Driving Face

Last night after dinner I took a taxi home and was surprised to find I had flagged down a hybrid one.

It was nice and roomy inside, had a GPS screen to show us where we were going and overall was quiet and smooth.

There are 50 of these such vehicles by domestic car maker Chery on the streets of Beijing.

I asked the driver what he thought of the car.

"Hai xing," he replied. Not bad.

I asked how much these cars were, but he explained these were only test vehicles used during the Olympics and Paralympics.

It was disappointing to hear this -- you'd think hybrid taxis would be a great idea for the city, consuming much less gas and hopefully influencing others to buy new technology cars.

This kind of short-term thinking is not what the Olympic legacy is about.

But obviously the powers that be are only thinking of their face than honestly what is best for Beijing and the country.

Seeing Both Sides

A colleague who took 10 months off to study in the UK recently returned and we met up for lunch today.

He looks a bit skinnier from last July, but his eyes show he has seen a lot.

Before they went, they were anxious about how expensive London would be, wondering if they could survive in a foreign land so far away.

But it seems their experience has opened up their eyes to the western world, how things are done, how societies are governed and the difference in living standards.

They thoroughly enjoyed the lifestyle, jogging in the many parks, wandering through the free museums like the British Museum and the Tate Modern, and the Thames River.

With their savings, they traveled as much as they could through England, going to Oxford, Cambridge, and mistakenly discovering a nude beach area in Brighton.

Living costs were expensive for them -- they calculated things were 15 times more expensive than in Beijing, with transportation particularly hitting hard in the wallet. But when they said a monthly tube card cost about 720 pounds, it sounded about the same as other major North American cities and I told them so.

They kept costs down by cooking alot, and in the end vegetables and meat were just a bit more expensive than in Beijing.

He observed people there live with dignity. "A construction worker is happy with his work, he's paid well, enough to feed himself and his family," he said. "Not like China, where migrant workers are paid dirt wages and work with blood and sweat to put up buildings."

He also said the government there was to serve the people. I explained that's because they have elections -- once they don't do what the public wants, they will vote them out in the next election.

"In China, the government serving the people is only on paper," he said, shaking his head. He didn't mention corruption, but we all knew what he was talking about.

They said that when they came back two months ago, Beijing had completely changed. Although it looked green for a "Green Olympics", it seemed like the city was only looking nice for the Games, planting flowers and trees for looks and diverting water from places like Hebei Province as well as electricity from other parts to ensure enough power for the Chinese capital.

When the torch relay went through London, they were very proud of China and debated people, defending their homeland.

But when they came back, they were dismayed to find the country hadn't progressed as fast as the cosmetic changes and felt contradicted about China.

On the one hand they are proud of China as it is their homeland, but on the other they are disappointed to see its weak points, making a long list.

They are mulling over the possibly immigrating to another country, but feel their lives will be difficult, trying to integrate, but at the same time they are young, and if and when they have children, they will live better lives.

Their observations are so interesting as they are starting to see things to way I do. I didn't point it out, but they probably realized that.

And this would never have happened if they hadn't gone away.

I wonder those who are so eager and desperate to leave China realize they will see the gap between what they perceive the country to be and what they will see from a distance.

It's the biggest lesson they will learn about China, but have no solution for it.

Transcending Myths

The 2008 Paralympic Games start tomorrow.

While there's a lot of buzz about it in the city, it's shockingly mostly negative.

I've heard comments like, "they [the Paralympic athletes] must be in pain", or "they will hurt themselves more easily so I can't watch".

And that's why they don't want to watch the Games.

What's ironic is that Paralympic athletes are trying to show others they can compete in high-level international sport just as well or even better than able-bodied people.

That's the message I have to constantly tell my local friends and colleagues.

Tonight one of my friends with a naive view of disabled athletes went to get a foot massage with me. And as we had reflexology done on our feet, we watched a television show about a blind person.

He was blind from birth, and now works as a masseuse. He also had a knack for computers and even created a software program to help the blind massage clinic he works at to manage the business.

