Wow! If that didn't open my eyes about social media and the world I'm not sure what will. Yang Lan only tries to find the truth weather good or bad. Her ambition and individuality is impeccable. She is an amazing women! ^^
Would love to see more talks such as this, here in the West we want to learn more about China, it's people and the way they view the changing world. Great video! Pls more! :-)
That is the reason I am writing a book about contemporary China and in one of the chapters I talk specifically about Chinet - Chinese Internet, which is a very unique phenomena in the world.
Changing for the worse--- extremely "dragged out" MURDERS where Police are mystified by finding a guy murdered inside a locked room. The witch riding on a red broom has blood on her skirts, screams out "I'VE DONE NOTHING!" Jeremiah 5:12, Isaiah 5:18-21, Amos 5: 18-20 and Psalm 82 all suggest that the witch disguises herself as a blonde-haired male pretending to be a "savior". Take care, China --- avoid the EVIL and UNMASK IT WHEREVER IT EXISTS. The n the poor will once again be able to rejoice instead of "groan" [ Psalm 9:15-20* ]. Establish what the future demands!
The lecture is so great, even 7 years passed by. Some problems and phenomenon still exist nowadays. She gave a powerful presentation to introduce China on the international stage.Hope more people can understand China and Chineses better.
This lady is amazing. A wonderful role model. I have met several women who graduated college in China in the period of the late 1980s and very early 1990s and i find them incredibly talented and super smart. One had three PhDs --- economics, physics and IT --- and yet is one of the most humble people I have ever met and a real pleasure to work with.
Having to take care of 4 grandparents with limited income, these youngsters are taking responsibilities unmatched by other countries particularly from the West.
It’s good for us here in the United States to learn about how the Chinese are doing. It’s also sad to hear that so many people are living in poverty. Thank you for sharing.
@cl22333 As a Chinese with two accents, one American, I have no problem with her. You don't like her opinion? or her accent? What's important is the content and implications of what she's presenting.
Thank you, YANG Lan & Susan BOYD !!! My Sincerest Congratulations to You !!! Paris, Fr( 27 Oct. 2020)!!! You are right! Not only Beauty Count , in life !!! Columbia U !!!! Great !!!!!!
@ParkerLaugh You're right, I apologise. I chose the wrong word; instead of stereotype I meant myth. According to wikipedia it says "dog meat is consumed in a variety of countries such as Switzerland, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Korea." So I suppose it's neither myth nor stereotype. Thanks for the correction. :)
I wonder have you ever been to China? How dare you made such an ridiculous conclusion? As a young Chinese, I am proud of being Chinese and my country's great-than-ever changes in the past years astonished the whole world. My homeland does have a lot of problems, but no one can deny that it has improved so much and will continue to go ahead. If you call that "brainwashed", keep on dreaming, then. But I suggest you stop looking at China in that old fasioned biased way. Thank you.
There is no one country withour any problems.I am a chinese yongpeople .I love my mothercountry no matter who become the governor.As chinese people specially those chinese people in the oversea,wo should respect and protect our country's fame.If you are a foreigner,please do not blindly blam my morthercountry.Our chinese people are able to solve ourselves' country's problem.
This woman speaks English SO well. As an American trying to learn Chinese, I hope I can attain the same proficiency in Chinese that she has accomplished in English!
Also, maybe she should also mention that all the social media, Facebook ,twitter, etc. are banned in mainland and the "micro blog" has become one of the way for suppressed people to voice their opinion and of course "let the steam out", beautiful.
Lots of recent social issues that every Chinese should have heard of were mentioned in her speech, but it;s hard to understand for foreigners. In general, her major point is that china has made great progress in the past few decades and will be better in the future.
@TheBlackmentos94 她说的很好！Although I have only been learning Chinese for like 4 or 5 months I think I am begging to see the points she is saying. It is quite striking the different problems our young generations face from east to west.
her english is top notch in china, and in the word. But be that as it may, you can see the language differences between chinese and english. Her sentence structuring and lack of transitional words like "of, as, for", etc. is very interesting.
I live in shanghai, and have lived in china for over 8 years, can speak, read and write Chinese. I'm so happy to hear what she says, and feel so much hope, the hope I have when i communicate to my young Chinese friends, with their frustrations and expectations... their will power too!
I don't understand why someone easily came to the judgement that this would be blocked in China. The fact is this video is being widely viewed by users in RenRen, majorly the college students in China.
@Victorliu17 I can fully appreciate the difference between criticism and humiliation. Everything you've written seems to come from an entirely western perspective. And with so much negativity in Western media on China, its nice to hear a different perspective from someone that influenced positive change. To progress, you need good and bad criticism. The fact that you only focus on the bad means that you're putting down Chinese people.
You know, in China is an example of classical beauty, dignity, professionalism and elegance. I like her very much and you can't help not to be influenced by her charisma.
