It was the first high school graduation I'd ever been to. The stadium was crowded with students, teachers, families and friends. Students, all dressed in gowns, received their certificates from teachers one after the other. Siyu's mother couldn't help crying when Siyu received her certificate from the Dean. "She suffered a lot here", she whispered to me, "she left us when she's so little, and came to a country with different language and culture. We couldn't do anything for her."
Actually that's not true, They did a lot for her. Both Siyu's parents are very successful businessmen.They own a big company back in China which paid a tax of more than $15 million last year. Billionaires like them have no difficulties in affording Siyu's tuition and stipend in the last three years, which added up to around $180,000. Siyu might feel lonely in a strange country, but she is free from financial pressure, which is a big concern for most Chinese students in the US. In 2011, the annual income per capita for urban residents in China was CNY23,979 (US$3,763), but only CNY6,977 (US$1,095) for rural residents. To supported their child studying in the US for three years, a typical Chinese urban family has to save all their 25-year's income without any consumption if no fellowship is provided.
The world is never fair, but it's still depressing to see talented children missing opportunities of receiving good education which could change their lives. I see how the gaps between different income groups are enlarged across generation by education; and how people's fate are, if not predetermined, at least largely shaped when they were born. What's worse, we could hardly expect these well-educated people to promote equality in China in the future though they're more likely than their domestic peers to be exposed to this idea. It is exactly the extremely imbalanced distribution of social wealth that makes it possible for their parents to accumulate large amount of money and for them to receive the best education in the world. The most reasonable choice for them is to take current advantages and lead best lives.
People are not born equal. But twenty years ago when unchecked privilege was not running so rampant, we still had hopes, which is dying out in today's China.
Wow, that's depressing -- about hope of equality dying in China :(
ReplyDeleteI think about how much inequality there is in the Bay Area, all right next to each other. Fancy Palo Alto next to East Palo Alto. Or Berkeley and Oakland. But I guess everyone still has a higher baseline in living standards. Most people will have a roof to sleep under, food to eat, and the opportunity to go to better and better schools.
I think the inequality of education is the worst inequality - if the opportunity is not equal, how can they "merge":)
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