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April 18, 2006
A great life until something goes wrong...
My co-worker in jest: Randy, you made a mistake in your report.
Me: Oh, what was it?
Co-worker: A political mistake. You wrote that one of China's foreign policy goals is to "marginalize Taiwan" which is incorrect. The Chinese People's Central Government has no wish to harm the Taiwan people. They only wish to marginalize a few rouge separatist elements in the "province of Taiwan."
Me: Oh, I have to write a self-criticism right?
Co-worker: Yup.
Me: Since my Chinese, I assume one will be written for me and I'll just sign right?
Ah... it's good to be in China when you're educated, young and professional. It's a new China. Where there's good food, women throwing themselves at you, abundant liquor, freedom of association and movement. Where it's ok to joke about politics as long as you don't challenge the government.
It's always good to be in China unless 1) you're poor or 2) something bad happens (e.g., a legal dispute, a car accident, disease, etc).
... perhaps the distinguishing characteristic of a civilized culture is its ability to mitigate the effects of that something bad?
Posted by rxu at April 18, 2006 04:53 AM