Best of China

A lot has been said in the Western side of the world about the super powers of the growing economy of China. Our visit around the cities of Beijing and Shanghai, gave us a taste of this economic expansion as we could go anywhere using efficient subway systems, electric buses, and eco-friendly electric motorbikes, while contemplating on multiple impressive and modern buildings. But when we looked close in detail to the lives of ordinary citizen evolving in front of our eyes, we realized that the financial booming in China isn’t touching every household. The gap between those driving luxury cars around the city and those sleeping on the floor outside of a train station is huge. A very strange picture of Communism, far from what we thought true Communism entailed. Inequality in China is among the most extreme in the world, something perhaps unforgivable for a Communist government. Although the urban middle class is growing rapidly, approximately 70% of China’s population remains rural and poor. Accessing to education and health care isn’t free. The right to vote and protest appears to be none-existence or at least none practiced, most Chinese we asked about the status of these “rights” gave us inconclusive answers. Some people told us protesting is prohibited, but others said they could actually request a permit to protest. Some people told us they could vote for representatives in which they in place elect a president. But yet others said people cannot vote in China and they have never done it. We left the country with many unresolved questions about what is today called Communism in China and we are still wondering if any difference exists between their current form of government and a dictatorship. What we know for sure, is that the Communist Government of China strictly controls people’s access to information. World wide networks like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are blocked to the public today. This is probably why all Chinese people we asked about Tibet, firmly believe Tibet is part of China and their government is just helping Tibetan people, as the goodness of the Dalai Lama is uncertain.