Red Scarf Girl

Admittedly, I don’t know a lot about China.  It has certainly become much more important in the later half of my lifetime than it was in the first half.  I have always wanted to visit China, especially to see the famous Great Wall, which has captivated me since I first heard about it as a little kid.  Seeing some of the major sights would also be cool.  Such a trip once almost happened, but real life ended up getting in the way, and I’ve had to file that away in the “Some Day” folder.  I have also always known China as a Communist country even though it was Russia and Eastern Europe that seemed to grab all the Communist headlines during the first part of my life.  Tiananmen Square is something I remember quite well since it was broadcast into our living room, like it was for millions around the world.  China’s recent economic ascendancy has, unfortunately, been accompanied by continued restrictions on liberty that came with the introduction of Communism in that vast country.

Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-li Jiang (ISBN: 978-0-06-446208-2) details one of the worst parts of China’s Communist history, the Cultural Revolution.  The book, a memoir, is told from the viewpoint of the author as the events unfolded.  Her family history included a well-to-do grandfather, a Muslim grandmother, and a father who had joined the Communist Party in its infancy when it was still illegal and then had a falling out with its leaders.  This put her at a disadvantage when Mao began the Cultural Revolution to retain his power (power struggles seem to be a fixture of Communist regimes) since her family was not considered “red” enough.  Ji-li was a true believer in Mao and the Revolution at the beginning of the book, but as things went along and friends and neighbors were denounced, goals and dreams shattered, lives ruined (or lost), and her own family affected, she came to understand that devotion to a cause or a leader should not trump one’s devotion to the truth and to one’s family.  Like many Chinese, she was later disappointed when she found out that the Cultural Revolution and all the damage it had done was not really to advance Communism, but to allow Chairman Mao to hang on to power.  Ji-li paints a descriptive picture of what life was like before the chaos, and it actually didn’t seem too bad.  When the Cultural Revolution starts, though, things change quickly and they change drastically, as all things old are thrown out.  Kids can no longer read comics, neighbors stop talking to each other and some look for ways to harm neighbors and former friends.  School is changed, favoring class status instead of merit.  Houses are ransacked, people imprisoned, beat, sometimes killed.  Hope is lost for many.  Some, like Ji-li’s father, resist heroically, never admitting to the accusations leveled falsely against him.  Life eventually settles down, but it’s never the same again, and even to a young girl, it’s obvious that there were freedoms and opportunities lost.

I found the book to be quite interesting and informative even though it is written as juvenile literature.  For those who know more about the history of China, the experience might not be the same.  I found it interesting to see so many similarities between other authoritarian regimes (I couldn’t help but remember the Taliban blowing up ancient statues in Afghanistan as I read about Chinese Red Guards destroying anything they felt like labeled “Four Olds”) and Leftist ideologies (anti-religious views and class and racial tension, for example).  It was sometimes a little jarring to read simply because the author narrated from her point of the view as the events unfolded.  This meant there is a lot of pro-Communist, even pro-Cultural Revolution sentiment expressed.  As noted, this wanes as the story progresses, but it sometimes makes one have to stop and think as one reads.  I see having to think things through and a need for analysis and evaluation as a good thing, though.  Here, the analysis of the author’s experiences leads to a greater appreciation for freedom and liberty, as well as, hopefully, a greater commitment to protect those values and to be kind to those around us.

   

This work, including all text, photographs, and other original work, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License and is copyrighted © MMXXI John Pruess.

Red-handed

Corruption has been around as long as politics have been around, which seems to be pretty much since the beginning since the Old Testament is full of politics, often of the lying, sneaking, and back-stabbing variety.  As a missionary in Russia and then in a couple classes in college, though, was when I was introduced to corruption.  It didn’t seem to play a large role in the American politics that I knew from the 1980s and 1990s.  Russians, though, constantly complained about corruption, and textbooks and articles in college expanded my understanding of the scope of corruption all around the world.  Sadly, as time has gone on, corruption has continued to expand and not retract like most hope it would.

Red-handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win by Peter Schweizer (ISBN: 978-0-06-306114-9) chronicles corruption among American elites as it pertains to China.  The book shows how many facets of American society are compromised because of their deep, corrupt financial ties to China.  Both major political parties (already for decades) have been selling out to China along with big business, the green lobby, the American entertainment industry, and even America’s sports leagues.  While the Clintons and the Bidens headline the political corruption, the Bushes and Mitch McConnell are also exposed.  Politicians and diplomats consistently use their time in office to make connections with high-ranking Chinese, then cash in on public service, brokering Chinese access to American halls of power.  Some, like the Clintons, Bidens, and McConnells, don’t even bother waiting until they’re out of office.  The worst part about it from an American security standpoint is that many of the deals involve dual-use technologies, defense industry, and hi-tech products that, when protected, protect America’s edge and advantage in the world.  The NBA has sold out to China for the billions of dollars it can make there.  In turn, players, coaches, executives, and even fans are prevented from expressing certain views.  The same holds true for Hollywood, where anti-American messages are de jour, but the studios must walk on eggshells when it comes to China, Taiwan, and Tibet.  A short section at the end talks about what can be done and passes out a little praise to the few to whom it is due.  Ultimately, American political discourse is constrained, and American national interests are subjugated to a country that does not, according to the statements of its own leaders, believe in a positive-sum game, but a zero-sum game, and it’s willing to do what it takes to be the one on top.

The book was very interesting and worth one’s time.  Schweizer is a long-time crusader against corruption in government and has written a number of tomes on the subject, including Clinton Cash.  Schweizer is not political in his writing or research: all sides are fair game, and this was particularly evident in this book.  I also appreciated the look beyond politics and into the culture and business worlds, which play a major role in American life and in American politics.  Politics in America would not be what they are if it wasn’t for the way those on top in the cultural and business worlds acted.  The book is well researched (the scores of pages of endnotes point to this), although all the names and figures can seem a little convoluted at times.  If one reads for the overarching points, this does not inhibit the reading experience.  The facts and figures are there for those who want the minutiae, though.  The other strong point of the book was that it explained what some of the risks are from this corruption, which helps us understand the immediacy of the concern.  The prescriptions at the end seemed realistic, although maybe too little, too late.

 

This work, including all text, photographs, and other original work, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License and is copyrighted © MMXXI John Pruess.