Ferguson, China, Satire, and Reality

Summarizing recent events in Ferguson, U.S., David Carr in The New York Times wrote:

Ferguson, Missouri, was just a place — a working-class suburb of St. Louis — before an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot and killed by the police, before protests and looting erupted, before local forces responded with armored vehicles, tear gas and rubber bullets, and Ferguson became #Ferguson.

Often relishing an opportunity to opine on America's high profile struggles, China's state media has been noticeably quiet on the matter. Josh Chin in The Wall Street Journal identified some of the roots for the most likely explanation:

Although the politics and level of violence involved are different, there are plenty of similarities between Ferguson and Xinjiang [a region in northwestern China]. As alleged in the case of Mr. Brown, [Muslim] Uighur advocates accuse Chinese security forces of using deadly force against civilians who present no immediate threat. In both places, authorities have confronted lingering anger over racial discrimination with military-grade weaponry. And in Xinjiang, as in Ferguson, reporters have been detained while trying to put together an independent picture of events.

China's relative silence, though, has not stopped others from putting words in China's mouth and further calling attention to conditions in both China and the U.S. For example, in the satirical piece in Vox "How we'd cover Ferguson if it happened in another country" Max Fisher imagined:

"The only lasting solution is reconciliation among American communities and stronger Missouri security forces," Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a speech from his vacation home in Hainan. "However, we can and should support moderate forces who can bring stability to America. So we will continue to pursue a broader strategy that empowers Americans to confront this crisis."

Xi's comments were widely taken as an indication that China would begin arming moderate factions in Missouri, in the hopes of overpowering rogue regime forces and preventing extremism from taking root. . . .

A Chinese Embassy official here declined to comment but urged all parties to exhibit restraint and respect for the rule of law.

After reading Fisher's piece, it could be easy to assume Natasha Culzac's article in The Independent is also a work of satire:

As anger erupted again on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, a human rights team from Amnesty International worked on the ground in the US for the first time ever. . . .

Amnesty International, said it would be observing police and protester activity and gathering testimonies . . .

But it is not. And like China's silence and possible U.S. responses to similar events elsewhere, Amnesty International's actions provide yet another perspective on a situation which is far more complicated than people simply needing to "settle down".

Weinermobiles and Dragonmobiles

One day long ago when I was walking near the Washington Monument in Baltimore's historic Mount Vernon district, something passed by which made me feel like I was in a surreal dream. But I was indeed in the real world, and for the first time I saw one of the famous Oscar Mayer Weinermobiles.

A modern Weinermobile in Minnesota. (Photo by Jonathunder — license details)

While I was in Shanghai recently for short period of time, a vehicle with a different theme similarly grabbed my attention.

But no vanity license plate

The "dragonmobile" displayed advertising for a nearby China Gold retail location in Xujiahui, and a group of people in the back played live music. The tune didn't seem as a catchy as the hot dog variation of Oscar Mayer's bologna song though.

My Fourth of July in Hengyang, China

If I had been in Beijing, Hong Kong, or Shanghai on July 4th, I would have had many well-suited options for places to celebrate America's Independence Day. Off the top of my head, I can also easily think of such places in other Chinese cities such as Changsha, Kunming, Nanning, Xining, and Zhuhai.

However, enjoying a bit of American spirit proved more challenging in Hengyang, Hunan province, and required some improvisation.

My attempts during the evening to find proper American-style food not from a fast food chain restaurant were not fruitful. But a beer at a cafe caught my eye, and I decided to drink my first American Budweiser in a rather long time.

Unlike Zhuhai, I have yet to see anything approaching a hoppy beer in Hengyang.

Not by design, I later continued the beer theme and picked up a Pabst Blue Ribbon World War II memorial beer with an explicit US military theme.

I first saw this beer in far away Changchun 4 years ago, and I still would like to speak with the team who designed the can.

At the same supermarket, I picked up another item. The BBQ steak flavored Pringles definitely had much more of a taste than the beer despite lacking a military theme.

I wasn't sure how I could properly followup beer and potato chips. When I saw a Dairy Queen the answer became obvious—an Oreo Blizzard.

I was now ready for the main meal. I thought my best option would be another supermarket where hopefully I could buy ingredients to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But by the time I arrived it had closed.

So I gave up on avoiding fast food and headed to KFC for some fried chicken to wash down the beer, chips, and ice cream. Protein, grains, vegetables, and dairy—a good American diet, right?

