We have friends, long-time residents in Beijing, Aussies and Europeans, who have worried for years at the increasing repression: in the arts, in the media, in free expression. They dare not talk about the great leader by name except as "the X factor".
Re the payments issue that Wang starts with: our son worked in China five years ago and even then he couldn't use his cash or credit cards. It's only got worse, even though (as noted above) it's illegal to refuse cash.
But that's far from the worst of it. There was the case of the "two Michael's". Two Canadians in China, arrested for being Canadian. Because Canada had arrested the daughter of the founder of Huawei, for specified alleged crimes. The two Michaels were not arrested for any specific crime. They were hostages. Who wants to become such a pawn? And for sure this worries our live-in-China friends. Who wouldn't be worried? So they keep their passports current and a flight out is always on the cards.
I used to travel to China all the time. To Shenzhen for the China Cup Regatta. To Zhuhai for an air show. To Shanghai for a Tennis Masters. To Beijing to visit mates. To Jiangxi to climb a mountain. No more. It's too much of a hassle.
The word "arrogant" is used above, as in Chinese officials are "bordering on …". But it's not bordering on, as reported by our friends and numerous others on social media. And account to me, from my own in-country experience. The arrogance is real and destructive for China.
Thus the direction of travel, for China, remains out not in.
While the U.S.? Millions, literally millions, from around the world, are desperate to enter the U.S.. No one is desperate to flee to China. The "voting with your feet" poll is crystal clear in telling us who is attractive and who is not.
'Nuff said?
Sent from my iPad
