Why is no one talking about the northern flight path? Just asking. (image by mlei.co.blog)
Who says the Chinese don’t have a great sense of humor, even in the face of a minor national tragedy, as seen in the inexplicable, it-just-keeps-getting-weirder disappearance of the the Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight MH370. I saw this joke in Chinese on Wechat, which shows a self-deprecating, gallows humor in the face of an informational void:
If MH370 had 154 Americans on board, the United States would already be taking the Malay government to the international courts; if they were 154 Russians, the Malay government would already be in the grave; if it were 154 Japanese, the Japanese government would have already calculated down to the cent how much Malaysia owes them; if it were 154 Israelis, Israel would have already found the hijackers; if it were 154 Koreans, three missiles would have been already hit the Japanese fishing fleet; but since they are 154 Chinese people, we get candles, protests and poetic lyricism in the media.
This makes it much more comprehensible about how much effort Baba Beijing is putting into finding the missing plane. Baba’s response is hanging on the Heavenly Mandate and the leadership definitely wants to stay ahead of this perceived national humiliation, to keep it from blowing up in their faces.

What do I think? There are around 100 reconnaissance (read: military and spy) satellites encircling the globe like an octopus, that are powerful enough to say whether my sandwich is being served on rye or whole wheat bread. You can’t tell me they don’t know where MH370 is or ended up. Problem is the people who run these satellites are all the world’s bad actors and shadow governments. We may not find out for another 50 years, when a Freedom of Information request stumbles upon the truth.
Want a fun, low cost honorary degree in Chinese Studies? Jeff’s book, 44 Days, will have you laughing while learning and becoming an expert on all things Middle Kingdom. If you live in China, buy it on the 44 Days website, clicking on either Print Book, Ebook or Color Ebook.