Source: China News Service
China News Service: Luo Haibing
Total Characters: 4076
Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
Editor's note
On September 21, 2022, Mo Tiancheng, former Auditor General of the U.S. Treasury Department and former Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Department of Labor, died of illness at the age of 77. As the only Chinese and Asian American in U.S. history to serve as the chief financial officer of the government department, Mo Tiancheng is a representative of the Chinese who have entered the mainstream society of the United States.
For a long time, Mo Tiancheng has been enthusiastic about Chinese affairs, concerned about China's development, opposed the demonization of China by the United States, and broke through many obstacles with his wife to visit China during his tenure as chief auditor general of the US Treasury.
On May 19, 2021, Mr. Mo Tiancheng was interviewed by China News Agency's "East-West Question", and put forward profound insights on the development of Chinese society in the United States and the trend of Sino-US relations at a time of international turmoil and the resurgence of racism in the United States. This article is specially republished, in order to think of the deceased, to show the comers.
Since the global COVID-19 pandemic has raged, the racist forces of "white supremacy" in the United States have rekindled, causing a new round of racial discrimination against Asian Americans in the United States. Looking back at history, from Irish immigrants, Scottish immigrants to European immigrants, Asian immigrants... Minorities have suffered a history of inequality in the United States, but they still hope to climb the mountain and integrate into American society through their own efforts and struggles. Mo Tiancheng, former auditor general of the US Treasury Department and chief financial officer of the Labor Department of the George W. Bush administration, combined his experience and observations after immigrating to the United States from being a waiter in a restaurant to entering the political arena to share his thoughts: What should minorities do when they integrate into American society?
Mo Tiancheng. Image courtesy of the photo
China News Service: When you were young, you immigrated to the United States, studied while working, and finally entered the mainstream society of the United States through personal efforts. Combined with your experience, how do you see ethnic minorities such as Chinese Americans struggling and growing up to integrate into American society and have a positive impact on American society?
Mo Tiancheng: This question is very good, it is not flat, it should be answered from three different aspects.
The first is the attitude of the United States towards new immigrants, the second is the issue of race, and the third is whether the behavior and lifestyle of immigrants after arriving in the United States can be integrated into mainstream society. Together, these three aspects constitute a three-dimensional answer.
First, since the founding of the United States, it has always looked down on new immigrants, and especially bad for them. It was a cultural issue, and the Britons who arrived first at the founding of the country looked down on Irish immigrants and Scottish immigrants as Asian and so on. Later Irish immigrants "climbed the stairs" and were accepted by merging with the British. German immigrants were also discriminated against, later against Italians, and then Jews... So if integration into American society is likened to a staircase, after each race immigrates to the United States, it is an American "custom" to try to climb up, and the people above step on the people below. A large number of Asians immigrated to the United States after the Immigration Amendment Act of 1965, after Asians had difficulty immigrating to the United States. So today's latest Asian to the United States is on the lowest step of the stairs, and we have to see the above situation from a macro perspective, which is the basic attitude of the United States to new immigrants.
Second, there is the American view of people of color and non-people of color. If you're Scottish or Irish, or Italian, French, Jewish, all of them have been discriminated against before, but they are all Caucasian. For example, a person was originally named McKinsey, and he made up a British name called Smith, and he wore the same clothes as the British, so that people in society did not know where he came from, and he could hide in the circle of Americans. The problem is that the yellow race, regardless of the fourth or fifth generation, is still yellow-skinned and still different, which is a racial issue. Those white people who climbed up looked down not only on the white people who came after, but also on the colored people. Europeans are prejudiced against skin color, believing that those with white skin are more noble, and those with dark skin are doing hard work at a lower level. So now Asians, first of all, are new immigrants, and secondly, the skin has color.
Third, immigrants from Europe in the past, including Jews, although they were discriminated against, still belonged to the same European culture, their language and religion were different, but their diet, behavior and interpersonal relations were reflected in each other's cultures. For thousands of years, wars in Europe and mutual immigration have allowed each other to know each other well enough. It is easier for them to enter the mainstream society, and the mainstream society is more tolerant of them. But immigrating to the United States Chinese is different, not only the skin and language are different, but also the life and customs are also very different. For example, European restaurants, whether it is Italian food, French food, from the outside can not see the difference, to see the menu to know what it is. But in Chinatown, typical Chinese restaurants hang roast duck, roast chicken, pork, many places like to put live fish in the fish tank, fish out and take it to cook, foreigners are not used to it, plus the language and health standards are different. Looking at the historical background, the United States established colonies in Asia and looked down on the local Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans. Therefore, Asians working in the United States will face very serious class problems. The pressure on Asians today is that all of these problems add up.
