Don't mention the War 别谈到日本

As I mentioned in a previous post, there is a considerable amount of unresolved tension between Japan and China. Anyone who has visited chinaSMACK can testify to the vitriol that a minority of Chinese netizens can spew regarding anything Japanese. Under the anonymity of the internet, many people feel able to speak more loosely. However, 反日 (fanri, or anti-Japan) is an accepted and unchallenged topic of conversation. Last year, I stayed with a perfectly hospitable, friendly and normal family over the Summer holidays, but even on the first day, the daughter said to me offhandedly and casually that she hates the Japanese. My current landlord told me he would never rent any property of his to a Japanese. Recently, I had a disagreement with a teacher, let's call him Mr. Zhang, that really appalled me. 

I hadn't prepared all of the text, so I thought I could delay him a little, and seeing as he was looking at the map of China on the wall, I asked why China laid claim to the entire ocean below it right up to the shores of Malaysia. He somehow moved the topic onto the Japanese and spent the next hour ranting. And not the regular 'I don't like the Japanese' rants. He said he would never teach a Japanese person, because 'I teach students, not pigs or dogs', which he said in both English and Chinese. At first we treated it like a normal lesson. We've had other classes with other teachers where we've had discussions on the Diaoyu Islands that were perfectly reasonable, so we offered up other points of view, but remained neutral over the issue. Every time we tried to debate a point he would shout us down saying we were '没有道理' (being unreasonable or illogical), or deceived by the Japanese (through our university education!!), or that we didn't understand China. Another student eventually walked out, while I sat in silence. 

The next day, we went to the office and asked to switch teachers, not because he disliked the Japanese, but because as a teacher wasn't able to distance himself from the topic. He had upset too many of us to able to continue learning comfortably from him. We were then visited by the head of department and another teacher, who tried to convince us 

1. We didn't understand what he was saying
2. We misinterpreted what he was saying
3. It was our fault, for raising the topic of the Diaoyu Islands and for not understanding Mr. Zhang's temperament. 
4. Mr. Zhang can't be racist because the majority of people think this way

Firstly, I understood quite clearly what he was saying, especially as he repeated himself and he stood up to write words like 'deceptive' on the board. Secondly, calling people 'dogs' or 'pigs' is a common insult in China, and in those cases it is metaphorical (I hope), but saying 'I teach students, not pigs or dogs' denotes that this was not a metaphor. I would concede the third point had I actually raised the topic of the Diaoyu Islands. I'm not even going to go into the fourth point. AAARRRGHH. 

At this point, I feel the need to defend myself, as I understand that many Chinese have lasting personal reasons to feel embittered towards the Japanese. My mother's family were also directly affected by the Imperial Japanese expansion during the Second World War and before. Chinese resentment toward the Japanese mainly springs from their actions during this era. But personal grievance and violent Nationalism shouldn't have to be linked.

James Kynge, author of China Shakes the World, sees Chinese Nationalism as a child of the CCP that it is no longer able to control. From the mid-1990s the Chinese government altered its education system to what the Japanese see as an instigation of “drives to drum up patriotism”, reinforcing Japan as the enemy. As a result the anti-Japanese riots of 2005 became more than the government could control. They were unable to stop the crowds attacking Japanese property and embassies for fear that they would face a backlash for being pro-Japanese, which immediately equates to anti-Chinese. Consequently, the people of Japan saw “images of [Chinese] policemen standing by while demonstrators hurled stones at Japanese diplomatic offices”.

This is very much a shadow of what the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls the History Issue, which the media and education on both sides does not appear to be soothing. Chinese sentiment revolves around the lack of war reparations, a lack of a sufficient apology and Japanese aggression, especially over incidents like Nanjing. A CCP writer acknowledged that Japanese aid, grants and loans are “virtually non-existent” in China’s media, and newspapers deliberately tap into anti-Japanese feelings in order to improve their sales. The effects of the education which hones in on the Japanese atrocities of war has bred a youth which when asked what they associate with Japan, 83.9% respond “the Nanking Massacre”. Faced with such strong feelings from what is dubbed ‘the restless youth’, would the CCP leadership be allowed to back down in a crisis with Japan? Would it be pressured to continue by the will of the almost dangerously patriotic nation that it had a hand in making?

