Thursday, June 21, 2007

Doing My Bit for the Motherland

Yesterday, Chinese President Hu Jintao called on overseas Chinese to contribute to the peaceful reunification of the motherland.

"The complete reunification of China and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation are the common aspiration of all Chinese at home and abroad, and need their concerted efforts as well."

He encourages them to make a greater contribution to the country's prosperity and progress, as well as world peace and development.

These are pretty lofty goals, including the return of all Chinese to the motherland. For many born overseas, China is just a country on the map.

But back to making a contribution to the country's prosperity and progress. I'm trying to do my bit, but find some Chinese lack even a basic sense of professionalism. I'm here to teach them skills and knowledge to help them do their job better, or even up to international standards. But when they can't even get their act together and show up on time or I find out my weekly scheduled meeting has been hijacked by some impromptu meeting and no one tells me in advance, why should I bother?

Until more Chinese show that they're professional and serious about learning something new, you just have to take some of them at face value and boil it down to having your T-I-C moment for the day.

It's a mindset that may take a generation or two to change.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

just do your share and try your best , the rest is' tu um est,' that is the motto of university of british columbia. it is the essence of confucian thinking. it starts with the self, then to the family, society then the country.

Unknown said...

Well B, it's not like everyone in western society is professional, on-time and courteous.

Anonymous said...

taiwan is part if china of centuries. it has been under foreign domination, the netherlands, japan and us. the latter is the latest foreign devil the chinese despise.