I might be calming down... I think.

If you have spent any time north of the Yangtze River, you obviously know about the constant hacking/spitting and the one finger nose blow. And, while this is accepted as being pretty disgusting in the west (except for those morons who come to China and think it is “hip” to join in the culture), it is a constant here.

Now, I understand that there are things about culture I still need to learn, but… help me out on this one.

Are there “rules” for this? Because, maybe it is my constant questioning of cultural rules that caused me to become mentally numb two days ago, either that or I really am calming down.

Look, when the law in China is that no matter what, the car is always responsible for injury to pedestrians, one must start to question if there are similar rules for “mucus discharge”.

Is the person walking down the street responsible for any “When Mucus Attacks” moment, or is the person releasing their phlegm responsible?

I was walking down the sidewalk in a pretty congested area of the city, when the sidewalk became quite narrow because of obstructions. I stayed on the sidewalk, but I passed by a man who was standing next to his bicycle at the curb.

While I was passing by, at the very moment I was standing next to him, he turned his head and did the one finger nose blow all over my arm. Yes, literally.

All I did was turn to him, yell out the “Aiah!” that one hears all the time here, then I said, “Don’t you have eyes you stupid idiot?!” I didn’t even use any foul language… Or, not VERY foul.

Then I walked away, hurrying to shower off the nice little gift he gave me.

Had this happened three years ago, they would have been scraping his brains off the sidewalk. However… that is not what happened. There was no fear of the man, he was older, shorter, and thinner… The only thing I can think of is…

This place is starting to melt my brain.

Flashbacks.

As I sit and watch what is going on in Ragoon, Myanmar, I cannot help having the same recurring thought.

It looked eerily familiar, watching a government, without addressing the reason for protest, send in their military to gas, kill, and beat a group of peaceful protesters. And, then have the nerve to cut internet connections to keep the world and the people within the country from seeing what they are doing. I just would never allow myself to live in that sort of…

Oh… wait a minute…

Nevermind.

And you wonder why China isn’t really condemning this. It would look a little hypocritical, and as we all know, hypocrisy is nothing more than face loss… ergo, it will never happen.

Kinda’ funny to know this is in the Chinese news. I wonder how a Chinese person would feel if they went to Myanmar in a few years, and the people there told them it never happened.

Picture from XinHuaNo need to ask their permission to use it, I live in China.
I have some similar pictures of...
Nahhh, they wouldn't like me to post those.

SHAME ON YOU MATTEL!

Let's all study how to apologize in Chinese...

(Did they actually use the pinyin of "mei SHIR"??)
What a bunch of cowards! I honestly could not believe my eyes, when I saw the lawyers and leaders sitting there “APOLOGIZING” to “China and the people of China”… WHAT A CROCK OF $H!T!!!

Look, China, we understand this “Face saving – 101” crap, but it’s time to get over it.

Yes, many of the recalls were done because of design flaws, but Mattel was one of the ONLY ones who were sitting there telling the US consumers that many of the recalls had nothing to do with China.

Now you want to use the only people who supported you, as some propagandist tool to show the world that Chinese goods are great? You are still forgetting a few major things that have happened.

LEAD PAINT IS NOT A DESIGN FLAW! The CEO of one of your companies didn’t hang himself in his factory because of what Mattel did, he did it because he used a friend’s paint company that used lead paint, and he lost a ton of money.

I am tired of the “We can only make China seem great by demeaning other countries” ideology that permeates every corner of this society.

Anti-freeze in toothpaste, gentian violet in fish, lead paint on children’s toys, melamine in pet food… these things were admitted to by China, but you didn’t see anyone flying anywhere to openly apologize to the people of other countries. Why? Because obviously, to admit to losing face, would be a face loss for China… (That honestly makes sense here…)

Last week China turned back tons of pork from the US, along the same lines… wanting to use this as proof of “Bad US goods”, but the fact is, the only reason they were turned back was because of hormone use. It was not an issue of something being put into the meat that would harm anyone; this is a product that is consumed by the American people on a daily basis. If China were a "green" or "natural" country, I could understand, but that is not why they turned it back.

China is in the middle of a crisis now when it comes to pork anyway. How they could keep that crisis going, simply to try to prove some point, is beyond me.

