Government of the Russian Federation
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Faculty of Philosophy, School of Asian Studies
MASTER’S THESIS
CHINA’S POLICY TOWARD STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS
STUDYING AND WORKING ABROAD 1978-2013
AND FORMATION OF A NEW INTELLECTUAL ELITE IN CHINA
Written by
Bakhtina Victoria
Group MA-2
Supervisor
Prof. Marion Wyse
Moscow, 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT 4
INTRODUCTION 5
1. Topicality 5
2. Historiography 6
3. Research hypothesis and tasks 10
4. Conceptual framework 11
5. Chronological framework 13
6. Theoretical framework 13
7. Methodology 14
8. Primary sources 15
9. Structure of the research 16
CHAPTER ONE: TWISTS AND TURNS OF THE CHINESE STATE POLICY
TOWARD SCHOLARS AND STUDENTS LIVING ABROAD SINCE 1978 17
1. General exit and entry regulations 17
2. Development of the policy toward Chinese students and scholars 20
A) The first stage, 1978-1988 21
B) The second stage, 1989-1999 25
C) The third stage, 2000-2013 29
CHAPTER TWO: THE MENTALITY OF OVERSEAS CHINESE 35
CHAPTER THREE: OVERSEAS CHINESE SCHOLARS AND STUDENTS AS
A NEW SOCIAL ELITE GROUP 43
1. The high level of education 43
2. Working positions and salaries 46
3. Political representation 48
2
4. Social organizations 50
5. Territorial communities 53
CONCLUSION 57
BIBLIOGRAPHY 61
APPENDIX 1: STATISTIC DATA ON STUDENTS GOING ABROAD AND
RETURNING TO CHINA 73
APPENDIX 2: REASONS AND DESTINATIONS FOR STUDYING ABROAD
IN CHINA 74
3
ABSTRACT
This paper analyzes the twists and turns of the PRC’s governmental policies
toward overseas Chinese students and scholars after the beginning of the economic
reforms in 1978. It also examines the created mechanism of incorporating the
returnees into the Chinese social system and considers the returned overseas
Chinese as a new intellectual elite. The research has been written on the basis of
Chinese main legislation acts while also including materials of the relevant
government organizations, and it is based primarily on the concepts of the Systems
and Elite theories.
4
INRODUCTION
The era of globalization can be characterized as a completely new system of
economic relations. First of all, this new system is based on the strong interactions
between countries. As a result of the transformation processes, that have taken
place in many developed countries, a new unified international space has appeared.
The most important reason of these processes is the increasing mobility of the
three main factors of production - capital, labor and information. So in this case
migrations of labor force have become one of the main factors of relations between
countries and their future economic prosperity.
The “migration problem” has become one of the most burning issues of the
contemporary China. The questions how to attract the most educated and talented
overseas Chinese back to the motherland and how to use their experience for
economic modernization of the country undoubtedly require the further
investigation.
1) Topicality
After the end of the Cultural Revolution there was an acute shortage of qualified
specialists in China. The educational system itself was extremely damaged. In this
regard Chinese government under the personal leadership of Deng Xiaoping issued
a number of regulations that stimulated students and young scholars to go abroad
for study. Subsequently, this policy of “enrichment of brains abroad” was further
developed. Young specialists and scholars that decided to come back to the
motherland received privileges in employment, guaranteed high salaries and other
opportunities to continue their research activities in China. Nowadays, scholars and
scientists, who have experience of working in foreign universities and companies,
occupy high positions in many government agencies, and many of them have
become prominent political figures.
5
In time of global economic turmoil, China that has become the second or even
the first largest economy in the world has to find new ways of further development.
There is still no strong domestic market in China. First of all, China's economy
is an export-oriented economy. In other words, the Chinese industry directly
depends on external markets and international economic conditions in general.
Thus, the national economy is vulnerable to the global economic crises. In addition,
China is on the verge of a crisis of overproduction. This crisis has already affected
the steel industry 1 . At the same time, many experts note the shortcomings of
Chinese planned economy [Wong, Liu, 2000; Wu, 2004]. Chinese leaders in an
attempt to reduce the role of the market in the economy repeatedly committed
tactical mistakes.
In this regard, the experience of scholars and scientists who are familiar with the
economic and political systems of other countries becomes more and more
important. Occupying high positions in government they can contribute much to
the future prosperity of their motherland.
In Russia the “drain brain” problem is very urgent too. According to the
statement of the chairman of the Labor union of the Russian Academy of Science
Victor Kalinushkin, in last ten years from 500 to 800 thousand scientists left the
country [Timofeeva, 2009: On-line]. In future Russian government can use the
experience of the “eastern neighbor” to attract Russian scientists and artists back to
the motherland.
2) Historiography
There are a lot of various strategies of migration policy that are accepted in
many European and Asian countries, and sometimes they are totally different. For
example, European countries are maneuvering between the necessity of additional
human resources and attempts to preserve the traditional national structure. So, a
big shortage of the manpower, on the one hand, and an influx of immigrants from
1
According to experts, this situation was caused by excessive investment in the steel industry, made by the Chinese
government in 2008 to overcome the international financial crisis.
6
Africa and Asia, on the other hand, generates special attention to the problem of
migration in Europe.
The United State, which national policy is based on the recognition of the total
equality, a long time ago began the struggle against the illegal immigration from
Latin America. At the same time, the United States has become the symbol of the
“American dream”, which includes the idea of an upward social mobility achieved
from the hard work. So the opportunity to get a “green card” agitates the souls of
millions people all over the world.
Asian countries are also interested in the development of the general theory of
migrations. After the Second World War many countries of this region in order to
receive or return the national sovereignty began the policy of assimilation toward
immigrants. Thus, many foreigners obtained citizenship or permanent resident
status in these countries. Most of them were ethnic Chinese. Now Chinese diaspora
controls about 70% of accumulated wealth in the South-East Asia [Larin, 2008].
Moreover, Chinese diaspora comes to only 6% of total population [Ibid]. Chinese
business circles have created the largest holdings in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia
and the Philippines. This situation has become one of the main reasons of social
tension in these countries. Therefore, the issue of the migration and national policy
in this region is also very important.
The general strategies of migration policy in the XXI century are the subject of
many scientific researches
2
. In these works the theoretical issues and
characteristics of contemporary migration processes as well as the methods of
analysis of migration policy in different countries are given. Scholars provide a
wide-ranging, interdisciplinary look at the world migration process, using statistic
data.
2
As an example: Brettell C., Hollifield J. F. Migration Theory: Talking Across Disciplines. Lnd., 2000; Aleinikoff T.
A., Klusmeyer D. B. Citizenship Policies for an Age of Migration: The Comparative Citizenship Project. Carnegie
Endowment, 2002; Jandl M. ed. Innovative Concepts for Alternative Migration Policies: Ten Innovative
Approaches to the Challenges of Migration in the 21st Century. Amsterdam, 2007; Lewis R. D. Cultural Imperative:
Global Trends in the 21st Century. Boston, 2003; Marco G., Florence P. Dialogues on Migration Policy. Lanham,
2006.
7
The world community has always paid close attention to the “huaqiao issue”.
This fact can be explained by the internationalization of the world economy,
started in the end of the XIX century. At that time many Chinese began to work on
British gold mines in South Africa and Australia or on the construction of the
railway system in the USA, especially, in California. Still a lot of Chinese people
live in these regions.
After the First World War many European countries experienced a shortage of
manpower. This predetermined the mass migration of Chinese workers to these
countries. After the Second World War the national-liberation movements began in
Africa and Asia, so the national minorities in these regions were oppressed. So the
interest in the problems of migrants once again quickened. From the beginning of
the 1980s Chinese economy has started to develop rapidly, and the role of
“huaqiao” in this process has become obvious. So many researches have started to
investigate the contribution of overseas Chinese to development of their
motherland.
There are a big number of different works on the Chinese diaspora issues in
general 3 . The book “China and Overseas Chinese: a study of Peking changing
policy, 1949-1979”, written by the famous professor of East Asian studies Charles
Patrick Fitzerald, is worthy of notice. It was written in the beginning of 1970s,
when economic reforms have just started. In this regard, this book allows us to
consider the initial stage of the Chinese emigration from the country, caused be the
beginning of the Opening Up policy. Also there are many works on the problem of
Chinese migrants in different countries, such as the United States, Canada, Japan,
Australia, countries of the South-East Asia.
In the Chinese scientific circles the attention of scholars has been focused on the
compatriots living abroad since the end of the XIX century. However, during the
Republican period and after the establishment of the PRC all investigations
3
As an example: Kuhn P. A. Chinese Among Others: Emigration in Modern Times. Singapore, 2008; Ma J. C.,
Cartier C. L. The Chinese Diaspora: Space, Place, Mobility, and Identity. Lanham, 2003; Mallee H., Pieke F. N.
Internal and International Migration; Chinese Perspectives. Lnd, 1999; Sun W. Media And the Chinese Diaspora:
Community, Communication and Commerce. Lnd, 2006; Thun M. Beyond China: New Chinese Migration and the
Global Expansion of China. Copenhagen, 2007.
8
concerned the huaqiao issues were almost stopped, even despite the fact that the
emigrants made a big contribution to all revolutionary activities and supported
Chinese military campaigns during the Sino-Japanese war, primarily through
financial investments. After the beginning of the Cultural Revolution it was
dangerous even to mention the term huaqiao, because of ambiguous attitude of the
Chinese leadership to the Chinese people, who were living in other countries,
especially in the so-called “capitalist countries”. However, after the beginning of
the reform policy and till now the Chinese Diaspora is a permanent research
subject in many scientific organizations, state and public structures (for example,
Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, Overseas Chinese
Association, and so on). Many researches concerned the overseas Chinese issues
are written by the Chinese scholars that have studying or working experience in
other countries. For example, one of the prominent scholars specialized on the
Chinese migrations laws Guofu Liu received PhD degree from Sydney University
of Technology. His books “Chinese Immigration Law” and “The Right to Leave
and Return and Chinese Migration Law” provide a comprehensive and up-to-date
reference to Chinese legislation acts in this sphere.
Russian scholars focus their attention mainly on the role of the Chinese Diaspora
in the economic development of China and the problem of migration of Chinese
population on the territory of the Russian Far East4. Various works are devoted to
the so-called “yellow peril problem” and a number of Russian scholars notes the
outflow of the most able-bodied Russian population from the region and increasing
flow of the Chinese migrants. According to these researches, if the migration
continues, the number of the Chinese people at the Far East can reach such level
that they would demand representation in the government. At the worst, the
Russian government will be obliged to take into account the interests of Chinese
population and China in general, and that means a partial loss of sovereignty.
4
Dyatlov V. Anti-Immigrant Attitudes in the Socio-Political Life of a Siberian City. Cambridge, 2000; Rusakov R.
Dyhanie Drakonov [The breath of the Dragons]. Moscow, 1995; Lukin A. Medved Nabludaet za Drakonom [The
Bear watches the Dragon]. Moscow, 2007.
9
At the same time Russian scholars are interested in adaptation of the Chinese
experience in the sphere of migration policy and relations with the Diaspora. It is
not a secret, that overseas Chinese that are living all over the world invest much in
the economy of their motherland, promote Chinese goods, and share experience,
new knowledge and other useful information with their compatriots. Such
experience of cooperation between the government and the diaspora deserves
further scientific development.
3) Research hypothesis and tasks
In this research it is hypothesized that the China’s state policy toward students
and scholars has promoted the formation of a new social elite group that can
influence on the political decision-making process and determine the life of the
whole society.
