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Thought this might interest folks. A friend received it from the IT/Security department of her company. If you are going to China and thinking of taking your phone or laptop with you, read on. Used by permission, and with serial numbers filed off:
( Not a cakewalk )
And finally -- The food is FANTASTIC, so simply enjoy. Be prepared to be seated with numerous other people at the same table; the Chinese have no sense of personal space or privacy the way Americans do.
*****************
Coda: From another person on HerDomain, a women's tech group --
I'd like to add that, even in hotel rooms, you may not be alone. When I was in China in 1991, our hotel rooms were bugged.
If you take any kind of religious or political materials (Bibles, or any other), take only one copy that you can claim as personal reading material. I don't know about other religions, by you are not allowed to preach or teach Christianity in China.
Rule of Thumb: Be cautious everywhere you go - what you say, what you do, what you wear (i.e. tees with messages on them).
It is so sad that people must constantly live in fear there. We knew Chinese Christians who were taken from their homes and "re-educated". Some went missing for months.
Of course, YMMV. But I thought this was interesting, and a reminder that it is a VERY different culture. Be polite. (And don't try bitter melon. Trust me -- my omnivore SO refuses to eat it, and he'll eat anything that he's not allergic to. And DON'T offer them black licorice -- it even smells ghastly to Orientals, and tastes worse.)
( Not a cakewalk )
And finally -- The food is FANTASTIC, so simply enjoy. Be prepared to be seated with numerous other people at the same table; the Chinese have no sense of personal space or privacy the way Americans do.
*****************
Coda: From another person on HerDomain, a women's tech group --
I'd like to add that, even in hotel rooms, you may not be alone. When I was in China in 1991, our hotel rooms were bugged.
If you take any kind of religious or political materials (Bibles, or any other), take only one copy that you can claim as personal reading material. I don't know about other religions, by you are not allowed to preach or teach Christianity in China.
Rule of Thumb: Be cautious everywhere you go - what you say, what you do, what you wear (i.e. tees with messages on them).
It is so sad that people must constantly live in fear there. We knew Chinese Christians who were taken from their homes and "re-educated". Some went missing for months.
Of course, YMMV. But I thought this was interesting, and a reminder that it is a VERY different culture. Be polite. (And don't try bitter melon. Trust me -- my omnivore SO refuses to eat it, and he'll eat anything that he's not allergic to. And DON'T offer them black licorice -- it even smells ghastly to Orientals, and tastes worse.)
