Focus
Pull of home remains strong
By Wang Chao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-09 07:55
 |
Large Medium Small |
Beijingers are eager to take advantage of overseas education, but many return temporarily or permanently. Wang Chao reports.
'Seagull' life offers best of both worlds
Zoe Shi, 28, is a graduate of the University of Queensland in Australia, where she majored in finance. She would soon become an Australian citizen but still works in Beijing for a US venture capital company.
Shi is a typical "seagull", a term used to describe Chinese people who go to university overseas, get foreign citizenship, but end up "migrating" back and forth between China and the country of which they are new citizens.
The latest China's Report on Overseas Students' Development by the Beijing-based Center for China & Globalization, estimates there are currently more than 100,000 "seagull" flitting in an out of China and that the number will soar in the future. Most "seagull" work with multinational companies involved in hi-tech or finance industries.
Shi told METRO about her life as a "seagull".
METRO: Can you describe your life in Beijing?
Shi: Compared with those who work in the financial and banking sectors in Beijing, I am luckier as I don't have to come to the office too early in the morning. They usually begin their day at 8:30 am and I often arrive around 9 am. But once I get to the office, I won't have a time for break - not even a spare moment to chat online. My main responsibilities are to evaluate companies with investment opportunities and provide financing for them. I have to take business trips around China all the time, almost once a week when work is busy.
METRO: How frequently do you visit Australia?
Shi: Not too frequently because I'm tired of flying 13 hours for a one-way trip. I may take my parents there for sightseeing during vacations. But I'll definitely go back to Australia this July to swear the oath of citizenship.
METRO: Why did you choose to work in China after getting citizenship in Australia?
Shi: Mainly because my husband found a job in China and is now working with the investment arm of a state-owned company in Beijing.
The working environment in Australia is much friendlier and the pace of life is much slower. Compensation is also much better in Australia. Moving there for work would be a good choice for us after we accumulate some work experience in China.
But right now I'm still quite young and I think I have better options for career development in China. Besides I may become lazy in Australia since life is so comfortable there.
METRO: Do you make a lot of money in China as a venture capitalist?
Shi: Not really. But I make enough to afford a decent lifestyle in Beijing. We haven't bought an apartment yet, but we are looking now.
METRO: What's your future plan? Will you retire in Australia?
Shi: I'm not sure at the moment - there are so many uncertainties. We may choose to work in Australia when we get older. Getting more work experience in China will make it easier for us to find a decent job in Australia.
METRO: When you have kids do you want him or her to grow up in China or in Australia?
Shi: We want our kid to grow up in China until he or she finishes secondary school, since I prefer China's approach to primary and secondary education, which helps young students build solid foundations in courses such as math, physics and chemistry. Australia's primary schools and junior high schools do not attach so much importance to these courses.
I don't think highly of China's college education, however, because it's not that useful for getting a good job at a multinational company. I got my college degree in Singapore and got a postgraduate degree in Australia and I found them both useful.
No gamble, no gains for entrepreneur
Most people he knew did not understand Zhao Jiamin's decision to quit his job with Oracle Corp, the multinational computer technology giant in Silicon Valley, California and return to China to start his own business.
At that time, he had already worked at Oracle for three and a half years and held a position of senior engineer with a salary of $100,000 a year.
"It was a hard decision to make, because I had an affluent and relaxing lifestyle," Zhao said. He estimates that his workload is now about five times what it was at Oracle.
Before he started working in the US, Zhao spent three years studying for his doctoral degree at the University of Southern California, majoring in operations research.
"Actually many of my Chinese colleagues thought of coming back to China and starting their own businesses, but few put their thoughts into action like I did," Zhao said.
Zhao, 37, with his glasses and neat shirt, still looks like a graduate student.
"I feel it is still worthwhile to come back," Zhao said. "At least I accumulated some experiences and changed my status from a pure engineer to a manager, which enabled me to further my career."
Zhao said coming back to China was a gamble and most of his colleagues were afraid of the risks. "What if the business failed? What about our children's education?" But Zhao decided to come back anyway with his wife and his two-year-old son.
"I guess I still wanted to do something for myself, rather than living comfortably in the US and being an employee of other people," Zhao said.
After coming back to Beijing in 2007, Zhao acquired 100,000 yuan from the government as a fund to start an enterprise.
"Thanks to the favorable policy for overseas returnees, we received this money to start our business," Zhao smiled. "Other start-ups are not that lucky."