Besides, I’d drink a 55 gallon drum of the growth hormones they are using for pork, and it still would not equate to the amount of “miscellaneous ingredients” I have consumed in the past 4 years in China. Food quality is NOT on the “A-List” in China.

This, my friends, is just a small cornerstone of what will become a fallback for the Chinese government when the obvious financial crisis does hit China… “Blame it on THEM!”

It is the same problem I see every day in China. NO CENTALIZED GOVERNMENT! Oh, sure, there are the five old guys that sit around BeiJing, but I mean when it comes to actually doing something.

There are no checks and balances when it comes to any of the so called “Departmentalized” areas of Chinese government.

This is why I was given a rough time for being in a woman’s home at 9:50pm, while hookers worked openly within yards of the police station.

The only time the government actually takes a look at anything, is when it becomes a loss of face for China. Hell, they still can’t seem to get the concept of “Intellectual Property Rights”, what makes you think they are going to grasp “Food Quality” or “Health”?

There needs to come a time when China stops using the “we are a developing country” crap, and actually use some of those trillions of dollars they have stored up to DO SOMETHING (besides being the #3 importer of LUXURY GOODS for the oligarchy!).

Figure it out China, if you are going to claim this “developing country” designation, AND you are going to be producing nearly 70% of another countries household goods, shit is going to happen; to think otherwise is pretty ignorant.

So, either call yourself a developing country and admit that there will be some problems with Chinese products, or tell the world that Chinese products are excellent, that you are not a developing country anymore, and lower the damned value of the Yuan!

I honestly get sick of watching this face saving game, the last time it was the navy plane that had to make a forced landing in Hainan. Back then, even the “apology” only amounted to apologizing for having to land in Hainan, and said nothing about the midair collision. (Because the Chinese government didn’t want to have to explain the video, photographic, and physical evidence that was contrary to what they told the people of China.)

Now it is product safety.

Mattel, take the product back to the US, allow the citizens of America to produce it, and tell China to go to hell.

But, as long as they are going to control the Yuan, you will see this yellow bellied cowardice on the part of US companies, wanting to save a buck.

As if the product recalls made people want to stop buying the toys… this isn’t going to help.

Hell, it makes me wish I had kids, just so I WOULDN’T buy Mattel toys.

As Mad Max used to say… “I’m so mad I don’t know whether to crap or go blind. I guess I’ll just close one eye and poot.”

Or… maybe I am wrong… Maybe China is doing this, simply because the Mattel logo looks too much like the Japanese flag. You make the call…

溥儀

Yes, I used the traditional Chinese instead of simplified… for a reason.

If there was ever a man I would have liked to have met, it would have been Pu Yi.

I realize that there is still a lot of animosity towards him, when it comes to many Chinese, but my feelings about the man and his life are quite different. I also must say that I do not hold on to much of how the west feels about Pu Yi’s “reeducation” either.

I could sit here and write forever about him, but suffice to say, he led an extraordinary life.

Being that I am in the former 满洲国, I find myself being drawn to seeking out as much as I can about him. From collecting representative coins, to planning a trip to Fushun (抚顺) to see the prison where he stayed for 9 years.


Coin from 满洲国
The 7th year of the final era.
Here was a man, born into the part of being an emperor. Like it or not, that is what he was raised to be; and he became one at the ripe old age of 3. He was taken away from his mother, and became a ward of the Chinese Empire.


Not knowing anything, he was raised to believe that all of China was his, and that anything was his for the asking. His education was simply that of any other monarch; book educated. He, in essence, had no skills other than ruling, which he was obviously not allowed to do at such an early age.

Things within China started to change, and a rebellion caused China to become a Republic.

At age 6, he is told that he was now simply the emperor within the walls of the Forbidden City. He was allowed to keep that position, just as the Queen of England is allowed today. But, what were his options? Where could he have gone? What skills did he possess to be able to function outside of those walls? None. So, he stayed where he could do what he was raised to do… only limited to ruling within the walls.


Again, his education was simply that of being an emperor; nothing more, nothing less. His interpersonal skills were non-existent.

