Yeah, I followed the news in China, but it was kind of difficult. Most of the places there seem to be slim on English language information, signs, or dinner menus. I really had to work on my Chinese if I wanted to get from place to place or eat a dumpling :-P. Luckily, I met some of my Chinese friends from the last school I worked at, and they showed me around Beijing, Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Shijiazhuang, and Hohhot, Inner Mongolia :-)!
I want to get to the trip, and the impressions I had of those cities and China as a whole. First though, I want to write a couple thoughts about the Thai stand-off in downtown Bangkok (and now, the Isaan provinces as well).
First off, how did the government ever let the stand off get to this point? By now, I'm sure most people know that after protesters spilled blood on the prime minister's house and took over the downtown shopping district, troops opened fire with live rounds at the demonstrators and demonstrators fired back with what it seems were their own guns, grenades, and/or home-made firebombs.
As best I can answer this question, here it is in plain words: The government knew that if an early election occurred, the incumbents would lose. An election would have only hurt those in power, but to clear out the protesters with guns and military immediately would damage the government's international reputation (not that it isn't damaged now).
This left the government with little choice, and everyone suffered because the protesters continued to occupy downtown with impunity. This isn't to say that the government wasn't still working behind the scenes, using the media to influence public opinion. I can't count how many times the past week that generals and government spokespeople came on television to tell me how 'dangerous' and 'bad for Thailand's image' these red-shirts were.
There were pictures and red pointing arrows, showing me images of masked crusaders with guns, fireworks, and what looked like homemade slingshots. I also saw alot of people passed out drunk under tents, but the red arrows weren't pointing at them...
A couple of days ago, I guess, the government had sufficiently made its point, and the shooting began again. I want to say up front that I don't deny that red shirts were dangerous, but I keep asking why? The best point I can muster: the government shot guns at them first.
We can all point fingers, who started what and when --- that argument has been fueling thousands of conflicts for centuries however (Palestine-Israel comes to mind). But seriously, what did the government expect after sending troops near a major tourist area (Khao San Road) with instructions to "fire into the air." No matter what happened, and who had guns, the death toll has always seemed disproportionately unfair to the red shirts in these conflicts. I wonder if the government will ever count the people who died from a gun shot in the back...
So now that all of this is 'over' in the words of last night's spokesperson, why do the government leaders continue to escalate their rhetoric even after the protest leaders 'surrendered,' implying somehow that there is/was a war.... My guess: the government still realizes that there is a truly tenuous grasp on power these days.
Hence, I can't leave the house past 9:00, nor can I go to the bank to withdraw money :-) (are you reading this Mom :-P?). The only thing for the government now to do, is start classifying races, genders, and danger levels; then allow a couple generals to take power, and the world discussion will center on Burma and Thailand.
This protest might have been about non-violence initially, but something went really awry, haywire is how my dad described it... It got really violent, with over 40 people killed in stand-offs resulting from clashes or conflict or war, whatever you think it is. Some of those wounded or killed included foreigners, journalists trying to cover the battle between the different factions. I use 'factions' because I'm not quite sure who was really fighting for/with whom. It seems no one is really sure what happened down there once the shooting started.
All I can say, this is a dark week for Thailand, and the people here are now angry, sad, and disenfranchised. That's why you had people burning down buildings. That's why people will hate the red shirts. That's why the red shirts will feel that they can never really participate in Thailand's 'democracy.' That's why the Thai smile will always be the thin veneer that many people will now see through.
What happens next, I don't think anyone knows.
0 comments:
Post a Comment