I heard that in China, going back to one’s hometown is called tan qin (literally seeking out one’s parents or family). Chinese who made their fortunes overseas have played an important role supporting those they left back home.
Writer Romi Tan, a native of Tokyo, recounts a story about an ethnic Chinese resident in Japan who went home during the late 1970s in the book “Shin-Kakyo Ro-Kakyo” (New overseas Chinese, old overseas Chinese). It was co-authored with Liu Jie, a Beijing-born Waseda University professor, and published by Bungeishunju Ltd.
People in his hometown gave the man an enthusiastic reception with wining and dining that lasted three days and nights. But not only was he required to foot the bill for the party, he was also asked to pay for electric and sewage works and ended up forking out a total of 4 million yen. Still, he felt happy that he could support his native country. Patriotic overseas Chinese serve as a bridge for foreign investment in China.
The People’s Republic of China celebrated the 60th anniversary of its founding Thursday. Its history is marked by a period of liberation and confusion followed by opening and growth. Compared with the time Tan’s acquaintance spent a fortune in his hometown, China’s per capita gross domestic product has grown about 15-fold.
On Oct. 1, 1949, Mao Tse-tung appeared with his hair neatly styled in Tiananmen and proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in front of hundreds of thousands of people who had gathered in the square.
After the nation overcame humiliation at the hands of foreign powers, starting with the First Opium War, it was the moment new China’s experiment began. Mao continued: “We will create our own civilization and happiness and work to promote world peace and freedom.”
China has become affluent. But now, rifts and antagonism are spreading among its 1.3 billion people. Gaps are becoming wider between urban and rural areas and between Han Chinese and ethnic minorities. Under a single-party dictatorship, a ray of hope has yet to appear in such problematic areas as human rights and freedom of expression. How are people who won China’s national foundation after a long struggle viewing its bright and dark sides from heaven?
Rural communities where the Chinese Communist Party originated are producing countless poor migrant workers, while the rich and privileged who rode the crest of the market economy enjoy overseas travels. This is China’s reality but I don’t think it is what the founding fathers of modern China envisioned.
Could it be that China has intentions but lacks the skills to accomplish its ideals, or is it lacking in both? Its nation-building endeavor still has a long way to go.