China has no scientists

CHINA HAS NO SCIENTISTS

I've heard it 100 times, so now I have to blog [rant] about it

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man: "So, what do you think of China?"

me : "Oh, I like China very much."

man: "Oh no, China is not very good. China is 30 years behind the U.S."

me : "Ummm... I don't think so..."

man: "Oh yes it's true, in the U.S. people don't ride trains. In China we still do."

me : "Ummmm..."

man: "China has no famous scientists."

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I've encountered variations of this conversation too many times to count. I'd love to debate these people and knock some sense into their skulls, but I don't speak Chinese well enough to do this. All I can do is say "no," "not true," "I don't agree" and "I'm leaving." So since I can't explain my responses to them, you get to listen to them.

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'30 Years behind'

30 years. That's the magic number they've all settled on. China is 30 years behind the U.S., I guess. Where did this number come from? It's been 30 years since U.S. and China re-established relations and China began to reform, so China will always be 30 years behind? Who knows where 30 years comes from. There's absolutely no standard for it.

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It's true; Americans don't take the train from Chicago to New York like Chinese people take the train from Chengdu to Shanghai. But the answer has as much to do with population, geography, economies of scale, and culture as it does with development (certainly development and standard of living does play some role).

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There are millions of people between Chengdu and Shanghai... great opportunities to sell out all the seats and beds. And culturally, Chinese people don't seem to mind the cramped spaces that come with the effort of fitting them all in. This drives the cost of the fare down significantly. Also, China's population is clustered, which puts many cities within roughly 15 hours distance of each other. So China's rail system can afford to have night trips whereby people board in the evening, sleep on the train, and arrive at their destination in the morning. It's called 'free' hotel room with the price of transportation. In other words, it seems trains are more convenient and cheap comparatively speaking in China. And it's not uncommon to see well-to-do businessmen--people who could certainly afford airfare--travelling trains. This suggests they cannot ignore the low prices and covenience. And finally, the cultural associations with riding trains are bound to be different between China and the U.S. I'm not sure that we Americans look down on riding trains, but our tolerance of mass transportation versus private commute is certainly different. Chinese don't seem to mind being crammed up against millions of people... that's how they live their daily lives.

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So because Chinese people ride trains and Americans don't reveals little about differences in development. It's a poor standard. By other standards, we could argue vastly different conclusions. China and the U.S. both have cell phones. So they are equal? In fact, China gets the newer, better cell phones earlier than the U.S. does. So China is more developed than the U.S.? Ridiculous!

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What they don't know is that China and the U.S. are more comparable than they think. There are no famines in either culture. Both cultures have overwhelming access to cell phones (I even saw a Chinese beggar person on a cell phone one day, no lie!). Both cultures have ready access to computers and Internet, especially in the cities but even more and more in the countryside. Both countries can produce spectacular movies... the U.S makes 'I am Legend' and China makes 'ChiBi.' Both countries have news shows, sitcoms, documentaries, and sleazy reality TV. Living in my home in China and living in other Chinese homes, I never feel materially deprived of anything. I'm hard-pressed to note the differences. Certainly not 30 years behind like I'm living in America's 1970s!

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Having said that, I know China and U.S. are not equal. No doubt. I want to tell these people that a much better way to judge differences in development is GDP and GDP per capita. Other standards... such as doctors per person or hospital beds per person are also revealing. But we certainly don't measure differences in standard of living in years! Anyways, I don't know how to say GDP or GDP per capita in Chinese.

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I also want to tell them a more important lesson. Happiness is the purpose of life. If Chinese and Americans both have enough food, water, and shelter from extreme temperatures... if we both have opportunities to laugh and smile... if we both can live comfortably... what's the difference? Are people chatting up laughs via wireless Internet access in 2009 better off than Li Bai laughing over a cup of wine with Du Fu 1,000 years ago?

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'China has no famous scientists'

Um... I don't know what to say... again, where do they get this? And I've heard it so many times. Is there a book out there somewhere with this 'fact' in it that the Chinese people all read? Or did they hear in a speech? "China has no famous scientists."

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First, we can get rid of the word 'famous.' It's an irrelevant adjective, even if Chinese people think it's critically important. The truth is, the unfamous scientists are as important as the famous ones. Did Einstein work alone in a vaccuum? Come on now! Discoveries, inventions, and developments in standards of living come by the hard work of millions of scientists. And 99.9% of them are not famous.

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In addition, MANY of them are Chinese! The U.S. has many Chinese scientists. China has many Chinese scientists. They produce results every year.

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Finally, it's true. The U.S. does have a special claim to the advancements in science of the 20th and 21st century. Here's the lesson: education, culture, investment capital, and the protection of intellectual property rights produce more great scientists. If Chinese people really wants to have a 21st Century science revolution of their own, they will need to target these things. It's a simple recipe. The protection of intellecutal property rights might be a hurdle for a Chinese scientific revolution.

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Why these conversations worry me:

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NATIONALISM: Flowing from their 'woe is China' speeches are the dangerous currents of nationalism. They feel shame. (Why?!) And shame is just the dark shadow of pride. I think nationalism is stronger in China than in the U.S. The Chinese people take on China's successes, failures, accomplishments, and embarrassments as their own. "China has no scientists... China is bad... I am bad." I don't know, it's just the way it seems when they speak about it. Or a more telling example from 2008. "The French diss China... the French diss me... I'm going to go throw rocks through the storefront window of that French-owned department store."

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I wish all people all over the world would remove their own personal identity from their national identity. Bush was a pretty bad president. But I'm still an okay guy! The U.S went to war with Iraq, but I didn't! I genuinely think China is a great country. The Olympics were wonderful. That doesn't mean all Chinese people are wonderful! Some work hard, some are lazy. Some are honest, some would steal from their mother. I am not the U.S., you are not China. But you can do your own personal best to make yourself, China, and the world better. Re-align yourself!

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But, as I said, I worry that China has some issues with nationalism. And that's why it is imperative that Western loud-mouths be careful. When Nancy Pelosi and Lou Dobs flap thier gums about how bad the Chinese government is... you know who is really upset about it? Not the CCP (they already know Nancy Pelosi and Lou Dobs are a pair of dim wits). The ones who are really upset are the 1.3 billion Chinese whom these two dolts thought they were defending. That's nationalism, and it's a potent cocktail. Be careful.

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DEVELOPMENT: Their concern about development is also troubling. Is it development for development's sake? Just to catch up? Just to be better or best? That is unhealthy and unsustainable.

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These people are upset because Chinese people still ride trains and Americans don't. Or if they take my advice and track GDP, they'd be upset about the numbers. Yet neither of these things amount to a hill of beans against the 'happiness' measure that should be the primary concern. If there's anything to be upset about, it's pollution and environmental degradation. These things can seriously affect happiness, and unfortunately further development is only likely to intensify these problems. If they must find something to complain about, I suggest they stop worrying about how many Chinese people ride trains and worry about the purity of the air and water!

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Finally, they should make efforts to appreciate what China does have already... what they and their family have gained and accomplished in their lifetimes. After all evelopment is worth nothing if you can't stop to smell the roses.

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CONCLUSION

Okay, so this is rant is over, but I feel uneasy. The entry contains a strange mix of China praising and China bashing, so let me set the record straight and neutralize the rhetoric. I like China. I like Chinese people. I like living here. I think China has done amazing things, and prospects for the future only look brighter. Some Chinese people feel shame that I don't understand. Chinese people have nothing to feel ashamed about. I hope all people can abandon pride, shame, and nationalism in favor of individual identities based on individual lives. And I hope all people seek development that makes the lives of the individuals in society better.