Out-of-Class #2: A Strong Example ...

... of the strong points cited in the overall round-up blog. Please note those attributes and try to get some ideas for how you can best do your rewrite and third out-of-class story. The author's name has been removed to protect the innocent:

JRN 200
10.24.12
Slug: China
 

An impending shift in political power halfway across the world could have a significant impact on MSU students, according to Yasumasa Komori, an expert in East Asian politics at MSU.

In early 2013, the Chinese Communist Party will introduce a new president — Xi Jinping — whose policies will likely add to the already significant influx of Chinese international students to MSU, Komori said.

Since 2007, the population of Chinese international students has grown by more than 400 percent to almost 3,500 in 2011, according to the MSU Office of International Students and Scholars.

These increases of Chinese students are common across major universities in the western world, Komori said, and are due to an increase in the population of China’s upper class amidst the nation’s swift economic growth.

“China’s economy has grown by very large percentages each year over the past few decades,” Komori said.

Most Chinese students who are undergraduates at MSU come from wealthy families, according to Li Kang, Director of the MSU Neighborhood Cultural Assistance Program. 

“The average income of a Chinese family is about $5,000 or $6,000 per year, and tuition and living expenses at MSU can cost 10 times that,” Li said. “Usually only the wealthy families can afford to send their children here.”

Li works within the integration process of Chinese students to the MSU community. He said that employers in China see huge value in students who have been educated in the western world and can speak English well.

“The American university system is very highly regarded in China,” Li said.

But even as an increasing number of Chinese students come to MSU, many have trouble adjusting to American culture, Li said.

“Often times Chinese parents don’t realize the difficulties that come with sending their children to the United States,” Li said. 

These difficulties can lead to resentment between American students and Chinese students, Li said, which will only increase as MSU’s Chinese student population grows.

“People don’t like what they don’t understand,” Li said. “It is so important that we find ways to bridge the gap between American and Chinese students.”

Komori said that American students sometimes feel threatened by Chinese students.

“Americans always hear about China as a growing economic superpower, so they view China as a threat,” Komori said.

However, China’s economic growth itself could be under threat, Komori said.

After nine years of stable growth under current president Hu Jintao, Xi is set to take over as Chinese citizens demand more transparency of their government all the time, Komori said.

“Xi knows that he is taking over a fragile superpower,” Komori said. “The rise of China’s middle class is dangerous to him because Chinese people are finding more and more about the how political processes work outside of China.”

Most of China’s federal decisions are made by a Communist Party panel behind closed doors, Komori said, and local elections are corrupt and often rigged.

As the middle class demands more input in China’s governance, it could negatively impact the nation’s economic growth through unrest, Komori said. 

Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education graduate student Mei Jianyang said that life in China has been improving for most over the past decade, but few Chinese are interested in voting.

“Most people in China are so poor, they only care about having enough to eat,” Mei said. “China is not ready for free elections.”

However, she said that as Chinese people grow more educated, she thinks free elections are possible in a few decades.

“They will have to get rid of corruption among public officials,” Mei said. “Nobody trusts the few elections we do have. We know they’re rigged.”

Mei — who studied history at Nankai University in Tianjin, China — said that when she participated in elections for university officials, there were communist party members at the polls who effectively ordered voters who to vote for.

“Everyone knew how the election would turn out,” Mei said.

Mei said she came to MSU because of “new opportunities” that would not be available to her in China.

While she doesn’t expect Xi to be much different than Hu, Mei said she thinks that Chinese citizens will demand more transparency from him.

“Access to the internet has changed the way many Chinese people think about politics,” Mei said.

Word Count: 721

Sources:

Yasumasa Komori, James Madison College professor
Expert in East Asian Politics

komoriy@msu.edu

Li Kang, Director of the MSU Neighborhood Cultural Assistance Program

likang968@gmail.com

Mei Jianyang, Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education graduate student

meijiany@msu.edu

MSU Office of International Students and Scholars, 2011 Annual Report
http://oiss.isp.msu.edu/documents/statsreport/11pdfs/Asia.pdf