In this regard, the research objectives are as follows:
 To analyze the general exit and entrance regulations of the PRC;
 To distinguish the initial environment and the main causes of the
establishment of the special policy toward Chinese students and scholars
working and studying abroad;
 To explore the process of development and implementation of such policy in
1978-2013;
 To find out the particular outcomes and adequacy of the final results of the
implemented policy;
 To outline the main differences (behavior, perception of the world, attitude
to the current events, etc.) between overseas Chinese and their compatriots
still living on the territory of the PRC;
 To analyze the mentality of the returned overseas Chinese;
 To explore the present social status of the returned students and scholars in
accordance with the accepted definition of the term “social elite” and make a
conclusion about the place of the returnees in the social structure of the
PRC.
10
Thus, the object of this research is the concept of the social elite, and the subject
is returned overseas Chinese.
4) Conceptual framework
Overseas Chinese: Chinese government has established a special law, which
regulates the status of overseas Chinese and their relatives, - The Law of the
People’s Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of
Returned Overseas Chinese and the Family Members of Overseas Chinese. This
law was adopted on the 31st of October, 2000 by the Standing Committee of the
National People’s Congress, and came into effect on the 1 st of January, 2001. In
this law a detailed classification of Chinese citizens, residing in countries other
than China, is given.
First of all, these two categories of overseas Chinese should be mentioned:
-
“Overseas Chinese” or “Huaqiao” denote Chinese citizens who have settled
down abroad.
- “Returned overseas Chinese” or “Guigou huaqiao” denote overseas Chinese
who have returned to the country and taken it as their place of permanent
residence.
At the same time, this law contains status regulation of other groups of citizens,
namely students who are studying abroad (“huaqiao xuesheng”) and who have
already returned to the homeland (“Guigou huaqiao xuesheng”), and relatives of
overseas Chinese, who still live on the territory of the PRC (“qiaojuan”).
In Chinese language there is also a slang term “sea turtle” (“haigui”), which
means people that have returned to China after having studied abroad for several
years. It is kind of metaphor as sea turtles also travel great distances overseas, but
often come back to the motherland.
So there are special terms in Chinese language and in Chinese laws for these
groups of citizens. It means that Chinese government pays special attention to the
status and rights of these people.
Sometimes Russian and foreign scholars mention residents of Hong Kong,
Taiwan and Macao, when they are talking about overseas Chinese, although the
11
population of these territories in all official documents is called “compatriots”
(“tongbao”). This paper does not examine the Beijing’s policy toward inhabitants
of these areas, as Hong Kong and Macao became the part of the PRC in 1997 and
1999. Taiwan is also recognized by the Chinese law as a part of the PRC.
Social elite: The most common definition of the term “social elite” is “a small
group of people who control a disproportionate amount of wealth and political
power” / “a minority of people that has the monopoly on power and decisionmaking”. Among scholars that developed this understanding of the term “social
elite” are Hungarian sociologist Karl Mannheim and American scholar Amitai
Etzioni.
Gaetano Mosca, the first developed of the Elitism Theory, defined the term
“social elite” as an organized minority (while the masses are an unorganized
majority), which has intellectual, moral and material superiority that highly
esteemed and influential.
Elmer Schattschneider, an American political scientist, supposed that in society
that consisted of many competing interest groups the pressure system was biased in
favor of “the most educated and highest-income members of society”.
Another group of scholars such as Jose Ortega y Gasset and Vilfredo Pareto
defined the term “social elite” as people who reached the highest success in their
activities and had the intellectual and moral superiority over the mass as well as the
highest sense of responsibility.
In particular, Vilfredo Pareto, one of the founders of the elite theory, supposed
that the society in general was a pyramid, and elite was at the top of this pyramid.
So, according to his theory, social elite was a leading social layer that guided the
life of the whole society. The guarantee of the successful development of the
society was regular rotation of the elite.
So relaying on these theories the term “social elite” can be defined as “a small
well-organized group of most educated and highest-income people that influence
much on the decision-making process and can determine the life of the whole
society”. This research is based on this understanding of the term “social elite”.
12
Moreover, this research focuses generally on the representatives of the
intellectual elite, thus refers to overseas Chinese scholars and future potential
researchers that have certain scientific knowledge and experience of working in
other countries.
5) Chronological framework
The main outflow of students and scholars from the territory of the PRC has
begun since the establishment of the Opening Up policy in 1978. From that
moment the Chinese leadership have made several attempts to strengthen relations
with the Chinese Diaspora and designed a number of official programs aimed at
attracting the most talented Chinese people back to the motherland. Prior to this,
the attention of the Chinese government was focused mainly on the prevention of
the social unrest among overseas Chinese, as well as on the search of investments
and other economic benefits from the Diaspora.
6) Theoretical framework
The multi-disciplinary nature of this research has required adopting at least two
broad theories – the Systems theory and the Elite theory.
This research is based mainly on the concepts of the Systems theory. The
framework of the Systems theory based on the assumption that different parts of
the system can be understood much better through the analysis of their relations
with each other and with other systems. In such case, this theory is a very good
tool to understand how systems behave, interact with the environment, and
influence each other.
One of the proponents of the application of the Systems theory to the analysis of
the public policy David Easton regards public policy as an output of the political
system. He has also developed a model for the analysis of the policy-making
process that consists of five main parts: inputs, conversion (or transformation of
the inputs into outputs), outputs, feedback and environment [Easton, 1991].
Therefore, the systems model can help to explore the certain feedback (inputs,
results, consequences) of the accepted policies toward overseas Chinese students
13
and scholars and how the final results have been adopted in the present political
system.
As far as the hypothesis of this research concerns the concept “social elite”, the
Elite theory is also applied in this work, particularly, the main definitions of the
term “social elite”. Besides other distinctive features of the concept of “elite”, in
this research the place of overseas Chinese in political system of the PRC is also
under consideration.
7) Methodology
As far as each research strategy has its limitations, and it is hard to find an
adequate single method for the complete analysis of the whole range of the
collected data, so the only way out is to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach that
combines different research methods.
On the first stage of investigation the Retrospective Approach was applied. This
research method can help to show the factors related to the development of a
particular outcome and cause-and-effect relations between these factors and the
final results. Also this method is usually used after the outcomes have already
occurred. If we talk about the policy toward the overseas Chinese students and
scholars it is very important to analyze the reasons of implementation of such
policy and the initial environment in the beginning of the investigations. It helps to
understand the nature of this policy and make a conclusion about the adequacy of
the final results.
Furthermore, on the second stage the method of Periodization was applied to
define stages in the development process of the policy toward students and
scholars. This method helps to determine periods of time with relatively stable
characteristics for more convenience understanding of explored process.
The overall approach combined both qualitative and quantitative research
methods. The majority of the studies concerned returned overseas Chinese and
migration issues in general, including this thesis, are quantitative, as far as, for
example, the number of the returnees in the beginning of the reforms is comparing
with the final numbers of the returned migrants after the implementation of the
14
certain policy. However, this thesis is also based on the qualitative methods, such
as conceptualization, formalization and analytical induction, which help to describe,
understand and explain certain empirical data.
William N. Dann in his book Public Policy Analysis introduced three methods
of policy analysis, namely prospective, retrospective, and integrated analysis
[Dunn, 1994]. The Retrospective Policy Analysis involves the production and
transformation of information after policy actions have been taken. One of the
sum-methods of this type of analysis that is called Problem Oriented Analysis
seeks to describe mainly the causes and consequences of the policy, in this
research the retrospective approach was applied as far as this research focused
generally on the impacts of the existing repatriation policy in China.
8) Primary sources
The main sources of information for this research can be divided into three main
groups: 1) legislation acts; 2) documents of government structures; 3) statistic data,
presented by official agencies.
The main source of information for this research is various legislation acts
concerned the overseas Chinese students and scholars that have been promulgated
since 1978 by the Chinese governmental bodies (Ministry of Education, State
Council, National People’s Congress). The whole list of used legislation in
chronological order can be found in bibliography.
Furthermore, one of the sources of information is the materials that are
presented on the web-sites of governmental and non-governmental organizations
involved in the overseas Chinese affairs in China and other countries.
The paper also analyzes statistic data introduced by the official governmental
structures, such as the Ministry of Education and the Chinese Bureau of Statistics.
This thesis is mostly based on the materials of the Chinese government agencies
and official statistic data. In many cases the official Chinese statistics are not
completely reliable, as data presented by the Chinese governmental structures may
be falsified for political purposes. However, even beside the hard evidence on data
manipulation, the final results of the research seem to be legitimate. On the next
15
stage of the research the available information is going to be verified through the
“field investigations” and involvement of independent experts and the overseas
Chinese scholars themselves.
9) Structure of the research
This research consists of introduction, three chapters and conclusion:
In the introduction are stated the topicality, research hypothesis and tasks,
conceptual, theoretical and methodological frameworks of investigation.
The first chapter explores the process of development of the policy toward the
Chinese students and scholars working and studying abroad from 1978 till 2013. In
this part of the research are analyzed the main reasons of the implementation of
such policy, as well as found out results and consequences on the each stage of
policy’s implementation.
In the second chapter are outlined the main differences in perception of the
world between overseas Chinese and their compatriots in China, and made the
conclusion about the mental potential of the returnees that can make them the main
driving force of future development of the country.
Finally, the last chapter explores the current social status of the returned
overseas Chinese students and scholars in accordance with the accepted definition
of the term “social elite”.
16
CHAPTER ONE
TWISTS AND TURNS OF THE CHINESE STATE POLICY TOWARD
SCHOLARS AND STUDENTS LIVING ABROAD SINCE 1978
Since the early 1980s the level of external migration from the People’s Republic
of China (PRC) has increased much due to the significant domestic economic
reforms and the vigorous involvement in globalization process. Contrary to the
rather cool attitude of the Chinese authorities toward overseas Chinese before 1978,
the Chinese state now is actively seeking to retain transnational ties to the millions
of ethnic Chinese living in other countries.
This chapter explores the twists and turns of Chinese policies toward overseas
Chinese scholars and students studying and living abroad in response to China’s
international position and novel internal political situation.
1) General Entry and Exit regulations
In 1966, by the General Assembly of the United Nations was adopted the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in which the
Right to leave and return (RLR) was affirmed as a fundamental human
right. In other words, according to the RLR, anyone can freely leave
any country and freely return to any country, including one’s own.
Despite that, each state has the sovereign right to regulate the RLR
in accordance with its own laws [Quoted by Foldesi, 1993]. The Covenant was
signed by the PRC only in 1998 (while the Republic of China signed it up in 1967),
and it is still not ratified [International Services for Human Rights, 2013: On-line].
Although since 1978 and the beginning of the economic reforms the Chinese
leadership has changed its attitude toward the RLR, the protection of the initial
human right to move in China still remains on the lower level than in the rest of the
world.
Nowadays the Chinese regulatory framework governing the RLR includes the
Chinese migration law, the Constitution, and Chinese exit and entry administrative
17
law5. However, the Chinese government has not yet proclaimed any regulations
that use the terms “immigration” or “emigration”, as well as “migration” in general
[Guofu, 2005].
The main law, which regulates the exit and entry of the Chinese citizens, The
Law on the Control of the Exit and Entry of Citizens was adopted by the
Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in November 1985 6 .
According to this document, Chinese citizens may leave the Chinese territory
whenever they want, except several cases. For example, the approval to leave the
country will not be granted to persons whose exit from China will be harmful to
state security or cause a major loss to national interests, defendants in criminal
cases or criminal suspects confirmed by a public security department, people
undergoing rehabilitation through labor, and so on [Ibid].
