Zacher in China

"Chinese Tests Reveal Lead in Children Near a Plant", NYT 9-28-09

2009-10-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

As usual, China’s headlong rush to develop has injured the most vulnerable. A recent article in the New York Times revealed that half the number of children tested who lived near a battery plant had elevated lead levels in their blood. Last month it was revealed that more than 1,300 children living near a manganese processing plant had elevated lead levels. Prior to that 850 children living near a lead and zinc smelting factory had elevated lead levels, some of which, 174, had to be hospitalized. How many other children in China have been poisoned by lead?

NYT 9-28-09

September 2, 2008

2008-09-04T11:56:00.002-07:00

Typing this entry while sitting in a 747 that just passed to the south of Osaka and Tokyo heading into the Pacific. Listening to blues provided by United and the lyrics are about a nineteen year old woman whom the singer cannot satisfy. Went to the main museum in Shanghai which is housed in a very modern building in the middle of a park (the People’s Park) which used to be the race course for the British. The city is broken into various districts, which include the French Concession. This is a reminder of the various powers that controlled Shanghai in the past. In addition to the French, there were the British, German and American concessions. Drove to the airport with Mabel who is a strong Hillary supporter. She said women have had their rights increased greatly recently. Learned yesterday McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate. He must really feel confident of winning the presidency to have elevated someone without any foreign policy experience to a heart beat from replacing 72 year old man. Arrived at O’Hare where a rapper got on the train taking us to Terminal 1. He was really good and was banging against the window of the waiting area to keep time. There were numerous Chinese on the train with us. They looked at him like he was crazy. Just like a young Chinese said to me in Beijing when the crowds at the Beijing subway station had me gaping in awe, I thought to myself about the Chinese reaction “Welcome to America”.

September 1, 2008

2008-09-04T11:56:00.001-07:00

Mabel met us at the domestic terminal in Shanghai. Very pleasant and capable. Visited a garden built by a wealthy Chinese businessman that was beautiful. Went from there to a museum dedicated to Jews who had been in Shanghai. Many Jews fled Nazi Germany and Austria and landed in Shanghai because of the munificence of a Chinese diplomat. Hitler told the Japanese to kill all the Jews in Shanghai but the Japanese refused to carry out the order. From there went to a bookstore carrying books in English. Purchased numerous books about Chinese law, including one on the Chinese Constitution, which states in part that
Article 2
All power in the PRC belongs to the people.
Article 5
No organization or individual is privileged to be beyond the Constitution or the law.

Shanghai turns out to be more accessible than Beijing. It is split in half by the Yangtze, but the subway is very good. We took it to meet a friend of my wife at a huge building which housed one of the largest malls I have ever seen. Every name brand and some great local Chinese brands were represented in the mall. We then went to the Grand Hyatt with its lobby on the 54th floor. The lower floors were offices. The view was spectacular at night. I said to my wife’s friend that it is not enough to copy what the US and other countries have done and do it better and cheaper. What China must now do to take a leadership position in the world is be creative and come up with something new and then the world will come even more to its door step rather just seeing a huge market where western goods and services can be sold. What happened to the China that invented gunpowder and the magnetic compass among other things?

