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THE BOOMERANG EFFECT

BY YANG LILI

Does a Western education produce more to 200,000.These returnees make up a tiny percentage of enlightened Chinese officials, or merely bet- ’s total population of 1.3 billion, but compared with the number of returned students at the end of the Qing Dynasty ter equip a new generation of tyrants? (1644–1911) and in the early years of the Republican period (1911–1949), they are by no means an insignificant number. Shortly after marrying his first wife, he cheated on her with Regrettably,these eagles who once soared on the wings of free- the babysitter. He then divorced his wife and married the dom cease flying once they return to China. In this vast, mute babysitter.Then he hired a killer to murder and dismember his land their voices are not heard. second wife under cover of night (some say it was in broad Instead, the knights who battle the dragon of tyranny are daylight).This sounds like a crime committed by a young thug home-grown intellectuals such as Liu Xiaobo,Yu Jie and Wang in imperial China, or the actions of a criminal gang. But the Yi, and doctors and lawyers such as Gao Yaojie, Pu Zhiqiang lead character in this story is Lü Debin,Vice-Governor of and Guo Guoting,1 who do all in their power to protect the Henan Province, a former college professor who returned to rights of the people.While it’s true that returnees have given us China after several years of graduate school in the United the penetrating analysis of Wang Xiaobo2 and Danqing’s3 States. ire against the Chinese education system, their numbers are Stories of Communist officials willing to commit murder insignificant in comparison with the vast majority of returned for power, influence and sex have become commonplace in students. China.What makes the case of Lü Debin noteworthy is his People jokingly refer to the returned students as “sea tur- years of study in the U.S. How could someone who breathed tles,”4 because they go silently about their business amid the the air of democracy and freedom become a vicious killer noise of the world.Yet there is a difference between the silence upon returning to China? How could someone commit such of returned students and the silence of turtles. In the West, an outrage after living in the civilized world? turtlelike detachment and reticence is thought to be the hall- The answer to this question is complex and at the same mark of wise and philosophical people, but these returnees time quite simple, so simple that it can be expressed in a sen- remain silent not because they are above worldly considera- tence: In the sociopolitical context of modern China, these tions, but because they are wordly-wise and prefer to play it returned students, who once inspired great expectations safe.To remain silent under a reign of terror in exchange for among Chinese people, have become no better than writhing money,status or vested interests is a particularly ugly crime. tapeworms feasting on the bowels of society as the means and ends of their survival. Lured by the promise of power, the Twenty-six years ago, when China put the Maoist era behind it and opened its doors to the world, hordes of Chinese returned students have abandoned their students went abroad to study,some sponsored by the govern- professional and academic specialties and ment and some paying their own way.When these students have become parasites of the Chinese returned to China after graduating from foreign universities, the people called them the Tenth Generation of Returnees. Communist regime. Official statistics put their number at 160,000.The number of returned students has been growing by more than 13 percent If the collective silence of the returnees is not indicative per year. If we exclude returned students who studied in auto- enough of the depths to which they have sunk, more damning cratic countries and rogue states—such as Zhang Dejiang, sec- is the way in which they have abetted the crimes of the Com- retary of the Provincial Party Committee, who munist tyrants. Lured by the promise of power, influence and studied at Kim Il Sung University—a fair estimate of the num- money,the returned students have abandoned their profes- ber of returned students currently in China would be 100,000 sional and academic specialties and have become parasites5 of CRF-2005-03-text.qxd 9/8/053:08PMPage75 and the imprisonment of Internet dissidents. ofInternet and theimprisonment aswell censorship asinInternet condemn, countries normal China hasbecometheworld that attacks leaderinthehacker banned Web pages sensitive words andtrack andexpressions. toinstallcensorshipfirewallscountries that accessto block they indeveloped usingtechnologies learned project, Shield” whodesignandimplementtheregime’sexperts “Golden mostdespicable lackeys.The amongthemaretechnological IT othershave soldtheirsoulstobecomeits Communist regime, treating humanlife like are by straw, nomeans rare. r officials whonever corrupt leftChina.That’s why uneducated, r for the skillsasgrist theirhard-earned willingly squandering a isthat whojointhegovernment mostreturnees bitter truth are Butthe the Communist regime give littlecausefor criticism. ideas they indeveloped learned togradually change countries officials becausethey want toapply thenew conceptsand 10,000 below thevice-provincial level. ministerial andsome officials at thevice-provincial level, ministerial approximately levelministerial 1,000have orabove, become asofficials studentsserve almost 100returned at theprovincial torough statistics, the ChineseCommunist regime.According iietcnlg oCia It’s safe tosay that ifPelosi toChina. sitive were technology and secondly the failure ofsen- theexport American torestrict tradedeficit withChina first ofallthespiralingU.S. criticized America’s government’s Pelosi Chinapolicy “a totalfailure.” P LeaderNancy HouseMinority U.S. OnMay 19, toward China. Chinese peopleandthefailure ofthe West’s culturalpolicy thetragedy ofthe success oftheChineseCommunist regime, f tradingtheir conscience andmorality Communist dictators, r they have Lured by thepromise ofwealth andposition, the sea. utterly indifferent across oftheir compatriots tothesuffering and where they have enjoyed thebenefits ofthefree world, were iswhere theirchildren andraised, born U.S. 1989.The afterthe manent residence intheU.S. Tiananmen Massacre in Mostofthemobtainedper- China only buck. tomake aquick to andwhoreturn intheU.S., andproperty and retain children r Semi- have from theUnitedStates inrecent comeback years. but itiscertainly nomore excusable. crime, liablecriminally for theirevery move may bealessspectacular help tyrantsmuzzle tensofmillionspeopleandmake them Usingyour knowledge skillsto andtechnical donable crime. or abowl oftheregime’s gruel. eturnees like eturnees obsessedwithsexand Vice-Governor LüDebin, they becomevirtually indistinguishable from egime’s mill, eturned inrecent yearseturned tokneelat thebloodstained feet ofthe are thosewhohaveeturnees citizenship agreen cardorU.S. ttracted by theprospect ofwieldingimmensepower.All too elosi delivered an impassioned speech in which shedubbed elosi delivered inwhich animpassionedspeech T studentshaveWhile somereturned becomeofficials ofthe tobecomegovernment studentswhochoose Returned The moraldegradation ofthis Tenth Generation signalsthe We aking ahumanbeing’s life asLüDebin didisanunpar-

