This week we asked nine resident Beijingers for their thoughts on 2014. Who were their heroes？Who their villains? What has been the most significant thing to happen this year?
...Shaobing chef
Mark Zuckerberg is this year’s hero. Even if his visit to China doesn’t lead to the eventual unblocking of Facebook, at the very least, it’s a sign of progress. It’s also a sign of hope, because in the news conference that followed, officials did not deny the possibility of one day unblocking Facebook. So there is a hope. Even if it’s a small one. More than a hundred years ago, Sun Yat-sen said: “People only survive when they follow the irreversible trend of the world”. We should learn from that, and show more confidence in our own people. People have the ability to judge what is right and what is wrong without being restricted from making their own choices.
– Zhang Tong, 32
...Sweet potato vendor
For me, at least, the most significant thing to have happened this year was my decision to finally move to Beijing. I can’t make any real money back in my home town in Henan. I was broke and I have two kids who need money for college. I started this job two months ago. Every day, seven days a week, I spend 10 hours in the street selling hot potatoes. It’s okay, as far as these things go. I earn about RMB200 per day. I do it so I can provide my kids with a better education, so they won’t have to sell hot potatoes.
– Mr. Li, 49
...Owner of a beauty salon
This year’s hero is my husband. He supported me a lot and helped with my business, even when I became pregnant with our second child. But I didn’t achieve my big aim of traveling to the Maldives – hopefully I can do that next year. I really want to go to the Maldives!
– Liang Wei, 29
...Chef in a Xinjiang restaurant
The biggest villains of the year? Definitely those terrorists in Xinjiang. Although they are very small in number they are humiliating everybody from Xinjiang. I am also a Muslim. I know what a real Muslim should be like and these people are not real Muslims. I hope they don’t damage my own chance of success. I’d like to one day open a restaurant of my own.
– Ma Yinghu, 28
...Anti-terrorism volunteer
Of course APEC is the most important thing this year, it will change our lives […] though I’m not sure how exactly. But it must be a good thing, or why else would they do it? I have every confidence in the government. There was no hero this year, because in my mind, only astronauts like Yang Liwei can be called a hero. Villains are the corrupt officials, they are parasites. I very much support the government’s crackdown on corruption. I hope the crackdown will continue next year.
– Guo, 47
...Construction worker
Nothing different happened this year. I have been working in Beijing for almost nine years, and I am always doing the same thing. Day after day. Life is boring, but that’s how everyone lives, isn’t it? I don’t read, I don’t watch news, and I don’t have much time to think about unrealistic things. My goal is to earn money, then spend it on new clothes, delicious food and maybe save for my family to build a new house.
– Zhao, 27
...Hunan restaurant owner
The most important thing to have happened this year is that Beijing is bidding for the Winter Olympics in Zhangjiakou. If Beijing succeeds, more people will visit the city and everything will be improved - especially the environment. No matter how long it will last, we will benefit from it. Just like we did with the blue skies during APEC. I hope it will boost my restaurant business too.
– Wang, 54
...Goldfish peddler
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I think Xi Jinping is my hero of the year. The crackdown on corruption is very encouraging. We can redistribute the money confiscated from corrupt officials among us common people. I suffered a heart attack earlier this year and my legs are getting painful. Hopefully he can use the corrupt money to improve social welfare for people like me. Only when you get old, do you understand why health is the most important thing in the world.
– Zhou, 65
...English teacher
The most important thing in China this year was the anti-corruption campaign. Some very high-ranking officials were arrested, which is good [laughs]. The effect on my life won’t be immediate, but in the long term, it will promote prosperity and stability within China. This year saw a lot of terrorism – I suppose some people would label that ‘villainous’. I live in Beijing, so I don’t feel too threatened. Besides, information related to these types of incidents is never one hundred percent transparent, no matter which country you live in, so I’d rather not judge too much.
– Wang, 25
As told to Karoline Kan
Images by Noemi Cassanelli
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