Wei Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue Number: A192-W94
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A192-W94
Release Date: March 25, 2006
发布日：2006年3月25日
Topic: Smoke, mirrors and Chinese pipe dreams -- Wei Jingsheng (Published: 06 January 2006 by Times Higher Education Supplement, UK)
标题：教育十字军东征中国 -- 魏京生 （英文版发表于2006年1月6日的英国时代高等教育增刊）
Original Language Version: Chinese (Chinese version at the end)
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Smoke, mirrors and Chinese pipe dreams
-- Wei Jingsheng
Published: 06 January 2006 by Times Higher Education Supplement, UK
To Western universities made-in-China degrees look lucrative - but they're fooling themselves, says exile Wei Jingsheng
When Western universities promote schemes to run their own branches in China, most of their talk is about the importance of cultural dissemination, exchange and knowledge. Yet their boards of directors discuss those same plans with the simple goal of making money, and that is always the deciding factor in whether or not such schemes get approved.
I have never come across a college board of directors whose goals are any loftier, yet they can hardly be blamed for this view. If schools are successfully established, they can indeed achieve the effect of cultural dissemination, exchange and knowledge building. That is what we Chinese are concerned most about. We cannot be blamed for our views, either.
The Chinese people are poor and worship anything foreign. For us, Western university diplomas are both honourable and practical. Yet the majority of the Chinese people have neither the money nor the opportunity to go abroad.
Thus a number of exchange students studying in the West have seen a business opportunity to bring the names of famous Western universities back home.
But one consequence of this development is to reduce the opportunity for those who control China's state higher educational institutions to make money by running their own schools. So in order to resolve any conflict, the benefits are shared between Western universities and the Chinese officials.
The solution most palatable to the Chinese side is to have schools that dispense famous-name Western diplomas but are directed by staff from Chinese higher education institutions. If this arrangement is allowed to continue, however, the value of those diplomas will fall around the world.
And as it does so, the money that Western universities hoped to make will end up in the Swiss bank accounts of the Chinese education bureaucrats through whose hands it passes. Diplomas from famous Western universities have become a hot item in the bribery of Chinese officials, and board members can enjoy much higher profits than they might expect to receive from any other industry.
Furthermore, the Chinese authorities in charge of ideology will not give up their jurisdiction over this piece of fatty meat. They will make it difficult for Western universities to fulfil their good intentions.
Cultural dissemination and exchange is just a beautiful illusion. Even in the West, Western universities do not concern themselves with Chinese human rights issues, let alone after they have entered China.
I once talked with a man who works in Chinese higher education about how big the market for Western diplomas actually is. He believes Western universities do not understand what the Chinese people want and hence hold overly optimistic expectations. In their analysis, many people want to receive Western diplomas. But what they really want are diplomas from Western universities in the West - not Chinese imitations.
Westerners may think that the schools they are running in China are still Western universities. But Chinese people commonly see it otherwise. It is impossible for these diplomas to carry the same value in China's job market as one from a university in the West.
This man also pointed out that the vast majority of Chinese people do not go to Western universities simply for study. In fact, more than half of them are not interested in studying at all. They are just looking for a way to move to the West and to see if there are any opportunities to stay and not return to China.
If you take a look at the ratio of how many of the Chinese students studying abroad return home versus how many remain abroad, you will understand. If you take Western universities and move them into China, how many people would still want to matriculate there?
You can make a rough calculation by looking at this ratio. Of course, those who lack the money to study abroad may well be willing to matriculate at home, but they are the ones who cannot afford expensive tuition fees. The Western ideal of making money from higher education in China is, I fear, just a dream.
Wei Jingsheng is an exiled Chinese human rights and democracy activist.
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中文版
Wei Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue Number: A192-W94
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A192-W94
Release Date: March 25, 2006
发布日：2006年3月25日
Topic: Smoke, mirrors and Chinese pipe dreams -- Wei Jingsheng (Published: 06 January 2006 by Times Higher Education Supplement, UK)
标题：教育十字军东征中国 -- 魏京生 （英文版发表于2006年1月6日的英国时代高等教育增刊）
Original Language Version: Chinese (Chinese version at the end)
此号以英文为准（英文在前，中文在后）
如有中文乱码问题，请与我们联系或访问:
http://www.weijingsheng.org/report/report2006/report2006-03/WeiJS060325TimesEducationA192-W94.htm
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教育十字军东征------进军中国
-- 魏京生
（英文版发表于2006年1月6日的英国时代高等教育增刊）
西方很多国家的大学，正在开展在中国办学的活动。办学的方式有很多种，但目标不外乎两个：1。 赚钱； 2。 传播文化
向社会宣传时，讲的大多是传播文化，交流知识如何如何重要。但董事会讨论计划时的最大理由，往往就是赚钱。
是否能够赚钱，是计划能否批准的决定因素。我没发现比这更高尚的董事会。这也无可非议。学校办得成功，的确能起到传播文化，交流知识的作用。这是我们中国人最关心的，也无可非议。因此我给大家提供一些参考意见。
中国人既穷又崇洋媚外。得到一个外国文凭是很荣耀又很实用的事情，但是大多数人没钱也没机会出国。于是一些留学西方的中国人就看见了商机-把西方名牌大学办到中国去，是个赚钱又帮助国内穷人的好事情。这个理由足以说服董事会。
但在中国办学赚钱，首先就会抢了那些在中国办学赚钱的中国人的机会。这些中国人正是控制中国政府主管教育的机关的社会集团。解决的办法就是和他们分享利益。包括给予对方安排人事的一部分权力。
最终，能被中方完全接受的方式，就是中国教育机关相关的利益集团的人员主持学校，发的是高价的西方名牌大学文凭。持续一段时间之后，西方大学的文凭在全球贬值，西方大学在中国的分校所赚的钱，通过中国教育官僚的手汇入瑞士钱行的账号。学校董事会成员也已经渐渐地换成另一批人了。但总的来说，董事会成员在中国的其他生意会有高于正常的收入。 因为西方名牌大学的文凭，是中国官方行贿市场上的抢手货。而且不会被列入行贿财务清单之中。
此外，中国意识形态主管机关不会放弃对这块肥肉的管辖权。这就使我们大家那个良好的愿望难以实现。"传播文化，交流之事"，只能是中国和西方老百姓的一个尚待实现的美好幻想。 西方的大学在西方已经不敢关心中国人权了，何况到中国以后
值得注意的另一问题是：西方大学中国分校的文凭，到底有多大的市场。就此我请教了一位在中国从事教育工作的中年人。他认为西方大学的董事会不了解中国人的心态，估计过于乐观了。他分析说：想拿西方大学文凭的人很多，但他们想拿的是在西方的西方大学的文凭，而不是在中国的冒牌文凭。西方人可能认为他们在中国办的仍然是西方的大学，而中国人普遍认为这是在中国的社会环境下由西方人出面办的中国的大学。也就是说，冒牌货而已。这样的文凭在中国的就业市场上，不可能与在西方的大学文凭等值。
他还补充分析说：想到西方上大学的人， 绝大多数不仅仅是想学习，甚至一大半人根本就不想学习。而只是想到西方住下来，看看有没有机会留在西方不回中国。
看一看过去的留学生回国的比例就知道了。如果把西方的大学办到中国来，还有多少人想去入学，可以从回国比例中估算出来。没钱出国的人可能愿意入学，但他们付不起高价学费。赚钱的理想仅仅是个梦。
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