Yesterday, I went to buy some take-out food for lunch. I had not had spicy food in a while and I was craving some stir-fried pepper beef. I took a 10-yuan bill (approximately US$1.35) with me, and my mouth was watering at the thought of the pungent peppery dish.
To my surprise, the price had doubled from around 30 yuan/kg (approximately US $1.80/lb) to nearly 60 yuan/kg. Another customer said, "The price of lamb has increased from 16 yuan/kg a few months ago to 36 yuan now. It has more than doubled."
As I waited in line, other customers were blaming the Communist Party for the price increases.
One said, "Our wages have increased, but it's so little compared with the amount of inflation!" Another responded, "At least you still earn wages. It's tough for those of us who were laid off—with no income, and prices still rising. Shame on the Communist Party, they are inhuman!"
Someone else said, "The Communist Party is so corrupt that they only care about making money themselves, they ignore our situations. Other than complaining, do you even dare to do anything?" Everyone became silent and embarrassed.
Then another person said, "Many say that Hu (Jintao) and Wen (Jiabao) care about the people; but I think they're bragging with closed eyes. Prices have skyrocketed to historic highs in China and you call that caring for people?
"Hu and Wen are shown on TV every day attending all sorts of meetings, and they make it look like they care about the people. In fact, lowering the prices would help the people a lot. The leaders love the shows they put on, regardless of whether or not we're fed up with it. Only lowering the prices would be a sensible thing to do!"
I smiled, and said to him, "People can see the reality! In fact, we know what is going on. Hu and Wen know it too. They simply hang on by the eyebrows and continue acting, just like the emperor in 'The Emperor's New Clothes' who knew people were laughing at him all along. They are aware of it too."
I could only afford to buy a small serving of the peppery beef with my 10-yuan bill. On the way home, I thought about the Chinese media having the nerve to say that "the renminbi (Chinese currency) is appreciating" and "life is getting better" when people are actually complaining and suffering from the high cost of living.
In fact, everyone is aware of the realities of corruption and the falling living standards in China—including the Communist Party itself. However, the autocratic system of government means that the just voices will only be heard in small groups of people, but not in the mainstream media. Because the Chinese news media are "the party's property," in order to survive, media workers have to tell out-and-out lies.
Therefore, it was reported on the CCTV1 evening news that Chinese people have felt "little impact" from the 6.6 percent price increase.
On CCTV4, the program "Along the Taiwan Strait" showed people shouting "too high to live" after a 4.5 percent price increase in Taiwan. Why have people from both sides of the strait reacted so differently? It is clear if people in China were to say "too high to live" it would never be broadcast.
We would never hear the child who pointed out, "The emperor had nothing on" when Hu and Wen are obviously naked on CCTV.
However, the emperor in Andersen's story is benign in that he would not send agents of the State Security to arrest the child who told the truth and charge him with "inciting subversion of state power" like they would in China.
Any Chinese people who talk about the reality of the economic hardship would be charged with "subversion of state power." The emperor has put in far more effort to control the voices instead of controlling price increases.
Every year, the state security departments spend the same amount of money on monitoring, controlling, lecturing, and re-educating me as the government spends on building a primary school or assisting 50 students from first grade to graduation.
The national expenditure required to control, arrest, try, and imprison political and other democratic movement prisoners could instead be used to fulfill what I have proposed, a political and economic system of multi-party elections and the introduction of social welfare.
Unfortunately, the emperors are reluctant to change. They'd rather imprison the honest child than putting on the new clothes of civilization, freedom, and democracy.
Other articles by or about Guo Quan:
Chinese New People's Party's Acting Chairman Withdraws from the CYL and CYP
Former Chinese Professor Chosen as Acting New Party Chairman
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