The Two Faces of China

China, the rising giant; China, the ruthless tyrant. China, proud host of the Olympic Games, China, notorious records of shame. China, Olympic torch burning bright; China, missing flame of human rights. China, model of reform and openness; China, cruel crackdowns with patent bluntness. China, ring loud and true and forever-more the praises for the communist party; China, suppressed are the sounds of prayers, of dissension, of truth, of free assembly. China, vibrant, booming economy; China, widespread and extreme poverty. China, brand new railways and paved roads miles and miles long; China, exploitations wrench from workers the saddest song. China, pretty facade of modernization; China, underlying demoralization. China, one big all-embracing harmonious family; China, oblivious to one another's agony. China, five thousand years of civilization, no easy feat; China, people spitting, swearing and cutting queues on the streets. China, obsessed with Confucian virtues of clean and just office; China, plagued by inefficiency, corruption -- all common practice. China, the pledge of honesty considered so sacred it should never be broken; China, the truth -- SARS, the children buried under the collapsed buildings -- so rarely spoken. China, endless acres of lush forests, mountains of immense beauty; China, those same hilltops now adorned with stumps instead of our precious trees. China, bestowed with great rivers and lakes which have given us life, civilization and so much more; China, remaining today are a dirty brown slush light years from the clear, glimmering streams in folklore. China, as shown in ancient texts the pioneer of sustainable development; China, those once loving hands wrecking unthinkable havoc with the environment. There are two Chinas -- One a never-ending, winding, colorful thread, The one portrayed in all the ancient classics we've read, The ideal society that exists in our heads But most of which is left unsaid. There are two Chinas -- The other an ugly red blob with numerous flaws, The one trapped helplessly yet somewhat contentedly within the dictator's claws, The one where chaos perpetuate without just and equal laws, The one we want to turn our back on and wish we never even saw. Speak out -- it's the only thing we can do, And hope, hope with all your heart and soul -- that it might finally get through.