August 31, 2008

2008-09-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

Sitting in the van coming back from a cruise down the Li River with our guide Macy. The road is lined with rice fields. Very reminiscent of Vietnam. The bus station where we waited had pictures of Clinton, Carter and Bush 41 who had also taken the same trip down the river. Spoke with an Englishman named David on the boat who is a businessman back in England on holiday with his American wife. He said he would be a Republican in the US because they are more pro business. I pointed out to him that the American economy normally does better under the Democrats as seen with how the economy performed under Clinton versus Bush 43. Perhaps the most interesting part of the conversation dealt with China’s relationship to the US. China’s economy may eventually suffer from the downturn in the American economy because the American consumer is consuming less. In fact, the only good part of the American economy right now is its exports. Perhaps China can turn to its internal market which is expanding or to the Indian market to make up the difference. The road is not particularly good (it is bumpy) and the van has seen better days, all of which makes it difficult to type. The drivers here are insane. They do not know the meaning of “courtesy of the road”. The bus in front of us just left a young girl off in the middle of the road blocking our van and then just pulled off, all of this on the main road through a fairly large city. Nevertheless, I have seen very few accident scenes during he entire trip. The scenery during the trip down the Li was breathtaking, with hills rising out of the river, and one gorgeous gorge after another. Small craft would approach the boat we were on. The first time this happened I felt I was on the USS Cole, until I realized one person held onto the boat and the other person was trying to sell us something. I gave our tour guide Macy the book by John Kenneth Fairbanks to read so she could get some perspective on her own country. I’ll ask her about what she read later. A grey Porsche Carrerra just drove by. There were also some very expensive looking single homes in Guilin. Macy is our tour guide and she is about 26 years old. She said her parents had arranged a marriage for her. The boy came from a good family and had a good job. She did not marry him however because he was not handsome like me. She also is not a member of the Communist Party because she is too “independent”. We are now flying to Shanghai. The airport was a joke. There was a continuous uproar coming from the Chinese waiting for the plane. It was similar to the enormous amount of noise at the Chinese restaurant last night where my wife ordered chicken’s feet. Not realizing what she had ordered until it arrived, she proceeded to share my dinner.

August 30, 2008

2008-09-04T11:53:00.002-07:00

Flew from Guangzhou (Canton) to Guilin where we arrived and found neither tour guide nor luggage. The luggage arrived later that evening and our tour guide about one hour after we arrived in Guilin. We were taken to a hill that provided an extraordinary view of the city and the surrounding area. Four porters carried me up the 500 foot hill in shifts of two. The trip cost $30.00 which was paid to the head man who was not involved in hauling me up the hill. After he left I gave a further tip of $14.00 to the four men who had hauled me up the hill. We then went to a cave which contained some of the most beautiful stalactites (going up) and stalagmites (coming down) in the world. Unfortunately the cave had been commercialized with a light show, music and steam. We were then taken to a restaurant which served authentic Chinese food according to Macy our guide. The restaurant was noisy and crowded and served food which was unrecognizable. We returned to the hotel where we freshened up, having been on the go since 6 AM. The next stop was a boat rig up the Li River, where we saw trained cormorants with ropes tied around their necks diving in the water and bring fish back to their master in a bamboo boat, where he disgorged the fish into a basket. It got a little boring after the 15th dive and was only relieved by young people swimming in the river late at night. Our tour guide said she drank from the river when she was a little girl.

August 29, 2008

2008-09-04T11:53:00.001-07:00

Today is my birthday. My wife had a lovely card for me. Do not feel 66. Visited Three Gorge Dam which required climbing 241 fairly steep steps. Took it one go while wife and others had to stop numerous times. Could not see the dam very well because of the fog. It is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world, and a major source of pride for the Chinese. Perhaps the most interesting thing we saw were the ship locks, which consist of five locks about one mile from the dam. The locks will enable ships to completely traverse the Yangtze. Our guide was named Max and he said he was a relocate who was “very happy” (a phrase we heard repeatedly) with his relocation. He said the government paid for half of his new apartment. When repeatedly pressed during a Q and A on the bus about persons (particularly older ones who did not want to leave their ancestral homes) who did not want to be relocated, his answer reflected his lack of understanding how a court system works. He kept stating that the government had a wheel that it used to determine what someone’s compensation should be. He did not understand the concept of petitioning the government to redress a wrong, regardless of how much compensation might be offered.

