Throughout the 1980s, I faithfully read China Reconstructs' (now China Today) to
keep abreast of China's war on poverty. I was skeptical but also hopeful because
even if China realized only a fraction of its goals, hundreds of millions would escape
poverty, and perhaps inspire other nations to follow suit.
After a decade of reading about China's changes, we determined to see them
firsthand and in 1988 I moved with my family to Xiamen University to study Chinese.
The trip from Los Angeles entailed 50 h on 3 planes and an 18 h boat trip up the
coast from Hong Kong. Upon arrival, we were surprised to learn that even in Xiamen,
a Special Economic Zone facing Taiwan, roads were still potholed, transportation
was poor, electricity and water outages were almost daily, and store shelves were
empty. Yet the people were optimistic because life had never been better and they
were confident in the future.
After two months of Chinese study, I was asked to teach MBA for one year. Dean
Liu Peng said, "We will build one of China's top ten business programs!"
I reluctantly put my Chinese studies on hold for one year and then accepted a
second year of teaching, and a third. I've now been teaching, temporarily of course,
for 34 years, but still hope to someday resume Chinese studies.
Even though I was confident in China's future, I expected change would take 50
or 60 years-that we were "planting trees for future generations to enjoy the shade."
After all, at that time even a landline phone cost me 450 USD and took 3 years to
install. No one could have imagined 30 years ago that by 2021, sleepy Xiamen's
GDP would exceed 700 billion Yuan.
But the miracle of the China Dream is seen best not in dry statistics but in the
changed lives of people across the entire nation.
In January 1989, I made my first trip to see how rural farmers and fishermen
lived and discovered that 50 miles from Xiamen were like traveling back 50 years in
time. I rode buses, motorcycle taxis, farm tractors, and bicycles, and hiked for hours
through rice paddies and up and down mountain trails. Not surprisingly, rural areas
were poor, yet rural Chinese were as cheerful and optimistic as the urbanites. They
were also openhearted and hospitable.
