胡錦濤的鞠躬

習近平在人大閉幕時這樣歌頌他的前任：“胡錦濤同誌擔任國家主席10年間，以豐富的政治智慧、高超的領導才能、勤勉的工作精神，為堅持和發展中國特色社會主義建立了卓越的功勳，贏得了全國各族人民忠心愛戴和國際社會普遍讚譽。我們向胡錦濤同誌，表示衷心的感謝和崇高的敬意！”[2013-03-17 09:27]。然後，胡錦濤起身，向大廳裏在座的代表一鞠躬，再扭過去，向主席台上他曾經的同僚和部屬二鞠躬。

過去黨國的官人，都不必鞠躬，因為不存在謝位，不是被幹掉就是在位盡瘁。胡錦濤成了第一個，既沒盡瘁，又沒被幹掉，還裸腿全謝位。他看透了，戀棧沒什麽好事，上下受氣，放手、裸腿，會比前任高一大截，因此而贏得世人尊敬。

鞠躬，本就一個簡單的禮貌動作，卻在國人的習慣裏消失已久，替代的都是些粗魯和吆喝。九十年代回國曾取道日本，在東京的同學帶我一道領略新幹線。那時候人家的檢票員一進車廂，先是向大家問個好鞠個躬，大概是“打擾了，希望大家合作”的意思；檢完票要離開本車廂，人家扭過來再向大家一鞠躬，大概是“謝謝大家合作，路途愉快”吧。這個動作一直留在我的腦海裏，一直讓我覺得人家才是禮儀之邦。至今。

現在，我們仍然不習慣以鞠躬表謝意，更何況一國之君。雖說胡國君鞠躬時一如既往仍然麵無表情，並且他留下的社會現狀也問題多多，但他的本分和謙躬，讓左中右各派誰也不願意去責備他的無能為力，反而讓人們更能理解他無心戀棧的心情。

這十年間，社會在他的任期一步步地滑到“道德淪喪”，仔細想想，其實就是從失“禮”開始的。不論白道黑道，撈到錢權的就是正道，已經滲透每個角落。那“禮”還能值幾個小錢？沒了“禮”哪還有“道”。不是說盜也有道的嗎，可如今墮落到一個偷車賊連兩歲的孩子都殺口；何論為掌權立威而拿下不聽話的“對手”，就像胡溫當初對待根本不在一個級別上的上海陳。
 
習的家世和經曆成就了他不必一上台就大開殺戒，隻要喊兩嗓子，就可以起到對官吏隊伍的震撼。君不見一江豬屍向東流，就是其威懾力量的一種反映。而劉邦那種出身卑微，要靠殺恩人項羽才能登位，要靠殺功臣韓信才能立威，實在不能同日而語。雖說習老大高歌說，國人要有共同享有人生出彩的機會，要有共同享有夢想成真的機會，要有共同享有同祖國和時代一起成長和進步的機會。但平民和官家即使都能得到這種機會，其代價也一定是天壤不同的。當然，習老大至少知道了，要喊出追求公平正義，追求平分蛋糕，追求保護環境，別再濺賣資源而餘留子孫。
 
所以我在想，習要是能在提拔他的梯隊幹部時，先讓他們從軍，然後才到工農學基層中加以曆練，然後再步步提升。過二十三十年熬上了頭，現任的軍頭都是自己當年的同輩戰友，自然駕馭國力就如履平步。反過來，像薄熙來那樣的缺了軍旅生涯這一課，隻能成為浮萍愣頭青；還有郭樹清那樣的實幹將，一動人家的奶酪就得卷鋪蓋走人；再是劉源那種先士後軍的本末倒置，也不大靈光；最後到了胡春華、周強那些沒有軍隊曆練的團子輩，上去了也就又一個胡錦濤，當夠蹩腳的小媳婦整天受氣包。所以，等習到期下台，若中國的法律/製度不再是為某個人而設，為某個主義而定，習也就可以平淡瀟灑地鞠個躬，平平安安地謝幕，不再當那垂簾老江，那樣中國就真叫進步了。

真的希望，中國的進步輪回，就從胡錦濤的鞠躬開始吧。
 

[stillthere]

Japanese know how to share the road

by Shannon Corregan / Times Colonist
March 22, 2013


Every weekday morning, I hop on the bus and ride up Fort Street. (Well, I don’t so much hop as crawl blearily, but you know what I mean.)

