Journal
10/28/03
Mike Steely
Report on article "Shanghai rocks," by Pepe Escobar (The Roving Eye) at http://www.atimes.com
I admit, though having called Taiwan home for 21 years, that my travel experience of any mainland Chinese cities is nil. Only limited to Hong Kong, primarily out of need for a visa destination, this city became my private Shangrila as an escape from the everyday life of Taiwan. Mainland China, on the other hand, in the 70s and 80s, was not really the place to go. Mainly out of money and work considerations, I never ventured across the Taiwan Straits to Beijing, Shanghai, etc. Besides, there were the horror stories from other expat English teachers from Taiwan who did go. Reports of pollution, low salaries for English teachers, spies watching your every move (how could you have a girlfriend??), etc. did not thrill. Maybe I should have gone; I would certainly have a broader perspective now. Yet, I guess I was happy enough with Hong Kong, and the moderately-sized cities of Taiwan, which had their own personalities and peculiarities. There was always something new, something being built, something going on. You could see it everywhere, in the commerce on the street, on the faces of hopeful students and their future plans, in the businessman-friend who always had a plan, in the suburbs that were always changing from month to month with new buildings, roads, shops, restaurants. It never stopped, and unlike small towns in the US where a street light or a McDonalds might be a big change, I was witnessing the birth of a post-modern East Asia all around me. But times have changed, and probably no city has transformed as much as Shanghai, which is why I was interested in the article by Pepe Escobar.
In the first sentence, Escobar says it all: "Right now, no destination, except perhaps Bangkok, can even dream of rivaling Shanghai as the most exciting city in Asia." Escobar suggests a tour of Shanghai beginning with the JinMao Tower - 88 floors, 420 meters high, with a view of Pudong and all the high -tech towers that have sprung up around it. Escobar calls it "China's sexiest tower", and as the third-tallest in the world, it houses the "tallest hotel in the world," the Grand Hyatt, on the 50th floor and up. Thus JinMao represents the new landmark of how socialist-capitalism has transformed China out of its staid past and into world-class economy. And how times have changed! Escobar reports that at the recent APEC meeting held in Bangkok just last week, China, and not the US, stole the show. "As a cluster of Asian diplomats made it very clear off the record, George W. Bush tried to evade the real problems of the US economy and massive domestic job losses by switching the focus of the summit to "terror" and blaming China for a supposedly undervalued yuan. But Chinese President Hu Jintao, only seven months in power, resisted all kinds of Washington pressure."
Though this may be only one of the reasons for China's lofty attitude, the fact is that China is in a very advantageous position, doing business with ASEAN nations, which makes China less dependent on the US market; ergo, less vulnerable to Washington's influence. "Commercial interdependence with the rest of Asia will act as a buffer between China and the US," Escobar writes. The US is also trying to increase its own bilateral trade in the region with its own free-trade pacts with such countries as Thailand. Yet, all of this goes to show that China does have some newly-minted economic clout.
And concomitant with China's success, so goes that of Shanghai's, the new red star. Escobar highlights changes in Shanghai, especially in the Pudong area, the site of the new Shanghai. Where once, only 11 years ago, there were only rice paddies, Pudong is now comprised of four centers: Lujiazui Finance and Trade Area; Jinqiao Export Processing Area; Waigaoqiao Bonded Area; and Zhangjiang High-Tech Garden. A Bund-tourist tunnel links both sides of Shanghai beneath the Huangpu River.
In the High-Tech Garden, the plan is to turn Pudong before 2006 into a production center for semiconductors aimed to rival Taiwan and Korea. To accomplish this goal, Pudong has attracted "the best and brightest in China: rules in 1999 facilitate holders of MBAs and doctorates, younger than 35, the extremely complicated permits for residence (hukou) and work in the city." For these new Shanghai elite, the goal is nothing short of making Shanghai the next New York or London. And goals such as a condo overlooking the Huangpu, and a Mercedes in the basement parking space.
Escobar also mentions the historical reasons for Shanghai's eventual rise to stardom, such as the birthplace of the first urban proletariat, the birthplace of the CCP in July 1921, the place where the Cultural Revolution was launched, and the city where the 'Gang of Four' made their last stand. It was also the home of the 'Shanghai Mafia'; i.e., president Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji, who were former mayors of Shanghai. In fact, it was under Zhu's watch that Shanghai started work on the infrastructure and the planning in the early 90s that brought Pudong to reality.
In contrasting the new Shanghai with Hong Kong, Escobar points out that both cities historically had business connections: as part of the Chinese diaspora, Shanghai businessmen would build Hong Kong (cf. HKSB), but it was Hong Kong's know how and money that put the new maglev train (running from the Shanghai airport to Pudong) on the rail. Still, one can not underestimate the ambitious nature of the Shanghai businessman. "Shanghai will knock out Hong Kong. Shanghainese traits of masonic solidarity and iron determination inspire respect and fear all over China," Escobar voices the opinion of a Swiss economist, Marc Feber. "A businessman confides that true Shanghainese consider Cantonese no more than "rice-eating monkeys": they only made it because of the benign vigilance of the British, who kept them safe and colonized for a century and a half, Escobar adds."
Another item I found interesting is that of the making of the "New Silk Road", a rail line running from Shanghai to Europe. Supposing it runs north of Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, this might make the Trans-Sib a secondary choice.
In spite of all Shanghai's modernity, its glass and steel towers, its occupants in their high fashion suits, with laptops, sitting in wifi-ed stations at Starbucks on the first floor, and as in other cities, the dark side is still visible. "At least 12 million state employees every year are thrown out on the street in China, with no safety net. All dream of success in Shanghai. Unlike Bangkok, the city (Shanghai) has not deported its beggars - at least not yet." In addition, just as in the Shanghai of the 1920s, the infamous dragon ladies of Maoming Nan Lu still prey on foreigners, but under their mask lies the true identity of a housewife, a school teacher, a secretary, or a college student, trying to make it gloriously rich. Escobar goes on to mention the vast underground world of vice, and of the "public, legalized debauchery, under the guise of 'entertainment centers'. Once more, mind-boggling Chinese modernity has reproduced old alliances of organized crime, the law, and the government."
Shanghai may rock, but I don't think I would dig living there. I've lived long enough in a moderately-sized Chinese city , coping with its prices, distances, pollution, pressure, transportation, etc. to know just about how much I can take. Well, maybe a couple of days in Shanghai is all, doing the basic tour and having the ritual coffee and cigar in the hotel coffee shop before boarding the train.
