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China Elevator Stories
“Is Austria a Prosperous Country?”
I chat with a cab driver in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province.
13/04/2025
Ruth Silbermayr
Author
The cab driver starts talking to me. He asks: “Where are you from?”
I answer: “I’m from Austria.”
He asks: “Where exactly is that?”
I reply: “Not too far from Germany.”
He replies: “I see. Is Austria a prosperous country?”
“It’s not as great as it used to be. The Ukraine war has had a huge impact on certain aspects of life in Austria. Energy prices have skyrocketed, and food prices have become much more expensive as well. How about China, has China seen rising prices?”
He answers: “No, our government has made sure that food prices would stay the same. We haven’t been impacted too much with regards to finances.”
“That’s what I thought.”
I tell him: “People in Europe, particularly Germans, but also from other countries, are very afraid that Russia is going to attack countries other than the Ukraine, such as Germany.”
He answers: “Really? I think we don’t need to fear any attacks in China, I think we’re safe here.”
“I think so too.”
He asks, “Has Austria joined NATO?”
“No, Austria declared its permanent neutrality in October 1955, after the Second World War. This neutrality means that it can’t join any military alliance or allow foreign military bases on its territory. I think Austria would be doomed if Russia attacked us. I may be wrong, but Austria is a really small country, and I don’t think we’d be able to fend off attacks from a large country like Russia unless other countries stepped in to protect us. But maybe they would, in the case of war.”
What do you think?
This is part of the series ‘Conversations with Locals in China,’ where I share conversations with Chinese people on my blog.