Chinese Tourists Firenze Florence Italy

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Chinese on Tour,Chinese inBondage &a Memorandum for Professor MiltonFriedmanBurning in the Fiery Firesof an Eternal Hell

t was a muggy summer evening (3 August 2007) and I raced tothe bus stop in front of the

Santa Maria Novella

train station tocatch the 20:30 ATAF

(Azienda Trasporti Area Fiorentina)

publictransport to my home. Within two minutes, I could see the 2CALENZANO bus coming on to reach the ten or so of us waiting inthe heat. As the bus lurched to a stop, I was taken aback when I

I

saw it jampacked and further bedazed when I reckoned that theoccupants were all Chinese tourists—the first I had ever seen inItaly since coming here in 1983. The Chinese stood out from the rest of the occupants. Firstly, theywere Chinese. They were not dressed as elegantly as were theItalian passengers. They were young adults, students. Theyconversed in Chinese. It was most unusual. I had met before many Japanese tourists who had sojourned in hotels near my home, andthey had been extremely gracious to me for pointing out the rightbus stop for them to get off at their destinations. Japanese touristsare well-appreciated by Florentines because they shop in theelegant shops on Via Tornabuoni, and walking all about Firenze, onecan see Japanese shoppers publicizing world famous brand namesprinted boldly on particularly beautifully designed shopping bags. Japanese are offered Tuscan smiles; no one in the bus beamedcordially at the happy-go-lucky Chinese students. In fact, someFlorentines were disgusted by their presence.After a couple of minutes scrutinizing the group, I approached oneand asked, in English, where he had come from. He did notunderstand me, and was quite perplexed about why I hadquestioned him. I had with me one of my ads for English classesand translation work that my friend Lin Lai Hua had translated forme into Chinese, and I gave it to the bewildered chap. Heimmediately broke into a smile and called to a young lady to cometo us so that she could interpret. He was anxious to know what Iwanted to find out. The miss was in her early twenties and was extremely exuberantand happy to answer the questions I put to her about the troupe.She told me she had studied some months in the United States, andshe was particularly proud to tell me that her father was aneconomist and her mother a doctor. She emphasized, swelled withsatisfaction, that her physician mother was very much respectedand loved by her patients for the care she offered them. Her friendswere Chinese students from poles-apart parts of China. There wasa

joie de vivre

in her bearing which I construed as being bothcharming and innocent. She had nothing unspeakable to say aboutanything or anyone, and she was pollyannaish about her plans tocontinue studying languages so that she could work in the Chinesetourist industry. She loved to travel and meet people.

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I tried to fix her in my mind along with those ideas I have gatheredfrom my copies of

China Today

(www.chinatoday.com.cn)

which thestaff of the Chinese consulate in Firenze is pleased to give me whenI visit with them.

China Today

is a wonderful magazine filled withextraordinary pictures of China and stories and statistics whichreveal a great deal about the third largest country in the world, thenation with the most prodigious population, and where the most-spoken language has been mouthed now for millennia. In thispublication, which I suspect is the best of its type, the reader istaken on a truly interesting and revealing journey of discovery. Wesee China's Past and the importance it has played in thedevelopment of the people's republic. But more importantly, thereis a showcase of events and outcomes which clearly indicate thatChina has the desire to progress, modernize, care better for itspeople, and, genuinely momentous, join in with the rest of humanityin trying to make this world a better place for all of us. Like somany public relations' efforts,

China Today

harps on what is somuch pleasant to say about China and winnows out most of theseedy elements which we have come to know about this enormousmass of humankind. Why should it? Why should it not?With the emphasis on progress, individual development andharmony in human relations, which is indeed crucial tounderstanding Chinese philosophy, I could see that both this young,high-spirited girl on the 2 Calenzano-bound bus, and my copies of the splendid

China Today,

offered me a particularly gratifyingimpression of China and its people. There is a verve imbued withinthe Chinese citizenry which is extraordinary. Their way of life is oneof the most formidable on the planet. The Chinese have survived, itseems, perpetually, and now they are so sure of themselves, theyfeel confident enough to display their manner of doing things for allof us, in all parts of the world. Cotton tee shirts are no longer goingto cost €1.00. The 2008 Olympics this year will be an economic andsocial watershed for this eastern Asia Goliath. It would be tragic forus to reject them and sad for them to spurn us. History has shownthat men and women are to be more remembered for their conflictsthan for their good will and community spirit. Who would know thisbetter than the Chinese? How long have they been on our planet?Why would they want to possess nuclear weapons? Or not?ulling over this inspiring encounter for days after, I could nothelp thinking about the Chinese settlement that I have seenmaturate over the years in the city of Prato some five or sixkilometres from my home. I worked on a daily basis in Prato in the

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