After waiting in something approximating a line at KFC, the server explained it would be another 30 minutes until the fried chicken was ready. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something incredible about that.

Whatever the case, I didn't want KFC that much.

I decided to call it night. The earlier delights combined with a long walk in extremely muggy weather had decreased my appetite anyway. But later I noticed a store with a selection of foods similar to the Bart Simpson themed snack store, so I picked up something to top it all off—Filipino coconut water and Chongqing spicy peppers.

I just pretended I was enjoying freedom water and freedom peppers.

Leap-the-Dips and a Roller Coaster at Hengyang's Yueping Park

Along with other attractions, Hengyang's Yueping Park has a small roller coaster.

Its small size reminds me of the first roller coaster I ever dared ride. Leap-the-Dips was one of my favorite amusement park rides as a child, especially due to its interweaving design and lack of fast speeds or big drops. I was also riding a piece of history. Leap-the-Dips, built in 1902, is the world's oldest roller coaster.

Although I have since developed a taste for more extreme roller coasters, Leap-the-Dips remains special. Lakemont Park in Logan Township has changed quite a bit since my childhood and lost much of its charm during some misguided development in the late 1980s, but fortunately Leap-the-Dips survives. If you are ever in the area of Altoona, PA, USA, I recommend stopping by the small park to enjoy a blast from the past on the wooden roller coaster.

I didn't notice a name for the metal roller coaster in Yueping Park and don't know if it has any remarkable history to tell. But, yeah, I rode it.

(I Believe That) I Would Change This Sports Chant

Thanks to the glories of online social networking and VPNs, I recently saw this ESPN advertisement for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil:



I appreciate ESPN wants to get Americans excited about the World Cup, but the chant "I believe that we will win!" leaves something to be desired. Not only does it call into question the claim that the U.S. is a leader in creativity, but its potential effect is weakened by the phrase "I believe that". Instead of detailing my thoughts in a three thousand word essay, I will instead simply share three other videos along with a few questions to ponder.

First, what if the refrain in this song by Queen were "I believe that we will rock you"?



It doesn't quite have the same kick, does it?

Second, after the rocking is over, what if the refrain in this other song by Queen were "I believe that we are the champions?



It raises the question of whether they are really the champions, no?

And finally, the ESPN ad sounds more like a daily affirmation than a rousing or intimidating sports chant. But even if that is its purpose, why add "I believe that"? Stuart Smalley didn't:



I could go on, but (I believe that) I will stop here.

Street Food and KFC: New Orleans Roasted Chicken in Hunan

In Hengyang, Hunan province, I have frequently passed a street food vendor who sells roasted chicken.

A chicken leg costs 5 yuan (about U.S. $0.80). Most of a small chicken costs 15 yuan.

The sign below the rotating chickens advertises "新奥尔良烤鸡"--"New Orleans Roasted Chicken". It may come as a surprise to New Orleanians that their city has received this type of attention in Hengyang. But like roasted chicken vendors, "New Orleans style" chicken is not unique to Hengyang in China. For example, it is easy to find marinades for sale online. It is also offered at a popular fast food restaurant chain: KFC.

A KFC New Orleans Roasted Burger costs 16.5 yuan. (Image source)

Despite their names, after seeing or tasting them, neither the street vendor's roasted chicken nor KFC's roasted chicken sandwich would have made me think of New Orleans on their own. And I don't see anything very similar to them in lists of "New Orleans' most iconic sandwiches" or "great roasted chickens" in New Orleans. When I think of New Orleans, chicken, and fast food, another American fast food chain first comes to mind though--Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. The only Popeye's in all of China is at the Hong Kong International Airport.

The roasted chicken vendor and KFC are related in another way: one of KFC's over 4,000 restaurants in China is located directly behind the roasted chicken vendor's usual location.

Perfect location

I don't know what KFC thinks of this, but chengguan could be a bigger concern for the vendor. And even if nobody believes the food vendor is directly connected to KFC, I wonder if the vendor's location may cause KFC's brand to positively influence customers' perceptions, similar to the potential effects of imitating well-known brand names.

Whatever the case, perhaps the street vendor could further distinguish himself by diversifying his offerings based on the New Orleans theme. Personally, I would hope for muffulettas, but I suspect something from Popeyes menu with its spicy fried chicken would far better suit people's tastes in Hengyang and elsewhere in Hunan.