Likewise, the Japanese education system has been accused of neglecting or distorting the events of World War II, a cause of much aggravation in South Korea and China. Tokyo maintains that there was only textbook in question, and it was created by an independent publisher, and was only picked up by 0.1% of Japanese middle schools. In response to the outrage in China and South Korea, joint historical research groups were proposed, but the damage from the textbooks was already too deep. The textbooks combined with Prime Minister Koizumi’s Yasukuni visits sparked anti-Japanese demonstrations and hackers on the Prime Ministers site.

China saw Japan as glorifying its Second World War acts. Whether or not this is true, there is simply not the emphasis on the atrocities committed as there is in China, or South Korea, and as such some Japanese do not have the same understanding of events. Hence, Japan is frustrated by Chinese references to the past. The Chinese calls for an apology causes dismay in Tokyo, when they feel that they have apologised explicitly and repeatedly from 1972; “in the Japan-China joint communiqué of September 1972, in the 1978 treaty, and in the Japan-China joint declaration of 1998” and in numerous political speeches. However, after some such apologies, visits would be made to the Yasukuni shrine, where a number of Class A war criminal's names are listed. In visiting the shrine, it is felt that the Japanese honour the atrocities committed and their apologies are thus invalidated.

Such a gulf of misunderstanding between these two populations, perpetuated by their narratives of history and constant media portrayal of one another, takes a long time to heal. In the case of Mr. Zhang, Japan is difficult topic for him, one which time has not changed, a Chinese friend used the word 老顽固 (old and stubborn) to describe him. Understandably, this topic is particularly sensitive for the older generations, the ones who experienced occupation first-hand. So when Mr. Zhang said that we didn't understand China, he had a point. There is a difference between studying China's history in a formal, detached setting, from understanding the pain of humiliation, invasion and occupation. This pain and anger lives on in China's restless youth. 

I titled this post after the famous quotation from Fawlty Towers, but I mean it sincerely and with sadness, because unlike in Europe, the War is not forgiven, and is an ongoing issue in the form of the Diaoyu Islands. Raise the topic of the Japanese and the War, and you may find a can of worms that might be best left closed. Having said that, China is such a vast and populous country; among its citizens are those who are pertinacious in their prejudice, and on the other end of the spectrum, those who enjoy Japanese music, language and popular culture. 

River Crabs and the Chinese Internet

The majority of what we hear about the Internet in China paints a gloomy picture. Censorship, online police and the planned introduction of real-name registration for microblogs; it’s an Orwellian nightmare. Despite the image of repression, there are a surprising number of ways in which the online Chinese are evading the censors and making themselves heard. Recent events could not be more relevant in showing the huge impact social media can have on social movements and revolutions. It’s no wonder the Chinese government are uncomfortable about the freedom of discussion that the internet provides.

A Chinese Mitten Crab

The internet has given Chinese netizens a taste of free speech, which they will now resolutely defend. In response to the proposed built-in censor ‘Green-Dam Youth Escort’ software of 2009, tens of thousands of China’s online population signed up to proxy servers that allow them to ‘climb’ the firewall. At the last moment, the government pulled the plug on the Green Dam.

A recent glitch in China’s ‘Great Firewall’ allowed netizens access to the normally forbidden social network Google+, which is banned alongside Facebook and Twitter. Swarming towards the leader of the free world, they began a movement to occupy President Obama’s Google+ account. The fissure was sealed up within five days, but the ‘Occupy Obama’ movement continues. His page has become a forum for thoughts that the censored Chinese people want to express; some call for Western style democracy, some the release of China’s victims of conscience, others want tougher reproof of China’s human right’s record.