August 28, 2008

2008-09-04T11:52:00.003-07:00

Took a trip in a sampan up a tributary of the Yangtze from what used to be Wuhan. There are an enormous number of different nationalities on the boat, i.e. many Germans from Groeningen University who are studying sports training, and who were at the Olympics, numerous Poles, two Spanish couples sitting at our table along with an Australian couple, and a few Americans. Spoke with a Pole who said he knew everything about Obama. He said Obama’s mother came from Africa and his father from Indonesia. He said Obama had been educated at a Muslim school in Indonesia and was mentored by the head of the Communist Party in the US. So much for America being the only place for an ignoramus. More importantly, there was a discussion on the boat after the sampan trip about the plus and minuses of the Three Gorges Project. Aaron, the Chinese person who led the discussion, said there was opposition by farmers, environmentalists and engineers before the decision was made to go ahead with the project, but the final arbiter was the government, and once the decision was made, he was not aware of anything in the media about further opposition. One of the tour guides said that the youth did not object to the project (they were offered better places to live as well as better jobs) as much as the older people who were giving up ancestral lands. This same tour guide said her city of Wushan was now underwater. She had lived in a flat 48 square meters with shared bathroom. She now has two bathrooms in her flat and three bedrooms. She had to take out a ten year loan to pay for the new flat. Welcome to the world of capitalism. A German in the audience said there were always people who objected to any governmental project, but the courts dealt with these complaints. I pointed out to this gentleman that there was no such method of airing protests in China. Interestingly enough, Aaron the tour guide said he opposed the project because of the impact it was having on the appearance of the gorges. He said now, with the increased water level, they look completely different, and not necessarily for the better. The water of the river is full of detritus. It is hard to tell what makes up the detritus, but it appears to be in part raw sewage. If the dam is creating a much slower moving river, it is not hard to imagine that the increased industrialization and urbanization along the river is creating a very toxic mixture that does not bode well for the future. The gorges themselves were spectacular, and offer a rare beauty not seen anywhere else. A constant mist on the top of the gorges provides a sense of mystery and serenity.

August 27, 2008

2008-09-04T11:52:00.001-07:00

Sitting on the Victoria Anna on the Yangtze River after just visiting Feishang, the City of Ghosts by climbing 130 steps up the bank of the river and then taking a funicular to the top instead of climbing another 500 steps. It is called this because the Buddhists believe that you go to hell (everyone) first and if you have been good during your lifetime to emerge to the City of Ghosts. If you have been bad you remain in hell for 500 years where you are tortured and then emerge in the City of Ghosts. Perhaps the most memorable thing so far in the trip was a Buddhist inscription on the side of the Temple of Heaven which read “Only kindness brings peace”. This phrase mellows me out and makes me happier. Perhaps the most depressing aspect of visiting Feishang was hearing the tour guide say that much of the temple had been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. She said this was done because Chairman Mao only wanted himself and not the old gods to be revered. The same answer was given by Reeves in Beijing when he was asked why so many temples and their artifacts were destroyed there as well. Just looked out my window of my suite (we were given this as an upgrade purely by chance)and saw a beautiful pagoda on a hill. The government moved the entire city of Feishang from one side of the river to the other where you see a city with numerous high rise buildings sitting on the side of the opposite bank. The river will rise approximately another 50 meters and has already covered the entire old city of Feishang under water. We learned this when we asked one of the tour guides on the steps up to Feishang where the old city was and he pointed underwater. I said you will have to get out the fins to visit your ancestors but I am not sure he understood me.

