A Chinese Bureaurocratic Miracle

I now possess a document that is the secret key to allowing Nina the Pug to ride the train from Tongliao to Beijing. I had no idea obtaining such a document would be so difficult. When the Vetrinarian didn't show up yesterday or this morning like he promised, we got nervous and had our friend Sun Peng call him.


Today I learned a few things about Chinese bureaurocrisy.


1. Only people with power get privileges.

2. Every transaction has a "you scratch my back, I'll scratch your's" attitude

3. Nobody wants to help you unless you can do something greater in return for them.

4. Nobody wants to do business on the weekends or when they are playing majhong.

5. Simply being American has great influence.

6. People in administrative positions will attempt to evade you at all costs, so as not to have to do any work.

7. There are unspoken rules/laws for Chinese people different ones for Foreigners.

8. Don't ever plan to take a pet abroad from China. It is too much trouble.


This all being said, Nina is the luckiest dog alive in Tongliao, maybe all of China.


Long story short: the Vetrinarian evaded my calls for "a necessary paper" he told me about months ago because he knew it would cause him some run around. After I showed up at his office today he felt an overwhelming sense of obligation to help me because I am a foreigner, and because he believes it is his "destiny" to meet and help me. So the man goes out of his way, and we spend about 3 hours driving around, calling people, and picking up Chinese hoodlums with power who go into governmental departments and get official seals stamped into Nina's Inner Mongolian Vaccination book. The last stop was the train station, where I have a paper saying that Nina is allowed to travel on trains with me up to 3 days.

My friend Rita accompanied me and did all the talking. I just sat there and kept saying, "xie xie" thank you, and gave the vetrinarian a 50 yuan note, ($7) that we had to force on him for his troubles.

Rita was adament about me understanding that what was occuring was a Chinese bureaucratic miracle.

"If you were a Chinese person, this would not happen!"

"You are so lucky. you need to invite the animal doctor to dinner."

"he is such a kind man. he is the only person who will help us."

Rita told me everything in China is corrupt. She said nobody will help you with paperwork or official things unless you are family or have a lot of money, or have some kind of connection that requires obligation to help another, as in a teacher, or an important person.

I didn't realize that the document that the Vet went to all the trouble to get for me was necessary for Nina to travel on the train. If I didn't have it she could have been killed, and I would have been fined.

Thank goodness I have it. I breathing a sigh of relief. Everything should go smoothly at the train station tomorrow.