Scorpion Bowls: A Great Drink to Pair With Chinese Food?

In a food-related post, a friend of mine in the U.S. yesterday mentioned having a scorpion bowl. I have eaten scorpions, but, knowing my friend, I guessed no actual scorpions were involved. The name sounded familiar, and I found a recipe online for what seems like a rather strong and fruity alcoholic drink. I read the accompanying description:

Routinely found at Chinese restaurants, this punch-like cocktail is absolutely mouthwatering. This goes great with Chinese and Polynesian food.

After a few moments of thought, I assumed the writer was specifically referencing American-style Chinese restaurants in the first sentence. I have never seen this drink served at a Chinese restaurant in China, which I feel safe saying has the largest number of Chinese restaurants in the world, and I am highly skeptical it is common here. Yet another site claims the cocktail is "now served in Tiki bars and seedy Chinese joints around the world". "Joints" is broader than "restaurants" and "seedy" could be an important qualification. Perhaps I would find something different if I frequented a certain category of KTVs, clubs, and bars in China. However, if I wanted to find a drink like this in China, some more upscale Western-style bars not found in most cities would first come to mind.

The second sentence in the description is what most caught my attention. I questioned how a single drink could "go great" with everything from tongue-numbing Sichuanese dishes to sweeter and less pain-inducing Shanghainese food. I would expect that such a versatile drink would pair well with much more than only Chinese and Polynesian food. Again, I quickly assumed the writer had typical American-style Chinese food in mind. The diversity of tastes would be narrower than the full range of Chinese cuisines. Still, a presumably strong-tasting drink that complements everything from moo goo gai pan to pepper steak? That is probably more likely if one is well into their scorpion bowl before eating.

More than any purely edacious or potatory influences, I wonder if the "goes great" simply reflects an association of this drink with a subset of American-style Chinese restaurants in the U.S. The drink reminds me of a Chinese restaurant which was near my alma mater in Baltimore, Maryland. I don't recall whether scorpion bowls were on the drink menu, but one could order similar cocktails with liquor and fruit juices, such as zombies. More important to some students under the age of 21 than the exact drinks offered, this particular restaurant rarely asked for ID when cocktails were ordered. The students probably wouldn't argue that the drinks went great with Chinese food.

Freedom of Expression Does Not Equal Freedom from Criticism

In Talking Points Memo Caitlin MacNeal wrote about a counter-event in the U.S.:

After a Minneapolis, Minn. restaurant hosted a Nazi-themed party on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January, an unofficial group has organized a counter-event to protest the original dinner, according to Minneapolis City Pages.

Margie Newman and Susan Schwaidelson Siegfried organized an unofficial group to meet outside of Gasthof Zur Gemütlichkeit on Wednesday evening to honor Holocaust victims.

One of the restaurant owner's earlier comments caught my eye:

... he told the Star Tribune that he'll no longer hold the event.

“We live in a free country...but from the comments I see, a lot of people they don’t see what freedom is. If I break the law, punish me.

I am not familiar with the comments he references, though at least one appears to be about someone wanting to burn down his building. If someone claimed that hosting a Nazi-themed party in the U.S. is illegal, they are wrong. I would not be surprised if nobody said this to him though. In that case, I'm not sure of his meaning when he says "they don't see what freedom is."

Still, the owner's statement reminds me of a surprising number of others I've heard or read regarding topics ranging from politics to a missing Malaysian plane. They boil down to something like this:

Person A: 2+2=5!

Person B: Hmm, I'm pretty sure that's wrong. Here's a rather compelling explanation for why the answer is 4 and not 5 ... Does that make sense to you?

Person A: Look, we could go on and on. I still believe 2+2=5. Don't trample on my free speech!

It amazes when a person in the U.S. claims that someone criticizing their actions or words represents an attack on their freedoms. Freedom of expression does not equal freedom from criticism. In fact, criticism is one of the strongest signs free speech exists. And one can desire to convince a person they should stop doing or saying something while still believing that person has a legally protected right to do or say it.

Freedom of expression is one of the most valuable and powerful rights enjoyed by Americans. But crying "free speech" is one of the weakest ways to defend one's actions or statements, and it's especially a shame when it is done in an attempt to evade constructive, rational debate.

