Moxibustion

Some time ago, I wrote about acupuncture in my blog. Acupuncture is effective in treating certain syndromes, but not everyone is comfortable to prick needles into his/her skin. There is an alternative: moxibustion (艾灸).

Moxibustion works in the same principle as acupuncture, except that it uses heat instead of needle. There is subtle difference, though. Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on the principle of yin and yang. Moxibustion is most suited for treating syndromes caused by deficiency of yang, e.g. menstrual pain. As for whether it can used to treat syndromes caused by too much yang, e.g. fever, the books I read seem to give different views. In such situations, it is advisable to consult qualified TCM doctors.

In Malaysia, you can buy ‘moxa rolls’ from Beijing Tongrengtang (北京同仁堂). The moxa rolls produced a lot of smoke, and not everybody likes it. There are also some ‘smokeless moxa rolls’ sold in China. I intend to order them online.

The Gloating Chinese 幸灾乐祸的中国人

香港人和中国人为九名香港游客在马尼拉人质危机中丧生感到悲痛和愤怒。他们谴责菲律宾政府和警员未能保护人质的安全。但是，有一批无同情心的港人和大陆人却幸灾乐祸。请点击以下的图片以放大它们。。。

Hong Kong people and Chinese express their grief and anger following the killing of nine Hong Kong tourists in a hostage tragedy in Manila. They condemned Filipino government and cops for their failure to protect the hostages.

However, there was a small group of Hongkongese and Chinese Mainlanders who were more than happy to see their fellows being killed in the Philippines. Click to enlarge the snapshots below to learn more about these uncompassionate Chinese…

Milker Tsui: 港人死嗮都好！唔駛香港地方咁迫窄..

(It would be great if all Hong Kong people die. Hong Kong won’t be so crowded…)

陈雅倩 Alicia: 好失望咯，以为D香港人真系死嗮…

(I am very disappointed. I thought all those Hong Kong people really die…)

Mandykkhi: 一点都不同情香港人

(I don’t feel a bit sorry for Hong Kong people.)

上朝拜海: 香港的穷鬼们去什么菲律宾

(Why did the poor bastards of Hong Kong go to the Philippines?)

刘我都快: 好啊，香港的活该，我要放鞭炮！

(Great！They deserve it. I want to burn fire crackers!)

Note:

Facebook上的是香港人，其他是大陆人。

Those on Facebook are Hongkongese. The rest are Mainlanders.

Source of the images

姓氏趣谈

日前在英文星报看到一则环保屋的文章，以下是其中一段:

Down a dirt road and between thickets of trees, Paul Queen lives inside a grassy, man-made hill in Orlando, Florida, in the United States.

Deer try to stroll across his rooftop. Gopher tortoises attempt to tunnel into the walls.

(Earthy Shelter, The Stars, July 27, 2010)

我早知道西方人有人姓King。其中两个有此姓的名人是已故民权领袖Martin Luther King和作家Stephen King。但我却想不到原来也有人姓Queen。

西方国家也有人以颜色为姓，这包括White， Black，和Brown。Wheel of Fortune的女主持是Vanna White，《达文西密码》的作家是Dan Brown，美国有一名演员叫Karen Black。

无独有偶，中国也有人以颜色为姓，如白、黄、蓝。另外，王也是中国一个大姓，不过我倒没听说过有人姓后。

香港歌手夏绍声，洋名叫Danny Summer。Summer也是Anglo-Saxon民族的姓。以此看来，一名姓王的先生也大可以Mr King自居，姓白的小姐可自称为Ms White。

日本也有许多有趣的姓。我以前上日文班，老师是姓白髮(Shiraga)。还有更奇怪的，如鬼塚、犬養。日文的文法是动词在名词之后，所以犬養其实是养狗的意思。但华人可能会误会它为骂人的话。

FIFA World Cup Post

Hopping on the World Cup bandwagon:

Inside a mamak store:

Not exactly a huge fan, but I have been following the matches of World Cup so that I have some topic to talk/write about. As I haven’t subscribed to Astro, I decided to watch the matches in mamak stores.

