A commonly asked question among Chinese intellectuals today is, "What does China need the most?" Some think that China needs democracy, law and technology. While others feel that advanced management and funds are more crucial. No doubt, China does need all of these things and the overseas Chinese intellectuals can very well be the channel to bring modernization to China and awaken "the lion in the East." However, foreign expertise needs a firm foundation to build upon. That foundation has to be the love of Christ.

Buo Yang, author of "The Ugly Chinese" depicted the ugly side of the Chinese in his book. It, indeed, reveals a truth-- the Chinese do not have a uniting force. As a Chinese saying goes, "One Chinese man is as powerful as a dragon, but three of them together are as feeble as a worm." A nation without a uniting force is a nation without power.

Looking into Chinese history, we clearly see that each change of dynasty in China resulted in many executions and deaths. There has never been a peaceful transition in Chinese history. For this reason, the Chinese adore military power - ancient times and modern times alike, high class and low class, war time and peace time. It has been proven true in China that power comes from the barrels of guns. The adoration of militarism has nurtured in the Chinese an eagerness to fight. The word "struggle" is not merely political jargon; it is a mind set that is hard to part with. Mao Tse-Tung once said, "How delightful it is to fight against nature, the earth, and human beings." This reveals the winner's pride and love of conflict.

Mao wasn't the only one possessed with this sort of pride in the past forty years. Throughout revolutions and various movements, there have always been some "gladiators" who have taken great joy in this. Among them were shrewd experts as well as naive participants such as the "Red Guards" in the Cultural Revolution.

The winners enjoy the fight. But what about the losers or the sufferers? Some of them are so wounded that they live in a constant state of fear, while others feel hopeless with nothing to live for. There are some who laugh at the losers and sneer at them, wishing them even more misfortune. There are others who complain and are angry, saying, "Since I am not happy, don't even think that you can be happy". This sort of emotional complexes have created an abnormal human relationship among the Chinese. It's difficult to work together. "Always be alert and guard yourself from others" is a common mentality. "Fighting among our own" is a common social practice.

"Class struggle" is no longer talked about nowadays, as people all over the country are turning their attention to money. Have the Chinese finally undergone a basic change? I think not. The Chinese used to fight for power but now we fight for money. The battlefield has shifted but the strategy remains the same. The Chinese lack a uniting force which cannot be cured through Western democracy, law, technology, management and funds. Only the love of Christ can renew the hearts of the Chinese, build a new social order, and establish new human relationships. This is China's greatest need.

The Chinese like to classify the human race according to social status and character. Of course, these classifications are subject to trends and personal whims. As the political weather changes, "good character" and "evil character" often switch places. The "hero" who flunked his college entrance exam is not mentioned any longer, while the intellectuals once persecuted are now back on the honor roll. In each historical period, people are judged by the standards that are popular at that time. So only those who fit that standard can be respected at that particular time. Respect and disrespect are based on relative and subject criterion for judging others.

In Mainland China, people often talk about others like this, "How can that rascal be human?" "Why is he still living?" This kind of statement suggests a basic disrespect for other people's value. At the same time, an unspoken self-pride is also implied, as though the speaker himself is the sole judge of the value of other lives. Therefore, human relationships in China are built upon attack and self-defense. This "fight among our own" mentality can culminate in tragic killing and destruction. The tragedy of the Cultural Revolution was an extreme example of disrespect toward others.

If a person can actually deny the rights of a fellow human being, how will he ever care for the needs of others and achieve social harmony? How can a uniting force be formed in the midst of such hatred towards others? Only the love of Christ can help the Chinese live in peace; only the revelation and wisdom of the Bible can enable people to know right from wrong. The Chinese will only be freed from this arrogant way of judging others when they realize the value God places on every human being. This is what China needs most.

Characteristically speaking, Chinese people are kind. This is especially demonstrated by what happened during the period of the "Tian-An-Men Massacre". I witnessed some very moving scenes in Beijing at that time.

1. The traffic conditions were exceptionally good around that time. Traffic disputes were at a minimum. Beijing folks are usually apt to quarrel, curse, and even fight in conflicts. However, during that particular time, they were courteous and friendly. If a biker accidentally hit another one, instead of quarreling they exchanged apologetic smiles and went on. When the students on hunger strike were starving, Beijing residents were so moved that they would have felt ashamed if they themselves misbehaved.