This hating on China really is just ridiculous. Agreed with the person who said if you're really interested in China, go to China to really experience it. Most people I've talked to who view China negatively often have inaccurate information or were just too quick to judge... I'm surprised Yang Lan's English is so good, I like her.
It is my personal observation In the West it's all about Me the Individual But in the East it's more about Us the Society or Community at large over Me the Individual ! There is no right or wrong but appreciate this Difference !
tbh, I don't think the younger generation of China could really change much. They are all not really open-minded, bounded by overly rigid traditions, care much but do too little and just whine the whole time. But I believe they are there because they are the first to see a change in ideals. Though they may not change anything, I believe they're gonna change the mindset of Chinese, and I think this is the first step towards true change. It's gonna be slow and treacherous, but at least it began.
She speaks a lot, yet can't really tell what is the main content of her speech. She covers s lot of topic yet no answer was provide and not enough information was given. But I will admit that her English is quite good.
I've never liked her that much (I'm a Chinese American), but I think she does speak many facts, although none of what she speaks of are shocking or even new. The whole Chinese population has been heavily burdened and exploited for too long both by their own and others. Yet I would agree that the next generation gives me the most hope. On the other hand, I wish the authorities evolves to be less arrogant and stupid over time, maybe even learn to listen to the people.
Even though I'm not a Chinese or a pro-Chinese or whatsoever, I feel sad when reading comments that people here thought that this might Chinese propaganda or some sort of brain washing video that waste your time. I see this video as another option of perspectives on how we understand China. In many mainstream Western media, China's image isn't the best you can perceive. But that's solely based mostly on the mainstream Western or Western influenced media. Yes there are many true negative issues that have been pointed out by those medias or even sides that cannot accept China as a positive existence. Despite that, I think it is important to acknowledge the diversity of perception especially with one that was delivered by Yan Lan (China in Chinese Perspective) in this Ted Talk so people won't be too arrogant over their own ideas and much more open minded.
On the contrary! To be honest, I am very surprised that she talks so openly that young people's outrage on social media and migrant workers have that much pressure. Talking about Gun Meimei and suicides does not give good impression of modern China and I didn't expect her to talk about it. I myself will not cover any over sensitive topics in my book about China, but would like to show the country from different angles in order to change the perception of it in the West and in the Middle East.
Although she laid out a lot of problems the current chinese society is facing, actually those problems are mainly caused by chinese government themselves.(especially untrust against the govenment, and workers at foxcon committing suicide because of bad labor conditions). But she gives no explanation how to overcome those problems. The cold stone fact is this: there isn't a proper way for the people to be heard in china, and weibo is just the reflection of that. Not a solution.(and even weibo is severely censored so that political outbreaks don't get startled.)
I love this talk, while there is nothing really "new" about it but it summed up everything in one session. and man! i love her accent sometimes my parents' chinese accent embarrasses me....
So many Chinese people here in the comment, using their so called wisdom start with "as a Chinese" then insult China. It is really frustrating to read, please stop.
Interesting conversation. There a couple of parts that conflict with the TED conversation about the great Firewall, namely the part that implies that microbloggers have even the remote ability to cause social unrest but nice to hear nonetheless :)
@cl22333 Yes, I understand, I've got many friends who feel the same way. We can't predict the future accurately so hopefully things like that will change with China's younger generations taking charge.
TED is providing an equal platform for different voices and opinions (not what you believe is right or wrong) in order to show us the whole picture of issues instead of one particular aspect of them. I find it is hard to believe a good listener will instantly get brainwashed by simply watching a 17 minutes video clip...
Damn, I grew up in Canada speaking North Americanized Queen's English, yet, her's is still much more elegant than mine. I'm devastated. Lol, I'm going to join toastmasters.
may i know why you think that way? while i sort of admire her confidence on stage, somehow i find something lacking ... Hence, I am interested to know what you are thinking. I'm now listening it the second time to find out the answer ... Will share with you.
@Victorliu17 I know you're not from China, cos I visited your channel and it says you're from the UK. Also just because she's not addressed the problems in China doesn't mean she or the Chinese people aren't aware of them. In fact there are no shortage of people raising concerns, but how many of these people have genuine solutions? Talk is easy but doing it is harder.
Chinese language tend to drop all the unnecessary components that does not contribute to the expression. So one of the biggest challenges for foreigners learning Chinese is dropping almost everything.
@Victorliu17 Also having effective solutions to overcome some of the problems China faces is not as easy as you have put it. For example, how do you propose to solve problems such environmental degradation, economic disparity, social freedom etc? Most of these issues are interconnected, which means any decisions affecting one of these areas will likely affect others as well. So how do you solve one problem, without creating more problems?