It was so successful that he tutors other people online in using his special program.

My friend was quite impressed.

We also saw some footage of sit-down volleyball, where amputees and others with other disabilities sat on the floor as they volleyed, bumped and spiked the ball over the net. What was even more amazing was watching a one-legged cyclist and a one-legged high jumper.

While China is dragging out its 83 million disabled people out of the woodwork, at least its media is now busy doing a number of stories on some interesting individuals.

Media reports say over 70 percent of tickets for the Paralympic Games have been sold. It'll be interesting to see how many people actually attend the events.

And then they can see for themselves these people who have overcome amazing obstacles just to show they're just like one of us, if not, even more.

Hitching a Ride

Today I did a very Beijing thing -- I rode on the back of a bicycle.

As it's Thursday, my colleagues and I planned to play tennis after work.

There were four of us eager to hit the ball, three of them had bicycles.

One offered to let me ride on the back of his bike, but since I'd never done it before, he was worried.

But once we got downstairs to his electric bike, he asked me if I wanted to try and I said, "Why not?"

I slung my bags and tennis racquet on my shoulders, sat down on the bike, and then used my right arm to hold onto his waist, my left hand on him as well to steady myself.

When he started off I felt unbalanced and he asked if things were OK. I steadied myself, and soon realized it wasn't too difficult. I crossed my ankles and kind of held them forward a bit so my feet wouldn't hit the spokes, as I had seen other girls do that.

An electric bike can go fast, but he went at a steady pace.

At first it was a bit unnerving seeing a car following behind us. But the view from the back of the bicycle was fantastic.

You definitely see the city -- or in my case -- the neighbourhood from a different perspective. Riding at the back was a slower pace than a car, so you could get a lingering look at everything.

We passed through a hutong area where some people were selling vegetables like leeks, a baby with split pants playing with his mother, a dog wandering around, the sweet smells of slow roasted fatty pork... then the public washrooms...

I tried not to hold onto my colleague too much, and as I grew more comfortable with sitting there, I lessened my clutch. I'm sure he appreciated that.

And in about 10 minutes our ride to the tennis court was over.

I wouldn't say I'm a pro, but have definitely got the hang of riding on a bike. Can't wait to hitch a ride again soon.

Politically-correct Dignity

Today my colleagues and I were talking about the upcoming Paralympics.

They admitted these Games probably won't be as popular as the Olympics, despite news reports that lots of tickets have been sold out, especially at the Water Cube and the Bird's Nest. That's what they said... at the Olympics too.

Nevertheless, my coworkers had questions about what you call these Paralympians. Do you say disabled? Handicapped? Physically-challenged?

I cringed when I heard them say these words, but it's not their fault.

There is much of a public education around people with disabilities in China. And part of that is because they are practically hidden from view. That is in part because of the public's lack of awareness and acceptance of them, as well as the lack of facilities made accessible to them.

A foreign colleague remarked to me the Paralympics will be a real challenge to the organizers and the domestic media who are confronting the issue of how to deal with and cover people with disabilities.

Another coworker told me Paralympic volunteers are having a hard time, watching the disabled athletes try to manage on their own. The volunteers have been taught not to offer help unless asked, and so many stand by, helplessly as the athletes do things on their own.

But back to the vocabulary. I explained to my colleagues the different kinds of disabilities and the different terms -- vision impairment, cerebral palsy, and amputee.

I also tried to say some athletes may have been born with a disease leading to their disability, or were in accident, that led them to be in a wheelchair or become an amputee.

They shrank in horror over the possibility of a disability, but this is the reality of life for some people around the world.

I reminded them the Paralympics is about them celebrating their efforts and everyone of them have an amazing story of how they got here.

Hopefully that has inspired some of them to see for themselves the determination of the human spirit in the next few days.

The Olympian Army

Last night I turned on the television and on Beijing TV there was a talk show featuring the coaches and some of the children in a state run sports school specializing in gymnastics.

