CHINESE PEOPLE IN EUROPE TELL US (II)
Meeting with Xiao (Hsiao) Mei Lan, A great Tea Sommelier and Philosopher living in Antwerp, Belgium
Let’s speak about Social Credit, Green China, Euro-China and the Uyghurs case
About Social Credit&CCTV
LHCH: what do you think about the philosophy of Social Credit in China (CCTV cameras, tracking on smartphones and internet )?
Xiao Mei Lan : everything has a points system. Driving licence, exams, insurance… Let me speak about a man I know very well. He is on the black list of the National Bank, here in Belgium. So he is not allowed to get a bank account ; he may not travel ; he is not allowed to set up a company again！This man is my ex-husband, and he is a Belgian! So in China, now ? A country that has developed too quickly, influenced by Western capitalism became greedy…
China has stepped up efforts to combat unauthorized and unregulated online loans usually charged at exorbitant rates of interest, which have resulted in some borrowers breaking the law to repay them. One of the darkest problem in China is also the money laundering. Financial Crimes. So please, let’s go back to old China with more morality and respect. Too much criminal action in the past were considered as normal. If there is no law and control it won’t stop
About Environnement
LHCH: is China becoming « green » ?
Hsiao Mei Lan: we have to restore natural, ecological order. The problems comes from we think that we are smarter than nature. In China, we are planting trees in the desert ! Young generation is aware of the urgent need of a « Green China ». Awakeness is start to happen. The Chinese central government pushes local authorities with severe rule guidelines they have to follow about the protection of the environment and sustainable projects. China is big but let her time to proceed. But I’m sure a lot of urban remote areas will become soon kind of heaven ( surely to protect from mass tourism). For example, the Song Yang county in Zhejiang province welcomes a lot of « organic vegetables » farms projects. In Yunnan, I went to Lincang where the tea trees are naturally growing in the forest. Farmers plant trees to improve the biodiversity, the eco-balance ; for example, to protect tea trees with their shadow. Young generation teach the elderly how to proceed. In Anhua, Hunan, the original soil was frozen in geological times. Now, after thousands years of rain and wind, the soil is very rocky. So basically, the soil is not good for agriculture. But there is also a long tradition of dark tea around Yiyang where the nature is protected now. Acid soil ? And also the local government committed in preserving the craft in tea processing from using machines.
So, in this ecological turmoil, everybody has to find a way to re-connect with Nature. For me, it’s the tea (part I of this series)
About Europe and China
LHCH: from Antwerp in Belgium to Shanghai, this is the Eurasian continent. USA are very afraid of it. Why ?
Xiao Mei Lan: Europe and China have a very deep sense of culture. Since the Silk Road we have a common cultural and economical history. The trade was a peaceful way to spread different kind of religions, goods, cultural habits… That slowly created Eurasia. America in the beginning was invaded by European bad guys just looking for opportunities. Australia also. These new countries lacked good cultural faith. In Europe, yes, the lords of war spent their time to kill each other. True. But they believed in God and Art. Firenze was a terrible and dangerous place but also the fantastic house of the Renaissance. Later, after the industrial revolution, Marx launched the idea of a socialist system. Now we are liberal and socialist. America is just about money, power, manipulation. Europe earns money but also shares it. Eurasia is not a dream. It is the future.
LHCH: Chinese people speak about the European « Bai Zuo » trend : this new « left » radical way of thinking
Xiao Mei Lan : just one example of this dangerous mode of thought about immigration. Acceptance of foreigner is not for free. I don’t want people accept me because I am just a foreigner, just thinking I’m full of « rights ». I thought by myself I have to earn it by sharing the best of myself : Chinese tea. I prefer to cultivate « In-two-gration », than forcing superficial integration…
LHCH : so now you can redefine « multiculturalism » in the best way
Xiao Mei Lan : yes, a good example is the way we accepted the differences in Chinese long history. In a shot period, during the 27 dynasties, a lot foreigners ou minorities defeated a Chinese dynasty : obviously Yuan and Qing ; but also Wei from the North ; and during The Wu Dai Shi Guo ( The 5 Dynasties and 10 Kingdoms) the Liang were Turkish and the Jin, from Korea ! All these foreigners admired or envied the Chinese culture. They all wanted to become like us, and finally China accepted them into its history, as real Chinese dynasties. Even Tang dynasty had strong relations with Korea. The force of Chinese people was to accept all that differences inside one big country. We never reject other people. We are all humans. And we used to marry foreigners, to sell tea or silk to make peace ! Very diplomatic. In 641, Princess Wen Cheng of the Chinese Tang Dynasty married the Tibetan king Songtsan Gampu. The marriage should tie Tibet closer to China. Princess Wen Cheng had brought tea leaves to Tibet as a wedding present !
So in China history, when are you able to CUT these intertwined relationships that made China ? It is like the silk, strong and refined.
About Uyghur Case
LHCH : so they are now 57 minorities in China. Uyghurs are one of them. Since one year, American propaganda about so-called terrible treatments of this minority invades our media now.
Xiao Mei Lan : Too few people know that Uyghurs trained Talibans in a center of Xinjiang. After the 11/9 America wanted Chinese government closing this center, near the border of Afghanistan ! The two giants then were friends.
Now they speak about genocide because Chinese government wants to control the births. But in the beginning the ‘One Child’ policy was only for ‘Han’ people, not for the minorities and the peasants. Now they want to control everybody but with a Two Childs policy.
More than 10 tribes are muslims in China. They are everywhere, in every city. The Hui minority is very well known, for example. In Beijing, Xi’an, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Hainan and Yunnan as well ! Is there any problem outside Xinjiang ? In the past we never had a religion war ! For the land, the power, ok. But never for a religion. — Once during Tang dynasty, Tailing emperor instead of letting the chaos go between taoism and buddhism, he organized a debate. Unfortunately Taoist lost,but during Ming dynasty, Taoism came back in force .You see, this is the real history of China.
It’s a pity that Europeans talk a lot about China without knowing much about China’s history.
Part I and II are only expressing Miss Hsiao’s point of view
