The Prompt Change of Livelihood in China

We have observed it all on television, heard it on the radio, and studied it on the papers. China has now come about at last, and it is now impertubable to become a global might. Now, isn't that rather, petrifying for some? Not for a astounded China visitor like me. I am glad to see that the Chinese have come to grips with their wherewithal at last, and have discovered what it takes to conquer. But what concerns me is the progressive and general changes that comes with newly-earned progress.

A decade or so before in Beijing, the crowd of Chinese go about their business in their prevalent bicycles. Now they make way to the current stature symbol: Hummer H2 SUVs from the U.S., no less. Or, for the many of the new money, a well-dressed locally-made sedan or two will do nicely. Suddenly, new and marvelous skyscrapers dot the cities of Beijing and Shanghai, often built on top of razed old locales. Of course, with the new-found prosperity comes tales of crime and graft in high places. The hard-earned instances of the Cultural Revolution under Mao are now replaced with the newer and more effectual god of capitalism.

Such a breathtaking array of changes may leave us ordinary visitor with two choices: to embrace it or ignore it. Embrace it and we will admit china as it marches on its way to modern times, with us startled yet pleased westerners as gathering. Or we can barely ignore it all and deplore what China has become, apparently brushing off its remarkable past aside.