Since the tournament started, I went to mamak stores many times. There, I ate food which was very oily and spicy. I had also inhaled much cigarette smoke. I think World Cup is bad for my health…

= = =

Considered this:

China is a sports giant. It is very strong in such events as table tennis, badminton, diving, swimming, weight-lifting and volleyball. The Middle Kingdom topped the Medal Table in Beijing Olympic 2008.

Football is hugely popular in China. The country has the single largest audience in the world. Why do you think FIFA wants to play some of the World Cup matches at 1.30pm South African time, or 7.30pm Beijing time?

But the Dragon is absent in South Africa. In fact, China has only qualified to World Cup finals once, back in 2002, when it lost all matches in group stage without scoring a goal.

Can someone please explain why the Middle Kingdom has persistently underachieved in football?

The End of Cheap MIC Goods

Nope, the MIC I refer to in the subject line is not Malaysian Indian Congress. It means Made in China.

There were two big news for Apple fans recently – one good and the other bad. The good news was Apple had announced the much-awaited iPhone 4. The bad news was that Foxconn, the company which made iPhone in China, had agreed to raise the wages of its workers by as much as 66%.

Foxconn’s factory in China had been criticized as sweatshop following spates of suicide attempts among the workers. To appease the workers, and to repair image, the contract manufacturer was forced to hike the wages. This essentially means the cost for making iPhone will increase. Ultimately the higher cost will be passed on to the consumers. Expect higher price for iPhone.

But Foxconn was not the only company to have faced with higher cost issue. Honda also had to increase the wages of its employees in China after they staged a walkout. Eventually, factories workers in the Middle Kingdom will demand better pay and better working condition. In the next few years, expect everything made in China – from iPhones to DVD players to fridge magnets – to sell for higher price.

In long run, multi-national companies may move their production lines to still cheaper countries such as Vietnam or Cambodia. Until then, tighten your belt.

Links:

Foxconn to pass on China wage rise to customers

Striking Honda China workers hold out for pay, union

Tourism China & Chinese Tourists

In my last post, I wrote about my trip to Manukan Island. I was surprised to find many tourists from China. A young girl, upon setting foot on the jetty, said this: It’s really beautiful! （实在太美了！）

Chinese tourists are demanding, fussy and highly patriotic. It is not easy to satisfy them. But the Chinese girl expressed her feeling in an emotional tone. I knew she meant it. To be sure, Manukan Island was not the best in Malaysia.

Being a vast country with thousand years of history, China is itself a popular tourist destination. It has something for almost everyone. Like nature? Huangshan 黄山, Jiuzhaigou 九寨沟 and the Silk Road are world famous. Interested in history? The Middle Kingdom has the Great Wall and Forbidden City. Fascinated by exotic culture? China has 56 ethnics. And, of course, when a man check in to a hotel, he would receive a call in the evening, with someone purring, “Sir, do you need a girl?” (先生，你要小姐吗？)

But there is something China lacks: idyllic islands with fine beaches. That probably explains why the Chinese tourist was so excited when she saw the blue water of Manukan.

Canon’s Misstep?

Canon has appointed Jackie Chan as it’s spokesperson for China. It even released EOS 550D Jackie Chan Eye of Dragon special edition…

Somehow, the movie star is hugely unpopular in his native Hong Kong ever since he made the Chinese-should-be-controlled remark. Photographers of Hong Kong have created a group on Facebook, asking Canon to remove Jackie Chan as its spokesperson…

Facebook group to remove Jackie Chan as the spokesperson for Canon

And they expressed their disgust over the new camera in a forum…

(link)

Translation:

I will consider if it’s Chow Yun Fat edition… Jackie Chan edition… [laugh]

xxxx!!! [angry] Project a bad image for Canon

Make us vomit [vomit]

For a moment I had the intention to jump ship [vomit vomit]

It looks like Canon’s move has backfired, at least in Hong Kong.

