"To have friends come from afar to share learning is happiness is it not?"
- Confucius, 1500 BC

China: ancient civilization known as the Central Kingdom and recognized for its art and poetry for millenniums. China: known also for its hungry people, the Red Guard under Mao, Tiananmen Square. China: emerging as the new world power in the 21st century.

Students from the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University and lifetime learners shared their impressions of unfolding events in China at an intergenerational discussion on November 21st, at Bethel Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. All but one of the panelists on the program, sponsored by Cooperative Adult Ministry, had recently visited China.

Dr. Omar Otterness(right), opened the program with remembrances of Beijing in the late 1940’s when he went there as a missionary. It was a time when Secretary of State George Marshall was trying to negotiate differences between Chiang Kai Shek’s nationalists and the communist forces. Otterness says he had hoped new leadership would not rise from either of these groups but through Sun Yat Sen, an idealist whose dream was "a new day for China" guided by Christian principles.

As we know, Sun Yat Sen’s dreams failed and America backed the nationalists. "America ended up on the wrong side of the revolution," Otterness says. "As a result, one to two million people were killed in the cultural revolution and 29 million overall in the last 50 years." But Otterness remains the idealist. "We will find a way to a brighter 21st century," he says.

Dr. P. Richard Bohr, Professor of History and Director of Asian studies at St. John’s, is also optimistic. He gives credit for the economic surge in China to former premier Deng Hsiao Ping who made the recent open door policy a reality. "In just one decade, this country became the manufacturers of the world, and in the next decade they want to be the center of information technology," Bohr says.

Dr. Richard Bohr width St. John's Asian Studies students

This situation is an opportunity for both America and China, and Minnesota is in the vanguard, Bohr says, because we are already ahead of the game. Over the years, more Chinese students have learned technology and engineering at the University of Minnesota than at any other university in the country. Recently, China’s need for taconite is revitalizing the Iron Range and General Mills products are being sold in every large Chinese city. Bohr says Governor Pawlenty’s trade mission will result in more teachers going to China and more investment and trade interdependence between the two countries.

Student panelists were almost one in saying that their visits to China opened their eyes to different beliefs. "It’s a real culture shock for Americans," says Brian Chen, an Asian-American who has lived in Minnesota for 13 years. On the other hand, student Mary DeMars pointed out that the Chinese students she met were much like students everywhere. "They wanted to know about our music, clothes and what we do for fun."

Cecilia Anderson, a retired public school nurse, visited a military hospital in Xinjiang province as part of a health care team. She learned that strokes are the biggest health problem in China, followed by smoking and pollution-related illnesses, HIV-AIDS, and car and industrial accidents. While there are many advances in Chinese medicine, opportunities exist for medical personnel who can teach Chinese about physical and occupational therapy as well as workplace safety. The country needs ambulances and wheelchairs too. "But people are well cared for," says Erickson. "They love their families the same as we love our families."

Lifetime learner, Ruth Aaskov, feels that there are lots of unanswered questions. Can the U.S. give up being a world power in order to be a true equal partner she wonders. Are our values and cultures too different? What about human rights issues? If the Chinese are learning English, why aren’t we teaching Chinese languages in our schools?

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Jane Tschida has attended Joan of Arc off and on for about 35 years.  She and husband Paul are parishioners. Jane is a retired non-profit association director and has always been involved in public affairs. Her goal is to become more involved in social ministry at Joan of Arc, and writing for the web site is her first attempt.

History student Simon Hanson remarks, "Education is the greatest tool to grow with China and for getting along in the future." Or as a Chinese proverb written 3500 years ago says, "Never tire to study and to teach each other."