According to the law, five categories of overseas Chinese are eligible to apply
for a permanent residence on the territory of the PRC: 1) widows and orphans of
the Chinese citizens that can resolve their employment and housing needs only in
China, but without the assistance of the State; 2) retired overseas Chinese that have
pensions or property in China and can resolve their housing needs with the support
of their relatives; 3) overseas Chinese that are persecuted in their residing country
and thus cannot support themselves; 4) overseas Chinese that want to come back to
the motherland for permanent residence within the short period of time after
leaving the PRC and who can resolve their housing and employment needs without
any help from the government; 5) overseas Chinese that have high level of
education and whose specialization is demanding in China [Chinese Government’s
Official Web Portal: On-line].
The first four categories of overseas Chinese that apply for a permanent
residence on the territory of the PRC need to provide many documents, including
5
The legislations of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Macao Special Administrative Region
(MSAR) and Taiwan that differ from the migration laws on the Mainland of the PRC are not included here.
6
The exit and entry of foreign citizens are governed by the parallel Law on the Administration of the Entry and Exit
of Aliens that was also adopted in November 1985. In June 2012 the Standing Committee of the National People’s
Congress passed a unified exit and entry law that regulates the exit and entry of both Chinese citizens and
foreigners.
18
pension certificates, the evidence of the relationship between them and their
sponsors in China, certificates of the property rights, and so on. Such rigid
restrictions can be explained by the concerns of the Chinese government about the
large population of the PRC that poses a challenge to economic development.
Overseas Chinese that cannot prove that their specialization will meet the needs of
the labor market might be prohibited from returning to the motherland. The only
exception is the overseas Chinese professionals that are studying or working
abroad. In later legislation acts their right to return was iteratively confirmed.
The new enter and exit regulations that were almost the revised edition of the
legislations adopted in 1985 took effect in June 2013. These regulations are aimed
to attract more foreign professionals, including those overseas Chinese that have
already become citizens of another country7.
According to the new exit and entry system, the new type of visa was
established – “a talent introduction visa”. The new R visa is now issued to
foreign professionals, “who are either highly skilled or whose skill is urgently
needed by China” [National People’s Congress of the PRC: On-line]. Thus, with
this policy the Chinese government has created a friendlier environment for foreign
talents to work in China. However, the new regulation system does not mention,
what kind of “talents” Chinese government is looking for. To apply for R-type visa
those professionals should submit the appropriate supporting documents that verify
their high qualification and meet the relevant requirements of the competent
authorities of the Chinese government.
The new type of visa was also established for foreign citizens who apply for
entry into China for family unification with Chinese relatives 8 . The “family
reunion visa” is intended for a long term visits that last more than 180 days. These
Q-type visas are created in response to requests of overseas Chinese to simplified
The U.S. Embassy in Beijing in 1996 initiated the research concerned factors that could encourage “American
students with Chinese origin” to go back to their motherland. The survey involved about 1,500 students and young
scholars studying in different parts of the US. The researchers found out that softer policy toward immigrants was
the most important reason for many young Chinese to return back to China. Other factors were market liberalization,
a growing share of privatization and globalization [A Report from the U.S. Embassy, 1996: On-line].
8
This type of visa is also issued for foreigners that apply for entry into China for family reunification with foreign
citizens with permanent residency in China.
7
19
exit and entry procedures. Thus, the L-type visas now are limited to tourism
purposes only, and now they are issued for foreigners that are going to China for
tourism and personnel affairs [Quoted by the Embassy of the PRC in the USA: Online].
In such a way, Chinese government in all possible ways tries to make the
entry/exit regulations more convenient for overseas Chinese that are intending to
come back to the motherland. The changes, which were included into regulations
last year, show that the Chinese leadership treats with respect to all requests of the
overseas Chinese and their families. However, the rigid restrictions on the
returning of unqualified overseas Chinese to the PRC demonstrate what exactly
Chinese government is expecting from repatriation. The fact that only high-skilled
workers can come back to China without any restrictions shows that China is
interested in specialists from foreign countries.
2) Development of the special policy toward overseas Chinese scholars
The program of economic reforms that was started in 1978 by the Communist
Party of China (CPC) led by Deng Xiaoping has resulted in enormous changes in
Chinese society. Moreover, Deng Xiaoping made an unprecedented strategic
decision to open up Chinese borders for students and young scientists who
intended to study or work abroad. In such a way he planned to form new
intellectual elite since the number of talented scholars in the country decreased
much after the social upheaval of the Cultural Revolution. This decision was
indeed very brave for that time: Mao Zedong never renounced the possibility of
using the resources of the Chinese Diaspora for his own purposes, but relatives of
the Chinese emigrants and returnees, especially from the so-called “capitalist”
countries, were often suspected of being foreign spies [Thuno, 2001]. The attitude
toward overseas Chinese before the beginning of the Opening up Policy in such a
way was highly controversial, primarily due to the class affiliation of the Chinese
people that were living in other countries.
Since that time many young Chinese people got the opportunity to go abroad for
study, and there was so many students interested in such opportunity that the brain
20
drain problem could become true as not all young people returned home after
studying abroad.
According to the statistic data presented in the Chinese Educational Statistics
Yearbook in 1997 only 32% of approximately 250,000 students who had gone
abroad for study since 1978 returned to their motherland [China Social Statistical
Yearbook, 2006: 17]. Perhaps, 250,000 people seem insignificant for such country
as China with one of the biggest population in the world, however these young
people to some extant can be regarded as bearers of new culture and new
experience that are so necessary for China in the years of reforms.
Moreover, in the beginning of the Opening Up policy only the most talented
young people could get a scholarship for studying abroad [For more information,
please, see below], and after the Cultural Revolution not many people in China
could pay a quite big amount of money for a foreign education of their children. So
the question how to attract the most talented young people back to the motherland
was very significant since the beginning of the reform era in China.
A) The first stage, 1978-1988
Some steps in this direction were made by the Chinese leadership just after the
beginning of the economic reforms. Particular attention was paid to students and
young scholars that were studying and working abroad at that time.
To support the implementation of the new projects in 1979 a special
administrative unit was established, namely The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office
of the State Council of the PRC9. This unit is still responsible for communication
with the overseas Chinese residing abroad, and its main aim is to “protect the
legitimate rights and interests of the overseas Chinese” [Chinese Government’s
Official Web Portal: On-line]. Also the Office together with the China Scholarship
Council is developing special scholarships and grants for the most talented Chinese
scholars and students that are intending to study or working abroad.
In 1979 a special legislation was issued – Provisional Regulations on the
Affairs of Chinese Students Studying Abroad. These regulations were jointly
9
Its forerunner, the Committee of Overseas Chinese Affairs, established in 1949 was abolished in 1970.
21
adopted by the Ministry of Education 10 , the State Science and Technology
Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The year after, the main
statements of this document were confirmed iteratively in the Report on the
Management of the Overseas Chinese Students Affairs that was forwarded by
the State Council to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Foreign Affairs.
The main goal of the new acts was to encourage talented student to study abroad
as well as to facilitate the procedure of going through all necessary formalities.
Moreover, the number of governmental scholarships and grants designed for
student and scholars increased much.
These documents were created with the assistance of Deng Xiaoping who truly
believed that China should at the shortest possible time catch up to the West in the
field of science and technology. His wish became the lasting basis for the future
policy toward students and scholars studying and working abroad.
Deng Xiaoping in his youth spent some time in France, and, perhaps, his own
experience let him realize how important was the role of young people studying
abroad for further development of the country. He was personally involved in the
process of the implementation of the new policy and under his leadership the
number of young people, who received the opportunity to study abroad, increased
significantly. Only during 1979 about 1,750 students went to foreign countries for
study, and this number exceeded the total figure for previous five years [Li, 2010:
276].
Over the next few years since 1978 till 1983 the Chinese Ministry of Education
with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed up several agreements
concerning educational exchanges with the U.S., Great Britain, France, Germany,
Japan and many other countries all over the world [Ibid]. The participation of the
officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates that these agreements were
important for Chinese leadership. These agreements allowed an increasing number
of Chinese students to study in prestigious foreign universities.
10
From 1985 till 1998 the Ministry of Education was officially called the State Education Commission. However,
here the term “Ministry of Education” is used for all periods for the convenience of the readers.
22
The vast majority of the total number of Chinese students studying abroad at
that time was sponsored by the government and state companies that had an
opportunity to send the most talented workers to foreign countries for training.
According to the statistic data presented in the Educational Statistics Yearbook of
China in 1998 from 1978 to 1987 only 20% of the total number of overseas
Chinese students was studying abroad at their own expense [China Social
Statistical Yearbook, 2006: 17].
In 1980 the Working Conference on the Affairs of Students Studying Abroad
was held with the assistance of the officials from the Ministries of Education,
Finance, Culture, Foreign Affairs, Science and Technology Cadre Bureau of the
State Council and the Chinese Academy of Science. The resolution of this
conference was that “the knowledge and the experience of the Chinese students
studying abroad had crucial importance for the realization of the Four
Modernization Policy” [Quoted by Zhongguo Zhigongdang: On-line].
In this regard next year was announced that self-funded students are equalized in
rights with the students that are studying abroad at public expense. These
regulations were reflected in two documents published that year: Instruction for
Students that Go Abroad for Study at their own Expense and Interim
Regulations for Students that Go Abroad for Study at their own Expense.
Later these two documents were revised and compiled in a new document The
Interim Provisions of the State Council of the PRC about Self-funded
Students Studying Abroad that was published in 1984.
In this document several main theses were stated: 1) after graduation all students
could return to China and get working positions from the local authorities
(depending on where they were living, working or studying before going abroad)
according to their achievements; 2) self-funded students had equal rights with
state-funded students and could get same working places and salaries; 3) selffunded students that did not have degree after studying abroad could get working
position from the local authorities according to their skills and knowledge. Thus,
the Chinese government intended to stimulate students that had an opportunity to
23
study abroad at their own expense. This fact demonstrated how important were
young people that had experience of studying abroad for Chinese leadership at that
time.
In December 1986 a new important document was developed by the Ministry of
Education – Several Provision Regulations of the State Education Comission
for Personnel Working Abroad. In this document several main thesis were stated:
1) new principles of studying abroad were announced: state support for going
abroad, guarantee of education high quality, consistency between study and
practice; 2) moreover, Chinese government took an obligation to make the best
conditions of living and working in China for those students that would come back
to the motherland after graduation; 3) those self-funded students that would receive
academic awards after the graduation could expect that part of their tuition fees
would be returned to them by the employer.
At the same time this act was accompanied by the special list of standards for
those who could undergo training in foreign universities at public expense. These
standards can be divided in two main groups: political and professional. Only
young people that are loyal to Chinese government with high academic
achievements could get a scholarship from the government. Other important
factors are good mental and physical health and knowing of foreign languages. In
other words, according to this document only young and most talented people
could go abroad for study at public expense, so the brain drain problem was a real
burning issue for that time.
On the initial stage of the development of the policy toward students and
scientists studying and working abroad were made several main steps. First of all,
on this stage Chinese government led by Deng Xiaoping showed a big interest in
students and scientists living in foreign countries. Furthermore, because of the
active work of the Ministry of Education with the support of the Ministry of the
Foreign Affairs the number of Chinese students going abroad increased much
during the decade from 1978 till 1988. However, not many students decided to
come back to China, primarily because of the undeveloped system of social
24
welfare. Especially it concerned self-funded students: according to statistic data the
return rate among them was less than 4% from 1978 till 1998 [See App. 1, Picture
1], even despite the fact that self-funded students had equal rights with statefunded students. On the next stage of the development of the policy toward
students and scholars living abroad the Chinese leadership was forced to find new
ways to attract intellectuals back to the motherland.
