I’ve been trying to access EastSouthWestNorth but even using my proxy, I’m blocked. Does anyone out there know how levels of censorship work here? And do you have a suggestion for how I might get through?
Thank you for your help.
the more things change…
I am currently reading Washington Square (Henry James) with students and had one of those “this time on steroids” moments. From the opening paragraph, “In a country in which, to play a social part, you must either earn your income or make believe that you earn it, the healing art has appeared in a high degree to combine two recognised sources of credit. It belongs to the realm of the practical, which in the United States is a great recommendation; and it is touched by the light of science–a merit appreciated in a community in which the love of knowledge has not always been accompanied by leisure and opportunity.” It’s Shenzhen. Only in contrast to 1840s NYC, in millennial Shenzhen, students are encouraged to learn math and become engineers or accountants, rather than doctors.
We know this story. Most migrants come to The City from poor rural farms to make their fortune, but they may also have come from less vibrant small towns; these migrants have created their world and are proud of what they have made; they believe in taking advantage of opportunity; they believe themselves to be more forward-thinking than hometown people (and indeed they may actually be); they expect their children to do better.
In fact, folks in Shenzhen constantly remind me that the city is an immigrant city, but I often forget how similar its history is to NYC, albeit on steroids, 250 years later. Or London. Or Chicago. Or LA. Or Mumbai. The story of capitalist urbanization has been a story of the transformation of rural migrants into the urban proletariat and the expansion and relative enrichment of the capitalist class – wealth sucks up, even if there’s more stuff and fewer trees than there once were. Just the other day, an American passing through Shenzhen told me that what America needed was an infusion of good ole fashioned immigrant hunger. “Just look,” he said pointing out at Shenzhen, “how well it’s working here.”
In the Eighteenth Brumaire Marx notes, “Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.”
And there’s the rub. Now that we’re well beyond farce, what do we call global urbanization?
fisu logo
Also, just noticed the FISU logo. Please tell me that the International University Sports Federation committee doesn’t think that college athletes are only male and come in three colors (white, yellow, and black). Sigh.
image captured jan 10, 2011
the 2011 universiade
This year, Shenzhen hosts the 2011 Summer Universiade, which I gather (from the FISU website) is olympics for college students. The 2011 Winter Universiade is being held in Erzurum, Turkey from 27 Jan – 6 Feb, 2011.
As I gear up for a year of college athletics hype, I have two brief comments and a question.
First, the Erzurum and Shenzhen websites are remarkably similar, including countdown, strange anime mascots, and news about the city. So thinking that yes, boosterism fuels this Universiade business as much as joy in youthful athletics.
Second, I had no idea about the Universiade until I left the United States because we have college sports, which are linked to University boosterism; at this level of competition, US Americans cheer for our school rather than our country.
Third, is Erzurum an up and coming Turkish city? In other words, is Erzurum using the Universiade to do what Shenzhen is doing, i.e, using an international collegiate sporting event to assert the city’s international status because the “real” international events (Olympics, World Expo, and Asian Games) went to other cities (Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, respectively)? And if so, might this mean that the intended audience of the Erzurum Games, like the Shenzhen Games, is actually the local population. “See residents,” the government is saying, “we’re as global as the country’s first-ranking cities.” Please advise.
public intellectual moi
Last night had a pleasant if strange experience as a guest on a live talk show on Shenzhen’s traffic radio station. The station usually plays music and gives traffic updates. They also collaborate with the Municipality to organize discussions relevant to folks stuck in traffic. Indeed, as one of the other guests said, “If Beijing is 首堵 (都) [“the first in congestion” (puns “the capitol”)], then Shenzhen is deeply, deeply congested [深深堵].” Last night’s topic was “宜居城市 (Livable City),” but focused on how to ameliorate Shenzhen’s traffic jams as if the problem wasn’t our addiction to oil, but organizing highways. My favorite comment – Shenzhen needs to initiate “vehicle family planning (汽车计划生育)”.
I was invited to give a foreign perspective on Shenzhen’s worsening traffic problems. Uncanny moment this invitation. I was born in L.A., Mother of all Traffic Jams and once out of the Jersey ‘burbs, I have tried to live in cities where I don’t need to drive. My advise to Chinese urban planners? See what L.A. and Houston have done and do the opposite. If you’re looking for a positive urban role model – Amsterdam and Copenhagen have much to teach the world about healthy, sustainable traffic planning. But the US? We dismantled our nascent public transportation system, use 1/4 of the world’s energy resources, and won’t consider even gutted treaties to limit greenhouse gas emissions. No no and no.
