Youth's misconception of China's modernization
- Source: Global Times
- [00:57 March 16 2010]
- Comments
By Wang Yuan
"It will still take almost 100 years or even longer for us to make China into a modernized country," came the message from Premier Wen Jiabao at the press conference Sunday after the closing meeting of the Third Session of the 11th National People's Congress, playing over the radio as I sat in a taxi on my way home.
"What a long period," I muttered to myself. "Well, all right."
I found it somehow strange that we still need such a long time to become a "modernized country." If modernization means people could enjoy good living quality, I don't think it's so far from us. I have a job and stable income. I am young and I'm confident in my future. Moreover, the city I am living in, Beijing, is satisfying. My lifestyle is average for Beijing.
I am not actually very worried. After all, my own life is quite alright.
It's remote, I admit. But I cannot deny that was really my initial reaction to Wen's judgment. And I suppose many of my contemporaries, the post-1980s generation, especially those living in urban areas, think the same as me.
My colleague also thought it will be too slow if we have to take a hundred years. "I remember my high school's text book told us we could be a developed country by the middle of the 21st century. So why the delays now?" she asked.
Youth do not really understand the urgency and difficulties of China's modernization. Wen's "100 years" may not mean exactly 100 years, it just means modernization takes time and will meet unpredictable obstacles. We need to keep in mind that in China the gap between the rich and the poor is still huge.
When I thought about the problem again, I realized that I'm satisfied with my life just because I am in Beijing, one of the most modernized cities in the country, but a "modernized society" means everybody in it enjoys a good life. However, there is "the other China," where people are still suffering poverty.
Youth who live in metropolitan areas can hardly imagine the poverty of the undeveloped areas. We may see it in TV documentaries, or read about it in newspapers, but we never experience it ourselves.
That's the reason we cannot understand why China is still so far from being modernized. There are difficulties, we know, but we do not know how tough they actually are.
Youth are lacking education about China's current condition. Even though I'm talking about "the other China," I cannot detail it.
The consequence might be that we may not care enough for the country's poor areas. It's not a good phenomenon that youth, the future mainstays of Chinese society, are accustomed to neglecting "the other China."
Modernization means progress of the whole society.
If there is always a large amount of the population lagging behind, the modernized life in metropolitan areas will not last.