This talk is very misleading. The fact is that abject poverty is a HUGE problem in China (both rural and urban). Some farmers are beginning to quote Mao with approval, calling for the "iron rice bowl" of past days. Of course, the nostalgia is born of desperation and forgetfulness of the cultural revolution. Also, whatever she said notwithstanding, illiteracy and lack of access to education is a serious problem (especially for the children of the migrants she mentions), and the burden of expense falls mostly on the families and not the state. There is also a digital divide which separates so many young Chinese people from the netizens she discusses. Further, since this talk, China has cancelled one of the TV shows she mentioned (along with several others) and tries to control the flow of information online. The CCP tends to conceal its real motives by claiming the need to keep Chinese culture from excessive "Westernization" and "immorality." The authorities are probably less worried about hip hop and western influenced fashion then they are afraid of criticism of the system and exposure of extreme corruption and abusive labor practices et al. When the kids of today become the leaders of tomorrow, it is at least possible that they will make meaningful reforms and changes. But that's just speculation at this point.
I think your response is incomplete, even it‘s wrong！I come from Japan, now living in China.Illiteracy is almost gone, the national compulsory education, but a handful of the western mountains will have dilapidated schools, after all, very few, most will accept completed university education, it will lead to oversupply of college students.Fear hippop and Western culture is not possible, many Chinese young people love the hippop and Western culture, the government just wanted to 5,000 years of Chinese culture better retention continues, because civilization can not be a single large, because that is another blend and China but its essence to its dregs.Tell you a good news, China has launched anti-corrosion and legislative action, let the law punish corrupt officials.Some say it is one of the worst times, but most people think it is the best of times. Light, China will no longer be dark!
何宙展 I appreciate your optimism, but this video glosses over huge problems and challenges in China today. Compulsory education in China only extends to middle school (14-15 year olds). Only 23% of students were enrolled in High School in 2010, as opposed to 96% in US. Further, the HuKou registration system for migrants affects their children's access to state education, forcing them to turn to dubious private settings, or to be left behind in the countryside by their parents. 140 million migrants are now in cities, but not registered there, thus their children are not entitled to public education in the cities (e.g. Beijing, where over 1/3 of these children live). Yes the Party/State is aware of the problem, but they have not solved it yet. Again, compulsory education gives very limited life chances to students without High School and higher education. Those who have reaped the benefit of the "four modernizations" are usually those who have access to higher education. So, income inequality has increased even though the GDP has increased. That is, lots of Chinese people who are poor and more or less uneducated are left behind. Then there are those who are over 40 (a growing majority due to the one child policy)--many of them grew up in the Mao era when education meant something very different from what it means today! Putting it simply, As far as hip hp and punk rock, yes we agree. The government doesn't care much about that stuff. What I said is that they use terms like "immorality" and "Western influence" to control the flow of POLITICAL information (which is getting more and more difficult to do). Playing punk rock or hip hop does not threaten the CCP the way political activists do. For example, all references to Tian'anmen Square or the date of June 4 are policed. In advance of the 25th anniversary of those tragic events there has been a spike in roundups, disappeared dissidents, imprisonments etc. Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years in prison for circulating a petition calling for democracy. Countless others who have called for democracy, or even protested forced abortions that resulted from the One Child policy have been jailed, and reportedly tortured in brutal circumstances. (see Amnesty International, Chinese Human Rights Defenders/CHRD, et al. So western fashions in music and hairstyles may be tolerated, but not the ideas of liberty behind them. I hope political circumstances and the problem of economic inequality will be addressed in the near future. But at this time, these problems remain and anyone who learns about modern China via videos like this one just won't hear the bad news. I don't deny the economic "miracle" of the Chinese economy in recent decades. I merely state that it has also created an increase in income and wealth disparity.
You are more objective, China is still a developing country, there are many social conflicts need to be resolved, the development of society always step by step, it is impossible to reach a successful step, I hope China will become better and better, and the world will be more beautiful.
silverskid wealth disparity is bad yes, but the initial goal since the economic reform was to lift people out of extreme poverty, in that sense China has been unprecedentedly successful. China is still a developing country hence why all the problems you outlined was true and still hoovering. i'd had to disagree with your assessment by saying this presenter is misleading; its important to understand where she's heading with her presentation, and the context of the presentation - that it was about the characteristic of the young generation of Chinese and speculate as to how might they change China in the future. *Not the current problems China is facing*. Because of that she didn't elaborate those problems you mentioned as that wasn't the point of her presentation. other than this small disagreement i appreciate your objective assessment on China's circumstances, and i agree with them
@hanluy1215 Realy, just because you are a young Chinese the total opposite is reality. The importance of education is immense, mastering english is just one of them. I'm from Australia but now live in U.S. my parents are MalayChinese. When strangers frist here me speak they are always surprised.
@bweazel She talks about everything from a social perspective, even when talking about inequality, the cost of living and entrepreneurship from returning migrant workers. Naturally the economic perspective is important, and the cause for most of what she speaks of, but it falls in the background of the picture she is portraying. We know a lot about why China is doing so well, yet little (at least in my case) of the profound social changes it is suffering in this "social remaking".
she is not congress member .....she is one of the representer of chinese people , there is a big difference between those two things...btw,...i dont really think china has congress just like america, totally different .....check politic science first...