Flash forward… another three years. With all of the changes going on in China, the ruling warlord decided to restore the emperor. So, at the age of 9, he was yet again told he was ruler of all of China. But, this was limited to being a puppet for the ruling warlord. (We will see this happen again.)

Flash forward… SIX DAYS. A new ruling warlord removed him from power again.

He was back to being confined to the Forbidden City.


Again, he was back to being taught those things that make one an emperor.

At age 18, another warlord finally removed him completely from power, and the Forbidden City.


So, here he was… educated for one purpose, lacking any skills other than those needed to fulfill that purpose, and that purpose was stripped away from him completely.

But, this warlord considered Manchu’s “enemies”. Manchuria conquered China in 1644, and from then on, Emperors were from Manchuria. Pu Yi, being Manchu, was quickly becoming a literal prisoner.

Now, say what you will, but a young man, raised only to be an emperor, living in luxury, being told he was the ruler… and now he was standing outside of the Forbidden City with no skills other than what China gave him, he did what he knew.

Either it was to be imprisoned by Chinese, or flee to an area controlled by another emperor… the Japanese emperor. So, he went to Tianjin, taking with him what he could. He used those things in Tianjin, to live the same luxurious life he had lived in all his life.


During his time there, the ruling party of China had looted the graves of his ancestors, which did not help his feelings towards Chinese.

He understands that, at that time, Japan had control of his homeland of Manchuria. So, knowing that Japan had an emperor, he felt that going to that “kindred spirit” was the obvious choice.

And, Japan did make him Emperor again. Emperor of Manchuria (满洲国). Here he was, the emperor of his homeland… or so he thought.


Again, he was put into the position of being emperor of his house. The ruling was done by the Japanese.

Yes, at this time, the Japanese did some pretty horrible things, not only in Manchuria, but in all of China. Pu Yi had no hand in it, other than to have the title of “Emperor” of the area in which it happened.

Yet, at the end of the war, Pu Yi was made out to be a war criminal. Taken to Russia, he was finally returned to China in 1950, and spent the next 9 years in a reeducation prison in Fushun(抚顺).


I think it was only right that, having created the “monster”, that China was the one to have to return him to normalcy.


Here you had someone who had people to do everything from wipe his butt, to tie his shoes for him. He was told, from birth until the age of 44, that he was better than everyone else; and he was GIVEN that feeling by Chinese and Japanese alike. They ALLOWED him to feel this way; this is what they taught him.

Finally, in 1959, he was released, with a full pardon and citizenship to the People’s Republic of China.

He lived as a gardener in Beijing for the next 8 years, until he died in 1967.


The funny thing is, at the time he was released, China was in the middle of the Cultural Revolution. People marched in the streets with little red book’s, hung posters of Mao on every available wall, sung songs praising Mao, and taught the children poems about Mao.

Mao was a farmer who rose up to the point at which he built a pool and dance hall in 中南海, built statues of himself in every major city, and pushed out anyone that seemed to move close to taking power. And… his picture is still hanging on what was Pu Yi’s home all those years ago (The Forbidden City).

Pu Yi was born into an Empire which never gave him power, and eventually became a gardener.

That, my friend, is irony.

Hu Er Yu? When Chinese and English Collide.

Master Yu: May I help you?
Carter: We’ll be asking the questions old man. Who are you?
Master Yu: Yu.
Carter: No, not me, you.
Master Yu: Yes, I am Yu.
Carter: Just answer the damn questions. Who are you?
Master Yu: I have told you.
Carter: Are you deaf?
Master Yu: No, Yu is blind.
Carter: I’m not blind, you blind.
Master Yu: That is what I just said.
Carter: You just said what?
Master Yu: I did not say “What”, I said “Yu”.
Carter: That’s what I’m asking you.
Master Yu: And Yu is answering.
Carter: SHUT UP! You!
Master Yu: Yes?
Carter: Not you, him! What’s your name?
Teacher Mi: Mi.
Carter: Yes you!
Teacher Mi: I am Mi.
Master Yu: He is Mi, and I am Yu.
Carter: And I’m about to whup your old ass man, ‘cause I’m sick of playing games.
You, me, EVERYBODY’S ass around here… HIM! I’m gonna kick his ass, I’m sick of…


Li: Where is he!?
Carter: Who got killed man?
Li: CARTER!
Carter: Who died Li?
Li: YOU!
Carter: Detective Yu?
Li: Not Yu, YOU!
Carter: Who?
Li: YOU!
Carter: Who?
Li: Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?
Carter: Don’t nobody understands the words that are coming out of your mouth man.

