2008 Woodie Awards
Journalist speaks on China's future
Colleen Evans
Issue date: 3/7/07 Section: News
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China is expanding and innovating at an incredible rate in hopes to become one of the great nations of the world. According to Washington Post Foreign Correspondent John Pomfret, China is taking many gambles in deciding its future. The lack of core values in the society has him asking if China has what it takes to become a great nation and overcome an unstable political history.
In an afternoon lecture at Washington and Lee on Tuesday, February 27, Pomfret discussed how a mix of environmental pressures, demographic problems, and a "we're gonna get rich before we get old" attitude makes China an unlikely candidate for global control. Instead, he believes China is playing dangerous games with its resources and driving forward in capitalistic frenzy.
Pomfret spent seven years covering news in China and both speaks and writes Mandarin. He has been deeply entrenched in the culture, from studying abroad during college to covering Tiananmen Square in his first year with the Associated Press. The other six years, he was part of the Washington Post staff. Pomfret attended both Stanford University and Nanjing University in China, where he was first awakened to Chinese culture. "There was a lot of pressure to divide foreigners and Chinese people" according to Pomfret.
History can account for much of the way the country currently operates. During Mao Zedong's reign, he disassembled the Chinese family and attacked their belief systems in an effort to "make the sole locus himself and not the family," noted Pomfret. This led to a void in the people. When Mao died, the population replaced him with a get rich quick mentality.
This led to the breakdown of public trust among the Chinese until, according to Pomfret, "Ripping off became almost like an economic activity."
The environmental problems China faces reflect their current ideals. They remain relatively unregulated until damage has already been done. The government's response is to shut down the factories instead of create laws to reduce pollution from exisiting factories.
In an afternoon lecture at Washington and Lee on Tuesday, February 27, Pomfret discussed how a mix of environmental pressures, demographic problems, and a "we're gonna get rich before we get old" attitude makes China an unlikely candidate for global control. Instead, he believes China is playing dangerous games with its resources and driving forward in capitalistic frenzy.
Pomfret spent seven years covering news in China and both speaks and writes Mandarin. He has been deeply entrenched in the culture, from studying abroad during college to covering Tiananmen Square in his first year with the Associated Press. The other six years, he was part of the Washington Post staff. Pomfret attended both Stanford University and Nanjing University in China, where he was first awakened to Chinese culture. "There was a lot of pressure to divide foreigners and Chinese people" according to Pomfret.
History can account for much of the way the country currently operates. During Mao Zedong's reign, he disassembled the Chinese family and attacked their belief systems in an effort to "make the sole locus himself and not the family," noted Pomfret. This led to a void in the people. When Mao died, the population replaced him with a get rich quick mentality.
This led to the breakdown of public trust among the Chinese until, according to Pomfret, "Ripping off became almost like an economic activity."
The environmental problems China faces reflect their current ideals. They remain relatively unregulated until damage has already been done. The government's response is to shut down the factories instead of create laws to reduce pollution from exisiting factories.
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