Eye of Modok

Olympic volunteers have shown up in booths all over the city

To all the naysayers about the air quality in Beijing for the Olympics, all I can say is that if the games were held right now, the weather would be incredible. Yesterday was one of the finest days I’ve ever enjoyed in Beijing with wonderfully clear air and great visibility. I could see both the western and northern mountain ranges with amazing clarity! I spent the day running errands all over town and therefore found myself riding my motorbike for a goodly portion of the day. The temperature was perfect!! The air quality index was “Excellent” at 27, the best I have ever seen. Today was also a glorious day, but HOT!

When it comes to air quality in Beijing for the Olympics, there have been quite a few naysayers indeed. It seems many in the western press were publishing pictures of last week’s hazy days as evidence of poor air quality, failing to mention that there was quite a bit of sporadic precipitation that had evaporated into the air to make the haze. The Beijing government was quick to point out that haze is a natural phenomenon common throughout China. I am with the Beijing government on this one. There is a big difference between haze and smog, and anyone buzzing around town on two wheels can certainly tell the difference! China has always been hazy, as anyone who has ever seen a Chinese painting should be able to discern. Where does all that mystical mist come from in those beautiful paintings? Smog? In the Tang Dynasty? I don’t think so. I may be the first to voice my cynicism when certain negativities are downplayed, but I must say that the air quality this past week has really, really improved, no doubt largely in part the vastly reduced number of vehicles on the streets. I hope that after the games are over they keep the regulations in place limiting access to Beijing roads by even or odd numbered plates only able to drive on even or odd days. Of course, the over 300,000 vehicles from state-owned enterprises that have been restricted throughout the games will most likely hit the streets again when they end. No matter. I am truly enjoying the fresh air while it lasts.

Other signs that Beijing is fully prepared for the games:

1. Security measures have become routine. I went to an opera (Tea: A Mirror of Soul) at the National Center for Performing Arts and did not feel entirely put out by the security search to enter the massive hall. People have grown accustomed to these measures, and some efficiencies have been developed by those carrying out the searches.
2. Hordes of volunteers have emerged. Having served as an Olympic and Paralympic volunteer myself during the Salt Lake games, I know a thing or two about the procedures and organizational structure, and I can attest to the fact that Beijing has a definite advantage – neighborhood committees!

Neighborhood Olympic volunteers on every street corner and even in between… one under every umbrella!

Everyone in China is organized into groups, traditionally according to work place or school. Housing has also traditionally been assigned by the company, though that is rapidly changing. As everyone is assigned to unit, each unit has a committee and each neighborhood has an organized “neighborhood watch” committee, who are basically retired people who sit around and spy on everyone going in and out of the community. They are actually empowered to do so by the local communist party! This level of organization comes in handy from time to time, especially when the government wants to implement an information campaign. Now, the red arm bands have been replaced with red and white volunteer outfits and you can literally find them on every street corner throughout the city. Wow!

Neighborhood Olympic volunteer

3. An even more amazing display of flowers on the street than usual. I’m always amazed how the flower displays get more and more impressive every year around National Day, but this year they have pulled the stops to put up impressive flower stands along side of all the major roads and in many neighborhoods.
4. Cosmetic surgery to all of the older building fronts was completed in a timely fashion. If you are one of the lucky few able to visit Beijing for the games, you will notice that nearly every building has the same matte silver tile surface and brand new signage, thanks to a beautification plan that was implemented on a massive scale that can only happen in China.

Olympic security forces training in Qinghuandao

Though the Chinese media will surely present the image of a city enraptured with Olympic Spirit to the rest of China, and less importantly, to the world, there may very well be far more frowns on citizen’s faces throughout the long-anticipated Beijing Olympiad than all the euphoric smiles displayed incessantly on every TV screen, in every bus, on every train, in every elevator, and on every huge screen throughout the city combined. To be sure, every victorious moment will be repeated ad infinitum in a media frenzy likely to be second only to that of the recent tragic Sichuan earthquakes. If Liu Xiang manages to overcome what may well be the heaviest Olympic pressure ever felt by any single individual and clinches gold, the glorious moment will surely become the symbol of China’s greatness for a generation. To be sure, the Beijing Olympics are a great source of national pride for the whole of China! So, what does it matter if a few people are inconvenienced in the process? With the imminent arrival of the games in Beijing, the inconveniences are mounting daily, along with unhappy faces.

Among the first to feel the crunch were many of China’s foreign residents who suddenly found that due to new visa restrictions they had to return to their home country to apply for a new visa, which they very likely wouldn’t get. At least not the one-year multiple entry visa they were used to. Even famous celebrities like Canadian Dashan were not immune, a fact which he reportedly lamented after an unexpected trip back to Canada when his visa renewal was denied in Korea.

The Olympics are no longer touted as an opportunity to host the world. In fact, due to visa restrictions and heightened security measures, hotels throughout China are reporting the worst occupancy rates since SARS. Journalists who have been China regulars for years have suddenly found out that they are not invited to the party, seemingly along with anyone else who has ever had an unkind word to say about the current regime. In fact, it seems that this is likely to be one fancy part in which the world is sent invitations and then told after they RSVP that they are not actually able to attend.

From July 1st, many small shop and restaurant owners felt the heat as they were informed that there shops were to be closed “for security reasons” until September. Nearly every shop near subway stations and Olympic venues that no doubt anticipated high profits during the season were disappointed to find that they would instead lose a summer’s worth of profits. For many restaurants, that can be a death sentence. For those of us who are denied good eats and entertainment at our favorite establishments, it is merely a tedious bore.

Many of the Beijing residents most affected are not actually “Beijingers” at all, but the fifth of the population of the capital that is made up of migrant workers, who have lost their livelihood as construction sites have shut down in July to clear the air for August (which, I must say, is a pleasant development for the rest of us) as well as hundreds of small dives, noodle shops and BBQ stands that feed them. Many have returned to the countryside, likely in keeping with unstated government objectives.

Most recently felt by all Beijing residents are the invasive security measures. Everyone must undergo security checks when getting on the subway, including bag checks and occasional body checks. Intercity rail transport is purportedly even worse. Fully armed SWAT teams are now visible throughout the city. Tank-like vehicles are showing up underneath major flyovers on the ring roads. For the first time in over five years, I have seen helicopters over Beijing skies! While these measures are understandable in light of genuine security issues, it is still burdensome for Beijing residents who couldn’t care less about the games.

Security measures are encroaching upon the lives of ordinary Beijing citizens in surprising ways. I have heard one account that all teachers for a certain university have been told that they must report to their campus every day throughout the Olympics just “in case” something happens, so that they will be available to offer assistance. I’m not sure how many universities this affects, but I can just imagine what my reaction would be if someone told me that I had to give up my hard-earned summer vacation to sit in an office doing nothing just “in case” something happens!!

Beijing-based artist Ai Weiwei, co-designer of the “Bird’s Nest” Olympic stadium eloquently summed up the angst felt by many Beijingers in a blog post that was subsequently translated by China Digital Times.

An Olympics far from the will of the people and the spirit of freedom, a national ceremony without the inspiration of the citizenry, a myth so far away from modern civilization, the end result will be endless nonsense and a bore. The reason is simple: In this world no autocracy can pretend to be the joy of democracy, nor can it masquerade as harmony and happiness. No one can win the people’s support through deceit and betrayal.

“One World” — What world? No democracy, no human rights, no justice or equality, only deceit and betrayal.
“One Dream” — What dream? More corrupt officials, more shady deals, continued lies and questionable prosperity.

Before they built the pedestrian walkway the railway bridge served well to cross the highway and is still favored by many despite it being “closed off”.

I love living in China. Especially Beijing. Many of the basic precepts evinced by the local people, at an instinctual level, are in near perfect alignment with my own, in oft profound ways, especially at a deep philosophical level, but also evidenced in every day life. The longer I live here, the more similar in thought, and increasingly in deed, I become to my fellow Beijingren, to a point that, upon reflection, astounds me, as I am admittedly more wont to dwell on the differences.

