So much food, but nothing to eat

The Chinese love their food. And now they can't stop talking about it...

From rumours of bio-engineered 6 wing chickens to 100kg pigs fattened in just 50 days, the Chinese chattering classes are seriously worried about what they are putting in their mounths.

And it seems nothing is safe. Even Fish and Prawns are said to be swimming in hormones to promote growth. And fruit is said to be coloured (inside and out) and sweetened.

One of my previous blogs talked about the exodus of the smartest Chinese to other countries...this is one of the reasons

Nose in Front

The image below tells us so much about Chinese society and culture.
Everyone is driven by their own self interest and desires, and it
would be rare to see allowances or provisions for others along the way.


Whereas an intelligent assessment of the situation pictured would be
to wait, and to allow another car to pass in front to ease the flow,
this would require a gesture so alien to the culture that it cannot be
done; Lose face by letting another person have any priority or
preference over you?


The result, a 30 minute log jam for the drivers (only finally
resolved by face-immune Police) and an amusing yet telling scene of
China for me.

China's Latest Export: Rich Chinese People

In the lift in my Shanghai apartment building is a Focus Media LED screen which usually displays ads for luxury cars, villa, holidays and banking services. However, what caught my eye today was an ad to leave China - forever! 700,000 rmb (about US$100,000) for Canadian residency.

It seems that the days of the "returning Chinese" are over. 8 years ago they were returning in droves...born in China, educated and trained overseas, and then returning to China in the early 2000's to make their fortune. Now, it seems, the smart money is looking for the financial security, quality education, healthcare and pollution-free alternatives of Australia, Canada and USA. With wife and kid in tow, these newly rich Chinese are off - for good.

This is not some short term fad. This is a growing trend. And it will become an increasingly worrying one for the Chinese government. Not only is this a flight of wealth, but also a brain drain. Unfortunately for China, it seems that not even the Great Wall will be able to stop this exodus.

UPSIDE DOWN CHINA

I was enjoying a very fine pizza at HuTong Pizza in HouHai, Beijing this evening when I observed a fascinating truism about modern China...it is upside down!

Sitting next to us was a table consisting of three generations of a Beijingnese family: Grandama, Daughter and her husband, their child, and her friend.

THE GRANDMOTHER was bewildered by the whole experience. She clearly failed to understand why her middle class daughter had brought her down a dirty little side street into an old and run down HuTong to sit on hard wooden chairs to eat a round piece of hard bread with stuff on it. She also clearly was struggling with the concept of a knife and fork (but to be fair, I also prefer my fingers for pizza!)

THE MOTHER was also a little wary, but obviously her husband is a pizza fan so she was going along with the plan. However, the green carton of Kraft Parmesan cheese was a step too far. Why was there something on the table that smells of old socks, and what should she do with it? For advice she turned to her 10 year old...

THE DAUGHTER and her friend were in their element. Clearly knowing immediately that this was cheese, and that this should be sprinkled on top of the pizza, she showed her mum, then deftly picked up a slice of the pizza and popped it in her mouth. All washed down with a glass of iced Coke, clearly this generation knows what it wants, and wants what it likes.


Surely, there has never before been a country that has created such an upside down understanding of the world, nor one where respect appears to go to the youngest, rather than to the oldest. Knowledge is power.