How Things Work in China, Or Cadillac, Red
Ricochet member Duane Oyen just introduced me to Mn Kurmudgeon, a blog by an American--who, for obvious reasons, remains anonymous--who works in Beijing. The portraits of everyday life in the capital of the People's Republic prove fascinating...and unnerving.
A visit to a movie theater:
In my mind, the best way to deal with Beijing traffic is to stay out of it as much as possible, so I’ve spent the last two Saturday afternoons at the movies....
[Y]esterday I became part of the opening weekend crowd for the blockbuster movie of the summer, “The Beginning of the Great Revival,” which is the story of the creation of the Chinese Communist Party between 1911 and 1921. In other words, it’s a government-sponsored propaganda film released in anticipation of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the CCP on July 1.
So, if it just opened, how do I know it’s a “blockbuster”? Well, the local authorities have rather stacked the deck. For one thing, it’s on at least half the screens available nationwide, and no new releases are allowed to compete with it until mid-to-late July, giving it a decided advantage at the box office (though it does have to compete with movies already open, the most dangerous of which is decidedly “Kung Fu Panda 2”). Second of all, every major government office has blocked off whole theaters to send their entire workforce to see it, which ensures a certain base level of sales....
You might wonder what I was doing contributing to the box office receipts of a propaganda film, but as an American taxpayer, I felt like I had a stake in its success. The film was produced in part through a sponsorship agreement with Cadillac Shanghai, which is owned by GM, which in turn was bailed out by the U.S. Government, which is funded in very small part by me....*
*On the bright side, most of the money for the GM bailout was loaned to us by China in the first place, so really, they’re paying for their own propaganda and just funneling it through the United States. Don’t you feel better?
That comment under the asterisk—“Don’t you feel better?”—represents the most scathing commentary on Obamanomics I have ever encountered.
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Comments :
Aug '10
Re: How Things Work in China, Or Cadillac, Red
This is a stunning historical low for America, and should be exposed in every way possible. It's not just scathing commentary. We need a new word for the perfidy, malice, idiocy, and reckless endangerment perpetrated by the Obama/Democrat machine.
May '10
Re: How Things Work in China, Or Cadillac, Red
The Great Thrall of China.
Apr '11
Re: How Things Work in China, Or Cadillac, Red
Things are different there. We were fortunate enough to adopt a beautiful little girl from China a few years back and our memories of China mirror your post. We were with a group of 22 families. Our government appointed "minder" was a character right out of an Indiana Jones movie, thirty five,perfectly groomed, western educated, outwardly complimentary with occasional contempt peeking through. My guess was a colonel in the Ministry of Keeping Eyes on Running Dogs. We had a great two weeks while being shown exactly what we were supposed to see.
Leaving the pack and exploring the back streets disclosed a far more interesting and chaotic China. I even had fun having my wallet stolen. If that had happened in Toronto I would have ran the guy down ( I still ran a 4.9 forty back then) and made him uncomfortable until the police came. I didn't however for two reasons. I figured he needed the $200 more than I did and I had heard they treat crimes against westerners fairy seriously, like one bullet serious and that seemed a little extreme. A very interestng society
Edited on Jun 24, 2011 at 6:57amAug '10
Re: How Things Work in China, Or Cadillac, Red
When can we expect a glowing review from Tom Friedman ? He is angling for that Duranty Pulitzer, this would just be another feather in his cap.
..and to think Cadillac used Led Zeppelin in their ads once....
I thought that shark had jumped and gone.
Jun '10
Re: How Things Work in China, Or Cadillac, Red
I seem to recall a comment attributed to Comrade Lenin that..."The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them." If it's true that old V.I. said this, he wasn't a terribly good prognosticator given the eventual implosion of the Soviet Union but the ruling regime in Beijing may be trying their best to fulfill his demented desire. Hopefully a Republican candidate will seize on this and rub Obama's face in it.
One hopes that the Chinese people will someday chew off their muzzles since many millions of them have already seen the benefits of joining the packs of other running capitalist dogs. Will they ever turn on their masters? If so, when?
Sep '10
Re: How Things Work in China, Or Cadillac, Red
Well it was funded by you and me and the Chinese and now we're going to inflate away the value of about half of it over the next decade so they sold us the rope they're going to hang us with but they overpaid for it and its such a lousy rope it won't even do the job.
May '10
Re: How Things Work in China, Or Cadillac, Red
Needed a space heater for the unheated apartment in Winter- go to the store and say "My last space heater spontaneously burst into flames. I want one that will just keep heating properly."
Answer by the clerk: "Oh, you want one of the Taiwanese-made heaters, then."