May you live in interesting times
There are many words that one could use to describe China in 2015, but I’ll settle for a gross understatement and choose “interesting”. It is not only the scale of Beijing that blows one away, but also the modernity, especially outside the historic centre. They are well ahead of us in so many ways, not least in terms of amazing architecture: buildings that make you look, and look again.
The bullet train cruises at 300 km per hour, apparently effortlessly. Such a train would reduce a journey from Ottawa to Toronto to about 90 minutes. Could that happen in Canada? I doubt it. Surely it is an impossible dream, as we could never marshal the financial resources, nor collaborate to build the necessary track. What a pity!
From conversations with faculty and staff at our partner university in Wuhan it emerges that academic life presents some of the same challenges in China as it does at home. They too are on a continuous hunt for additional sources of funding, and thus, for example, have established an alumni association linked very directly to their advancement office. And there is currently a major campaign to curtail costs. Foreign trips to one country are limited to five days … eight days if two countries are involved, and there were lots of jokes about visiting Belgium where you can easily manage two or three in a couple of hours. And alcohol can only be served at university functions if you are entertaining visitors … something that I can easily foresee happening in Ontario in the near future. Indeed, I believe such a policy may already be in place at the University of Ottawa, among others.
There is also much talk about a relatively new system of performance evaluation, in which faculty members must achieve 80 points each year. While I didn’t learn all the nuances, apparently you can get 10-20 points for a journal article, depending on the impact factor of the specific journal, and 30 for a monograph. So the pressure to publish has become intense, but the emphasis on straightforward metrics is disappointing, much as it is in Canada. I know that economists will disagree, but I firmly believe that there are some things that are simply too nuanced to be measured easily or effectively, and publications in the humanities figure high on that list.
What is perhaps most interesting is not simply the widespread opinion that some things need to change, but the evident determination to make that change happen. Chinese society seems to be pervaded at the moment by a movement to re-establish merit as the guiding principle, while at the same time eliminating any form of “cronyism” or “corruption”. This past week a number of army generals were sacked for having sold promotions, and high-end restaurants in Beijing are apparently suffering from a crackdown on expense account meals. Other perquisites are also being eliminated, including official cars. It was announced that the number of positions coming with a car would be reduced by no less than 100,000 … which should ease both the horrendous traffic problem and the significant air pollution.
My overall impression is of a society that works fairly well, recognizes the issues that need greater attention, and is committed to doing something about them. It will indeed be “interesting” to watch what happens in the months and years ahead. And if any Canadian student asks me for advice about how to succeed in life in the 21st century, my response will comprise two words: “Learn Chinese”.
The cost of a Tsing Tao beer in an upscale “foreign” hotel in Beijing: 50 yuan ($10). Landing in Vancouver in time to catch the last few minutes of the CIS championship basketball game, and watch the Ravens win their fifth consecutive national title: priceless!