 Young Chinese surf the Internet in Beijing in this file photo. / AFP-Yonhap |
By Sunny Lee
Korea Times Correspondent
BEIJING ― Curious about what China's future looks like? Then pay attention to the word, ``ba ling hou,'' which literally means ``the generation born after 1980.'' The Chinese term is widely circulated among China observers just like the Korean term ``hallyu'' has become known to refer to the popularity of Korean pop culture abroad.
Having grown up in a hybrid society of communism and capitalism, China's ``Gen-Xers'' are the beneficiaries of new economic riches from the nation's reform and drive to open up. The new generation feels equal to their Western peers in being devoid of an inferiority complex, and make a strong show of national pride.
In the March Tibet protests, for example, it was these young people who stood up against what they perceived to be biased Western media coverage of Tibet.
Their voices were so effective that many pundits believe they did a much better job of defending the country than their communist government's propaganda machine.
Just like their South Korean counterparts, China's new breed of young people is Internet-savvy. They are also risk-takers, harboring their own entrepreneurial ambitions rather than working for a company. Yet one overwhelming characteristic that clearly separates them from previous generations is their penchant for independence.
``They are very independent and often have problems with rigid company rules,'' said Xiao Molly, head of Mankeep Group Executive Search, a headhunting company in Beijing. ``So the manager should know how to handle them properly.
``For example, you should give them more autonomy. In my company, I allow my employees to come in at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. It's up to them. I also don't tell them what they should do very much in detail. In many cases, they have their own ideas, often good ones. As long as they complete their assignments, it's fine. For instance, I tell them to find 10 new clients by the end of the week. They meet the goal. It works for the company.''
Xiao herself had also quit a job at a PR company after a year to set up her own company. ``I wanted to have something I can call my own,'' she said. ``There are many young Chinese who think like me.''
The way Chinese society initially looked at this rising new generation was not necessarily positive. For example, they were criticized as ``spoiled little emperors'' under China's one-child policy, pampered by over-caring parents, displaying self-centeredness and lacking social awareness.
The perception has changed, however, particularly after many young people participated as volunteers after the Sichuan earthquake and demonstrated their patriotism with Internet campaigns against Western media during the March Tibet protests.
Chi Bing, an intern at the U.N. Development Program's Beijing office, said Chinese society now looks at the new generation in a positive light. ``They have entered society and are contributing to society. I am one of them,'' she said. ``But society is still dominated by people born in the 1960s and 1970s. And they look at the new generation with biases such as that we are too open and Westernized.''
The Chinese government is also paying close attention to the new generation because while they tend to be patriotic, they are also volatile. They also freely express their feelings on the Internet, sometimes against the government, which the old generation didn't dare to do.
"We are young. At times, we can be very angry. We are angry about many things, about the government, about the wealth gap. With the Internet, we can now compare China to other countries,'' said a student at China's elite Peking University who wished to stay anonymous.
She said China's problem is the lack of a proper channel for young people to deal with their anger and discontent in a healthy manner. ``It's because China has no religion. When I was young, I learned in school to live by scientific ways. My teacher told me that there is no ghost and no God. Teacher said we should believe in communism. You know, religion could be a good tool for controlling people. People who have religion easily obey the government,'' she said.
Young Chinese also enjoy more freedom than their predecessors, often shaping the public opinions on the Internet. ``The government won't arrest you simply because you said something bad about the Communist Party.''
Nicholas Kristof, former Beijing bureau chief for the New York Times, agrees that China is gradually becoming more open and less repressive. ``China is changing: it is no democracy, but it's also no longer a totalitarian state,'' he said in a recent column.
China's new generation is learning to communicate with the world, and the country's future will depend on the choices it makes. But just like their peers in Korea, China's new generation has to first overcome the communication barriers with the old generation, before they shape the future of their country.
An employee at the multinational PR company Ketchum in Beijing put it this way. ``The old generation probably thinks we are disobedient, rebellious and sometimes very idealistic. But on the other hand, they have high expectations for us.
``They think we have the ability to be great in the future as long as we follow their thoughts.''
boston.sunny@gmail.com
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