Mr. Du is working for Sichuan Provincial Government. He graduated from Sichuan University with a Bachelor degree of Law.

1. What is your motivation for working in the government?

Well, the idea that to be in public service as a career occurred to me very early. If I still remember correctly, I made my decision about two years ago when I was still pursuing my Bachelor degree in university. After reading a lot of books regarding the nature and function of government, I thought I could make contribution to our community or even the whole country by working in government—particularly in China where the very well-being of people is deeply related to the policy of a well functioning government. I hold that being part of public service system is a pride of mine. I really hope I could make a difference.

2. As many people know, China faces a set of social problems as well as other issues, though the economy as a whole has been soaring rapidly. So, what kinds of reason you think are responsible for the emergence of problems like the gap between the rich and the poor? Are they domestic or alien?

Generally speaking, it is not appropriate to indicate a single factor that can well explain China’s problems. However, causes that are responsible for individual cases can be perceived. For example, the increasing gap between haves and have-nots. At first sight, I am more likely to look for domestic illustrations such as tax code, social security, and real estate bubble.

But, a second though remind us of foreign causes. China now is gaining economic benefit from outsourcing to a large extent. And, in cities, jobs that people can occupy are almost very elementary, such as assembly line operations and clothing manufacturing. Definitely, the rule of market economy alienates the common workers from managers.

At the same time, our redistribution systems cannot guarantee proper fairness. In rural areas, the life of peasants seems to be kind of harsh. Many people would like to argue that over 700 million peasants have been left behind. I have to mention, the productivity of China’s farming is very low due to the sketchy technology, the over use of pesticide, and the under development of farming market. Thus, peasants are always struggling for making a life. Put together, we see the phenomena of wealth gap. By the way, it is detrimental to our further development.

Of course, you can find foreign roots in some problems. As you know, the sporadic ethnic riots are always troubling Chinese society. Many people would like to say it has historic cause or racial issues. I, however, regard it is more related to foreign factors. The very notions of nation-state, human right, and democracy, have been functioning as catalysts to problems that have potential to be real and severe. And, this appears to be dilemma for China. On the one hand, China is willing to embark more foreign ideas and philosophy. On the other hand, China is trying to balance the clash between western doctrine and Chinese situation which, sometimes, seems to be incompatible with the West. Personally, I feel very confused about it, too.

3. If I comprehend correctly, you mentioned that Chinese civilization is not compatible to western ideas to some degree. Do you really believe that? Why?

I did not mean that our culture cannot co-exist with western ones. I just wanted to say that we fail to share some features with the West. For instance, the West and China have disputes on issues such as human rights and the structure of government. To some people, this kind of difference can hardly make any sense, since they think their life would not be better or worse even another kind of government was adopted.

However, the influence of western dogma cannot be ignored. Globalization is not only a collection of dramatic economic changes, but also represents a set of political socialization and cultural homogenization. We are not sure whether or not our cultures can fundamentally tolerate with others. Looking around what is happening in the world, I can hardly see I perceive a lasting peace between civilizations. War on Terror is more likely to be a war between the West and Islam.

Back to Chinese society, we no doubt have a variety of unique characteristic that largely differentiate from the West. So, to what extend can culture matters in international relations? I do not know.

4. In a word, do you agree that globalization is more beneficial to China and people living in this terra?

Good question. But, it is really hard to tell. As you know there are people who are gaining benefit from globalization while a certain proportion of individuals feel more isolated during this process. As a whole, it might help people improve the standard of living. However, we have to know the standard of living does not equal to the level of happiness. People are always suffering from this or that. When worker can afford a TV set, they begin to worry about the negative impact of TV program on their children. Once a student can have cheap access to a more colorful world via Internet, he or she might feel alienated from society or feel less human. Therefore, we always have problems regardless of our material achievement. Anyway, globalization is a trend we cannot defy. Hopefully, it can sow the seed of a perpetual prosperity for humanity.

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