B) The second stage, 1989-1999
Since the early 1990s with the development of Chinese economy the number of
students studying abroad on their own expense has increased several times. More
and more people began to receive steady incomes that let them pay the tuition fees
for their children studying in foreign countries. Furthermore, with the
implementation of a new Exit-Entrance system in 1985 disappeared many
formalities that previously prevented some students to go abroad.
However, after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 the number of young
people wishing to come back to China after graduation decreased sharply [See App.
1, Picture 1]. Moreover, the attitude of the Chinese government toward Overseas
Chinese changed much: the mass protests of the Chinese citizens abroad caused a
negative reaction of the Chinese leadership.
In 1992 on the Changchun International Film Festival the Vice-Chairman of the
Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Litie Ying announced three
main principles of a new policy toward students and scholars studying and working
abroad: “zhichi liuxue, guli huiguo, laiqu ziyou” (comprehensive support for
students studying abroad, encouragement their return to China, protection of the
right to leave and return). These principles were ratified on the 3 rd Plenary Session
of the 14th CPC Central Committee [Wang, 2005].
Moreover, this year the State Council of the PRC issued the so-called Notice on
Issues Related to Students Studying Abroad. It was a kind of appeal to all
Chinese citizens residing abroad: they were called up to come back to China
immediately. In their turn Chinese officials promised to shut their eyes to the
25
activities of individual students during the unrest of 1989 if they ceased to engage
in any anti-government organizations.
Officials on all levels of government were instructed to provide any possible
help to students that intended to come back to the motherland after studying abroad.
Furthermore, Chinese embassies in all countries pledged to protect the rights of
Chinese students in other countries. Officials working in the Chinese embassies
were instructed to conduct propaganda work among students and provide them the
latest information about the achievements of the Chinese leadership.
Moreover, in the early 1990s the Chinese leadership supported the establishment
of local Chinese schools depending on the country and the number of residing
ethnic Chinese. Special teaching materials were elaborated, and about 150 teachers
were sent from the PRC to teach Chinese in other countries. Also several thousand
teachers that were living abroad received Chinese teaching training in China
[Thuno, 2001: 924].
In 1993 the State Council of the PRC with the support of the Central Committee
of the CPC made an official decision to support the return of Chinese students and
scholars after a full course of study abroad back to the motherland. In this regard
was prepared a set of documents proposing high salaries for specialists who had
studied in foreign universities. For realization of this program were created several
special organizations within the Ministry of Education, the State Science and
Technology Commission and the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State
Council and many nongovernmental organizations that controlled students’
employment issues [Ibid].
In 1994 in Nanjing was created the first Science and Technology Park for
overseas Chinese students that decided to return to the motherland [Barabantseva,
2005]. The park consolidated local research institutes, and in such a way was
created a financial and scientific platform to support the start-ups of the returnees.
On the territory of the park returnees could find whatever they needed – not only
low rent and tax benefits offering by almost all science parks in China, but also
special features that addressed the needs of returnees, such as accommodation and
26
bilingual schools for their children. Since 1994 several tens of such parks have
been founded specifically for returnees. According to the statistic data, in 2003
there were 110 Overseas Students Parks, and now the number of industrial parks of
this kind is more than 160 with about 8,000 business that provide working
positions for returning students [Walcott, 2003: 78].
To attract attention of the student and young scholars to the opportunity of
studying abroad, in 1995 the Chinese government published new special
regulations – Reformed approach to the selection of the students studying
abroad at public expense. In this document new principles of the selection of the
state-funded students were announced, namely “open selection, equal competition,
expert evaluation, admission of the best candidates”. Initially, this approach was
declared as experimental and came in force only on the territory of two provinces –
Jiangsu and Jilin, but as early as the next year this document came in force on the
territory of the whole country. In 1996 more than 2,000 students were selected
according to new approach and went abroad at public expense [Thuno, 2001: 926].
Moreover, the most important part of this document concerned compensation that
could be demanded by the Chinese government from the state-funded students that
went abroad for studying. So every student that received a scholarship from the
government was obliged to sign up a special agreement that forced him to return to
China after graduation or serve the motherland in other ways.
Moreover, in 1995 for further propaganda work a special web-site were
established with the support of Chinese government. It was called “Scholars
Abroad. Electronic Edition” and all the articles there were written in Chinese
language. On this web-site Chinese students that were living far from the
motherland could read the latest news about the achievements of the Communist
Party, so students themselves called this web-site the “Voice from Beijing”
[Ministry of Education: On-line].
In addition to written propaganda, the Chinese government started a new
political campaign under the title “going out and inviting in” (zou chu qu, qing
27
ginlai), according to which official invitations and special delegations were sent to
the most prominent ethnic Chinese that were working abroad at that time.
In 1998 the Ministry of Education decided to carry out special celebration
devoted to the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the reforms. The Minister of
Education Chen Zhili on the conference organized by the State Council
Information Office for the journalists announced that more and more young people
that had studied abroad were working in the main universities, scientific research
institutes and even took up high-ranking posts in the government. She also added
that the Chinese leadership would continue to do everything in its power to make
the best conditions for those students that would decide to come back to the
motherland after graduation [China Scholars Abroad: On-line].
As the result of this policy the increasing number of students decided to go
abroad for study at their own expense. According to the China Educational
Statistics Yearbook in 2002 about 94% (about 117, 000) of all students studying
abroad went to foreign country at their own expense. However, at the same time
the number of students that came back after graduation decreased much: only 30%
of about quarter million students decided to come back to China, and only 3.5% of
self-funded students returned to the motherland after the end of the study [See App.
1, Picture 2].
Despite the significant economic and political progress, in the end of the 1990s
the Chinese government was not able to develop an active program to attract
Chinese specialists back to the motherland. Still, Chinese people who lived abroad
chose not to return to China. In this case, Chinese leaders, first, decided to continue
ideological propagandistic work among Chinese students and scholars living
abroad. Second, they put forward a new idea that Chinese young specialist after
graduation could “serve the motherland in various ways”. It meant that students
and scholars working and studying abroad, primarily at public expense, were
encouraged to take an active part in the development of China wherever they were
living. Thus, China could get the necessary knowledge and experience form the
most advanced foreign research centers, and young Chinese people got an
28
opportunity to choose where they want to live. This idea became more and more
popular in the beginning of the 2000s, and it was confirmed by the Ministry of
Education in 2001.
C) The third stage (1999-2013)
By the early 2000s China was ready for more flexible policy toward Chinese
students studying abroad and toward the Chinese Diaspora in general. New
leadership of China has decided to gamble on the human potential realizing that it
is not enough to attract investments of the Diaspora.
In May 2001, prior to China’s accession to the World Trade Organization, the
Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Personnel with the support of the State
Science and Technology Commission prepared the document under the title
Solutions to Encouraging Chinese Students to Serve the Motherland in
Various Ways.
In accordance with this document Chinese students were urged “to serve the
nation”, getting experience in foreign companies or starting their own business
abroad. From that moment Chinese students were officially allowed to stay abroad:
now qualified specialist even working abroad could keep his job in China too.
These regulations mainly concern academics and scholars that were engaged in
active scientific work. They were also encouraged to take part in conferences and
advisory committees in China: for that they could receive a variety of financial
benefits and premiums for long term-research projects. The Chinese leadership in
its turn engaged to develop patent system and protect interests of Chinese
researchers living abroad.
So the idea that first appeared even in the end of the 1990s was officially
confirmed be the Ministry of Education and officially allowed more than 600,000
of Chinese scholars working abroad to continue their investigations in foreign
universities without any serious consequences [Thuno, 2001: 926].
Over time, the situation is slowly beginning to change. According to materials
that were published in the newspaper “China’s Youth Daily” in 2004 about 90% of
29
Chinese students that were studying abroad at that time intended to come back to
the motherland [China’s Youth Daily: On-line].
Furthermore, according to the statistic data presented by the Ministry of
Education in 2004 about 115,000 students go abroad for study, and among them
more than 100,000 students were self-funded. Moreover, officially about 25,000 of
students studying on foreign universities came back to China in the same year. On
the whole, from 1978 till 2004 the total number of students studying abroad was
814,884 people, and 197,884 of them returned home after graduation [China Social
Statistical Yearbook, 2004: 17].
In 2008 the national “Thousand Talents Plan” was launched by the Chinese
leadership. Since that time almost every year is announced a new annual plan that
is aimed to recruit the most talented scholars from many foreign countries to work
in Chinese universities and scientific centers11.
The long-term program offers full-time positions to the overseas Chinese
scholars under 50-55 years old that “hold a current professorship in a
distinguished international university or an equivalent in international research
institution” [Quoted by University of Chinese Academy of Science: On-line] and
awards them grants of 2 million and 1 million RMB respectively. While the shortterm program offers part-time positions to the same group of the overseas Chinese
scholars and awards them grants of 500 thousand RMB [Ibid]. Moreover, nonChinese researchers can apply for this program along with the overseas Chinese
scholars [Wei, Sun, 2012]. It means that they also can take up posts of principle
investigators on important national projects.
In 2010 the special Circular of the General Office of the State Council
Concerning Matters Relating to Students Studying Abroad was published. In
this document previous regulation concerned overseas Chinese students were
summarized: 1) the Chinese leadership one more time stated that the Chinese
11
Since the 1990s the Chinese government has set up several programs of this kind. In 1994 the Chinese academy of
Science initiated the “Hundred Talents Scheme”, and in 1998 the Ministry of Education initiated the “Yangtze River
Scholar Scheme”. These two programs were developed not only for overseas Chinese scholars; however, more than
90% of “Yangtze River Scholar Scheme” had overseas work or study experience [Wang, Zheng, 2013].
30
students studying in foreign universities were “the treasures of the State”; 2) all
students were welcome to come back to the motherland regardless their political
position in the past; 3) local authorities were encouraged to “adopt specific
measures to make it convenient for students studying abroad to come home,
simplify entry and exit formalities and make proper arrangements for work and
lives of returned students”.
On the basis of this circular the central government announced the launch of a
new long-term National Talent Development Plan. The main aim of this plan was
the formation of “a highly skilled national work force” during the decade from
2010 till 2020 and conversion of China into a world leader in innovations through
the increase of the number of highly skilled workers from 114 million to 180
million by 2020 [Simon, Cao, 2009: 215].
The project of the development plan was established by the Central Committee
of the CPC and the State Council in June 2010. The participation of two high
ranking governmental body showed the importance of the new project for the
Chinese leadership. Furthermore, on the official national-televised announcement
of the Development Plan president of the PRC Hu Jintao declared that “talent is
the most important resource and it is a key issue that concerns the development of
the Party and country” [Quoted by China Daily: On-line]. This plan became the
core of all legislations concerning the policy toward overseas Chinese students and
scholars.
In October 2013 the National Project to Provide Support to the PostGraduate Student was announced by the country’s top personnel administration,
and the China Scholarship Council was appointed as the responsible authority.
According to this document, in 2014 more than 7000 post-graduate students,
including 4500 doctoral students, will be sent to the best foreign universities at
public expense. However, only young scholars under 35 years old with high
scientific achievements can take part in such program. Moreover, special privileges
are granted to students who have already studied abroad for a long time. Among
other things candidates need to know two or more foreign languages. First of all,
31
they need to have fluent English language; moreover, they also need to know one
of the following languages: German, French, Russian, Japanese, Italian or Spanish.
