Dr Cheng Soo-May, Central Queensland University

English-speaking countries, notably Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom, have in recent years spearheaded a trend in internationalising education by exporting programs to fee-paying students around the world. Writings by Cheng (1998), Peters, Fitzsimons and Green (1997), Cavusgil (1993), Alexander and Rizvi (1993), Gillespie and Collins (1986) and others have documented this trend. Driven by a combination of market forces, government policy and academic initiative, institutions from school through university levels have incorporated many of the common features of internationalisation, broadly classifiable into the following categories: (1) curricular changes to incorporate international and cross-cultural elements; (2) the movement of students and staff across international boundaries through visiting or exchange study programs; and (3) the development of academic and commercial partnerships overseas for the delivery of teaching programs.

The Greater China region has mostly been on the receiving end of this globalisation of English-language programs, with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan being seen by education providers as lucrative markets for their products. Chinese-language education had spread around the world along with the Chinese diaspora, but had mostly been confined within Chinese communities overseas for cultural and political enrichment reasons. Meanwhile in their "mother countries" (a cultural entity used by Overseas Chinese to refer to their country of origin, whatever its true political status), English-language education from abroad was becoming increasingly popular. This was the result of the historical heritage of British and American occupations (as in Hong Kong and Taiwan respectively), and the liberalisation of trade and investments with the English-speaking world (as in China). Both public and private education sectors have been embracing various forms of English-language education, including straight language training, children’s enrichment programs, and school and university courses. The tertiary education sector is the setting for this particular discussion of Shantou University’s experimentation with its own internationalisation.

Shantou University, located along the south east coast of China, on the far eastern end of the Guangdong province, has all the trappings of a modern university. Built in 1983 on a scenic spot surrounded by hills, the campus is an award-winning architectural design housing about 6000 students and 800 staff members. Because of its location within Shantou City, one important gateway into China for Overseas Chinese business people, as well as a generous salary scheme, it attracts scholars from all over the country to teach there. There is a mix of northern and southern Chinese cultures, of staff and students born locally and in other provinces. The lingua franca on campus is Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese), though ‘locals’ prefer to use their Chaosan or Teochiu dialect. Efforts towards internationalisation have been made through the English language centre that invites foreign teachers to teach English to undergraduates, and through offering Chinese language courses to overseas students. More recently, it has taken more steps to introduce more international elements into its curricula, its staff and student bodies, and its research partnerships. While these efforts are not unique among Chinese universities, there is a set of issues in Shantou University that makes these initiatives particularly promising on one hand, and especially daunting on the other.

This case study takes a look at the University’s historical and contemporary settings that shape its motivation for internationalisation, and at the issues that hinder the realisation of this ideal.

Shantou and its surrounding counties of Chenghai and Chaozhou are unique among Chinese cities in that they have been commercial sea-ports, international trading posts and exit points for Chinese emigres much earlier than almost any city. Situated on the Han River delta, this cluster of sea-ports commonly called the ‘Chaoshan’ district were the homes of a majority of the first-generation Overseas Chinese in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. These emigres and their descendants have kept much of the Chaosan (or Teochiu, as they are called in South East Asia) dialect and customs alive, as well as preserved trading and other relations with their Mainland relatives. With these cities heavily dependent on Overseas Chinese trade and investments, guanxi or ‘relationship connection’ is a particularly important feature of business life.

The Shantou University is a prime example of such links with the Overseas Chinese. Known in short as ‘Shanda’, it is Shantou’s only university, established in 1981 with financial support from a Teochiu billionaire resident in Hong Kong, Mr Li Kashing. Till today, Li’s businesses are funding the operation of the University and hiring some of the top graduates for its various China-based interests including hospitals, real estate, roads and bridges. Beyond Li’s patronage, many Shanda graduates are hired into government and private organisations that service the strong trading and investment activity with the Overseas Chinese in property development, rice, live seafood, foodstuffs, textiles and clothing, shoes, electronics and handicrafts.

Indeed, Overseas Chinese business is one of three study areas in the School of Business at Shanda earmarked for special support as the University prepares itself for qualification into the final selection round of 100 top Chinese universities by the twenty-first century –a national blueprint dubbed the ‘211 Project’. (Pan, 1998, p.38; Chen, 1998.) Li Kashing takes a personal interest in steering the University in this direction, never failing to attend the twice yearly University Council meetings as Honorary Chairman. Through his funding agency, he exerts influence over the appointment of key officials (especially the University President), the payment of premium salaries and bonuses to staff, the building of facilities and the promotion of the university within and outside China. This keen interest can be explained in the light of his personal aspirations for educational development in his home town of Shantou.

Almost a folk hero, Li is the Teochiu rags-to-riches legend of all time. Growing up in poverty in Shantou, he used to watch his school principal father working late into the night under a weak kerosene lamp in his very simple wooden cottage. He then vowed that if he ever got rich, he would improve the living and working conditions of teachers, and the educational and medical conditions in his home town. As Providence would have it, war forced the young Li to go south to Hong Kong in search of an uncle and a new life. Starting off with selling plastic flowers, the entrepreneurial Li soon began to buy parcels of land as they were being released by the Hong Kong Government. In 1979, he bought Hutchinson Whampoa, a formidable British-owned conglomerate, and increased his assets to more than HK$300 million. From then on, his empire of companies just grew and grew, and he started to make donations to schools in his home town. (HKTV documentary, November 24, 1998)

In 1981, he was invited to meet with Shantou officials planning to establish a university. As he put it:

Thus began Li’s realisation of his dream. His initial contribution of HK$7 billion jump-started the construction of the uniquely-designed university by a Hong Kong architect on a ‘feng shui’ approved (fortuitous according to the principles of geomancy) plot of land. By 1983, the first make-shift buildings were ready, and though shabby and without electricity, managed to house the first enrolment of about 300 students and their teachers.