m s o alt eto h sm-eune”who ust notfail tomentionthe “semi-returnees” 4. The Chinese term for TheChineseterm “sea turtle,” 4. was oneofthefirst Chi- in1982, whowent totheU.S. ChenDanqing, 3. 6. The writer employs from Thewriter China’s terms theQing During dynastic history. 6. Literally, “maggots inthesoysauce jar.” 5. .Wang Xiaobowas anovelist known for hispenetrating andsomewhat 2. LiuXiaobo,Yu Jieand Wang Yi are outspoken intellectualswhohave been 1. NOTES artshow.asp?ID=35554&ad=6/24/2005. http://www.guancha.org/info/ of ChinaInformation Center: was published originally This article inChineseonthe Web site T Communist regime. same disastrous road ofaidingtheblood-stained Chinese they continuing down risk the sued for more than20years, that they culturalexchanges havepolicy ofSino-American pur- Butifthey fail examinethecostly tocritically democratization. gress stillbelieve willspurChina’s that culturalexchanges It seemsthat membersofCon- middleandhighschools. tary, programs inelemen- andstudentexchange schools American U between for culturalexchanges the between 2006and2011, $1.3billioninfederal fundsoverauthorizes five years, which the UnitedStates-China CulturalEngagement Act, and Senator Lamar Alexander oftheRepublic Party introduced more menacingthanever. hasmadeit inscienceandtechnology ofexperts the form andtheinfusionofnew blood in tigerintheeast, crouching ChineseCommunist regime isstilla not materialized.The students would have apositive effect onChinesepoliticshas policy ofadmittingforeign students. she would of inhercriticism beequally unsparing America’s aw “emperor’s men.” hatchet ru U tuition andlivingexpensesat universities.These American tocoverChinese graduate studentsgenerous scholarships ranslated by Paul Frank S n hn,particularly Chineselanguage in instruction andChina, .S. .S.-trained graduates have now become “entrepreneurs with b are from ofalltheactivitiesChinesereturnees theU.S., cation inChina. Chenhasbeenoutspoken edu- about ofart theshortcomings his return, at art toChinain2000teach he returned Since . livinginNew tomakenese artists alivingabroad.After York for 18years, r Dynasty (1644–1911)wealthy officials oftenwore caps decorated with fromone returning overseas. ab were which viewssatirical tohisyears attributed ofstudy ofsociety, lawyers whoprovide legaldefense for dissidents. r Gao Yaojiesubjected toofficial intimidation. isadoctoradvocating the nMy2,Senator Joe Lieberman oftheDemocratic Party On May 25, F -tde as”“sitnst ihofcas”andthe “assistantstohighofficials,” y-studded caps,” gt fpol iigwt I/IS PuZhiqiangandGuoGuotingare ights ofpeoplelivingwithHIV/AIDS. ubies. rmr hntodcds h ..hasgiven countless theU.S. or more thantwo decades, r a.Hediedin1997at theage of45. oad. 6 The hopethat returned American haigui , sound thesameasthat for some-

THE WORLD ECONOMY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE 75 CHINA RIGHTS FORUM NO. 3, 2005