Please click "Follow" in the upper right corner, which is not only convenient for you to discuss and share, but also can bring you a different sense of participation, thank you for your support!
Text | Snipe your heart
Edit | Snipe your heart
Preface
Recently, the Belt and Road Institute of Beijing Normal University released a sad news on its official website, saying that Professor Hu Biliang, a well-known economist, died in Beijing on April 17 at the age of 62 due to a sudden illness at work.
As soon as the news was released, many mainstream media outlets, including Caixin and Tencent, reported or forwarded it, expressing their deep condolences for Professor Hu's passing.
Looking back on the life of Professor Hu Biliang, the last time he became the focus of public opinion was nearly six years ago in December 2018.
At that time, in an exclusive interview with Sina Finance, he mentioned the mainland's standard scholarship for African students when he expressed his views on China-Africa cooperation and other related issues.
He said: "The scholarship standard set by our country and Africa is really not high, and a person is about 100,000 yuan a year.
He further explained: "Think about it, African students who can come to China to study only spend 100,000 yuan a year, which is not an ordinary person, and their personal ability and family background are usually very good.
In the future, they will either return to China to serve in the government or work hard in the business world, which will undoubtedly become an important bridge to promote in-depth cooperation between China and Africa in the future. ”
Although Professor Hu's original intention was to emphasize the need to strengthen people-to-people ties between China and Africa through scholarship funding, and to illustrate the long-term significance of foreign aid investment in talent development, his remarks sparked widespread controversy and criticism at the time.
After all, for the vast majority of ordinary Chinese families, 100,000 yuan a year is definitely not a small amount, and it may take years of hard work to save up.
Therefore, many netizens raised sharp questions about Hu Biliang, who is a professor at Beijing Normal University, accusing him of being too detached from reality and not understanding the people's suffering, just like the ancient Emperor Jin Hui who asked the people why they didn't eat minced meat, lacking a basic understanding of the hardships of the people's lives.
This discussion around the remarks of "100,000 scholarships" has made Professor Hu a hot topic of public opinion in addition to academics.
01、
In 2018, Mr. Hu Biliang, a professor at Beijing Normal University, dean of the Institute of Emerging Markets and dean of the Institute of Development Studies, said bluntly when talking about the mainland's scholarships for African students in public: "The current scholarship standard for African students in the mainland is really low, only about 100,000 yuan a year, and I think this standard should be appropriately raised."
From Professor Hu's remarks, we can extract two key information points: one is that each African student can receive a scholarship of about 100,000 yuan per year, and the other is that some people believe that such a quota is still not enough and advocate further increase.
I believe that every friend who has ever had college experience knows that the first-class scholarship awarded by the university is often only a few thousand yuan a year, and only a few students with top grades in a class are fortunate enough to receive it.
As for the third-class scholarship, the amount is even smaller, usually only a few hundred yuan a year, which is only enough to subsidize some living expenses, and only those students with relatively good academic performance can get it.
Let's take a look at the treatment of doctoral students in mainland China.
Not long ago, Liu Chunyuan, president of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, disclosed at a meeting that when doctoral students in mainland China are engaged in scientific research, their income level is worrying, with an average of only about 3,000 yuan per month.
Please note that this is still in the economically developed and rich educational resources of Shanghai, if you change to universities in the central and western regions or other economically poor areas, the income of doctoral students may be lower, and it is not impossible to earn more than 1,000 yuan a month.
Today, the phenomenon of "looking up" at foreign students in the field of higher education in mainland China is particularly prominent.
Whenever a university has international students settled in, no matter where they come from on the earth, or the "dick" class in their own country, as long as they become Chinese students, they will instantly become the "sweethearts" on campus, and there is always a group of girls around them who are competing to be courteous and eager to become their girlfriends.
What's more, the administrators and counselors of some colleges and universities do not hesitate to lose their dignity in order to please international students, and even play the role of matchmaking for international students.
As a top university in the field of teacher education in mainland China, Beijing Normal University produces graduates who will choose to embark on the path of teaching and educating people.
However, it is such a prestigious school that shoulders the important task of cultivating future teachers, and there is also a dean like Hu Biliang who "cares" for African students and believes that 100,000 scholarships are not enough.
Let's ask, what does a scholarship of 100,000 yuan a year mean for more than 90% of the ordinary people in the country whose annual income is less than 100,000?
It is true that if these international students really have real talents and real learning, and the scholarship of 100,000 yuan can effectively attract them to contribute wisdom to China, then the public may still be able to accept it.
However, the reality is that the proportion of international students who come to the mainland, especially those from Africa, is not very high.
On the other hand, if domestic students want to enter top universities such as Peking University and Tsinghua University, it is almost impossible to do not have a top score in the college entrance examination or a top score.
However, when these institutions of higher learning recruit international students, the difficulty of the examination is only equivalent to our junior high school knowledge level, and the entry threshold is staggeringly low.
