Current Situations and the Future of China
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Kanzaburo Okamura
China occupies a surprisingly vast territory. The area of China is about 26 times as large as that of Japan. (9,800,000 ㎢is divided by 380,000㎢. )
Its population is more than 10 times as large as that of Japan.
Now it’s running with a incredible, fast speed forward securing of an economic, military and political giant.
Rather the progress in quality is not so regarded as the primary affair than that in quantity.
Not only public pollutions in the air, water, soil and the like in China are reported every day through many journals and broadcastings but also a lot of severe claims over the entire world in products made-in-China especially in the fields of food, drugs, toys and daily goods are making a long list.
Such a big inequality in the speed between quality and quantity is very conspicuous since the speed of the progress of the latter is too much fast.
Japan has experienced such a resembling situation called “ The Age of Bubble Economy ”especially in nineteen eighties.
Then Japan mostly ignored developing the real satisfaction among people through the fulfillment of social assets such as roads, sewage systems, housing and the like. It focused to chase the superficial growth in quantity of the national economy.
The result of the bubble economy is well known. The economic damage and social tragedies caused from the burst of the bubble have deeply and vastly affected both of our nation and Japanese lives.
Well, does the current Chinese gallop in economy not result in the same debacle as Japanese, poor experience?
Many people in the world are worried about Chinese, near future in economy after the Olympic Games in August, 2008.
We won’t be able to forget a famous, old proverb such as “The history repeats.”
It will not be strange even to have an inexperienced tragedy in Chinese economy.
When we observe the big and wide fluctuations in economy in the world history, even such extreme ups and downs are very natural phenomena.
Now, how are we able to prepare for such enormous movements?
The best method will be the dispersion of risks and assets on the business into the entire world, but the concentration into China.
Nevertheless, the current economic boom in the entire world including Japan owes mainly to Chinese rapid and intensive growth.
So if the Chinese economy faces the sad collapse, the whole world will not escape from some damage. But such a fluctuation must be always endured as usual affairs.
These days I am studying French. French has been adopted as an official language in the stages of EU, UN and the Olympic Games.
The reason why I have an interest in French is that this world doesn’t consist of only countries adopting English as their mother tongue or the second language.
For example, today we witness, as the fact, the strong insistence of Islam people with Arabic.
Shouldn’t we regard this world as a single, monotone body but plural, multicolored ones?
When we, Japanese consider what language is better to adopt as the second foreign language, the better convenience of French than that of German is a decisive factor.
Of course, it doesn’t need to say that German, Chinese, Arabic and others must be fully respected. It’s only the order to learn foreign languages with an enough preparation.
Thus, as we contact and learn some sorts of foreign languages, we can understand those countries and people better and better.
After that we can notice that any country and people have often and necessarily some better thoughts and customs through their long, unique, historic and precious experiences than ourselves.
They are naturally understood and respected for us through the learning.
This respectful attitude for others will produce so stronger interests for various countries and people that we will become to disperse our energy, money and assets among those several countries.
It means that learning foreign languages will bring us both effects of the breeding of the mind of respects for other several countries and, as the result, the dispersion of some sorts of risks in our lives.
Although the learning of foreign languages often forces us heavy burdens of energy, time and money, I will recommend you a better learning method such as the Net learning, which is newly developed and increasingly gaining good popularity among businessmen and students as a learner-friendly, economic and convenient method for any individual user.
Let’s precede forward the hopeful future with some foreign languages!
Thank you so much for your reading my essay.
I pray for your health and happiness.