9 March 2014

Hi everyone,

I am still trying to get my head around blogging.  As mentioned in my February 2014 post (my first), my intention was to use the new blog as a site for my monthly "Letter from China".  But quite a lot has happened in the last week, so I have decided to do a post now.  Feels a bit awkward, but here goes.

We've just finished the 2nd week of teaching for this semester.  At this stage I have 12 hours (4 Western Culture and 8 Oral English) a week, but will get another 4 hours a week in April.  The first couple of weeks of a new semester are always busy, as teachers get used to their schedules and students get used to their teachers.

Terrorist attack in Kunming, Yunnan Province

Injured victims receiving treatment

At about 9.10pm on Saturday night 1 March 2014 a gang of eight people (6 men and 2 women) entered the Kunming Railway Station armed with long knives (swords) and indiscriminately attacked men, women and children.  In 15 minutes of mayhem, they killed 29 and injured 143.  It must have been a horrific scene of carnage with bodies, severed limbs and blood everywhere.

Armed police arrived and in the ensuing fight four of the attackers were killed and one captured.  The other three were captured the following day. It was announced that the group were Uygurs from Xinjiang, and related to the separatist East Turkistan Liberation Movement. The Uygurs are the largest minority group in Xinjiang Province.  They are of Turkic origin and Moslems, so very different from Han Chinese (who constitute about 92% of China's population).

There have been intermittent clashes between police and extremist groups in Xinjiang over the years, but now they seem to be taking the fight to other parts of China.  In October 2013 a jeep drove into a group of tourists in Tiananmen Square in Beijing and exploded, killing two (plus 3 attackers) and injuring 40.  And now this incident in Kunming.

Somehow the Beijing bombing seemed a bit unreal, but everyone could relate to what happened in Kunming.  Trains are the primary form of transport in China, and people are always at railway stations.

I was disappointed by the way some Western journalists reported this incident, including Stephen McDonell the ABC correspondent.  They seemed reluctant to call this a terrorist attack, and related it to Uygur - Han tensions.  Whatever their motives, attacking unarmed, innocent people is clearly 'terrorism'. Period.

In my Oral English classes last week I asked my students for their opinions about this incident.  As I expected, they all expressed shock and dismay.  But what surprised me was that many of them felt that "something bigger" / "foreign forces" were behind the attack.  They believed that this was part of a plot to de-stabilise China and constrain its development, through separating Xinjiang (and Tibet) and thus weakening China.  Digging further, they thought that the USA was behind it all.

Wow, that was unexpected.  A conspiracy theory!    Chinese xenophobia?  How widespread are such views? On reflection, why should Westerners be the only ones to engage in conspiracy theories?

There seems to be a general feeling that the US fears China's rise and wants to constrain it.  They point to the leaders of the East Turkistan movement being based in the USA.  And the recent meeting between Obama and the Dalai Lama (and the Dalai Lama leading prayers at Congress last week).  There is a suspicion that the US talks friendship, but has a hidden agenda.  A classic case is Taiwan. While the US espouses a "One China" policy, American companies sell sophisticated weaponry to Taiwan. Surely a real friend of China would not act like that?

I asked for evidence of US government involvement in separatist movements in China, but of course there is none (although I have read that the CIA supported some groups back in the 1950s and 1960s).

My 'sample' was small - the 82 students in my Oral English classes.  It was difficult to gauge exactly how many students subscribed to this conspiracy theory - from observation perhaps 50%, but that's a guess.  So this little survey should be taken as indicative only.  Still, it's useful to understand how ordinary Chinese view these matters, and the world.

The Ukraine crisis

The situation in the Ukraine has escalated in the last week.  It is a complex scenario, which hopefully will be resolved peacefully.  I feel for ordinary Ukrainians - they are suffering through this period. Sometimes we feel isolated Down Under, but at times like this we are thankful for the relative tranquility of our country, and the absence of such historical hang-overs which affect many of the countries in Central/East Europe.

I had to chuckle when John Kerry visited Kiev a few days ago and lectured Russia about invading other countries. Selective memory, don't you think?

Actually, Kerry has been incredibly active in his first year as Secretary of State, including ten visits to the Middle East.  That's a thorny and thankless issue, but Obama & Kerry seem determined to give it their best shot.

Apparently Obama has been in regular phone contact with Putin over recent days. All I can say is "Thank God for Obama."  Can you imagine George W Bush doing that?

Kevin Rudd

In the November 2013 "Letter" I wondered what next for ex-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd?  I was interested to read that he has now taken up a position as a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University, to manage a project called "China's role in the global order." While I would have liked to see him do something of direct benefit to Australia, I guess the scars are still too raw.

I am sure that he will enjoy the peaceful environment in Boston and the intellectual challenges of his new role. It is likely that China will overtake the US as the world's biggest economy by the end of this decade, and how China relates to the community of nations (and we to it) will be crucial to world peace and development.

Onya, Kev!

Chinese Government

The annual meeting of the National People's Congress started in Beijing this week.  It marks the first anniversary in office of the new team of President Xi Jin Ping and Premier Li Ke Qiang.

Can you imagine running a country of 1,350 million souls? Lots and lots and lots of issues, but they seem to have made a good start.  Environmental degradation has become a major concern and the Premier was applauded when he announced a "War on Pollution".  Good news, as the full force of the government will now be brought to bear on this problem, and not a moment too soon.

Defence budget

The Chinese government announced a 12% increase in the defence budget (to about 2% of the total budget), which excited many observers.  But that is still only about 20% of America's $600+ billion p.a. defence allocation (4.3% of their budget).  Begs the question: why does America spend so much on defence?

Teaching

During the week I was asked to assess the oral English ability of some PhD students who are applying for scholarships to do part of their study overseas.  I chatted with each student for 4 or 5 minutes and then gave a score based on comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, and pronunciation. At the end of his exam, one of the students said to me "Please give me a high mark, as I am very keen to study overseas."  I don't know if they make such appeals to Chinese teachers, but it didn't go down well with me and I gave him a slightly lower mark than I would have otherwise!

Actually, one of my students from last semester sent me a text message asking if I can increase the final mark I gave her back in December?  Of course I refused, but in any case the marks are in the system and can not be changed.

This is the first time in 3 years that I have had such a request.  I try to be helpful when I can.  For example, last semester a girl missed the Culture exam.  She called me the next day, apologised profusely and admitted that she just forgot that the exam was on.  I arranged for her to take a new exam paper, which I supervised. The Chinese teachers were surprised - they would not normally help a student in such circumstances.  But I will not change marks once given, and must admit that I get annoyed when asked.

Missing plane

As I write a huge search has been launched for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 which suddenly disappeared while on a flight from KL to Beijing.  239 passengers, including 154 Chinese and 6 Aussies. We shouldn't jump to conclusions, but it appears a tragedy in the making. Our thoughts and hopes are with all those on that aeroplane and all their families.

...

That's all for now, folks.  Keep smiling and fit and well.

Alex Olah
Teaching English at the China University of Petroleum in Qingdao, China
9 March 2014