OWS
OWS is an abbreviation for Occupy Wall Street. If you google the acronym, you’ll find it has its own page on Wikipedia. The movement is so well-known that my dad in Guangzhou was concerned two months ago about my safety in the U.S.. In one of our phone conversations, he even gave out a precise number of the places that were affected by the OWS.
“The news says the protests appear in twenty-four places in America. Are there any protests near where you live?” my dad asked in a worrying voice.
“No,” I said, feeling embarrassed that I hadn’t known the seriousness of the protests. “We’re living in the suburb. We’re safe. Don’t worry,” I said.
Before long after the phone conversation with my dad, I learned from the news that the OWS had sparked similar protests and movements around the world. Greece, in particular. We had a Chinese friend who happened to visit the States while the OWS took place in New York. He said he took many photos with the protesters on the Wall Street. He said he would show the pictures to his family and friends back home. I suppose the Chinese media widely covered the Wall Street protest, giving Chinese authorities a good chance to mock America’s limp economy.
I wish the misunderstandings between China and the U.S. will be resolved. Both countries are suspicious of one another. The cold war mentality is still strong. The ordinary people in both countries want equality and fair play. The discrepancy between the rich and the poor is drastic in China. So is it in America. It works in both countries that the rich should take bigger social responsibilities, which include paying more taxes and sharing their wealth with the needy. An ideal society can’t tolerate corruption, greed and injustice. So no matter if it’s a capitalistic country or a socialistic one, common people are always fighting for these good wishes.
Although Chinese people can’t express their hopes as aggressively as the OWS epidemic, I’m sure the protest echoes with many young Chinese. If I were with our Chinese friend in New York, I would have done the same thing—taking photos with the protesters and giving them a boost.
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