http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/1452124 June 12, 2002, 11:11PM New China has an ambassador By JOHN P. LOPEZ Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle BEIJING -- No matter where you stand in Beijing -- Tiananmen Square, the 800-year-old Wang Fujing market, at the foot of the Temple of Heaven -- there's no mistaking this is an altogether different place. There are the cultural embraces, of course, and then the political arm of communism is always just a touch away. Walking these streets indeed offers an otherworldly sense of place and time. But these streets don't shock you like you might expect. For all that Beijing is, one thing it definitely is not is the China your father or grandfather told you about. Visitors who would expect to see battalions of soldiers in the streets, or poverty-stricken masses living in cardboard shanties or steely-eyed, Cold War, anti-American looks on every face will be disappointed. Or, perhaps we should say pleasantly surprised. There is never any doubting that China is a communist nation. But to paraphrase the words of one former world leader, it appears to be kinder and gentler. And maybe that's why Yao Ming is coming to America and to the Rockets. Things change. The conflicting messages staring you in the face nearly everywhere you look here seem to reflect the remarkable changes this nation is experiencing. Because of this dulling of the political knife that China has for decades waved in the face of the United States, maybe that's why a strong, tall role model like Yao Ming will be headed this way. Yao personifies what the changing face of this nation needs -- an actual face. With his stern, square jaw and outspoken devotion to the Chinese political machine and military government, Yao is the perfect image for this nation's leaders to project globally. Yet, the political system is not exactly the same rigid political system of 50 years ago, or even of the past 10 years. Yao reflects this as well. He is outgoing, humorous, contemporary and Westernized, much like Beijing. Visit here and you'll see a different kind of China, no doubt. From the Fords and Buicks mixing in with traffic on Dongchanan Dajie road to the KFCs, McDonald's and, naturally, Starbucks sprouting all over, an intriguing mix of centuries-old culture and imperialism with 21st century political strategies is occurring. Reminders this country is decidedly still state-run and stringent exist. You just have to look a bit harder than during the Cold War era. Near Workers Stadium, which by name alone reflects politics, crowd-control exercises were being conducted for dozens of police and military personnel Wednesday. School acceptance, most jobs and living accommodations remain influenced by classic communist merit systems and political connections. The television signals in hotels, which might include Cinemax and ESPN, are nothing like those aired to the Chinese public by state-run programmers. Still, clearly the communist reins have loosened and so have the perceptions. The restrictive closed society your parents told you about is not what it used to be. Not far from the Xiu Shui Jie silk market, where hand-sewn and painted silk has been sold for hundreds of years, a giant billboard is being erected at the top of a sparkling new hotel. The message: Tourism promotes economic prosperity and development. Who better to market China's changing society than a young, popular and marketable hero like Yao Ming? Across from the ancient Forbidden City stands the Imperial Palace of the Innermost City. At least that's what it used to be. The palace has been converted to a five-star hotel resort where tourists are pampered and rooms come equipped with pay-per-view movies, fax machines and mini-bars. China wants to show its new face to the world and profit from it all, too. Who better to boost the image than a 7-5 center who speaks good English, is on his way to becoming an international star and whose image will be beamed into millions of living rooms over the course of an 82-game NBA season, not counting endorsement opportunities. Say hello to Yao Ming. The face of a new China.
A good and very interesting article. Much needed for the West to learn about China, and Yao Ming is indeed a great ambassador. But the above shows how wrong even his perceptions still are. That's not to say political connections can't help individuals get accepted to school, a good job, or housing priorities... but isn't that also true in the United States? The private economy is growing tremendously, and most Chinese are competing in the job-market today, almost precisely the same way as Americans. School acceptance has always been merit- based, based on a nation-wide standardized test for high school graduates. (Again, sound familiar?) And housing is increasingly private as well. To me, it sounds like he went to China looking for "Communist dictatorship". He didn't have many direct observations to suggest such a theory is remotely true, but he repeated the few observations that he had like a true conspiracy theorist. The title, "Worker's Stadium", is no more meaningful than the stars and bars on many Southern state flags. The local police forces exercise in the streets not out of intimidation, but out of practicality. I don't know where the beat cops in New York city get their exercise, but there aren't many exercise yards in urban China. Anyways, I'm getting off-topic. I think the article brings up good points over-all, and anyone that wants to know about China will just have to go and make their own observations.
