[Beijing Diary] One China, Two Chinas

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] China’s obsession with ‘unity’ is well known worldwide. The surface reason for the tense standoff with the United States over the Taiwan Strait is also because it is considered a violation of the ‘One China (一個中國)’ principle. The core of this principle is that the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan are inseparable as one, and there is only one legitimate government.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The One China principle does not only target the taboo of Taiwan independence. To unite 56 ethnic groups with diverse habits, appearances, and languages, China cannot let go of the sense and tension of ‘oneness.’ While it seems to protect the unique cultures and ways of life of ethnic minorities, the Chinese government has always regarded the value of ‘one community’ as sacred, fearing disintegration and division like that of the former Soviet Union. President Xi Jinping also believes that under the value of common prosperity, the lives of the people should not suffer excessive disparity or separation.

However, recently, there is a palpable sense that the lives of Chinese people are being split in two. The young and the elderly are divided by the virus called ‘COVID-19.’ Cheers for reopening and fear of death are overwhelming each respective group.

China’s elderly population appears unable to shake off anxiety amid news of deaths among acquaintances and some media reports. The groups who danced ‘Guangchangwu’ (square dancing) day and night in parks throughout the year?even during the zero-COVID phase?have disappeared. These groups, mainly middle-aged women over 60, have long been introduced as a ‘distinctive feature’ of China. Their disregard for others’ gazes and the society’s tolerance toward them have been respected as a culture, but they vanished after the transition to the with-COVID policy.

A video showing corpses piling up at crematoriums and bodies being burned on one side of an apartment complex spread nationwide, fueling tension. The government explained that “it was clothes being burned, not bodies,” but news of deaths among acquaintances a few degrees removed is not uncommon. Hu Xijin, a former editor of the Global Times and a well-known Chinese state-affiliated commentator, recently wrote on his social media, “Two colleagues I personally know have died in the past two days. One was 88 years old, the other 89. (Omitted) Receiving bad news these days, I feel that Chinese society is navigating a complex phase. I hope the country does its best to save all lives, including the elderly.”

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

On the other hand, China’s young generation is cheering the news of reopening and rushing outside. In famous tourist spots and bustling areas such as Shichahai, Nanluoguxiang, and Sanlitun in Beijing, groups of stylish young people stroll the streets without masks. Their confidence comes from having immunity after infection and an explosive desire for outdoor activities that had been suppressed. At the end of last year, New Year’s countdown events held at pubs and restaurants in downtown Beijing were so crowded that people could not even enter the venues. Airfare prices to popular Chinese tourist destinations such as Sanya in Hainan, Huangshan in Anhui, and Lijiang in Yunnan have skyrocketed, and finding vacant accommodations is difficult.

The divided Chinese people are approaching the nation’s largest ethnic festival, the Spring Festival (Chunje, Chinese New Year). There are concerns about what the ‘One China’ will look like after that.