Ms. Ming's Guide to Civilization by Jan Alexander

Author:Jan Alexander
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Regal House Publishing
Published: 2019-11-18T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

It was like directing a life-sized theater. “The theater of benevolent madness,” Zoe said, perched on the sofa next to William as they watched the premier of China on nationwide television. The premier read a classical Chinese poem about man’s inherent wish to be free, then declared that the reigning Politburo had been in power long enough. In two years’ time, general elections would be held to choose a prime minister and Parliament. “Two years,” he said, “should give political hopefuls time to prepare their campaigns, and if Politburo members wanted to run for office, they would have to answer henceforth to the populace.” The premier stated that the government had recruited a group of psychologists, sociologists, mathematicians, and statisticians to work on calculating the Gross Domestic Happiness Index. He promised tax breaks to any foreign or domestic company that contributed to the happiness of its employees and that of the surrounding community.

The CEO of a major manufacturing company proclaimed that he was going to install a spa, tennis courts, and coffee bar for his sweatshop workers; that he would cut their workweek to thirty hours, not so he could pay them less but so they’d have time to go to extension classes at the nearby university and take weekend river rafting trips.

In the days that followed, the leaders of China’s banking industry called a news conference of their own and announced that they had devised a new system. The wealth that sat idle in bank accounts of the elite would be turned over to private sector-run offices that would disburse the funds to the poor. The elite would benefit from a return more valuable than money—they would have the privilege of adopting communities.

All over China bulldozers demolished flimsy buildings and erected in their place glass towers and Beaux-Arts style brick edifices. The ancient hutongs that remained in urban alleyways got new plumbing and fresh coats of plaster and paint; in courtyards, landscape contractors planted willow saplings and hydrangea bushes. Crews of builders and plumbers descended upon the sod huts behind the rice paddies in Sunshine Village and the sorghum fields up north, enlisting the peasants to help rebuild their own houses. The peasants hammered and painted and earned ownership by the sweat of their brows. Over mud floors they laid mosaic tiles or lacquered pine. Exteriors bloomed into pastel stucco, and buried pipes snaked up to immaculate new bathrooms and community spas where a hard day in the fields might end with a soak in a hot tub and a half-hour of acupressure.

Sunshine Village bore a new sign thanking its designated patron, the CEO of an investment bank that specialized in financing pharmaceutical and medical technology companies—a man known as number 2099 to Ming, Zoe, and William.

“Technology is gradually eliminating opportunity for the working class,” said one rich banker on television. “While building projects create jobs, when the building is done, what will the workforce do? Stay home and get depressed? Lose their homes and live on the

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