Zhuhai Gets a Little Crafty

Hong Kong was not the only place I have had a positive beer-related experience in Southeast China. One day late last year in in nearby Zhuhai, Guangdong province, I went to a Carrefour, a French hypermarket chain, and saw this in the imported foods section:

Although Zhuhai has an October Beer Street Festival, finding American craft beers from brewers such as North Coast Brewing, Rogue Ales, and Saranac was shocking and a stark difference from anything else I had seen in Zhuhai or any other comparable Chinese city.

I wasn't planning to remain in Zhuhai much longer, so I didn't want to buy too much from the imported foods section. But that didn't stop me from leaving Carrefour with a few select difficult-to-find-in-Zhuhai essentials.

The beer was room temperature, but the staff at my hotel agreed to chill the bottles after they took photos of them. Later that night, I enjoyed a cold Saranac White IPA at a favorite late-night outdoor eating establishment.

It proved to be an excellent mix. Saranac, a beer friends tell me is difficult to find in parts of the U.S., never tasted so good. One side effect, though, was that it left an unintended impression on the owner/cook. To this day he disapprovingly mutters to himself about me thinking American beers are better than Chinese beers if I don't order a Tsingtao beer from him, even though I never again brought my own beer.

Maybe next time I will treat him to a Saranac so he can decide for himself. It might even inspire him to start selling it and save me from making a trip to Carrefour*.



*It would be another surprise, but one can dream.

Ephemeral Laughs from Yue Minjun and Roger Angell

Earlier today I saw the steel sculptures of laughing people created in 2009 by Chinese artist Yue Minjun now outside the Macao Museum of Art. After briefly considering them, I read an informational card and learned they share the title "The Laugh that can be Laughed is not the Eternal Laugh".

After a few moments pondering the possible meaning of the title, I found humor in it and laughed. Then, listening to my laughter, I broke into a louder laugh finding humor in the idea that my laugh could not be an "Eternal Laugh".

I suddenly went silent. Recursion. Absurdity. Eternity. For a seemingly timeless period, my mind floated.

And then I walked away to find something to eat.

Due to an unrelated recommendation, in the evening I read "This Old Man" by American essayist Roger Angell in The New Yorker. The topic of laughter appeared again, this time in Angell's personal reflections on life, death, and growing old:

I get along. Now and then it comes to me that I appear to have more energy and hope than some of my coevals, but I take no credit for this. I don’t belong to a book club or a bridge club; I’m not taking up Mandarin or practicing the viola. In a sporadic effort to keep my brain from moldering, I’ve begun to memorize shorter poems—by Auden, Donne, Ogden Nash, and more—which I recite to myself some nights while walking my dog, Harry’s successor fox terrier, Andy. I’ve also become a blogger, and enjoy the ease and freedom of the form: it’s a bit like making a paper airplane and then watching it take wing below your window. But shouldn’t I have something more scholarly or complex than this put away by now—late paragraphs of accomplishments, good works, some weightier op cits? I’m afraid not. The thoughts of age are short, short thoughts. I don’t read Scripture and cling to no life precepts, except perhaps to Walter Cronkite’s rules for old men, which he did not deliver over the air: Never trust a fart. Never pass up a drink. Never ignore an erection.

I count on jokes, even jokes about death.

Angell follows with a joke he's been told 4th graders will appreciate, and then he shares another joke:

A man and his wife tried and tried to have a baby, but without success. Years went by and they went on trying, but no luck. They liked each other, so the work was always a pleasure, but they grew a bit sad along the way. Finally, she got pregnant, was very careful, and gave birth to a beautiful eight-pound-two-ounce baby boy. The couple were beside themselves with happiness. At the hospital that night, she told her husband to stop by the local newspaper and arrange for a birth announcement, to tell all their friends the good news. First thing next morning, she asked if he’d done the errand.

“Yes, I did,” he said, “but I had no idea those little notices in the paper were so expensive.”

“Expensive?” she said. “How much was it?”

“It was eight hundred and thirty-seven dollars. I have the receipt.”

“Eight hundred and thirty-seven dollars!” she cried. “But that’s impossible. You must have made some mistake. Tell me exactly what happened.”

“There was a young lady behind a counter at the paper, who gave me the form to fill out,” he said. “I put in your name and my name and little Teddy’s name and weight, and when we’d be home again and, you know, ready to see friends. I handed it back to her and she counted up the words and said, ‘How many insertions?’ I said twice a week for fourteen years, and she gave me the bill. O.K.?”

