The Chinese Century?
Pippen visited China recently accompanying her husband on a business trip and left with vivid memories of its ancient culture juxtaposed strangely with modernization, and wonders exactly how the Chinese Century will affect the rest of the world."The Chinese believe that theirs was the first civilization and that the center of world civilization will inevitably shift back to China, overpowering all others," says Pippen, "and already following the Olypmic Games in Beijing, the 21st Century is already being heralded as the Chinese Century."
"I went to school with Chinese immigrants and have several Chinese friends so I most definitely don't see them as aliens or a threat," laughs Pippen, "but when you consider our astronomical debt to China and the subprime meltdown that precipitated massive Chinese investment in western companies - as well as the interest they are taking in developing nations and prime land purchases - you start to wonder about what may happen in the future."
"It's interesting, too, to ponder what civilization is all about in China," says Pippen. "There is no concept of 'personal space' -- everyone out there is in your face and rude beyond words (in relation to western values)."
"It cannot be due to over-population because I come from a densely populated city where people cope with lack of space with civility, avoiding crowds and minding their own business."
"Bureaucracy, I believe, was invented in China and in this aspect of civilization it far surpasses anything we have in the West," says Pippen. "More bureaucracy, more control and more laws means less freedom, less respect for human rights, less respect for life itself."
"I'm not just talking about the atrocities alleged by the Falun Gong, or forced abortions," says Pippen, "I'm also talking about the way they treat animals."
"No doubt the Chinese attitude towards animals came from a long history of starvation, where anything that moves becomes food," explains Pippen, "but how do you cope, as a westerner, when you become honored guests in a wealthy Chinese home and are confronted with howling caged cats and dogs, not kept for dinner but as pet companions?"
Read more by Pippen on China:
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