In the TV studio, the hostess, not a very motherly one -- chatted with the kids, dressed in nice gym clothes and the little girls in bright pink with their hair up with colourful hair accessories.

She would invite them over one at a time, ask them to perform a pose or demonstrate a skill, and then she would reward them with either a stuffed toy or candy.

And interspersed throughout the show were scenes shot inside the school.

The little boys were practically in their underwear, no shirt, and the girls in a one-piece outfit, hanging on beams and counting to see how long they could stay on it. They did flips in the air, some landing well, others not.

But there were also images of young girls, as young as four or five doing the splits on a hill of mats and their teacher pushing them down even further. One cried of pain, but the instructor ignored her pleas to stop.

There were also kids who were expected to climb up a pole and they wailed that they were tired or that they couldn't do it anymore.

It was riveting to see this local station was able to show these unedited scenes. I had to keep watching.

Meanwhile the coaches hardly had much reaction to the pain and tears, as they probably went through the same training when they were children.

They claimed they tried to make the training as fun as possible for the kids, letting them experiment with the equipment.

But even if they didn't like it, it was pretty much a job, as they trained all day long, everyday. Many of them didn't give the impression they were having fun, as many didn't smile.

Even though the children were so young, they were already expected to lift their own weight easily. Just seeing their small arms support themselves in various poses was amazing and mind-boggling to watch at the same time.

There was one scene of the female coach visiting a school on a recruitment drive. She asked kids to jump up and down for her and then she would feel their leg and hand muscles through their thick clothes. She was looking for candidates whose arms and legs were straight because a gymnast needed to look good this way.

She proudly said one of her greatest finds was Zhang Nan, who won bronze in Athens.

Meanwhile, another piece of footage showed a young boy was able to demonstrate his ability to swing his legs around a pummel horse. And how do they keep their legs straight when doing this?

Their feet are placed in a giant bowl that is hung from the ceiling and it rotates as he moves his legs (together).

This image was then put side by side with a Chinese Olympic champion on the pummel horse.

An Olympian in the making.

This is how China wins gold in gymnastics. Schools like this brings up many ethical and psychological issues which the hostess of course didn't ask.

But it makes one wonder with so many children going through these schools, only a few actually make it to the national level. What happens to the rest of them?

Driving the Discussion

During the Olympics Beijing experienced unprecedented weather -- granted the first few days were as critics like myself expected -- swampy-looking skies.

But after heavy rains, the skies cleared up and produced some fantastic weather for most of the Games.

Local residents were also thrilled to see blue skies and find out the air in the city was the cleanest it has been in 10 years.

That was partly thanks to the serious enforcement of taking half the cars off the roads from July 20-September 20.

And now that the Games are over, many Beijingers are breathing easier and want to keep the sky as clean as possible. They are debating online whether the strict car ban should continue after the Paralympics are over.

Some 400,000 weighed in on an online discussion, with nearly half suggesting the car ban should be made permanent, while those who opposed it were the frustrated car owners.

"Only after the government makes great progress in improving public transportation should we discuss whether to keep the restrictions. I love blue skies very much. But I had to drive a car because I could not stand being packed in a bus for six hours a day," said an anonymous netizen.

Sound familiar?

An op-ed in an English-language newspaper suggests if the ban was made permanent, it would not help the situation, but exacerbate it because car owners would probably buy a second car so that they could drive everyday. Some even bought another car just before the Olympics because they couldn't stand the thought of taking public transit.

The article says up to 100 million households in China can afford a car, but only 20 million have actually bought one.

But there isn't much of a push for car buyers to look into purchasing low-emission cars or hybrids. So far I've only seen one or two Toyota Prius on Beijing roads, but many SUVs and even the odd Hummer.

The government should really push for car companies to create more low-emissions vehicles, and impose more taxes on SUVs and other gas guzzlers.

There is also the suggestion of making car drivers pay tolls when entering the city centre, and raising parking fees. Right now it's only a few yuan per hour, barely $1 an hour.

So the government has many options -- a mixture of all those measures would be greatly appreciated. The long-term effects are too beneficial to ignore.