But starting in the late 1990s, with China’s coastal regions developing into modern metropolises and with students being born with no memory of the Great Leap Forward or the Cultural Revolution, the ambitions and attitudes of Chinese students shifted yet again. The booming economy meant Chinese families could afford to send their child abroad, and so began China’s third wave of study abroad. These students lack the cultural loyalty and patriotism of China’s first wave (the Qing dynasty and republican government scholarship students), and the academic merit and diligence of the second wave (the Chinese graduate students). Because they’ve bought their way into a Western undergraduate program, many of them think they’ve bought the degree as well. And because there are so many of them, they segregate themselves in their tiny familiar circles. In previous decades, American academics encountered polite and studious Chinese students, and in small doses. Now, some complain that the ignorance and arrogance of Chinese students are even worse than their English and plagiarism.
But it also arises from the reality that right now Americans blame China for just about everything. In American eyes, China has stolen American jobs, sold Americans toxic unsafe goods, engaged in unfair trade by keeping the yuan artificially low, and now owns America. Now it’s denying American children a chance at a better life in their own land.
