Friday, February 03, 2012

The student competition industry

A few days ago in Tuen Mun some parents fought among themselves during a student competition.  The fact that parents fought among themselves was unusual.  But the background story was even more fascinating.

The competition was said to be a world class youth competition of music, dancing, instruments and art.
It was said to be co-hosted by organizations from Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Malaysia.  It seemed to be an “international” competition - that was designed specifically for mainland children.  I found that the competition promoted itself in many mainland cities.  But apparently not in Hong Kong, even though it was held in Hong Kong and was supposed to be "international" and very prestigious.

Young competitors and their families from mainland China paid thousands of RMB to join a 6-day tour to Hong Kong, which included a one-day competition.  Since this is an “international” competition, it is a valuable addition to the child’s profile, for application to prestigious schools.

In the mean time, the tour companies and the competition organizers made tons of money.  I won’t be surprised that they are owned by the same persons.

If the younger generation is growing up materialistic, self-serving and under-handed, could it be because their parents, the schools, and the people all around them are behaving in exactly this way?

2 comments:

The Bohemian Memoir said...

Your blog is so interesting and a great insight into a culture we hear so much about but don't really know! Good going!
Carolina x

StephenC said...

Thank you for the kind words. Thank you for being so open with your feelings on your blog. That takes quite a bit of courage.