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A Mini-Clash of Civilization – not a good practice for students (2)
In the well known and still controversial book “ A Clash of Civilization and the Re-making of the World Order” ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clash_of_Civilizations ) , the late Harvard political scientist, Samuel Huntington describes the major force shaping the World as we know today. My last article “not a good practice for students” unexpectedly (by me) provoked a flurry of interest and comments by the ScienceNet readers. I learned belatedly a lesson and real life example of Huntington’s thesis. I thought it was worthwhile to summarize what I learned in one place.
1. In China, property rights exist for concrete things. Intellectual Property Right (IPR) is not of Chinese origin and hence some Chinese do not necessarily respect it as the rest of the world do.
2. An electronic book occupies a fuzzy position between real property such as a hard bound paper book and an electronic file such as an internet page. The primary distinction not often realized by everyone is the existence of real financial interest by the author and the publisher.
3. If China behaves essentially as before 1978 when she opened up to the rest of the world, then she can do what she wants within her borders. Actually in the modern world even that notion has limits. No country can be an island totally. Germany’s Holocaust, Massacres in Biafra, Kosovo, Rwanda, and Darfur all produced international reactions. Nuclear bomb developments in North Korea and Iran currently receives worldwide attention and scrutiny. On the flip side, America’s insistence on exporting her notion of democracy in every other country is not always welcomed or workable.
4. But China nowadays has rather close connections and relationships with the rest of the world – imports from Brazil and Australia and exports to the US and Europe. Once you have such interactions, then your notion of what is right or wrong will clash with those of others. You can say, “might makes right” and China will bend others to her way of thinking OR accept new ways of thinking from outside. Recent history of China has numerous examples of the latter. Given the fact there still are hundreds and thousands of students every year wishes to study abroad, learning from outside cannot be a totally bad thing. Recent progresses should not make China think that she is always first and correct on every subject. True patriotism also means you can accept honest advices and criticisms.
5. It was in this spirit of the impressions of Chinese students may have on the rest of the world that I wrote my last blog piece and the last sentence of the piece about what is proper and not proper in my view. Chinese students are known for hard working but also there are no lacking in reports of some Chinese students behaving intentionally or unintentionally in ways not approved by most .
6. Finally for students who still cannot get access to or afford the purchase of knowledge, there are many solutions.For example, have the government subsidize education, purchase the necessary textbook, and amply fund the libraries. In the US, textbooks from kindergarten through grade 12 are furnished by the school for use by the student. Why doesn’t China practice this in university and graduate schools? She can surely afford it.
So let us all reflect on the above.
