CCTV Stars

Just like last year, after our performance in the great memorial hall
of Peking University most of the troup got asked to go to CCTV and
record the spectacle. It turned out to be pretty much the same show as
last year with a lot of the acts being roughly similar. It was a made
more professional with the addition of well-known TV personalities
togehter with some really good foreign Chinese speakers. The show this
year was made into a very well-rehersed faked game-show, an
improvement from last years serial of (bad) performances from various
universities.

We were made to sit on the stage and on command come up and dance with
the various acts. As obidient little foreigners we are, we took part
in the stupified propaganda event, and clapped, jumped around, and
looked as happy as ever. China is after all a self proclaimed
"peace-loving" country, so how can people be anything but happy here?

Oh, I almost forgot. I've finally sen HIM! The man, the legend, the
immortal, the DaShan ("Big Mountain"). DaShan is a Canadian guy that
speaks very good Chinese. He might be the most famous foreigner in
China and he has hosted numerous talk-shows on TV and sold his face to
numerous advertisments. He wasn't in our show but I saw him in the
hallway outside. Waiting outside was a whole bunch of other supposibly
famous people (I was told), well-trained little children, and white,
skinny, model girls. 90% of the population judging by frequency of
their kind appearing on television.