the.world.is.flat-第58部分

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to　the　States。　There　is　a　saying　in　China　that　whatever　you　put　in　your　head　and　your
stomach；　no　one　can　take　away　from　you。　In　this　whole　region；　that　is　in　the　DNA。
You　just　have　to　study　hard　and　move　forward。　I　was　told　relatively　early　by　myteachers；
'We　can　never　live　like　Americans　and　Canadians。　We　have　no　resources。　We　have　to　
study　hard；　work　hard；　and　export　hard。'〃
A　few　weeks　later　I　had　breakfast　in　Washington　with　P。V。　Kannan；　CEO　of　24/7　Customer。　
When　it　comes　to　the　flat　world；　said　P。V。；　he　had　just　one　question：　〃Is　America
prepared？　It　is　not。　。　。　You've　gotten　a　little　contented　and　slow；　and　the　people
who　came　into　the　field　with　＇the　triple　convergence＇　are　really　hungry。　Immigrants
are　always　hungry…and　they　don't　have　a　backup　plan。〃
A　short　time　later　I　read　a　column　by　Steven　Pearlstein；　The　Washington　Post's　business　
columnist/reporter；　under　the　headline　〃Europe's　Capitalism　Curtain。〃　From　Wroclaw；　
Poland　（July　23；　2004）；　Pearlstein　wrote：　〃A　curtain　has　descended　across　Europe。



On　one　side　are　hope；　optimism；　freedom　and　prospects　for　a　better　life。　On　the　other　
side；　fear；　pessimism；　suffocating　government　regulations　and　a　sense　that　the　best　
times　are　in　the　past。〃　This　new　curtain；　Pearlstein　argued；　demarks　Eastern　Europe；　
which　is　embracing　capitalism；　and　Western　Europe；　which　is　wishing　desperately　that　
it　would　go　away。　
〃This　time；　however；　it　is　the　East　that　is　likely　to　prevail；〃　he　continued。　〃The　
energy　and　sense　of　possibility　are　almost　palpable　here　。　。　。　Money　and　companies　
are　pouring　in…not　just　the　prestige　nameplates　like　Bombardier；　Siemens；　Whirlpool；　
Toyota　and　Volvo；　but　also　the　network　of　suppliers　that　inevitably　follows　them。　
At　first；　most　of　the　new　jobs　were　of　the　semi…skilled　variety。　Now　they　have　been　
followed　by　design　and　engineering　work　that　aims　to　tap　into　the　largest　concen264　
tration　of　university　students　in　Eastern　Europe　。　。　。　The　secret　isn't　just　lower　
wages。　It's　also　the　attitude　of　workers　who　take　pride　and　are　willing　to　do　what　
is　necessary　to　succeed；　even　if　it　means　outsourcing　parts　production　or　working　
on　weekends　or　altering　vacation　schedules…　things　that　would　almost　certainly　
trigger　months　of　acrimony　and　negotiation　in　Western　Europe。　'The　people　back　home；　
they　haven't　got　any　idea　how　much　they　need　to　change　if　they　want　to　preserve　what　
they　have；'　said　Jose　Ugarte　＇a　Basque　who　heads　the　appliance　manufacturing　
operations　of　Mondragon；　the　giant　Spanish　industrial　cooperative＇。　'The　danger　to　
them　is　enormous。　They　don't　realize　how　fast　this　is　happening　。　。　。'　It's　not　the　
dream　of　riches　that　animates　the　people　of　Wroclaw　so　much　as　the　determination　to　
work　hard；　sacrifice　what　needs　to　be　sacrificed　and　change　what　needs　to　be　changed　
to　close　the　gap　with　the　West。　It　is　that　pride　and　determination；　says　Wroclaw's　
mayor；　Rafal　Dutkiewicz；　that　explain　why　they　are　such　a　threat　to　the　'leisure…time　
society'　on　the　other　side　of　the　curtain。〃　
I　heard　a　similar　refrain　in　a　discussion　with　consular　officials　who　oversee　the　
granting　of　visas　at　the　U。S。　embassy　in　Beijing。　As　one　of　them　put　it　to　me；　〃I　
do　think　Americans　are　oblivious　to　the　huge　changes。　Every　American　who　comes　over　
to　visit　me　＇in　China＇　is　just　blown　away　。　。　。　Your　average　kid　in　the　U。S。　is　growing　
up　in　a　wealthy　country　with　many　opportunities；　and　many　are　the　kids　of　advantaged　
educated　people　and　have　a　sense　of　entitlement。　Well；　the　hard　reality　for　that　kid　
is　that　fifteen　years　from　now　Wu　is　going　to　be　his　boss　and　Zhou　is　going　to　be　
the　doctor　in　town。　The　competition　is　coming；　and　many　of　the　kids　are　going　to　move　
into　their　twenties　clueless　about　these　rising　forces。〃　
When　I　asked　Bill　Gates　about　the　supposed　American　education　advantage…an　education　
that　stresses　creativity；　not　rote　learning…he　was　utterly　dismissive。　In　his　view；　
those　who　think　that　the　more　rote　learning　systems　of　China　and　Japan　can't　turn　
out　innovators　who　can　compete　with　Americans　are　sadly　mistaken。　Said　Gates；　〃I　have　
never　met　the　guy　who　doesn't　know　how　to　multiply　who　created　software　。　。　。　Who　
has　the　most　creative　video　games　in　the　world？　Japan！　I　never　met　
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these　'rote　people'。　。　。　Some　of　my　best　software　developers　are　Japanese。　You　need　
to　understand　things　in　order　to　invent　beyond　them。〃　