Zhao, together with two other co-founders, developed a website, Yeeyan.org, introduces English articles from foreign media to Chinese netizens, as well as provides translation services.
Now after just two years, the site already breaks even financially, which is an excellent record compared to other similar websites.
However, Zhao left Yeeyan in November 2009 and decided to start all over again with another translation website Dongxi.net.
"I'm not a very smart person, but I can be stubborn," he said. "Once I decide to so something, I never give up until it is successful."
Zhao's wife teaches at Tsinghua University and their 5-year-old son is studying in the kindergarten affiliated to Tsinghua University.
"I'm really thankful to my wife and my parents, they are so supportive," Zhao said. He also felt blessed because his team came along with him when he left Yeeyan.
Now Zhao and six other employees rent an office in Chegongzhuang, Haidian district. Most of them work long hours every day.
"I haven't have any vacation during these years, because my work takes up most of my time," Zhao said in his company's 15 sq m office. Now he goes to bed at 10 pm every day, sleeps until 2 am when he gets up and starts work.
However, Zhao admits that the financial burden on his family is still high. Zhao used all his savings to start the business and the family initially lived on his wife's earnings.
"I want to do better, so my family can lead a better life. Starting a business is a gamble and it takes enormous dedication to take it to the end."
Happy to be back despite uncertainties
Jin Lan is still looking for a job in Beijing, after returning to China last November with a master's degree in accounting.
"I'm an outsider in Australia; but I haven't found my destination in China either," Jin Lan said softly.
She is a petite woman with a warm smile and gentle eyes. Before coming back, she went through a painful struggle deciding between a safe, comfortable life in Australia, or a more demanding career in China.
"In Australia, I would be able to find a job with no big prospects, but the salary would be enough to support a comfortable life; while in Beijing, I may get a good job with my overseas diploma, but the house prices are so high that I may end up being a slave for daily living," Jin said. "But I'm the only child in my family, so it's better to stay in China."
She graduated from the School of Chinese Literature at Renmin University of China as a top student and chose to study accounting in Australia, which shocked many of her friends.
"I wanted to explore my life more widely, so I changed my major dramatically. I can make Chinese literature my hobby," she explained.
Things haven't worked out quite the way she planned, but even though her future is still uncertain at present Jin still loves the feeling of being back.
"At least I can visit my friends whenever I want and eat my favorite Chinese food at a cheap price," Jin said. "Although I have some close friends in Australia, I still felt like an outsider and this is the feeling many overseas students have."
Jin converted to Christianity while studying in Australia. "It made me less anxious and lonely," Jin said. But she recalls her baptism in a small town in Australia. It was autumn and the maple trees along the streets had all turned yellow and red, everything was gorgeous.
"I suddenly felt so lonely, I wanted to fly home right away. The scene was so beautiful, but it didn't belong to me," she said.
Returning to China, Jin secured an internship with a small financial company in Beijing, but though "the boss was capable" she said the company was too small, with just 20 to 30 staff, 98 percent of them working as interns. Jin worked there for two months, and then returned to Australia for her graduation.
After she returned to Beijing she decided not to resume the internship and began job-hunting last December. However, she found that many of the foreign companies she targeted had already finished their recruiting. Now Jin stays in her room most of the time sending out her resume. She lives in a rented apartment with two roommates near the Third Ring Road. "It has convenient transportation here, good for my job interviews," she said.
Her mother is trying to persuade her to return to her hometown.
"She said it would be more comfortable than struggling in Beijing," Jin said. Her hometown is a small city in Hebei province, where her parents have stable jobs. Jin described her potential life in the small city: good salary, little pressure, and a good network courtesy of her parents.
"My mother always tells me: 'Come back, come back, we still have some influence here and we can help you to find a stable job, so you don't need to work as hard as in Beijing."
She said some of her secondary school classmates were working in state-owned companies and they are so prominent they don't even pay for their bill after a big meal in local restaurants. "And they didn't even go to college," Jin said. "But I am just not reconciled to leaving Beijing."
She is considering applying for jobs in the media. "With my background of Chinese literature and accounting, maybe I can be a business reporter," she said. But she is not confident about it, as she doesn't have any previous experience.
She keeps a journal on MSN almost every day. Recently she wrote in her journal:
"I don't know if life in Australia made me stronger or killed my fantasy and passion about life. There seems to be multiple choices waiting for me, but none is already in my hand, and I don't like that."
