I want it all...

As I write these words the beast from the east has rendered Norfolk’s weather somewhat more akin to Siberia’s. In the past few days the temperature here has been down to -10 at times and never breached zero. Costas coffee house is a warm haven but a struggle to get to. I managed to unexpectedly assume a horizontal position en route when I slipped on some ice cunningly disguised beneath a layer of pleasantly fluffy snow.
It feels good after four months of global gallivanting to get back to my local cafe again. Costas themselves had rather annoyingly cancelled all their newspapers save the Sun (not sure that particular publication falls under the category of newspaper) before I left, but after receiving a large volume of complaints and becoming aware that people were also voting with their feet, I happily discovered that the Telegraph, the “I” and the Daily Mail have all been reinstated. Happy days...
I read in the ‘I’ that Jeremy Corbyn has just given a speech wherein he reversed his position of four decades of steadfast opposition to the EU to embrace the notion of joining ‘a’ customs union. As ever, the speech in reality is so general as to be meaningless as far as anything practical is concerned, but it does denote the taking up of a position so antithetical to any position he has taken before that one wonders how such blatant hypocrisy can be countenanced even by his most gullible supporters (and there are quite a few of those!). It seems that the reasoning is that although it represents a 180 degree volte face it does have the one benefit of allowing the possibility of the government losing a vote on the customs union in Parliament. In short, it is as blatant a piece of political cynicism as one could imagine. The possibility of power, of an election being called and Jeremy winning it, means that as far as he is concerned it is fine to adopt a position that all his political life he has been firmly opposed to. Power corrupts, and the desire for power can corrupt completely.

In China, Xi Jingping it seems has decided that a mere 10 years in power may not be sufficient for him. After the disaster of the Mao years when the geriatric leader continued to control China long after he was capable of making sensible decisions. This occurred mainly due to a managed ‘cult of personality’ when his thoughts were made into a kind of gospel in the form of a little red book. His words were incritically read by millions of gullible young red guards (and, interestingly, by John McDonnell....Labour’s shadow chancellor). Mao's final ten years in particular, a period known as the cultural revolution, were so damaging that the very social fabric of China was undermined with many people murdered for even the slightest perceived criticism. Xi Jinping has likewise benefitted the Chinese nation with a volume of his ‘thoughts’ to be incorporated into Communist Party Doctrine and disseminated amongst the general public. Now, apparently, Xi feels that ten years of power may not be enough for him and wishes to remove the legal obstacle of a maximum of two five year terms that the Party put in place at the end of Mao’s reign. Power corrupts, and the desire for power can corrupt absolutely.

Nicolas Maduro, Socialist leader in Venezuela, has called elections to further extend both his riegn and the extent of his powers. After having problems winning the normal elections, despite some blatant rigging, he decided to restrict the influence of the elected National Assembly and instead create a new constituent body only part of which was to be elected. This effectively meant that even if he clearly lost an election he would remain in power thanks to the built in majority from the non-elected parts of the assembly. Neat, eh!? Recently, members of the constituent body voted to put leasers of the opposition on trial for treason.  Power corrupts, and the desire for power can corrupt absolutely.

Another article tells of us of the activities of the leader of North Korea and his father,

Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un. Apparently worried that their own people might one day rise up against them, they illegally secured Brazillian passports and obtained visas from whatever embassies they could in Pyongyang in order to have a chance to make good their escapes if it proved necessary. This seems to be a common theme in communist countries, the leaders often live in fear of their populace and hence seek to control them by whatever means neccessary. Hence the CPC in China always being so concerned about ‘social stability’, basically code for the slightest sign of opposition to their rule.