Addiction.

Addiction comes in many forms, from physical to mental… I have and still suffer from both (quitting smoking is quite hard). But, it’s the mental addictions that I’d like to speak about now.

I have three addictions that I am quite aware of: hunting, coin collecting, and… coin operated, toy crane machines.


Yes, they are for amusement, and that is what I use them for. I rarely, if ever, keep the toys that I collect; I usually give them to the nearest child or toss them into a chair at home until I can find a way to give them away.

The collection of toys can sometimes grow to be a large pile of stuffed animals, pouring out of my living room chair. But, they always seem to find a home.

I always take one or two in my backpack when I travel, especially on planes. It gives me something to make a crying child happy, and allows me to sleep for a little while longer. (Someone made the mistake of putting one of these machines in the airport in Frankfurt, and filled it with Beanie Babies. Needless to say, I made off with a ton of them.)

I have become somewhat of a master at getting the “unobtainable” toys from these machines.

Once, at a true “southern truck stop”, I grabbed the largest toy I ever pulled out of one of these machines. When I got it, I swear every trucker looked at me as if to say, “Damn you! I have been trying to get that for 12 years!”

A few weeks ago, I pulled a live turtle out of one, at the local grocery store in Jinzhou. Obviously this sort of prize would get some people in trouble with PETA back in the states.

My mother always seemed to be one of the few who actually enjoyed watching me indulge in this addiction. Only once did she ever tell me not to give a toy away, and that was because she wanted it. And, that was one of the larger toys, a stuffed baby that appeared to be crawling. It was still in her room when I returned home in February (although my sister’s dog thought it made a good chew toy at the time).

My best friend David was also one who didn’t seem to mind the frequent stops at the entrances of supermarkets. He and I still laugh for hours when we think about the strange things I have pulled out of those machines.

Once, I pulled out a stuffed priest. I don’t know, I don’t care… but it looked pretty cool hanging out of the rear window of his truck while we were deer hunting. I think we left that one hanging in a tree somewhere to spook off other hunters. (Either that, or it was the stuffed vampire.)

There was only ONE toy I really wanted to keep, and that was the most realistic stuffed beaver (the animal, you pervert). The only problem was, my boss at the time, was walking by with her grandson. What else was I supposed to do?

But, there have always been two constants with these stuffed toys… Cheap as anything, and somewhat easy to distinguish what they are. However odd they were (baby dragon in diapers, priest, alien, pig head on a dog body), you could look at them and tell what they were, or what they started out to be.

Here in China, the “cheap” part puts these toys into a whole different ballgame. I’m NOT going to sit here and talk about the current situation with Chinese toys; I am simply talking about cheap stuffed animals. They really are as about as low-budget as you can get. (Which is somewhat strange, considering that China is the main producer of the toys that are in the U.S. crane machines.)

I am well aware that there are some cartoon characters and cultural/mythical figures that I do not know, but can that really explain what I got yesterday?




It’s not a cat. It’s not a bear. It’s not a dog. It has no tail. It almost gives me the impression of one of those Saturday morning TV puppets that scared the poo out of me when I was a child.

I'm still waiting for it to blink; it looks like it needs to.

This one is a “keeper”. I’m calling him “El Poco Loco” or maybe "小疯", and featuring him on my blog as my new travel companion. (With better images, of course. Still testing my camera.)

Falling down... and stuff.

Something happened today that would really have my father laughing. He has always been one to tell me “There is power in your words.” (Taking this lesson from the Bible)

Well, he always had me watching out for what I said, especially if it was about causing harm to another… today, that lesson did not stay with me.

I decided to sit by the lake and feed the goldfish, and take in “the show”. Today was the first day for freshmen students, so there was a lot of activity on campus.

There is a little dam that crosses the lake, which is used as a footpath to the library. While watching students cross it, I asked someone, “I wonder how if a student has ever fallen in.”

