SHARED THOUGHTS – 06.12.2015
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A child is born. A second to the couple, inviting a
huge fine beyond their means for breaking a tough law. That newborn must be
sold to a couple who can afford to pay the fine. There were no takers. The
child had to be abandoned. The parents carried the guilt and remorse over their
future days and years. The destiny of this innocent new born was decided even
without giving the baby a chance. Such was the untold miseries of couples
living under the One Couple One Child policy of P.R.of China.
Welcome to the new modern China.
“When I was growing up, my parents told me, “Finish
your dinner. People in China and India are starving.”
Now, I tell my daughters, “Finish your home work.
People in China and India are starving… for your job.”
Thomas Friedman.
We landed on the day the Chinese Govt declared the
OCOC policy as no longer valid and relaxed to allow couples a second child. We
heard stories of couples where they lost the only child due to various reasons
at past the age to have another child…and had to live a life of loneliness and
endless sorrow.
Generations for decades grew up as the only child to
their parents, until recently, when this rule was relaxed to allow for a second
child if one of the parents is an only child. Then it was relaxed further, that
if the first child is a female, a couple can apply for permission to have a
second child. It stops there, irrespective whether the second child is a female
or a male.
Generations of children grew up into their adulthood
to witness in gradual measure the fantastic transformation of a tightly controlled
communist regime to an open liberated capitalistic oriented market economy yet
under the watchful eyes of the regime; old wine in new bottle perhaps, but what
a new bottle?!!!
I recall an incident at a small place called Niagara
on the Lake, Ontario, such a quaintly picturesque village which is a real
charmer, during autumn of 2009. The main shopping street hasn’t changed since
early 1800’s and this is the USP of this village that it can transport you back
200 years. Almost every shop had several items for a tourist.. albeit with the
label “Made in China” writ large on each of them. I enquired if there was one
item that I could buy Made in Canada or USA. I was directed to ONE shop that
had a big hoarding “All items made in USA/Canada” .. !!! A shop in Canada, mind
you. Now to the economics ; one cap which took my fancy was selling for $15.00
on the main street. I wanted a USA / Canada cap. A near equivalent in leather
was $100.00 at this shop…. But the label was Made in Canada. ( b.t.w, I
treasure that cap as a souvenir, but not to use and throw. Maybe my grandchild
can auction a Made in Canada item for a cool $100k few years hence).
The success behind the Made in China label needs no
further illustration. Conversely, no need to look further at the demise of
manufacturing in the West. The opening up of China to “Socialist market
economy” from early 1980s opened a new world of opportunities to the world
market. What happened later on is a story that need not be retold. The world is
experiencing it on a daily measure. There is no household in the world,
including the White House, or 10 Downing Street or 7 Race Course Road, that do
not have at least 10 items within its walls, with a Made in China label
somewhere. China has conquered our daily lives. The world has accepted and
adjusted to live by Made in China… in many ways the world is being made
in China.
From the mid 1980s to now, a mere 35 years journey,
China has grown from a juvenile underdeveloped country in the world stage to a
stature of a mature nation leading the world in economy, manufacturing,
education, space program, defense et al. The latest recognition being Yuan (aka
RenMinBi or RMB) being accepted by IMF as the fifth currency for world trading.
Within the top 100 top ranked world universities* are
Peking Univ (37 rank), Zhejiang Univ (48), Tsinghua (67), Shanghai Jiao Tong
Univ (70) as compared to the IIT Bombay at 563 to start the Indian count with.
Trading of Commodities such as corn, wheat, copper, steel etc bring a total of
trading volume of $300 trillion.
We visited 3 cities extensively covering through all
modes of transport available in Beijing, Qingdao, Shanghai. While walking
through the streets of these cities, what struck me as an Indian and an expat
in Kuwait, are the openness of the society for a law abiding person with
nothing to hide or fear…. No gagging or excess of police presence .. police to
protect not to fear as in Kuwait.. there was no need to carry any id or
passport anywhere unless changing money in bank or traveling; unlike in Kuwait
where if one does not have civil id in hand at the time of
checking, one is arrested and deported. Freedom in China is aplenty within a
well understood & accepted boundary… for a normal person he / she is never
ever even anywhere near that boundary. The lack of this well defined boundary
has been the curse for all problems in democratic developing countries like the
India.
Even though the male to female ratio in China is 1.17
for 15 plus age group, a visitor would be struck with the sight of females
swarming everywhere and would wonder where all the males are hiding. In
offices, shops, streets, malls there is a bevy of females in comparison to
males. The sad proof of OCOC policy is evident everywhere. It is very rare to
see more than one child to a couple. We could easily see there were very few
kids within sight anywhere. No wonder the unpopular policy is reversed before
being too late. There is a perceptible shortage of toddlers to our eyes that
are used to see them in excess.
Perhaps this may explain in a small way how the
streets and even crowded squares are spotless and clean. The efficiency and
upkeep of the town must be a matter of pride for the people. The Railway
stations resemble any modern airport in the system of check in security and
passage through designated gates. The high speed trains are a delight to travel
in; cozy comfortable and smooth at 300 kmph. Typical of scenes anywhere, mobile
phones have replaced all other reading matter. Everyone is busy looking at the screen,
chatting and communicating via QQ or Wechat apps instead of what we are
familiar with – whatsapp & Facebook - both are banned.
Baidu.com is the search engine in place of google
which is banned as also the gmails.
For us Indians with the experience of living in Indian
Metros, we can only admire several features in the city planning, open parks in
plenty, long pedestrian-only stretches on popular shopping districts, perfectly
laid foot paths, well manicured greenery along roads, sufficiency of toilets in
public places, efficient public transport system – subway metros, buses &
trams – all of which can very easily match the quality in any western city.
Cannot help, as this admiration slowly leads to a feeling of
despondency when we remember our cities and politics.
The streets of modern China is choker blocked with
cars of all hues and sizes and brands. The luxury segment of cars do roaring
business… a far cry of a photo of a typical Beijing street filled with bicycles
with hardly any cars that we can remember from even up to late 1980s. The dress
code for men and women were decided by the state strictly following the Mao
suits tailored in bulk for all sizes. The choice was limited to 3 colors –
maroon, blue or black. Just as the civil id we need to carry all the time in
Kuwait, one needed to carry the Red Book that detailed Mao’s philosophy that
guided the revolution to end the imperial Qing dynasty also known as Empire of
the Great Qing or the Manchu Dynasty that ruled from 1644 until 1912. Today that
Red Book is history and we never saw anyone make a mention of it or least of
all carrying it. It now belongs to where it deserved – the dust bin in the
scheme of things in modern China.
Modern China is still grappling with challenges like
urban pollution, inadequate health care, corruption in the corridors of power
etc, but then one must realize the country has emerged from the iron curtain
only recently and being a (limited?) welfare state is still a long way off, if
that be the aim at all.
For a casual visitor, China leaves a lasting
impression on all that can be achieved with a strong political will and how to
implement development programs to benefit teeming millions in the long run.
Yes, there have been violations of human rights in the process some of them
magnified to suit a negative propaganda to decry the pace of development. It’s
said no Administrator can be popular to all segments. So be it with the China
regimes who shaped the country to deservingly occupy a seat of honor in the
comity of nations by its strong will, dedication and clear focus even at the
expense of discarding the principles of its founding fathers. To this vision
and commitment my hats off to Deng Xiaoping, the Architect of Modern China and
the worthy leaders who followed him.
“When
our thousands of Chinese students abroad return home, you will see how China
will transform itself.” Deng Xiaoping.
*Source.
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Have a safe &
peaceful week ahead.
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