Today’s Talk

February 22nd, 2007 by CD

It is very interesting to see why people who left their native land do not return.  In some cases it is because of the economy in other cases it is political reasons.  My roommate who is Chinese has no intention of going back to China.  I really should have interviewed him for this post but prehaps another time.  In any case, Today’s Talk will feature the topic of why Chinese who left their homeland do not go back. 

The Chinese society has changed a lot but for some the change is not enough.

Meng Jie: “Most Chinese students don’t even think about going back”
I am originally from Shaanxi Province in western China. My parents decided to come to Canada in 2000 when I was 13.

They were lecturers at a small university. They had worked very hard so that they could leave their farming homes.

They felt pressure to work tirelessly so that they can get into university and find a job. They wanted me to have a better future.

A few years before they left, they bought about 20 computers to provide students with a computer lounge for study or leisure use. But soon school officials started to come around to tell them how many rules they had broken. The hassle was simply a hint that they needed to pay them some money to settle things.

The original plan was that they would stay in Canada until I get into a decent university, after which they would return to China. I am now an engineering student at the University of Waterloo in Toronto.

But now they have changed their mind. They made a few Chinese friends here and decided that life in Canada is a lot easier. In 2004 we went back for a brief visit. The lack of change throughout the country assured us that our decision was correct.

I do not have plans to go back soon, but I don’t rule it out. The growth of China cannot be ignored. But the same goes for other things, like bureaucracy and corruption. The wealth gap is so big and it’s difficult to tell on which side you will end up.

There are stories of highly paid professors and researchers, while there are those who work for as little as 2000 Yuan ($258, £132) a month. Many of the Chinese students here do not even think about going back. The ones who return are those who have no other choice.

I also feel that my countrymen are still highly nationalistic. I often get attacked on Chinese forums for having a more global perspective.

If China wants its educated people back, it needs to allow critical thinking and entrepreneurial ability, instead of treating its people like machines designed to endure stress and depression.