Within thirty seconds, I heard a great commotion behind me and noticed that someone on the hill, next to the waterfall, had fallen into the small reservoir at the bottom. It was not deep, so the only thing the student hurt was his pride.

But within ten seconds of that student falling in, another one fell in.

I just sat there thinking to myself… “I wonder if my words caused some kid in Istanbul to fall into a river there as well.”


***
A new purchase…


A Sony Ericsson W700c. For only 1,500元, I like it. :)

Oh Daaaavvveeeee!

Now for a post on the lighter side.

Before the vacation, one of my students had asked me if I wanted to spend part of my vacation in her hometown. I get this a lot, and it is simply genuine politeness on the part of students.

She knew that I liked fishing, and she told me that there was a river near her home with a lot of large fish; obviously this made me seriously consider the invitation. However, during the vacation, I just did not find the time to head to Shenyang.

During our class last week, she asked me about my not coming, and I told her I would definitely come during next month’s vacation (we have a week-long holiday for China’s national day).

We had this conversation during a lull in class, and some of the students joined in. One girl said, "She has many foxes where she lives!" This had me intrigued even more, and my mind went into "hunting mode".

I was quickly told that they were not wild foxes, but that her parents raised them. This had me wondering why. When I asked her about it, the answer gave me my laugh for the week.

I said, “What do your parents raise foxes for?”

She looked at me and said, “Pee”.

Hold on, hold on, hold on… That’s what I HEARD, but not really what she said.

She said "皮" or “pí”, which means “leather/skin”.

But, at this time of year, when the weather changes towards the cool side, my mind is always in one place… the woods. When my students realized what I had thought, they too started laughing. I explained to them that what I had thought she said, actually MADE SENSE to me. Fox urine is used by many hunters, including myself, as a cover scent while hunting deer; and people actually DO raise foxes for this purpose. (Go out to Google and search for “fox urine”, and see how many brands there are.)


My personal favorite. (Ugggg)
A bit of advice… There is nothing worse in this world, than smelling fox urine at 3:00 am on an empty stomach. Spray WITH the wind, not against the wind; and for the love of God, don’t get it on your hands!

Seriously disgusting…

I mean… if someone walked up to you and said “My friend and I were in the woods at 3:00 this morning, spraying each other with fox urine…” you would think he was crazy… right?

That, my friends, is friendship. HAHA

White men are monkeys in China.

Man, there is just not enough space to write about all of the things that have happened to me recently. Also, I don’t really like posting multi-topic posts; but that’s what this post is going to be… just so I can get some of my thoughts out of the way, and get myself back on a regular posting schedule.

So, here we go…

The title of this post comes from two different events that happened to me recently, I will just post them as they happened.

Suffice to say, I am getting a little perturbed at how China and Chinese people are trying to be my parents.

The “Gate Incident”:

It’s been a while, but this incident seemed very familiar…

First, some background information: This incident took place in the midst of summer vacation. Any students wishing to live on campus through the vacation have been made to move to a dorm that is off of the main campus. The only people still in my building were a few postgraduate students, teachers who are taking some training at BoHai, and foreign teachers.

One evening, a few weeks ago, a student called me from outside of my buildings gate, wanting to talk to me about something. I went downstairs and asked the guard to unlock the gate. Normally the gate is locked at 10:30, but they have been locking it at 10:00 during the summer… I have no idea why.

When he approached, he started asking me a great deal of questions, which I begrudgingly answered. When he started asking about who the student was, I got a little angry. I informed him that I wanted to go out; I figured, whoever was waiting for me was none of his business. I told him to just unlock the gate so I could leave.

Being that I have gone trough some pretty vocal confrontations in dealing with “all things gate related”, I quickly sent off a message to my leaders telling them that I needed a key to my gate, until the end of the vacation. As usual, this went on deaf ears.

About a week later, there was a repeat of that night… with a little different outcome.

I was already on my way out of my building, when I got a call from a former student/friend who was, ironically, waiting outside the gate, very upset and crying about something. I realized that there was a problem, and I went down to try to help.

This time the guard was not in the guardhouse. I called, but no reply. Finally, I decided it was just another one of those “gate climbing days”, so I grabbed a chair and headed to the gate. This is when I noticed a beam from a flashlight pointing at me; it was the same guard.