However there are ways around the firewall that do not need proxy servers or VPNs, that rely on the nuances and complexity of the Chinese language, as well as a bit of humour. If you search expletives or forbidden topics, an error page or forbidden content page will appear. Now, imagine a language where you can find a homophone for anything. Although it sounds the same, it will have a completely different character with an entirely different meaning. When Hu Jintao introduced the ‘Harmonious Society’ (héxié shèhuì) ideology in 2004, its clauses came to justify the growing internet exclusion of topics that ‘undermine social stability’. Before long, it became synonymous with censorship. Under the erratic eye of the censors, ‘harmonisation’ (héxié) became a taboo topic. Chinese netizens circumvented this blockage with a pun, ‘harmonisation’ was substituted with ‘river crab’ (héxiè). Thus the lowly Chinese Mitten Crab arose as the champion in the fight against censorship.

Similar puns have emerged, one former expletive is so popular that there are now cuddly toys of its new rendering as ‘grass mud horse’, an ancient mythical animal resembling an alpaca. As fast and as complex as the firewall is, Chinese netizens have developed a constantly mobile vocabulary ready to adapt to it. With an online population of 300 million and counting, and a language of over 80,000 characters, censorship will be a constant game of catch-up for the government from here on.

Cao ni ma 'grass mud horse' fluffy toys

Split personality rocks: Diaoyu vs Senkaku

I realise that to some, this title may sound like a review of Street Fighter and psychological disorders. Well it's not. Currently it's one of the biggest stories in Chinese media, and raising the issue with a Chinese or Japanese person may hit a nerve.

The Diaoyu (Chinese name) or Senkaku (Japanese name) Islands sit in disputed waters and are claimed by China, Japan and Taiwan. The recent spat of violent protests over the Islands was the culmination of a tense year,  brought about by a patriotic Japanese citizen planting the Japanese flag on the Islands on the 18th of August. This is one of a number of points of particular tension to Japan and China. While not mentioned on the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs site, their Chinese counterpart has labelled seven so called “Sensitive Issues”. These sore spots for the Chinese are currently listed as the issues of History, Taiwan, the Diaoyu Islands, Japanese-American Security Co-operation, War reparations, Japanese chemical weapons discarded in China and Guanghualiao*.

While on the surface these 'islands' are little more than uninhabited rocks, the seabed on which they sit may be the site of rich natural resources. At the same time as fighting for the potential resources, it is also a bigger battle ground for pride and nationalism, from which neither side looks willing to step down. A former Prime Minister of Japan, Hatoyama, pledged a further $7 million to strengthen its footing on the small island of Okinotori, which China argues cannot be part of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone. For the Chinese, and South Koreans, Japanese ownership of the territory would impede their “fleet’s freedom of navigation along some key routes”. Yet these rocks have national prestige embedded within them, and the increased activity of both countries’ navies around such areas leads to an increase in tension and a higher possibility of military accidents.

What is evident in the region is China’s much more active navy, that has popped up near Guam, in Japanese waters and near American aircraft carriers. Despite apologising for their “error”, these are most likely displays of Chinese naval capabilities. Yet why would a country that claims to only have an army for internal security need a navy? This question has unnerved officials in Tokyo, and there are considerations to amend their post war constitution to allow for a Japanese force instead of solely relying on the USA. While the Chinese navy might be a form of its acceptance as a world superpower by taking to the stage at sea, it also has people ominously considering the navy preparation for its designs on disputed territories, like the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. 

The Chinese state that their “sovereignty over these islands is fully proven by history and is legally well-founded”, as the Chinese were the first to document the existence of the Islands. Whereas the Japanese state “[the islands] showed no trace of having been under the control of China… [the] Senkaku Islands have continuously remained as an integral part of the Nansei Shoto Islands which are the territory of Japan”. I read an interesting blog on the NY Times, researching the Japanese National Archive's Diplomatic Records Office for documents regarding the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands (read here). It essentially concluded that the Islands were seized by Japan in 1895 as 'war booty', while the Japanese say they legally own the Islands under the Japan-US Security Defence Treaty. The Japanese Prime Minister further inflamed Chinese nationalists by proposing to 'purchase' the islands. 

