What Freedom Looks Like?

This Kentucky Fried Chicken is one of the few American stores I saw the entire time I was in China. Its prime corner location in a grand-looking building overlooks the May 4th Square right on the water in Qingdao’s prosperous commercial district.

The May 4th Movement (五四运动, wǔsì yùndòng) was sparked by the Treaty of Versailles which transferred German concessions in Shandong (the area where I stayed) to Japan rather than returning sovereign authority to China. Mass student demonstrations on May 4th, 1919 kept China from signing the treaty. The May Fourth Movement supporting Chinese sovereignty is an early successful example of direct democracy in China.

So does that make the appearance of American chain restaurant in the May 4th Square poetic or ironic?