Please, let someone like Ai Weiwei do the talk (if he can). The information barrier is pretty huge for you Westerners to get to know the real situation in China. If you don't read Chinese, all your information is second-handed. So please be careful with who you're listening to. Mrs Yang has a *real* good relationship with the Chinese government media.
@renzhengshu Of course, Mr or Ms 50 cent. I have no time wasting for 50 cent. If somebody want to know what's 50 cent party, please look up the item 50 Cent Party on Wikipedia.
@TheBlackmentos94 I can freely access Internet ten years ago, but now I have to use breach tools to access sites such as UA-cam. So I can hardly listen to Yang's lecture with glads.
@cl22333 Ok...I see what you mean, yes it's true but it's unfortunately a part of the urbanization and modernization of China's vast landscape. I think Yang is trying hard to focus on the positive things going on the hope for a 'better' china. That's what i see in all if not most of the TED speeches, they focus on becoming better and not dwelling or discussing the depth of the negative things. It's good you pointed that out but I believe this is is more on hope and not the problems.
exactly! she didn't get a full picture of China... it seems to be that people on the internet has the same political pursuit however it is not like that... let alone the people don't have access to it...
@yibutterfly
我觉得在中国文化越来越改变了。现在到多数中国人在英国或者欧洲是学生。 他们是很聪明礼貌的人。。但是我还没去中国，我还没认识普通的中国人。 那么我的看法没有意思。。所以这年我会去中国工作。这个方式，最好的了解中国的文化。
七年过去了？你来中国了吗？现在的中国比七年前的中国更加强大，更加努力，更加富裕，也更加热爱和平！
welcome!
@@忧伤-k1s 哈哈， 七年已经过去啊！ 没错， 我去过几次， 第一次在2012年， 我每年去中国至少两次。 我很幸运，想你所说看到中国巨大的变化。
@@McMurchie your chinese is so nice
Wow! If that didn't open my eyes about social media and the world I'm not sure what will. Yang Lan only tries to find the truth weather good or bad. Her ambition and individuality is impeccable. She is an amazing women! ^^
Would love to see more talks such as this, here in the West we want to learn more about China, it's people and the way they view the changing world. Great video! Pls more! :-)
That is the reason I am writing a book about contemporary China and in one of the chapters I talk specifically about Chinet - Chinese Internet, which is a very unique phenomena in the world.
Changing for the worse--- extremely "dragged out" MURDERS where Police are mystified by finding a guy murdered
inside a locked room. The witch riding on a red broom has blood on her skirts, screams out "I'VE DONE NOTHING!"
Jeremiah 5:12, Isaiah 5:18-21, Amos 5: 18-20 and Psalm 82 all suggest that the witch disguises herself as a blonde-haired male pretending to be a "savior". Take care, China --- avoid the EVIL and UNMASK IT WHEREVER IT EXISTS. The n the poor will once again be able to rejoice instead of "groan" [ Psalm 9:15-20* ]. Establish what the future demands!
@Captive Exile
Still trying to spread the gospel or what?.... this is totally unrelated...
I agree with most of what she has said. It is a pretty good presentation about China.
China is really "BIG BROTHER" & "BRAVE NEW WORLDS" --- on steroids.
The lecture is so great, even 7 years passed by. Some problems and phenomenon still exist nowadays. She gave a powerful presentation to introduce China on the international stage.Hope more people can understand China and Chineses better.
certain thing is that she is beautiful....
Her accent sounds great and much better than most native english speakers. I think the elegant temperament makes her voice so charming.
I like that she balanced the positive things happening in China with the negative ones.
This lady is amazing. A wonderful role model. I have met several women who graduated college in China in the period of the late 1980s and very early 1990s and i find them incredibly talented and super smart. One had three PhDs --- economics, physics and IT --- and yet is one of the most humble people I have ever met and a real pleasure to work with.
Having to take care of 4 grandparents with limited income, these youngsters are taking responsibilities unmatched by other countries particularly from the West.
It’s good for us here in the United States to learn about how the Chinese are doing. It’s also sad to hear that so many people are living in poverty. Thank you for sharing.
Excellent...thanks 杨澜.
@cl22333 As a Chinese with two accents, one American, I have no problem with her. You don't like her opinion? or her accent? What's important is the content and implications of what she's presenting.
Young people with ambitions are transforming the world while dull people are still arguing.
no wonder their youth sees a bright future ahead. i hope the trend continues up for them
For any of the Chinese reading this: I live in Australia, and you guys have my support! Keep it up!!!
This lady is just amazing. Excellent communicator in both languages.
Man, her accent is a real mix. You can hear the London, the Scotland, the Chinese and American in there.
fantastic talk, taught me something important about the current culture of china
Loving you, Yang Lan. You are the voice of China.
I am so proud of you Yang Lan, you represent the young, enthusiastic, educated Chinese women in this generation.
