From @UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU:owner-china-nt@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU Fri Dec 3 21:57:43 1993 Reply-To: YANG Chang-Qing Sender: China-Net Subject: CCF #9324 (Special Edition: The 1.5th Culture Shock ) Comments: To: china-nt@uga.cc.uga.edu To: Multiple recipients of list CHINA-NT ==+==+==+== C h i n e s e C o m m u n i t y F o r u m ==+==+==+=== Friday, December 3, 1993 (Issue No. 9324) Special Edition: The 1.5th Culture Shock (II) +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Chinese Community Forum (CCF) is a journal published on China-Net. CCF is dedicated to the discussion and debate on the issues related to the Chinese community. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of the Editorial Board of CCF. Contributions to the discussions and suggestions of new topics are very much appreciated. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Table of Contents Author | # of Lines ============================================================================ 1. The 1.5th Culture Shock (Part II).................Jinghong Li.........538 2. Reader's Comment.......................................................90 a. Should Not Be Shocked..............................Bo Peng..........53 b. Be Prepared For Being Shocked........................Ty Hu..........37 ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== From the Editor In this special edition we present the second half of the series of home-visiting stories by Li Jinghong. We appreciate the response from our readers to this series. A couple of the comment from readers has been included in this issue. We would like to invite more observations, stories, comments and discussions on this fascinating topic: Experiences of home-visiting. ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== 1. The 1.5th Culture Shock (Set II of II) - China Stories from A "Detective" for the Green Card Home-Visit-Army ......................................................Jinghong Li.....530 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Visits to 2 US CSS Related Biz Offices in Beijing 7. The 6 "Da" in Today's China 8. Students and Teachers in A Reformed Society 9. Campus Small Talks 10. A Stroll in the Night-life of Zhuhai Special Zone . To End ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Visits to 2 US CSS Related Biz Offices in Beijing Is the Chinese economy booming or getting out of control? No one can give a definite answer, especially after he/she had seen the Country both from the outside world and from inside the system. Just like what have happened to me: not more clear now than before the trip. But, do you want to be part of the changes? Many do, and I would like to know how those who jumped in are doing. So, once again, I knocked on doors of someone I never knew before. COSEA - The Chinese Overseas Student Entrepreneur Association People on the networks may noticed in early August, COSEA or LI-SanYuan's Corp. was advertising an organized trip to their "Chinese Overseas Student Cities" in major Chinese cities. Well, you may also remember I helped to post them on many related groups on internet. But, to tell the truth, I was just a Volunteer trying to help. Although Mr. Li SanYuan kindly pointed me as his "full-power ambassador" to develop new interests in northwest China, I knew little about the operation itself. The Beijing office of COSEA is located on the east of the 2nd-Ring road, a two room apartment in a relatively nice hotel. When I called in two days earlier, I was told that Li SanYuan had gone on a trip to Guangzhou to prepare the coming overseas students group visit, and he probably wouldn't be back before I leave town. The Vice Director of the China branch office (as the name card shown) was there waiting for me. He was about 40 and offered cigarette as a standard welcome. Well, I don't smoke, he didn't insist. This is a interesting point though, if you don't or don't want to smoke, tell them and most people won't insist - unlike what I remembered. However, you have to be consistent with this, at least not let them catch you with a "cig-ass" in hand. The VD introduced some of the basic functions of this office and little bit history. My impression was that this COSEA started by Li SanYuan single handed with persistence. He spent about half a year last year in China running around the country to get things started. Maybe others also tried, but he was the lucky one and pulled the magical triggers. I think the most important one was the blessing from the State Council or Commission on Science and Tech. The other important factor is the eagerness of local authorities who would catch any thing with a "foreign" or "joint venture" in its name. A lot of newspaper reports and advertises were shown to me. The VD was obviously proud of the fact that their stories are all over the country and on the first pages of important papers. The Beijing office had two (or maybe one more) formal and full time staff. Well, this seemed also the only formally office in China. In other cities, the local coordinators are probably working on a volunteer or second-job basis. "How much it cost to run this office?" I was interested to know how they support themselves. "At the current stage, about 20,000Yuan a month." This would cover everything from salary to hotel rooms. The money are mostly coming from company support. I didn't figure out whether or not the government paid some of bills, nor did I made sure if Li SY had money from overseas. But the following group trip was partially supported by an overseas bank. To my question on what kind of a definite plan for Overseas Students Cities to become reality, he honestly answered not all clear yet. Nowadays, he explained, there