The People’s Republic of Desire

53 Shenzhen, Shenzhen

My returning itinerary is a flight from D.C. to Los Angeles, then from Los Angeles to Hong Kong. From Hong Kong, I will stop over in Shenzhen for a story of the factory workers there who are an important part of the global economic chain that produces the goods that Wal-Mart or Nike stores sell in the United States. Even though Nike shoes can sell for sixty to a hundred dollars a pair in the United States (and nowadays in China too!), the factory workers that produce them get paid pennies in comparison.

On the airplane from L.A. to Hong Kong, I sit next to a middle-aged American man named Steve. Steve tells me that he is an engineer manager of a well-known American high-tech company, Sun Microsystems. In recent years, more and more American companies have either moved their manufacturing sites to China or use Chinese factories as their OEM sites because of the lower costs here. This new geo-economic shift has also changed Steve's lifestyle. With his company's growing business in this part of the world, he commutes between China and California. This time, he is going to visit the company's OEM site in Shenzhen.

I have noticed that Steve's face turns red and his eyes sparkle as he mentions the city's name.

"You seem to be very excited about the trip to Shenzhen. Is it your first time?" I ask.

"No. My third time, " Steve answers, then volunteers his story. "My job is to help my company select manufacturing sites in Asia. So I have been to most of the big cities there. I think Hong Kong is a beautiful city, but too westernized and expensive. Now, it's become a transit point. I find the city of Taipei has no character; I don't find it interesting. Singapore is very boring. I love Shenzhen."

"Why?"

"Actually, my colleagues and I all know that everywhere is pretty much the same in terms of the capacity of one manufacturing site. The defining factor is always the women of that place. If we like the women there, we can manipulate the data a little bit and give a glowing recommendation so the factories can be set up there. So we can travel there later."

"Sounds like you like the women in Shenzhen," I say.

"Yes, they are beautiful and friendly. I was a former naval officer. Shenzhen reminds me of the Philippines and Hong Kong fifteen or twenty years ago. Back in the States, I have my middle-age crisis. But every time I come to Shenzhen, I feel younger and recharged. Those available, open-minded young Chinese women make me feel good about myself. After all, I can still get attention!"

"How do you meet them?" I am curious.

"I've met several girls on the Internet and I've picked girls up at bars and disco clubs. Or simply, my vendors introduce them to me. My colleagues are all doing the same thing. Often we go hunting together." Steve says.

I didn't expect that Steve would be so blatant in talking about his sexual conquests.

"Guess what I don't like about Asian women," Steve says.

"What?"

"Southerners are too skinny."

"How much does your wife back in the States weigh?"

"Two hundred pounds."

Clearly Steve likes an alternative to his heavier wife; his protestations notwithstanding, his eyes give away his desire. The conversation continues for a while as Steve orders a series of drinks. I am becoming concerned as Steve looks at me longingly, not even attempting to hide his intentions.

Steve's conversation becomes more and more personal as the hours and miles flow by.

"Those earrings are charming."

"Your sweater fits you so well."

"You should wear only short skirts or tight slacks."

Fortunately, I have the aisle seat, so I don't have to climb over him to go to the toilet. As the plane is somewhere over Japan, Steve plays his trump card. "Niuniu, do you want to become a member of the mile-high club?" he asks.

"The mile-high club? What's that?" I ask.

Steve leers at me and says, "That's a club of people who have made love at thirty-five thousand feet above sea level in an airliner's toilet."

I smile sweetly. "Sounds great. Let me get ready. I'll be in the toilet on the right in the tail section. Give me about three minutes." But I head directly to the stewardesses in the galley. The plane has plenty of available seats in business class, so I get myself a midflight upgrade, and Steve gets a bracing surprise when he finds himself facing a hulking six-foot male steward who is waiting in the toilet stall on the right in the tail section.

"You can pick your day to travel, how much you are willing to pay, and where you want to sit, but you can't pick your companion in the next seat when you fly solo. Nowadays, you have to pray it's not some horny old goat," I think as the plane taxies in at Hong Kong. Now I know why some women want to marry rich men who have private jets.