Emigrants’ feelings about their decision

[elsanh]

Do Chinese emigrants who were highly educated and who left mainland China because of the Cultural Revolution feel they made a mistake after seeing how the Chinese economy developed and/or because of the increased opportunities for the highly-educated in China after the end of the Cultural Revolution? 

 

I wonder this particularly as it relates to those who came from mainland China to live and work in poverty in the United States never having the opportunity to use their education in jobs in the US. 

[anonymoose]

The answer is quite clearly going to be that "emigrants who were highly educated and who left mainland China because of the Cultural Revolution" cannot be treated as a single entity. Furthermore, whilst it may be true for some, I don't think they all had to "live and work in poverty in the United States never having the opportunity to use their education in jobs in the US".

 

Besides these flaws in the question, I can't speak for how such emigrants may feel. However, the cultural revolution ended in 1976. Chinese people who were "highly educated" presumably were in their 20s at the youngest at the time of leaving which means now they would be in their late 60s, 70s, or older. As can be seen from this graph here, the Chinese economy has only picked up substantially within the last 20 years or so, when these people would have been coming towards the end of their working lives. So I doubt the relatively recent economic rise of China would have had a significant economic impact on the cohort of people you talk about.

[vellocet]

The Cultural Revolution was in 1966.  The rise of China started with joining the WTO in 2001.  That's a gap of 45 years.  

 

On 11/30/2022 at 9:53 PM, elsanh said:

I wonder this particularly as it relates to those who came from mainland China to live and work in poverty in the United States never having the opportunity to use their education in jobs in the US. 

What a weird leading question.  So these educated people abandoned China, came to America to live in poverty instead of gaining employment where they could use their educations, and then when China rose 45 years later they regretted their choice?  

 

PS When you write your text this large, it seems like shouting.

[Moshen]

Quote

I wonder this particularly as it relates to those who came from mainland China to live and work in poverty in the United States never having the opportunity to use their education in jobs in the US. 

 

I agree with the other commenters that this statement may be based on a misconception.  Or several misconceptions.

 

People who were "highly educated" prior to the Cultural Revolution generally didn't come to the US afterwards.  They had kids and got their old jobs back.  Those who did come to the US after the Cultural Revolution was over would have been educated during 1977-1985, and everyone I know in that category landed on their feet in the US relatively easily.  I never heard of anyone educated who came to the US from China in their twenties and ended up in poverty.

 

Maybe you are thinking of refugees from other countries?

[hoshi]

It is difficult to say with certainty whether Chinese emigrants who left mainland China during the Cultural Revolution feel that they made a mistake in doing so. It is likely that some of these individuals may have regrets about leaving China, especially if they came to the United States and were unable to use their education in their jobs. However, it is also possible that others may feel that they made the right decision, either because they were able to find success in the United States or because they felt that they had no other choice but to leave China. Ultimately, the feelings of these individuals would depend on their individual experiences and circumstances.