Furthermore, all candidates are obliged to sign up an agreement that they are
engaged to come back to China after graduation and work for Chinese government
or in private company on the territory of the PRC.
In other words, in the 2000s was made a completely new step in development of
the policy toward Chinese scholars working abroad. The Chinese leadership finally
understood that it was almost impossible to attract students back to the motherland,
and it was much easier just to receive their knowledge and experience by other
ways: short-term training courses in Chinese companies and educational
institutions, participation in expert commissions and work groups in China, and so
on. Finally, the slogan of “returning to serve the country” (huiguo fuwu) was
officially replaced by another one – “serving the country” (wei guo fuwu) [Quoted
by Simon, Cao, 2009]. Although the Chinese government continues to develop
new facilities to attract overseas Chinese scholars, however it gambles more on the
free participation of the foreign scholars in economic and scientific activities in
China through various exchange programs and simplified entry/exit regulations.
***
The PRC, despite its impressive economic progress is still a developing country
in term of social improvements: the welfare system is still far from covering all
groups of citizens. Moreover, education and medical services still remain on a low
level. Like all other developing countries China continues to face an acute shortage
of qualified specialists that able to make quick decisions in a changing global
economic environment. Meanwhile, China is losing its most talented scientists who
prefer to live and work in more developed countries.
Since the beginning of economic reforms Chinese leadership has made several
attempts to encourage Chinese students to go abroad for study: 1) the Ministry of
Education with the support of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs concluded
several agreements concerning educational exchanges with the U.S., Great Britain,
France, Germany, Japan, and many other countries; 2) the number of different
32
research grants and scholarships awarded to students with the best academic
achievements increased much; 3) the Chinese government provided students
studied abroad guaranteed employment with adequate salaries; 4) self-funded
students were granted equal rights with state-funded students.
Due to these measures, the number of students went abroad for study increased
much. However, at the same time the Chinese leadership met with another obstacle:
not all of the young people studying or working abroad decided to come back to
the motherland. So in the 1990s the Chinese government had an acute question
how to attract most talented overseas Chinese scholars and scientists to China. For
that an active propaganda work among Chinese students abroad were held: special
journals, newspapers and electronic editions were created to provide overseas
students with the latest information about the economic and political achievements
of the Chinese government, more and more delegations were sent abroad to
strengthen ties with the overseas Diaspora, and so on. The leadership of the
country was interested much in overseas Chinese with working experience to come
back to China and run high-tech enterprises. To achieve this goal, special industrial
zones were established to attract returned overseas Chinese and provide them with
all necessary facilities for living and for business. The Chinese scholars and
specialists that returned to China were provided with working positions and high
salaries. More and more new organizations supported overseas Chinese were
established all over the country for various groups of returnees.
However, not many overseas Chinese were inspired by these programs and came
back to China. Although in the 2000s the Chinese government continued to
develop different stimulating programs aimed at attracting overseas Chinese back
to the motherland, however finally the Chinese authorities decided to use the
experience and skills of overseas Chinese without returning them to the country.
New programs of the short-term visits and participation in expert commissions
were established, and the new simplified visa system was designed specifically for
overseas talents. It was a completely new approach in the development of the
policy toward the human resources of the Diaspora. The overseas Chinese scholars
33
received an opportunity to hold their positions in foreign universities and research
centers, but at the same time they could take part in further development of the
country.
There are still many issues that still demand solution. Perhaps, now the Chinese
leadership needs to focus all the attention on the already-returned talents, rather
than to attract more and more overseas Chinese specialists into the country.
Especially, when there is no adequate assurance that returnees have supportive
working environment. However, even taking all these factors into account, China’s
last initiatives accepted by the central government and local authorities are likely
to be more successful than the earlier programs.
34
CHAPTER TWO
THE MENTALITY OF OVERSEAS CHINESE
Scientists began to study the process of cultural interactions only in the end of
the 19th century. The first serious researches on this issue were published in the late
1880s, when there was the barest necessity to investigate the process of cultural
changes in the tribes of the North American Indians [Herskovits, 1937]. With the
beginning of the labor migration boom in the early 20th century this topic received
further development, especially in the United States and European countries.
During the American Civil War in 1861-1865 more than 600 thousand people died
and infrastructure of the South was destroyed. The same situation was in Europe
after the First World War in 1914-1918. During this period the influx of labor
migrants was marked. So scientists of these countries were interested in the
cultural interactions between the local population and foreign migrants. Thereupon,
a new term “acculturation” has appeared. Acculturation refers to the process “in
which individuals negotiate two or more cultures” [Yeh, 2003: 35]. This process is
always very dynamic: immigrants interact with a new environment and often have
to change their behavioral patterns to meet new social standards. Thus, the term
“acculturation” can also be defined as “changes in an individual's behavior, social
and work activities, thinking patterns, values and self-identification as a result of
contact with another culture” [Sam, 2000: 7]. In this regard this term should be
distinguished from the term “assimilation”, which means a complete loss of
language and cultural peculiarities.
It is important to notice that the term “huaqiao” appeared after the establishment
of the Republic of China in 1911 [Vasantkumar, 2012]. From this moment we can
talk about the Chinese nation-state. Now such definitions as “huaqiao” and
“overseas Chinese” refer to all natives of China, regardless of their actual ethnicity.
It is quite well known that on the territory of the PRC live 56 different ethnic
nationalities. According to Communique of the National Bureau of Statistics, the
35
Chinese that belong to ethnic group “han” make up 91% of total population
[National Bureau of Statistics, 2010: On-line]. Thus, all general researches, related
to the phenomenon of huaqiao, focus mainly on this ethnic group. The cultural
features of this ethnic group have appeared under the influence of the three main
doctrines – Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, which have determined the
Chinese mentality.
Although many different dialects still exist in China (many of them are
significantly different from each other in term of phonetics), all Chinese dialect
groups use the same Chinese characters. Therefore, hieroglyphic writing is a strong
glue of the whole Chinese cultural sphere and one of the main factors that
determine the Chinese way of thinking.
The Chinese culture is extremely rich in local differences that often are very
strong. If the European culture is based on the doctrine of the original sin and the
primordial human sinfulness, that has come from Christianity and changed slightly
during the Renaissance, the Chinese cultural basis is much less clear. Nevertheless,
we can find a certain core, which has become the main base for the development of
Chinese contemporary mentality.
The core of Chinese culture is often defined as a commitment to collaborative
and harmonious life. Any Chinese on the question what is the highest value do not
hesitate to answer: the consent or harmony (“he”) between people [Maljavin, 2007].
In China for centuries the collective interests have always considered to be much
more important than the interests of the single individual. Therefore, such concepts
as identity and individuality have not been developed in China.
Apart from a large number of regional differences in recent years the impact of
modernization and westernization on Chinese society can be marked. The
differences between city dwellers and peasants have increased. Not so long ago
under the increasing influence of the Western world have appeared new social
groups, which representatives have completely broke away from traditional system.
However, they still remain Chinese: they consider themselves as “bearers” of
Chinese culture, and the rest of the world perceives them as natives of China.
36
In many respects it is closely related to the fact that Chinese people pay much
attention to the “symbolic forms of communication”, such as all sorts of courtesy,
normative gestures, body language and other symbolic ways to express wide range
of emotions and feelings [Ibid]. In Chinese literature we can find a lot of various
methods of hints, allusions and hidden passages, which are often beyond the
comprehension of European people. At the same times all these techniques are
significantly different from conventional methods as metaphors, antithesis, epithets,
etc., known by Western writers.
A good example of this symbolism is Chinatown. Every Chinatown is a special
space, filled with signs and tokens that outsiders cannot understand. Chinese
Diasporas live in a complete system of signs and symbols. These communities are
not closed for strangers, but they are totally self-contained systems, precisely
because of their symbolic structure. Foreigners can live in this system, however
without special fund of knowledge they cannot understand even a tenth of what is
happening around them.
At the same time, Chinese people perceive their social environment as an
important part of their lives and even destinies. Society that surrounds them
evaluates the merits and demerits of its individual members. This is based on the
conception that every person can meet his deserts even in this life, trough the
attitude of the society, in which he lives. Such representation allows Chinese
society to regulate the behavior of its members, so it is considered to be better that
Western doctrine of the retribution for the sins in the afterlife.
Moreover, the Chinese really believe in social institutions, so all kinds of
relations between them are very strong [James, 1997]. This fact can explain, in
particular, the success of Chinese emigrants in such sphere as commerce. Their
competitors from local population are most often involved in internal conflicts,
while the Chinese work as a united and cohesive mechanism.
Thus, the basic category of the Chinese perception of the world is not an
individual, but a sort of community, which has hierarchical nature. In this
community every individual is subjected to a certain higher, collective unity.
37
Therefore, the Chinese are so attached to their families and overcome huge
distances to meet the Spring Festival at home. Family is the key to a harmonious
development of an individual within the society. A person by oneself does not cost
anything; only as a part of a family he acquires a certain importance. Among
wealthy and lonely Chinese is widely distributed a very strange for Western mind
practice to “hire” family members on high days and holidays. Thus, family
occupies a really important place in the lives of ordinary Chinese.
However, the Chinese collectivism in some cases also plays a negative role. The
Chinese, who live in foreign environment, also depend on it and give a lot of
importance to the way people think about them. Jeremy Wang who wrote an article
about his emigrant experience recalled his childhood spent in America: “I grew up
in a homogenous, white neighborhood, and at a young age, I realized that I was
different from the other kids on my block. […] However, as a child, I desperately
tried to fit in and assimilate into modern mainstream America. When I was in
elementary school, my parents were unfamiliar with American holidays and
customs, but they did their best to adopt those customs because they feared that the
community would ostracize our family for being different” [Wang, 2008: 184].
Therefore, the overseas Chinese are subjected to assimilation, although not in a
direct way, but at the level of mentality. The Chinese do not fight the system,
because the strict subordination to society is one of the most important parts of
Chinese way of thinking. From this follows the dual nature of the overseas Chinese
mentality: on the one hand, they are still attached to the precepts of their ancestors,
on the other hand, their perception of the world is changing under the influence of
the society, in which they live.
The Europeans and Americans perceive the Chinese and most Asians in general
as very prim, non-emotional, passive and conservative people, who pay much
attention to some strange rituals. However, every emigrant by definition cannot be
passive, because in any case he takes a risk by moving to a completely different
and unfamiliar country, even without knowing the language of this country.
38
This contradiction can be solved by examining the structure of Chinese
emigration. Most of the overseas Chinese come from the Southern coastal
provinces. This region has historically been the center of navigation, so the local
have often been familiar with the features of foreign culture and the travel spirit
has been in their blood. At the same time, this area was quite far from the
metropolis, morals and manners here have always been freer and people have had
an opportunity to travel without the appropriate governmental regulations [Liu,
1995].
The familiarization of the overseas Chinese with Chinese culture now is an
integral part of the governmental policy [Larin, 2008]. The leadership of the
country believes that even those Chinese who live abroad should feel a connection
with their historical homeland and should be proud of the new rise of the country.
At the same time, different groups of Chinese immigrants treat differently to
their motherland. For many emigrants with the low level of education, especially
for the older generation, China, first of all, is the land of their ancestors, so they are
very attached to their home country. First-generation migrants, who left the
country during the period of the economic reforms, retain extensive personal
contacts with their relatives and friends, who still live in China.
