I originally wrote this poem, a tribute to Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, when I was living in Huzhou back in 2009, just after the riots in Xinjiang catapulted the region into instability and shut down most of the Internet in China. Plate of Wander was, for a time, blocked, along with many other sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Now, almost two years later, the Internet in China is undergoing thorough censorship because of the riots in Egypt, Libya, and across the Middle East. Foreign journalists are being followed and intimidated, and large cities are crawling with police. I’ve heard reference to a “Jasmine Revolution,” but people just aren’t protesting, most likely out of fear of consequences which are certain to be harsh.
My stance on the censorship: I think it’s wrong. As an American, I have been ingrained with the ideas of freedom of speech and assembly. But I understand, in some way, why the government scrubs the Internet so thoroughly: a revolution in China would be almost undoubtedly catastrophic in many ways and would have international repercussions. That’s not to say things shouldn’t be changed–they should be, and I want to see the laobai xing empowered and free.
The poem is intended to be light-hearted and fun, and was adjusted only a smidgen to reflect the current protests instead of the 2009 Xinjiang protests. I encourage readers to let me know their thoughts on the situation in the comments. Lively discussion is welcome, especially if in poetic form.
Hu-Ville
EveryHu down in Huzhou liked Plate of Wander a lot,
But the Party, who lived North of Huzhou did NOT!
The Party hated Plate of Wander, the whole WordPress host site,
For they worried that freedom of speech would ignite!
Perhaps it was rampant pornography they feared,
Or toward social unrest the country’d be steered.
But I think that the most likely reason of all,
Was their egos eclipsed even the Great Wall.
But
Whatever the reason, the porn or the populace,
They controlled the Internet to ensure people knew less.
The big Hu in charge, one Mr. JT Hu,
Liked many of these sites, but did what he had to do.
Since he had his own proxy, he could Facebook and tweet
And watch Jon Stewart on Youtube, his daily lunch hour treat.
But JT Hu’s favorite site, of which he was fonder,
Was a humble little blog called Plate of Wander.
Such wonderful photos and witty remarks!
It was much better reading than the Party-required Marx.
Each day at work, he secretly waited
In hope that Plate of Wander had been updated.
O the tales that were told! O the food that was eaten!
The quality of blogging just couldn’t be beaten.
But then in Africa the Middle East came riot after riot,
And JT Hu had try to keep cyberspace quiet.
Down with the Facebook! Block off the Twitter!
The Party’s main job became cyber babysitter.
Of course there were sites that plenty would miss,
But the Party’s main motto is ‘Ignorance is Bliss.’
But Hu couldn’t bear it, couldn’t take it at all,
The thought that his beloved Plate of Wander would stall.
So in secret he went to Huzhou to find ellis
(It was secret so that other bloggers wouldn’t be jealous).
He found her with ease, with him everyone’s compliant—
They just told him to look for the waiguo ren giant.
He told her a deal he’d be willing to make:
Her blog in exchange for endless cookies she’d bake.
She whipped up a cake as a “You’ve got it—okay,”
And it was said JT Hu’s waist grew three inches that day.
And his heart felt so light, his spirit so free,
That he decided to unblock the Internet for all to see.
Heh, cool poem. My feeling is that China is in no danger of descending into chaos a la North Africa/Middle East because it should be noted that the unreast in the Arab world was sparked by poor economic conditions, not aspirations for democracy. Inflation, and rising food prices in particular, has hit the Arab populace hard and as a result the people have taken to the streets to demand for change out of desperation. So in a way, one could blame/thank the loose monetary policies by the US Fed for unleashing inflation upon the world and consequently inspire the Arab revolts.
In contrast, the Chinese economy is powering ahead and the people are by and large happy with the direction their country is heading. As long as the CCP keeps the economy running, it will be tolerated by the loabaixing.
Hi T, thanks for the comment! I love discussion!
I would agree that China is probably not headed for instability similar to that in North Africa. I’m not sure that the US Fed is entirely to blame for the countries’ fiscal issues (I don’t know, I’m postulating here) because I’ve read that there’s a lot of corruption higher up and stagnation in the general populace. While I’m no economic expert, I certainly agree that the US’ fiscal policies leave a LOT of room for improvement and likely even more room for criticism.
Though China’s economy is powering ahead, inflation is still an issue, not to mention huge unemployment problems for new graduates and a host of other problems (though I will say that these problems are NOT unique to China).
I am also not so sure that people are by and large happy. There are a lot of people barely scraping by who cannot afford health care or decent housing. And those with serious grievances cannot bring legitimate social issues to the forefront because they are quickly muted by the government. (Like parents who lost their children in the Sichuan earthquake and parents whose children are kidnapped, to name 2 off the top of my head) In my opinion the largest problems are the ones that are never aired in the media because they aren’t allowed to be. And IF protests were ever to materialize, it is my hunch that they would stem from these serious issues that are swept under the rug. [I will also point to this article about how few people in China ARE happy]
I don’t disagree with your assessment, I just think there’s a lot more brewing. And I definitely agree to your last point, that people will tolerate much more as long as the economy speeds along.
Certainly, one could argue about the extent to which the Fed’s monetary policies have been responsible for the economic woes in other countries (the developing countries in particular), but there is no question that the quantitative easing, i.e. printing money, carried out by the Fed has had an inflationary effect around the world because the US dollar, in its role as a global currency, is a currency in which much of the global trade is denominated. When large quantities of the US dollar are dumped on the market, prices rise and the poor of the world are hit the hardest.
You’re right though in that the Arab despots haven’t exactly made life easy for their citizens with their rampant corruption and brutal suppression, but they’ve always managed to give the people just enough for them not to cause trouble. It was the inflation and the resultant rise in the cost of living that finally pushed the people over the edge.
Thanks for that article about China. It was somewhat a surprise to learn that only 6% of the Chinese polled were happy. In saying that the Chinese were by and large happy with the direction their country was heading I was referring to an older poll (http://pewglobal.org/files/pdf/261.pdf). I guess with the excitement of the Olympics long gone people have become depressed. Even so, I don’t think the Chinese are looking for a revolution to overthrow the government. We often hear about the emphasis that the CCP places upon stability and social harmony, but the reality is that ordinary Chinese want those just as much. Sure, there are plenty to be unhappy about in China and mass protests happen all the time (it’s estimated that around 60,000-80,000 mass protests take place every year), but most of the grievances are things that the people are looking to address within the existing political structure. If reforms are to happen, a gradual transition is preferred over abrupt, radical change. This is why I think an Egyptian-style revolution is not likely to happen in China.
And thanks for the opportunity for discussion. It’s something that I enjoy too. (-: