Tiananmen Square and Peking Duck

June 6^th, 2013
Naivasha, Kenya
Song of the day: Easy like Sunday Morning by Lionel Ritchie
Mood: Relaxed

Beijing
Liberated Consultant
The Liberated Consultant and I were classmates, co-workers, housemates, and in the same small group in our church.

On our first day of work in 2010, we flew together to Chicago to begin training.
For old time's sake, we sat next to each en route from Xi'an to Beijing.

I used my status to get the premier spot in the baggage claim.
(As you can tell from the crowds, it was clearly a big perk)

During my time in Beijing, we met up a couple more times.

Peking duck and feast

My three favorite cuisines are Chipotle, sushi, and Chinese food. Among Chinese dishes, my favorite main course is Peking duck. Thus, we sought to find the duck in its native habitat and the Liberated Consultant and I succeeded on our quest.

In addition, his family friends generously invited me to join their feast where they also served Peking duck.

The most exciting event of the night was when I inadvertently dipped my food in wasabi sauce. Luckily, the Liberated Consultant warned me before I ate it. Unfortunately, everyone else noticed and all conversation ceased while they waited for my reaction. I was committed at that point. There was no turning back. I put it in my mouth and for a split second, I thought it was mild. Then, it swept over me, and totally cleansed my sinuses. After confirming I had not died, conversation resumed.

Downtown

The Liberated Consultant graciously guided me through tourist sites that he had seen many times before. We first went to Tiananmen Square. Due to the massacre of protestors by the military in ‘89, the area is highly sensitive. As a result, there is security to enter and the area is swarming with plainclothes police officers who will tackle anyone that tries to unfurl a political slogan.

When I was a student, my college had a joint program with a Chinese university. Students from both schools lived in the same dorm in Beijing. The biggest difference for the Chinese students is that the dorm’s wireless had VPN, which meant they could bypass the Great Firewall. For perhaps the first time in their lives, they could learn the western perspective about events like the Tiananmen Square massacre as a search for "Tiananmen" only brings up web pages about tourism. Would you take the opportunity to learn about your country's secrets?

I understand the merits of censorship. Not everything is beneficial and I have appreciated it when I have watched movies in more conservative countries and nudity or swearing is covered up. However, censoring is a very slippery slope and the free flow of information and opinion is essential to a healthy democracy. I would rather put up with garbage and try to self-censor bad information than let the government decide what ideas I can or cannot have access to.

Censorship of ideas is inherently self-serving. Government is in the business of selling ideas and can directly benefit from censoring dissenting opinions. That is why the recent scandal in the US where the IRS, our tax agency, deliberately targeted opposition groups (e.g. conservatives) is so troubling.

Americans rail against the lack of freedom in China, but when the government uses its power to silence opposition in the US, so many people don't care because the party they support is responsible. When we fail to fight against injustice and corruption because it is inconvenient, we have already given up our power.