The 1.5 hour event was held at the Central Book City, South Building Bleachers, where many of the City’s public culture events are held. The Bleachers are used for reading, resting, and hanging out. In fact, the Bleachers are one of the few spaces in the Central Book City Mall where people can sit and rest without purchasing a refreshment. The Book City Bleachers has become an interesting space in Shenzhen’s public sphere because it is (literally) situated between the City [government] and high culture consumption [Book City]. Consequently, events held there have a certain public intellectual cache, linking official approval to intellectual life and cultural performance. However, lest we forget the importance of [positive] audience reception, last night, the Bleachers are cordoned off and access regulated by strategically placed organizers. We performed for about thirty, red vested members of Shenzhen Volunteers and invited guests, including the parents of first or second graders who read a pledge to be more traffic conscious.
Inquiring minds want to know, “Who was there?” and “What does this tell us about how Shenzheners represent themselves to themselves?” In other words, “Who do Shenzheners think they are?”
Well.
Of the six guests, I was the only woman. I’m not sure if this means that my foreign status compensates for ovaries or if they couldn’t find a suitable female urban planner (although off hand, I can think of several women who would have added interesting commentary). Gender aside, guests included: a public intellectual, the head of an urban planning think tank, a member of the Livable City subcommittee of the SPPCC (Shenzhen People’s Political Consultative Committee), an editor from an online community of home owners, the radio station commentator, and a foreigner. Importantly, guests shared “representative” status. In other words, organized selected a guest because he (and moi) represented a constituency of Shenzheners. Moreover, this representative status meant that the guests could “speak for” (all) Shenzheners.”
Thus described, the right to speak in Shenzhen’s public sphere is dominated by intellectuals, officials, homeowners, and what white America thinks.
Now, it’s possible we knew this. It’s also possible some of us said something slightly beyond the script and inspired a new thought somewhere – because yes, there was a script. Before the talk, we were contacted and asked what we wanted to say about making the city livable. Our comments were then edited into a basic outline of how the discussion would go. Moreover, the moderators kept us more or less on task, talking about how to ameliorate traffic jams (better urban planning and more driving civility). And maybe it’s possible that modeling public discussion in this way (town meetings with Chinese characteristics) will prompt the creation of alternative and equally influential public spaces. For example, yesterday afternoon, The Southern Daily held it’s first Neighborhood Heroes Finals (家园英雄) in Meilin. Clearly, a source of other perspectives on traffic jams.
But I think it’s also possible that we’re missing something more fundamental – foundational, if you will: how we organize our events may be why problems deepen, our good intentions notwithstanding.
why text messages?
As the Christmas decorations have been quickly swept away, Shenzhen has entered Chinese New Year mode. Rabbits are popping up everywhere and every type of text message from year in review to greetings are already circulating. On this blog, I have translated text messages because they provide insight into what my Chinese friends feel is worthwhile (funny, insightful, urgent) commentary on society. Indeed, text message culture (短信文化) has been an important factor in many recent social movements (2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009). Indeed, many speculated that the 2010 crackdown on text-porn was a not-so-subtle attempt to tighten censorship controls.
However, simply describing the effects of texting in Chinese cities overlooks an important question: why is texting so popular? Walk down a Shenzhen street and look into hair salons and dress shops, restaurants and convenience stores, any beautician, salesgirl, waiter, and clerk who is not serving a customer is reading or sending a text. On buses and the subway, in cars and yes, in classrooms and business meetings, movie theaters and restrooms, people are texting. Every Chinese New Year the country sets another world record for texts sent for a holiday.
I don’t understand the allure of texting. In part it’s generational; in high school, our thing were three-hour telephone calls. I still enjoy telephone conversations and really enjoy watching the antics of my nieces and nephews when we skype. In part, it’s skill; I do talk faster then I type in English or Chinese. But that’s not all of it. Chinese friends my age have readily adopted texting and regularly send me all sorts of messages. Indeed, setting up a date may involve a series of texts, rather than a phone call. And although part of the allure may be cost – it’s cheap cheap cheap to text – price doesn’t explain why many Chinese not only text, but also purchase services that allow them to text internationally. In other words, folks in Shenzhen are choosing to text more frequently and regularly than I would; indeed, they text in situations that I would either phone, or, frankly not bother. Indeed, in situations where I find texting intrusive, my friends cheerfully read and respond to a text.
