One of the main themes of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) is indigenous
innovation. Many have pointed out that so far, the main reason underlying
China's continued rapid growth has been the increased application of factors of
production. We invest more capital and use cheap and industrious labour, and
therefore we have more output. The end result is that although we break our
backs, pollute our environment and use up our precious natural resources, we
only earn a penny by being the world's biggest OEM (original equipment
manufacturer).
Not only is this unfair, it is also unsustainable. This is not efficient, and
we do not enjoy limitless supplies of capital or labour. We have to add more
value to our products and services by migrating from OEM to ODM (original design
manufacturer) and OBM (original brand manufacturer). Indigenous innovation is
the logical way forward.
But it would be illogical to expect the country to achieve this objective in
five years. It is easy to boost the number of patents in the space of a few
years. But it will take one or two generations to shift from the present
situation to a society conducive to creativity and innovation, and then to
economic results in terms of dollars and cents. This work will take several
five-year plans.
It is vital for us to take a longer view and be patient, because Chinese
culture generally curbs creativity and innovation. In our society, official
authority is never to be challenged. Starting from kindergarten, children are
trained to follow the rules. Our education system is based on rote learning.
Even in our postgraduate studies, the teacher is always right. Admittedly we
have changed. Yes, quite a lot in many areas. But let's face it, we are still a
conformist society.
Look at Japan, which is also a conformist society. It displays great
creativity in animation and other art forms, but apart from those, the only
other major innovation it can claim is perhaps the Walkman. However, the number
of patents it owns is one of the highest, and it has many global brands such as
Sony and Toyota. If this is the model we want to emulate, we will arrive there
in a relatively short period, and without needing to do much soul-searching. But
in that case, we might have to forget about Silicon Valley, information
technology and many other major breakthroughs.
Some suggest that these have to come from a highly individualistic society
like the United States. I do not agree. According to Professor Robert Temple,
visiting professor of the history and philosophy of science at Tsinghua
University, over the past 3,000 years, Chinese inventions were on the average
1,223 years ahead of the West. This can prove once and for all that creativity
and innovation have nothing to do with individualism, and that China is capable
of inventing things well in advance of others. China does not have to pursue the
adversarial and expansionist strategy typical of an individualistic society.
Creativity and innovation only thrive in an atmosphere where a certain degree
of social deviation is tolerated. If we look closer at our traditional culture,
apart from the Confucian orthodoxy championed by officialdom, there have been
many thriving sub-cultures such as Taoism and Buddhism. And, most of the time,
there was plenty of room for the somewhat eccentric in traditional Chinese
society. Even the merchant class, which had never been accorded much of a social
status in the old days, found ample space for their experimentation. China
operated a very modern banking system as early as Song Dynasty 1,000 years ago.
This is because our traditional culture was a highly inclusive and tolerant
one. Sad to say, we cannot say the same about our current society. We have
recently become curious, sniffing around for new things, trying them and
discarding those we do not like. But inclusiveness and tolerance is "to let a
hundred flowers bloom," and let the course of events decide whether they are
"fragrant flowers" or "deadly weeds."
To many people, this sounds much too adventurous and far too risky. Listen to
the great Deng Xiaoping's observation: only through practice can we tell what is
the truth. Like reform, creativity and innovation are journeys into the unknown.
If we are frightened of taking risks, there will be no reform and no innovation.
As a consequence, we are artificially limiting the scope of our search, and
foreclosing many future alternatives.
Science and technology may appear innocent, but never underestimate its
subversive nature. Without the invention of the steam engine, the West may still
be in its Dark Age. If not for the improvement of medical science, we would
never have our current population problem. At a philosophical level, human
development may not necessarily be a good thing either. Just look at the mess we
have made of our environment. But once we have adopted the developmental path,
and innovation as our means, inclusiveness and tolerance are the bullets we will
have to bite. This is quite unsettling for a lot of people, but it is perhaps
the only way to go.
Start with our children. Teach them that getting into university is not the
only objective of studying, and that rote learning is not the only way to study.
Give them the ability to think critically, and let them challenge the
authorities. Tolerate those who think and act somewhat differently from most of
us, and leave them alone to do their own things. Let our children know that
making money is not the be-all and end-all.
And even for the holy cow of development, we will have to allow more liberty
for introspection. As we know by now, there are alternative paths to
development, and like it or not, China is not in the mainstream. We are
eccentric to many outsiders, and we will also have to convince them to take a
more inclusive and tolerant attitude.
The author is a member of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference from Hong Kong.
(China Daily 06/06/2006 page4)