China Rises

"China Rises" is a four part documentary originally aired on CBC and the Discovery NY Times Channel. I was able to catch it this weekend via bittorrent on-demand services. Definitely one of the more informative and impartial programs done on modern China, the series explores issues such as uneven wealth distribution, the environment, and other social conflicts surrounding the country. Predictably, the series offer interviews with the beneficiaries of the modernization juxtaposed with those of the less fortunate. The journalists from NY Times, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and several other networks from Europe offered a broad overview of China targeted to inform those away from the middle kingdom. There weren't any deep analyses of the problems, which I didn't like, but nor was there any reflexive finger pointing at the CCP, which I did like. Overall, the filmmakers kept me entertained with lines like "while the Communist Party calls it socialism with a Chinese twist, the rest of the world calls it capitalism." Of course as with any western depiction of China, there was still a negative bias. For example, the film interviewed several people in Shanghai who were "unfairly forced" to move from their decrepit rooms into modern apartments, but it failed to mention others, like many people I personally know, who desperately prays developers would take over their dilapidated residences in exchange for equal square footage at a modern high rise. For me, the images of my beloved city Shanghai and the portrayal of the lifestyles of the Chinese yuppies was nostalgic and ethereal. I couldn't help but think I could have been or perhaps should have been one of them.