Kids Do the Darndest Things...

The horse is already out of the barn, and Party officials are anxious. Economic reforms have propelled China into modernity indeed, and with it a new generation searches for its own identity. Straddling the old and the new, China’s youth are as varied and individualistic as their contemporaries in America. Many recognize the hardships their parents endured during the Cultural Revolution and have seized the opportunity to move up and beyond, to a life their parents could never have envisioned. Like Depression era parents who pushed their offspring to get educated and make something of themselves, Chinese youth feel the pressure of similar aspirations from their parents. We hear the fervor of this quest in Alex’s comments on his hopes for the future. Education, success, financial security for himself and his family, and the intense desire to achieve something for his country are reflected in his summary of the future. The American dream has come to China, in spite of limitations on individual freedoms. Many in the urban areas have translated those dreams to reality while the Party continues to look over their shoulders. Astute observers of the political climate, they know where the line is drawn and have devised methods for tiptoeing around that line when necessary.

Interestingly, there are those that don’t even care about that line, and choose instead to follow an entirely different route. The linglei of the Time/Asia’s 2004 article, The New Radicals (http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501040202/story.html) are the rebels without a cause. Largely ignoring the call to fall in line with the conventional road to success, they have instead sought self expression in other ways. Eager to follow a different path, many have left school and become entrepreneurs, writers, or designers in their own right. While the term linglei originally translated to “slacker”, its new connotation is alterative lifestyle. As Chun Shen expresses it, "People born in the 1970s are concerned about how to make money, how to enjoy life," …. "But people born in the 1980s are worried about self-expression, how to choose a path that fits one's own individual identity." These are the cool kids, the Fonzie’s of China -it’s not about the money, it’s about what makes you happy and distinctive. And cool sells. Publishing, fashion, electronics and fast food market the linglei image and reap the rewards.

The linglei are the benign rebels that many want to emulate, but there is a truly criminal group of youth rapidly growing that is cause for great concern(http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501021111-386993,00.html) These youth operate in a moral vacuum where Communist ideals are irrelevant and the ethics of capitalism is questionable. Criminal and gang activity fill that void. The traditional Confucian based family has been eroded by a soaring divorce rate, consequently leaving some kids adrift. Officials worry that although the number of 14 year olds has fallen from 28% to 25% in the last decade, there has been no appreciable drop in youth related crime. Like US gangs, youth are recruited by older members to first engage in petty crimes such as school yard “protection” in exchange for fees and then graduate to more serious business ventures. A severe shortage of juvenile detention centers finds most of these kids sent to labor farms where they rub elbows with adult criminals who further their criminal education.

Kids, kids, kids….what are you going to do with them? Party officials should check out reruns of Happy Days for some insight on parent/child dynamics; while Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham thought they were commandeering the troops, the Fonz, Richie, Joanie and Potsie knew full well that was just an illusion! Take heed China!