School's Out What Chinese are talking about … (2)
The cult of Xi – from the Little Red Book on Mao Zedong thought to the nightly quiz show on Xi Jinping thought
extolling Mao with the little red book; and
extolling Xi with the tv quiz show
What Chinese are talking about … (1)
I hope this will become an occasional post, based on what I hear on the ground.
Shaolin Monks, originators of Kung Fu, Kneel to Chinese Government
Shaolin Buddhist monks, the world famous monks of astounding feats of athletic skill, concentration, and mind over body, originators of the martial art of kung fu, have indicated their subservience to the Chinese government in a ceremony held at their home temple in Dengfeng County in Henan Province. This is a first in 1500 years, that the monks would indicate political subservience.
All photos: http://english.sina.com/china/s/2018-08-28/detail-ihifuvpi1509972.shtml
August 28, 2018 - Beijing: Shaolin Temple raises the red flag by Kirsty Needham (China correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald)
Libertarian Health Care November, 2012 and updated
Personal responsibility and preservation of power ..
This was written just before and after the birth of our son, and was my take on the medical system. I could not vouch personally for more than a few hospitals, perhaps six to eight, but stories from over the years, including doctors being murdered by enraged patients or family, confirms that my views expressed here are representative.
What I saw every day -
Celia Hoffman. China’s Aging Population Needs A Different System Of Care. Stock News USA, August 22, 2016 https://stocknewsusa.com/2016/08/22/chinas-aging-population-needs-different-system-care/
Health Care Crisis
Some of you have read prior posts here on health care, the good, the bad, and the unbelievable. Now comes the New York Times with a feature on the Crisis in Health Care in China, focusing on the shabby treatment of doctors and patients in the medical system. As I noted in Hospital Rules (see the Health, Education, Welfare tag adjacent, to the right), the system optimizes for neither patients nor practitioners.
The video in the NYT piece shows a man making home-made drugs for his mother, who has stage 3 cancer. She has insurance, but cannot get coverage for drugs that are far too expensive to buy commercially. If her insurance works as I think it does, she would have to buy the drugs, pay for them, and then get part reimbursement by the insurance company at some later date.
No Way Out from the Middle Kingdom
You remember the movie, with Kevin Kostner as the exemplary US Navy officer-special assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Gene Hackman). The plot twists around search for a purported Russian spy in the US, codenamed Yuri, who has been able to infiltrate the Navy at the highest levels. Following several plot twists, Kostner is ultimately left with no way out – he cannot be seen in public, as he will be implicated in a murder; and he does not want to return to his homeland, which he has not seen for at least twenty years. He has no safe place to go, and no way out of his predicament.
Performative declamation people talking without speaking …
note: I am reminded that this needs more than a little editing and a bit of shortening. Ok. You may skim rather than read. And I am now reminded of how GOP apparatchiks fall into line when defending the latest from their current dear leader. Another way in which the GOP has bought the Chinese export.
At Gettysburg, the featured speaker Edward Everett talked for two hours, and Lincoln for three minutes. Some thought Lincoln’s remarks were foolish and inappropriate. Chinese leaders never want to look foolish. I have sat through the one and two hour speeches that might have been delivered in ten minutes - if content were what mattered, rather than performance.
