Finally. After a long break from blogging, I have returned.
And it's the holidays again. For some, it's a long awaited break, but usually for me, it's just one of those things that happen when a term ends *shrugs*
Got Shanghai-ed to Shanghai for a week at the start of December. If u ask me, China is up and coming on the economic side (Their speed of progress is so fast it is scary.)
On the civic-mindedness side of things however, they definitely need lots of improvement there. I'm not talking about mere courtesy and the sort of civic-mindedness that relates to using public facilities properly etc. I'm talking about a basic respect for the law and concern for the economic/physical/psychological well-being of the rest of the population. Perhaps I'm making a sweeping statement, but, I think it is true that the Chinese are the most selfish people around.
My knowledge of the chinese culture does not extend beyond the typical stereotype of chinese wayang and pottery and calligraphy and the like, but perhaps the sudden release from communism has made people go into a mad rush to strike it rich quick without apparent regard for others. Just a week in China and all the not-so-pretty bits of the place came stumbling out, much to my disgust. Essentially the situation can be neatly summarised into a small maxim - if it is worth any money, they can and will forge it. LongJing Tea leaves can apparently be made from leaves collected from the willow tree at the river banks of the Western Lake(XiHu). Teapots are made from a mixture of clay and ZiSha ore waste without any regard for whether there is any lead content in the waste used. And the most horrific story of them all is that silk can be made from a petroleum by-product; the effects of wearing this will give one rashes and possibly spoil the rest of the clothes in the laundry basket if one was ever so unfortunate to decide to wash it.
Forgeries of RMB notes are all over the common markets. In fact, I accidentally got hold of one when I was there. I innocently used it in a later purchase and the lady at the airport gift shop actually raised me halfway up my flight to return the note and demand a repayment of the 20 RMB I owed her. (20 RMB is 4 SGD btw.) Obviously, I was seriously erked especially because I had a flight to catch. And the fact that she was eyeing me like I was some bigtime fraudster did not help, especially since it was only 4 SGD. Moreover, I was thinking to myself that she should have brought up the issue when I was still in the shop. Frustrated, I tossed the item back at her and sent her back to whereever she came from.
It is not just because of this personal experience that I'm prejudiced against the country. It is the sheer thought that one cannot even make purchases without worrying over whether 1) the goods are fake 2) the goods are fake and willl probably kill 3) the vendor may cheat me of my change 4) the vendor may give me forgeries in my change 5) the notes I'm holding may be fake.
As a shopoholic myself, I can assure you that being able to shop with peace of mind has got to be the most important pre-requisite in any shopping facility.
I suppose a PRC national would respond to this post by saying that basically the people living there are so used to the situation, they can tell the diiference. But why do they even have to try in the first place?
But of course this also means that the locals are more hardy as compared with people like me who have been protected here in this stable environment since day one.
Well, you can't have one without the other I suppose.
