China's has its way

I recently read Evan Osnos' book on China, "Age of Ambition". It was fascinating and had the virtue of following a number of diverse characters through time, a sort of longitudinal study. But I felt it had too much ideology about the inevitability of democracy - the ticking clock for China. I don't seem to detect that feeling among Chinese themselves, although I can't claim to have my finger firmly on the pulse. A few years ago I read all the biographies of Han Suyin in which she covers the worst of the Mao periods, inter alia. Some criticised her for being too forgiving of Mao. But when I look at China today I don't detect nearly such vitriolic hatred of Mao and his appalling destructions within the country as I do in Europe/USA. Perhaps it's just human nature: you move on, the new generation forgets the past, especially if you have to live there. This is all mixed up with big doses of patriotism and ancestral memory. I do follow the company Tencent closely and see the explosion of internet usage, e-commerce, classified ads and mobile phones across China. Services of all kinds are dramatically spreading through cities and provinces, rich and poor alike. That all has a very long way to run, most people have no idea. You see JD.Com delivery scooters everywhere and there are said to be over 1000 peer-to-peer money lenders, I could go on.... Osnos' book seemed to examine China via a pre-selected lense, whereas it's more likely developing along its own course, veering this way and that but never actually conforming to a handed-down ideology from the 'West'. We see the same thing in many economists' analyses of 'Africa' (all 50 plus countries!), where if only Africa adopted this way of doing things, or that, it could more quickly resemble/replicate the rich countries. Get real! As with China, 'Africa' is going to do things its way and there will be many different ways. Ditto India.

Roll up for Beijing Line 6

Just had two weeks in Shanghai, Chengdu, Suzhou and Beijing. Instead of the international hotel I hired an airbnb apartment about 8 stops east on the 6 line in Beijing. Nary a westerner in sight! It was riveting. Catching the crowded tube each morning was fascinating. Not nearly as scary as some people warned but hectic nonetheless. It helped that I've lived in London on and off for years and know how to take the knocks in the Underground.

Actually, the Beijing stations have arrows marking where the train doors are and people stand in an orderly line. The only pressure comes when a crowd is desperate to get on and perceive there still to be enough space. Then there's a shove which is a bit like a rugby scrum when the ball goes in. But there's no aggro really. There's no point, people do it day after day.

I was with an investment bank for some of the time and those Chinese lunches..... My mother always used to make me clean my plate with the admonition: think of the poor, starving millions in China.... Well, no more, I just couldn't handle all the food. Courses were piling up around my place setting.

We have a Chinese Tiger Mum story from London. She used to arrive about an hour early at our son's prep school in Hampstead so that she could park right outside the exit. So when her boys came out she would whisk them home quickly to start their homework. The one son is at uni now studying.... Egyptology, go figure.

The Great Wall of Smaze

Flying into Shanghai I was greeted by a layer of haze that covered the entire region. It was tempting to label this smog as I've heard so much about the hazardous levels of the stuff in Chinese cities. We've heard about how the smog levels in Beijing dropped significantly during the Olympics as the government forced loads of factories to shut down for the duration of the event. But it turns out smog isn't always visible. I was in Beijing too, and there were days when perfectly clear blue sky emerged on a virtually windless day as high cloud lifted. But the recorded air quality index for the day didn't change that much. I flew from Chengdu to Beijing one morning and didn't see the ground at all through the entire trip (about 1500 kms). I'm sure that wasn't all pollution. Maybe China's just a hazy country :). During my two week trip the recorded AQI levels in Beijing and Shanghai were 'moderate' despite the hot days. Chengdu was higher, in the 'unhealthy' range. Back in Cape Town I went surfing in a big north-wester at Muizies and there was quite a haze over the bay. Cape Town also has its pollution problems but that day the air was clean and sweet. The pic is a section of the Great Wall of China. Now there's a place to get some exercise. And is that smog in the distance?

Massacre the Stones

Wow, that went by in a flash! Almost a year to the day since posting the last blog. It got a bit demanding so I let it slip for a while. There's so much else going on. You have now so many things to do with your devices that blogs are becoming anachronistic. Anyway, here a local band is massaccring songs by the Stones, Beach Boys and Tom Jones in the Square, sounds amplified by the incoming wind. Usually it's a song and dance troupe doing seemingly endless renditions of Shoshaloza for tourists, bussed in by the load by Springbok Atlas or Megacoach. Many are here to view the hateful penguins. Some Capetonians remember stunning rock-climbing at the pre-historic Boulders Beach, just around the corner. Alas, no more. 4000 aptly-named jackass penguins have taken over. They even get a mention on Google Maps. Getting back to the music, the best is two guys on sax and banjo - my earliest memories of this little haven, who still strike up with tikkiedraai on Saturday mornings, their sound oscillating on the airs. Out in the bay I count 5 Persil-white-sailed yachts, zigzagging before the start of the weekend regatta. False Bay Yacht Club is eloquent testimony to the folly of boat-ownership. You can count at least 250 yachts and more than a few gin palaces moored in the marina, yet the average turnout on a weekend, with perfect conditions, is about 5 and on many weekends, nary a vessel on view! The human race is supine :-). The QSL is from little Comores Islands, heard here in 1969 on the 90mb.