are many uncertainties in the way things work in China. Local people probably would like to do more than the government willing to. Their influence among US CSS seemed pretty good. While I was in the office, an IFCSS officer who was attending a conference there called in. I picked up the phone said hi to give him a nice surprise. I planned to join the group trip in Guangzhou, but couldn't make it at the last moment. Their plan was to tour 4 cities. It started by the time I was leaving to US. some of them may have got back, I am looking forward to hear their stories on the network. Chinese Overseas Student (Tianjin) Sci & Tech. Park Development Corp. I saw the infor about this Corp. from the AEIC News Release. I went to talk to them following the COSEA visit. Unlike the early one, this Corp. was setup by a number of groups both in US and China. A CAL member (as I remember) was on their Board of Directors member list. Interestingly, the guy working in the office is from a place where I spent part of my life. So we naturally started our conversation warmly. The overseas students business is not the only thing they do here. The boss is a very busy man. The office is located in a much better, well more expensive hotel. Compared to the COSEA, this plan is relatively smaller and more specific. The guy showed the Deed of their ownership of a 1-square km land in Tianjin, Tong-San Economic Special Zone. Unfortunately, I couldn't find them when I was in Tianjin and missed the chance to see and touch the land. But telling from the map, it was indeed impressive if you only know how hard to find a piece of useful land in China. With all regards, the land and its location, at the entry point of the TongSan Sea Port, posses extreme importance. But the trick seemed where to get money and where to get the permit to build on it. I think people have to realize that the so called "ownership of land" in China does not mean what it meant in the rest of the world. They were thinking of building some hi-tech factories and maybe research facilities to attract overseas money and brains. The local authority, again, was eager and willing to provide special treatments. But, to make things move in China could be very difficult. Second Impressions I was and am still not quite sure what was my impressions after the two visits. Really, their plan, their efforts, and their hopes all made me excited and wish the best for them. However, there is the feeling of something is missing. It seemed not many people, even those who started and bet on the plans were sure about where all these heading. Especially, as the government had just started the new movement "anti-corruption", the entire economic and reform environment for new projects also changed over night. Maybe it is the uncertainty, maybe is the undefined roles for overseas? Anyhow, I wish everything goes well and smoothly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. The 6 "Da" in Today's China The day before I posted the first story of this series, a friend, who was also in China during September, summarized his China impression to be 6 Da (big, read them in Chinese if you can): Economy Da Booming Politics Da Corrupting Morality Da Collapsing Sex Da Liberating Environment Da Polluting Population Da Swelling In China today, the first thing you will notice is the economy situation. Not only there are more new shops, new buildings, new cars, new clothes, and etc., but people's got new thoughts. As been reported many times, people talk about money all the time. Because the reform relaxed controls over the economy, because a few people got richer first, because most people are left behind, and because the ordinary citizens cannot afford not to looking for chances and most of them can only Talk about the money. In one word, Chinese people now live a better equipped, yet more tiresome life than ever. Bonus, red "bao" and "second income" have become part of the regular salary. Even with this, most people stand barely to make ends meet. For workers, teachers, ordinary salary-class people, not to mention farmers, that's what they have to live on. For some others, however, it is a totally different story. They have more, more of everything. The reform has changed the entire society - several classes of people are therefore created. They began to think differently, act differently. Still, all classes have one thing in common - they are all unhappy. Why? I asked many. Different classes may have their particular complaints, but one point they did agree on: it is not fair. In Beijing, the used-to-be Departments, such as the 1st - 7th Industry Departments which are all government offices in charge of particular industry areas, have all become Headquarters of "Industry Corporations" overnight. Well, in a totally "Planned Economy" system, this does not make much a difference, the government owns everything anyway. But in today's ever changing economic fever, these giant monsters not only still hold the absolute power over all belonging local companies, be it governmental or not, they now can legally make money for themselves. No wonder people in Beijing live better than any other places in the country - including those so called Special Zones. Actually, these HQs don't have to try hard. The local people will beg them to accept special treatments for that others may be considered thereafter. In Special Zones, such as Shenzhen and Zhuhai which are surrounded by armed forces to prevent people without special permits getting in, have a lot breaks on tax, import/export and better equipped factories. After about 8 years, their better quality family-electric products are taking over the inner cities market at amazing speed. The companies inside can only watch or closed down. Don't