Shanghai, China. The journalists leave the city at night, after 16 days on three continents, covering nearly 50 press coverage and tasting at least 500 dishes, most of them fantastical.
The return journey is fatal. A flight of over 14 hours to Paris, another three to Madrid and from there about ten to Palmerola. Not counting the wait, in short, over the course of two days, sleep is lost, metabolism is messed up, veins are swollen and feet are on the verge of numbness. Six hours after sitting rigidly, penetrating pain appears in the lower lumbar region and you have to alternate your head to the left, right and center so as not to suffer torticollis. There are people who walk down two transatlantic bird aisles and can’t talk to anyone, because it is almost certain that they are not Latinos, but Russians, Arabs, Chinese or Europeans. And this is just the first trip.
“Hot pot”
Overall, it was an unforgettable trip for all but definitely not repeatable, well, so as not to have to face that return trip around the world again.
As if that wasn’t enough, living in the Far East is a health challenge in itself with so many strange foods. The Chinese attracted attention with beautiful hotels, where journalists were able to taste the most unimaginable cuisine from each province, the better the better.
At each meal time there were no less than 20 dishes to be tasted with strange smells, tastes and appearances. Eventually, everyone became familiar with one, such as the Beijing lacquered dish, which is eaten all over China with different preparations, and the Nanking hot pot, in which vegetables and meats of your choice are added right on the spot. Permanently boiling pot on the table.
Shanghai squirrel fish is one of the most famous foods in the country. This is without counting sweets, fruits, vegetables and muthai, a potent drink of 50 degrees and the equivalent of guaro here. Some journalists touch their stomachs every day and others are worried because they have left untreated underlying diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes.
One country, two systems
As far as pursuing strictly diplomatic relations is concerned, Chinese officials have stressed this all the time: they cannot proceed until Honduras completely gets rid of Taiwan, including the current trade agreement. is included. He has hopes for a possible visit by President Xiomara Castro and businessmen from Honduras, although he was also clear enough on this second point: a trade agreement is going to take a long time, until all the field inspections to determine the products are done. What interests them. As a market, the Chinese are huge, they are always importing, but they are wary of big bargainers in the quality and price of raw materials. For now, his main interests are coffee, tobacco, seafood, fruits and vegetables to buy in Honduras.
They have the capacity to harvest all the crops at once and would otherwise fill Honduras with their products in no time. Thus, businessmen and the Honduran government should be very careful when signing FTAs with sugar, given the great disappointment that the trade agreement with the United States (CAFTA) has left hundreds of small producers, many of whom Can’t face competition with extinction. Giant of the North. The Honduran press could not have access to trade experts, who would explain in detail tariffs, timing, prices, volumes, and all the symmetries and disparities between two such disparate economies: Honduras, less than David and China, more than Goliath. .
The Chinese were more interested in showing the country to the Honduran press in general and somehow nullifying all the Western propaganda that was prejudiced against them. In addition, he exposed the operation of the Communist Party’s system and how, from the opening of capitalism, they rose from extreme poverty in just 40 years to currently position themselves as the second global power of trade, ecology and innovation technology. .
Despite this race for overall development, which they plan to achieve in 2049, the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party, they humbly call themselves a developing country. Of course, he did not recommend replicating his model, as for him being a communist is a philosophy of life, nor comparing it to other socialist ways in the world. In short, he says, China is one country, two systems.
A gift and a home
In the final days of coverage, a visit from Chinese giant Huawei was amazed at the magic achieved in using the G5 bands for all the demands of artificial life until they can restore the Mayan ruins to their original form. , for example, and robots that deliver medicine to patients. The best parting was when the executives gave their guests a very nice bag with two gifts: a postcard showing they entered the building and a very thick book about the life of the owner of the company.
Spread on social networks that this trip was a panacea in dailies and other canneries, the faces of journalists were a poem, looking through the bus window at the giant warehouses of the multinational, imagining them filled with cell phones and the latest generation electronic equipment and they in English with that heavy book.
Finally, he visited the house where the Communist Party of China was founded in 1921. A huge mural with a picture of the house and the hammer and sickle symbol, like the swooping flight of an eagle, receives thousands daily. and foreign tourists.
It is a must visit as a tourism for common Chinese and converts to communism.
Journalists learn how the Chinese adopted the ideas of Karl Marx’s historical materialism, putting it into practice from 1949, when that party took power after winning a civil war under Mao.
The guides explained that most Chinese are not communists, nor do they belong to the party, nor is it the only one. In fact, out of a total population of 1.4 billion, less than 100 million are enrolled. But it is an ideological electoral machine that has not been overthrown by the remaining eight parties.
China also does not have direct-voting like Western democracies. As are the hundreds of millions, the vote is in local legislatures until reaching national representatives. Since the Communist Party was the one that freed the Chinese people from orthodoxy and lifted them out of extreme poverty starting in 1978, there has been a widespread belief that the party will continue to lead the country’s destiny unconditionally. should keep. No chance for his rivals, who are comfortably holding government posts.
Sad farewell
One of the last tours ends on the city’s boardwalk in all the glory of its monumental tower and other beautiful skyscrapers, including the Pearl of the Orient. Both the Hondurans and the Chinese hug each other and take pictures. It smells like goodbye.
They have been tiring days for everyone, with up to six coverages per day. Almost always, the groups would leave at 8 in the morning and return at night.
There were hotels that never saw them during the day. The tour created a camaraderie with translators and great memories. In one of the groups it was funny to see that every day a guide counts with his index finger, like a piano apprentice, each of the passengers to make sure no one is left behind.
In the second group they will never forget one of the interpreters because of his striking resemblance to Honduran politician Rigoberto Chang Castillo.
For this reason, on the day of departure, in front of the airport gate, the goodbye ended with a lump in everyone’s throat: the Hondurans wanted to leave the Chinese and the Chinese. People are like this, but sometimes the decisions of governments spoil everything.
