and a women from China, a few weeks ago about Tibet. She said she believed that Tibet was part of China, and we explained that Tibet was a country occupied by China. We talked for awhile, and after proving our point she just said, "Mind your own business". To that I replied, "That's what the Japanese told us when we asked them to leave China 70 years ago". I have always wondered how some Chinese can be so upset about a dozen years of brutal Japanese occupancy while the Chinese have brutally occupied Tibet for almost half a century. I am not sure they really believe the "Tibet is part of China" propaganda, but maybe they do.

For example, one person I know here told me it is a wonderful place to visit, but she thought the Tibetan people seemed rude to her. I told her that she would probably be rude to them if Tibet occupied China. She said she didn't know what I meant, and would not talk about Tibet any more. Oh well.

Some people here have asked me if I plan on travelling to Tibet. I am not sure if I am going to go. I would like to go, but would not want any Chinese to profit from it. I will have to think about it some more since ChengDu is much closer to Tibet, and it would be easier getting there than from Dalian, but today is Friday and all I want to think about is the weekend.