以中文母語者來說, 英文已經是所向無敵了!!
Yan Saturn 杨澜毕业于北京外国语大学，获英美语言文学学士学位
你怕是没听说过钱钟书和林语堂两位大佬。杨澜的水平我几年前就达到了。
她在国外讲，所以自然用英语。我听她说英语那么流利大吃一惊了 - 真没想到她的硬那么好。
她的口音还是挺明显的，不标准的英音美音混着讲
@@obitopro5769 不要b臉
Good list of facts, but lack of clarity on the point.
我觉得世界对中国的误解的消解还需要一个很长的过程。虽然我们有杨澜女士这样的，希望把中国的美好一面展现给世界的新一代中国人，但中国被世界理解还需要一个很长得过程。
确实不得不说，文化差异造成了世界对中国有意的或是无意的误解，但同时，我们是否应该自己努力克服或者消弭文化差异的隔阂让世界更好地了解中国呢？杨朗女士无疑给出了一个很好的答案。
有些事情我们认为是理所应当的，却就是得不到外国人的认可或是理解，例如独生子，例如晚辈孝敬长辈，抑或是城乡统筹协调发展：一些外国人对于此事的理解，完全基于一些我们眼中的，他们对于我们的偏见，却忽视了其实在他们的文化中，他们这种理解的合理性。
我感到一种深深的使命感和责任感，世界需要更好地了解我们，我们也需要在了解世界的基础上，推动自己被世界的了解。任何的理解都是相互的，彼此信任、理解与支持，才能促进各方的和平、和解与合作。
中国处在如今高速发展的时期，不能再忽视文化的传播和发展了，不能再无视理解的重要性了。希望有更多的人，可以把真实的中国展现给世界，而不是，更多的外国人，接受更多的偏见指导下的世界对中国的“理解”。
张翔宇 中国也要理解国外才能进取
过去的15年我一直接触中国人，在中国读过书，做过生意，叫了不少中国朋友。最后两年住在中东。这里的环境很国际化，大家听说过中国的成功，觉得所有的中国都很有钱，也有其他的对中国的偏见。我现在正在写一本书关于中国，因为我想更多外国人，来自四面八方能偶更好了解现代中国，看得到它的各个方面，下一些功夫通过文学，电影，艺术更深刻了解现代中国人的思维和愿望。
Wow! 非常精彩的演讲！
Proud that China has talents like Yang Lan
作为在国内受教然后有过留洋经历的人，杨澜的英文已经非常厉害了。她知道怎样用西方人喜欢和容易接受的方式介绍中国和中国发生的事情，从这一点上来说，她的确是个成功的媒体人。
it's very rare to find people like her in China. she can connect with me.
Thank you, YANG Lan & Susan BOYD !!! My Sincerest Congratulations to You !!! Paris, Fr( 27 Oct. 2020)!!! You are right! Not only Beauty Count , in life !!! Columbia U !!!! Great !!!!!!
@ParkerLaugh You're right, I apologise. I chose the wrong word; instead of stereotype I meant myth. According to wikipedia it says "dog meat is consumed in a variety of countries such as Switzerland, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Korea." So I suppose it's neither myth nor stereotype. Thanks for the correction. :)
Yang Lan is quite popular in China.
Glad to see China keeps advancing herself. Now is 2019 and it seems China is getting stronger and China must be on the correct track of progress.
I wonder have you ever been to China? How dare you made such an ridiculous conclusion?
As a young Chinese, I am proud of being Chinese and my country's great-than-ever changes in the past years astonished the whole world.
My homeland does have a lot of problems, but no one can deny that it has improved so much and will continue to go ahead.
If you call that "brainwashed", keep on dreaming, then.
But I suggest you stop looking at China in that old fasioned biased way. Thank you.
There is no one country withour any problems.I am a chinese yongpeople .I love my mothercountry no matter who become the governor.As chinese people specially those chinese people in the oversea,wo should respect and protect our country's fame.If you are a foreigner,please do not blindly blam my morthercountry.Our chinese people are able to solve ourselves' country's problem.
This woman speaks English SO well. As an American trying to learn Chinese, I hope I can attain the same proficiency in Chinese that she has accomplished in English!
one of the best speeches from Yang Lan！
I agree. She has a beautiful voice!
Graceful woman! I like her accent.
Very moderate and good wished even though we know no pain no gain. It needs time and real provoking thinking from the past to near future...
没想到她的英文那么好
indeed :))))
我也是！
@gaiagale He's been freed, but the government is watching him closely and he refused to talk about the issue fearing that his family will be harmed.
shes fantastic to tell the world what exactly our country is.
Yang Lan is inspirational
Also, maybe she should also mention that all the social media, Facebook ,twitter, etc. are banned in mainland and the "micro blog" has become one of the way for suppressed people to voice their opinion and of course "let the steam out", beautiful.
Lots of recent social issues that every Chinese should have heard of were mentioned in her speech, but it;s hard to understand for foreigners. In general, her major point is that china has made great progress in the past few decades and will be better in the future.
