China rises over a cup of tea

By Ron Dupuis
Beijing vs. Shanghai. As tense and gray as Beijing was, Shanghai was the opposite. The people there were helpful and friendly. They wanted to know as much about us as we them. The following event could never have happen in Beijing.

At about 6:30 in the morning, the Shanghai streets become busy with men and women rushing to get their children to school and still arrive to work on time. The transportation of choice seems to be bicycle or motorized scooter, although there are just enough private cars and full to capacity busses to cause the familiar morning and evening "rush hour" traffic jams of any modern city.

While getting a little exercise one morning I found myself in a small neighborhood tea room speaking with an elderly college professor who had a pretty good command of English. He informed me China, as an emerging world power, has come a long way since his youth.

"In my younger days, school was not necessarily mandatory. You pretty much went as far as your state mandatory proficiency exams would carry you." "Then" he continued, "you were pretty much regulated to the labor force that your parents worked in, the farm or factories."

"I was fortunate" he said in between sip of green tea and bites of some sort of dough cake with a flavored rice filling. "Academics came easy for me and I always tested well right on through university." "When I became a teacher it was the happiest day of my life."

My elderly Chinese friend went on to tell me how he now lives with his son and daughter-in-law. He receives a pension from the state and earns a few extra dollars, or "yuan," tutoring high school students in preparation for their college exams. "It's not much, but I have few needs."

When he finished his meal he poured himself another cup of tea then took out a pack of Chinese cigarettes. Keeping with Chinese custom he held the pack in both hands offering me one, saying "Do you smoke?" I answered "Yes, however I'm not used to smoking inside."

"In China almost everyone smokes despite the government's displeasure." "Some of the older generation like myself even consider tobacco a healing herb," he said with a broad smile.

"Boy, don't ever come to America," I thought to myself.

He began to tell me about his son and like dads around the world he sat a little taller and smiled, sort of off in the distance when one is thinking fond memories. He said his son was educated in Beijing and then went to school in London. He now travels the world as an import/export banker.

"My only unhappiness comes from not having any grandchildren yet. My son keeps telling me, 'Soon.'"

The conversation with my new friend lasted a little more than an hour. I found him both open and candid. We discussed his life as an educator and his son's life as a banker. It is pretty safe to say we both, subconsciously or not, stayed away from politics or human rights. I did however ask if he felt a Communist-controlled country could emerge as a valid economic world power. He smiled knowingly and told me China was an imperialist nation for thousands of years and perhaps we needed someone like Mao and the "Cultural Revolution" in order to arrive to the point we are at today.

"What point is that," I asked?

He responded: "My son tells me we are on the verge of significantly impacting world economic policies and this could only mean a better life for the billion and a half Chinese citizens."

I managed to get in one last question before we finished and went our separate ways. "Why is it the Chinese students studying in America all seem to be high achievers?"

He smiled knowingly yet answered, a little incredulously, "We have a population of over a billion people." "We send you only our best and brightest."