August 26, 2008

2008-09-04T11:51:00.001-07:00

Shirley, a 23 year old Chinese tour guide, took us to Dazu. This had to be the highlight of the trip so far. Buddhist monks in the 12th century carved enormous statues, including Buddhas and other figures, into limestone cliffs and caves. There are hundreds of figures, each one more interesting than the next. During the trip to Dazu, Shirley asked me about the book I was reading. The book, Way of the World by Ronald Suskind, is a fascinating tale of numerous persons who have been effected by the Bush/Cheney administration. One theme of the book is that the current administration does not truly embody American values because it uses secretive, non-democratic behavior in carrying out its foreign policy. I suggested to Shirley that the Chinese government engages in the same type of behavior by not allowing its citizens to truly participate in formulating domestic policy. She did not agree. I pressed her on what she thought as an individual about her government because she kept answering my question by using the term “the Chinese people”. She finally said she does not agree with her government all the time, but in fact listens more to what her parents say. This was particularly true when it came to the question of what a Chinese girl would do if she became pregnant out of wedlock. This issue came up because one of the characters in the Suskind book was a young man from Afghanistan who was living in the US and learned that an American female friend had a baby and was not married. He said in Afghanistan the girl would be killed. I asked Shirley what would happen to the same girl in China and she said the girl would not be seen as being evil and would be accepted into society. We came back to Chunqing (pronounced Chun Ching with an accent on the Ching) and I told Shirley the only thing I wanted was a Big Mac after having eaten Chinese food for a week. Chunqing is made up of four districts, all connected by tunnels and bridges. The North District is where the hotel (Holiday Inn which has seen better days) was and is at least the size in population and territory of Philadelphia. It is 83,000 square kilometers, a number I kept questioning Shirley about but was verified in a book later on. The solution as to the size of Chungqing in square kilometers and population became apparent after speaking with an American named Dick on the Victoria Anna. It is the municipality of Chunqing that is so large, and comes about because the municipality has incorporated all the land mass from Chungqing proper to a spot 240 miles away. The other two districts are the Central and Knight Dragon districts. Each district is again at least the size of Manhattan in population and geography, and probably has as many skyscrapers. We were taken to Liberation Tower (a monument to victory over the Japanese in WWII), and of course there is a Rolex clock at the top, allegedly keeping the most accurate time in the country. Just as there were swarms of people all around shopping at the various malls and stores in the South District when we stopped for a big Mac, there were countless numbers of people (mostly young females like Shirley) out shopping near the Tower.

August 25, 2008

2008-09-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

Flying now from Beijing to Chunqing. Trip to Terminal 2 at Beijing Airport uneventful. Terminal 3 is the new international terminal which we saw on TV and is beautiful. We landed from the US in this terminal but really didn’t get a chance to see it because our guide picked us up inside. Met in Chunqing by Shirley and taken to the Stilwell Museum in the South District. This was the headquarters for American forces in the Chinese theater. There are numerous pictures of General Stilwell with Chiang Kai Shek, as well as Chairman Mao, as the general was trying to appease both sides during the war. William Manchester has written an excellent book about the general and it is my intent to read it when I get back. We then visited the area called “18 steps”, which is a huge marketplace in the oldest part of the city. It is a fascinating place, full of throngs of people buying and selling anything that walks, talks, or is sown. It is mindful of the market next to the Red Fort in Delhi. It was also the site of a massacre during WWII when it was bombed by the Japanese. We were then returned to the hotel where we had a terrible dinner and went to sleep.

August 24, 2008

2008-09-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

Just watched America beat Spain in basketball. Spain played very well. Kobe Bryant really wanted to win. It shows how someone can come back from adversity (his problem with the young girl in Colorado). Learned Joe Biden will be the Vice Presidential candidate and agree with David Brooks he will make a very good running mate and Vice President if elected. He is loyal, knowledgeable, and will hammer McCain during the election. Sitting here typing and listening to CCTV 1 in Chinese with picture of Chairman Mao on the Heavenly Gate is quite amazing. Now they are showing the Chinese girl who beat the other Chinese (Taiwan) girl in ping pong with music reminiscent of Wide World of Sport in the background. Earlier in the day went to a mall in downtown Beijing which is as good as any upscale mall in the US. Serious case of “deli belly” laid me up today. Feel better now and am going to restaurant for Peking duck. Hope I don’t get worse. Went to supposedly best Peking duck place in Beijing. Taxi driver dropped us off about half mile from restaurant where pedicycle person was waiting who drove us to restaurant. He wanted to charge us 200 yuan ($30.00) whereas taxi ride from hotel was $5.00. My wife bargained him down to 50 yuan ($7.00). The daughter of the owner of the restaurant was named Jacqueline and she spoke to us in English about how much trouble she had with the government. She said about two weeks before the Games started she was told by the Fire Department that the restaurant had two problems with the electricity. She fixed the problems and told she could still not remain open during the Olympics. Luckily her restaurant was chosen to be interviewed by the Dutch team for TV and she was allowed to remain open during the Games. Numerous teams and officials came to the restaurant. VP Gore and Gistard d’Estaing are some of the guests in the photos on the walls of the restaurant.

