Well, At Least I'm not a Journalist

I'm sure many of you have heard about the protests going on around the world and the crazy revolutions that have pretty much taken over the Middle East, but... You probably haven't heard about the so called "Jasmine Revolution" that is kindling in China. As of right now, there's nothing very newsworthy to be blogging about but I thought I would share some things I've read and some things I've seen since I have been here that strike me as interesting.

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I realize that I probably shouldn't be writing about this on my blog, considering some foreign reporters have had their faces beat in for tracking this issue, but I figured it would just make things even more interesting if something like that happened to me right? Ok, maybe not so fun while it was happening but definitely a story for the grand kids.

This past Sunday, Gabe and I took a trip to Tiananmen Square and Wangfujing with no prior knowledge of the allegedly planned protests. (Please read the article above for more information on these places). When we first arrive at Tiananmen we took a detour to check out the shops to the left of the Forbidden City. As I was waiting for Gabe outside the shop, I noticed people running around and cops coming from all directions. First thing I thought was, "Time to make my peace with God." But then I realized that their attention was on the moat that surrounds the entrance of the Forbidden City. Apparently a woman had jumped into the moat on her own will, perhaps as a sign of defiance, and was swimming around as several people attempted to lower a ladder and drag her out. While this was happening, hoards of police and undercover police started pushing all the people back and putting up caution tape. Because I was a foreigner, I just pretended I didn't understand Chinese and was waiting for my friend who was in the store. At this point, I saw two police officers dragging the woman out of the moat and dropping her, sobbing, on the ground. Once this happened, the police car backed into the cordoned of section and she was loaded into the car. Where was she taken? Why did she do it? I have no idea.

But, as we continued walking around the Forbidden City and Tiananmen, we started noticing how many police officers there were and more importantly how many "civilians" were wearing wires and headphones. When we arrive in Wangfujing, mentioned in the article, we were there right around 2:30 pm when this meeting was supposed to occur. Of course, we didn't know about it so weren't exactly on watch for interesting things but we did see the "construction zone" that hadn't been there the week before. I actually asked a police officer why there were so many police and he didn't respond to my question. In hindsight, having known what was happening, I probably wouldn't have asked that question.

Anyway, the day was pretty much uneventful other than that. Shortly after, I went to Church and met a priest who actually studied at seminary in the United States. He's a really nice guy and invited us to participate in their youth group so we could improve our Chinese. All is well in the Middle Kingdom, if anything interesting catches my eye, I'll be sure to convey it as quickly as possible!

Michael

News Article Courtesy of Rachel Will!