One Country…..Two Systems
We arrived on Sunday and on Monday had our visas done, local residence permits, heath insurance and bank accounts. German efficiency. Impressive.
As a point of comparison, It took 16 trips to the government offices in Shanghai, an AIDS test and the production of about 150 documents including my primary school report card to get my China residence permit. Opening a bank account these days in Singapore requires a security clearance and a proctology. And Manila? Please, lets not go there.
Only Hong Kong comes close to the standard set by the Germans….unless that is you want your washer fixed, cable television installed, or drinking water delivered where Hong Kong wins by a mile.
Lets start with drinking water. Not special drinking water – not that fizzy kind that all Europeans seem to favor, just the kind that comes in those large blue plastic bottles that Watson’s delivers to your home or office in Hong Kong. How long would you estimate it takes to get your drinking water delivered? Three days? A Week? No, only three weeks. Yes, only three weeks to have it delivered by a company that specializes in selling drinking water. And that after a deposit of E300 for the dispenser.
But in all honesty, if you pay the deposit, fill in the forms properly and wait the requisite three weeks – they will deliver the water. This is in marked contrast to the washing machine repair man. Did you know that it is impossible to have a washing machine repaired in Germany? Clearly, against the laws of nature. Well, in Hannover anyway.
Installing cable television seems a bit easier – but just a bit. He was going to show up last Monday, but then postponed to Thursday, which was postponed to Monday – but then as Tuesday was a holiday, he had to postpone to Thursday at 09:00 am. Here, I am not exaggerating. I swear this is all true……
So, it is one country, two systems. One system that works well (in a literal sense) and a second that works when it wants to. No wonder Europeans don’t go in for this “small government” philosophy – it reminds them too much of the private sector. In closing, I did receive a letter today and was quite pleased to learn that my children qualified for social benefits and that the European Community will be sending me a check for E200 per kid a month. Thank you Jacques Chirac. Now, if you could just fix that washer……..
