Forbidden City Read Online Free PDF Page B

“photographing what we want. Here, the news is managed totally. The Chinese have a cynical but true saying. In the
People’s Daily
— that’s the official Party newspaper, like
Pravda
in Russia — in the
People’s Daily
only the date is the truth. And it’s like that with all the local newspapers, like
Beijing Ri Bao
or
Guan Min Ri Bao
. They’re all run by the state. Get the picture?”
    I nodded slowly.
    “If the Central Committee wanted, it could shut down all foreign correspondents in a day or two. Lao Xu is the government’s link to us and to what we’re doing.”
    I had a sinking feeling in my gut. I felt hurt and angry and stupid. I felt betrayed. The guy who I thought really liked me, who was becoming my friend, was an informer. Was he taking me around to tourist spots and talking to me just to get information on me and my dad and Eddie for a file? And yet at the same time I was a little bugged at Eddie for telling me. He seemed to enjoy it.
    My mind quickly replayed my trip to the wall and the tombs. I tried to remember things Lao Xuhad asked me. There wasn’t much — just stuff about school. I had done most of the asking. Then I tried to recall things I had told him. Something kept returning to my mind. It was the way he laughed. That ironic laugh. It was quiet and short, but you couldn’t mistake it. The laugh said, “This isn’t the way things ought to be, but that’s life.” It wasn’t a spy’s laugh.
    But what did I know about spies?
    Eddie heaved himself out of his chair. His slippers slapped as he padded across the rug and got another beer from the fridge. He poured some into Dad’s glass before topping up his own.
    “Try not to be too hard on Lao Xu, Alex,” Dad said. “He likes you. I know he does. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t take you around like he did today. That’s not part of his job.”
    As Eddie lowered himself into his chair he said, “Maybe so. But part of his job is reporting on us. You can be sure that everything he knows about you and especially your dad is on file with the Public Security Bureau. Each one of us has a dossier.”
    He laughed cynically. “If it makes you feel any better, someone is also reporting on
him.”
    It didn’t. Maybe Lao Xu and I could still be friends, but now I knew there would always be a wall between us.

Today I felt really down. I don’t know, maybe it was just jet lag or something but I got homesick. I wished I could sleep in my own water bed in my own room, listen to my tunes on the stereo in our living room, maybe have a fire going, call up my friends on the phone — and eat real food.
    I only brought six novels with me and I’m into the second already. Where will I get stuff to read?And there’s nothing on TV here. The only program in English that I can find is a really lame show that comes from England called
Follow Me
. It’s supposed to teach English. They say things like “Do you really have your own lorry? Smashing!” or “
Who
is in the
loo?”
and fascinating stuff like that.
    The most frustrating thing is that I can’t really
do
anything because I can’t speak Chinese. As soon as I step outside this boring hotel I’m isolated — totally. I can’t shop or anything unless Lao Xu comes with me to translate. He’s really good about that and he helps a lot, but it’s kind of a pain to stand in the middle of a store getting stared at by a couple of dozen Chinese while Lao Xu and a salesperson rap on about me like I’m a total retard or I’m invisible.
    In our hotel suite everybody but me has work to do. Eddie keeps giving me these I’m Busy And You’re In My Way looks.
    And Dad. He’s in his element, buzzing around, humming to himself like he was totally demented, having a great time. This morning, when he thought I had left the suite, he said to Eddie that if it was up to him he’d live here for a year, no problem. Now I’m afraid he’ll want to stay for longer. I hope he’s not planning to go back on our