"and my weekly audience was about 200 to 300 million people." She said this like it was a normal thing.
As a chinese, i feel a bit uncomfortable watching her facial expression, cuz i can see her trying to be funny.
Zhongshan Shi
Stupid comments! Are you for real looking for her facial expression?
@TheBlackmentos94 她说的很好！Although I have only been learning Chinese for like 4 or 5 months I think I am begging to see the points she is saying. It is quite striking the different problems our young generations face from east to west.
her english is top notch in china, and in the word. But be that as it may, you can see the language differences between chinese and english. Her sentence structuring and lack of transitional words like "of, as, for", etc. is very interesting.
How about now? 2021
2023 🙂
@jASTDK i think the talk is pretty informative, at least i got more information about china that i didnt know before
I live in shanghai, and have lived in china for over 8 years, can speak, read and write Chinese. I'm so happy to hear what she says, and feel so much hope, the hope I have when i communicate to my young Chinese friends, with their frustrations and expectations... their will power too!
I don't understand why someone easily came to the judgement that this would be blocked in China.
The fact is this video is being widely viewed by users in RenRen, majorly the college students in China.
@Victorliu17 I can fully appreciate the difference between criticism and humiliation. Everything you've written seems to come from an entirely western perspective. And with so much negativity in Western media on China, its nice to hear a different perspective from someone that influenced positive change. To progress, you need good and bad criticism. The fact that you only focus on the bad means that you're putting down Chinese people.
awesome, beautiful LADY! How different from Western women. WHAT A REFINED LADY! How things have changed in China since then! A total turn around!
You know, in China is an example of classical beauty, dignity, professionalism and elegance. I like her very much and you can't help not to be influenced by her charisma.
This hating on China really is just ridiculous.
Agreed with the person who said if you're really interested in China, go to China to really experience it. Most people I've talked to who view China negatively often have inaccurate information or were just too quick to judge...
I'm surprised Yang Lan's English is so good, I like her.
I love her as always
Lady of the year ..thk u yang...
This video totally changes my old view of Yang Lan. Speak for the less privileged and we are the generation!
It is my personal observation
In the West it's all about Me the Individual
But in the East it's more about Us the Society or Community at large over Me the Individual !
There is no right or wrong but appreciate this Difference !
tbh, I don't think the younger generation of China could really change much. They are all not really open-minded, bounded by overly rigid traditions, care much but do too little and just whine the whole time. But I believe they are there because they are the first to see a change in ideals. Though they may not change anything, I believe they're gonna change the mindset of Chinese, and I think this is the first step towards true change. It's gonna be slow and treacherous, but at least it began.
杨澜的每一个视频我都点赞，为了鼓励杨澜，有时会忘记点赞了。这个视频我看过了。
杨澜最需要提升思想认识，英语挺好了。主要努力方向应该是思想深刻而正确、语言表达能力很强。一不小心就说出名言警句，而且是自己的话。
Now this is a TED talk!
As a Chinese, I don't like the style of Yang's speaking.
She speaks a lot, yet can't really tell what is the main content of her speech. She covers s lot of topic yet no answer was provide and not enough information was given. But I will admit that her English is quite good.
I've never liked her that much (I'm a Chinese American), but I think she does speak many facts, although none of what she speaks of are shocking or even new. The whole Chinese population has been heavily burdened and exploited for too long both by their own and others. Yet I would agree that the next generation gives me the most hope. On the other hand, I wish the authorities evolves to be less arrogant and stupid over time, maybe even learn to listen to the people.
Even though I'm not a Chinese or a pro-Chinese or whatsoever, I feel sad when reading comments that people here thought that this might Chinese propaganda or some sort of brain washing video that waste your time. I see this video as another option of perspectives on how we understand China. In many mainstream Western media, China's image isn't the best you can perceive. But that's solely based mostly on the mainstream Western or Western influenced media. Yes there are many true negative issues that have been pointed out by those medias or even sides that cannot accept China as a positive existence. Despite that, I think it is important to acknowledge the diversity of perception especially with one that was delivered by Yan Lan (China in Chinese Perspective) in this Ted Talk so people won't be too arrogant over their own ideas and much more open minded.
On the contrary! To be honest, I am very surprised that she talks so openly that young people's outrage on social media and migrant workers have that much pressure. Talking about Gun Meimei and suicides does not give good impression of modern China and I didn't expect her to talk about it. I myself will not cover any over sensitive topics in my book about China, but would like to show the country from different angles in order to change the perception of it in the West and in the Middle East.
Its great to see the Chinese people have a voice through Tweeter.......wow....thats great!! What an advancement.
completely agree.I don't understand why so many people prone to overstate some normal phenomenons in China.anyway l love my hometown.
