"Progress"

You could almost feel their being as proud as punch; the Hub on the university campus was taken over by the Chinese students for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics and it was indeed quite a spectacular but it is all a wee bit like the Italian fella and his 'bella' or, as we say back in Glasgow, all fur coats and no knickers and don't be surprised if they are tearing down and replacing the 'birds nest' in ten or fifteen years time . It's all show ..... well, almost all show and the development in 'Zhonghua' is indeed quite phenomenal, a development that I have personally witnessed on a daily basis. However, having personally witnessed that development I have also seen some of the conflicts real and potential that come with it and some of the more negative consequences too. However, for the time being, the peasants in the field, the factory girls and the other migrant workers with limited rights in the big cities have their "panem et circenses" and for the next couple of weeks, they are at one with their affluent compatriots who are studying abroad; for now there is the desired social harmony. Nevertheless, while the march onwards might seem relentless, spare a thought for those left behind and forget the "Chinese road to Socialism" for capitalism is not kind, there will be no redistribution of wealth.

These are interesting times and those on the gravy train in China will find that their interests lie not with their poorer compatriots but with the middle classes elsewhere. It might just be, therefore, that in the global village the masses of people will ultimately become aware of where their true interests lie.

The picture above was taken in the Hub at Brunel University during the opening ceremony.