But if you study American history, you'll find that every race can climb to the top of the stairs. I believe that one day there will be Chinese Americans elected president or vice president, and it is only a matter of time. But I hope that Asians and the Chinese, after climbing up, will not learn from the bad habits of Europeans who discriminate against new immigrants, but should thank them.
Saying that the United States is tolerant is not that you will come and hug me as soon as I get off the plane. American culture is inclusive, but you have to pay the price first. You get beaten up bloody before you get off the plane, but you don't go, and you do it slowly, and eventually you will go up and become one of them. Many newcomers do not understand the process. I don't think that's right, but that's the American process.
Infographic: New Yorkers dine at an old restaurant in Chinatown. Photo by Liao Pan, a reporter for the China News Service
China News Service: You were the chief auditor general of the government's Ministry of Finance, and you know both the mainstream society and the grassroots people in the United States. What segment of the United States do you think the current sentiment of discrimination against Chinese Americans represents? Is it the mainstream society, or is it the ordinary people?
Mo Tiancheng: My personal opinion is that the United States is now facing two big inflection points, but it still needs to be observed where the direction of these two turns will go.
First, in another 10 to 15 years, whites could become minorities in the United States, and many whites are scared and angry. I don't agree, but I know them very well because this country was painstakingly founded by their ancestors. When they were developing the West, their ancestors were killed, starved, and sickened by the "Red Fan" (American Indians)... It took all of this to build this country.
New immigrants have neither this experience nor way to understand it, plus many new immigrants are very rich and live the life of an upstart and a local tycoon. Many white people are not accustomed to it or even very angry, why is it that the country and mountains that our ancestors fought down have been taken by these people? Coupled with the fact that blacks protest all day long, thinking that whites owe them, but whites think that these 100 years ago will have to pay their debts? Therefore, American society faces a very complex racial problem that is not easy to solve.
The second inflection point came from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which had just begun. In the first industrial revolution, Britain invented the steam engine and became a world power; The second industrial revolution was the invention and use of electricity, and Britain and the United States jointly led to become the leader; The third industrial revolution is the computer, the Internet, the United States to be the boss. The fourth industrial revolution who will be the leader is still inconclusive, and now it is Sino-US competition. China now has a greater advantage, because China's 5G, AI, etc. are ahead of the United States. If China succeeds, it will become the leader of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. When Americans suddenly wake up now, they are very afraid.
Mo Tiancheng (center) and George H.W. Bush (right) and others take a group photo. Image courtesy of the interviewee
China News Service: You came to China very late and stayed for three weeks, which changed your impression of China. Is there a lack of understanding of China and Chinese for the American public?
Mo Tiancheng: American society is very open and free, the legal provisions are written very clearly, everyone can see it on the Internet, as long as you do things according to the law, no one can stop you, including the president of the United States.
As a Chinese accountant, I held a very high position in American companies, but I would not stop, I also volunteered for the Institute of Accountants, served them, and later when I was elected president of the National Institute of Accountants, all the members of the white people agreed that I was the best of them and accepted me as their leader. It takes a process, and I sacrifice a lot of my own time, not having time to go karaoke or play mahjong at night, but to work and invest in myself. Many Chinese are reluctant to make this kind of investment, and there is no gain.
Let's take another example. My grandson attends a senior Anglican high school in Washington, D.C., where many members of the Senate, the House of Representatives, and even the children of the Vice President are studied. This school does not teach Chinese, and my grandson is probably the second batch of Chinese who were enrolled, and then did not recruit Chinese. Later, my daughter volunteered at the school, and as part of a multicultural education campaign, the school organized students to go to the Chinese Embassy for Chinese New Year activities. To help Americans better understand Chinese culture, the Chinese Embassy approved the trip. Why do this, because each child affects 7 people, his parents, his grandparents on both sides, and himself, who are the most "powerful" people in America. The child went back to tell his parents about China, and the effect was very good, and later the school organized a delegation with the Chinese embassy, took their parents to China for a long time, and when they returned, the school opened Chinese class for the first time in its century-old history.
In terms of people-to-people exchanges, new immigrants from Chinese mainland are still lacking in this regard. Not only Chinese mainland, many new immigrants from Asia are more concerned about "benefits". But the relationship between the two countries began in these small places.