Although she laid out a lot of problems the current chinese society is facing, actually those problems are mainly caused by chinese government themselves.(especially untrust against the govenment, and workers at foxcon committing suicide because of bad labor conditions). But she gives no explanation how to overcome those problems. The cold stone fact is this: there isn't a proper way for the people to be heard in china, and weibo is just the reflection of that. Not a solution.(and even weibo is severely censored so that political outbreaks don't get startled.)
those problem exist in your nation
did you blame govt too?
are you talking nonsense?
china govt has highest rating approval from their citizen in the world , according to pew research.
Interesantes datos sobre China...
I love this talk, while there is nothing really "new" about it but it summed up everything in one session. and man! i love her accent sometimes my parents' chinese accent embarrasses me....
Sorry for a typo, the "meet" should be "meat".
So many Chinese people here in the comment, using their so called wisdom start with "as a Chinese" then insult China. It is really frustrating to read, please stop.
Much like you are pretending to be normal Chinese commentor where in fact you are probably just a 50 cent brigade commentor, lmao.
Interesting conversation. There a couple of parts that conflict with the TED conversation about the great Firewall, namely the part that implies that microbloggers have even the remote ability to cause social unrest but nice to hear nonetheless :)
@cl22333 Yes, I understand, I've got many friends who feel the same way. We can't predict the future accurately so hopefully things like that will change with China's younger generations taking charge.
TED is providing an equal platform for different voices and opinions (not what you believe is right or wrong) in order to show us the whole picture of issues instead of one particular aspect of them. I find it is hard to believe a good listener will instantly get brainwashed by simply watching a 17 minutes video clip...
Damn, I grew up in Canada speaking North Americanized Queen's English, yet, her's is still much more elegant than mine. I'm devastated. Lol, I'm going to join toastmasters.
Blueface's inspiration when he said, "You rather cry in a Porsche or a Toyota?"
may i know why you think that way? while i sort of admire her confidence on stage, somehow i find something lacking ... Hence, I am interested to know what you are thinking. I'm now listening it the second time to find out the answer ... Will share with you.
When you feel very disappointed about China, watch this! Make you feel positive again. :-) lol
Sarah Sweet thanks
this is very nice!
@Nyro888 Corruption on which level? Comparing corruption is always hard because it ca happen on different level (more local vs. more central).
Sounds positive. And god now I love the internet even more.
@Victorliu17 I know you're not from China, cos I visited your channel and it says you're from the UK. Also just because she's not addressed the problems in China doesn't mean she or the Chinese people aren't aware of them. In fact there are no shortage of people raising concerns, but how many of these people have genuine solutions? Talk is easy but doing it is harder.
Chinese language tend to drop all the unnecessary components that does not contribute to the expression. So one of the biggest challenges for foreigners learning Chinese is dropping almost everything.
@Victorliu17 Also having effective solutions to overcome some of the problems China faces is not as easy as you have put it. For example, how do you propose to solve problems such environmental degradation, economic disparity, social freedom etc? Most of these issues are interconnected, which means any decisions affecting one of these areas will likely affect others as well. So how do you solve one problem, without creating more problems?
This talk is very misleading. The fact is that abject poverty is a HUGE problem in China (both rural and urban). Some farmers are beginning to quote Mao with approval, calling for the "iron rice bowl" of past days. Of course, the nostalgia is born of desperation and forgetfulness of the cultural revolution. Also, whatever she said notwithstanding, illiteracy and lack of access to education is a serious problem (especially for the children of the migrants she mentions), and the burden of expense falls mostly on the families and not the state. There is also a digital divide which separates so many young Chinese people from the netizens she discusses. Further, since this talk, China has cancelled one of the TV shows she mentioned (along with several others) and tries to control the flow of information online. The CCP tends to conceal its real motives by claiming the need to keep Chinese culture from excessive "Westernization" and "immorality." The authorities are probably less worried about hip hop and western influenced fashion then they are afraid of criticism of the system and exposure of extreme corruption and abusive labor practices et al. When the kids of today become the leaders of tomorrow, it is at least possible that they will make meaningful reforms and changes. But that's just speculation at this point.
I think your response is incomplete, even it‘s wrong！I come from Japan, now living in China.Illiteracy is almost gone, the national compulsory education, but a handful of the western mountains will have dilapidated schools, after all, very few, most will accept completed university education, it will lead to oversupply of college students.Fear hippop and Western culture is not possible, many Chinese young people love the hippop and Western culture, the government just wanted to 5,000 years of Chinese culture better retention continues, because civilization can not be a single large, because that is another blend and China but its essence to its dregs.Tell you a good news, China has launched anti-corrosion and legislative action, let the law punish corrupt officials.Some say it is one of the worst times, but most people think it is the best of times. Light, China will no longer be dark!
