VZCZCXRO9614
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHGH #0181/01 0890617
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 300617Z MAR 07
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5653
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0929
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0526
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0509
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0534
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 0432
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0632
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 6028

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SHANGHAI 000181 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM, EAP/PD, ECA/A/E/USS 
NSC FOR WILDER AND TONG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR SOCI CH
SUBJECT: EAST CHINA STUDENT LEADERS HOPEFUL ABOUT THE FUTURE 
 
Sensitive but unclassified - please protect accordingly.  Not 
for dissemination outside USG channels. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Recent discussions with East China student 
leaders as part of the selection process for a USG-funded 
student leadership institute indicated that many students were 
satisfied with Chinese government policies and goals and 
optimistic that China would continue to develop economically in 
the future.  Many admired the United States for its freedoms, 
innovative thinking and diversity.  But while these students 
claimed to be leaders, their future plans were surprisingly 
limited in scope and lacking ambition.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Congenoffs interviewed 14 of East China's top student 
leaders during the week of March 19 for the 2007 U.S. Institute 
for Student Leaders, a 5-week Fulbright program.  They had been 
self-selected or identified by local contacts as up-and-coming 
undergraduate leaders.  Ten of those interviewed were from Fudan 
University, while the others came from Zhejiang University, 
Nanjing University and Shanghai University of Finance and 
Economics.  Most of the applicants were active in student 
government; some had high-level positions in the students 
unions.  A few were also involved in NGOs such as the Red Cross 
and Roots and Shoots.  During the course of the interviews, 
applicants provided their views on China and its future, the 
United States and their plans for future careers. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
China: Confident in the Government and Future 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The majority of students interviewed were pleased with 
the Chinese government and its policies.  One student was proud 
of how China handled the 2003 SARS outbreak, noting that China 
was able to deal with it quickly and efficiently because of its 
strong central government.  He opined that not even the United 
States would have been able to handle the problem as well as 
China had.  Another student said she wished she could strengthen 
the government's one-child policy.  Since she was an only child 
that had received the best education, the government had sent 
her to the countryside as an example of the benefits of the 
one-child policy.  She came away from her experience of seeing 
firsthand how impoverished people living in the countryside were 
convinced that the one-child policy needed to be strengthened. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Many applicants had problems answering questions from 
Congenoffs on Chinese law and which aspects of the legal system 
needed reform.  While a few applicants said they would advocate 
for more freedom of speech, at least three noted that law in 
China was not very important.  Three applicants, including one 
law student, supported more efforts at promoting the rule of law 
in China.  A different applicant said that it would be 
impossible to change the constitutional, criminal or 
administrative law in China.  Others advocated for clearer 
regulations on NGOs and volunteerism, while two applicants 
supported changing economic laws, including the tax law. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) All of the applicants were optimistic about China's 
future.  Two believed that China would follow Singapore's course 
and have significant economic freedom, but limited political 
freedom.  The majority said that China would continue to develop 
on its own path and not resemble any other country in the 
future.  Only a small minority believed that there would be more 
political reforms in the future.  Others noted that it was 
important for China to first develop its economy before 
embarking on political reforms.  According to one applicant, 
there would be room for political freedom, but only after the 
economy was developed. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
USA: Land of Freedom, Innovation, and Diversity 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) All applicants had a positive view of the United 
States.  Most said that they received their information on the 
United States from movies, television programs and books.  Few 
had much contact with Americans, although some had studied under 
American professors.  When asked what they admired most about 
America, many applicants said they liked America because it had 
freedom of speech.  A few admired America for its diversity and 
equal opportunity for its citizens.  A few admired America for 
its people's creativity.  One noted that America had advanced 
technology and ideas and said he wanted to learn to think like 
 
SHANGHAI 00000181  002 OF 002 
 
 
an American.  One admired America for because it had a lot of 
NGOs and community service. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Future Careers: Limited Horizons 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) When asked about their own futures, many applicants 
were far from ambitious.  None of the applicants aspired to 
becoming a high-level leader.  While a few wanted to join the 
government, most wanted to continue in academia or work at a 
multinational firm.  Many felt that the best way they could 
influence society was to begin their own NGO or become an 
influential scholar. 
 
--------------------------- 
Comment: Greenhouse Flowers 
--------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The view of these undergraduates were representative 
of those of the many students Congenoffs have had discussions 
with around East China.  Like many college students, especially 
those at elite universities like Fudan, they have lived a 
sheltered life, coddled by their parents and pushed towards 
academic success.  These students are sometimes called 
greenhouse flowers in Chinese for the protective environment 
they have grown up in, seem ill-prepared for life outside their 
cocoons.  They have also grown up in a time of prosperity in 
China.  They are products of an intentionally nationalistic 
educational system and tend to be very supportive of their 
government.  Their optimism for the future, is perhaps a 
reflection of this. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Congenoffs were struck by these students' apparent 
lack of vision for the future - most stuck pretty closely to 
government pronouncements on the primacy of economic 
development.  Their lack of ambition in their own lives was also 
striking - most had a difficult time imagining themselves 
outside the comfortable cocoon of the university campus.  The 
fact that none of them expressed any ambition to be a government 
leader could be an indication that, for many young Chinese, such 
goals are completely beyond their reach. 
JARRETT