In order to attract international students to study, some colleges and universities do not hesitate to give the green light all the way to provide the best accommodation conditions, and even turn a blind eye to the illegal behaviors of international students.
02、
Hu Biliang, a professor at Beijing Normal University, was scolded by netizens for a sentence on the hot search.
As an ordinary person, I also think that Professor Hu's remarks are indeed a bit of a standing and speaking without backache.
Although China's rapid economic development in recent years and the country's targeted poverty alleviation policies have lifted many families out of poverty, we must be soberly aware that there are still some compatriots living in poverty, especially in remote mountainous areas, where children go to school every day, and some children are even unable to receive education at all.
However, as a Chinese, Hu Biliang turned a blind eye to these Chinese children who had no books to read, and instead complained about African students, how can this not make people feel indignant?
Professor Hu's original words are as follows: "The scholarship of 100,000 yuan a year for African students is too low!" You must know that according to the current economic situation in China, more than half of the families have an annual income of less than 100,000 yuan.
Perhaps in the view of Hu Biliang, who is the president of Beijing Normal University, 100,000 is indeed not much, but for us ordinary people, 100,000 is really not a small number! China is a peace-loving and helpful country, and we have always been generous and friendly to our international friends, but this does not mean that we can ignore the living difficulties of the people at home and endlessly extend a helping hand to foreigners.
Just because you are in a high position and have a worry-free life, you can't turn a blind eye to the hardships of the people at the bottom and say such things.
As far as I know, except for a very small number of extremely outstanding Chinese students who receive scholarships, most of them are out of their own pockets and are under tremendous financial pressure.
In order to reduce the burden, many Chinese students use their spare time to do odd jobs to earn living expenses.
If Chinese students can solve the problem of living expenses through their own efforts, why can't African students do the same? In China, I have hardly seen any African students working part-time.
Part-time jobs can not only earn living expenses, but also increase communication with local people, which is conducive to language learning, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
It is unacceptable that African students do not want to work on their own and only want to rely on our assistance.
Looking at the reports in recent years, it is no wonder that the general public is indignant about the unfair treatment that Chinese students often encounter abroad, while African students are treated as "national treasures" at home.
A domestic graduate student left a message on the Internet: "I am a third-year graduate student, and the total amount of scholarships and grants for one year is only 18,000, and I have to pay 9,200 yuan for tuition and accommodation, and I really envy African students."
In contrast, the treatment of African students is simply "noble".
It is true that China does need the support of international friends in order to enhance its international influence, but this does not mean that we should grovel and cater to others without a bottom line.
Hu Biliang's excessively humble attitude towards African students is no wonder that he will be criticized by netizens as "servile".
Through Professor Hu's remarks, we can also see the seriousness of the problem of wealth gap in China.
03、
In the final analysis, the development and prosperity of the country depends on our own college students, and behind every college student is the sweat and expectation of their parents.
In the process of supporting a college student, parents are under tremendous economic pressure, how can we ignore the rights and interests of these families who provide talents for the country? A few days ago, data released by the People's Bank of China showed that the per capita savings in the mainland were only 110,000 yuan.
Is it reasonable to come up with valuable resources and give 100,000 yuan of high scholarships to African students every year when the people's savings are generally not high?
Is the experts' suggestion really from the perspective of the people of the country and for the sake of their interests? You must know that for the vast majority of Chinese people, it is difficult for their annual income to reach the standard of 100,000 yuan.
According to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the per capita disposable income of residents in the country in 2023 will only be 39,218 yuan.
This means that the annual subsidy for an African student exceeds the total annual income of a family of three (all three members of whom need to work) in China.
Such a disparity in comparison raises questions about the current scholarship policy.
Let's take a look at the treatment of domestic college students.
Although they also have scholarships, grants and other subsidies, the actual amount they can get is often very limited, and most students can receive subsidies of only a few thousand yuan.
In contrast, the treatment of African students is simply "worlds apart".
This can't help but make people feel that Professor Hu Biliang's care for African students does show "boundless love" that transcends national boundaries, race, religion, belief, skin color, language and other boundaries.
His love has touched many international students and even the world.
Now, the sudden death of Professor Hu, who is full of fraternity, is undoubtedly a great loss to the mainland economics community.
Many people have left messages expressing their nostalgia for Professor Hu, and some have even compared him to Nelson Mandela of South Africa, highly praising his outstanding contributions to Africa.
The African people are also deeply saddened by the passing of Professor Hu, regard him as an "African star", express concern for his research achievements in the field of economics during his lifetime, speculate about the cause of his illness, and send him sincere wishes.
Although Professor Hu's passing is regrettable, his academic achievements and love for Africa will undoubtedly be engraved in people's hearts forever.
————END————
Welcome to leave a message in the comment area!
It's not easy to be original, so please pay attention to it, thank you very much!
The picture comes from the Internet, if there is any infringement, please contact me to delete, thank you!
Please do not wash, plagiarize, or reprint without authorization!