Dr. Ian Clarke
27 June 2009
analysis
Kampala — On occasions I write my column from various parts of the world - if I happen to be travelling. I no longer have the excuse that I am out of the country, since in today's world one is only the click of a mouse away from being in touch.
The same could also be said about mobile phones, one is also only a phone call away from any far-flung part of the world with GSM connection. Right now, I happen to be on business in China, but I have continued to receive e-mails, text messages and phone calls from people who assume I am still in Uganda.
One of my friends sent me an sms saying we should meet the following morning in Muyenga. I texted back, saying I would love to meet him, but I might not make it because I was in Beijing. He replied, tongue in cheek, that we should meet in Tiananmen Square. Another person called and thought it odd that she got a message in Chinese when I did not answer - sometimes it is better not to pick up.
This afternoon we had the opportunity to fulfill a long held ambition to visit the Great Wall of China, one of the Seven Wonders of the World and also one of only two man-made structures which can be seen from space.
As we climbed along the wall I received a call from a doctor who wanted to arrange an appointment for next week. We were able to make our arrangement, even though I was standing on the Great Wall of China and he was in Entebbe - this is our world today.
I had never visited China before, though I have read much about it and have witnessed its rapid development in recent years. I was fascinated by the history of Chairman Mao who led the country on its path to communism and installed himself up as the powerful cult leader of China from 1949 until his death in 1976, but he made many decisions which kept the country from developing during this era.
Although China can trace its history for thousands of years, the reality is that China was still a rural undeveloped country in the 1970s. It is only over the past 30 years that China has gone from a peasant state to the modern economic powerhouse that it is today.
For example Beijing is a city of 17 million people, but it is well planned and organised, with excellent infrastructure, such that transport runs smoothly, there are no power cuts, the taxi drivers are regulated and the police are actually helpful.
Fairly recently China was known for making poor quality goods, copies and fakes, such that it was a joke to say something was made in China.
However, this picture has now changed radically and some of the best quality goods, merchandise and technology are made in China at a fraction of the price they could be made in other parts of the world.
During our visit, we were able to meet with some highly qualified professionals from several hospitals and the Chinese Academy of Science, all of whom are involved in cutting-edge technology.
We were informed that six million Chinese students graduate every year with university degrees and of these one third go on to do master's degrees. Of these, one third do PhDs. Hence China is producing up to one million doctoral graduates each year.
Our hosts admitted that the Chinese are not yet strong in research and development, but given the rapid pace at which they have progressed in other areas, there is no doubt that they will catch up.
Of course not everything is rosy, the majority of people in the society still work for low pay and there are still questions on human rights issues.
However, so much has changed for the better over the past 30 years that not many people are complaining.
Now there is universal healthcare and education, there are opportunities for entrepreneurs and a large developing middle class. But perhaps the most striking thing about China is the sheer scale - 1.3 billion people.
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