I am not anti-Jackie Chan, but the special edition is definitely not my cup of tea. Even if one is given to me as a free gift, I will cover the Chinese character with a sticker, and replace the strap

达赖喇嘛

根据哈里斯互动（Harris Interactive）所进行的一项调查显示，美国总统奥巴马是最受西方人欢迎的领袖，西藏精神领袖达赖喇嘛排第二，第三是美国国务卿希拉里。哈里斯互动是在今年三月到四月间，对英国、法国、德国、意大利、西班牙和美国的六千多位民众进行访问而做出这个结论。

这些调查结果肯定会令许多马来西亚华人大吃一惊。达赖喇嘛是搞分裂，搞藏独的叛徒、恐怖分子，为何会如此受欢迎呢？偏激的就会斩钉截铁的说：『西方人不愿意见到中国强大，希望中国分裂，所以才会支持达赖。』

支持不等同于喜爱。美国人支持阿富汗总理对抗塔力班（Taliban），却不见得就喜爱他。达赖喇嘛之所以受欢迎，是因为他倡导慈悲和非暴力，绝对和政治无关。不相信吗？请到书店的英文部门，Buddhism的书架看看就会明白了。

大马华人普遍上都有一种『中国情意结』，再加上长期被中文媒体洗脑，痛恨达赖喇嘛原是意料中事。但我是华人，也是佛教徒，你认为我应该如何看待他呢？

PC Fair, Booth Babes & Others

Sex sells. In conjunction to the PC Fair held in Kuala Lumpur on April 16-18, many exhibitors hired young girls to promote their products. Call them expo girls, booth babes or whatever, these pretty promoters had made the PC Fair more than just about technology.

Sony showing 3D technology in the PC Fair

Three promoters for Kaspersky Lab

A rechargeable battery dealer had gone one step further in exploiting the sexual appeal of young promoters. Not only it had hired three pretty girls to attract customers, but it also organized a photo contest. Anyone who purchased any item from its booth was entitled to photograph the girls and participate in the contest. The dealer has listed down the rules of the contest as follow:

1. To enroll for the Grand Prize – buy any item from our booth

2. Take photos of our models posing with our E8GE products!

3. Log on to facebook.com/e8gefb

4. Upload your best photo of our models by 11:59pm 30 April 2010

5. Get your friends to “like” your photo until 11:59pm 9 May 2010

6. The top 62 photos with the highest number of “likes” win!

Now, if a photographer asks his friends to ‘like’ his photo, he is indirectly doing a marketing job for the products. (I’m assuming all participants are males.) What a brilliant idea! Unfortunately, I had less than 50 friends on Facebook. There was no way I could win the grand prize (a total of 2, with the remaining consolations).

One of the models for this contest was Rhea Lim, whom I photographed last year. I was surprised that she still recognized me. I bought four rechargeable batteries and a charger from the booth, but was nonetheless not interested in joining the contest.

This photo contest reminds me of another online contest held several years ago – The New Seven Wonders of the World. Even when the competition was going on, I already could predict the final results. China had the largest number of Internet users in the world, and they were fiercely patriotic. They were called to support their own national treasure, and anyone who failed to do that would be condemned as traitor. As expected, the Great Wall got the most votes in this meaningless competition.

Super Fast Trains

Last December, China unveiled the world’s fastest train on the newly opened Wuhan-Guangzhou line. Running at top speed of 350km/h, the train completed the journey from Wuhan to Guangzhou – a distance of over 900km – in just 3 hours!

Wuhan-Guangzhou High Speed Rail

(Just a matter of reference, Malaysia’s North-South Expressway is merely 772km long.)

Oriental Daily News （东方日报）, a Malaysian tabloid, published an article of 2 pages long detailing China’s high speed rail. Chinese media of the country is generally pro-China. As you might expect, Oriental Daily hailed China’s achievement, saying that the Middle Kingdom had already surpassed Japan.

It should be noted that China has worked together with foreign companies, most notably Kawasaki of Japan and Siemens of Germany, in building its high speed rail. The train which runs on Wuhan-Guangzhou line, for example, is based on Siemens’s model. However, China has got technology transfer from its foreign partners. Sifang, the Chinese train-maker, modifies Siemens’s train and manufactures it locally.