take me wrong, don't even take the people inside wrong. They want reform and are willing to accept that some people must get richer first, just not in such an unfair way. A funny fact is, people in Beijing and Special Zones are also unhappy. They may be living a better life, but money, I mean big money, have all gone to the so called Grandson Party, their families and a few not-afraid-of-head-rolling Da Kuan (money). Again, this is not news anymore, just the sum of amount money scares the hell out off so many. The Anti-Corruption Movement and Rolling Heads "Politics Da Corrupting" is the reason for a new movement call "Anti-Corruption". As a matter of fact, it is the mother of all "Da"s. For if there were no such a Anti movement, the Part and the system probably won't survive long. But as far as the CCP Movement goes, not many people expect to see a real change, though they did expect to see some heads rolling. The entire economic machine halt in the air uniformly through out the country as soon as the government announced the "Anti" movement. It is was a spectacular show of unity and self-discipline. One had to see it to understand the impact. Everyone had something to worry, let's put this way: not many people can confidently declare themselves as "clean". No one is dare to make another deal at this moment. One factor different from previous movements is the halt on all businesses served not only as a self protection but also a form of resentment. Several business men told me, by the standard listed in the charges against the few executed economic criminals, there would be thousands more heads to be moved, especially those on the top. But, who believes the CCP want to do that? They describe it in a Chinese saying "the governor can spread fires, the ordinaries are not allowed to light". Yes, the picture is not pretty. Let's all hope for the best. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. Students and Teachers in A Reformed Society Economical Reform changed everything, including the Education System in China. Early September, at the beginning of a new school year, public propaganda system began to carry countless government announcements and new regulations which were all aimed to strictly restrict school registration charges. From elementary school to college, officials are ordered not to Luan-Shou-Fei (disordered/unlawful collecting money). During the process of certain-people get richer first, the education system and people associated with it are left at the real bottom of the society. Government offices can get richer by waving power in hand; Business people can get richer by "trading" one product among themselves ten times before it reaches the market; Medical doctors can get richer by put patience through unnecessary "high tech checking", halt the operation halfway unless red "bao" is received, and of course, by refusing to take anyone who cannot pay cash up front; The Police can get richer by fining whoever happens to be in sight - the amount can be reduced if no receipt is requested; Taxi drivers can get richer by working 14 hours a day and occasionally charging the foreign-devils a big extra; Judges can get richer by promising to both sides of one case; Reporters can get richer by writing advertising "reports" for companies; ... What can the educators do when all the resource is their students? Well, teachers are the most intelligent people, aren't they? During the past several years, students began to bring home more and more bills: classroom advancing fee, school improvement fee, student special training/care fee, students health improvement fee, ... etc. and etc. Please, please don't ask me what they were for. The official fee on elementary school is normally limited at 35-50 Yuan per student. I asked some parents how the schools follow the regulations. The truth is that "rules" meant nothing. No school charges the "registration fee" more than what was permitted. However, they all have other special bills ready for the parents to pay - none of them are in the name of "registration fee" of course. By the end of the first school day, a student family have at least paid 200-300 Yuan. For some parents who want their child to be in a Zhong Dian (Special School), the fee could be as high as 1000 Yuan. And if the Special School is out of the family resident area, it is not surprise to see the Fee jump to 10,000 Yuan per year. Actually, Special Schools all suppress the number of students from its belonging area in order to get more outside incomes. However, teachers are poor by any standards. What make things worse is everyone knows it. The traditional "respect to teachers" has disappeared, this time totally. Teachers are not ashamed to admit the fact any more. They are the latest group to "jump into the sea" with nothing to worry. Selling cigarettes, "small eatings" on the street are not unusual. I was told in one school, the competition was so intense that they had to require all students to eat lunch at their own teacher's shop. Among the teachers I met, none was satisfied with his/her job. Many transferred or are in the process to other professions. Those who had no other choice but to stay are all working on "second income". Unless it is their class or political study time, you won't find them in school. Gui Zu Schools (Aristocrat's School) have been a totally new and vigorous development in the ever declining lower education circle. Please note, this is different from the so called Private Schools which normally charge several thousands Yuan tuition per year. To be qualified as a member of the proud symbol of Gui Zu School, the parents need to be able to afford about 30,000 Yuan bill a school year. In return, the schools promise to provide better than ever equipments