The final class was extremely interesting, even more so than the other four. This was about the Chinese media and current events, as well as some of the finer points of the current government. The most interesting thing was how clearly the teacher could identify between organizations that were basically just propaganda mills, and which ones were actually news. I had always assumed that there was no sort of freedom of the press whatsoever, but apparently the Chinese government has allowed some liberties in that department. I also found it interesting that the word “propaganda” does not have the negative connotation that we, as Americans, have bestowed upon it. To us, propaganda is a bad thing. To the Chinese, propaganda is widely accepted without too many problems, there is even a Secretary of Propaganda in the Chinese Communist Party. It shocks me that propaganda is so widely accepted here when the word instantly strews up anger and fear in the United States. But I suppose growing up in a communist environment deafens people to the negative aspects of propaganda, especially when they aren’t even shown.
The final really interesting fact was that journalism is the one of the most dangerous jobs in the country, second only to mining. This is an astonishing fact, one I find almost unbelievable. It is one of the hardest hitting statistics on how bad the corruption is in this country, and it is greatly disheartening.
After class we went over to the Lama Temple, one of the largest and most famous Buddhist temples in Beijing. It was a really interesting place, and was even home to a 30 foot tall Buddha statue. It was frustratingly difficult to take a picture of it, but it was really cool. There were of course a lot of actual Buddhists around, burning incense, kneeling, and praying. There were signs on some of the statues that forbid the throwing of coins, but the statues were covered in coins and small bills. No one seemed to stop anyone from throwing coins or even care in the least bit about any damages to the statues. It is apparently good luck to get a coin to stay up in the statue, so many people attempted this.
After returning to the hotel we walked over to the restaurant where we had our final dinner. We spoke with our hosting professors about what we had all experienced in China and how much fun everyone had. After the meal, we all took pictures and said our final goodbyes to ours hosts. After returning to the hotel, I began packing for the trip home.