Another one of the benefits of actually living out here in Asia is that you hear more perspectives - through the media, colleagues, friends and of course the many Taiwanese who love to talk about politics. I've also been enjoying magazines from the Cathay lounge that I sneak out for Sandra from time to time! It's not unusual these days to have China being written up in the newspaper or magazines, but the availability is naturally more living here. I will point out that there is almost zero coverage of Canada in world news! (Don't worry, from time to time I still pop into globeandmail.com to see if anything "interesting" has happened!)
On Sunday, we picked up the latest editions of Time Asia and Newsweek for our return flight. There was an interesting article on China, specifically on Chengdu. Part of me wishes that I saw the article before our trip, but nevertheless, it was an interesting article and solidified a few of our observations of the city - even a city that wasn't running at 100% due to the Chinese New Year holidays.
Click here for the link to the online version of the article. I'm not sure how long these Time articles are available online for viewing. Lot of interesting tidbits and perspectives from the interviewees which I won't repeat all of them, but a few that questions that the article and our recent trips to China raise:
- With the continued (and high) rate of growth in China, individuals, corporations and governments are arguably building relative "wealth". Even those you would consider the "poorest" - the people who collect disposed plastic water bottles or cardboard from garbage bins to sell for a living. They too are making relatively more money than they were in previous years. What happens with this growth? How will consumerism impact the emerging China? Here's another link to a second Time Asia article that makes reference to a HSBC study that surveys people in various Asian cities on spending / saving (note the reference to near or at zero savings rate for the United States).
- It is quite obvious that the younger emerging generation in China today is interested in many elements of the "West" and find this "trendy". Some obvious examples are apparel that contain anything English (even with incorrect spelling - a grammatical error saved Sandra from purchasing a new sweatshirt she saw on sale!) or the significant line-ups at the local Pizza Hut - a popular "date place" in China and of course, the perceived status of holding a Starbucks coffee cup. How long will this "fascination" or "interest" in the West continue? Will it evolve to something else? The question for the Church is whether the church today gets some of this residual interest and people discover something much greater and with more significant substance. If there is a change of evolvement of interaction between East and West, how is best should the church position itself to feed the inherent spiritual needs of people to enable them to find God?
- See article reference (online page 2) to Starbucks coffee costing US$3.30 in a city where the average income per day is about US$7. Still, many will use this huge percentage of their new earnings towards having that Starbucks cup in their hand (for this same amount, you can have dinner at a nice sit down Chinese restaurant or even a SiChuan hotpot dinner. A local Chinese soft serve ice cream was US$0.14 vs. the trendy TCBY frozen yogurt cost of US$3.00.
- According to the article, Chengdu is China's fourth largest city, but most people don't hear much about Chengdu. You hear lots about investment in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. This next tier of cities is gaining investment interest from the government and significant investors - there is a LOT of room to grow. What will be the impact of this growth?
- See article quote from the Chief of Marketing for North Asia at Motorola, "If you want to be No.1 in China, you have to be successful in every city in China".
We made reference to walking through local areas in Guangzhou (frankly not so "nice" and not so "comfortable" areas of Guangzhou - fortunately it was in the middle the day). There was the usual full alleyways of vendors selling to local people, many of the students - clothes, accessories, cell phones, etc. Sandra referred to it as a Ghetto from the sense that this was the area that household units existed - the sleep, eat, make money, socialize, etc. all within this area. We saw many children either participating in the entrepreneurial efforts with their parents, or smoking and hanging out with their friends in adjacent alleys. The thing to point out is that there are not traditional trades or family businesses that are inheritted, but it is the entrepreneurial efforts of selling or providing whatever consumers of the day will purchase (frankly, often these can be substandard goods provided on an as-is cash basis). We doubt that many of these particular families can afford to provide their children a decent education. Making money has been a necessity of physical survival and people are naturally trained to make as much as they can because they don't know if they will make any the next day. What happens when there is the economic growth referenced above? Is there a point where basic needs are met and you may break yourself out of this cycle of poverty or entrepreneurialism? Is there an understanding for this particular group on concepts of saving, debt, etc.? Who will be there to provide, train and educate? It was quite sad for both of us to be swarmed by people we would consider "children" (in age) to purchase their goods and services. We know that there is a realistic necessity for their own survival, but wonder what will become of them in the long term. It just drives your heart and spirit to pray .. but what specifically are we praying for? There is so much to learn and our "Western influenced" perspectives may not be the appropriate answer.
Here's a final short Time Asia article. It's about toxins and tainted food. I wouldn't recommend reading if it will deter you from trips to China, but it is a realism that speaks to the entrepreneurial spirit at all costs. Read here at your own risk! Some of you may have heard the reference to some parts of China being like the "Wild West"!
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