Impressed By Americans Volunteer Spirit

Silicon Valley Tech V.P. Dr. Tong Liu was born in 1961 in the countryside near Yangzhou, the southern part of China. (See post one.) He never expected to go to university--not because he didn't want to or because he wasn't intelligent enough--but, the politics of the country made it seem impossible. (See post two.) Liu graduated from Nanjing University, and then--thanks to Professor T. D. Lee of Columbia University--he was given chance to take a physics exam allowing him further study at the University of Virginia in the U.S. (See post three.) Liu was excited to explore the U.S., despite the sometimes hilarious hiccups he had with communication. (See post four.) Upon graduation, Liu took a four-month posting in Holland. (See post five.) Liu returned the U.S. planning only to stay for a few short years before returning to China. The Tiananmen massacre changed that. (post six.) In 1998, however, Dr. Liu and his wife took their children to Hong Kong for two years to show them the culture. (post seven.)

Dr. Liu and family returned to the Bay Area in 2000, and became once again immersed in American life. “Our kids became a true window for us to see the culture, really look at the joy of American society.”

Dr. Liu’s son played soccer, and Liu volunteered for AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization.) Although Liu had barely played soccer in his life, he joined in to help out—slowly at first (“Initially to just pick up a ball.”), but later working as a referee and then—even after his kids were no longer playing--as a trainer of referees. The organization affected him deeply.

“This is one thing that struck me very hard about the volunteer organization: people are willing to give, people are willing to think and have a common purpose to do something together, even though it does not directly benefit them.  That is one of the big differences between U.S. and China. In China you do not see this type of volunteer organizations. In China side, one thing is we are mission-driven not passion-driven. In China, I feel, ‘This is my responsibility. I must do it.’ Not, ‘Oh, I like this. We can bring the people who also like it together to benefit the society.’”

(To Be Continued.  Next: World Is Changing--Not Just China.)