Chennai Chess Championship chomps calories

'...AND ANAND MOVES HIS BISHOP TO E6, OH MY, CROWD GOES WILD!!!' The World Chess Championship is under way with Magnus Carlsen scoring the first win in the 5th game of 12 to take a 3-2 lead. He will be on his way to becoming the greatest ever if he defeats Viswanathan Anand, although Kasparov and Fischer are still widely seen as los supremos. The organisers have tried to stir up a media storm and may yet succeed but it seems unlikely that the characters will inspire the public imagination like the eccentric Bobby Fischer or even the politically savvy Kasparov. Carlsen and Anand are just too normal while the cold war, which provided the backdrop for Fischer and Kasparov, is over. For all those chess buffs out there this is a chance to burn up some extra calories without leaving their seats. You can watch live and compute your version of the multiple combinations before the players actually commit. Do you in fact burn more calories when you think hard? The jury is out on this. It seems the brain chugs along most of the time, burning about 20% of our energy. But it's not certain that you consume more gas when you're trying to beat Larsen at his own game. One thing we do know is that brain is still some way ahead of machine. Sure, Deep Blue beat Kasparov in 1997 but, despite the exponential options thrown up in chess, the process is still essentially mechanical. Massive supercomputers like the Titan in Tennessee are probably only around 1/50th as efficient as a human brain. The Titan fills a house-sized building, while the brain is the size of a spanspek, yet makes far more computations. The QSL comes from Radio WKPT, Jonesborough, Tennessee. The station, using just 5kW was heard in Johannesburg in 1993. The station president sent best wishes for SA just before democracy in 1994.

FARC spark into politics

A malachite sunbird flits down onto our little sugar-water bottle, sips quickly, looks up and scans, sips again. That stuff is so sweet! But then the balance between sweetness and caution becomes too great and it zips away. It's all about how much to give up to get what you want. Peace seems to be breaking out all over the place. In the same week, we read of Iran and the US trying for a preliminary deal on Iran's nuclear programme, while in Colombia the rebel group FARC is talking with government about renouncing war for politics. Naturally, sceptics abound on all sides. No doubt Iran is hurting after tough sanctions have knocked back its oil exports and cut access to international banking networks. In Colombia the government has pursued a vigorous military campaign against FARC for many years, severely clipping its wings. Ex-president Alvaro Uribe, whose earlier clamp-down on FARC has ultimately led to this peace process, opposes any deal. Many remember the thaw a decade ago which FARC cynically used to regroup and relaunch its programme of kidnapping, terror and drug dealing. Deal-making is complicated. Both sides must get some of what they want and but neither can get most. Somewhere in between is a medium, not necessarily a happy medium, but one that can work. The alternative of continued conflict is lose-lose but often the sad outcome of failure. Colombia is one of my favourite economies with a steady record of good growth, low inflation and solid management. A deal with FARC would most likely reinforce this despite the sceptics. The QSL is from Radio Fantasia, heard on AM in Johannesburg in 1986, one of a small handful of Colombian AM stations I've verified.

All Black is the new green and gold

Some times I wouldn't mind being a New Zealander. Then, when the All Blacks run on the field against the Springboks I could support them without any feelings of guilt. Patriotism is a heavy burden. Born out of subliminal radiation right from the cradle and nurtured by shared experiences of time and space, it has a hold on you that's hard to snap. Many frown on those who attempt to break it. To illustrate how pervasive it can be, I still have these nostalgic moments when hearing the old SA national anthem, Die Stem, and seeing the old SA flag because they hark back to early morning trumpet reveilles in the army - a place I didn't want to be, doing something I didn't want to do - in the old South Africa. Living abroad shifts the patriotic dimension. Once you've resided outside of your homeland for a while your links with home become more tenuous. Many emigrants we know talk of how they are never quite sure anymore where they'd rather be. This is not as disturbing as it sounds. Actually it makes life richer to know that you're also rooted in another place far away. But going back to New Zealand, they just play a more inspired brand of rugby. It's all about speed, support and handling. Power is essential too but more to out-manoeuvre than to out-muscle. The Springboks are now trying to adapt to this technique but so far the Blacks have totally outplayed them. Bravo for trying but there's a long way to go. You always feel the temptation is there to fall back on the old up and under, which mostly just serves to give the ball away. The QSL is from Print Disabled Radio, heard in Sheigra in the far north-west of Scotland in November 1996 on the 75mb. This low-powered, 1 kW station, broadcasting from Levin, New Zealand,  was over 11000 miles away.