As of yet, there has been no detente over the issue, but at least the protests that erupted all over China have discontinued. Japanese property and embassies were stoned, Japanese products were (and in many places, still are) boycotted, and in one extreme case, the Chinese owner of a Japanese car was viciously struck by a brick to the head in a frenzy of anti-Japan feeling. Fortunately, other members of the crowd thought this was too much, and he was eventually given help, although he remains in a coma from the attack.

Both sides seem unable to back down, each sending vessels into the disputed waters in a 'to-me-to-you' fashion. As this persists, there will be no visible end to the discord. 

*An issue based around a youth hostel that was located in Kyoto, and in 1950 it was purchased by the Taiwanese, the debate circles around whether the property it  belongs to China or Taiwan, as China states that it is not just a lawsuit but about the legal rights of the Chinese government.

Starbucks: Comparing the Market

One of the reasons for my excitement at living in China for a year was the relative cost of food and products. Living it large in China equates to living ordinarily back home. In the UK, how much would you expect to spend on a meal out with your friends: £20 to £15 a head?

The rising cost of eating out has led to a growth in the UK's coffee shop sector, as people turn to the local Nero as a meeting place, Starbucks as a study buddy, or Costa as a quick pick-me-up. This makes sense in the UK, where a the price of a meal dwarfs a petty latte. However, what has surprised me is that, unlike everything else, the price of a coffee in China does not convert. 

After a few days in Qingdao, I felt a small pang of nostalgia when I spied a Starbacks sign hidden in Sunshine Plaza. I recounted the times I had sat in the squishy Starbucks sofas, catching up with old friends, cradling a warm chai tea latte. Its familiarity drew me in, and I found myself inside ordering a 香草拿铁. When buying a cappuccino in Starbucks back home, you can expect to pay over £3. So I wasn't too surprised when the friendly man behind the counter asked me for Y33 (roughly £3.30); goaded on by my thirst for caffeine I parted with my money.

I collected my drink and turned to look for a sofa to nest in, but found only hard seats. It didn't particularly matter, as I was in a rush, and it was one of those annoyingly humid days where if I had sat on an armchair, I would have slid off it in a trail of my own perspiration. It appears that Starbucks' expansion strategy in China has been to shaft the sofas and comfy corners, occupy outlets with bigger floor space for longer tables with more seating. Instead of a casual meeting place, Starbucks in China has reformed itself as an actual meeting place. Starbucks is drawing in the market of young urban professionals who are happy to spend Y30 for the association with the brand. 

After I bought and consumed my 星巴克 (Chinese for Starbucks) did I realise how incredibly disproportionately priced coffee is to everything else in China. Below I am listing things one can buy for the price of a Starbucks (or less). (I will continue to update this list when I find more ridiculous comparisons.)

• As previously mentioned, two pet terrapins, coming in at Y30.

• A grocery shop, including; 4 peaches, 12 figs, 2 aubergines, 4 tomatoes, 7 peppers, 1kg of oats and 1kg of black rice, costing one Starbucks exactly.

• A pair of black culottes, Y30.

• 22 red bean buns from a 24hr convenience shop for Y33 (not that I've eaten 33 buns in one go)

• Two large crabs (for eating, not for pets this time) Y25

• A big bowl of tom-yum ramen, topped with fish, muscles, squid and king prawns, is only Y29

Just like in the UK, the coffee market in China is growing, but clearly for different reasons. Firstly, the prevalence of coffee culture in a Chinese city tends to imply it has a large foreign contingent. For example, Qingdao is abound with Korean coffee shops (where you can buy sweet potato latte, trust me, it's delicious) catering to the city's 200,000 strong Korean population. Secondly, coffee can exhibit one's wealth; wealth which Qingdao is by no means short of. Despite being only a second-tier city, Qingdao can boast numerous high performance car outlets (don't make me name car brands, you know it'll be embarrassing for both of us). Purchasing a cup of coffee insinuates a certain kind of lifestyle. A fusion of the above demonstrates the change that has been happening in China for the past 20 years; growing affluence and increasing contact with foreign cultures. Naturally this leads to a transformation of tastes, as coffee culture draws in ever more of China's young population. 

