Zhang Lei and Yale vs. the Nationalists
Here comes the latest ridiculous nationalism story. Yesterday it was the overheated rhetoric over the Philippines hostage situation, and today I’d like to point your attention to the “outrage” over Zhang Lei’s 8 million plus donation to his alma mater, Yale University.
A Chinese graduate’s record-setting $8,888,888 donation to his school at Yale University has stirred wide debate at home. While some say it’s up to Zhang Lei to do as he likes, others question why he didn’t donate to his alma mater in Beijing.
Opinions at home have been split in online forums since the story broke a few days ago. On pinggu.org, a forum run by Renmin University of China where Zhang was enrolled as a student of International Finance in 1989, netizens including alumni of the university have taken sides.
Some asked why Zhang, who graduated from Yale less than 10 years ago, chose an overseas institution rather than his Chinese university for the donation. But a larger group of online users voiced support for Zhang’s move and said there is still room for improvement regarding management of universities in China.
Those of you familiar with China’s online forums and the regular squawking from aggressive nationalists (a.k.a. fenqing ??) understand the dynamic here. Is there any thinking behind this or are we looking at a senseless nationalist discussion?
I fail to see any logic here. What are the possible arguments that one could make for favoring a donation to Renda instead of Yale?
1. Zhang benefited more from his Renda study than his Yale education. Pretty tough argument to make. He basically studied finance at each institution and is working in that field. One assumes that he was taught useful information at each school that have allowed him to become successful. I’m sure that the Renda students would argue that their school is much better than Yale, and therefore more deserving of the cash, but I haven’t actually seen anyone try to make that case.
2. Zhang was given a practical head start into the field of finance at Renda. I haven’t seen any evidence that his Renda experience launched him into business. However, I have seen discussion of his time at Yale, and at the Yale Investment Office, that suggests his time there tied directly into his later success at Hillhouse Capital Management (rumor has it that he received some investment from Yale or folks there as well, although I’m not sure about the accuracy of those statements).
3. Renda needs the money more than Yale University. That would be a complicated argument. Yale is of course fabulously wealthy, but it is after all a private university. Renda, in addition to being one of the best schools in China with a rich alumni network, has the backing of the Chinese government. Seems like a toss-up to me.
Regardless, you don’t hear most people argue need when discussing alumni donations. If that was the case, Americans who graduated from public schools would all be stuck sending half their paychecks to their Middle and High Schools, which apparently ran out of money sometime in the 1990s.
4. Zhang is Chinese and should therefore give his money to a Chinese institution. I suspect this is the focus of much of the online statements, whether stated or not. Straightforward nationalism that really doesn’t seem to take into account the reality of overseas students and globalization. Then again, who ever said ardent nationalists were based in reality?
To be honest, not only do I dislike aggressive nationalists, I’m not much for charitable giving to schools I’ve attended. This probably has something to do with the approximately US $175,000 I paid to these schools over the years in fees — seems to me like they already got enough out of me. So maybe I’m biased.
That being said, Zhang Lei’s donation sounds like a very positive one. Among the programs that the money will be used for include Sino-US exchange programs. Tough to criticize that sort of thing, even if you’re a dyed-in-the-wool nationalist.
5. If he’d given the money to Renda, how much would have seen its way to funding worthwhile projects? Seriously.
I think that would be an argument for the other side (call it #1 on the pro-Yale list), but your point is well taken. Some of the push back against the nationalist position online has indeed been that Chinese universities are not exactly organized well enough to take in and spend donations wisely.
At least in one Chinese university, USD10 mil had bought the donortwo huge libraries, a skyscraper, or a school of management. I doubt that USD 8.8 mil can do this much in Yale. So I don’t buy this blanket claim that “Chinese universities are not exactly organized well enough to take in and spend donations wisely”. It really depends on which university you’re talking about, and how hard it rallies to elicit donations. Renda and many other big Chinese universities apparently need to learn from Jiaoda in this aspect.
It also depends on the major donors how well the donations are managed. I heard at least one guy, ??? or Run Run Shaw, leveraged his donations heavily. To get his money, the universities have to match at least the same amount, therefore even counting in the rip offs, his money still goes pretty far.
So if you’re going to give to a Chinese university, the rule is to give conditionally. Sounds reasonable.
It depends. Shaw donates smaller amounts (~ HK$ 1 mil each) to large number of universities (total ~ 5000 projects). I guess it’s too hard to micromanage each one so he required matching. For large donations like the three I mentioned, most universities wouldn’t be able to match. For smaller amount like $1000, the universities can’t be bothered to match. But the terms and conditions can always be negotiated.
That, of course, means you can talk to someone who elicit donations from you in the first place. Chinese universities don’t track their alumni as closely as their US counterparts.
Bingo.
maybe he wanted attention and for articles to be written about it. I mean that number isn’t really subtle…
The number is pretty standard stuff. Did he want publicity? Most people do . . .
I have ties to both institutions…I attended Yale 1970′s majoring in East Asian Studies with a concentration in Chinese history, and several of my family members either attended or taught at Renda, so of course I feel justified in offering an opinion on this topic! Obviously, both institutions are leading lights in their respective academic galaxies, both are wealthy and well-supported, and we don’t know what Zhang’s bottom line motivation in giving to Yale was. I would like to think that part of it was NOT just what Yale has done for him personally,but included some element of recognition and perhaps gratitude for what Yale has contributed to ties between the US and China, teaching and research about China, education in China as well as education of Chinese nationals. The latter 2 activities started even before Renda was established, and continues today. Ties to the PRC were re-established very shortly after normalization, and I would imagine that the number of Chinese students that have passed through Yale since normalization, and the number that received some form of financial aid while at Yale is a great big number. If even a part of Zhang’s donation goes to China-related activities, or helps free up other funds to give more financial aid to Chinese students, perhaps his donation is an expression of his strong feeling for both countries.
What Zhang does with his cash is completely up to Zhang and nobody else whatsoever. If he wanted to set fire to it (assuming that it’s not illegal to burn cash) to roast some marshmallows, well, good luck, who cares!? Apparently lots of people care, which, especially in China, (I would say, unfortunately) does not surprise me in the least.
Of course one should really ask Zhang about motive (or not, since who cares), but I think Jeanne makes a fair point that might come closest to what might have moved Zhang, though I don’t know him and my ESP sucks.
But Stuart makes a (again, unfortunately) very good point. Not that I have big lots of cash to hand out to deserving causes (actually having something to eat next month is higher on my to-do list), but speaking from experience, I’m with Zhang on this. In the absence of cash, all I have (had) to give is time, which is not cheap. Having visited all kinds of educational institutions in lots of places around the world, my preference goes out to those places where you can feel the ‘buzz of pursuit of knowledge’, if you know what I mean.
For example, where you end up missing your next appointment because you got so caught up in a random discussion about quantum-reality, macro-economics, adaptive filters or the best way to cook fish, that you totally forgot about time. Sparkles in kids’ eyes. McGyver-style experiments blowing-out the chemistry lab’s windows, whatever…
I’ve yet to find anything of the sort here in China(-run institutions). Instead, I mostly see apathy all-around, with the possible exception of the Dean or Prof who I’m meeting with, who talks excitedly about how many hectares their campus and buildings have, how much cash was funneled through annually, and wouldn’t my apparent surplus cash not be much happier in the company of his (mostly his, one or two her) department’s/university’s pile, rather than whithering away so-lonely in my wallet.
So, what little I have to give goes to where I think it will do the most good, not just where it is most needed/wanted. But that’s just IMHO, and I’m still eagerly hoping to be proven wrong….