As Angel reacted when he first heard the joke more than fifty years ago, I laughed and was surprised to hear the joke in the particular context it was shared.

What does Angell, at the age of 93, believing jokes to be so important mean? What does the "The Laugh that can be Laughed is not the Eternal Laugh" mean? I'm still not sure, but where these questions lead and how they relate fascinates me.

And that I noticed a connection between Yue Minjun's sculptures in Macau and Roger Angell's essay from New York City ...

... makes part of me laugh.

Remembering Days in Dallas and Keene

Today I thought about a former commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces and my visit several weeks ago to Elm Street in Dallas, Texas.

The street was the site of an unfortunate event in U.S. history. Near where I took the above photograph is The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza and a grassy knoll. The museum provides an in-depth look at the assassination of a US president. And not far away is a memorial plaza.

Of course, many others have died while serving the US. And today I also pondered the words said by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (via) on Memorial Day, May 30, 1884, at Keene, New Hampshire, as he referenced what is still the deadliest war in American history. He addressed why the observation of Memorial Day should be continued and how to remember those who died in a war that pitted Americans against each other. In conclusion, Holmes said:

When we meet thus, when we do honor to the dead in terms that must sometimes embrace the living, we do not deceive ourselves. We attribute no special merit to a man for having served when all were serving. We know that, if the armies of our war did anything worth remembering, the credit belongs not mainly to the individuals who did it, but to average human nature. We also know very well that we cannot live in associations with the past alone, and we admit that, if we would be worthy of the past, we must find new fields for action or thought, and make for ourselves new careers.

But, nevertheless, the generation that carried on the war has been set apart by its experience. Through our great good fortune, in our youth our hearts were touched with fire. It was given to us to learn at the outset that life is a profound and passionate thing. While we are permitted to scorn nothing but indifference, and do not pretend to undervalue the worldly rewards of ambition, we have seen with our own eyes, beyond and above the gold fields, the snowy heights of honor, and it is for us to bear the report to those who come after us. But, above all, we have learned that whether a man accepts from Fortune her spade, and will look downward and dig, or from Aspiration her axe and cord, and will scale the ice, the one and only success which it is his to command is to bring to his work a mighty heart.

Such hearts--ah me, how many!--were stilled twenty years ago; and to us who remain behind is left this day of memories. Every year--in the full tide of spring, at the height of the symphony of flowers and love and life--there comes a pause, and through the silence we hear the lonely pipe of death. Year after year lovers wandering under the apple trees and through the clover and deep grass are surprised with sudden tears as they see black veiled figures stealing through the morning to a soldier's grave. Year after year the comrades of the dead follow, with public honor, procession and commemorative flags and funeral march--honor and grief from us who stand almost alone, and have seen the best and noblest of our generation pass away.

But grief is not the end of all. I seem to hear the funeral march become a paean. I see beyond the forest the moving banners of a hidden column. Our dead brothers still live for us, and bid us think of life, not death--of life to which in their youth they lent the passion and joy of the spring. As I listen, the great chorus of life and joy begins again, and amid the awful orchestra of seen and unseen powers and destinies of good and evil our trumpets sound once more a note of daring, hope, and will.

Watching Major League Baseball in Seoul

As I walked through Namdaemun Market in Seoul, South Korea, this past Monday, I saw several men watching a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants.

Notably, the starting pitcher for the Dodgers was South Korean Hyun-Jin Ryu. This is Ryu's first season playing for Major League Baseball in North America. Possibly to the disappointment of these viewers, this was not one of Ryu's finer games. He gave up 4 earned run in 6 innings and the Dodgers lost the game. Ryu now has a record of 3 wins and 2 losses for the season.

A Sign for How to Get Out of Jail

Several years ago when I arrived in Baltimore, Maryland, after a long series of flights from Shanghai, I saw a sign that evoked a set of thoughts and emotions different from those when I recently saw a sign in San Jose, California. This sign wasn't inside an elevator but instead was inside a light rail train I rode from Baltimore's airport. Here's a blurry photo of the sign:

Baltimore is certainly not the only place in the US where one can see ads for bail bonds. For example, I recently saw this set of ads conveniently placed above a urinal at a restaurant in Pensacola, Florida:

Of the six ads, two are for bail bonds.

