China: Politics

An in depth analysis of the political, socio/economic fabric of China…

The Polyester Curtain

I began to realize that the Peoples’ Republic of China, although still a republic was likely no longer communist.  In fact, I didn’t want to say anything, but it is possible that Canada is more socialist now than China, but you did not hear that from me because believe me if word of that every reaches the United States we will be treated like North Korea with the plague and we don’t even have nuclear missiles.

A very small indicator that Mao’s dream of a classless-socialist-communist society had died a horrible death likely from some a virulent  SARS related avian flu virus or by rigorous and relentless social change struck me while recently boarding a China Southern flight from Guangzhou to Hangzhou, a flight of about two and a half hours. As a Middle Class Canadian I purchased an economy fare seat and found myself midway back in the Airbus, just over the wings, but never in the emergency exit seats where one gets extra leg room at no extra cost.  I looked forward, through a curtain that divided my cheap seat from the so called “Privileged  Economy” class seats, which took up about a quarter of the plane by volume, beyond that in the far distance where the Earth begins to curve I could still spot the first class section behind yet another curtain, was it the Iron Curtain, no it was some cotton polyester blend separating the classes.

After reevaluating my own self-worth while sitting in my economy fare aisle seat midway between the fore and aft washrooms, I came to a fuller understanding of the current dilemma I was in.  Here I am in a communist country on an airplane divided into three distinct and separate socio/economic class sections.  My first instinct, which I quickly stifled, was to press the call button above my head and summon one of the impeccably dressed stewardesses and asked her, “Listen young lady could you bring me some water, and er, could you tell me what happened to the social revolution which fermented and created a classless society just prior to your generation?”

 My faith was renewed when later in the flight we were all served dinner and it appeared that, despite the classes, we all got some version of chicken or fish on rice or noodles.  There was still some semblance of equality.  After dinner we were all equally treated to an in-flight military movie (for which none of us had any part in its choosing) showing well, it was in Chinese of course and the English subtitles were far too small for me to read, but it did seem to have a revolutionary and highly patriotic theme as what appeared to be scenes from the “Long March.”  So while flying 33 000 feet over the same route that Mao marched on we all enjoyed, but some more than others, the patriotic community which serves to unite the classes as we sat contently finishing our rice dinners separated by the infamous Polyester Curtain.


...please leave a comment...