It is a common trait of such folk on the left to seek control. It is often not just power that they want but absolute power, unchallenged and unlimited. With this comes the notion of ensuring that any contrary voice is controlled or silenced. It has been interesting to hear Corbyn’s responses lately when he talks about the press. He has been stung numerous times now by attacks in the press, mainly due to his connection with some very dubious characters in the past, spies, terrorists, antisemites, religious extremists, etc. The compromising nature of much of this information is somewhat inconvenient to a would be prime minister so the revelations have been a source of some irritation to poor Jeremy. His subsequent unspecified threat of “change is coming” sounded somewhat chilling. Asked to give details he would merely say that media bosses were “right to be worried” about the possibility of a Labour government. The threat was couched in language as chilling as the Beast from the East...
In China, the reaction on social media sites such as Wiebo to the notion of removing the two term limit on Xi Jinping was not particularly positive. As ever though with such left wing hierarchies, the authorities didn’t interpret this as a signal that perhaps they should reconsider but merely a sign that such criticism should be blocked, banned, rooted out or circumvented by all means available. Pooh bear, the oft used characterture for Xi Jinping found himself banned once again along with phrases such as ‘two terms’ or ‘extended rule’. Mysteriously, even the letter ‘N’ got banned for several hours!?

Maduro’s reaction in Venezuela to criticism is much of a muchness for a socialist/communist system. The group Human Rights Watch reports “the accumulation of power in the executive branch and the erosion of human rights guarantees have enabled the government to intimidate, censor, and prosecute its critics" and went on to say that that broadcasters may well be censored if they criticize the government.”
Socialism is often sold as the politics of compassion whereas, in reality (as the history shows) nothing could be further from the truth. What it craves is control and power, preferably of the unlimited variety. The common factor in all these cases is that not only do such people as Jeremy Corbyn, Xi Jinping, Nicolas Maduro or Kim Jung Un crave power but that they crave unlimited power. Not for them the unwarranted restrictions of terms, constitutions, elections or even press criticism, that is for wooly liberals and their like. They want it all...and they want it now.
Back in Costas I am finishing off my americano and girding my loins for the trudge back across the common. Hopefully this time I can at least remain vertical for the whole journey. Despite it being incredibly cold in the past few days, the snow lends this part of the World an intense beauty that is really quite unique in its own way. I have missed the place...

Every breath you take...

This week's flaneurial reflection comes from a rather comfortable seat on a rather comfortable train that is comfortably travelling at very nearly 200 miles per hour. All is smooth and quiet as we whisk along the track between the cities of Zhuzhou and Guangdong through the somewhat continuously grey Chinese countryside. The coffee on board is a very reasonable 20RMB a 400ml cup (about $3). The subjective realisation of speed only occurs when one chances to glance out of the window and watches endless hills, roads and rivers flashing past at a truly alarming rate.

          I am on my way back from attending a Tai Chi tournament in the City of Liling. The event was rather successful for my friend who managed to win a gold and a silver medal and come home with an 18” plate and a rather large china vase. We had travelled to Liling on the invitation of the Hunan Tai Chi Association, who generously supplied hotel rooms, meals and transport for the both of us from the Friday evening  to the following Monday morning.

          This generosity was much appreciated, as were the facilities of the four star hotel we stayed in. The food was copious and prepared in the local Hunan style (very greasy, very salty, very spicy) but, unfortunately, was not particularly to my tastes. There was something typically Chinese in the way the food was presented though. The dishes, usually a dozen or more, were set upon a glass revolving disk in the centre of the table and one chose from the offered selection whatever one took a fancy to. This style of eating is very communal in nature which is not atypical of the culture here in general. There is a great willingness, almost an expectation, of sharing. If someone orders a bottle of the local alcohol, an horrendously strong brew that fair took my breath away, it is expected that it will be shared by all at the table.

          There seems to be an etiquette to turning the glass centrepiece, an etiquette that stresses the needs of others at the table above oneself. Generally on such a table there is a huge pale of sticky white rice in the centre. Here too there is an etiquette – one makes sure everyone else is supplied with rice before filling one's own bowl. Even within this there is another level where the status of those waiting is to be recognised, with the higher status individuals going first. In practice, this generally implies a respect for age, with the elders being given preference over the youngsters.

          Toasts are often drunk, complete with the usual expression 'gumbei!' (empty glass) proceeded by a chink of one's glass with all and sundry. Again, one needs to make sure one includes everybody who cares to be included and, as a mark of respect, holds one's glass slightly lower than those of higher status (usually best just to presume everyone else is – my personal 'fail proof' method!).

