Asian language education is suddenly the Holy Grail of Australian education. Students studying Asian languages are conned into believing they will somehow get a great job as a result of their studies. I speak two Asian languages fluently -- Bahasa Indonesia and Mandarin Chinese -- and I can tell you I have never gained a single hour of paid employment as a result. All bachelor degree level Chinese will get a young graduate in China is a job as an English teacher.
That being said, I have no regrets at all about learning Mandarin because I have been able to travel alone and unassisted from Aomen in the south and Dalian in the north and from Shanghai in the east and Si'an in the west. Almost without exception, the only cities Anglo Australians have heard of are Beijing and Shanghai. This is comparable to visiting Australia and seeing only Toorak and Point Piper. Beijing and Shanghai constitute about 2 percent of the population of China. How many Australians have even heard of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, a marvellous city of 8 million people, known as the Chicago of China? Or Dalian, a city of bone and sinew, where I could look out of my window and see high speed trains being manufactured and an old Soviet era aircraft carrier being reconstructed? Or Gongyi, a city where heavy indsutry rules -- most of it still in private hands -- making it one of trhe most prosperous cities in China?
This allows me to say without equivocation that He Fan's article 'The China Challenge '(AFR, 21 September 2012) is total self serving rubbish. For those of you who have not read the Review section of Friday's Australian Financial Review, headed 'Your Guide to the World of Issues, Ideas and Opinions, He Fan 'says Australia must change its view of Asia if it is to befriend The People's Republic.' He Fan is the deputy director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing. He is consultant for the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the People's Bank of China. He is also a member of the Bellagio group of central bankers and academics (Group of Thirty). I have no proof of the veracity of this biography, as it is entirely derived from the statement accompanying his article in the AFR.
The aim of this article is to convince Australian readers that we can somehow get on good terms with the neighborhood bully be being nice to him. Take the second paragraph. "Fairly speaking, this is not because Chinese people are ignorant of foreign affairs. On the contrary, international politics is a hobby to many Chinese, like sport is to many Australians.' Now, I have talked to dozens of Chinese (in Mandarin) about many topics, from taxi drivers to Party secretaries, including sensitive issues such as the fate of the One Child Policy and not a single one has mentioned foreign affairs. As far as Australia is concerned, occasionally someone will mention koala bears, but that's about the sum total of Chinese knowledge of Australia.
Let me draw an analogy. My late half sister loved what she believed to be Chinese food. She was a poor person, and Chinese food was a special treat. Her favourite dishes were lemon chicken and beef with black bean sauce. She truly believed she understood China because she liked Chinese food and the serving staff (always Chinese) smiled at her. Well, lemon chicken and beef with black bean sauce is a created cuisine. It is not Chinese food at all, it is Australian food. You will never be served lemon chicken or beef with black bean sauce in China because it is not Chinese food. Similarly, He Fan's article has nothing to do with Australia. It is a Chinese confection intended to achieve Chinese goals.
He Fan writes as if China has a choice in buying the products it purchases from Australia. He posits spurious comparisons between the ANZ Bank and Citigroup and between ANU and Harvard and Stanford. Each has its role. As for raw materials, China has been attempting to develop alternative sources of supply in Africa, where the Chinese are cordially loathed, without success.
He Fan quotes ANU's Hugh White as proposing a "shrewd strategy" of balancing itself between the United States and China, allowing for the US to make "strategic space" for China. It suits He Fan to quote an appeaser like White because in the narrow and deluded world of international strategic analysis in Australia he carries some weight.
Australia should not devalue its strategic assets. We will always be freer, more prosperous and a more spacious land than China. Our geostrategic situation gives us influence above that which our population would suggest. Given a chance, Chinese in their millions would emigrate here and make good citizens. Let's tell He Fan to take his delusions with him and go home to China.
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