{"product_id":"how-china-fights-poverty-von-william-n-brown","title":"How China Fights Poverty","description":"\u003cp\u003eThroughout the 1980s, I faithfully read China Reconstructs' (now China Today) to\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ekeep abreast of China's war on poverty. I was skeptical but also hopeful because\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eeven if China realized only a fraction of its goals, hundreds of millions would escape\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epoverty, and perhaps inspire other nations to follow suit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter a decade of reading about China's changes, we determined to see them\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efirsthand and in 1988 I moved with my family to Xiamen University to study Chinese.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe trip from Los Angeles entailed 50 h on 3 planes and an 18 h boat trip up the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ecoast from Hong Kong. Upon arrival, we were surprised to learn that even in Xiamen,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea Special Economic Zone facing Taiwan, roads were still potholed, transportation\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewas poor, electricity and water outages were almost daily, and store shelves were\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eempty. Yet the people were optimistic because life had never been better and they\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewere confident in the future.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter two months of Chinese study, I was asked to teach MBA for one year. Dean\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLiu Peng said, \"We will build one of China's top ten business programs!\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI reluctantly put my Chinese studies on hold for one year and then accepted a\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esecond year of teaching, and a third. I've now been teaching, temporarily of course,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efor 34 years, but still hope to someday resume Chinese studies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEven though I was confident in China's future, I expected change would take 50\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eor 60 years-that we were \"planting trees for future generations to enjoy the shade.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter all, at that time even a landline phone cost me 450 USD and took 3 years to\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003einstall. No one could have imagined 30 years ago that by 2021, sleepy Xiamen's\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGDP would exceed 700 billion Yuan.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut the miracle of the China Dream is seen best not in dry statistics but in the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003echanged lives of people across the entire nation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn January 1989, I made my first trip to see how rural farmers and fishermen\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elived and discovered that 50 miles from Xiamen were like traveling back 50 years in\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003etime. I rode buses, motorcycle taxis, farm tractors, and bicycles, and hiked for hours\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethrough rice paddies and up and down mountain trails. Not surprisingly, rural areas\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewere poor, yet rural Chinese were as cheerful and optimistic as the urbanites. They\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewere also openhearted and hospitable.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"aw-variant-hidden-subtitle-div\" id=\"aw-variant-subtitle-9781835208397\"\u003e\u003ch3\u003eA Historical Perspective\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Autorenwelt Shop","offers":[{"title":"Softcover - 9781835208397","offer_id":46970685227333,"sku":"9781835208397","price":34.3,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0940\/0622\/products\/e0000d8b-9125-43d4-91de-dc089bd0f533.jpg?v=1694114138","url":"https:\/\/shop.autorenwelt.de\/en\/products\/how-china-fights-poverty-von-william-n-brown","provider":"Autorenwelt Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}