When I used to live in Baltimore, I'm not sure I would have given as much thought to the signs. But after years of living in China, advertisements for bail bonds service struck me as remarkable. In both cases, I considered what they said about the US. On one hand, the advertisements could be seen as indicative of some positive aspects, including the guarantee that "excessive bail shall not be required", of the US legal system. On the other hand, they could also be seen as indicative of its less-than-positive aspects, including the high number of people in the US who are in jail or facing possible jail time.

I don't plan to offer any commentary about any similarities or differences in bail practices between the US and China*. I share this simply because the sign in Baltimore provided me a first impression I had not expected upon my return to the US. Also, it was one of many examples of how being outside the US for a period of time had caused me to consider what I saw in the US with a fresh or new perspective. And like the example in San Jose, it raises a host of questions about how a foreigner might react if this is one of their first impressions of the US.


*If you're interested to learn some basics about bail in China, one overview from several years ago can be found in the Op-Ed "Bail in China: A Crucial Human Right" by Jerome A. Cohen on the website for the Council on Foreign Relations.

First Impressions: A Warning in San Jose

Imagine you've been living in China for years and often wonder whether its air, food, water, or other potential sources of dangerous chemicals are having a significant negative impact on your health. But today is different because you've just arrived at the international airport in San Jose, California. It feels safer here.

Perhaps you're overjoyed to see the clear blue sky. Maybe you're eager to buy some fruits & vegetables from an organic market. Possibly you're thinking about a trip to the mountains where you'll enjoy some fresh air.

So after going through immigration and customs, you're excited to begin your time in San Jose. As you're considering what to do first, you enter an elevator in the airport. After the door closes, you notice this sign:

Some of these thoughts may now run through your mind:

• Is my health at risk?
• Why would they put up this sign instead of fixing the problem?
• If there isn't any problem, why put up this sign?
• Why wasn't this message provided before I entered the elevator?
• How quickly can I get out of here?

There are other possibilities, many of which could be more colorful. Whatever the case, your trip to San Jose has begun with a rather unexpected experience and set of emotions.

Californians might shrug off this sign. Having additional context can matter. But what would you think if this was one of the first signs you saw when visiting an unfamiliar country? What might it say about the country? What might it not say? How might it influence your perceptions of the country? How might it influence your perceptions of your own country?

More later. I'll continue this theme in the next post with another example of a sign I saw in the US.

Reconnecting With Another Unexpected Connection

Yesterday, I made another unexpected connection when I was at Seoul Plaza in Seoul, South Korea.

While there I was reminded of my visit to Klyde Warren Park in Dallas, US.

And in case you're wondering, yes, this post ends my longest non-posting period since starting this blog. The pause was partly due to having plenty on my plate* during my first visit to the US in several years. Another reason was that when my plate appeared empty, it seemed like a good time to keep it that way.

But now I'm back, both in terms of blogging and being in Asia. Although I am eager to return to the usual themes, while they are still fresh in my mind I will share some assorted thoughts about my several weeks in the US.

More soon. Really.


*This was meant figuratively, but the literal interpretation also holds true.

In the Mood for Lunch in Mississippi

Another unexpected connection during my visit to the US occurred when I stopped by Jackson, Mississippi, for lunch.

As soon as I entered the restaurant I was reminded of a restaurant far away in a much larger city. See here for an earlier post about that restaurant, Cafe de Goldfinch in Hong Kong. Although the restaurant in Jackson didn't serve Canto-Western style food and hasn't been featured in a movie by director Wong Kar Wai, it similarly could stir up feelings of nostalgia. If you're ever in Jackson, I recommend stopping by the Elite Restaurant on Capitol Street primarily for its atmosphere. The bread rolls are really good too.

Unexpected Connections

During my explorations in China and elsewhere in Asia, I found that an experience in a new location could remind me of another I had elsewhere. Sometimes it seemed obvious what caused my mind to connect them. Sometimes it was not so obvious.

Recently, as I looked out from a restaurant deck onto Mobile Bay in Spanish Fort, Alabama, US, I was unexpectedly reminded of the views of Erhai Lake around Xizhou, Yunnan province, China.

Mobile Bay

Erhai Lake

I'm not sure why it was specially Erhai Lake that came to my mind, but it seemed to be partly about my emotions as I looked across the water.

I can't say I ever expected to make a connection between Alabama and Yunnan. For me, it was a sign of why I enjoy exploring the world. It's not just about seeing something new, but changing your perpectives on the "old". More on that topic soon.

Back in a Strange Land

Since my brief visit to Taipei, I have done a bit of traveling. And far away from the Keelung River, I recently saw another river.