Ocean University: Class with a Sea View

This is the view from my classroom. Oh, those lines at the top? Rays of unadulterated sunlight. Qingdao's environment is probably the opposite of what people expect from a bustling Chinese import city.

However, it would be negligent to not mention the extent of China's pollution problems. Using the Air Pollution Index, also called the Air Quality Index, the World Bank recently labelled 16 Chinese cities part of the 20 World's Most Polluted Cities. There are also regional pollutants, for example, Tianyang in Anhui province is the core of China's lead mining industry. Tianyang's concentration of airborne lead is up to 10 times the national health standard, leaving hundred of thousands of residents to suffer the effects of lead poisoning.

People say that there is an app for everything, and a quick search of the itunes store revealed that currently there 4 apps available with up-to-date monitoring of China's regional API. Quite telling is that you can set it to send you notifications if the situation changes. It advises you on the suitability of playing outdoor sports, or recommends that today you should wear a mask. These apps seem to be based on the US EPA's scale, where above 300 is hazardous, and 500 is the maximum measurement. It also uses a colour scale, so when I glanced at a map on a friend's iPhone, I was struck by the overwhelming red that covered China like a pox.

Even though Qingdao continually avoids the hazardous end of the scale, there is a noticeable difference when the wind carries air from inland over the city. A haze settles over scenery, normally clear mountains sit shrouded in fog, and there is an urge to clean one's glasses in the hope that the nearby buildings once again have sharp outlines and crisp colours. At night the moon looks as if it has been drawn by yellow pastel, then smudged into the surrounding black sky. Yet, I must stress, these conditions have been rare here. On the whole, Qingdao is a pleasant city blessed with a comfortable climate and natural beauty, that its residents love to boast to every foreigner.  

Although there is another view of Ocean University that needs to be described; Ocean University has "security" guards, although they are little more than parking attendants. They sit in a porters lodge opposite the gate, and dry their laundry beside it on washing lines. So the first thing you see when you enter the University is a pair of red undergarments drying in the breeze. I can't see the Trinity porters ever taking up this practice.

A trip to the Market 去一趟市场

Once you move out of Qingdao's busy city centre, nestled near every residential development is a market. The floor is often nothing more than bare dirt and the stall holders lazily wave flies off their wares. Other stands spring up by the roadside, changing from day to day.

Passing rows fruit and vegetable sellers, the sound of crowing cockerels steadily increase into a cacophony. At the back of my local market are the poultry stalls, selling various kinds of chickens, ducks, geese and the occasional goat.

Far more interesting, and disturbing, is the seafood and fish section. Trays of clams spurt water onto passersby, the glazed eyes of dead fish stare blankly upward, crabs lie bound, or upside down with their legs jerking in the air. And then you spot strange flesh coloured leeches and wonder how that could ever be made into something appetising.

A trip past the meat stalls makes me glad I'm a vegetarian. Yes, that is a whole cow's leg in the photo, hoof and all. According to a teacher, nowadays most Chinese shoppers prefer to buy their meat from supermarkets.

I mainly use the market for fruit and vegetable shopping, but when I do go, I find it's still fun to wonder around before shopping, especially to compare prices. Woe betide if you ask “多少钱？” (duo shao qian). No, you learn the name of the fruit/vegetable you want, say it as confidently as you can and ask “怎么买？” (zenme mai).  The vendor spends the briefest of moments to look you up and down. In that split second they know that you are foreign, and therefore a less hardy haggler than the usual customer. They will quote you a number, the price per half kilogram (斤) of desired item. I've seen locals pick up fruit, sample it, complain and demand a lower price. I lack the mettle and language skills to tackle a Chinese stall holder in this way, I content myself with getting a few 毛 off here and there.

