My team after our team building day with Peter Ivett. Don't quite know what the ugly wooden things are in the background. From left to right: Brett, Tillz, John, Tugba, Mei, Me (Ralph), Penny and Sergey 

Mao on the right. 70 Million deaths in peace time alone. 

Mao shi huai ren!

When I saw this picture I couldn’t help but laugh. I am currently reading ‘Mao: The Unknown Story’, a tell-all biography of the megalomaniacal ‘founder’ and leader of modern day China up until his death in 1974. He is also the single most blood-stained human being in the history of mankind, with over 70 million deaths to his name in peace time alone, and at least 1 or so million more during the civil and Sino-Japanese war.

Having spent three months in China I am reading this book with a context that many others may not have. I spoke to Chinese people, at length, about their perceptions of Mao. I knew he was a bad man before I came to China, but I really didn’t know the specifics beyond things such as the ‘long march’ (which funnily enough was so long due to Mao’s incompetence), the ‘great leap’ and the ‘cultural revolution’. After speaking to them, and seeing the way that Mao is still deified in China (increasingly so in the last 5 years actually) you begin to see how invasive their system is on their thought. Perhaps invasive is the wrong word. Chinese are never, ever told the truth about what Mao was really like and what he really did, and if they ARE aware of any of his shortcomings, they simply pass them off as ‘simple mistakes that anyone could make’. The phrase that sums it up for me came from a girl I spoke to who said ‘Mao made a few mistakes but he did a lot of good things as well. Without him we wouldn’t have modern day China’.

Yes, this book is very biased against Mao and some of the conclusions that are drawn are a little rough, but the facts behind it (if they are in fact accurate) are simply sickening. To know that a man like this is still worshipped in China is quite frightening.

As I write this, I know that it will be read by at least one or two Chinese people who may or may not hold Mao close to their heart. If what I am writing is at all offensive, I apologize. It is not my intention to be abrasive; rather I am venting my own thoughts on the subject. I am going to give to this book to Jingwei (see link on right) who is the former MCP of Mainland China. I would be really interested to see what she thinks of the book given her upbringing in the Chinese system.

Anyway that’s what I’m reading. After reading a book on Keating, the former Australian Prime Minister who lead with vision and passion and engaged in no armed struggle, this book on Mao is all the more difficult to stomach. Sometimes you just want to hell into the book ‘SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING AND STOP THIS MAN BEFORE HE TAKES OVER CHINA!’, but I suppose that’s the sign of either a good book or just good history.

Ralph

MC Team Expose Part 2: ‘Uh huh, uh huh. I’m a happy Muslim’

Introducing Tugba Sert, by far one of the most fun loving, energetic and exuberant people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Hailing from Turkey, homeland of both Yigit (pronounced Yee-jit) and Selim (pronounced Slim) who are two of my favorite trainees ever, Tugba confirms my suspicion that there is something in the water in Turkey that makes everyone a little bit crazy, since the three of them are all a little mad, but all very cool people.

Tugba has been in AIESEC for, like, 400 years or something. She worked in LC Ankara (or was it Istanbul?) before doing two terms on the Turkish MC as an exchange and projects responsible. With two MC terms under her belt, Tugba brings a perspective to this team that the rest of us never could; one of experience working on a national level.

Tugba is a Muslim, but a ‘happy one’, which in her opinion means that she is allowed to drink, have fun, and indulge in a range of activities that aren’t appropriate to be posted here on my PG-rated blog.

Tugba is a wonderful person to have in the office. She brings tremendous energy to everything she does, and I am really looking forward to working with her this year. Seeing her face in the morning always makes you smile, no matter how tired or hung-over you might be and I, and indeed the entire team, will need that many times throughout the year I’m sure.

Ralph

'Uh huh, uh huh. This is Tugba'