I come back from Tianjin this evening to see that my temporary roommate is essentially trashing my apartment and that an email from my Chinese tutor speaks of the American Todd Bachman being stabbed to death by a Chinese man.
Nice welcome home. Should have stayed in Tianjin.
I searched on Xinhua English website and found a short article making reference to the story. The story wasn’t obvious, of course, maybe because that would give the Chinese government an unharmonious reputation. I had to first click on “China” then scroll down to the bottom of the page in the “Society” section.
Well, it’s just a murder, and the article was most generously titled “Man who stabbed U.S. tourists “acted in despair over failures,” police say“. It talks all about the Chinese man. It does mention that someone was actually killed, in a single sentence at the end of the story.
It was easier to find fuller coverage of the story on a biased foreign website.
On the 30 day countdown to the opening ceremony, I sent an email to the Chinese Nat’l Technical Officials I taught last summer and congratulated them and told them not to worry about problems, that every Olympics had problems. It’s a sad but real truth, and probably not at all convenient for the guh’ment.
I remember what happened in Atlanta in 1996 and where I was the exact moment I heard about it. Everyone made a big deal out of that terrible event, I remember. I remember how the press reported that and how everyone knew everywhere.
That was America. This is China, where it’s harmony or else, and harmony is defined by the guh’ment exclusively.
Oh, I did see a “news flash” at the top of Xinhua English. It mentioned the recent Gold Medal that the Chinese team won. As evidence of the final torchbearer, it’s not what you give the sport; it’s how many Gold Medals you win. So what if it’s in violation of the Olympic ideals the guh’ment normally demands observance of.
Who do we thank if the Chinese people get the winningest Olympic team ever? The guh’ment.
China–enjoying her new opium.
I really apologize for it as the temporary roomate, please forgive me…
Unfortunately the world is not familiar with nor entirely subscribes to China’s somewhat delusional notion of a harmonious society. Even with all the police and security, there was still this problem during the Summer Games. There is always trouble during the Games. China doesn’t discuss bad news but that is a Chinese thing. Balance is a Chinese thing. Harmony is a Chinese thing. The world is more than China and so there are things in the world that can not be conveniently understood or explained by Chinese culture. Like everyone else, China will need to see the world from a different perspective to fully understand.