One　cannot　stress　enough：　Young　Chinese；　Indians；　and　Poles　are　not　racing　us　to　the　
bottom。　They　are　racing　us　to　the　top。　They　do　not　want　to　work　for　us；　they　don't　
even　want　to　be　us。　They　want　to　dominate　us…in　the　sense　that　they　want　to　be　creating　
the　companies　of　the　future　that　people　all　over　the　world　will　admire　and　clamor　
to　work　for。　They　are　in　no　way　content　with　where　they　have　come　so　far。　I　was　talking　
to　a　Chinese…American　who　works　for　Microsoft　and　has　accompanied　Bill　Gates　on　visits　
to　China。　He　said　Gates　is　recognized　everywhere　he　goes　in　China。　Young　people　there　
hang　from　the　rafters　and　scalp　tickets　just　to　hear　him　speak。　Same　with　Jerry　Yang；　
the　founder　of　Yahoo！　
In　China　today；　Bill　Gates　is　Britney　Spears。　In　America　today；　Britney　Spears　is　
Britney　Spears…and　that　is　our　problem。　
Dirty　Little　Secret　#3：　The　Education　Gap　
All　of　this　helps　to　explain　the　third　dirty　little　secret：　A　lot　of　the　jobs　that　
are　starting　to　go　abroad　today　are　very　high…end　research　jobs；　because　not　only　
is　the　talent　abroad　cheaper；　but　a　lot　of　it　is　as　educated　as　American　workers　
or　even　more　so。　In　China；　where　there　are　1。3　billion　people　and　the　universities　
are　just　starting　to　crack　the　top　ranks；　the　competition　for　top　spots　is　ferocious。　
The　math/science　salmon　that　swims　upstream　in　China　and　gets　itself　admitted　to　a　
top　Chinese　university　or　hired　by　a　foreign　company　is　one　smart　fish。　The　folks　
at　Microsoft　have　a　saying　about　their　research　center　in　Beijing；　which；　for　
scientists　and　engineers；　is　one　of　the　most　sought…after　places　to　work　in　all　of　
China。　〃Remember；　in　China　when　you　are　one　in　a　million…there　are　1；300　other　people　
just　like　you。〃　
The　brainpower　that　rises　to　the　Microsoft　research　center　in　Beijing　is　already　one　
in　a　million。　

