Mah-jongg, which had its origins in the Song Dynasty more than 700 years ago, is played with 144 domino-like tiles with names like West Wind and Red Dragon. "You might as well try to ban knives because they can sometimes be used to kill people." "There's no way you can succeed in banning mah-jongg," said a college-educated woman who supports the Government. Still, even if they don't always value privacy, many ordinary Chinese treasure their small-stakes mah-jongg. Even the Chinese expression for privacy is usually used in a pejorative sense to hint at selfishness or secretiveness. One reason for the authorities' zeal in Shanghai may be that privacy is not a well-known concept in China. The Taiwan authorities allow social mah-jongg betting in the home, while Macao offers all kinds of gambling, including casinos, and consequently attracts large-stakes gamblers from all over Asia. In Hong Kong, in contrast, mah-jongg is legal at social gatherings or in the abundant parlors that have licenses from the Government, which has sought to keep the game out of the hands of Chinese gangs. The United States and other countries also control gambling, and sometimes even office pools, but Shanghai is one of the few places that tries to change social habits and ban small-scale betting in the privacy of the home. But some people become hard-core gamblers and fritter away all their savings, occasionally even staking their wives on a game.Ĭonsequently, many Chinese regard mah-jongg as a dangerous vice - but an exceedingly fun one - with much the same ambivalence that some Americans might feel for alcohol or blackjack or double helpings of chocolate cake. Most mah-jongg enthusiasts bet only small amounts, often the equivalent of just a few cents. The authorities are trying to stamp out mah-jongg because play is usually accompanied by gambling. But the law doesn't matter." Gambling Is the Target "Look at those people - that's illegal too. "The Government has no authority anymore," she said, pointing to a group of bicyclists careering across the street through traffic. The Government babbles, and the people play." "It's no use to try to regulate mah-jongg," said a young woman here. The second fundamental truth is that the party has lost much of its ability either to inspire or to terrorize, and so its edicts are frequently ignored. Probably more Chinese peasants care passionately about mah-jongg than about freedom of the press, and the result is that even those unconcerned about persecution of dissidents profess irritation at endless political study sessions, at requirements that they "volunteer" to buy Government bonds, and at denunciations of mah-jongg when there are no better entertainment options. The first is that the party seems so remote these days that it has an unerring talent for annoying ordinary people without really meaning to. The campaign seems to illustrate two fundamental truths about Communist Party rule in China. The crackdown conducted over the last few weeks has been about as effective as a campaign against office football pools would be in the United States. But these days, the leadership of Shanghai, China's largest city, has set itself a truly daunting task: to eradicate mah-jongg, the game that is a national craze. The Communist Party has tackled tough assignments before, like the 1949 Revolution. As if by compulsion, someone locks the door and they prepare for an evening of law-breaking. In the evening, after folks here have emptied their rice bowls and put down their chopsticks, the criminal instincts overwhelm the most unlikely people - high-school students, white-haired old women, even longtime Communist Party members.
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