My ride isn’t long — nine or 10 minutes at the most — but it’s an unusual week when I don’t see some instance of aggressive driving during my morning commute. With its short lanes, cramped intersections and high volume of traffic, Fort Street is full of people who cut each other off in last-minute lane changes, or who tailgate, stop only reluctantly for pedestrians or who are just generally impatient on their way to work.

It’s harrowing to watch the cyclists leave their lane to turn left. They swerve into vehicle traffic with an aggressive desperation, determined to make their turn before they’re cut off or clipped by a driver who refuses to understand that bikes are permitted (indeed, sometimes forced) to take up an entire lane.

Even though Victoria has excellent bike lanes and generally positive attitudes toward cycling, sometimes it seems as though drivers and cyclists treat each other like natural enemies. They are defensive of their respective territories and quick to snarl over the inconveniences of sharing the road.

But it isn’t like that everywhere. I’ve recently returned from a trip to Japan, and while I was there, the friend I was visiting took me to Shibuya Crossing.

If you’ve ever seen a film set in Tokyo, you’ve probably seen Shibuya Crossing. It’s an enormous junction, walled in by giant TV screens blaring candy-coloured ads, which are all but drowned out by the pop music that screams from the advertising vans that career through the narrow streets. (Almost all streets in Japan, even in state-of-the-art Tokyo, are surprisingly narrow and claustrophobic.) Shibuya is the trendiest district in Tokyo and the shoppers are packed shoulder-to-shoulder on the sidewalks.

The Crossing is so busy that pedestrians and cars can’t share it — pedestrians flood across it all at once. Next, it’s the cars’ turn, and they surge through the intersection.

While we were watching this mesmerizing madness, a young woman — armed with nothing more than a blasé sort of confidence — pedalled her bike into the unlined centre of the intersection, her child snug in its back seat. She wore no helmet (they aren’t a thing in Japan). Nobody honked at her to hurry up, or to get out of their way (honking isn’t really a thing in Japan, either). Cautious but calm, she sat in the middle of the maelstrom, waiting for a safe place to turn and trusting that she would find one. It was fantastic.

We observed a similar phenomenon in Kyoto, where cyclists and pedestrians shared the sidewalk in close proximity with no clear rules. There were bike lanes, but nobody bothered about them. I found it stressful at first, but nobody ran us off the path. Nobody got hurt. The cyclists were attentive and the pedestrians were conscientious, and there were no accidents.

It seemed that there was simply a much higher tolerance for the cross-pollination of traffic streams in urban Japan. As an outsider, it seemed that the prevailing attitude was one of mutual respect. Everybody acknowledged that everyone else had the right to be on the road (or sidewalk), and even without carving out a space for bike lanes, everyone seemed safe.

The numbers seem to bear this out. As of 2009, Japan was reporting 3.85 road fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants per year, while Canada was reporting 9.2; the U.S. was reporting 12.3. Of course these numbers include rural data as well as urban, and Japan’s reliance on its astoundingly excellent train transportation systems keeps its traffic deaths down, but still.

I’m not saying that we should abolish lines on our roads and go in for a free-for all, nor that Japanese traffic is chaos — on the contrary, it’s very orderly. But this seems to be the case at least partly because, even in spaces where there are no rules, drivers and cyclists nevertheless remember that everyone has a right to the road, and willingly share it.

Japan is a country famed for its politeness, so perhaps it’s not surprising that this consideration extends to its traffic. But Canadians are famed for our politeness, too. Maybe we should try to remember that in traffic.

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© Copyright 2013

[stillthere]

是的，日本才是真正的禮儀之邦。至今。

WE CHINESE HAVE A LOT, YES, A LOT, TO LEARN FROM JAPANESE. PERIOD.

[needtime]

啥時候，不用期待誰上台，社會也能富裕不斷進步，算是天降大運給中華了。

[（晨曦）]

習在官場混了幾十年，看不到習是個酒囊飯袋的本質多少是個遺憾。他的上台確實是中國人民的悲哀。

[Wxcqq]

Excellent gestiure, this bow tells a lot. I was very touched by ang lee's bow at Oscar awards when he won the best directing on his life of pi, before he said anything, he took a deep bow.... My eyes started to well... To bow is our Chinese trandition, lets resume to do it....