Valuable Lessons from Another Socialist Country

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.)

While Liu came to the U.S. to study, he had no intention of staying. “We always thought we would come back to China.” Liu had married his high school sweetheart who also came to the U.S. to get her doctoral degree, and they had their whole future carefully mapped out.

“Our plan was very simple: she’d get her Ph.D., (we’d) have kids, travel in Europe, go back.”

But then after Liu got his Ph.D., he was offered a position at Carnegie-Melon University. There was a gap of four months before that job began, so he and his wife managed to travel and work in Holland for that period, and check one item off their future plans’ list. 

Liu learned a great deal in Holland, but two points in particular.

“When I was in Holland, one thing that really surprised me is that their social welfare system is a lot better than both U.S. and China.

“I said (to my professor), ‘It doesn’t make sense. People get laid off and receive more than the minimum wage. In this case, many people would rather stay home and receive benefits.’  He made a comment which surprised me and which I always remember: ‘Part of human nature is that they want to work. They want to feel they are contributing to society. They want to be respected. They’re out of a job not because they don’t want to work, but because there isn’t an opportunity that matches their skill.’ That is a positive way of seeing people that really shaped me to see things.”

Liu also noted that people took a lot of breaks—morning tea break, lunch break, afternoon tea. As someone concerned about efficiency, this worried him.  

“I always worried if they would get my job done. After two days, I’d ask, ‘What is the progress?’

“They’d say, ‘Don’t worry about it.’

“But I’d still worry. Then another two days, I went back. The man really get unhappy.

“He says, ‘You know since I commit to you, you’ve got to trust me.’

“This is one thing I learned: how to respect the people, particularly for the people who are capable, you’ve got to leave them alone. The life would be better for both parts.

“These are the two big events that helped me to see. These are things I wouldn’t see in China.”

(To Be Continued. Next: Tiananmen Massacre Puts A Halt to Plans.)