It is a beautiful morning here in Beijing. The sun is blinding white, reminding me of a graveyard shift I pulled in Alaska once.
We were driving up to Ketchikan from Bellingham (on a fishing boat) and I watched the sun come up while passing through one of the countless channels between the countless islands off the west coast of Canada and the US. A school of porpoises appeared, surfed the boats wake, then disappeared. In the distance I saw a school of Orca, their distinctive dorsal fins rising up out of the silver ocean. I heard children laughing and the mountains shone with glee. Watching a sunrise is like watching a birth. Hope and happiness are the primary emotions i feel.
I watched today’s sunrise framed by a newly built hotel near the Silk Market in Beijing. I will bring my camera tomorrow for the graveyard shift and pray that the world gives birth to twins …
Hu Jintao gave a “rare press conference” yesterday, accompanied by a supposed lifting of the ban on certain web sites. As of now, BBC Mandarin is still blocked. In true political fashion, politician Hu lamented the politicizing of this grand political event, the Olympic Games.
Not only have the Games been political since way way way back — in the form of a truce at the very least — but China has been at the forefront of politicization.
This is, am i wrong? China’s great Coming Out Party, a political event. Chinese athletes are expected by their government to win it all, fulfilling a political goal. Dissidents and protesters are being suppressed or channeled into “Designated Parks,” a politically astute move, no? Visas and such are curtailed, hotel rooms tapped and Internet sites blocked — politically motivated defense mechanisms all.
So picture me laughing, yet again — at those silly political humans who would block the rising of the sun. Only the moon can accomplish that great feat …
