a conversation in chinese

Between a semi-literate American learning to appreciate what she has (B), and an intelligent, curious Chinese yearning to experience what she doesn't (W):

W: I heard there is a law preventing people from camping on Wall Street, so the protesters have built cardboard houses to get around this law.

B: I don't know. That seems normal. The government can't stop that because of the freedom to give orations -

W: Speech. Freedom of speech.

B: - because of freedom of speech. It's very important to Americans. I've protested. Lots of people have. But police have other laws they can use to make it hard, like the camping law.

W: It's funny that even when protesting people follow the law so carefully. No camping, so the protesters don't camp. Freedom of speech, so the police must allow it. I'm impressed. In China, there are laws governing some aspects of life, but nobody follows them, and then there are no laws to govern what should be governed. You're not supposed to park on the street but everyone does anyway, and blocks traffic. You're supposed to be able to petition the government if you have a problem, but the government beats you up and throws you in the woods if you actually petition.

B: That seems [fumbling in dictionary] unpredictable.

W: There's a Confucian saying: 无所措手足. "Nowhere to put your hands or feet." He thought that if the laws weren't clear to people, or if the laws were not predictable, people would not know where to put their hands or feet. They don't know how to behave.

B: But the Chinese government is so powerful. Ferocious. If they wanted to stop people from parking their cars in the middle of the street, they could.

W: The Chinese government's number one goal is to maintain stability. Which means there are plenty of police to control what you're saying about the government, but none for enforcing parking.

B: I'm afraid to send emails to you about this because I don't know who is reading. Maybe we can create another language. So they can't read.

W: Chinese bloggers already do that. You know if you put on your blog "Communist Party," that blog will be taken down. So people write "GCD" [the pinyin acronym for Communist Party]. It's one way to get around it.

B: Do you think they monitor blogs?

W: Sure.

B: Yours?

W: Maybe.

B: There must be other people who aren't happy with this circumstance.

W: Of course.

B: So there's hope. You don't think it's possible to stay and change Chinese society?

W: Most people care about their finances, making money, not so much about human rights or changing society. China has been like this for thousands of years. I used to think it was possible to change but now I just want to immigrate.

B: Most people everywhere just care about making money. And what about the thing that happened in Tiananmen Square, with the students, in 1989? Did you learn about it?

W: Every year around June 4, security is tightened in Tiananmen Square. And I've read a few things about it on the Internet. And I've heard things. But it wasn't something we learned in school.

B: You don't know the famous photograph? The person, he was a student, in front of the thing that the army has, it's like a car, but it's huge and it rolls -

W: Tank?

B: Tank. You can't see the student's face. He's in front of four or five tanks. The tanks are lined up. The first tank goes right, the man goes left. Tank goes left, he goes right. He doesn't let them pass. They don't run him over because the international media was there. They were there because there was a conference with the government the same week. Everyone in the world was watching. You haven't seen the photo?

W: No.

B: The man represents freedom. To a lot of people.

W: It's the power of one person to stand up against an oppressive government. But I heard - didn't the tanks roll in anyway and kill a bunch of people?

B: Yes. Later that week.

W: What happened to the man?

B: The government didn't find him. There were lots of students behind him. He went into the group of students. I think they changed his clothes. They didn't find him.

W: America sounds like a very fair place.

B: I don't know if that's true. It has problems. Different problems from China. You can protest. And you can write what you want to write. And I suppose you know what the laws are and most people follow them.

W: I watched that movie "Twelve [Incomprehensible]."

B: Huh?

W: You know, people get in a room and talk about law.

B: What?

W: They help the judge come to a decision.

B: You watched "Twelve Angry Men"? Black and white movie, from the 1950s??

W: Yes. I was so moved. Americans really seem to care about how their decision affects another person's life.

B: It's an ideal. It's not reality. If it's real, if a juror doesn't like your face, they decide against you. Nothing stops that. People are people everywhere. There is prejudice in America. Are there juries in China?

W: No.

B: Would you like to serve on a jury?

W: I would love to.