Life and Travel in China

From February 1, we have the Year of the Tiger in China. The tiger, like the dragon, has rather positive associations for me, although 2010 was a perverse and not very successful year for me. 12 years ago, in 2010 (also the Year of the Tiger), the world recovered from the economic crisis. We can hope that in 2022 the world will finally defeat the coronavirus and everything will return to normal. According to astrologers, this is the year of the water or wet tiger. This does not mean a flood. Asians say that determined and hard-working people will succeed in the Year of the Tiger. It will also be a good year for families and relationships. We can only hope that it will be a happy year, although economic conditions, inflation around the world, and difficulties related to the pandemic do not bode well.

Taking into account the situation in China, everything indicates that we are on the verge of a serious crisis. Many Chinese suppliers are looking for orders, and in some cases you don't even have to wait long for production. The real estate market is also collapsing. Some companies had to lay off their employees to survive. Due to closures and restrictions related to Covid-19, the catering and entertainment industry has suffered greatly. Anyone who has been to a large Chinese city knows that these cities come alive at night - bars, pubs, restaurants, street stalls, massage parlors. All these places thrived, and most customers visited them at night. Now there are still cities and housing estates where, as a result of the fight against the coronavirus, people are banned from leaving their homes. All this, on some micro scale, affects the economy of the Middle Kingdom. However, if we add up the losses of these small companies, family businesses, shops and bars, I think we will have a serious crisis.

Imagine that the so-called The "grandchild method" has reached China. It is true that there were some sporadic messages earlier, the purpose of which was to extort some information or money. Now, however, the cheating system is much more extensive. It applies to practically everything: Covid-related matters, treatment, insurance, housing, loans, police-related matters, etc. Scammers can even impersonate the Chinese embassy. They inform a Chinese person who lives, for example, in Poland, that his phone number was used to send false information about the Covid pandemic in China. The ambassador's representative assures that the Chinese police will contact us later to question us about this matter. They also suggest that we cooperate, otherwise we may have problems in the Middle Kingdom. Interestingly, the telephone number of the Chinese Embassy in Poland is displayed on the phone. After several dozen minutes, a "policeman" from Shanghai calls and a Chinese number is displayed. The policeman assures us that we can verify his number, that he is calling from the station that deals with our case. Obviously, the idea is to intimidate the recipient, make them anxious and nervous, and thus make them provide various information and make some mistakes. It seems that Chinese criminals took over the "grandchild" system and, of course, adapted it to their realities and developed methods and scope of fraud. You have to be really careful. Smartphones have made us everywhere accessible and at the same time vulnerable to tracking and fraud everywhere.

Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, all the media are heating up the atmosphere and often use the phrase in their headlines: "The world holds its breath." The average Chinese in mainland China considers Taiwan to be part of China. For them it is still a rebellious island. The Chinese do not like it when it is said that Taiwan is an independent, democratic country. Taiwan, of course, sees it differently. They consider themselves an independent country and count on the support of the United States in this matter. It is worth reading about the history of China, the civil war and the escape of the Kuomintang to Taiwan. It has long been known that the US is fighting China, which has become an economic power. Americans like their own version of the world order, from South America through Africa to Arab countries and Asia. In Africa, they lost a lot because China literally took over many African countries (not militarily, but through investments and their dependence on Chinese money, loans, etc.). Europe and North America woke up too late to this issue and already feel the Chinese breathing down their backs. American hegemony should continue, but the US has too many problems of its own with Covid, homelessness, the healthcare system, and now involvement in the war in Ukraine. Of course, Americans have no problem investing in wars, sending troops to different parts of the world, testing new weapons, and gaining experience on the battlefield. Is this the purpose of China's provocation and Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan? A China-Taiwan war would benefit the Americans. Image-wise and diplomatically, it would be a defeat for the Middle Kingdom. But isn't provoking the Chinese too risky for the whole world? Did the Americans calculate it correctly?

Interesting fact for today - women in China usually do not change their surname after marriage. It is not customary to take your husband's surname. Marriages with the same surname are rare in the Middle Kingdom, it may be a coincidence if anything. I don't think I've ever mentioned this before in my Journals. Interestingly, children can also be given different surnames, e.g. a son's grandfather's surname (because his father has a different one) and a daughter's surname after her mother. If we compare the names and surnames of one family, basically no one will guess that they are related. Can you imagine something like this (translated into Polish realities): Janina Nowak is the wife of Mariusz Kowalski, and their children are Natalia Kwiatkowska and Jarek Kowalski.