Chinese people aren’t stupid

I was right. It happened as soon as the ageing Beijing soprano (with connections) began belting out a well-known patriotic dirge.

It began with a trickle, then grew into a long stream of ordinary folks who had sacrificed a night at home watching their favourite TV programs for this rubbish. What a mistake that was.

My volunteer friends (the folks who had carried, bagged, and buried hundreds bodies in Hongbai Village) and I decided to bolt. We (and the crowd who followed) knew what the rest of the “show” would be like. A cold beer, a bowl of noodles, or a cup of tea back home watching soap-operas would be so much more entertaining.

We made it to the narrow front gate before the stream turned into a flood of locals searching for freedom on the other side of the Shifang wall. Local survivors laughing and having a good time together as they voted with their feet against this obscene use of their traumatic experience for propaganda purposes.

They weren’t angry. It was as though they expected it, and had hoped against hope that this time it might be different.

Fooled again. They had to laugh.

Don’t worry. China will be OK. It’s just a matter of time.

Chinese people aren’t stupid.