The Garden's of Fuyang

Fuyang (富阳区) sits to the south-west of the famous Hangzhou. This area is low mountains, valleys and the broad Fuchun River. A temperate climate favours tea plantations in the hills, while on the banks of the river industry flourishes. 

Stretching along the boulevards are trees, floral displays, manicured lawns accompanied by jogging and cycling tracks. These gardens and walkway tell us something. Here is a provincial city with ambition.

This small place, in a big country, has a plan and the confidence to drive forward. Moreover, that plan is audacious, stretching to the horizon with a high-speed rail link and modern highways.

It's a plan well on the way to realisation. On all sides are construction; new homes, factories and signs of wealth. 

Here we have a striking demonstration that even a somewhat minor city is riding the wave of China's emergence with a bold statement. 

Technology is ubiquitous here. You call a cab by an App, and it appears in minutes; its approach displayed on a map. Payment is cashless; likewise in restaurants, shops and just about everywhere.

The convenience is exceptional. The local people are healthy, positive and engaging although the concept of queuing hasn't reached everybody. 

Thus it's disheartening to read the Western media coverage that portrays China as a land of harsh repression. That's the danger of adopting a single perspective and then generalising. We know that all media organisations, despite assertions of balance, have a slant that distorts their commentary. 

Snobbery and self-regard are also at play. An illusion of superiority around institutions and culture, asserting the West is best. A self-proclaimed eminence from living like a frog in a well. This arrogant and narrow view is being shaken as democracy falters, as the tide of influence ebbs east.

A generalised negative stereotyping of China predisposes people to accept without question the false narrative of a few. The Falun Gung cult is not alone in harnessing this attitude to spread propaganda. Many in the West lapped it up. 

Only when Falun Gung leader Li Hongzhi denounced homosexuals, rock music and 'mixed-marriage' did people wake up. 

Besides, Li's exotic ideas around shape-shifting and aliens using humans as pets pulled back the curtain on the madness at the organisation's core. The gullibility of supposedly educated Westerners never ceases to surprise me.

While trumpeting a free media, the West ignores its inherent bias. As an example, the BBC blanks out thousands of ex-soldiers gathered in central London. Their demonstration in support of retired colleagues charged over historical events gets scant coverage.

Not so the simultaneous middle-class climate protest, that has celebrities jetting-in to get their picture taken. The BBC gives that hypocritical show wall-to-wall coverage. 

Looking at the world through a distorted prism fosters misinterpretation. The USA entered the Vietnam war believing the domino theory of communist influence. They then found themselves in an unwinnable civil war, with the population as the enemy. 

Without a doubt, some fear China as an emerging power. People question why can't the UK or the USA have a Huawei or similar corporation. They have short memories. Apple, IBM, General Electric and alike dominated the world of innovation for decades.

Now its China's turn. And this should be no surprise when you consider the number of STEM graduates the country produces. The data for 2016 is below.

According to estimates, the number of Chinese graduates aged between 25 and 34 will rise 300 per cent by 2030. The US and Europe can expect just 30 per cent.

Why focus on STEM graduates? Simple, these folks are crucial to emerging industries. They write the software, design engineering solutions and innovate. 
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Granted, some STEM graduates may elect to work overseas. Nonetheless, the sheer number at China's disposal fills her sails and provides the momentum that will keep them ahead. Plus China has long-term plans that it implements.

Let me illustrate the point with the example of the UK's dithering over a high-speed rail system.In the last 15 years, China has built 18,000 miles of high-speed rail track with trains running at 217 mph (350 kph). By 2025, the system will cover 24,000 miles of track. 

In the meantime, the UK can't agree, never mind, build a single high-speed link between London and Birmingham covering 125 miles. The proposed project remains only an idea, despite decades of discussion. 

All in all, it's evident that China is forging ahead. They adopt technology faster, while infrastructure projects continue to expand. Importantly, there is a recognition that the environment suffered due to breakneck development; as a result, initiatives abound.

A good number of cities operate all-electric buses. Soon you will see electric cars as the norm. Undoubtedly human rights are lagging, but the child labour that drove the UK's industrial revolution is not there.

It took the West, hundreds of years to move from an agrarian society to the modern world we see. China is doing the same, with many more people, in decades.

​Thus, there are bound to be miscalculations along the way. I have to say that blind criticism doesn't help. 

​If the gardens of Fuyang tell us anything, it's that China has a strategy, a direction and the willingness to implement. In the process, millions of people are brought out of poverty, fed and given an education. 

In truth, we must ask several questions; could a western-style government achieve this? Is the mantra of Western society that democracy equals freedom and prosperity sustainable? Or is democracy deployed as a cover to shield strategic interests and drive access to markets?