China today is a most unfortunate place. They’ve made so many mistakes and are starting to pay. There appears to be no environmental protection plan. The economy is superficially flourishing, poverty is prevalent. There is a generation of solitary princes in search of nonexistent wives. Despite the amazing, impressive culture the country doesn’t seem inviting. They haven’t really made much progress into democracy. The treatment of the Tibetans is cruel. What they are doing hosting the Olympic games is puzzling. I feel very sorry for all the Chinese exiles all over the world.

I think that the Chinese Government is as it as always been, lots of Communists and lots of corruption. The people of China are kissing their lucky stars that they have it so fine. They are making good money and no heavy hand on them. Unlike the old days, both Empiror and Mao. They have cars, their children go to college for nothing, and for the first time spending money. The Chinese are great savers, but they never had it so good.

Lin Si, well welcome again. I must compliment you on how quickly your English usuage and the relating punctuation got so much better from your first discourse! Fast learners you Chinese. As to the History of China. I have studied the History of China for about 14 years. Beginning about 1500 years before the Shang Dynasty and of course the Decree of Heaven, of which China still adheares to philosophically, at least. I have also studied the social orgins of distress and disease in modern China. I did this because in my care was a blessed 6 yr. old boy from China in my care as to his acculturation to the Western World. I wanted to be sure he also had a base for his roots. Please do not underestimate the scholarship of U.S.A.ans by what you read or see in the movies or on our television or silly chat rooms on the net. I ask you Lin Sin if you have read: Red Azalea by Anchee Min; Bitter Winds by Harry Wu and Carolyn Wakeman; Life and Death in Shanghi by Niem Cheng; The Forbidden Stitch by Geok-lin; Wild Swans by ____Chang. My point, new debater, is: Have you read the many many books written by Chinese (mostly brave women) on the Mao Regime? You see, in this country with all our bad government we still have the freedom of search through the Freedom of Information Act to search and study the mistakes our government has made. Do you? As to California. California was taken from the Spanish 200 years ago before an everyday newspaper or a radio station and cerainly no TV and internet. U.S.A.ans today would not allow our government to do such an awful thing again. This is why you see our citizens saying to leave Iraq from the ‘way we are doing business’ and it was the same with Viet Nam. We are saying we do not like the ‘imperialistic’ manner in which the war is being conducted and the harm to the common people and the destruction of their social and economic foundation. Now Tibet. Tibet is as old as China, having been some of the greatest warriors on the Planet. The Emperors of Tibet and China used to exchange daughters even for marriage. China bruttally ravaged Tibet in the 1950s and the evidence of this in the broader world is extensive. Why I wonder, when China is so large, is it necessary for her to insist without any dialogue or compromise to have as her very own possession Tibet and Tiawan? Hum? This is not 200 years ago. The Chinese can use the net and get information one way or another and put up the same arguments for people’s freedom as we U.S.A.ans have. In the 80’s I had hoped for China that they would take the best of the West and the Best of China and build. But this isn’t what has happened, has it? It’s money and decadance from the blood and sweat of your deep countryside people. The upstart lucky Chinese (and to the Chinese money is always luck) have their head stuck in the sand as to those who were not in the right place at the right time to reap the benefits of unprincipaled capitalism. Same as here but even worse. It is beginning to appear that your government might be even worse than our Western governments. The point Lin Si, as a world citizen, isn’t it your responsibility as it is ours, —to search for the truth? Over a billion people and a dias of old men in an auditorium? Your symbol of Yin-Yang balance is Black and White. Possibly your ability at Statesmanship needs to understand is not Black and White. They are only the beginning and end zones, with a lot of gray in between. As to global communications might the Chinese be a bit tight? And to the West it appears as posturing and immature, not that appearances are always correct. Just exchanging questions and wonderments.