There are many factors which affect the speed of a high speed rail, such as the train itself, the track, wear-and-tear, and noise pollution. Generally, the straighter the track, the faster a train can run. I think this is where China has an edge over its competitors. While Japan, France and Germany can upgrade their trains, it is more difficult to upgrade the tracks which were laid decades ago.

Japan has been experimenting with the Fastech 360 train for the last few years. As its name implies, the train was designed for a top speed of 360km/h. While this speed was reached easily during testing, the train has failed in terms of noise control. As a result, the ‘operational model’ of the train will only run at a commercial speed of 320km/h. As far as I know, Europe’s noise control standard isn’t as stringent as Japan’s. China is probably more lax.

As a conclusion, I would say that China’s achievement in high speed rail is definitely astonishing. No doubt about that. However, this does not mean, technology-wise, the Middle Kingdom has left Japan and Europe in the dust.

P/S Beijing has proposed three international high speed rail lines linking China to Europe and South-East Asia. Presumably a passenger can travel from the Chinese capital to London or Singapore in 2 or 3 days. However, for journeys longer than 1000km, air travel is still more practical.

Alstom AGV: successor to TGV

Fastech 360: The ‘cat-ears’ are used to slow down the train during emergency braking.

英文大嗮

根據南華早報報道：下個學年開始，香港將有16所中學從現有的中文教學改為英文教學，另外80所中學將改用英文教數理科。這也就是說：連同原有的英文學校，特區共有199所中學將會以全英文或半英文教學，占了總數（402所）的將近一半。

香港回歸中國後，親北京的首長董建華提倡『母語教學』。但是到了2006年，現任特首曾蔭權的政府放寬政策，允許更多的學校采用英文為媒介語 。據南華早報說：許多中學都是在家長的要求下做出改變。其中元朗信義中學五十年來都是以中文教學，但是現在也將加入英文學校的行列。

馬來西亞的華人最執著於母語。華人講英語，往往就會被貶為香蕉人。中國在過去十多年迅速崛起，成為經濟強國。『熱愛母語』的人士都說：華文的地位會日趨重要，所以華裔學生必須重視華文。那邊廂，香港作為中國的特別行政區，港人家長卻希望兒女能在英文學校就讀。這意味著甚麼呢？

P/S 大馬中文媒體有無報道這新聞呢？

多管闲事

中学时我唸华文，有一堂课是读曾国藩的文章。曾国藩是清朝大将，以平定太平天国而著称。也就是说：他为满人皇帝打汉人叛军。我记得我的华文老师咬牙切齿的把曾国藩形容为汉奸。

大马年轻夫妇江志发和郑美蓉积极推广『汉服回归』。他们指出华人妇女所穿的旗袍和男士穿的唐装，是演变自满清传统服装，不是『华夏文化』的一部分。江志发在接受星洲日报访问时感叹说：『我们要恢复华夏民族服装，千万不要穿错别人的民族服装，认错祖宗拜错庙！』

这对大马夫妇的观点大有问题。首先，旗袍的起源可以追溯到上个世纪三十年代的旧上海，严格来说不算是满人服装。其次，北京政府已经承认满清人为中国56个民族之一，为何说他们是外族？第三，如果『别人的民族服装』不可穿，那西式服装又如何？

江志发和郑美蓉夫妇，以及我的中学华文老师，都是大马人，不是中国人。当中国人歌颂雍正皇朝时，大马华人还敌视满人，岂非多管闲事？

旗袍非华人服装？

移民中国？

根据新闻报导：香港艺人谢霆锋将会携带妻儿移居内地（大陆）。

十九世纪和二十世纪初年，由于中国贫穷兼社会动乱，许多中国人到海外谋生，其中不乏在当地落地生根的。有句话说：有海水的地方，就有华人。现在中国崛起，成为经济和政治强国，散居各地的华人，是否会『回流』呢？

在大马，拜种族歧视所赐，许多华人都对『神州』充满幻想。如今中国富裕了，提供了无尽的机会，对于那些有幻想的华人，无疑吸引力更大了。『神州』的月亮，比本国的圆得多哪！

