Shanghai-ed

You would expect Chinese New Year in Shanghai to be a humdinger riotous celebration with dancing in the streets. It isn’t. Everyone goes home or stays home with family. Sure there was the fire works but my hosts kept me well away from the street because when the fireworks start popping, it’s a dangerous place to be. I was sequestered away in a top floor restaurant with 360 degree panoramic views of the alleged mayhem. The fireworks are all private affairs, the government has no need to waste taxpayer dollars on such events. People die, buildings burn down. Culture survives. You’d think the commies would be the ultimate nanny state. Not so. They are to busy actually thinking big to worry about a few people getting killed doing what they love doing.

Not that you could call China a communist state. It’s more a corporation with a board that can never be sacked and all employees tacitly obedient to non disclosure non compete agreements. Still communism is a good cover – Marx takes the blame and China takes the profit. It works for me. At about one fifth of the rate of an Australian worker.

And while Aussies rabbit on about human rights and freedom of expression, the Chinese are fully aware of the score. One day we say something bad about the Chinese government, or do something bad like Uighurrs have rights too, or like not agree to their iron ore pricing, and we are hammered in the Chinese media as bad people, a bad country. Don't go there. Then Kevin kisses and makes up and we are flavour of the month again. The TV tells the masses to go to Australia and buy up real estate and aged care facilities. This bi-polar disorder of the CCP is in fact noticed by Chinese People. And like Australians, they have better things to do than listen to politicians.

Shanghai was probably not a good place to get a grip on China as a developing country. There’s more skyscrapers per square metre than anywhere in the developed world. So I had to go to a developing, backward, communist country to get on a tilt train that goes 420 km per hour. I have the photo to prove it. And all for the cost of a chocolate milkshake and a round of ham sandwiches. Beat that Top Gear. No steam driven locos there. At least people ignore the traffic lights like all good communists should. Somewhere in China, people must be going without, suffering as only starving, collectivised, peasants do. But not in the big smoke. One of my hosts had been on a “re-education” experience because she was too smart at high school. Smart. And a woman. Double bad. She had to spend 6 years in a dodgy sawmill trying not to lose her fingers. Was she bitter? Not likely. It just makes her more determined to acquire more wealth. We joked that here in the developed world, 90% of paypackets go on taxes and bills and essentials. Why would you want to be a peasant who owns their own land, grows their own food, pays no bills, has little need for money and works ten or 15 hours a week in the field. Hell what type of life is that? Better you be “developed” and spend your life slaving for consumer goods and a better life where you own your own land, grow your food and don’t need money.