eating brussel sprouts with chopsticks

i am eating brussel sprouts (and jiachang dofu (family-style tofu) and majiang mifen (sesame-paste rice noodles)) with chopsticks at the moment. 'tis the night before the night before christmas and i travel tomorrow. so i needed to eat what was in the fridge, and it has resulted in this fusion meal. a combination like this may be on the menu at some trendy place in nyc. (i had olives and mala huasheng (spicy peanuts) while the brussel sprouts were roasting which i realize is equally east-meets-west.) being reflective after saying goodbye to my colleagues for the year, i think eating brussel sprouts with chopsticks is perhaps what i am always doing in some sense.

today the trial of a prominent chinese "dissident" began. (i put "dissident" in quotes because i have come to think of it as a problematic term, especially because of the immediate association with illegal or criminal behaviour. if the rights to free speech enshrined in china's constitution mean anything, he has committed no crime.) poet and activist liu xiaobo has been one of china's most vocal advocates for democratic reform. he is currently charged with "incitement to subvert state power" for advocating for open elections and free speech. although prosecutors also cited six recent articles he published on overseas web sites*, liu’s greatest offense is his role in crafting charter 08, a manifesto which called for rule of law, expanded human rights and an end to the communist party’s monopoly on power. more that 10,000 people signed charter 08 before the censors removed it from the internet. perhaps most poignantly, it sought to guarantee the right to free speech and the abolition of the very law under which liu is being prosecuted. why he is being prosecuted when many others had a role in drafting, promoting, and signing charter 08 is an open question. perhaps the government wants to make an example of him. many had hoped obama would raise his case during his visit. clearly the government waited until after the president's photo-op on the great wall to start liu's trial. and denied US and european diplomats entry.

on monday zhang boshu, a senior political philosopher and constitutional scholar at the chinese academy of social sciences - CASS, china's most important (state-run) think tank and academic institution - was asked to resign after being there for 18 years. this move is understood as a government rebuke of his advocating for constitutional reform in contravention of the "political discipline" of the communist party committee at CASS, which requires adherence to the central government's position.

oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy. oh tidings of comfort and joy.

and yet despite all the heaviness, i feel as though i am ending the year on a light note. i am thankful, despite all the obstacles, to be observing the struggle for rule of law here. i am moved by courage and compassion almost daily. and humbled. and troubled. and overwhelmed. there has been much about this year that has been incongruous - eating brussel sprouts with chopsticks. there has been much movement - both literally and less so. emotionally i have grown in ways that i never expected or imagined. i can say this especially now as i am planning to see little trouble in a week and hope that we can move towards one another once again.

and yet despite all the growth and goodness, i still find myself restless at times. then again, i wouldn't know what to do with myself if i weren't. by now i have moved on to dessert (chocolate pocky and dutch dark chocolates, unintentionally although appropriately as culturally cacophonous as the rest of the meal), and ought to move on to getting myself sorted for tomorrow's trip. i wonder whether brussel sprouts can be packed for a snack on the plane. i think yes. i dwell in possibility.

*according to his brother six out of the more than 490 articles he has published since 2005.