其实不少大马华人已经在中国就业或经商，男士们甚至还有大陆美眉陪伴！问题是：大马华人会怎么看待中国。是赚钱和『沟女』的地方，还是『居于斯，死于斯』的真正祖国？

马来西亚政府又会不会挽留这些外流的人才？

你怎么看？

P/S 鉴于这帖子的主题太过敏感，我决定不用英文发表。

陶傑評海外中國人

我在英文帖子The Chinese Diaspora中指出：中國人一方面強烈愛國，另一方面又老是想移居海外。但他們的愛國心，可能會妨礙他們融入當地社會。

香港作家陶傑在評論中國電影《月滿英倫》時也有類似看法。《月滿英倫》描寫一對中國戀人在英國的經歷。陶傑這麼寫：

問題是：這對男女主角無法融入英國社會，是他們自己出了毛病。他們揹著大陸的包袱出國，一個緬懷著毛澤東時代的中國，另一個放不下鄧小平時代的中國。他們肉體上到了一個自由的國度，精神上卻還沒有走出從前的大牢籠。。。他們既想要英國護照，又受不了英國的生活。他們硬說中國的月亮比英國圓，但又不肯回國去擁抱自己的月亮。除了他們自己，沒有人須對他們的慘境負責。

The Chinese Diaspora

Chinese are some of the most patriotic people in the world. They like to boast about their country’s 5000-year history. Chinese men like to tell us how beautiful their women are. Now, with the Middle Kingdom poised to become the next super power, Chinese have more reasons to be proud of their identity.

Just before the People’s Republic of China celebrated its 60^th National Day with fireworks and military parade, a university conducted a survey to find out how Chinese felt about their nation. The results showed that a full 98% of the respondents were proud to be Chinese. 95% answered that even if given a free choice, they would still want to be Chinese.

They wanted to be overseas Chinese, that is. Deep down their heart, they yearned to go to the ‘Beautiful Country’ a.k.a. the United States of America. On Oct 19, 2009, a ship carrying about 70 Chinese who tried to enter America illegally capsized in the Caribbean Sea. Many of the passengers drowned.

When I traveled to Singapore last July, I noticed that majority of the ground officers in Changi’s Budget Terminals were Chinese mainlanders. So were many of the food stall operators. In fact, there were so many Chinese in the Lion City that it has been dubbed ‘Chinapore’ by its very own citizens. Recently, a Chinese girl with PR (permanent resident) status was blasted by Singaporeans after she declared that ‘Beijing is my real home’.

Funny as it may sound, Chinese still do all they can to emigrate, even though their much-loved country has the world’s most dynamic economy.

It is, of course, not wrong for the Chinese to migrate to a foreign country so long as they have proper documents. After all, skilled Chinese workers are in high demand in rich countries. Nonetheless, Chinese migrants should do their best to integrate into the host nations, rather than keep thinking of how great their motherland is.

All the workers of this food stall in Changi’s Budget Terminals are Chinese mainlanders…

Note:

The USA is rendered Mei Guo (美国) in Chinese. The first character means ‘beautiful’, and the second means ‘country’.

廣州無美女

Disclaimer: No offense to Guangzhouites

我有一個朋友是保險經紀。他的一名客戶是中國廣州來的盲人按摩指導師。廣州佬雖然名義上是盲人，其實還看得到東西，只不過讀保單時需用放大鏡。他還對我和我的朋友說：馬來西亞的女生沒有中國的美。

甚麼話！馬來西亞超過二成的人口是華人，吉隆坡的華人比率更高。華人的祖先多半移民自中國南方。大家同源同宗，為何說這裏的女生不漂亮？

後來我有機會到廣州去，在那兒遇到一位大馬的工程師。他姓周，也即是和我同姓。當時中國通訊業蓬勃發展，跨國的電訊公司都聘請了許多外國人到那兒短期工作。我就是在這種情況下去中國的。不過，我在中國的時間很短。一些在中國工作較久的大馬人，都有了女朋友。甚至一名印裔大馬人，也有美女陪伴。那位姓周的工程師，已經在廣州三年，卻不幸的還是隻影孤身。他的解釋是：廣州無美女。

