China Rises: 坐下中国

So, has anyone in Canada, or the US caught any of this China Rises special? I’m not sure about dates or times, but it’s a combo project of the NY Times and CBC.ca (and some other guys – Germans I think).

You can check out some information here and if you dislike commercials or don’t live in the US or Canada – just go to TorrentSpy.com and download it.

I’ve downloaded the first two parts but haven’t had time to watch them yet. I was told that for any foreigners living in China it’s mostly old news, but I’m excited to watch it anyway.

I’ve only recently started browsing for torrents of documentaries about China. Watched an interesting one from The History Channel about the Tiananmen Massacre – or as it’s known in China: “The Day Something Happened But We’re Not Sure What”. It was good to finally find out what all the fuss was last year when Zhao Ziyang died. I didn’t really know his significance, and the documentary explained it well.

And in yet more China watching news… check out this site:
Free Hao Wu

It’s interesting to contrast Canada with China – quite different in fact when comparing China to the States. I never realized how much it craps on your country to be competing for something. The States have a bunch of power, so they’re struggling to keep it and in the end they turn out to be (International) assholes (no offence to my American readers – I’m sure you’re all NOT assholes… but have your neighbours put up Anti-Iran flags yet? Or is that next month?). The same can be said about China. Sitting in the wings, waiting for the announcer to say “C’mon China… get on stage… it’s your time.” Everything is pressuring China to keep the momentum going, and it, like the US, just can’t keep it up for ever.

But Canada, oh Canada. Our biggest problems are: A) wood, B) seals and C) being next to a country with a feck off target on its back. We’re constantly awarded one of the highest standards of living, we’ve got pretty damn good healthcare (despite the PC’s best efforts), we’ve got loads of trees, somewhat clean water (not counting Hamilton, which is apparently causing people to mutate into merpeople), we’re at an all-time low in unemployment… Life for Canadians is pretty sweet I’d say.

So… the moral – in so far as I can tell – is ta hell with being the biggest, most important, most powerful country in the world. I’ll settle for being the one that’s got a kickass flag and an obsessive liking of hockey. Who needs oil when you have maple syrup?

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