However, the young generation of the overseas Chinese is often not so attached
to their ethnic homeland. According to experts, the number of young overseas
Chinese reached 10 million. A significant proportion of them have a high level of
education, many of them have degrees of prestigious foreign universities. However,
a lot of young Chinese living abroad do not know Chinese language and are even
not familiar with the Chinese culture.
The Chinese leadership is very concerned about this situation, because the
young generation of overseas Chinese is considered to continue the modernization
of the country.
In order to strengthen cultural ties with the overseas Chinese different
governmental organization publish a lot of academic books about Chinese
language, culture and history. All these books are specially designed for young
39
emigrants [Zhang, 2010]. Also there are three special educational centers in China
opened for young overseas Chinese: Jinan University in Guangzhou, Huaqiao
University and Beijing University of Chinese Language and Culture. All these
universities are controlled by the migration services [Liu, 2005]. These universities
and other public entities every year organize special educational trips for young
overseas Chinese to mainland China. In 2006 more than 5000 young people took
part in this program [Zhang, 2010]. For China 5000 people is not a big number.
However, these young men are called to be the engine of further modernization of
the country.
On the one hand, such governmental policy increases the level of national pride
among the overseas Chinese. On the other hand, some Chinese experts criticized
this policy, arguing that thus many emigrants from China find themselves in the
“cultural vacuum” [Hong, Wu, 2002] in the country of residence. They maintain
that the assimilation process is slowed down because of the permanent obtrusion of
the Chinese way of life and tradition values. Moreover, many Chinese that live
abroad have already received the foreign citizenship, so this strategy of the Chinese
leadership can be interpreted as interference in the internal affairs of other
countries.
For example, in the United States, where the idea of ethnic development known
as “melting pot” is actively promoted, stereotype that all people from China are
“perpetual foreigners” is still very strong [Goranda, 1999]. In other words, it is
assumed that overseas Chinese are not able to adapt to a new environment,
regardless of that how long they have stayed in another country. One of the
Chinese emigrants argued: “unlike African and Native Americans, the Chinese
challenged the superiority of white culture” [Wang, 2008]. So it is quite
predictable that the overseas Chinese immigrants retain their cultural identity for a
really long time. In this regard, the influence of the Chinese government on
emigrants should be very careful. Otherwise, the overseas Chinese, especially
those who has foreign citizenship, can be jeopardized.
40
Another important feature of Chinese emigrants, which is reflected in the
stereotypes about Chinese people, is constitutional bias towards labor. Jeremy
Wang in his article wrote about one incident which happened with him at school:
“after receiving our report cards in the tenth grade, a close friend who was
frustrated with his grades said to me, “[…] Chinese people are smart and do well at
school, but they will never become successful because they cannot carry on
coherent conversation”. […] He did not see the value in studying as diligently as
the Chinese students” [Ibid: 187]. So it is believed that overseas Chinese are even
not averse to the most tedious and difficult work which is considered to be a real
punishment for a Western man. Here we should take into account the differences
between Western and Eastern mentalities. Western way of thinking is focused
primarily on “science”: the main aim of any work is to increase the standards of
living and to decrease the quantity of the so-called “extra work’ which is often
hard and boring. Therefore, the fact that science and technology have not received
a large development in Imperial China is real surprise for Western mind. Although
such fundamental inventions as magnet, gunpowder, paper, etc. belong exactly to
Chinese civilization, the Chinese as many other Asian nations are guided by one
principled reason: it is necessary to love life as it is, but not to turn it into a tool of
achieving something [Suzuki, 1990].
As a good illustration we can take the parable, which was probably written down
by one of the most famous Chinese philosophers Zhuang Zi [Ibid]. The farmer
used the water from the spring to irrigate his field. A passer-by asked him why he
did not want to build a well with a sweep, because it could help him to do his work
faster. The farmer replied that he did not want to rely on a sweep, because he did
not want to become a slave of an invention. Such slavery, he added, could lead to
idleness and laziness.
It does not mean, of course, that Chinese people deny the achievements of
scientific and technological progress and advantages of new inventions. However,
the disposition toward labor and real aspiration to find harmony even in very
difficult and monotonous work are inculcated in them from the childhood. Even
41
the Chinese who live on the territory of China love comfort and want to live better.
With the rising standards of living, the needs of ordinary Chinese are growing too.
In 1980-s, when girls got married, they expected to receive “three big items” – a
bicycle, a watch and a sewing machine. In 1990-s, they expected to receive new
“three big items” – a television, a fridge and a washing machine. Now they want to
have prestigious apartments, cars and so on [Liu, 2008]. However, the special
attitude to work is always considered to be a special feature of ethnic Chinese.
***
The concept of mentality can be defined as the characteristic way of thinking of
people that belong to certain social or ethnic group. The main features of Eastern
mentality are traditionalism, respectful attitude to the past, the superiority of
collective interests over individual interests, the inclination to introversion, etc. All
these features characterize Chinese people, including the overseas Chinese. Under
the influence of the people with a different way of thinking the mentality of the
emigrants is gradually changing. Especially, it concerns youngest generation of the
overseas Chinese. Now in the mentality of the overseas Chinese have gradually
appeared such social patterns as a thirst for competition, the egocentrism, a sense
of ownership, firmness of purpose.
Nevertheless, the main specific features of the Eastern mentality cannot be
obliterated, because of the big role that is played by a family in the lives of the
ordinary Chinese people. After all, the vast majority of the social behavioral
patterns are formed in the childhood, and children are most susceptible to learning
process. According to the theory of cultural dimensions, developed by Dutch
sociologist Geert Hofstede, the so-called “mental programs” can be traced for
several generations of emigrants [Hofstede, 2001]. In this regard, overseas Chinese
are considered to “freeze” at the interfaces between two worlds – Eastern world
and Western world.
42
CHAPTER THREE
OVERSEAS CHINESE SHOLARS AND STUDENTS
AS A NEW SOCIL ELITE GROUP
According to the definition that was stated in Chapter one, social elite is a rather
small well-organized group of most educated and highest-income people that
influence on the political decision-making process and can determine the life of the
whole society. Due to that, the group of people that is considered to be social elite
should meet following requirements: 1) high-level of education; 2) high working
positions and salaries; 3) political representation; 4) social organizations as forums
for discussion; 5) territorial communities as an indicator of the strong ties between
members of the group.
This chapter analyzes the distinctive features of the returned overseas Chinese
social group in compliance with the characteristics mentioned above.
1) High level of education
In recent years along with the economic success the level of education in China,
especially higher education, has increased much. There are more than 2,000
institutes of higher education on the territory of the PRC, and about a quarter of the
total number of young people at the age of 20-24 years old study there (according
to the statistic data published in 2011) [China Statistical Yearbook, 2011: 741]. For
comparison, in 2008 in the European Union about 28,7% of the total number of
young people of the same age study in the higher education institutions, in the US
the number of students is higher – about 34,7% [OECD, 2012: On-line].
However, several problems have not been solved.
a) Shortages of financing
According to the statistic data in 2012, education financing in China makes up
about 4.3% of GDP, while the same figure in developed countries exceeded 5%.
For example, in 2010 the public expenditure on education in France was 5.9% of
GDP, in the US – 5.4% of GDP, in Norway and Sweden – about 7% of GDP [The
43
World Bank, 2013: On-line]. However, the main problem of education financing in
China is insufficient supervision on education spending in rural areas that leads to
the stagnation of education development in the countryside [Zhao, Sheng, 2008].
Along with the profit-orientation of private education institutions, tuition fees,
especially outside big urban center, is much higher than the average salaries.
b) Lack of professionals
The second problem is the acute lack of professors, lecturers and their assistants.
Although every year in China more than 100 thousand of new teachers go down
from universities and institutes of higher education, their teaching experience is
minimal [Zhao, Sheng, 2008]. Moreover, every year about 6% of experienced
teachers retire on pensions [Wang, Hou, 2007: 151]. In general, the number of
teachers that have a degree is increasing; however they have low qualification, so
the quality of education is not good enough.
In 2007 the Beijing University conducted a survey that showed that one-third of
all students were not interested in their future profession, and more than 50% of
teachers believed that there was an acute shortage of free hands, while working
load was really huge [Zhang, Guo, Qi, 2011: 36].
c) The problem of employment
It is quite difficult for students that have graduated from the prestigious
universities to find a job, while graduating students that have finished technical
secondary schools and colleges can find a job easily. It can be explained by the fact
that the need for working hands is much higher than for intellectuals [Zhao, Sheng,
2008].
d) Private education problems
The government supports both the state universities and the private universities,
the so-called “minban” (people’s colleges). In the beginning of the reform policy,
the society had a strong demand for higher education, but because of the
insufficient public funding the state universities could not develop quickly. Private
higher education institutions received their funding form tuitions, so they had more
opportunities for further development. Moreover, they were much more sensitive
44
to the need of the labor market, because “they were growing quickly side by side
with the private enterprises” [Ozturgut O., 2011: 5].
However, private universities are not very popular now: it is too hard to control
the quality of education in “minbans”, because they are not financed by the
government. As the result, not many private higher education institutions can get
an official permission to grant academic credentials. Along with that, the tuition
fees at “minbans” are growing, so in many cases it is easier to go abroad and get
guaranteed high-quality education.
Consequently, it is important to open branches of the leading foreign universities
on the territory of China. For example, currently, there are three British universities
that have their representatives in China: the University of Edinburg at the Nankai
University, the University of Nottingham at the Ningbo University, and the
University of Liverpool at the Xinan Jiaotong University.
Besides the problems mentioned above, the corruption, disparity between cities
and villages and the lack of academic freedom are still burning issues of the
Chinese education system.
Therefore, more and more Chinese students that have suitable financial support
choose to go abroad for study. Moreover, most of all they are seeking the high
standard of education [See App. 2, Picture 2]. According to the Institute of
International Education and the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational
and Cultural Affairs, in 2010-2011 in American universities there were more
Chinese students than from any other countries. At that time about 22% of the total
number of international students (more than 157,000) was from China [Helfing,
2013: On-line]. Moreover, the most popular fields of study among Chinese
students were business management and engineering that gave young scholars after
graduation very good job opportunities, especially in China [Ibid].
The number of Chinese students that have decided to go to Europe for university
education is increasing dramatically too [See App. 2, Picture 2]. For example, in
2010 the number of Chinese student in European universities was more than
45
120,000, and it was 6 times more than in 2010 [Wang, Li, 2012]. According to
China Daily, the main reason for Chinese students to study in Europe is that almost
all of the European universities do not charge special tuition fee to international
students [Zhang, 2014]. Moreover, The Peace Tour Award has been set up with
the support of the Europe-China Cultural and Educational Foundation in order to
grant special awards to Chinese students with high academic achievements. The
main aim of this award is to support promising young researchers studying on the
territory of the European Union (EU) and increase cultural and educational
exchanges [UNICA, 2014: On-line].
The active interest of Chinese students in prestigious foreign universities can be
proved by the spreading of the offices of the Chinese Students and Scholars
Associations located in such high-ranking universities as Cambridge University
(UK), Berkley University (USA), Columbia University (USA), British Columbia
University (Canada) and so on [CSSA, 2014: On-line]. The main aim of this
organization is to solve all problems of the Chinese students and visiting scholars
and build up strong ties among all students regardless their origin.
In such a way many Chinese students go to prestigious foreign universities for
study, and they are supported not only by the Chinese leadership, but also by the
local governments. Now more and more Chinese students have an opportunity to
study abroad in high-ranking universities and receive high-quality diplomas.
