KangKang Shih, known as Patrick in the U.S., is part of a family of Chinese immigrants. His grandparents migrated from China to Brazil before his father was born. Patrick’s father, aunt, and uncle all grew up in Sao Paulo and later went on to study in the United States in search of better opportunities. However, while most of the Shih family stayed in the U.S., his father, Teh Shih, moved back to China and consequently, that’s where Patrick was born.
While Teh might not have been born in China and, therefore, may not be considered a Chinese returnee, his return to China is a great example of Saxenian’s brain-circulation theory. Teh’s father migrated to Brazil, Teh migrated to the U.S. to obtain knowledge from a developed country, and now applies …show more content…
He has attended the Hangzhou International School from an early age and has often spent his summer in Boston with his cousins. Nonetheless, his international education combined with TOEFL and SAT courses, as well as family connections, were not enough to grant him admission into Milton Academy. Perhaps what explains Fong’s observation is exactly that. The main component to successfully study abroad is will and motivation. Patrick admits that studying abroad was a dream that his father had for him. Therefore, he often did not apply himself in his studies and TOEFL or SAT …show more content…
He agrees with Lin that while China does well economically in the international scale, its economic growth has brought on many social problems (Lin, 2013). The few who are able to study abroad and return live a very privileged lifestyle, those who achieve flexible citizenship live a more worry free life. Furthermore, Teh is perhaps the utmost example of Fong’s arguments. He has opted to maintain his Brazilian citizenship despite having lived in China for over 20 years, and his response on why is that “a diplomatic passport enables me to do more in China than a Chinese passport would.”
In short, Patrick and Teh’s lives have been driven by the impact globalization has had on China, whether that be economically or socially. In addition, their experiences demonstrate that theories such as brain-circulation and flexible citizenship are far broader and more complex that what one may imagine it to
While Teh might not have been born in China and, therefore, may not be considered a Chinese returnee, his return to China is a great example of Saxenian’s brain-circulation theory. Teh’s father migrated to Brazil, Teh migrated to the U.S. to obtain knowledge from a developed country, and now applies …show more content…
He has attended the Hangzhou International School from an early age and has often spent his summer in Boston with his cousins. Nonetheless, his international education combined with TOEFL and SAT courses, as well as family connections, were not enough to grant him admission into Milton Academy. Perhaps what explains Fong’s observation is exactly that. The main component to successfully study abroad is will and motivation. Patrick admits that studying abroad was a dream that his father had for him. Therefore, he often did not apply himself in his studies and TOEFL or SAT …show more content…
He agrees with Lin that while China does well economically in the international scale, its economic growth has brought on many social problems (Lin, 2013). The few who are able to study abroad and return live a very privileged lifestyle, those who achieve flexible citizenship live a more worry free life. Furthermore, Teh is perhaps the utmost example of Fong’s arguments. He has opted to maintain his Brazilian citizenship despite having lived in China for over 20 years, and his response on why is that “a diplomatic passport enables me to do more in China than a Chinese passport would.”
In short, Patrick and Teh’s lives have been driven by the impact globalization has had on China, whether that be economically or socially. In addition, their experiences demonstrate that theories such as brain-circulation and flexible citizenship are far broader and more complex that what one may imagine it to