There Should Be A Day
by Hao Li
translated by David Chen

As a Chinese, of course I am familiar with the right to vote; however, it is also new to me. I know about it because I am interested in analyzing words. I am unfamiliar with it because I have never used my right to vote. But I believe I can use my right to vote one day.

In China, people have the right to vote when they are 18 years old. It is easy to find this right in the Constitution of China. These words, which symbolize promise, look solemn. Nevertheless, the Chinese government does not promise anything to its people. Now I am 20 years old and although I have the right to vote, I have never known when to vote, where to vote, or whom I can vote for.

Hence, Chinese people do not argue about the vote as American people do. Chinese society is in so called harmony because it is unnecessary to argue. On paper it seems that the right to vote in China is better than in America. People can vote directly for the representative of a street, then the representative of the street votes for the representative of the district, until finally we vote for our chairman step by step. This is how the vote we have in China works.

However, we never know how we vote for a chairman by this kind of marathon vote. It is better not to understand things that we are not supposed to know and pretend not to understand.

As a photographer, I had the opportunity to have a close look at democracy in America during the vote of 2008. I was surprised that almost every American stopped to vote and to discuss the vote. No matter where people live, they can always find a nearby polling place. Although every single vote is not important for the whole election from a mathematics perspective and makes almost no difference to the vote, Americans enjoy the rights from their democracy. Americans want to use their rights and because of this right that creates new democracy. It is like the relation between hens and eggs and water and a boat.

However, it is said that the People’s interests are greater than anything. I think this very slogan is injurious to Chinese democracy. It is hard to tell which is more important: hens or eggs, boats or water, and governors or common people. It is because both of them rely on each other. On one hand if there are no people, there is no president. On the other hand, if there is no president, what will happen to order in a country and its people?

The election vote in America may be disorderly politics which can lead to harmony. However, the election vote in China is calm but can cause disorder of society. The development of a country depends on its president. It’s complicated and also easy; it’s complicated because the process of an election is filled with argument; it’s easy because you only need to push the button.

I have a dream that one day the people will only need to push the button in my hometown.

Hao Li, an international undergraduate student known as Oliver, is the photography editor for the AA E-Zine. Throughout the fall, every E-Zine meeting had some discussion about the election. On Election Day, Hao and David went to SAC to take photos of Stony Brook students voting. It turned out that we were supposed to get permission first. Rather than walk away, he called and asked what to do. We had a three way cell conversation with one of the inspectors who gave me the number for the Suffolk County Board of Elections. After explaining the situation to Commissioner Katz's office, the inspector was given permission to walk with Oliver while he took the photos. Oliver walked away from the whole process surprised at its ease. Have you voted? he asked me. Of course, I replied. Where? At my local school. Can everyone vote just like this? Of course, I replied again. I had gone in the middle of the day to avoid any lines and it had taken me less than 5 minutes. "I can vote in China," Oliver said, "but I have never been able to vote. This is so amazing."                                                      - Ja Young, Alumni Editor

Oliver's photos can be seen at http://aasquared.org/gallery/Election2008SBU