Nearby was some live music.

And plenty of color could be found:

I'm not in Kansas, but I am now much closer to it. I enjoyed my visit to New Orleans, Louisiana, and a walk alongside the Mississippi River.

Since arriving in the U.S. last week, I have already been in five states and more are on the way. I'm here for a variety of purposes, but it was my desire to surprise some family members that until now caused me to hold off on publicly announcing my arrival.

No, this is not going to be one of those "why I'm leaving China" posts. I have a return ticket. But in addition to the typical themes found here, during the next couple of weeks I plan to share some of my thoughts about being back in the land of the free and home of the rather large portions of food. Not only has the U.S. changed since I last set foot here almost 3 years ago, but I have changed as well. I'm curious to see what I notice, especially since my new perspective on America makes it feel all the more like Nacirema.

More soon.

A Partial Yet Telling Story: The War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Two days ago, March 16, was the 45th anniversary of the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam. In commentary about the republishing of an important story in LIFE magazine, Ben Cosgrove revisited the horrific tragedy:

Two simple syllables, My Lai (pronounced “me lie”), are today a reminder of what America lost in the jungles of Vietnam: namely, any claim to moral high ground in a war often defined by those back home as a battle between right and wrong. For the Vietnamese, meanwhile, the March 1968 massacre in the tiny village of My Lai is just one among numerous instances of rape, torture and murder committed by troops — Americans, South Vietnamese, Viet Cong and others — in the course of that long, divisive war...

On March 16, 1968, hundreds (various estimates range between 347 and 504) of elderly people, women, children and infants were murdered by more than 20 members of “Charlie” Company, United States’ 1st Battalion 20th Infantry Regiment. Some of the women were raped before being killed. After this mass slaughter, only one man, Second Lt. William Calley, was convicted of any crime. (He was found guilty in March 1971 of the premeditated murder of 22 Vietnamese civilians, but served just three-and-a-half years under house arrest at Fort Benning, Georgia.)

In another recent article deserving attention, David Taylor for BBC News reported on tapes revealing important context for some of the decisions made in the U.S. during the Vietnam War:

Declassified tapes of President Lyndon Johnson's telephone calls provide a fresh insight into his world. Among the revelations - he planned a dramatic entry into the 1968 Democratic Convention to re-join the presidential race. And he caught Richard Nixon sabotaging the Vietnam peace talks... but said nothing.

Both of the articles were especially poignant for me not just because I'm in Vietnam at the moment, but also because they reminded me of a visit earlier this month to the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City. The museum is undoubtedly a one-sided portrayal of the brutalities committed during the Vietnam War -- something reflected in the name of the museum's earliest incarnation, Exhibition House for U.S. and Puppet Crimes. I am not going to wade into debates about whether all of the claims made there are accurate, whether certain displays are better described as history or propaganda, and whether some photos are unfairly not representative. Regardless of these issues, the museum effectively communicates at least some of the inhumanity and hypocrisy which occurred during Vietnam War. I also found it notable that several displays highlighted the opposition to the war found even within the U.S., and most of the English text did not contain the same style and degree of rhetoric I have often seen at similar museums in China.

I will share some photos of what I saw there and also share some thoughts about one display which particularly caught my attention. Like the museum itself, the following will not necessarily be a fully representative overview.

First display in a room labeled "Aggression War Crimes"

English caption to the photograph: "Little Phan Thi Kim Phuc burned by U.S. napalm bomb (Trang Bang, Tay Ninh Province in 1972)."

In an exhibit about the effects of chemical weapons such as agent orange

English caption: "Dan Jordan's family: he was officially acknowledged as an agent orange victim. His son has congenital deformations on his hands. Jordan and other veterans took the lead in the class action against chemical companies that settled with $180 million in 1983."

Smaller English text: "Robert S. McNamara, former U.S. Defense Secretary, confessed error in his memoirs 'In Retrospect -- The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam'"

English caption: "These are some rewards to a U.S. Veteran for his service in Vietnam. The medals were offered to the War Remnants Museum on June 1, 1990 as protest against the Vietnam War. From William Brown, Sgt. 173rd Airborne Brigade, 503rd Infantry.