2) High working positions and salaries
Governmental supporting programs aimed at attracting more and more foreign
specialists promote high salaries among returnees. The statistic data shows that the
annual income for a family in 2012 was about 13,000 RMB. The average family
income in big urban centers was higher than in rural areas – 25,000 RMB and
11,400 correspondingly [National Bureau of Statistic, 2012: On-line]. At the same
time, according to the statistics of 2011, the average annual income of the returned
overseas Chinese specialists was much higher: more than a half of the returnees
have an average annual income more than 120,000 RMB, while 35% of the
returnees have an average annual income more than 36,000 RMB [See App. 2,
46
Picture 3]. Moreover, about 75% of the overseas Chinese students found job within
3 months [Hao, Welch, 2011: On-line]. The most demandable occupations with
good job opportunities were high-tech engineering and business management
[Helfing, 2013].
Furthermore, as the result of the state policy, 77% of the presidents of Chinese
universities, 84% of the academicians of the Chinese Academy of Science, and 75%
of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering have studied or worked
abroad [Zhao, Zhu, 2009: 37]. Local authorities also welcome overseas Chinese
returnees to work for the governmental bodies. More and more provincial
governments opened country lead level positions specifically for returned talents
[China Daily, 2013]. Moreover, among the Chinese political establishment there
have always been officials with foreign academic degrees: founding father of the
Chinese Republic Sun Yat-sen and other core members of the first central
government studied abroad. So this tradition is still popular among government
officials, even despite the fact that it is still quite hard to get good appointment
without connections with certain “influential figures, who are powerful enough to
access special channels for governmental positions” [Chen, 2014: On-line].
However, according to the study conducted by the Chinese newspaper Sothern
weakly, even now 31 out of 68 national leaders and 18% of heads of provincial
governmental bodies have studied abroad [Ibid].
Besides that, in 2002 was signed an agreement between the Harvard Kennedy
School and the Tsinghua University’s School of Public Management [Bloomberg
News, 2012]. According to this agreement Chinese high-level officials form
central and local governmental bodies can spend 6 weeks on the territory of the
U.S., during which they can take four-week study course at Kennedy School
training management skills. In such a way the Chinese leadership tries to increase
the number of officials with foreign degrees.
The most famous returnees are, probably, Jack Ma, Robin Li and Charles Zhang,
the creators of high-tech and Internet corporations in China. Jack Ma had worked
in the U. S. as an interpreter, before he came back to China and started his own
47
business. Now he is Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group, a group of Internetbased commercial portals and services. The company operates mainly on the
territory of the PRC, and it has already outrun the main competitors, eBay and
Amazon, in sales. Another Chinese Internet entrepreneur Robin Li is a co-founder
of the Chinese search system Baidu and one of the Chinese richest people. He
studied information management at the Buffalo University and at State University
of New York in the U. S. Charles Zhang, China’s Internet pioneer, is a co-founder
of the Sohu.com Corporation and one of the major business investors in China.
When he was only 22 years old, he received a full scholarship from the Tsinghua
University, where he was studying physics, and went to the U. S. to attend
graduate school at Massachusetts Institute of Technologies.
Due to the governmental supporting programs the returned overseas Chinese
now have the income much higher than their compatriot without foreign degrees.
Moreover, more and more returnees work in the government and research centers
and institutions. The Internet-based technologies are also in the hands of the
overseas Chinese entrepreneurs. Of course, foreign degree does not guarantee
quick success; the most important things are talent diligence and ambitions.
However, the experience of studying or working abroad can be very useful,
especially if it concerns high-tech technologies and public management, which are
very demanded in China now.
3) Political representation
The overseas Chinese have been always in opposition to the Chinese leadership,
as they have always supported nationalist and democratic parties rather than the
communists. However, the overseas Chinese and the Chinese Diaspora in general
have their own representatives on the political arena of the PRC.
The link between the main political force of the PRC, the Communist Party, and
the overseas Chinese Diaspora is realized by the Zhigongdang of China (Zhonguo
Zhigongdang), one of eight legally recognized political parties in China. The Party
was founded in 1925 in San-Francisco as a part of the so-called Society of Heaven
and Earth (Tiandihui) – anti-Manchu organization that actively supported Sun
48
Yan-Sen in his revolutionary efforts to overthrow the Qing dynasty [Pogorelov,
2014]. After that, the Party actively supported Chinese soldiers during the antiJapanese war. In 1949 after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China
the members of the Zhigongdang attended the First Plenary Session of the Chinese
People’s Political Consultative Conference and took part in the election of the
Central People’s Government.
Today the Party primarily consists of returned overseas Chinese and their
relatives, overseas Chinese scholars and other prominent figures that have overseas
ties. Zhigongdang supports the “multi-party co-operation” and political
consultative system with the leading role of the CPC [Ibid]. Moreover, the Party
plays an important role in many state political activities. The members of the Party
often play the role of the conciliator between foreign political delegations and the
leadership of the PRC.
Furthermore, the head of the party Wan Gang in 2007 became the head of the
Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the first minister since the 1950s
that was not the member of the CPC. Wan Gang has a long overseas experience,
first, as a doctoral student at the Department of Mechanical Engineering in
Clausthal University of Technology (Germany), and then as an expert in German
Audi Corporation. He made an important contribution to the development of the
Chinese Automobile Industry, and he is considered the greatest expert on
automobiles in China.
Overseas Chinese also have their representatives in other political parties
officially recognized in the PRC. Even the General Secretary of the CPC Xi
Jinping has a short experience of studying abroad: in 1985 he visited the US with
the Chinese delegation to study American agriculture [Daily Mail, 2012]. The vice
chair-woman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and
the leader of another officially recognized political party “China Association for
Promotion Democracy” Yan Junqi obtained the doctorate degree in the department
of naval engineering at Technical University of Denmark [China Vitae, 2014: Online]. The leader of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Democratic Party, another
49
legal political party, Chen Zhu also obtained his doctoral degree in foreign
university, namely in Diderot University of Paris [Ibid].
The most impressive experience of studying abroad, probably, has the present
Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng. In 1975 he went abroad for study at the
National University of Zaire in Kinshasa, the capital city of Zair (nowadays, the
Democratic Republic of Congo). After that he received the doctoral degree in
sociology from the Diderot University of Paris [Ibid].
In order to strengthen cooperation between foreign countries and China, more
and more overseas Chinese returnees take part in local political life. Nevertheless,
it is important not to overestimate the role of the overseas Chinese in China’s
policies. However, now China has an urgent need for advanced innovation, but the
development of new technologies could take decades. The access to necessary
high-tech projects can be provided by the overseas Chinese scholars that like Wan
Gang have experience of working and studying abroad. Thus, the overseas Chinese
returnees that maintain strong cultural and family ties with China are valuable
assets for economic development. Local government on all level support actively
returnees’ participation in the development is such high-tech industries as IT, new
sources of energy, media and communication. Moreover, both sides will benefit
from such cooperation, as far as the overseas Chinese Diaspora has already
invested much into China’s industry.
4) Social organizations
The different associations of the overseas Chinese are not only organizations of
the compatriots that need support while they are living abroad, but also discussion
forums, where the important strategic decisions can be made by the strong overseas
Chinese Diaspora as the independent force in the international arena.
The most influential overseas Chinese organization, which headquarter is
located on the territory of the PRC, is All-China Federation of Returned
Overseas Chinese (ACFROC). First, it was a united group of overseas Chinese
that decided to come back to China to support the liberation movement during the
Sino-Japanese war (1937-1945). The Yan’an Overseas Chinese National Salvation
50
Association (since 1946, the Yan-an Overseas Chinese Federation) was formed in
1940 in order to present the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Southeast Asia
and explain Chinese living there the positive role that was played by the
communists in fighting Japan [China Dictionary, 2014: On-line].
On the base of the Yan-an Overseas Chinese Federation a new overseas Chinese
organization was established during the Civil War (1946-1950) – the Liberated
Regions Returned Overseas Chinese Federation. The CCP demonstrated in strong
interest in overseas Chinese at that time, but it would not start the development of
any policy toward overseas Diaspora until 1949 [Ibid].
The ACFROC was founded in 1956 with the support of the Central People’s
government and the Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee. The main aims of this
organizations are: 1) to protect the rights and interests of returned overseas Chinese,
their relatives, and all other Chinese living outside the country: 2) to united all
returnees and encourage them to take part in the further development of China; 3)
to strengthen the cooperation with the overseas Chinese Diaspora and support
political and economic exchanges between China and their residing countries.
Moreover, the ACFROC can participate in the main political and economic events
and play a role of consultative body in the process of political decisions making.
The main representative and deliberative body of the ACFROC and other
overseas Chinese organizations is the National Congress of Returned Overseas
Chinese. The participation of the country’s leaders, such as President Xi Jinping,
Premier Li Keqiang and other representatives from the main government organs, in
the opening ceremony of the Ninth National Congress that was held in December
2013 in Beijing showed that Chinese leadership pays high tribute to the services
overseas Chinese rendered to the country [China Daily, 2013]. The mail aims of
the congress is to review the work of the ACFROC over the past years, elect a new
term of leadership and award those, who have made the great contribution to the
modernization of the country. The congress is usually held every five years since
the establishment of the ACFROC in 1956.
51
Moreover, there are two main organizations under the governmental bodies that
promote ties between overseas Chinese and their compatriots. In 1992 the China
Overseas Exchange Association (COEA) was opened within the Overseas
Chinese Affairs Office (affiliated to the State Council), and in 1997 the China
Overseas Friendship Association (COFA) was founded under the Chinese
People’s Political Consultative Conference) in order to strengthen cooperation with
overseas Chinese and promote “the unity of the sons and daughters of China”
[Thuno, 2011].
In many big foreign university and institutions of higher education are located
the branches of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) that is
the official organization for overseas Chinese students, who are studying or
working in other countries. The CSSA is not only responsible for helping and
supporting Chinese students abroad, but also for enhancing the political and
cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, where students are living.
Actually, there are many non-profit and non-political overseas Chinese
organizations that unite professionals and experts of certain field of study, for
example, the Overseas Chinese Environmental Engineers and Scientists
Association (OCEESA), the Overseas Chinese Physics Association (OCPA), the
Overseas Chinese Entomologists Association (OCEA), etc.
Among them, the Overseas Chinese Association for Institutional Research
(OCAIR) established in 1996 is of interest, as far as this group of intellectuals
intends to provide a forum for its members to “freely exchange ideas and
information, and to share professional experience” [OCAIR, 2014: On-line].
Moreover, this group, except the annual AIR Forums, exists primarily on the
Internet, and thus unites overseas Chinese scholars living all over the world.
Members of the AIR reside in such countries as the U.S., Canada, Germany, the
U.K., and others. In 2013 another overseas Chinese organization was formed,
namely The Young Overseas Chinese Association (YOCA) in order to address
the needs of young Chinese professionals. YOCA is positioned as the “first
organization handcrafted by young Chinese professionals in Chicago for young
52
Chinese professionals”, and the majority of the members of organization hold postgraduate degrees from the high-ranking U.S. universities [YOCA, 2014: On-line].
Globalization and development of the Internet have made the emergence of such
organizations possible. Such groups are created in order to unite and support
overseas Chinese residing in many countries all over the world, and to provide a
free forum, where experts and scholars can share new ideas and professional
experience. Members of these groups could support and advance each other, unite
and promote certain ideas. As far as these organizations are formed especially for
overseas Chinese, the members of these groups can feel free communicating with
the compatriots.
