Recent Stanford MBA Grad Jason Jianyu Tu was born in 1989 in a small village 125 miles south of Xian--in what he termed a "sixth-tier city," meaning, "There's a very slim chance you can be successful." (See post one.) His parents, well aware of this, searched for ways out of this small village, and eventually found a path to Xian. (See post two.) The big city of Xian--although only a hop, skip and a jump away--was like a different planet, with buses and fast food and a really tough school. (See post three.) Jason gave up trying to do well in school, instead focusing his energy where his passions lay: guitar and blockbuster movies. (See post four.) While Jason's high school headmaster did not have high hopes that Jason would get a college degree, Jason jumped through hoop after hoop to get accepted to the University of Washington. His only problem? Funding. (See post five.) Thanks, however, to a mass e-mail marketing campaign, Jason found himself accepted to the University of Evansville in Indiana. (See post six.) He was thrilled...until he landed in what felt was the middle of nowhere. (See post seven.) As Jason was one of two Chinese people at the school, he was immediately the expert on anything and everything that had to do with China. (See post eight.) Not only that, but he was soon paired up with an American host family, something he looks back on as a very important part of his life. (See post nine.) Despite the warm welcome in Evansville, he decided he needed to move to a bigger place. (See post ten.) Upon graduating with a degree in Economics from Purdue University, however, Jason still had trouble finding a job. He was initially relieved to get a Research Fellowship at Toulouse School of Economics in France. (See post eleven.) The inefficiency of France drove him nuts. (See post twelve.) When his professor failed to grade an important exam, Jason realized he was in the wrong spot. (post thirteen.) After a two-year stint working in Hong Kong, Jason applied to Stanford MBA program--and was accepted. (post fourteen.) As part of the MBA program, he was charged with leading a group of students to China. (post fifteen.) Upon graduation, Jason decided to start his own company Mioying and join the ever-changing landscape of China (See post sixteen.) When asked about that landscape, he said that today's young people aren't that political, and not that concerned about the "speech issue." (post seventeen.) Their biggest concerns are Law/Order and Faith (See post eighteen.)
Jason's concern for the U.S? Media. Media. Media. (And we spoke several months before the U.S. election, several months before reports of 'fake news.')
"A major difference between China and America, Chinese people who live in China fundamentally don’t believe in their media. When we hear anything from CCTV we know it’s bullshit. Right away. But sometimes that frustrates me in other parts of the world—France or the U.S.—the media takes sometimes very extreme perspectives and tries to guide you. But U.S. people believe it. They never try to question."
"I always tell my friends the best way to live in this world is to try and gather as much information as you could from different sources." Jason gets information from newspapers all over the world--China, England, France, U.S, etc.--to help complete a picture of an event. He admitted that it was not an easy task, especially with so many opinions and alternative news sources.
“The internet over the past decade has exploded. But it’s harder and harder to filter it. So people easily get into extremes. Censorship is bad, for sure. But, sometimes you have to manage the information. Think about what happened in
Dallas….it happened on live streaming. Black person being killed by a cop. Then hatred spreads. People start killing white cops. It’s (the reaction is) less severe in the United States only because the population is smart, the education is higher. The situation can be more severe in China because the education level on average is not that high, and the population can easily be provoked. China would be in chaos.
"Right now China (the government) is directing the communication--everything is centering off the great pyramid of the Communist Party. I think they need to find a better way. Now it is centered toward Communism. It needs to be centered toward fighting for good things, like life, having good moral values.
“It’s both challenging for the US and China. I think the two governments can manage the information better, even in terms of international relations. Don’t talk too much-- get these random speakers to talk about China’s pollution or get these random speakers to get on the T.V. and talk about the South China Sea. It’s way more complicated than you guys think.
“I just hope that people can be more open-minded and, if the two countries can manage the (flow of) information better and don’t get too extreme on some of the topics, I think we’ll be fine. "
(To be continued. Final excerpt: The U.S. and China--One Happy Family.)
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