and teachers who are attracted from all over the country by the high pays. I don't know what kind of the people will come out of such schools given the fact that most of the students have already being "small prince and princess" (because of the single-child rule) in their entire life. University professors are in no better situation. Besides other financial burdens, one particular troubling change is the trend to "buy" houses, to be more specific, to buy the using-permit on the apartment which the university assigned to them before and thereafter. This has been triggered by the ever rising prices on construction costs. We all understand that more houses and apartments are needed to solve this very basic living problem for staffs and students. But, universities do not have enough money. Sometimes the money simply run out during the building construction because of price rising, unexpected extra cost which normally meant the need to bribe all the related "Guan Jie" (joints). Again, this showed how smart the intellectuals can be :-), someone somewhere invented the method to collect money by "selling" the using permit to professors. The figures are normally set to 10,000 to 30,000 Yuan for a two or three bedroom apartment. Maybe the number is not as high as those in the news. But, what people bought is the permit to stay, not really the property. This is the reality people there had to face. The question now is where do they get money to pay ? Really, just think about their salary. Surprisingly, in several schools, most people paid on time. A few gave all of their life savings. Most had to borrow, including one of my professors who had been in the university for more 30 years. His daughter lend the money, well, he probably doesn't have to pay back. Another professor called this as the "Last Bo-Xue" (exploiting) because his 20 years salary never included the portion for buying a living place. Having an apartment probably is more important than principle, he also paid on time with borrowed money from his brothers. Many people mentioned the long-talked about salary adjustment for the education system. The said plan supposed to increase teacher's salary to a level of around 1,000 Yuan a month. People were told that it will be implemented in October of this year. But, as the date getting closer, more and more began to suspect that this plan would either disappear quietly like many of the previous promises, or come so late that the increase won't even cover the price jump. As far as I know, there has been no changes on teachers salary up to date, November, 1993. A Note, If you are considering to go back on a long term basis, make sure the apartment assigned to you, under the special rules for returned overseas CSS, will not be subject to forced "buying" later on. I don't know how and where you can get such guarantee, just remember to ask. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. Campus Small Talks In a famous university, I stopped a young man who was coming out of the Tuan Wei Office (Chinese Communism Youth Alliance on Campus) for questions. Actually, I just wanted to have a chat since he appeared not in any hurry. This was a third year student majored in literature. He seemed glad to answer my questions related to the students organizations on campus, maybe partially due to his own involvement. He told me that he's in charge of coordinating student business activities which have become a "fashion" in recent years and a way of making a little bit money for the first time in a young life. "Is this allowed or encouraged ?" I was surprised. There have been quite some stories about how Da-Xue-Shang (college students) abandoning study and "jumping into sea". The official stands, from news papers and government documents, were all against such activities. "It is true that student businesses are not encouraged," he told me. However, after a few "early birds" made some "big" money, the trend or "wind" began to blow stronger by the day, and the university Party leaders had decided to step in. That's how his position was created. This is not a easy job, I thought. Indeed, at a time everyone around you are trying to make money, any effort of to stop or even just to slow them down can't be popular. Not like the old days, he said, the official then could use the Graduation Job Assignments as a leverage when come to deal with troubled students. Nowadays, it has become somewhat possible for college graduates to a find job by themselves. The only power left for the school is to withhold student diplomas and their Dang-An (personnel file) which is required for all positions and city resident permits. "Is there benefit for you, I mean, you probably made a lot of 'enemies' by doing this job." "Ha ha, not really." he laughed. "You probably have left university for too long. I not only make no enemy, I am actually quite important for many who want to make money." "How?" When I finally realized, it was not difficult to understand after all. He's somehow become a mid-man and works to the benefit mainly to the students side, and of course, to his own pocket. In another prestigious university. I talked to a student, one of the few reading a book under the tree shadow. She was obviously attracted by the book, went back to reading after simply answering a question. Before continuing my travel, I noticed she was reading an English novel. So I said, in English, "it must be an interesting story". She stopped reading, and looked at me with a little surprise. With some hesitations, she started to slowly answer my questions, also in English. A first year Graduate Computer Science student, she spent most of her time studying English. "How come it is so important, and don't you worry about other classes at