他說得沒錯。我在廣州期間，鮮少看到漂亮的女孩。按理說，廣州作為一個繁華的大都會，應該能夠吸引到很多打扮入時的女性才對。

廣州為何無美女，我到現在還不明白。

The City of Plain-looking Girls

A friend of mine was an insurance agent. He had a client who worked as the instructor for blind masseurs, and he hailed from Guangzhou, China. Despite officially blind, he actually could see. He just needed a magnifying glass when he read the insurance documents. He even told my friend and I that Malaysian girls were not as pretty as those in China.

Now that is funny. Over 20% of the people in this country are ethnic Chinese, whose grandparents or great grandparents migrated from Southern China. The proportion of ethnic Chinese is even higher in Kuala Lumpur, where the Guangzhou guy worked. Why did he say Malaysian girls were no match to those in China?

Not long after that, I had a chance to work in Guangzhou. There, I met a Malaysian engineer, who shared the same surname with me. China had the world’s largest number of cell phone subscribers, and mobile network were expanding fast. To cope with shortage of engineers, network vendors such as Ericsson and Nokia hired foreigners on temporary basis. That’s why I went to Guangzhou.

I didn’t work long in China, though. Many Malaysian engineers work for longer duration in the Middle Kingdom, and some of them already got Chinese girlfriends. Even an Indian Malaysian guy had a Chinese companion. Surprisingly, the engineer in Guangzhou, whom I mentioned earlier, was still lonely despite his 3-year stint in China. His explanation was: There are no beautiful girls in Guangzhou.

True to what he said, I hardly came across pretty women during my stay in Guangzhou. Common sense tells us that, as a prosperous city, Guangzhou should be able to attract many fashionable girls.

Until today, I still do not understand why pretty women were so lacking in Guangzhou.

Chinese beauties - in short supply in Guangzhou

source

中国人主食

博客SK提出说，中国人的主食有四类，既粥、粉、面和饭。

Well，那应该是中国南方人的主食。在北方，另有两种食物非常重要，那就是馒头和饺子。中国南方产米，北方种麦，所以北方人吃面粉制的食物较多。在很大程度上，馒头、饺子和面取代了饭。

其实，在北方，『饭』就相等于英文的meal，而rice则是『米饭』。记得我在山东时，早上在酒店内用餐，吃得是面包。对于酒店的员工而言，那也算是『吃饭』。

有一回我和巴基斯坦裔同事到回族餐馆用晚餐。餐馆晚上不煮『米饭』，我们叫了几道菜，配合馒头吃，就此解决。你可以想象，米饭并不是必须品。

这里我想特别谈谈饺子。我以前对饺子不感兴趣，但在中国转了一圈回来后，对这类食品有了很大的改观。马来西亚华人传统上吃粤式饺子。粤式饺子体积大，吃两、三粒就饱。一般煮水，所以也称为水饺。水饺通常配合面吃，面是主食，水饺只是配料。在中国北方，饺子可以是主食，体积较小，往往可以吃十粒以上。山东的一些餐馆，卖饺子居然是按斤算的！

北方式饺子除了煮水，也可以蒸或煎。我个人比较喜爱蒸饺，配合辣椒粉吃。嗯。。。一级棒！

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Related post:
Minority Hui of China

Chinese Maids, anyone?

Following the news of several high profile cases in which Indonesian maids were abused by their Malaysian employers, Jakarta threatens to prohibit its women from working as domestic servants in this country. Since then, there have been proposals by Malaysian officers to import maids from China as replacement.

Maids from China? Are you kidding!?? How can the women from the world’s new super power work as domestic servants in a third world country? This is utterly ridiculous!

Imagine what will happen if Chinese maids are abused in Malaysia:

The angry Chinese netizens would call for boycott of the department stores run by Malaysia-based Parkson Group, just as they did against French Carrefour last year. Chinese tourists would stop coming to this country. Our economy would suffer

Seriously, I am not in favor of the plan to hire Chinese maids. We must be careful to avoid angering the Dragon.

