[kingbee]

Hm.. Am not wanting to go off topic, but am in Hunan, near Changsha. Looking to travel to Wuhan cos it's only a few hours away apparently by train, and Tianjin I hear is rather nice too...

[Terrik]

Yeah Wuhan's not a bad place. It's often overlooked in favor of the coastal cities. It has some kickass food--the local 热干面 is pretty tasty. If you head up there, check out the Yellow Crane tower, and your best bet to find something to do is hitting Hankou (汉口）and going down the walking street.

P.S., if you have the chance, going in March is a pretty good idea. About this time of the year, the thousands of Cherry blossoms over at Wuhan University should be blooming.

As for Tianjin, seems nice enough so far, but I've been here only about 10 days so far, so I don't have a real feel for the city yet, but people are generally friendly.

[voyager01]

lots of people in the west are brainwashed by their media, they don't understand that west wants democracy to developing countries just to slow down their economic growth.

[Teen Politican]

So lively here wow!

Brain-washing is a necessary evil.

[kingbee]

I often tell my girlfriend that's she's brainwashed and oppressed (she's Chinese). Is it slightly patronising for me to say that? Is it slightly patronising for people to say that to a whole country?

[Eauz]

[Eauz Edit: Let's stay on topic and cut out all the one-liners. Thank you.]

[Igor Antunov]

I often tell my girlfriend that's she's brainwashed and oppressed (she's Chinese). Is it slightly patronising for me to say that? Is it slightly patronising for people to say that to a whole country?

Yes it is my friend. It also shows that girls really do go after jerks, especially insecure asian girls.

[senor boogie woogie]

Ni Hao!

I have lived and worked in China for the past eight years and 90% of the time love the place

I lived in a city for 1 1/2 years where there was no other foreigner in sight.

I don't think anyone that is not a Chinese understands the Chinese. It is almost like, "It's a Chinese thing, you would not understand." I live in a city called Hangzhou that has a small community of foreigners from all over the World, and when we get together, we marvel and scratch our heads on how Chinese people do things and operate. You go left, they go right. They are also the most insistant people in the World, if a Chinese tells you that it's raining on a sunny day, he wont accept the sun rays in his face.

Chinese can also be the most annoying, aggrevating people ever. The loud way they speak. Their rude, impatient nature. The way that they always stand in doorways or when they would open windows on freezing days for the "fresh air". To be able to talk about all the weird and interesting experiences I have had with Chinese people would take volumes. The food, the customs, the attitudes, sex.

China needs a strong, central government that runs things. Democracy would be a failure here, a bad experiment that would lead right back to a dictatorship. Democracy would be corrupt, with a lot of crooked parties and shenanigans. The Han would be fighting amongst themselves for control while other regions are trying to break apart. Please World, quit asking them to be Democratic. They have never done it and would mess it up badly in your face.

By and large, I enjoy the Chinese people very much. They are warm, hospitable, basically friendly folk. The country is ABSOLUTELY F'ING AMAZING and if you have the time and the money, come over here and see it. I have been to so many interesting and beautiful places here. My province of Zhejiang is a beautiful place. The most beautiful province is Yunnan, and I would not mind retiring there with my Chinese wife and a small house, running a hostel/English school/computer room/coffee-beer-wine bar.

I want to stay in China for the rest of my life if the nation stays in this general direction.

[Celebriton]

Democracy basically is not all about presidential election. Election is just one part of the Democracy system, not the most importance one. The election is just a way to avoid a mad leader to become a president and people has control with it to dispose him. Sometimes I wonder, if Chinese people can dispose the chairman Mao earlier in 50~60, may be Chinese people do not need to wait so long to get economy progress like in present day.

The most essential part of democracy is the people. The only person who know about the people problems, is the people himself. Democracy is giving people to solve their own problem rather than waiting the outsider to help and solve for them. An outsider who do not understand the people problem. Talk about people, people is wide and huge. Every place has it own community and problem, by giving each people to govern himself can also reduce a lot of trouble in central government.

Although China is imperial in the past and authoritarian in present, the democracy ideology is everywhere. China has tyrant in the past, Qin ShiHuang. But Han dynasty adopt Confucius and Confucius teaching is the duty of a country is to serve to it's own people, not vice versa.

From history we also know that most of China imperial golden age is because they listen and serving the people. It became fail when the China leader abandon their job to the people and become selfish, tyrant and corrupt.

Talk about the government system, It's a hard thing. We know that there's no one solution to solve all the problems. Instead there's multiple solution for each different problems. Not every country can run democracy, democracy need to be learned, need some amount of knowledge and experience. And in my observation, not every Third World country ready to run democracy. Many of them need to take time to make democracy to run well like in Europe and US. Sometimes I saw many third world country run democracy like a joke.

Some people said that the indicator a country is ready to accept democracy if those people in the country has reach income US$10.000 a year. At that time people is smart enough and has more voice that need to be listened by the government. If the Chinese people reach income US$10.000 a year, China will automatically became a democracy country, with or without presidential election, the people will become more critique and demand more from the government.

Democracy in Republic of China era is fail, because it was too soon. Many bad people still dominating the power and most people of China do not understand the meaning of democracy.

Although China government is authoritarian type of government, but if they want to success and win the people heart, they must listen to the people and serving the people. It's the essential part of democracy. Call it as democracy in authoritarian type of government.

The reason China choose to became authoritarian or may be the Imperial Examination System is a good one too. China know that What ever the government system, the most importance is the quality of their leaders and other government officer too, just like what Deng Xiaoping said. That's how the Imperial Examination System work. And the China leaders know that they must guard the system very well and not to let it fall into dictatorship, disband or modify the system to make benefit for their own. Learning from the past, what ever good the system, if leader do not respect it and run it as it should be, the system will fail and the country will fall into chaos.

China government is also the most flexible in the world. They can run what ever system they feel suitable, off course with very carefully and not to very quickly too. As Deng Xiaoping said about black cat and white cat, who can catch the mouse, is the good cat. What ever the system, as long as it good and suitable, we will run it. Democracy, Communism, Capitalism, Socialism, mix of all, etc.

Deng Xiaoping also said like walking in the river. You can't see the river floor, but you can feel it the surface of the floor using your feet. Is there a stone or a hole ahead? You must step forward very carefully, one by one, think and anticipate the road ahead. That what China government do today, they try to calculate, recalculate and predict the near future so hard and find a solution to anticipate it.

Like how China predict the credit crunch and anticipate it very early, when many country still confuse about it. Like how Alan Greenspan said that actually China government know all their problem and how to solve it. I'm impress with the ex-PM Zhu Rongji, when both of them discussing about about China banks. Not only in economy but also in every aspect. May be not as perfect as the sound, but at least they try it.

Talk about democracy, China government is already calculate it and see what the future ahead. Is America style of democracy suitable for China people or we must find another type of democracy? We will see it. We all know that people of China is getting more critical and louder everyday. Demanding more from the government.