And so here’s some cross-cultural speculation du jour: texting has enabled Chinese people to intensify a cultural preference to be in contact with people they care about and it is that moment of contact that is the true message. This desire to be together explains why it is socially necessary to apologize for not seeing a text message and responding immediately. Moreover, I suspect that text messages can grow into social movements precisely because they carry this underlying desire to be [stand] together. In this sense, text messages function as a constant assurance that a relationship is important. Chinese texters confirm this highly desired and desirable sense of solidarity by responding properly to a message. Sometimes that response is texting a smile, sometimes it is going to the restaurant, sometimes it is taking to the street to protest.
As with all speculation about how technology makes, unmakes, and restructures social relationships, the next question is how much quality time is necessary to keep the emotive message of texts resonant. What happens when relationships dissolve into nothing more than text messages? And how much text message-span really is enough to prompt some kind of counter apps? In the meantime, I’m reviewing lists of possible New Year’s messages to choose my contribution to the deluge.
新春佳节不送礼，发条短信祝福你，健康快乐常伴你，好运和你不分离，财神已经跟随你，财源滚滚进袋里，好处全都送给你！(I’m not sending a gift for Spring Festival, I’m sending a text to bless you. May you be healthy and happy. May luck stay with you. May the God of Wealth already accompany you and wealth roll into your pockets. May all good things be given to you!)
the world i want
Hung out around Seaworld for the first time in several months and yes, encountered new world order. The path from the Ming Hua to Nvwa now winds under an elevated road, which in turn winds around the new coastline toward the Peninsula housing estates. All this change is being promoted under the slogan “the world I want”, not that moi was asked. The planned changes are extensive, involving park space, high end consumption, and more mega-rises. I suspect all will be quite beautiful, albeit increasing exclusive, for the Universiade.
In vaguely related news (or, how ongoing property speculation might impact my life should we ever get around to buying a condo), I realized that given what we pay in rent, it would take us one year to buy one square meter of our current apartment. Given the size of my apartment, it would take over 90 years for us to buy it at current prices. However, property use rights in Shenzhen are for 70 years from when a building first went on the market. All this means that we would be dead and/or loose property rights before we ever got around to paying off our mortgage.
And we are not alone.
Housing in older parts of Shekou remains relatively cheap (under 20,000 per square meter) because it is inconveniently distant from the city. However, I also rode the new subway line from Yuehai station to Coastal City, which means faster, more reliable access to Shekou and ongoing land speculation. Moreover, housing within the Yucai school cache is as expensive as housing near Shenzhen Experimental and Shenzhen School, and for the same reason: only four schools in the city consistently get students into top high schools and then top universities.
Yes, yes, yes, Shenzhen is going to have to deal with the visceral disconnect between housing costs and salaries. So, here and here for speculation about why prices will continue to rise in 2011 despite the real call to control the housing market. Here for an English walk down memory lane when five years ago Zou Tao organized an internet boycott of Shenzhen’s then (already) too expensive housing. To get a sense of prices for new and second hand homes, today, visit aifang. Note that the “cheaper” homes are located in Baoan, Longgang, Dongguan and even Huizhou! And yes, subway construction continues apace.
my hope for the new year
I have been thinking about the contradictions that shape human lives and how, in turn, those lives are the environment for others – human, animal, vegetable, and mineral.
SZCAT, a part of China’s Animal Lovers Net dedicated to saving feral urban cats announced that on December 26, 2010, a group of animal protectors (as they call themselves) discovered an illegal slaughterhouse and reported it to the Yanshi police as part of a rescue mission in a Hakka area where yes, I ate stewed cat and dog (separate dishes) several years ago.
The Nanfang Daily report on the rescue called it “Stealing Dogs Movement”, emphasizing the human cost of taking the animals. The animal protectors went in to rescue the animals and the local police destroyed several of the shanties that made up the slaughter house. However, as the volunteers were trying to get the animals to safety, many of the residents in the area stopped them because these animals were their livelihood. As a result, the police ended up negotiating a compromise – the volunteers could leave with the animals they already saved, and the rest would be left with their owners, who no longer had a way of processing them.
