2008 Woodie Awards
China becomes free-market powerhouse
Joe Thomas, Staff Writer
Issue date: 3/15/06 Section: News
On Mar. 8, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute presented "China: The Sleeping Giant Awakes." Edwin Williams presented the two-hour lecture and discussion which described the advancements China has made and their transition to a free-market society.
Williams recently retired after 35 years of service to the New Jersey state college system. He has been a dean, and was the Director of International Programs, where he developed semester and yearly academic travel programs for undergraduate students for the state of New Jersey.
"My interest in China began when I took my first trip in 1982, when China was just starting to experiment with the free-market economy," Williams said.
After his initial trip, he went back twelve more times.
The lecture was inspired by China Wakes, a 1994 book inspired by Napoleon Bonaparte who said, "When China wakes it will shake the world."
"China is now certainly awake, raising living standards quicker than any other country in the world," said Williams. "A baby born in Shanghai is expected to live in 76 years, 2.2 years more than an infant born in New York City. A newborn baby is less likely to die in its first year of life than in New York City."
"A child is more likely to read if it grows up in Shanghai than New York City," Williams added. "If you doubt this, I highly recommend you call Mayor Bloomberg, because he is desperately trying to get the New York City schools back to the standards of about 40 years ago."
In a special millennium issue on Dec. 30, 1999, Time magazine proclaimed that Shanghai would challenge New York as the center of the world in the 21st century.
"Today Shanghai is arguably the most dynamic city on this planet. Any traveler with the taste for tomorrow must experience Shanghai a city with an extraordinary history - present and future," Williams said.
"The grand neoclassic buildings are the most 'un-Chinese' among the skyline. The shores of the Wangpoo River have long been the symbol of the hundred years of foreign domination of Shanghai," he said. "These grand neoclassical buildings are still visible today but they are shattered by the more than three-hundred skyscrapers of today's Shanghai."
Williams recently retired after 35 years of service to the New Jersey state college system. He has been a dean, and was the Director of International Programs, where he developed semester and yearly academic travel programs for undergraduate students for the state of New Jersey.
"My interest in China began when I took my first trip in 1982, when China was just starting to experiment with the free-market economy," Williams said.
After his initial trip, he went back twelve more times.
The lecture was inspired by China Wakes, a 1994 book inspired by Napoleon Bonaparte who said, "When China wakes it will shake the world."
"China is now certainly awake, raising living standards quicker than any other country in the world," said Williams. "A baby born in Shanghai is expected to live in 76 years, 2.2 years more than an infant born in New York City. A newborn baby is less likely to die in its first year of life than in New York City."
"A child is more likely to read if it grows up in Shanghai than New York City," Williams added. "If you doubt this, I highly recommend you call Mayor Bloomberg, because he is desperately trying to get the New York City schools back to the standards of about 40 years ago."
In a special millennium issue on Dec. 30, 1999, Time magazine proclaimed that Shanghai would challenge New York as the center of the world in the 21st century.
"Today Shanghai is arguably the most dynamic city on this planet. Any traveler with the taste for tomorrow must experience Shanghai a city with an extraordinary history - present and future," Williams said.
"The grand neoclassic buildings are the most 'un-Chinese' among the skyline. The shores of the Wangpoo River have long been the symbol of the hundred years of foreign domination of Shanghai," he said. "These grand neoclassical buildings are still visible today but they are shattered by the more than three-hundred skyscrapers of today's Shanghai."