As he approached, I politely said that I was sorry, but I needed the gate open to leave. He obviously did not understand my meaning that I wished to leave. He started to get stern with me, and I reciprocated the feeling, telling him to open the gate. He wasn’t budging.

He started asking questions again, then pointed to my friend and asked who it was. I started to get quite angry and told him it did not matter, that I wanted to leave. Again, he was not budging.

When he approached my friend, who was outside of the gate, and started asking questions and asking for ID, I went ballistic. I told my friend not to speak to him, and then I looked at him and yelled for him to open the gate. Again, he just kept on with his questioning.

I told him that I was a teacher, that this was my home, and that he was not my father. He went right back to asking my friend questions. I picked up my phone and called my leader and asked her to tell him to open the gate. By this time, I was quite irritated.

When he got on the phone, he started arguing with her and was still not opening the gate. This was when I reached critical mass. I pulled the phone out of his hand, pointed to the gate, and screamed for him to open it, which he didn’t. (I didn’t realize at that point that I had inadvertently put my phone in my pocket without hanging up… my leader was listening to everything that transpired.)

I went over, grabbed a large chair and threw it over the gate, breaking the points off the top of the gate at the same time. I yelled for him to open it again, but he just stood there.

I grabbed a second chair, threw it over and broke more of the gate, and the chair crashed to pieces on the other side. I yelled once again, to no avail.

When I picked up the third chair, I pointed at the window of the guard office… that is when I said “@*#&! It!” dropped the chair, and started back to my room to get my pair of industrial bolt cutters, which I had purchased for just such an occasion.

I think the way I walked off, he realized that things were escalating, so he unlocked the gate. When I got back downstairs, I walked out of the gate and informed him when I came back, he needn’t unlock it, and that I had a key of my own (Insert picture of me with my bolt cutters resting over my shoulders.).

I was quite pissed off, to say the least. My leaders were calling me, but I did not answer.

The point is this…

How insane is it for one grown man to try to take the place of another grown man’s parents? I would like to THINK I look young, but my thinning hair, wrinkles, and waistline tell a different story.

If I must live on campus, then I am surely not going to be told when I can come/go, or who I can come/go with. This point has been stressed over and over again with my leaders, and I thought it was quite understood.

I understand the need for security of students, but that wasn’t even the case this time.

The following morning I was told that the problem was solved, that I only need to ask the guard to open the gate, and it will be opened. (I have been told this over and over for four years, but it always ends up the same way.)

They also said that I would need to pay for damages…

I said, “They are lucky I didn’t take the whole gate down. I will not pay to make someone feel better when they have lost face.”

They said that he didn’t understand that I was leaving, and he thought I was bringing someone in. I quickly said, "I don’t care if I am bringing in Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao, or the rotting corpse of Chairman Mao… Who I have over is my business and nobody else’s."

How many more doors/gates/windows must I break in one lifetime to get this point across?

http://www.kyle.cn/2004/02/e-mail-update-2102004.html

"Shacking Up?"

A few days ago, I went to the home of a former student. Yes, it was a girl, and no, nothing was going on. I had given her a copy of a collection of Jack London books, to help her with her English. At the time this event happened, I was sitting with her, reading a passage from “White Fang”. It was 9:50pm

While I was reading, there was a knock on the door.

Evidently, someone saw “Whitey Whiteboy” go into a girls home, and it got their panties in a wad. So, here we were, face to face with two of Jinzhou’s finest. Yes, someone actually called the police.

You see, it is illegal in China for unmarried people to live together. But, I will go into that in a little while.

Remember, we are talking about China; the place where “It is none of your business” is the common man’s mantra. But, obviously this only pertains to Chinese people.

So, there I was, being questioned about my marital status and sexual intentions, by the same person who is supposed to be enforcing the law forbidding prostitution (see previous post). Needless to say, it pissed me off quite a bit.

No, no words were said, except for a few under my breath. Evidently, in doing their checking of ID’s (yes, they asked for my ID and wrote down all of my personal information into their logs), they realized that my friend had not yet changed her residency status (she only graduated in July).

So, to keep things from getting worse for her, nothing was said other than conciliatory remarks.

But I was told, in no uncertain terms, that if I wanted to “live there”, I was to get a special permit.