The results of this negotiation pleased no one. For their part, the migrant workers who make their precarious living by slaughtering and preparing traditional cat and dog dishes took a huge economic hit at the time of the year when they most need to save money for the upcoming Spring Festival. On the other hand, the volunteers felt that inhuman misuse of cats and dogs would continue without any intervention or “respect for law”.
I’m not sure how to think about this situation because I’m sad for all involved. Clearly, migrant workers in Shenzhen resort to all sorts of grayish means to earn a living not only for themselves, but also to support family back in neidi. At the same time, the raising and slaughtering of animals for human consumption is itself the cause of much, unnecessary suffering and inequality; not only do stock animals suffer, but raising cows and pigs and fish and chickens on industrialized ranches and farms damages the environment for other creatures (including humans).
My hope for the New Year is that we find ways of resolving these contradictions in inclusive ways. As long as we frame the debate as a choice between “save the pets” and “save the migrant workers,” we fail to see how all lives – not just the ones we like or agree with or are proud of or believe to be right, but all lives matter and matter beautifully.
Happy, happy 2011. Prosper.
snide year’s greetings
it’s that time of year when the snide texts fly… this last one, summarizes thirty years of reform and opening not with a bang, but whimper whimper sigh…
新华社发布最新统计数据：三十年来，升值最快地是住房、墓地、乌纱、古玩和公务员；贬值最快地是职称、文凭、道德、诚信和人民币，惟有友情最保值。民族也日趋增多，新增了月光族、打工族、肯老组、蜗居族、蚁族、骗族、隐婚族、闪婚族、傍官族、小三族、还贷族等！奴隶制有复苏苗头，房奴、车奴、卡奴等已出现。
《最新幸福指数》
家里每人病；牢里没亲人；外头没仇人；圈里没小人；看似没情人！
Xinhua Press has released the latest statistics: these past thirty years, housing, graves, bureaucratic positions, antiques, and functionaries have seen the fastest rise in value; titles, diplomas, morality, trust, and the renminbi have seen the sharpest drop in value. The number of ethnicities has also increased daily. We now have people who spend their entire month’s salary, every month; manual laborers; college graduates who live off their parents, people who live like snails [in small, small houses], educated paupers, liars and cheats, married people who don’t tell anyone they’re married, people who suddenly marry, people who live off of functionaries, lovers, and people who live paying off debts. The slave system has begun to rebound and we have house payment slaves, car payment slaves, and credit card slaves.
“Latest indices of happiness”
No one in the family is sick; no one in jail is a relative; outside no one is an enemy; inside one’s circle no one is out to get you; and it appears that you don’t have a lover!
more gossip about daomei
Daomei, of the bagua fiasco had a part in “Eye”. And played it well. Daomei is a wonderful actor and sinks himself into roles with enviable enthusiasm.
One of Daomei’s college classmates works in Guangzhou. He heard from a friend that “Eye” was a hit and decided to drive to Shenzhen for the show. He told the director to arrange to have Daomei stand center stage during curtain call so that he could present Daomei with the biggest possible bouquet. All was arranged and Daomei took his bows center stage. However, as the other actors received bouquets and hugs, or went into the audience to give gifts to their parents, Classmate did not appear.
A restless, empty-handed Daomei called out, “Classmate, where’s my bouquet?”
Classmate then slunk on to stage and stage-whisphered explained, “Ai ya, Older brother Dao, I drove as fast as I could, but got stuck in traffic so I didn’t have a chance to buy the bouquet. I am truly, truly sorry.”
Daomei threatened to hit Classmate with a prop, the audience laughed, and Classmate took a bow. Then the two went off drinking. Classmate redeemed himself by picking up the tab.
One would think the story ended ingloriously here. Alas, no.
The next day during make-up, Daomei heard that Classmate had approached one of the actresses and said, “Lend me your bouquet.”
The actress said, “No, this is for my mother.”
Classmate responded with, “Mothers always understand. I need this for my girlfriend or she’ll be angry. Lend it to me and you can give it to your mom after curtain call. You know how girls care about mianzi (prestige face).”
Actress humphed and said, “你真是。。。”
“你真是。。。” literally means “You truly are…”, but in conversation is used to express distain, shock, and disbelief at how low someone will go. Yes, it can be said with affection, but it is affection laced with exasperation and (sometimes) contempt.
Ai, Daomei, with friends like these…
Shenzhen Noted 