We returned from China late last night. We were supposed to arrive in Madison at 7 pm, but we had the misfortune of routing through O'Hare on a stormy day. Our original flight to Madison was cancelled, but we were able to take a later flight, arriving in Madison at about 11 pm. Once we arrived home, my daughter and I were wide awake. It was midday on our body clocks!

On the way to school this morning, my daughter commented that this was her best trip ever, and I have to agree that it was pretty cool. Our favorite part was socializing with the Chinese students. This picture shows me with my student Jonathan, who is a member of the Communist Party of China. As we rode around the old part of Beijing (the Hutong) in this pedicab, we discussed China's past, present, and future. Jonathan is an enthusiast for the Communist Party. He said that the Party was encouraging entrepreneurship and that business people had the freedom to start and build (almost) any business they might want. To listen to Jonathan talk, the Communist Party of China would rival Venturpreneur for entrepreneurial cheerleading.

Later in the day, a group of nine (four Chinese and five US) ate dinner at a restaurant whose name literally translated was "The Noodle King." According to our Chinese hosts, this restaurant was known throughout Beijing for its fine noodles. During the meal, one of the American students asked his Chinese counterparts about religion. The question -- which was prompted by a discussion of Buddhism in China -- was phrased something like this: "What religion are you?" As a person who has no qualms talking about religion, I was a bit surprised at the discomfort caused by this question. All of the Chinese students demurred, disclaiming any religious affliation.

The discomfort caused by that question was magnified by the next question from an American student: "When you read the Chinese newspaper, do you believe what you read?" I was interested to see that one Chinese student began to answer the question reference to how often he was able to see CNN and the BBC. As he fumbled for a way to express himself, another Chinese student interrupted and an animated discussion in Chinese followed. It was apparent to the Americans that it was time to change the subject.

These discussions were not the only times that we were made aware of the still precarious position of freedom in China. Despite Jonathan's protestations, the constraints on personal freedom were all too obvious to Americans. For example, when I attempted to show a Chinese student how to retrieve Google's registration statement, I was told that classroom computers could not access websites outside of China. Although students have broader access to the internet from their dorm rooms, the American students found that certain websites were blocked from their university dorms. (I had similar problems from my hotel room, but I couldn't tell whether sites were being blocked or were merely down.) The military presence on Tiananmen Square was a reminder of those deadly events 15 years ago next week, and recent efforts to raise the topic illustrate the continued sensitivity to discussions of real democracy in China.

Driving and walking around modern Beijing, I was struck by how Western the country had become (or is becoming). Businesses are flourishing, and not just on tourist dollars. China has a conspicuous middle class, which wears fashionable clothes, buys cutting edge electronics, and (increasingly) drives luxury automobiles. New, sleek buildings are popping up all over Beijing, replacing or supplementing the drab white and gray boxes. The people of Beijing remain excited about the Olympics, despite the fact that construction is everywhere. The theory of our foreign policy towards China has been that economic development will spur political reform, but the jury is still out on that. issue. In Eastern Europe -- the closest I have come to the situation in China -- political reform has been driven by economic desperation. Will prosperity give new force to reform efforts? Or cause them to lose urgency?

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