Things Learned

I learned two things yesterday.

First: The crossing guards have no power.
Being a communist country, promising a job for every worker, means there are loads of people doing unecessary things. The traffic police are a perfect example. At certain busy corners, a crossing guard is stationed at every stepping off point. And they mean business. If you so much as step off of the curb, they blow their whistle and push you back.
Apparently, that's as much as they can do. I stood on the curb yesterday, as the crossing guards held us at bay against an empty street. A Western man wearing a nice suit had no patience, and crossed anyway. Our crossing guard blew his whistle, gestured wildly, and followed him halfway across the streeet. His partner took over from there, coming out and clearly telling him to go back to the other side. No doing - he waved his hand at them, crossed the street, and walked on.
It dawned on me that these crossing guards have no power. Revolution! I expected the crowds on either side to surge into the still empty streets. Those guards can't hold me!
Nothing doing. Everyone patiently waited their crowded turn, and then surged across the street with the masses. Myself included. I was really tired, and rather appreciated the momentary rest. Revolution next time, maybe.


Second: The hotel has quite a bit of power, and very little customer service.
Apparently, Uncle H-- originally told our hotel that we would check out yesterday. We did not check out, but that was of no consequence. Our keys no longer worked. I went to the front desk. Still tired, I had very little patience - my rest at the corner above had not left me feeling refreshed.
When the desk clerk told me I no longer had a reservation, I answered that I was reserved until November 1st. When he nodded his head, and repeated that my reservation had ended, I repeated my assertion that I am leaving on November 1st, and then laid my head on his desk. Everyone behind the desk started talking in Chinese, and bustling about. My hunch is that they weren't talking about me - they had told me all I needed to know.
I had never checked out. I had not removed anything from my room. And I couldn't even get the elevator above the 8th floor.
I called Dave, who was at work. He went to Maggie's desk. Maggie called the hotel. About this time, a man on the telephone told me he had fixed my keycard. I could return to my room.

So, the lesson of yesterday is that money holds more sway than government.

Yes, this is a vast statement to make on two small encounters.

And yes, the government had quite a bit of power over individual's lives - much more than the U.S. government.

But in an ever-changing China, it seems to me that the capitalists have ever increasing power, and that the party will have to choose their battles to not see their power quickly dwindle to nothing.