Bizarre Bazaar
Postcards from Around the World
ABC News' Terry McCarthy has been reporting on war, peace, and everything in between from all around the world for 20 years. He writes about daily life in the areas he is reporting from.
RECENT POSTS
MONTHLY ARCHIVES
« A Foreigner in China | Main | Golf in China »
Future Dragons
October 25, 2007 7:41 AM
He is four months old, 16 pounds and he smiles a lot. And Feng Shilong - nicknamed Long-long, "dragon dragon" - was probably born at the best time yet for a Chinese baby. His mother, Hong Lei, works for an Internet company, his father, Jack Von, works for an advertising agency. 
Long-long was born in China's richest city, where for 50 renminbi ($6) a year the state will give him health insurance, where the public schools will give him a free education that will teach him math, English and how to use computers in elementary school, and where his parents will be able to earn enough to buy him what he needs as he grows up.
When he grows up, he will find himself in a vibrant city with a modern infrastructure of subways, freeways, and airports that will be China's major financial and trading center. He will speak the world's two main languages of commerce, English and Chinese.
And, says his mother, he will have opportunities that she could never have imagined as she grew up. Hong Lei, 28, took four months off work for Long-long's birth - her job is guaranteed that long in Shanghai. She says she will miss her son when she goes back to work next week, but she couldn't imagine being a stay-at-home mom - China is developing so quickly she could't bear to miss out on it, particularly as her field is the internet.
We spent several hours with mom and baby today, and what was most striking to me was the sense of optimism Hong has for her son's future. As a child growing up in the '80's, Hong can only remember tha days when China started to open up.
The bad days of the Cultural Revolution I that her parents lived through - mean nothing to her generation. It has only been getting better since she was born, and she has no reason to believe things will not keep improving for Long-long as he gets older.
After spending so much time recently in Iraq, the contrasts with how parents see the future there for their children is very striking. Iraqis do not trust in the future. Long-long's parents do. And they see their son playing a big role in the future, which is why they nicknamed him the dragon.
October 25, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (3)
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/433071/22748676
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Future Dragons:
Hi,
you use your eyes and ear to get the information about china,but to be frankly if you don't know the culture and the history, some time yor statment really can not be proved, anyway the life is better for the child in 90 or new century, but they lost more, for the nature scene vanish mansion instead of plant and tree, playing games intead of enjoying the nature, when i was a child , my family is poor, and my parents in poor health so as member of the family i need support them to farm maybe you thought it is easy as your county using the facility to plant,but in 80's china most work was done by manual,so i know a lot about how to sow pean, rice , corn, tomato , potatos and so on , so i have alot time in nature field, by now when i recall it, i really thought i have a colorful childhood.
Posted by: Veronica | Oct 27, 2007 11:52:10 PM
Hi, Terry,
As a Chinese, I really like this series about China. Having been living in the US for over nine years, I understand that China is, to many, a mystery. Your reporting definitely bridges the gap. I believe you have painted a realistic picture of what is happening in China. Please keep up the good work!
Happy holidays!
Posted by: Laura | Dec 5, 2007 6:16:24 PM
congratulations to china and n. korea for turning into the culture your ancestors are and were proud of..now they can rest in peace, too!!
Posted by: gwenn | Dec 7, 2007 12:11:59 AM
Post a comment
