Today, both China and America are major economic superpowers
in the world. America, having undergone massive industrialization over the past
century, found itself with a rapid economic growth and emerged to be one of the
most developed countries in the world. China, on the other hand, discovered the
potential of its huge population and domestic market, fully exploited it, and
burst forward in the past few decades to become a country with one of the
fastest economic growth. As such, both China and America have come under the
international spotlight and they are now two countries that are most frequently
discussed about in the world.
For China, one of the most evident progresses is visibly the
economic aspect. China, being the booming economic superpower, has evidently
been extremely successful in its economic development. During the three decades
to 2010, China recorded the most rapid and steady economic development in the
history of mankind, with its economy growing almost 40-fold between 1978 and
2010. With its rapid economic growth, benefits are also reaped from its
citizens and the average living standards of Chinese have significantly risen. The
vast majority of China’s newly created economic wealth has seeped down to
Chinese workers, who have moved from oxen and bicycles to the verge of
automobiles in just a single generation. On the other hand, economic progress
is limited for America due to its exponential increase in debt-to-GDP ratio. While
median American incomes have been stagnant for almost forty years, those in
China have nearly doubled every decade, with the wages of workers outside the
farm-sector rising about 150 percent over the last ten years alone. In 1978,
America’s economy was 15 times larger, but according to most international
estimates, China is now set to surpass America’s total economic output within
just another few years.
Progress of gender equality is another topic that could be used to measure the maturity of the Chinese and American society. This topic is broached in the class discussions, and I am hereby going to expand upon it. Even though female rights are gaining recognition in the world, the progress of gender equality in China, however, is rather limited. The advance in the status of China’s females is heavily deterred by the Confucian beliefs ingrained in most minds of the Chinese: males are superior as compared to females and should therefore be given more opportunity and power. Hence, the status of women in China still retains an all-time low even today. Although the government made a gender equality law in 1949, discrimination against women continues. In 2005, the Chinese government released a white paper to mark the 10th anniversary of the Fourth UN World Conference on Women, promoting equality between women and men in nine aspects including politics and family life. The white paper points out that the government is doing what they can to eliminate discrimination in education but at the same time acknowledging the fact that the gender equality problems have not been resolved.
For one, education opportunities for
Chinese girls remain restricted and without education, it is difficult for
women to improve their socio-economic status in China. In China, many rural
girls are not sent to school, as many rural parents generally withhold the
opinion that supporting their daughter for education would be an unnecessary “wastage”
of money, since daughters would eventually end up being married off to another
family. Over 70% of school dropouts are girls and over 70% of about 220 million
who are semiliterate or illiterate in China are women. Gender inequality in China is all
the more prevalent in the workforce. Polls revealed that men and women work
equally but women get paid 78% of the pay the men get. While women work to
weave household accessories out of maize husks, young women get hired at
embroidery factories so that they can continue to have babies but be able to
work at home. Women in China are seen to be the weaker sex who is incapable of
handling important national affairs, and with such a stereotypical in China, not
many women play an important part in the government.
However, in America, progress is seen in the liberalization of women’s role. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 guaranteed covered workers up to 12 weeks unpaid leave after a child’s birth or adoption or in case of a family illness. Although only about half the total work force was eligible, it seemed a promising start. However, gender equality is still a faraway goal yet to be attained as discrimination against women is still rampant. In America, the median annual income for women working full time is 23 percent lower than for their male counterparts. According to other estimates, women in the US earn only 82.2% of men’s earnings. Under current law, employers who refuse to make accommodations for pregnant women that they would make for workers with disabilities are guilty of discrimination. But according to Emily Martin of the National Women’s Law Center, who is filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Crosby’s behalf, employers still commonly fire pregnant women rather than providing such accommodations. “We don’t have numbers,” she told BuzzFeed, “but looking at published cases, it seems to be a story that’s repeated again and again.”
Now,
I am going to briefly touch on political apathy since it is also one of the
topics mentioned in the CDE presentations. In both Chinese and American
societies, progress is political awareness seemed to be pretty limited. In
China, political roles are perceived to be corrupted, and to succeed you will
have to be dishonest and pull strings to emerge victorious in your career.
Needless to say, most parents have actually advised their children not to step
into the corrupted world of politics. They are also coined as “Little
Emperors”, spoiled by their parents and are therefore uncaring to anything
around them except for themselves. Political apathy is also present in youths in
America today. They only care about indulging unnecessarily in materialistic
growth.
In conclusion, China is a rising star in the economic arena and it is soon catching up with America’s economy. However, while both America and China have developed impressive economies, with the gender inequality and political apathy in their societies, there is no doubt that both China and America are still at a distance away from being a mature and aware society.