(Needless to say, there was a lot of lip biting and jaw clenching going on.)

Knowing what had gone on, and knowing it was someone nearby, we had a lot of fun after the police left.

I walked to the window and yelled out things like, “CHINA IS NOT MY MOTHER!” and "I’m going to sleep now GRANDMA!” I just felt like pissing off the person who did it.

I wrote a complaint, and as soon as my friend gets her residency permit straight, I am going down to the complaint department in Jinzhou (yes, they have a public complaint department within the police department), and handing it in. It looks something like this (I have a Chinese copy also):

On September 2, 2007, I was visiting a friend’s home in Jinzhou. At 21:50, two police officers arrived at her home. The sole reason these officers arrived at her home was because someone in the neighborhood saw a white man go into the home of a Chinese woman. Regardless of what excuses were given, this is the only reason.

I was asked for my ID, my information was written down, and I was told that if I wanted to stay in my friend’s home, I needed to get a permit.

He asked if I had a wife, asked if the girl was my girlfriend, and implied that there was sexual activity going on between the girl and I.

Since when do I need a permit to be in a friend’s home at 21:50, regardless of if we are married or not?

The officer said he was “only doing his job”. I am really tired of hearing this pitiful excuse.

The fact is, at the time the police arrived, I was reading an English book to this girl. The job of the police should not be in harassing people in their own homes, simply because some old woman feels the need to get into others business and call the police.

For the police to come and accuse me of any impropriety, especially in Jinzhou, is quite hypocritical and ludicrous.

If he was only doing his job, I am sure he would have been far too busy arresting the prostitutes that work within 100 meters of his police station. (You can walk down any street in Jinzhou and find KTV, massage parlors, bath houses, chat bars, and tea houses.)

If he was only doing his job, I am sure he would have been far too busy at Jinhua, destroying illegal copies of software and movies.

If he was only doing his job, I am sure he would have been far too busy destroying illegal copies of telephones on He Ping Lu.

If he was only doing his job, I am sure he would have been too busy giving out traffic tickets to the large number of Jinzhou people who do not follow the traffic laws.

If he was only doing his job, I am sure he would have been too busy closing down the illegal mahjongg gambling places.

If he was only doing his job, I am sure he would have been to busy arresting the government and police officials at 北门口, having sex with prostitutes.

If he was only doing his job, I am sure he would have been far too busy investigating who is using the hotel rooms that charge by the hour.

If he was only doing his job, he would be far to busy arresting people selling fake tickets outside of the bus and train stations.

If he was only doing his job, he would be far too busy cleaning up the professional beggars on 中央 street.

If he was only doing his job, he would far too busy stopping the net bars from allowing young people to stay there 24 hours a day.

If he was only doing his job, he would be far to busy to bother the white guy reading an English book to a girl.

I will NOT allow a police officer in Jinzhou to attempt to make me lose face, when I can obviously point out the total loss of face on the part of the Jinzhou police department.

I am a white man who went into the home of a Chinese woman, and the police want to start quoting laws about not living together if we are not married? 我的妈！

If he only came out, because it was his job to investigate a phone call from an old women who is intolerant of other races of people being friends with Chinese people; then please consider this my phone call complaining about the massive prostitution industry in Jinzhou. I am sure if he does his job in closing those down, he will be far to busy to ever bother me again.

I have been here for four years, helping China with its development. During that time, I only went home for one week for my mother’s funeral. I eat, sleep, live, and work in Jinzhou, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

I can deal with people charging me too much money for things, because I am white.
I can deal with people calling me names, because I am white.
I can deal with being spat on, because I am white.
I can deal with being stared at, because I am white.
I can deal with being pointed at, because I am white.
I can deal with being forced to live separately, because I am white.
I can deal with being treated like a monkey, because I am white.
I can deal with never being accepted, because I am white.
I can deal with all of this, because it comes from people who don’t know any better.

But, I will not deal with this sort of thing when it comes from the people who are supposed to PROTECT AND SERVE the people.

In other words, I don’t want to see another policeman telling me where I can and cannot be, until they do their job and clean up the bad part of Jinzhou that has been going on long before I ever arrived.

Thank you,

Kyle H. Davis