Consider　the　annual　worldwide　IntelInternational　Science　and　Engineering　Fair。　About　
forty　countries　participate　by　nominating　talent　through　local　affiliate　affairs。　
In　2004；　the　Intel　Fair　attracted　around　sixty…five　thousand　American　kids；　according　
to　Intel。　How　about　in　China？　I　asked　Wee　Theng　Tan；　the　president　of　Intel　China；　
during　a　visit　to　Beijing。　In　China；　he　told　me；　there　is　a　national　affiliate　science　
fair；　which　acts　as　a　feeder　system　to　select　kids　for　the　global　Intel　fair。　〃Almost　
every　single　province　has　students　going　to　one　of　these　affiliate　fairs；〃　said　Tan。　
〃We　have　as　many　as　six　million　kids　competing；　although　not　all　are　competing　for　
the　top　levels　。　。　。　＇But＇　you　know　how　seriously　they　take　it。　Those　selected　to　
go　to　the　international　＇Intel＇　fair　are　immediately　exempted　from　college　entrance　
exams〃　and　basically　get　their　choice　of　any　top　university　in　China。　In　the　2004　
Intel　Science　Fair；　China　came　home　with　thirty…five　awards；　more　than　any　other　
country　in　Asia；　including　one　of　the　top　three　global　awards。　
Microsoft　has　three　research　centers　in　the　world：　in　Cambridge；　England；　in　Redmond；　
Washington；　its　headquarters；　and　in　Beijing。　Bill　Gates　told　me　that　within　just　
a　couple　of　years　of　its　opening　in　1998；　Microsoft　Research　Asia；　as　the　center　in　
Beijing　is　known；　had　become　the　most　productive　research　arm　in　the　Microsoft　system　
〃in　terms　of　the　quality　of　the　ideas　that　they　are　turning　out。　It　is　mind…blowing。〃　


Kai…Fu　Li　is　the　Microsoft　executive　who　was　assigned　by　Gates　to　open　the　Microsoft　
research　center　in　Beijing。　My　first　question　to　him　was；　〃How　did　you　go　about　
recruiting　the　staff？〃　Li　said　his　team　went　to　universities　all　over　China　and　simply　
administered　math；　IQ；　and　programming　tests　to　Ph。D。…level　students　or　scientists。　
〃In　the　first　year；　we　gave　about　2；000　tests　all　around；〃　he　said。　From　the　2；000；　
they　winnowed　the　group　down　to　400　with　more　tests；　then　150；　〃and　then　we　hired　
20。〃　They　were　given　two…year　contracts　and　told　that　at　the　end　of　two　years；　
depending　on　the　quality　of　their　work；　they　would　either　be　given　a　longer…term　
contract　or　granted　a　postdoctoral　degree　by　Microsoft　Research　Asia。　Yes；　you　read　
that　right。　The　Chinese　government　gave　Microsoft　the　right　to　grant　postdocs。　Of　
the　original　twenty　who　were　hired；　twelve　survived　the　cut。　The　next　year；　nearly　
four　thousand　people　were　tested。　After　that；　said　Li；　〃we　stopped　
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doing　the　test。　By　that　time　we　became　known　as　the　number　one　place　to　work；　where　
all　the　smart　computer　and　math　people　wanted　to　work　。　。　。　We　got　to　know　all　the　
students　and　professors。　The　professors　would　send　their　best　people　there；　knowing　
that　if　the　people　did　not　work　out；　it　would　be　their　credibility　＇on　the　line＇。　
Now　we　have　the　top　professors　at　the　top　schools　recommending　their　top　students。　
A　lot　of　students　want　to　go　to　Stanford　or　MIT；　but　they　want　to　spend　two　years　
at　Microsoft　first；　as　interns；　so　they　can　get　a　nice　recommendation　letter　that　
says　these　are　MIT　quality。〃　Today　Microsoft　has　more　than　two　hundred　researchers　
in　its　China　lab　and　some　four　hundred　students　who　come　in　and　out　on　projects　and　
become　recruiting　material　for　Microsoft。　
〃They　view　this　as　a　once…in…a…lifetime　income　opportunity/'　said　Li　of　the　team　at　
Microsoft　Research　Asia。　〃They　saw　their　parents　going　through　the　Cultural　
Revolution。　The　best　they　could　do　was　become　a　professor；　do　a　little　project　on　
the　side　because　a　professor's　pay　is　horrible；　and　maybe　get　one　paper　published。　
Now　they　have　this　place　where　all　they　do　is　research；　with　great　computers　and　lots　
of　resources。　They　have　administrators…we　hire　people　to　do　the　dirty　work。　They　just　
could　not　believe　it。　They　voluntarily　work　fifteen　to　eighteen　hours　a　day　and　come　
in　on　weekends。　They　work　through　holidays；　be