August 23, 2008

2008-09-04T11:37:00.001-07:00

Visited Temple of Heaven. Most interesting part of the trip were the average Beijingers sitting outside the entrance to the Temple. They had karaoke and dancers who were quite entertaining. Went to hutong afterword. Met with husband and wife in their home. Earlier in the day went to the Temple of Heaven and found it beautiful. Went to the Birdcage again after meeting my wife’s fellow worker who was Chinese working in Beijing. My wife fell and hurt her right knee. Not that impressed with the emergency care she received, nor with the apparent lack of security, which was mostly provide by volunteers. Spoke with bother of American water polo player (team earned a solve medal) on the Victoria Anna later on who said security at the Athens Games much more apparent with the presence of army personnel with visible weapons.

August 22, 2008

2008-09-04T11:35:00.001-07:00

Went to track and field at the Birdcage. The subway was jammed with people going to Games. Took Line 10 to Line 8 which was the line to the Olympic Green. The station at the end of Line 10 was jammed with people scalping tickets There had been a gig article in the People’s Daily the day before as to how there had been a roundup of international scalpers who had been sent back to their host countries. Saw the American men and women qualify for the 4 X 400. The American men crossed the finish line at least 15 meters ahead of the British team.

August 20, 2008

2008-09-04T11:33:00.000-07:00

First stop was Tiannamen Square. Visited Forbidden City. Kept thinking of Bertulucci’s film “The First Emperor”, particularly at the end of the tour when leaving the northern gate, which is where the boy emperor ran (maybe biked) after his mother who was leaving him for the last time. Joked with Reeves about there always being one inner temple to be seen, i.e. the last one of the emperor himself was the inner inner inner ….. temple. Next stop was the Lama Temple which had the largest indoor Buddha, coincidentally made from one tree. The most striking thing about Beijing is the amount of buildings constructed, as well as the new buildings already gone up. A fellow tourist said that 25% of the cranes in the world are currently in China. The tremendous need for energy was exemplified by the crawling traffic along the ring roads (there are now six). The tour guide said that only 40% of the normal traffic was allowed on the roads during the Olympics. Cannot imagine what it must be like during normal times. 80% of China’s energy comes from coal, which goes a long way toward explaining the bad pollution in the country. Even so, the air in Beijing was not as bad as I thought it would be.

August 19, 2008

2008-09-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

Trip from Philly to Dulles uneventful. Sitting in old version of 747 out of Dulles flying United to Beijing for the Olympics. Mindful of old United ad for Olympics “Fly the friendly skies” no longer relevant because first thing stewardess said in response to my answer to her question why do you want to sit near galley (I said to be able to speak with you guys meaning the stewardesses) she said we (meaning flight crew) don’t speak to anyone because of a pay decrease. Of course she was kidding but it does capture the prevailing economic condition for airlines at this time. Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the flight was just before we passed to the east of the North Pole when a large mountain range partially covered in snow came into view. This lasted for about 30 minutes when water and ice sheets appeared. By the time we were over the North Pole it was heavy cloud cover so it was hard to know if the open water continued, another indication of the global warming situation. Finally arrived in Beijing after 13 and ½ half hours non-stop from Dulles. Only one movie at a time could be seen on the main screen in the cabin. The major attraction was Kungfu Panda. Read John Kenneth Fairbank’s book on China, which is the same book read in undergraduate school. Marvelous compendium of anthropological, political and historical story of China. Met at the airport by tour guide who took the name Reeves as in Keanu Reeves because his Chinese name too hard to pronounce for westerners to pronounce. Had Peking duck at local restaurant near the hotel which was very good.