          Throughout my stay in Liling I was treated with great respect and a rather lovely inclusivity.  This is one of the loveliest aspects to the culture here. Once accepted within a given group, one is treated with a great deal of friendly and good natured indulgence. The Chinese, in this way at least, are a very hospitable people.

          The time spent in Liling was enjoyable on many levels bar one, but that exception makes the thought of my upcoming trip to Thailand a pleasant prospect. The quality of the air in these medium sized cities has to be seen to be believed. I use the word 'seen' advisedly. Of course, as soon as one gets off the train, one is immediately aware that the air quality is not all it should be. My first bout of coughing was on the station platform itself, but what is most noticeable is the dreary grey smog that hangs continuously over the town.

          We arrived at the hotel just before five on the Friday evening and I took a photograph of the somewhat uninspiring view from our seventh floor window. Grey and dank and almost sulphurous, the blocks in the distance disappearing into the smog:

          At nine on the following Monday morning I took a second picture from the same vantage point:

          Comparing the two images, one would think that they had been taken one after the other. This was not the case. In the three days we were there this view did not change at all except for the coming of the night. Just one long, dreary, greyness that hung over the city continuously from dawn to dusk. Never a glimpse of the sun, never a shadow beneath one's feet, unless you chanced to go inside a building.

          Many of the more industrial Chinese towns and cities are like this the whole winter long. Dreary, dirty and, in the air quality sense at least, really quite disgusting. To experience this is really quite oppressive, the feeling of not knowing when you will next see a patch of blue sky or where your next breath of reasonable air is coming from. In Liling's case this was particularly disappointing as the town itself looked to be rather interesting with a huge pottery market and some lovely old architecture.

          Last year, as happens many a year, there was some particularly bad smog in Beijing and Shanghai during the winter months. It became so bad at times that some people, having unwisely decided to venture out for the evening, were reportedly reduced to using the satnav apps on their mobile phones to find their way home again!

          A few years back, the Chinese government became quite annoyed with the American consulate in Beijing for publishing air quality figures on its website. The American staff had become increasingly worried over time with the deterioration of the environment. As far as the Chinese government were concerned, all was fine and there was no problem as long as no one made a fuss about it. The fact that millions of Chinese people were dying prematurely each year because of the effects of pollution was not particularly concerning, but 'losing face' in such a way, particularly at the hands of the Americans, was definitely not acceptable.

          Eventually, they relented and started publishing their own figures but this caused another problem. The PM 2.5 figures (fine particles below 2.5 microns in width that your body has little or no defence against) were truly atrocious. The World Health Organisation recommend that these should be kept at levels below 20 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Hardly anywhere in China could meet these standards so the Chinese government did what the Chinese government does best in such circumstances; it moved the goal-posts. The Chinese national standard calls for a 'healthy level' of 35 micrograms per cubic meter of air. It would appear that Chinese lungs are 1.75 times better than lungs elsewhere on the planet at dealing with this problem...

          Even with these much lower standards, Chinese air quality in most major cities fails to achieve these levels. Examining one of the websites that publishes this data, I see that today in central Beijing the level is 309, ie., some eight plus times their own, rather liberal (nice to see them liberal in some ways at least...) limits and fifteen times the WHO levels. Some Northern Chinese cities are at levels well in excess of 500. Sad to say, this is not an unusual occurrence.

          Back in the train a couple of hours have passed and we are now within just a few short miles of Guangzhou. This technology is very impressive, as is much of the new infrastructure of modern China. At times though, these achievements have been made at a tremendous cost to the environment. Apart from the truly awful air quality, 70% of China's rivers and lakes are polluted, not to mention 90% of their groundwater (which makes up most of the 'potable' water used for drinking, cooking, etc.). The widespread and indiscriminate use of pesticides and chemicals means that the soil is very unhealthy in China too. The pace of economic growth has been truly amazing but, to paraphrase, and slightly amend, a saying from the Bible: What does it profit a man if he gaineth the whole World but cannot breathe the air, drink the water or eat the food?

                      

Beware of drinking hot coffee in close proximity of impatient Chinese train passengers...