\An APEC scraper President Xi Jinping visited Ulan Bator in Mongolia earlythis year and shared the image of China as a train on a roll welcoming all tocome on board appropriate to the now vibrant image of the Silk Economic Circle (visionsfrom Seoul to London overland and maritime) that China unleashed directly onIndian Ocean islands to the Suez and resurgent nations of Central Asia. The weeklong 2014meeting of the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation inBeijing November 5-12, aims to "Shape(ing)the Future through Asia-Pacific Partnership", notable for itscollaborative more than competitive tone, fitting next to the Bird's Nest atthe 2008 Beijing Olympic grounds where athletes were exhorted to break their ownrecord before going after those of others. To developconsensus (my parenthetical notes) onregional economic integration (loosen upon protectionism), promote innovation and development (quit being just a factory outlet but create), reform and growstagnant economies (relate to each other'seconomies, damn it!), and strengthen infrastructure connectivity (build planes and tarmacs, cyber terminalsand satellites, ports and ships, rails and trains, roads and electric cars, bicycleramps and pedestrian lanes), APEC has an agenda towards concrete results thisweek (today is last business day). When I made myinland trip to China just after Tiananmen in '89, the Boulevards (da jie) were tree lined, andfolks pedaled about in their office attires. The cities were not high-tech yet, but they were green! That has changed. The price of economic progress is high. To reduce PMI alerts in the northeast this week, construction workwas suspended and government employees went on holidays in Beijing while themeeting was in session. With 1.3 billionpeople targeted in the China Dream, a democratic impulse is very much alive. A people who only 40 years ago endureddevastating hardship and famine, had made its space technology and itsapplications glocal in the market of droids and androids, staying on the black sideof the ledger, and be proud! APECwas established in the year I peeked at the Forbidden City'89. It now involves 21 Pacific Rim economies. A quaint tradition has leaders' dress in the host nation'sattire during the Leaders meeting. Monday night was dress up day at theWater Cube, aka National AquaticCenter, where President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Li Yuan received thehead-of-States attired in various shades of silk (a designer's Tang Zhuang Han Fu aka new modern formalsuit Xin Zhong Zhuang for theoccasion.) Mydelight is on the ground effect of the "foreigners' presence" incountry. "Face" wishing to be seen in good light and held in high esteem,makes for a great op to display the best china, as it were. Liaoning 2013 had my school participate inthe China Games 2013. After scraping offpasted posters for two years before, a maintenance member proudly showed me thescraper he added to his tools. Hegestured that I did not have to bring mine any more as it was now his job toscrape. The word that certain posts andwalls were not going to tolerate impromptu posters any further might have beenmade! WhileI waited for a bus last week, I saw a street cleaner in orange vest peeling offads on streetlight poles and lampposts. Thinkingit anomalous, simply an individual's sole initiative, I noticed police carsclear out parked vehicles and unauthorized streets vendors by the usuallycrowded to Metro stop escalators two blocks from my place. On Saturday morning, a male youth came to theground floor doors in my neighborhood scraping off ads. The APEC weeklong meetings must have sent theword out that the "rule of law" can be applied through the scraper. Ona walk through the University, I noticed that the maintenance crew scraped adsand posters from the pillars of the dorm where I lived. A class monitor once found me sweeping the classroomfloor in our room after a session and she declared that they had "someonepaid to do that". That it was notreflected in the tidiness of the room. Chinahas a "someone-paid-to-do-that" mentality, so folks just spit sunflowershells on the streets, polished floors, and newly swept stairs. Indiscriminate pasting of ads on doors and wallsis common. A former student came into myquad this week and commented that the playground cleared of parked cars lookedlike a "village". Thedemocratization of initiative, creativity, and innovation is a pillar of China'sdream. China is now open to foreignersfrom around the world. It is sensitiveto "face", an incentive Xi Jinping does not hesitate to exploit tomotivate behavior. APEC pushed to tidyup surroundings a bit; one hopes that the local efforts keep going. Ifthe China Games 2013 at my University was any indication, pride in clean posts,poles and walls might linger longer after the APEC is over. Or, at least, my village at the old ShenbeiCenter continues to keep "face" before a resident foreigner who walksaround with a camera! j'aime la vie yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate! __._,_.___ __,_._,___