Goodbye China: Questions from Home
One thing that impressed me about Chinese college students was their knowledge of U.S. history and current U.S. politics. Although some students, like my tutor Wang Xia, weren't really interested in these topics, everone I talked to had a good grasp of at least the basics of our past and present.
I know that because we're the world power, the global community has to be interested in what happens here, especially countries like China that are trying to move from underdeveloped to developed status. I also understand that most Americans (often including myself) don't follow the day-to-day political occurances of what's happening in far away places.
But I'm also convinced that China and America's future will be incredibly intertwined over the next fifty or so years. As this relationship moves forward, it brings forth a plethora of quesitons about peace and security. There are plenty of reasons I believe this, but that's a different post for a different time.
What concerns me though, is that if the U.S. and China are going to be so intertwined, and their college students have a descent accumulated knowledge of us, where does that leave us? What do we, American College students, know about the CCP's history? So who can answer these questions:
Who was Dr. Sun Yat-Sen?
Has China ever had a Democratic government?
Who became leader of China after Mao Zedong?
When did the Dynastic System in China end?
How long has China had a Communist Government?
Why is China's relationship with Taiwan so contenious and why does the U.S. care?
You don't have answer all of these questions, just answer what you want. Feel free to share any other thoughts or questions.