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American Politics in China
Openness and public opinion
By Kansas State Senator Chris Steineger
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China is our principal competitor in commerce, industry, and global trade. I had an opportunity to study China up close by spending the month of October in Beijing giving a lecture series titled: "American Government, Politics and Election campaigns". While my fellow Americans were home being subjected to (and annoyed by) political commercials, mail & phone calls, I was in Beijing teaching Chinese college students about the benefits and advantages of the very same! The invitation to teach came from the China Foreign Affairs University and the Ministry of Education.
In my lectures we discussed similarities and differences between the American and Chinese governments and media. We discussed the election process, campaign finance and role of lobbyists and disclosure rules. We discussed the role of the media, openness and public opinion. From American newspapers I shared stories about the Jack Abramoff lobbyist scandal in Washington and editorials criticizing government policies and officials. We discussed the "openness" of our governmental meetings, and the freedom of the press to investigate, research and write news. We compared elections to shopping (something the Chinese know & love) where consumers study the different products, seek the opinions of family and friends, then make a choice. We compared political advertising to consumer product advertising, and examined campaign literature, yard signs and a DVD of political T.V. commercials. We compared political candidates and the primary election system to the Olympics (coming to Beijing in 2008) whereby many athletes compete but only a few make it to the top to win the gold medal. Similarly, that open elections are a way for many ideas and ideologies to be openly discussed and compared and that the best ones will compete and evolve into policy. The students grasped the value of open meetings of government, independent media, competition and election choice for the citizens. On Monday nights we used a classroom to watch videos such as "Fahrenheit 911", "The War Room", and "Bush's Brain" which were a hit with students and faculty alike, with 60-80 viewing the videos on Monday nights. Afterwards we discussed the film and there were dozens of questions. The videos were a great way to demonstrate American free speech, artistic expression and our freedom to openly criticize our governmental leaders.
The students speak English, are well informed and ask dozens of thoughtful question about "openness" in government, freedom of media and exposing of corrupt officials. Many faculty and students gave me quiet encouragement to talk explicitly about the Chinese government, its rule by the Chinese Communist Party and comparing the strengths and weaknesses of our two systems. The students know the weaknesses of the American system including declining voter turnout; the electoral college system, the enormous cost of campaigns and the excessive power of lobbyists. From their questions and conversations, its obvious the students are also learning lessons applicable to their own government, especially methods to expose and eliminate corrupt officials. Between my three class sections and several guest lectures at other universities, 700 Chinese students gained a better understanding about elections, openness and competition.
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Chinese students are disciplined studiers. Most universities have classes day and evening, seven days a week (16/7). It's an efficient way to maximize the investment in buildings & technology. The students are required to live on campus, late night partying is not allowed and the dorms are locked at 10pm. There is a little play time, but students mostly study. The students come from all over China, but the one thing they have in common is academic achievement. In China all high school graduates take a nationwide exam that measures academic achievement. Only those who score above the 95th percentile are invited to attend CFAU.
CFAU was founded in 1956, is closely associated with the Foreign Ministry, and is the training school for future young diplomats. CFAU has about 1,400 students, 100 faculty and 200 support staff. Twenty foreign faculty and about 100 foreign students are also present. CFAU offers degrees in Diplomacy, Foreign Studies, Foreign Languages, English, International Economics and International Law. The Chinese government heavily subsidizes college education. For Chinese students, tuition at CFAU costs $650 per year; room and board $150 per year and books less than $80 per year! So, a four year degree costs less than $4,000! Such a bargain! Foreign students pay more, but the annual price tag is still only $6,000! Still a bargain! The student cafeteria offers meals for $1.00, while a 3 course meal at the campus restaurant (with plenty of leftovers to take home) costs $3.00.
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The CFAU campus is quite compact comprising a dozen 6-10 story buildings on about 10 acres, with a small, green, 1/4 acre park in the middle. The buildings at CFAU are not fancy by any means, but are sturdy, simple, and clean. No air conditioning, carpeting, wood trim, or other non essentials.
The students live 6 - 8 per room in dorms, while staff and many faculty live on site in small apartments. The Dean of the English Department's office is small, shared with another teacher, and has a bare concrete floor. Most light fixtures are old fluorescents without decorative covers. The floor tiles in the halls and stairs have 40 years of wear and tear. The few upgrades are well chosen; computers with overhead screens, high speed internet in every classroom and double pane windows. Building utilization efficiency is very high as classes are taught 7 days a week and 16 hours per day on weekdays! The campus and buildings are a study in maximum utilization for minimum capital investment and quite a contrast to the sprawling, manicured campuses and well appointed buildings at K.U. & K-State. I was housed in the VIP apartment in the International Center, along with the foreign faculty and foreign students. It was as good as a 3 star hotel with English speaking staff, cable T.V., internet and maid service.
Observations and conclusions: China invests in education by heavily subsidizing tuition, books, room and board for all students. They do not spend vast sums on campuses and buildings. Students study hard, do not party much, and have more access to global information than any generation before them. All students have access to computers and the internet. Many have their own laptops and mobile phones. CNN, BBC, many foreign newspapers and magazines are available and 95% of internet sites are accessible and not censored Professors and teachers from many western countries are teaching at most Chinese Universities. There is more knowledge and open discussion of western, democratic forms of government, though criticism of their own government seldom happens in the open. The Chinese are hungry for knowledge from western countries especially in science, engineering, business management, entrepreneurship and creativity. They are very focused on building their educational capacity to generate the workforce they will need tocompete with anybody.
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