2. Those were hot summer days when the students were on hunger strike. Tian-An-Men Square was packed with people. It just so happened that the water supply on the square was turned off on one of those days. The student leaders asked the residents for help. Before long, money and drinks were pouring into the square. Some residents brought bottles of boiled water. At one time I was quite concerned that if the bottles were not sanitized, or if someone poisoned the drink, the outcome would be devastating. However, my fears proved unfounded. Although at ordinary times there have been people doing unlawful things, such as making counterfeit medicine, wine and milk etc., this time people's conscience was awakened. No one tried to take advantage of the students' vulnerability. Not one student suffered any health problems from the water that was donated.

3. A certain group of people in Beijing make a living by pedaling three wheeled carts. They were referred to as the "masters of the three-wheeler." I had never liked those people. They were street bullies, usually bargaining like crazy. Nobody dared to bother them. During their break times they liked to idle around in the shade, guzzling wine, snacking on peanuts and cursing. But it was those very "masters of the three-wheeler" who risked their lives during the massacre trying to rescue the students in the front lines. Their amazing speed in pedaling made them look like robots as they rushed the wounded to hospitals. They also showed unusual gentleness. They comforted the wounded by saying, "Hang on; we are turning! Be tough; we are almost there!" That night, beneath their usually rough appearance, I saw sweet and kind hearts.

4. On the night of June 4th, the hospitals in Beijing were not prepared to meet the needs of so many wounded. In fact few medical personnel had any previous experience in treating gun shot wounds. However, they all did their best, and worked frantically to save the victims. They operated at the peak of their efficiency at that time. Their medical skills seemed to improve to meet the demand. One of my friends got shot in his knee. The bullet went through the nerve. After surgery, the recovery was so fast that it became the most successful nerve restoration operation since 1949 for that hospital. The credit was given to the proper and prompt treatment he received. An even more moving story was that when government soldiers came to search the hospitals, some of the hospital staff destroyed the patients' charts in order to protect the wounded, and they also secretly transferred the wounded "dissidents" to other wards.

What I had observed made me ponder, "Why do the same group of Chinese act so differently at different times?" After the June 4th massacre, the friendliness, generosity, unselfishness and morality that were so beautifully demonstrated in Beijing once again vanished. The social animosity among the people went back to what it was.

The "love" among Chinese people is restricted to certain conditions -- with certain limits. At a particular time when people share a common interest or are mobilized by a crisis, there is some expression of human love and good conscience. However, once these conditions are removed, the ugliness surfaces once again.

This sort of charity that comes with limitations and conditions is so fragile and weak that it has no firm foundation. This love is not strong enough to sustain a normal relationship among people, nor is it sufficient to form a uniting force among the Chinese. Only the love of Christ can train Chinese people to have more stable and healthy emotions. Only through Christ can Chinese people be born again, over coming the former ugliness. This is what China needs most.

When we pray, we say, "Our Father in Heaven. . ." What does this mean? Doesn't it mean that all men are children of the heavenly Father? We are equally brothers and sisters! In all of human language, no single word can adequately illustrate the greatness of the love of Christ.

This Almighty and Supreme God came to us choosing the poorest and lowest status of all. By His sufferings and death we are redeemed. He manifested the love of our Heavenly Father, and also encouraged us not only to love our heavenly Father wholeheartedly, but also to love our neighbors as ourselves. In the past only a handful of Chinese understood this truth, due to historical and social limitations. But today, through the revelation of God, this "love" has taken root in more and more people's hearts. Our Chinese nation has gone through a very tough journey over the centuries; but today, the ancient nation has begun to wake up. As members of this nation, those of us who are awakened first have an obligation to wake up the others. Our forefathers devoted their lives to trying to bring righteousness, law, advanced technology and development to China, but without the "Truth" they were groping in the dark. The results they got were not what they envisioned. Cruel reality proves that all those attempts only led to a dead end. Following Christ is the only way out.

When each of us writes the word "love", our handwriting is quite different from others, but if we all write it with our hearts, it will always be read as "love". By the same token, if we all truly learn from Christ, love is always the real thing, and it never fails. Love can awaken; love can encourage. Let us first be people who love. Then we will build a home of love, a fellowship of love, a country of love, and even a world of love.

*****

The author came from Beijing and is now a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University.