There is a beacon of democracy in China! My Beijing friends
and I joined other politically minded Americans at a beer and pizza gathering
on Thursday night to screen the first US Presidential debate, which was hosted in
Denver earlier that morning. Dynamic Ada Shen, who founded the evening’s
organizing group Americans in China for
Obama in 2008, hosted the debate gathering.
Although I’m used to seeing
other foreigners on the street, it was almost bizarre to know that the entire
room that night cradled fellow Americans- sharing common citizenship, identity and
political intrigue. To all of us, time spent in China has been a sharp and
constant reminder of the US birthright to political and personal freedom we often
take for granted.
The debate gathering was a perfect combination for all- political
content and warm camaraderie. Volunteers registered individuals to vote- complete
with all the online forms, printing, scanning and mailing that completes the absentee
ballot process. There was pizza and beer aplenty, political drinking games were
hatched, claps and boos thundered, and we all embraced a familiar feeling of
home away from home- our American kin were here.
Post debate Ada debriefed the crowd and the evening fell
into political conjectures. See you at the next debate gathering! American
democrats in China are voting strong.
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