this ny times article is fascinating, sad, and ridiculous nearly all at the same time. in beijings efforts to “beautify” the city before the fast coming olympics, its begun to either brick away or hide some of the elements of the city its deemed “fucking ugly”, as in the local markets and some of the older mom-and-pop restaurants near or along the main venues. ill admit to never having been much of a fan of china (aka mainland)…this having to do with their government pointing really big missiles at my home country and all. but ive wanted to visit it at some time in my life. apparently tho, by the time i get there, it probably wont really be very chinese. or to be more precise, it wont be what i thought china would be (historical, cultural, etc) as opposed to what its becoming (soul-less, culture-less, a big mall, fucking ugly…) since they have little to no concept of historical preservation. i really wouldnt be surprised if one day they decided to just convert the forbidden city into a giant mall. there are numerous similar side markets and small and simple restaurants that look like (and probably are) someones living room throughout taiwan too…but there its part of the social fabric and what makes it fun. and i would hope if they were put in a similar situation, they’d choose to preserve that aspect rather than white wash it like beijing is doing. but whether they did or didnt, at the very least i hope they arent as dick about it as china has been.
“I don’t really want to oppose the government,” she said, breaking into tears. “For those of us who have lived through the Cultural Revolution, this life is like heaven.”
The city has bullied her to leave. One night last year, a bulldozer slammed into the building. Neighbors are paid to keep watch over her, and they notify the police when she has guests. Ms. Sun said officials pressed her doctor into refusing to give her care.
seriously…dick.
> beijing hides “ugly”, replaces with stupid (via ny times)
That’s all sorts of shitty…and sadly not too surprising. You’d think they could work out a better deal, like maybe subsidize the cost for local merchants to improve their stores and restaurants rather than…um…build a wall around them. Ok it is a little surprising.