Nuclear is sidelined to make way for culture
There was a time when the only entertainment was strong patriotic content license in China . At that time, "Little flower girl" (卖花姑娘) North Korean opera, later adapted into film, was all the rage in the Middle Kingdom. Recreation side, 30 years after the economic reforms put forward Deng Xiaoping, the situation is unrecognizable. Today, North Korean art has almost totally disappeared in China. When the news of the arrival of the Orchestre National Cinema of North Korea came to us in Kunming, the 24-hour train ride that separated us from Chengdu did not manage to calm our enthusiasm. In 50 years of existence , the orchestra had never left his native land. China seemed designated to celebrate the baptism International. For only $ 62 Canadian dollars, excellent seats in the stalls were waiting for this moment which promised to be ... disturbing to say the least.
After the success experienced in Beijing, a modern city, open to the world, where the average salary is within the standards of some major western cities, we were curious to see how the Chinese could watch this country remains one of the most closed of the world where the term "totalitarian" to describe its governance does not seem exaggerated. Although North Korea has established diplomatic relations with more than 150 countries around the globe, they often remain tense, ambiguous, if not just comatose. China unquestionably continues one of the governments closest to Pyongyang. Much more than mere diplomatic relations, it is a historical ally to which the People's Republic of Korea (RPC) is running smoothly.
Clearly, the cultural experience would far exceed the simple musical aspect. Upon our arrival, we see a disproportionately high percentage of American cars, Japanese and European parked in the parking lot. Interesting prelude to an evening dedicated to fellow North Korean revolutionary who will probably never get the chance to own a car (produced by imperialist countries, to boot!).
Second observation, we are the only two "outsiders" have moved in for the event. This fact was quickly noticed by the rest of the audience. Following a flurry of questions, some politeness is required: "we are passionate about North Korea! "Of course! After a series of songs with strong anti-imperialist flavor, we gradually come to question the legitimacy of our presence. After all, between 1950 and 1953, Canada sent the 3rd largest contingent to fight in Korea.
Through panels with subtitles translating the lyrics in Chinese, we were able to see the four main themes returning repeatedly: the majestic beauty of the landscape north korean praise Marshal Kim Jong Ill or his father, Kim Il Sung (who, although he died in 1994, remains president "for life" of the PRC), China-Korea fraternity, or even hatred towards imperialism. Our favorite songs were definitely those who managed to regroup these four themes in the same song. One of the strongest moments of the evening was a song dedicated to the Chinese volunteers who fought in Korea, thus avoiding subservience north of the peninsula to the Empire. Elated, several stood up to follow the rhythm with enthusiasm, clapping hands. Through these glorious moments, they reached almost to forget the current situation in North Korea. Does someone in the audience had thought to compare North Korea to any other country in the world? As Deng Xiaoping had said 30 years earlier, no matter whether the cat is black or white, the important thing is that it catches mice. Interesting thought when one knows that ideology aside, the gross national product per capita is 27 600 USD (51st overall) in South Korea, USD 6 000 in China (133ième), and 1 800 USD North Korea (189ième). It is not difficult to imagine that Beijing now looks much more in Seoul and in Pyongyang, in other words that the North Korean cats catch mice less ...
Although the hour was to solidarity among socialist neighbors, realistically, North Korea would do well to abandon a little bit to learn the rhetoric of his fellow Chinese. Since the advent of reforms that placed the country on ways of accelerating growth in 1978, China renewed its diplomatic ties with the United States in 1979, Vietnam in 1991, South Korea in 1992. Obviously, in politics, the enemies of yesterday are often the allies today. The Chinese are, more than anyone, acutely aware of the importance of the United States as an economic partner, not as an imperialist enemy to destroy.
China, which seeks to create a climate conducive to stability in Asia to perpetuate its economic growth, is increasingly annoyed by the North Korean nuclear issue. On this point, China is sitting on the same side of the table that the United States. It will be interesting to follow the proceedings of trilateral summit to be held soon in Beijing between China, South Korea and Japan. After the announcement by the North Korean Times, which said that North Korean military leaders were now prepared to conduct a nuclear test three enriched uranium, Pyongyang's position risk of being in focus at the summit.
Finally, returning to the show, so much enthusiasm for this celebration successful socialist revolution to us fully to revive a bygone era. However, leaving the stadium, we were still in Chengdu, one of the most prosperous cities in central China, in a country where communism has rolled out the red carpet to a capitalist market economy. While we were talking with a friend she knew at the concert of many "long live Kim Jong Ill (万岁, 万岁 金 长 日 将军!) Sung at throughout the concert, we threw it frankly: "Sacred dictator, Kim Jong Ill this! . These last words reassured us and reminded us that, while appreciating the artistic performance reminding China of the 60s, the Chinese are far from naive when it comes to their neighbor North Korea.
Nicolas Laflamme and Charles Hudon, Kunming
0 comments:
Post a Comment