Infographic: The shores of Tidal Lakes in Washington, D.C., USA. Photo by Chen Mengtong, a reporter for the China News Service
China News Service: You have been engaged in consulting work, which has helped American companies to explore the Asian market and Asian companies to enter the US market, so that both sides can benefit from cross-border trade. In your opinion, how should the globalization of the economy be promoted? What role should China and the United States play?
Mo Tiancheng: It is impossible for American companies that do business with China to leave China, but the Chinese government and the people should think more about how to do their work, and have more understanding, more understanding, and more relations with the American companies doing business in China.
Economic globalization cannot be stopped, and it is impossible for the United States to change it now. In the past, when the British textile industry was doing its best, laws were introduced to help monopolize the global textile industry, but it was once defeated by India. The rifles used by Europeans in the development of colonies in the United States were not allowed to be given to local "red fans" (American Indians), and whoever gave them would be shot, and the result could still be obtained by the "red fans".
If the United States wants to take measures against Huawei, I think it will not succeed. Because of the road of economic globalization, sooner or later the whole world will go, but some go first, some go later, and some are pulled in, but it is only a matter of time.
Data map: On February 27, local time, hundreds of people participated in a rally against discrimination against Asians in San Mateo, San Francisco Bay Area, USA. Recently, there have been a number of hate attacks in the San Francisco Bay Area against elderly Asian Americans. Su Kaiying, a 13-year-old Chinese junior high school student who initiated the rally, said he hoped people of all ethnic groups would unite against hate crimes against Asians. Photo by Liu Guanguan, a reporter for the China News Service
China News Service: Under the current situation, how should we eliminate the irrational feelings of the American people towards the Chinese? How to change the status quo of discrimination against Chinese Americans in the United States? How do you see the future development of U.S.-China relations?
Mo Tiancheng: Two examples. There are two kinds of people in the United States who are small in number, but his political power is very strong. One group was black and one group was Jewish.
It's a shame that Chinese people in the United States have very little contact with black Americans. The black people in the US Congress are very powerful, and they have great respect for China and Chinese culture, and they are also very curious.
Jews are more powerful in the United States. China is one of the few countries in the world that has never discriminated against Jews, and in World War II, Chinese also helped and protected Jews, and such stories were not publicized, not made into movies, and no one told American Jews, and Jews did not know. The Jews are nostalgic, some saved them, and they are still grateful.
Black people matter, Jews matter, and our next generation, native-born Chinese-Americans, is even more important. For example, Israel's greatest power in the United States is that they are native-born Jews, not Jews who have immigrated, and their speech power is different. Chinese people still have a lot to do in these areas.
Of course, compared to my first trip to China, it's incredible now. But I think the outlook for China and the United States will get better, don't worry too much. The development of Sino-US relations in history has been one wave after another, and this will always pass.
China News Service: According to your experience and experience, is there really a "clash of civilizations" between American society and Chinese society? Do the respective historical traditions, cultural practices, and institutional systems of the two countries have anything in common?
Mo Tiancheng: China has a splendid culture of thousands of years, Confucius and thousands of years of cultural roots. But the United States is different from China, the culture of the United States is like a big pie, often there are new things added to it, every 15 years this cake becomes different. When people talk about American culture, I often ask what era it is? If it was American culture from 100 years ago, it was all white. American culture 50 years ago began to have some colors. Today's American culture is not only a variety of colors, but also includes the same sex. So American culture has been constantly evolving, not fixed. According to a report published by the Commerce Department of Commerce, white Americans may become a minority in another 15 years, which is a big shift. The United States is a country of immigrants, and new people are constantly coming, changing the color, changing the market, and changing the American culture.
The cultural differences between China and the United States are always present and difficult to change. The United States has no right to ask China to change its own culture, and China has no right to ask the United States to use Chinese culture as its foundation. Both sides must stand in each other's shoes, understand each other's ideas, and cannot impose their own ideas on each other.
The clash of civilizations, while existing, is not without common ground. At present, China and the United States have commonalities in addressing climate change, counter-terrorism, and population aging. Now the leaders of both countries are very wise, they try to spend their time on common ground, cooperate and trust each other, and do not waste time on unsolvable issues.
Original title: "The Dead | Mo Tiancheng: Integrating into American society, why do minorities "climb stairs"? 》
Editor: Dai Chen
Editor-in-charge: Li Mingyang
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