October 2005

By Brad Hemak

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At first it seems like idiocy for a libertarian to move to communist China. The Chinese have no free speech, no freedom of religion and they can’t even vote.

But, I had heard some things about China. China has a fast growing economy and that doesn’t happen with command style economics. China has a free market (sometimes). I had been told that Beijing recently got rid of rent control, something that New York and Los Angeles wouldn’t even consider. The government is letting some people (those with money) get visa’s and see the rest of the world. They aren’t as afraid that people will leave. This country is more than an economic power; it is a country people want to live in.

With my eyebrow raised in mild confusion, I decided I wanted to get a job in China. I didn’t want to just be tourist; I wanted to get involved in the Chinese society. The easiest job for me to get in China was to be an English teacher. But, being a libertarian I didn’t want to tacitly consent to an authoritarian government, so I looked for a job at one of the many English training schools, which are private, in the country. Although government jobs have better benefits, the pay is better at private schools. The government schools are often just happy to have a native English speaker to prove they are a good school. In private schools a teacher actually must show results. If the students aren’t learning, and enjoying learning then the students won’t come back and the school will fail. Private schools can’t afford to hire bad teachers. Bad teachers are pushed off to small towns and government schools. Good teachers float towards bigger cities and larger companies where they can make more money. Some even go on speaking tours, teaching to large groups and making more in an hour than most Chinese make in a year.

I left with a little bit of a plan of what I wanted to do and a contact in China to get a job. I eventually came to Henan province, about 500 miles south of Beijing, to begin work and to view the country. I came here with many notions about China in my mind.

Myth 1) People in China don’t have religious freedom.

Half true. The people have been told they have freedom of religion. It was granted by Deng Xiaopeng (the same person who reformed the economy) in the 1980’s, but with a few caveats. Religions can’t demonstrate in public. They can go to a church or a mosque, but can’t have a rally at Tiananmen Square (and who would want to now). Religions can’t communicate with the religious organizations outside of China. So Catholics in China don’t communicate to the Pope, they have a fake pope governing body that is part of the Communist government. Similarly the government is not fond of missionaries of any religion coming to China. And lastly, people who do not publicly espouse atheism are not allowed to participate in the government. This, of course, can make it hard for religious groups to keep the rights they presently have.

Myth 2) The Chinese government regularly blocks access to certain internet sites, especially CNN and BBC.

Yes, but it is avoidable. I have checked CNN on a daily basis for two months and have yet to find any part of it blocked. The BBC main page is available; however any page of news connected to it is blocked if you are using a Chinese server. Strangely it is not illegal to use foreign severs where news sites aren’t blocked. This is an easy way to avoid the problem of internet censorship.

Myth 3) The Chinese are not allowed to vote.

Basically true. This seems like it should be an obvious statement, but in fact people are allowed to vote on the local level. Now these are not Jimmy Carter administered elections so the communists miraculously always win, but in a very technical sense Chinese can vote.

Myth 4) China is a police state.

Hardly. While parts of China reportedly have more central government control than others, the majority of the country (including where I am, Henan) has very little government intervention, or for that matter control.

One a day to day basis, China is a great place for a libertarian, maybe even too lawless. Traffic lights are dutifully ignored. Jay walking is highly acceptable. Not only can you chew gum, but you can spit on the side walk (what would the Chinese in Singapore think). No shirt, no shoes, no problem. If you want to smoke in a restaurant, no one will take issue with you. You can smoke in a grocery store, a park, on a bus, even (gasp) in a bar.

Myth 5) China does nothing to protect intellectual property rights.

They do very little. I can buy all sorts of books, DVD, CD, and computer games for amounts that I know are far too little. And they aren’t for sale just by independent sellers at a street market; they are for sale at national bookstores and department store chains. I did see one poster from the government at a store and my Chinese friend translated it for me. The poster shows a barcode that are also prison bars and it reads, “Copyright infringement is illegal.” Ten feet away were some new release computer games usually for $50, here for $5.

Myth 6) In China guns, prostitution, and drugs are illegal.

Officially, yes. But, rumors say no. Many things are officially and functionally off limits to most of the public. In other countries I visited I have found that foreigners are the first to be offered such illegal things as we have the money. No one here has offered to sell me guns, drugs, or women. People do apparently try, as the government news occasionally reports on prostitution operations they break up. Then again, who knows about the validity of the government news?

I do hear rumors. Similar to other Asian countries prostitution is acceptable (at least to men). I have been told it is easy to find, but haven’t tried. Also, some of the minority ethnic groups in remote areas are avid users of opium and I’ve been told the local governments are not highly concerned with its consumption.

Myth 7) China is holding political prisoners and is torturing them.

Yes. I have found no news to confirm or deny this idea, but I am willing to believe Amnesty International.

Myth 8) People can not own property in this communist nation.

Functionally, no. People in China own their cars, motorbikes, and the money from their businesses, but they don’t own buildings or land. Technically the government owns all land and leases it to people. Business functions as though individuals or companies own land, though this could be a point of future problems. The problems being either the government wants the land back or trying to devise a system to let the citizen’s fully own it.

I will not pretend that China is freer than America, France, Japan or any other Western nation, but I have seen that it is not the antithesis of freedom. Some of the freedoms the Chinese have are ones that should be standard for everyone in the world (smoking, traffic regulations, spitting). I sense that if China will make gains in the freedoms of Westerners (religion, speech, voting) that they will lose these day to day freedoms. America once didn’t care where you smoked, when you crossed the street, how much the rent of an apartment was, or even if you paid taxes. But, that was a time when minorities and women couldn’t vote, trade between nations was highly restricted, and the courts were often corrupt.

There is no libertarian utopia, and there might not ever be one. It seems that when the people of one nation gain some rights, other are eliminated.

So, come to China if you would like to drink in public, throw you trash where you like, and if you really want, buy a pirated DVD. But then go home to vote, own property, and say what you want about your country and the quirks of China.