P/S I prefer Japanese maids How about you?

A waitress in Japan’s “maid café”

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China – no more Cheap Travel?

(source: BusinessWeek)

Chinese Malaysians like to spend their holidays in China. This is partly due to the fact that the Middle Kingdom is the land of their ancestors, and partly because it is a cheaper country to travel as compared to Europe, America, Japan and Korea.

Cost of living in China is rising fast, though. In the study of World’s Most Expensive Cities by ECA International, Beijing ranks 26 in 2009, up from 104 in 2008. Shanghai ranks 26 in 2009, up from 111 in 2008. For more details, read here and here.

Also, bear in mind that China is a vast country. If you plan to travel from one city to another within the nation, transportation fee can be substantial.

It looks like the days of cheap travel in China is coming to an end. If you still plan to visit the country, the time is NOW!

慢一拍淡六四

Time magazine's award-winning picture

原本没想到要写六四，但看到那么多的马来西亚华人关心它，也想加一口。

1989年4月，中共前总书记胡耀邦病逝。北京的大学生在天安门广场示威，要求政府加速推行政治改革。改革派领袖赵紫阳亲自到天安门广场劝请学生解散，但学生们不听从。最高领导人邓小平忍无可忍，于6月4日下令军队镇压示威的学生。

有政治评论家指出，学生们不听从赵紫阳劝告是一个错误。如果他们及早从天安门解散，不只能够避免流血事件，赵紫阳也或许会保住官位，并继续推动改革。（六四后赵紫阳被撤职和软禁。）

六四之后，中共因担心事件重演而加紧推行爱国教育，结果培养出了一大批高度敌视外国的愤怒青年。近年来中国迅速发展，已崛起成为新一代超级强国，向来有『中国情意结』的大马华人，也觉得沾上一份光荣。问题是，中国愈强大，中共愈难受挑战，六四学生所追求的政治改革，也更难落实。

事实上，中国人忙于赚钱，已不再关心政治。偏偏大马的炎黄子孙念念不忘六四，并希望『神州』能够民主化，这是否有点多管闲事呢？

P/S 与其大谈六四，不如到怡保参观『民主树』。霹雳州发展相对落后，正需要你们的游客钱。

Tiananmen Square Incident, 20 years on

I didn’t have the intention to write about the 20^th anniversary of Tiananmen Square Incident. Having observed that Chinese Malaysians care so much about it, I changed my mind.

In April, 1989, Hu Yaobang, former secretary general of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) died. University students of Beijing staged protest in Tiananmen Square, urging the government to push through political reform. Reformist leader Zhao Ziyang personally went to Tiananmen Square, where he persuaded the students to disperse. The students refuse to listen to him. Finally, supreme leader Deng Xiaoping ordered a crackdown on the demonstrator on the 4th of June.

Some political analysts point out that the students’ refusal to listen to Zhao was a mistake. If they left Tiananmen Square in time, no only would violence be avoided, but Zhao might be able to keep his post. (Zhao was sacked following the protest, and placed under home arrest until his death.)

Following the aftermath of the demonstration, Beijing stressed teaching of patriotism in school. Such teaching has produced a large numbers of ultra-nationalist youths who are skeptical of foreigners. The spectacular rise of the Middle Kingdom in the past few years has made it the world’s new super power. Even Chinese Malaysians feel proud of the achievement of their ancestors’ homeland. The issue is: The stronger China is, the more difficult it is to challenge the authority of CCP. Democracy yearned by the protesting students in Tiananmen Square would remain a dream.

In fact, Mainland Chinese are so busy making money that they have lost interest in politics. Ironically, it is Chinese Malaysians who can’t let go of the ghost of the pro-democracy crackdown which took place 20 years ago. Aren’t we too busybody?

P/S Rather than commemorating the Tiananmen Square incident, Chinese Malaysians are urged to visit the ‘democracy tree’ in Ipoh. Perak, my home state, lags in development and needs your tourist money.