Tony in the pram. Communist China Day. China Angst: get over it?

October 1,  CC Day, was a milestone for the K family.  T was out in public.  T was taken in the movable crib in the hood of W.  T behaved admirably.  He slept 90 percent of the time.

Two persons grabbed the pram from me so they could look at Tony.  Strangers who do the oooh-aaaah thing to my kid look like imbeciles.

I saw little flag waving on CC Day.  I have been told that thirty years ago, I would have.  Now, it is just not cool.  In America where patriotism happens, you see more flag waving on their national day.  In Canada, where authorities want its citizens to be as patriotic as Americans, you would see also see more.  Here, it is real a victory of Capitalism:  the locals went shopping looking for bargains.

A certain member of the Liberal Party of Canada who is living in China said he has gotten over what he calls China Angst.  I would define China Angst as a feeling of "Hey!  I am living in a dictatorship where the government is evil and I am having scruples about it!".  It is certainly a feeling that must come to all expats who have hung their star on the China miracle.  I have tried to rationalize my doing so by hoping China can somehow have  a peaceful transition to democracy....  This LPOC member made his statement about overcoming China angst during a conversation about the Burma situation which is now being compared to T-square.  Whatever lofty plateau this LPOC member lives on, it doesn't bother itself with moral considerations but realpolitick.   China, he said, is hedging its bets in the Burma crisis.  No way the Chinese could possibly be encouraging the Burmese generals to do what they did in '89.  If China tried to dissuade the generals from a no compromising crackdown, it would be exceedingly hypocritical.  Another expat, trying to rationalize, said the Chinese have incentive to see no trouble in Burma.  Not so.  The Chinese have no incentive to allow economic sanctions on Burma.  That would be damaging for the Chinese economy which is starving for Burma's natural resources.  The regime in China is relying on economic growth to keeps its grip on power.