all?" Technical classes were easy to handle, one or two days before the exam should do, not to mention that professors won't fail a graduate student anyway. But she began concentrate on English study mainly because of her roommates - all three of them were preparing for the TOEFL test, hence looking for the opportunity to go abroad. "Aren't there regulations limiting college students to leave?" Exactly, and that's why everyone is in such a hurry. For a graduate to leave, they are now asked to pay back the "education cost" to the Unit. The fee is accumulated by the years you spent in school. Therefore, the earlier you leave, the less they will charge you. And if leaving without a Degree, there is the chance to escape the payment. Of course, if one has a reliable back-door, the situation will be different. "English Corner" has come to many campus. I went to three. To my surprise, there were people/students speaking English quite well. Of course, my "American Accent" :-) caught attentions easily. Well, as a suggestion, if you want to try it and would like to talk to people freely, don't tell them where you are from, though which can be hard in time. These are the free-lands for a sort moment. People would talk about everything, almost freely. One point several people stressed: don't study too hard. A Bachelor degree is more than enough. A Master degree meant nothing more, and a Ph.D would be a pure waste of life. Interestingly, among those spoke well, not many were talking about to go abroad, rather, they had a more realistic goal - working for a joint-venture company to make big money. Don't forget to visit universities if you go home, not only to relive those unforgettable years but to see the changes and feel the new thinking. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. A Stroll in the Night-life of Zhuhai Special Zone 11:30pm local time, a friend and I came out of a 2nd KaLa-OK Bar in middle of Zhuhai. It was a nice evening, a perfect season, not too hot, not too cold. The friend suggested walking to the hotel and he wanted to show me something interesting. He pointed at different directions and sites and explained the changes and development during the last 8 years. "Did you see that ?" he suddenly changed tone and pointed to a tree about 50 meters ahead. It was quite dark, I couldn't tell what he meant. I turned around to find my friend's looking at me with a smile. "What was it?" I asked. "Come, let's get closer. ... Can you see the girl standing by the side of the road?" Indeed, "Do you mean, she is a ... ?!" "Yes, that's a Ji" (chicken). This was the first time I heard the term, by all means, anyone could tell its meaning given the situation. Although have seen a lot of prostitute scenes on TV and in movies, I had never met one in real life, not to mention a Chinese made. As we walked along the Ying-Bin-Da-Dou (Welcome Avenue), more and more girls merged on both sides of the street. If wasn't told, I wouldn't think these pretty girls in a later summer evening and on a Chinese street were doing things beyond my comprehension. Unlike the movies, they are all dressed quite normal although not poor, but definitely not exposely sexy. Two or three, some alone, all quietly stood by the road looking at the approaching taxis. Maybe it was an unwritten rule of thumb, one got to take a taxi in order to start the "business". We stood about 10 meters behind several groups and watched for about 30 minutes. I insisted that some of the girls called as Ji by friend were not or really shouldn't be. I argued with the him, "look at their dress, look at their calm status, how could it be possible for them be prostitutes ?!" I didn't know why I was in such a defensive mood of refusing to accept the "facts" right in front of me. look at those girls, they could be one of my classmates, or someone's friends. How could it be ?! "Look into their eyes," my friend didn't try to argue with me, he simply told me "Go closer, and look into their eyes." So I did. I walked toward a girl. She was in a white long skirt, light makeups on the face couldn't cover her young and innocent beauty. She didn't smile, she didn't move, she didn't speak, her eyes met me on the way. Yes, the eyes: pretty, like water springs, looked at me with tender, with longing, with imagination. But, there was no light. This feeling struck me like a thunderstorm. I stopped and fell into a deep emptiness. The girl walked away. The friend told me that it was much more spectacular a year ago. By then, this street would be crowded by girls all over the country for a quick way to richness. We would have not made through without being dragged around. Then, there came the government cracked down and the "over crowded Ji population" problems. The current situation somehow displays a "balance" between the government and the "business". There were many other related stories. But I hardly remembered any more. A sadness deep in my heart hurt so much, we left the street in silence. The next morning, when I was walking on the street again, I couldn't help but felt every pretty women passing by looked familiar. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- To End Dear readers, It was not easy to start, it was even harder to continue this series. During the past three weeks, I spent more than three hours each day in writing and more so in reviewing my notes, records and related documents. With the only purpose to share a personal experience, and with the only reward of your warm responses, I gave you a personal account of today's China. They might be interesting, still, may not. I wish more people could find time to share their experiences so that we all benefit. Without so many readers' kind responses and sincere encouragement, I probably have abandoned the "big writing plan" a while ago. For that, I would like to thank you for coming along with me in reliving a journey we all waited for. I wish we, you and I, all find the time well spent. Again, thank you. Jinghong Nov. 23, 1993 ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== 2. From the Readers.......................................................90 a. Should Not Be Shocked..................................Bo Peng......53 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jinhong Li offered an extremely interesting account regarding his first-hand experiences on a recent home-visit. I'm sure that I'm not alone with such appreciation. However, I have some different experience/viewpoints to offer regarding the so-called "reverse cultural chock," that sinking feeling when going back to your home country/town after living in "upgraded" conditions for some time (perhaps even coupled with the guilt thereafter because of this feeling). The bottom line is, you shouldn't have this shock, don't have to, and won't with just a little common sense. It's all about mental preparation. Let's face it. There could be lots of things that you'd rather avoid when going back to China. The first and foremost thing you'd want to avoid is likely to be brought by YOU. Namely, a secret sense of superiority, or a secret desire to CREATE such a feeling for others as well as yourself to see. Unfortunately, most of us don't have enough money, nor intelligence/mental capital, to create a satisfactory superior image within the first 5 minutes of meeting someone (including OLD friends). Even worse, we may feel disappointed by ourselves watching those Da4 Kuan3s throwing their cash just like that. So what can we do? The obvious thing to do is to give a bad grade to everything in China. Of course, some of us might know better than boasting around about how things are soooooo much better in the Beautiful Country. However, most of us WILL find it very tempting to convince ourselves silently, for the purpose of enhancing self-image. Some may feel insulted by this analysis:"C'mon! It's better -- can you deny this?" I'm not going to argue with that point. My point is, however you evaluate the relative situation, you know it, your country fellows in China know it, everyone knows it. Making a point about 1+1=2 with everyone you meet doesn't exactly make you look intelligent. Some resort to human imperfection:"Well, I guess the nasty human nature is such that the transition in living standard is irreversible -- it's much harder going from better to worse than the other way around." Might be very true. But at least you remember how it was before you left, which was only a few (no more than ten for most?) earth years ago. Perhaps you've even kept yourself updated about the situation in China through all these long years. It's not like you're going into something that's not only worse, but also unpredictably worse. You know what you'd be seeing. In fact, chances are that things would be somewhat better than you remembered. So, if you don't want to experience the reverse cultural shock, nor to boast about the experience afterwards, you won't get it. Couldn't be easier. BTW, I'm very glad to know that most people outside Beijing oppose the Olympics idea. ;-} (Uuh shut up. I'm not talking about politics here.) (From: Bo Peng ) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- b. Be Prepared For Being Shocked.........................Ty Hu.........37 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear CCF, This is an insightful recount of the home visit, yet the author has too often committed the logical fallacy by generalization of what he/she saw or heard from not identified number of individuals. Unless it was a well organized poll with acceptable sample, what the author has concluded could very well be false, or at best, be partially true. The effort of the author to put together such a story is hereby deeply appreciated, though. Nevertheless, it is an interesting essay of home visit. Like most of recent visitors, the author seemed had gone to many places in order to frame a "bigger" picture of the country, and to grasp its development. It was disappointing, however, that the author did not spend effort on the "big" picture, the overall development, so that it may cope with the individuals mentioned in the essay. Furthermore, the author failed to point out the "not so pretty" side of the country, the problems, such as prostitution and the abuse of the public fund (which the author painted with "Xiao Sa"). To many CSS who have not visited home for four years or longer, the cultural shock would be less likely that strong unless one insists that he/she is from another world and refuses to recognize the reality. Most of the cases, CSS adept to the home environment so quickly that he/she actually appreciates the tremendous changes made during his/her absence. Well, for those who fears of such "shocks", it might be the best route to go back to home through Taiwan or Hong Kong, where one can get a prelude of the "half-developed" society, a step down from the US, and be vaccinated for the all new picture one will encounter one more step into the long waited home visit. Thank you, (From: Ty Hu, ) +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++ + Executive Editor: Changqing Yang Executive Moderator: Yan Bai + +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + For subscription: mail "SUB CHINA-NT Your-First-Name Your-Last-Name" + + to LISTSERV@UGA (bitnet) or listserv@uga.cc.uga.edu (internet) + + For back issues of CCF: + + anonymous ftp to cnd.org[132.249.229.100]:pub/community/CCF + + For contribution and inquiry: mail to ccf-editor@ifcss.org + +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++