何宙展 I appreciate your optimism, but this video glosses over huge problems and challenges in China today. Compulsory education in China only extends to middle school (14-15 year olds). Only 23% of students were enrolled in High School in 2010, as opposed to 96% in US. Further, the HuKou registration system for migrants affects their children's access to state education, forcing them to turn to dubious private settings, or to be left behind in the countryside by their parents. 140 million migrants are now in cities, but not registered there, thus their children are not entitled to public education in the cities (e.g. Beijing, where over 1/3 of these children live). Yes the Party/State is aware of the problem, but they have not solved it yet. Again, compulsory education gives very limited life chances to students without High School and higher education. Those who have reaped the benefit of the "four modernizations" are usually those who have access to higher education. So, income inequality has increased even though the GDP has increased. That is, lots of Chinese people who are poor and more or less uneducated are left behind. Then there are those who are over 40 (a growing majority due to the one child policy)--many of them grew up in the Mao era when education meant something very different from what it means today! Putting it simply,
As far as hip hp and punk rock, yes we agree. The government doesn't care much about that stuff. What I said is that they use terms like "immorality" and "Western influence" to control the flow of POLITICAL information (which is getting more and more difficult to do). Playing punk rock or hip hop does not threaten the CCP the way political activists do. For example, all references to Tian'anmen Square or the date of June 4 are policed. In advance of the 25th anniversary of those tragic events there has been a spike in roundups, disappeared dissidents, imprisonments etc. Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years in prison for circulating a petition calling for democracy. Countless others who have called for democracy, or even protested forced abortions that resulted from the One Child policy have been jailed, and reportedly tortured in brutal circumstances. (see Amnesty International, Chinese Human Rights Defenders/CHRD, et al. So western fashions in music and hairstyles may be tolerated, but not the ideas of liberty behind them.
I hope political circumstances and the problem of economic inequality will be addressed in the near future. But at this time, these problems remain and anyone who learns about modern China via videos like this one just won't hear the bad news. I don't deny the economic "miracle" of the Chinese economy in recent decades. I merely state that it has also created an increase in income and wealth disparity.
You are more objective, China is still a developing country, there are many social conflicts need to be resolved, the development of society always step by step, it is impossible to reach a successful step, I hope China will become better and better, and the world will be more beautiful.
silverskid wealth disparity is bad yes, but the initial goal since the economic reform was to lift people out of extreme poverty, in that sense China has been unprecedentedly successful. China is still a developing country hence why all the problems you outlined was true and still hoovering.
i'd had to disagree with your assessment by saying this presenter is misleading; its important to understand where she's heading with her presentation, and the context of the presentation - that it was about the characteristic of the young generation of Chinese and speculate as to how might they change China in the future. *Not the current problems China is facing*. Because of that she didn't elaborate those problems you mentioned as that wasn't the point of her presentation.
other than this small disagreement i appreciate your objective assessment on China's circumstances, and i agree with them
何宙展 Well, nobody can say there's no room for improvement.
now she( Yao Chen) has 21 million followers, most than double since this vid was posted.
@hanluy1215 Realy, just because you are a young Chinese the total opposite is reality. The importance of education is immense, mastering english is just one of them. I'm from Australia but now live in U.S. my parents are MalayChinese. When strangers frist here me speak they are always surprised.
@bweazel She talks about everything from a social perspective, even when talking about inequality, the cost of living and entrepreneurship from returning migrant workers. Naturally the economic perspective is important, and the cause for most of what she speaks of, but it falls in the background of the picture she is portraying. We know a lot about why China is doing so well, yet little (at least in my case) of the profound social changes it is suffering in this "social remaking".
she is not congress member .....she is one of the representer of chinese people , there is a big difference between those two things...btw,...i dont really think china has congress just like america, totally different .....check politic science first...
pretty impressive.
I love how this wealthy Chinese woman condemns that poor chinese that only want what SHE herself has. Hypocrisy at it's finest.
Please, let someone like Ai Weiwei do the talk (if he can).
The information barrier is pretty huge for you Westerners to get to know the real situation in China. If you don't read Chinese, all your information is second-handed.
So please be careful with who you're listening to. Mrs Yang has a *real* good relationship with the Chinese government media.
杨澜老师展示的不是郭美美的照片吧？
2011年的视频。。。郭美美2011年应该还只是个北漂吧。。。
@renzhengshu Of course, Mr or Ms 50 cent. I have no time wasting for 50 cent. If somebody want to know what's 50 cent party, please look up the item 50 Cent Party on Wikipedia.
@TheBlackmentos94 I can freely access Internet ten years ago, but now I have to use breach tools to access sites such as UA-cam. So I can hardly listen to Yang's lecture with glads.
@cl22333 Ok...I see what you mean, yes it's true but it's unfortunately a part of the urbanization and modernization of China's vast landscape. I think Yang is trying hard to focus on the positive things going on the hope for a 'better' china. That's what i see in all if not most of the TED speeches, they focus on becoming better and not dwelling or discussing the depth of the negative things. It's good you pointed that out but I believe this is is more on hope and not the problems.
exactly! she didn't get a full picture of China... it seems to be that people on the internet has the same political pursuit however it is not like that... let alone the people don't have access to it...