A case in point is traffic, particularly pedestrian traffic, which I’ve discussed previously, in, “Wading through traffic“, even turning it into a magazine article, and then going so far as to write a follow up article for the next issue. In both articles, I examine the front where motor-driven and pedestrian traffic collide, and how once rushing forward, it is very difficult to stem the flow of pedestrians, and how tension arises out of the utter lack of respect afforded the pedestrian from most motor vehicle drivers, the exact degree of contempt held a measure of the perceived status of vehicle employed, ranging from mianbaoche to Bentleys.

The topic of Beijing traffic utterly fascinates me, as I love exploring human dynamics, and often use the qi flow dynamics model from Chinese martial and healing arts, particularly qi gong, as a frame of reference, yet also like to employ physical models in my description. I observe that for the most part a collective of Chinese pedestrians can be expected to behave as water.

A single drop of water, placed by fortune in a most inopportune time or position, can exact all manner of mishap upon its surroundings. So, too, the actions of a lone pedestrian can lead to disastrous consequences. However, the flow of the whole of pedestrian traffic lies on a deep resounding sine wave, far beneath the erratic waveforms of individuals, and is far more pleasant to plug into. The streets of Beijing bestow ample opportunity for exploration and observation. However, upon occasion, I, like many of my fellow Beijing pedestrian friends, prefer to travel off the beaten path, whenever possible, provided I arrive expeditiously at my destination.

The stone stairs can be daunting, yet are regularly used by children.

One of may favorite off-road paths is along the train tracks near my house. The bridges cross over major arteries of the city, as well as streams, rivers, and even a lake! OK, lake may be stretching it, but there is a reservoir near my house, readily accessible from the tracks near the subway station. The carved stone steps are surprisingly steep and narrow, which can be daunting for the uninitiated. Yet, they lead right up to a wonderful walking path right along the tracks. Or, rather, they used to, until someone got the bright idea to block it off and keep out all of the pedestrians.

If you dam up water the expected result is backflow, and if you have a means of managing or containing this backflow, all is well and nice. If you haven’t, however, there is a good chance you may find the integrity of your dam is challenged. So it is with Chinese pedestrians.

An enterprising individual created a small gap in the fence to allow access to the tracks.

Some of my best walks last summer were along these train tracks, so I reacted with dismay upon this development, but was spared a lengthy curb on this pastime, as the free will and spirit of Chinese pedestrians would soon prevail! The construction of the barrier fence had been viewed with interest and loathing by the track walkers, discernible from the contemptuous indifference with which they viewed the assorted building materials strewn all around the impromptu construction site which the entrance way to the tracks had become. No sooner, however, had this offending fence gone up then a hero arose! A small hole, just large enough for the truly sprite to take advantage of, yet a gaping chasm in the battle of wills between we who walk the tracks, and those who would prevent us. The next hero was far less subtle, preferring to simply unhinge part of the wall and leave a one meter wide gap as an entrance way.

Another enterprising individual displayed less finesse by forcing the fence open at a vulnerable midpoint union.

What happens next is one of the things I love most about living here. A worker group is dispatched to resolve the issue, armed with spools of flexible wire, which they employ to restore the fence to it solid and imposing former state, and fortify it against further breaches. Which, is to say, they do nothing at all, as though such bandaid-like attempts to fix the fence could be seen as an indication that the authorities which dispatched the work team are passively endorsing the ensuing stream of pedestrian traffic that quickly picks up where it left off, with minor allowances for the new conditions. Beijing offers plentiful case studies of these manner of displays of human resourcefulness.

Occasionally, the authorities respond by sending out a task force to deal with the situation .

I realize that there are those out there that will state that a law is a law, and to break any law, is to make one a law-breaker. To those I retort, a law is a law only in as it is understood and accepted by those who empower said law, be they those that create the law, or those whom empower the law through consensus to obey it. The Beijing city government, and, indeed, any government, is free to follow its directives and to achieve the peace in a manner of its own accordance, as laid down by the statutes of its structure, which is to say, they can pretty much enforce any law they so choose. And they are definitely turning a blind eye to the situation on the tracks. Keeping people from walking up there is obviously not that high on the list of priorities, especially with the encroaching Beijing Olympics.

Until someone gets run over by a train.