Ivan the Terrapin!

And Odin the terrapin. I bought the pair of them off a man on the street who was also selling scorpions from a bucket. Sadly they both died last monday, but I have so many cute photographs of them I thought it would be a shame not to share.

Please, that terrapin is in the palm of my hand! 

 Check out the sea view!

How to get a Chinese Residence Permit

Before I arrived in China, I was warned of the long arduous process of obtaining the holy 'Residence Permit': a trek that begins with a Student X visa and a dream to study Chinese.

So, within 24 hours of my arrival, I had to go the local police station to obtain a Temporary Residence Permit (if you stay in a hotel, the reception will do this for you). Much depends on the person who is serving you at the station, some are lax and some not. For this stage you need; passport (with 'X' visa inside), JW202 form, and possibly money. For safety I also had the lease for my temporary residence. As a general rule, take every form you have with you.

The Temporary Residence Permit gives you 30 days to collect all the items you need to apply for a full Residence permit. Yes, you're living on borrowed time.

Next step, the Health Check. If your Physical Examination Centre is anything like Qingdao, there will be a hall with many desks, all numbered. Where do you begin, you might ask. At desk number 1? No, of course not, this is China, and you start at desk number 5 with your foreigner forms. Continue to ricochet off randomly numbered desks like a pinball until they finally send you upstairs. Here your ordeal begins. X-rays, Fluoroscopy, Ultrasounds, eye-tests, etc. Particularly embarrassing is the walk from the bathroom to the urine testing room, clutching your test tube and feeling nervous about the shade of your sample. Or the possibility of spilling on yourself. My advice, save the blood test for last. For this you will need; passport, 4 passport photos, scans of your passport and X visa, money, and no breakfast! You are given a slip of paper telling you the date and time you should return to collect your results and certificate.

Next, finding somewhere to live. If you choose to live in student dorms, this step would be quite simple I suppose. But don't do it! A classmate and I each found 2 bedroom apartments with furniture near to campus in a recently built compound for roughly 3200yuan a month. An estate agent helped us find flatmates, so the figure is roughly halved. While £160 a month is very cheap from a UK perspective, for a Chinese person it's a little bit 贵, so I have a nice 上班族 flatmate and don't have to share a dormitory with 50 other students. Make sure you understand (as best as you can) the conditions of your lease. Take good care of the contract itself, as you will need it later. (Also, you get to fingerprint the contract, for added novelty value). Finding a residence requires: your passport and lots of money as you may need to pay a whole year's rent in one go. You will also need to pay a deposit, and if you use an estate agent, his fee is equivalent to one month's rent.

After this, register at your new University (try to find an apartment before registering, otherwise they get upset that you're avoiding their dorms). Pay the fees (Haiyang didn't really know what our fees were; there was a 4000yuan discrepancy between my payment and a classmates) and avoid the text books. You will need; passport, passport photos, scans of your passport, Letter of admission (collected from the faculty in Easter term) and your JW202 form.

Congratulations, your inventory now contains all the items needed to apply for the full Residence Permit! Passport, initial X visa, letter of admission to your Chinese university, JW202 form, Health Check Certificate, your lease, and money (around 500yuan). Haiyang helpfully compiled all these documents into a pack and accompanied us to the office in groups. Here, you will have more photos taken of you, and you will be directed to and fro between various desks. Some people seem to get more instructions from the service people than others, so some people actually know what is happening. Unfortunately, I was not one of those lucky people, and once again I wandered around the hall hoping one of them would take pity on me and tell me where to go. This process takes about a week, during which they keep your passport and other documents. Don't forget to go back and collect it. Or in my case, don't forget to give the receipt to the man in the university who collects them on your behalf.

After a month, next tuesday, I will finally be reunited with my passport and gain a Residence Permit.