Life and Travel in China

Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, all the media are heating up the atmosphere and often use the phrase in their headlines: "The world holds its breath." The average Chinese in mainland China considers Taiwan to be part of China. For them it is still a rebellious island. The Chinese do not like it when it is said that Taiwan is an independent, democratic country. Taiwan, of course, sees it differently. They consider themselves an independent country and count on the support of the United States in this matter. It is worth reading about the history of China, the civil war and the escape of the Kuomintang to Taiwan. It has long been known that the US is fighting China, which has become an economic power. Americans like their own version of the world order, from South America through Africa to Arab countries and Asia. In Africa, they lost a lot because China literally took over many African countries (not militarily, but through investments and their dependence on Chinese money, loans, etc.). Europe and North America woke up too late to this issue and already feel the Chinese breathing down their backs. American hegemony should continue, but the US has too many problems of its own with Covid, homelessness, the healthcare system, and now involvement in the war in Ukraine. Of course, Americans have no problem investing in wars, sending troops to different parts of the world, testing new weapons, and gaining experience on the battlefield. Is this the purpose of China's provocation and Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan? A China-Taiwan war would benefit the Americans. Image-wise and diplomatically, it would be a defeat for the Middle Kingdom. But isn't provoking the Chinese too risky for the whole world? Did the Americans calculate it correctly?

Interesting fact for today - women in China usually do not change their surname after marriage. It is not customary to take your husband's surname. Marriages with the same surname are rare in the Middle Kingdom, it may be a coincidence if anything. I don't think I've ever mentioned this before in my Journals. Interestingly, children can also be given different surnames, e.g. a son's grandfather's surname (because his father has a different one) and a daughter's surname after her mother. If we compare the names and surnames of one family, basically no one will guess that they are related. Can you imagine something like this (translated into Polish realities): Janina Nowak is the wife of Mariusz Kowalski, and their children are Natalia Kwiatkowska and Jarek Kowalski.

There used to be wristbands, tattoos, then electronic wristbands - now all you need is a smartphone and you can track/recognize a prisoner. This is how the system works in China. It can be described as modern totalitarianism with an apparent smile. People use new technologies, they have so many applications, maps, locations, restaurant reviews, taxis, payments, loyalty cards, tickets, entry passes, just everything. In the midst of all this is the Covid infection app. A friend visited a friend. It turned out that a Covid case was detected about 5 km from my friend's apartment. Thus, our friend's status was changed from green to yellow, which means tests and suspicion of coronavirus. People in China are fed up with this, and they have endured the most. They are taught to obey the authorities and have been taught this since kindergarten. I wrote about it several times. It is true that in the Middle Kingdom there was a revolution or uprising every 100 years, but probably not this time. This time, the authorities have really solid weapons to fight disobedient citizens. The most tragic and ironic thing is that this tool is a smartphone that everyone voluntarily carries with them. Few people wear them out of necessity, because without it there is no Covid application, without it you can't buy a train or plane ticket. As a form of rebellion, you can simply stay in the apartment (your smartphone will be there too).

Since the beginning of December, Chinese authorities have lifted restrictions related to Covid-19. It would seem that the Chinese would run into the streets and throw away masks, but it is the opposite. After such a long isolation, many infections are now occurring and the Chinese public is terrified. Of course, there are groups of people who are fed up with restrictions and are happy with the changes. However, most of my friends approach the matter differently. They don't even send their children to school. They know many people who are already infected and have a high temperature. They avoid contact with others. They limit exits to a minimum, the streets are still empty. I guess that after such a long isolation, not only Covid is raging there now, but also ordinary flu and other upper respiratory tract infections. There are a lot of people there, residential skyscrapers usually have 30-50 floors (so how many people use one elevator, for example). Even if these outings are limited to a minimum, many people still come into contact with each other in the subway, on buses, in taxis, on the border with Hong Kong, etc. Apparently, many Chinese are already in hospitals. It seemed that this would be the end of tests, vaccinations, quarantines, movement restrictions, etc. Not much has changed, except maybe mandatory tests. The only difference is that previously the authorities imposed restrictions, and now citizens, fearing the pandemic, impose them on themselves.

There is a lot being written in the Polish press about China's demographic problem. There is a shortage of children, the one-child policy has taken revenge. There will be a shortage of workers and the number of older people will increase. However, two practical issues are overlooked. 1. Not every family followed the one-child policy. There were many unregistered children. Sometimes local officials were bribed and registered a newborn child, which in theory was illegal. It sounds strange, but it was true. 2. Older people are not subject to any compulsory pension or insurance system. Therefore, it will not be the state that will support these elderly people, but their own children and grandchildren. Many people can afford it, especially since life in the countryside is relatively cheap. Many people also bring their grandparents to big cities. They take care of them, and in return the grandparents spend time with their grandchildren. Moreover, "retirees" in China are quite active: dance groups in parks, walks, meetings, music bands, and in the countryside there is some gambling - mahjong and cards. You will probably say that older people will burden the health care system - well, neither do they. If it is not paid in advance, no one in the Middle Kingdom is treated on credit. Sad, but this is the reality and I have mentioned it several times. My mother-in-laws have pensions, but it is thanks to contributions paid by my wife and her brother. What's funny is that they weren't even big contributions. This system was dependent on location and type of work. My wife's grandparents and parents were treated as pioneers who developed uninhabited areas, hence the pension privilege. This system is quite complex. It is certainly not as burdensome for the Chinese budget as ZUS in Poland. Our contributions are constantly increasing and we are constantly talking about low pensions. We have something to worry about in "our backyard". We really don't have to worry that much about China's demographics.