So I am in China on business. I have noticed a few changes and a very interesting reference to the presumptive Democratic nominee for the office of President of the United States of America. Scroll to the end for the Obama bit.
My current client has a plant in Dalian, China and I am now on my third hop here. I spend one to three weeks depending on what is going on and what needs to be done. I also work with a site in Japan so it is easy to hop between the two countries as needed.
I wasn't sure what to expect on this leg. I have noticed the security gradually increasing as the Games get closer. The first hop three months ago was very smooth. Stand in immigration control, stamp, stamp, stamp get the bags and go. I was surprised by how easy it was. That may be more a function of my Business visa than anything. There is a lot of traffic between Japan and China and Dalian is a manufacturing hub.
On the second trip, I noticed more security. There were soldiers standing on the jet bridge and outside the hotel. When I checked in they had me review a new policy stating that my room could be searched by the "Public Safety Department". At work I couldn't help but think of the Public Safety Department riflling through my underwear in search of God knows what. But, again, everything was pretty smooth.
There are rules when you are here. If you come here, you expect it. I know a lot of foreigners were upset about the proposed restrictions on internet content and what else, but if you come to China you have to expect some restrictions. It is freakin' CHINA for cripes sake. That said, I get CNN and Bloomberg and HBO on my TV. The only internet site that has ever been blocked is the Huffingtonpost - which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. But I expect it.
My last hop in was on Sunday. I travel a lot. Sometimes hopping through three or four countries a month. And my passport reflects this. It is beat to all hell. When I got to passport control, they made me stop. The agent called over a supervisor and they had a long discussion in Chinese, continually looking at the cover and the places where it is separating from the first page. I pulled out my client ID card and my driver's license. They were not impressed. They finally let me go through but the agent told me in no uncertain terms to "get it fixed."
There were lines of soldiers and police along the jet brigde and all through the airport. Let me say again that this was in Dalian. There are no events happening in Dalian. At the hotel they made me fill out extra paperwork and I was told to keep it, and my passport, with me at all times. There is also additional security around the hotel.
In light of the bombing earlier this week, the ever present security may not be such a bad thing.
I fly to Dalian on China Southern. They have a magazine called Gateway that I browse for the pictures (it is all in Chinese except for a few article headings). This month's Gateway has a feature on the history of mobile phones. There is an article on the panda evacuation with smiling pilots and flight attendants feeding pandas. An article called "Lovely Jelly" and there on page 64 is a picture of a very cool looking Barak Obama and the caption "Charming Obama-Style." On page 66 we see him playing basketball and on page 68 we see one image of him making a speech and another of him hugging a supporter in front of "Coney's".
There are no articles and/or pictures of John McCain.
I have to go soon. I will answer questions when I get back later today.