Creativity and innovation have become two of the most popular catchwords
nowadays in China.
In all the reports to the annual session of the provincial and autonomous
legislatures, local governments announced their determination to strive for
innovation as their new engine for economic and social development.
The National Guideline on Medium and Long-term Programme for Science and
Technology Development (2006-20) also made stipulations to help realize the
country's dream of becoming an innovation-oriented nation in 15 years.
What is an innovation-oriented nation?
The European TrendChart on Innovation, an initiative of the European
Commission, Enterprise & Industry Directorate General, and Innovation Policy
Development unit, has identified five key dimensions of innovation: innovation
drivers, knowledge creation, innovation and entrepreneurship, applications and
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
Leading Chinese institutions have adopted similar criteria to measure
national and local performances in innovation.
They have pinpointed problems on a broad economic and social level, such as
lack of financial input for scientific and technological research and
application, inefficient IPR protection, and shortage of skilled workers as
major stumbling barriers blocking China's path to innovation.
But the media have yet to examine the issue from an every-day level for the
average Chinese citizen, such as whether there exists the social and educational
environment in which creativity is encouraged.
Schools and the media may have ample examples to demonstrate how enthusiastic
they have been in promoting the concept of innovation and encouraging creative
activities. However, we cannot overlook the practices that endanger all the good
efforts.
For instance, in schools, traditional rote training is still prevalent. An
experienced teacher from a prominent middle school in Beijing told my friend
that she should encourage her son to write on the same theme for his composition
for every end-of-term examination. "Practice makes perfect," the teacher
reasoned, citing how a student of hers obtained almost a full score in the
national entrance examination for universities after the student polished the
same story about rain and an umbrella for four years in a row.
Meanwhile, solid, down-to-earth original works have been overshadowed by
copied and fake products, which quickly grab the market and make handsome
economic returns.
For example, one publishing insider early this month revealed that a few
so-called Chinese versions of South Korean novels were in fact copied from
Korean-language websites based in South Korea.
The impulse to copy and mimic is so strong that some people don't even bother
to check and use copied words or phrases correctly.
The other day, a DJ on a local radio station excitedly announced that since
December, several blockbuster films had "PKed" Beijing. She used the exact
English phrase in her narration.
The phrase "PK," or player-killer, is most commonly used nowadays in computer
games as players are out to "kill" or defeat enemies. She used the phrase to
describe films released to attract viewers and vie for box office returns.
The few examples cited here are not uncommon occurrences, however.
When repetition, shallowness and superficiality prevail in a society, it is
hard to instil confidence and establish innovation and creativity as the social
norm.
Email: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily 02/23/2006 page4)