An outdoors exhibit area

At one moment during my visit to the museum I was reminded of a painting by Cambodian Vann Nath which I saw several years ago at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia:

Vann Nath was one of only seven prisoners who left the Khmer Rouge's S-21 "security prison" at Tuol Sleng alive. The above painting was amongst many others, all of which Van Nath drew to depict acts of torture committed at the prison. The act in the painting sure looked like water boarding -- a point not lost on a reader of Andrew Sullivan's The Dish.

And here is the photo I saw in Vietnam that caused me to think about Nath's painting:

The English caption for the photo:

"They decide on a water torture. A rag is placed over the man's face and water is poured on it, making breathing impossible". Members of the 1st Air cavalry use water torture on a prisoner 1968.

It was another chilling reminder of a torture method recently used by the U.S.

I'm glad I visited the War Remnants Museum. So much in the museum deserves consideration for what it says about America's past actions or about Vietnam today. Although the museum suggested to me that Vietnam has yet to fully come to terms with its own past, as an American I was most focused on what it indicated about my own country. In a later post, based on my own experiences I will partially address a related question I have been asked, often indirectly, by Americans who have not been to Vietnam: What are Vietnamese attitudes towards Americans today?

Finally, as I wrote this post at a small cafe in Ho Chi Minh City, a friendly Vietnamese waitress with whom I have had several pleasant conversations peered over my shoulder and looked at the above photo. After a few moments of silence, with a sadness in her voice she slowly said, "My country."

I glanced back at the photo and replied, "Mine too."

Not Fighting Hacking With Hacking

It seems "hackers from China" is a common news story these days, but a fascinating article on the The New York Times added more perspective and details based on a recent study:

An unusually detailed 60-page study, to be released Tuesday by Mandiant, an American computer security firm, tracks for the first time individual members of the most sophisticated of the Chinese hacking groups — known to many of its victims in the United States as “Comment Crew” or “Shanghai Group” — to the doorstep of the military unit’s headquarters. The firm was not able to place the hackers inside the 12-story building, but makes a case there is no other plausible explanation for why so many attacks come out of one comparatively small area.

“Either they are coming from inside Unit 61398,” said Kevin Mandia, the founder and chief executive of Mandiant, in an interview last week, “or the people who run the most-controlled, most-monitored Internet networks in the world are clueless about thousands of people generating attacks from this one neighborhood.”

The full article can be found in English here and in Chinese (simplified) here.

The AP reports on a possible response:

As public evidence mounts that the Chinese military is responsible for stealing massive amounts of U.S. government data and corporate trade secrets, the Obama administration is eyeing fines and other trade actions it may take against Beijing or any other country guilty of cyberespionage.

According to officials familiar with the plans, the White House will lay out a new report Wednesday that suggests initial, more-aggressive steps the U.S. would take in response to what top authorities say has been an unrelenting campaign of cyberstealing linked to the Chinese government.

The full article can be found here.

I'll refrain from commenting on the hacking incidents other than to say they don't sound good and China is not the only country connected to large scale cyberstealing. But the U.S. not "fighting fire with fire" and instead responding with other measures to deter hacking has inspired me to share a personal experience.

While living in a college dormitory many years ago, I became the owner of a new top-of-line computer. I think it had more than 100 MB of hard drive space. Many of my friends thought I would never be able to fill it up. Ah, the good old days...

It was not long before I discovered signs someone had inappropriately accessed my computer and caused some minor mischief. I could not fully control access to my shared dorm room, so I added a layer of security to my computer. But I soon discovered that someone had found their way through it. I then had a suspect in mind since there was only one person living in my section of the dorm who had both the skills and the mindset to do it. When I saw him next, I asked him to stop. Although he did not explicitly admit to it, his response left me all the more sure he was the culprit.

Not having faith my request would have the desired effect, I added yet another layer of security to my computer. However, it was not long before I discovered it too had been "cracked". I then researched other possible security measures and came to a disturbing conclusion: even I could imagine a way through the best security I discovered. Securing my computer seemed impossible, and I had no desire to engage in a hacking battle.

Clearly, it was time to "think outside of the box".

In this case, what first came to mind as a nonconstructive immediate response provided the seed for a possible solution. I walked down the hall and into the room of the suspect. I explained to him that I was not aware of any security for my computer that could stop him from accessing it. And in a tone that left no doubt about my seriousness I added, "If you ever touch my computer again, I'm taking a hammer to yours."

He looked stunned. I walked out.

I'm not saying this provides the blueprint for the best response, or even a feasible one, in all cases. But in this case...

I had no more problems.