5) Territorial communities
More and more overseas Chinese students that have decided to return to the
motherland prefer to live and work together and what is more Chinese government
on all levels tries to assist their intentions. The best example of the governmental
support is, perhaps, the so-called Wuxi New District or Wuxi New Area.
The New District was founded in 1992 first as an industrial zone with the aim to
attract the biggest foreign companies. It is located in the most industrialized
Chinese region in the suburban of Wuxi city, approximately 120 km west of
Shanghai. In the end 2009 more than 1500 enterprises have been registered in the
New District [WND, 2014: On-line], and almost all of them are established by
foreigners, including overseas Chinese entrepreneurs. Now the New District is one
of the biggest industrial parks in China, specialized in precision machinery and
electronics that considers highly attractive in today’s economic environment.
Moreover, many overseas Chinese are finding Wuxi with its friendly policies to
be an appealing option to establish new enterprises. For their needs in August 1998
the Wuxi Pioneer Park was established, and became the first national-level park for
returning overseas students in China. In 2013 the Third China Overseas HighTech Talents and Projects Promotion Fair was held in Wuxi with the assistance
of Chinese Association for Science and Technology and the Chinese Ministry of
Education, and it was aiming to “accelerate the pace of attracting more and more
53
high-end talents, including overseas Chinese scholars, specialists, and engineers, to
start their business in Wuxi and expand Wuxi economy” [The Third China (Wuxi)
Promotion Fair, 2013: On-line].
Besides Wuxi, many local governments have also established the so-called
Returning Student Venture Parks or Overseas Students Parks that are located in
high-tech development areas. These zones are established exclusively for
companies that were founded by overseas Chinese returnees. In the Overseas
Students Parks returnees can find whatever they need – not only low rent and tax
benefits offering by almost all science parks in China, but also special features that
addressed the needs of returnees, such as accommodation and bilingual schools for
their children.
The first Science and Technology Park for overseas Chinese students was
created in 1994 in Nanjing district [Barabantseva, 2005]. Since then several tens of
such parks have been established all over the territory of the PRC, including the
Overseas Students Science Park in Zhongguancun, the oldest of the three students’
parks located in Beijing [China Daily, 2011: On-line]. According to the statistic
data presented by the Chinese Ministry of Personnel, in 2004 there were 110
Overseas Students Parks, and now the number of industrial parks of this kind is
more than 160 with about 8,000 business that provide working positions for
returning students [Walcott, 2003: 213].
These parks consolidated local research institutes, and in such a way were
created financial and scientific platforms to support the start-ups of the returnees.
Thus, the Park provided a great opportunity for overseas Chinese students to
realize their business goals on the territory of China and in such a way make a
contribution for national economic development.
Furthermore, the local governments launch talent programs to offer preferential
policies to students, who have decided to come back to the motherland. For
example, in 2011 the financial support of 1 to 3 million RMB is provided for hightech enterprises established by overseas Chinese students in Taizhou, Jiangsu
province [Zhao, Zhu, 2009: 37]. At the same time, in Shenzhen, the major city of
54
Guangdong Province, the subsidies for prospective entrepreneurs with the overseas
experience were increased to 300,000 RMB [Ibid: 38].
In the same year the “One Hundred Most Growth Start-Ups Contest” started,
and from that time it is held every year among enterprises that are founded by
returnees in the Venture Parks [Ibid]. The main aim of this contest is to help the
most promising companies to become “bigger and stronger as soon as possible”,
and support further cooperation between entrepreneurs and investment institutions.
In such a way Chinese government tries to improve the business environment
for overseas Chinese returnees and make for them the special place on the
domestic market. In future, the leadership of China that desires to boost the
development of high-tech industries will create more and more opportunities for
overseas Chinese entrepreneurs.
***
The returned overseas Chinese scholars and students can be called social elite
group as they really meet the requirements that were stated above.
First, their level of education in many cases is higher than the level of education
of their colleagues at home. The Chinese leadership has just begun to reform the
education system in the country, and despite the success in this sphere, which has
been achieved in last years, the level of education, especially higher education, in
China is still lower than in developed Western countries. Plus, the returned
overseas Chinese have unique experience of living abroad that can help them to
orient better in contemporary fast-paced world. Some of them, like, for example,
Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group, have worked abroad and seen completely
new technologies and innovations that they have tried to repeat at the motherland.
Second, due to the governmental supporting programs the returned overseas
Chinese now have the income much higher than their compatriot without foreign
degrees. More and more returnees work at universities and advanced research
centers. Moreover, local authorities welcome overseas Chinese returnees to work
for the governmental bodies. The Internet-based technologies are also in the hands
55
of the overseas Chinese entrepreneurs. High salaries and high social positions let
returnees to stand out against a background of their colleagues
Third, the returnees form a very well-organized group that has its own political
representation bodies – Zhigongdang Party and other various social organizations,
members of which can freely share their experience and new knowledge and
support each other. Besides that, many returnees form solidary communities, living
together in the so-called Overseas Chinese Students Parks, where they have all
possible opportunities for the development of their start-ups and necessary
facilities.
56
CONCLUSION
The international community for the last three decades has been really
impressed by the rapid growth of the Chinese economy. However, China has not
yet reached the level of development of Western countries, especially in the sphere
of social welfare. Moreover, education system and medical services still remain on
a low level. As the result, despite the increasing economic power of the PRC and
gradually rising living standards, the waves of emigrants from the country does not
decrease, but rather increases. Most of the immigrants are wealthy people, graduate
specialists and cultural workers.
Since the beginning of economic reforms Chinese leadership has made several
attempts to encourage Chinese students to go abroad for study. The Ministry of
Education with the support of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs concluded
several agreements concerning educational exchanges with the U.S., Great Britain,
France, Germany, Japan, and many other countries. Central and local authorities
designed the number of different research grants and scholarships awarded to
students with the best academic achievements. The Chinese government provided
students studied abroad guaranteed employment with adequate salaries.
Furthermore, to stimulate students to go abroad for their own expense, self-funded
students were granted equal rights with state-funded students.
Due to these measures, the number of students went abroad for study increased
much. However, at the same time the Chinese leadership met with another obstacle:
not all of the young people studying or working abroad decided to come back to
the motherland. So in the 1990s the Chinese government had an acute question
how to attract most talented overseas Chinese scholars and scientists to China.
For that an active propaganda work among Chinese students abroad were held:
special journals, newspapers and electronic editions were created to provide
overseas students with the latest information about the economic and political
achievements of the Chinese government, more and more delegations were sent
57
abroad to strengthen ties with the overseas Diaspora, and so on. The leadership of
the country was interested much in overseas Chinese with working experience to
come back to China and run high-tech enterprises. To achieve this goal, special
industrial zones were established to attract returned overseas Chinese and provide
them with all necessary facilities for living and for business. The Chinese scholars
and specialists that returned to China were provided with working positions and
high salaries. More and more new organizations supported overseas Chinese were
established all over the country for various groups of returnees.
However, not many overseas Chinese were inspired by these programs and came
back to China. Although in the 2000s the Chinese government continued to
develop different stimulating programs aimed at attracting overseas Chinese back
to the motherland, however finally the Chinese authorities decided to use the
experience and skills of overseas Chinese without returning them to the country.
New programs of the short-term visits and participation in expert commissions
were established, and the new simplified visa system was designed specifically for
overseas talents. It was a completely new approach in the development of the
policy toward the human resources of the Diaspora. The overseas Chinese scholars
received an opportunity to hold their positions in foreign universities and research
centers, but at the same time they could take part in further development of the
country. Moreover, they have everything required for that.
The level of education of the returned overseas Chinese in many cases is higher
than the level of education of their colleagues at home. The Chinese leadership has
just begun to reform the education system in the country, and despite the success in
this sphere, which has been achieved in the last years, the level of education,
especially higher education, in China is still lower than in developed Western
countries. Plus, the returned overseas Chinese have unique experience of living
abroad that can help them to orient better in contemporary fast-paced world. Some
of them, like, for example, Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group, have worked
abroad and seen completely new technologies and innovations that they have tried
to repeat at the motherland.
58
Moreover, due to the governmental supporting programs the returned overseas
Chinese now have the income much higher than their compatriot without foreign
degrees. More and more returnees work at universities and advanced research
centers. Moreover, local authorities welcome overseas Chinese returnees to work
for the governmental bodies. The Internet-based technologies are also in the hands
of the overseas Chinese entrepreneurs. High salaries and high social positions let
returnees to stand out against a background of their colleagues
Finally, the returnees form a very well-organized group that has its own political
representation bodies – Zhigongdang Party and other various social organizations,
members of which can freely share their experience and new knowledge and
support each other. Besides that, many returnees form solidary communities, living
together in the so-called Overseas Chinese Students Parks, where they have all
possible opportunities for the development of their start-ups and necessary
facilities.
In other words, now the returned overseas Chinese scholars and students form a
social elite group. Even despite the fact that some of them have foreign citizenship,
they make a great contribution to the development of the country. In contrast to
foreign specialists that are working in China, returned overseas Chinese know
many distinctive features of Chinese culture (traditionalism, respectful attitude to
the past, the superiority of collective interests over individual interests, etc.) and
can better adapt to the Chinese realities. However, under the influence of the
people with a different way of thinking the mentality of the overseas Chinese has
changed. Now the overseas Chinese can be characterized by such social patterns as
a thirst for competition, the egocentrism, a sense of ownership, firmness of
purpose. Namely these features of Western mentality can, finally, let returned
overseas Chinese to find new ways for further development of both – Chinese
economy and culture.
There are still many issues that still demand solution. Perhaps, now the Chinese
leadership needs to focus all the attention on the already-returned talents, rather
than to attract more and more overseas Chinese specialists into the country.
59
Especially, when there is no adequate assurance that returnees have supportive
working environment. However, even taking all these factors into account, China’s
last initiatives accepted by the central government and local authorities are likely
to be successful.
60
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62
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72
APPENDIX 1: STATISTIC DATA ON STUDENTS GOING ABROAD AND
RETURNING TO CHINA
Picture 1. Chinese students abroad, 1978-1999 (Source: Educational Statistics
Yearbook of China, 1998)
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
1978
1980
1986
1988
Study Abroad
1991
1996
1999
Return to China
Picture 2. Chinese students abroad, 2000-2011 (Source: Wei, Sun, 2012)
600000
500000
400000
300000
200000
100000
0
2003
2004
2005
2006
Study Abroad
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Return to China
73
APPENDIX 2: REASONS AND DESTINATIONS FOR STUDYING ABROAD
IN CHINA
Picture 1. The most popular countries among Chinese students, 2012 (Source:
Nanjing Marketing Group, 2012)
Total number of the Chinese students abroad: 410,000
4%
3%
4%
1%
5%
4%
33%
4%
United States
Britain
Australia
Canada
Singapore
Hong Kong
France
Japan
German
Korea
11%
14%
17%
Others
Picture 2. Reasons of choosing foreign education, 2012 (Source: Nanjing
Marketing Group, 2012)
16%
Quality of education
28%
1%
4%
Discovering cilture
Learning language
5%
Low costs
6%
Friendly visa policy
Security
14%
26%
Social status
Relatives or friends
74
Picture 3. Annual income of returned overseas Chinese, 2010 (RMB) (Source:
Hao, Welch, 2012)
4% 4%
12%
Above 960,000 RMB
360,000 - 960,000 RMB
120,000 - 360,000 RMB
45%
36,000 - 120,000 RMB
35%
36,000 RMB
75