He was to put another HK$20 billion into an endowment fund that, till today, pays for building maintenance and facilities, and 50% of staff salaries. The land costs, operational expenses and half of staff salaries are paid by the provincial and city government. (Chen, 1998.) He saw the urgent need in building this university because of his belief that, as demonstrated by Japan’s successful post-war reconstruction, education was the key to a nation’s development. He also took pride in the historical reputation of the Chaoshan area as the "cultured coast" where much poetry and literature emerged during the Song dynasty. However, the absence of a university in this vast land of 10.5 square kilometres, with a dense population of 9 million, was an aberration in the rapid economic development of Guangdong Province and China since 1979 which demanded a huge supply of educated and skilled personnel. Young people from the region had to travel long distances to Guangzhou and elsewhere for a university education. Hence he threw his whole-hearted support into the urgent development of one of the most modern, attractively landscaped university campuses in China that is today a tourist must-see in Shantou.

At the University’s 10^th anniversary, he took pride in this achievement, but cautioned:

In 1998, Shantou University was included on the exclusive shortlist of China’s top universities earmarked for special development into world-class universities in the twenty-first century. Only 100 of the shortlisted 150 will eventually qualify by fulfilling stringent requirements of teaching, research and infrastructural support. As a Key University, Shanda would receive government funding and assistance to (among other things) intensify its international links and develop more international education programs, particularly with the west. The expected outcomes would include having more foreign teachers and students at the University, more local teachers with higher academic qualifications from abroad, more academic partnerships with overseas institutions, and a stronger international research and publication profile. Further offshoots would include improved reputation in the local community; better links with national and international communities; and better employment prospects for graduates.

Shanda’s inclusion was primarily due to its accomplishments in several areas of research, namely medicine, engineering, marine biology, communication and informatics, electronic commerce, Overseas Chinese business, and Chinese dialects. Today Shanda offers 32 masters level disciplines, and has plans to offer a doctoral program in the next three years. These accomplishments are due largely to :

1. Li Kashing’s special interest in and support of research development
2. Local city and provincial government support of the University and its declared focus on researching Overseas Chinese business
3. Good lecturers and active researchers from other institutions being offered attractive salaries to join Shanda.

However, these same success factors create a catch-22 situation for Shantou University’s aspirations towards international recognition. The challenges may be discussed in terms of tensions arising between local and international interests, between social and economic values, and between bureaucratic and academic priorities.

To propel Shanda into the 211 Project list, it would be necessary to intensify the University’s international relations. As it is isolated in being the only university in the eastern-most corner of Guangdong Province, it may well be able to break away from the provincial pull of a Guangdong academic culture and instead forge direct links with foreign universities. Guangdong-based universities have a predominance of Cantonese-speaking staff and students, and possibly a sense of material superiority over their northern cousins as the Pearl River Delta on which this southern Chinese province feeds is one of China’s wealthiest. However, with a few exceptions, the southern Chinese institutions have not been noted to be as academically accomplished as universities in the north, particularly in Shanghai, Nanjing and Beijing, arguably because the commercial culture that predominates the south is incongruent with academic excellence. Yet Shanda is beholden to its local Chaosan-speaking community, which is every bit as commercially-driven and linguistically chauvinistic as the Cantonese. Because of its raison d’etre as a community college, Shanda has to cater to Chaosanese preferences for dealing with their own emigrated country folk rather than with other foreigners. Whilst this approach justifies the University’s designation of Overseas Chinese Studies as an area of academic specialisation, it still drastically limits the scope of its international connections.

Shantou University was created out of the vision of Chaosan officials to give local youths an avenue to further their education without having to leave home for another city or province. It was made a reality out of the dream of Mr Li Kashing to give back to his hometown a significant and enduring legacy of his father’s lifelong dedication to education. Such compelling reasons for its establishment meant that Shanda was primarily to serve a social purpose. Accordingly, and in congruence with the practice in state-run tertiary institutions across the country, education was given free to students and housing was available to staff at highly subsidised rentals. To show his sincerity of purpose, Mr Li even paid for better quality housing and academic facilities than was commonly found, and also paid a premium on staff salaries to attract better quality people. For example, a teaching staff in Shanda may earn more than 2000 yuan per month while another of equivalent standing in Xian province may earn only 800-900 yuan. However, in recent years, the financial burden of running the university, coupled with national policy changes with regards to tuition fees, staff accommodation, and staff movements meant that tighter financial control had to be instituted. Administration felt most keenly the controlling hand of the Li funding body, which insisted on Shanda officials being accountable for every expenditure on facilities and staff promotion (Chen, 1998.) Such economically-driven administration filtered down to all levels of the University’s operations, manifesting itself sometimes in mundane but crucial services like inadequate funds for printing of study materials for students, or for better classroom facilities for teachers. The local city and provincial governments which had responsibility for about half the funding could not rise above the recessionary economy of recent years to make up for any shortfall.

This financial squeeze was exacerbated by the tight bureaucratic controls found at Shanda, often implemented out of political motives rather than academic considerations. Shantou City, being geographically distant from the nearest centres of influence like Guangzhou (Guangdong province’s capital city) in the south and Xiamen in the north (important to the Chinese Government for its connection with Taiwan), has been left to its own devices throughout most of its history. It had served variously as a seaport, a point of departure for emigres, a smuggling haven, and a southern outpost for disgraced magistrates. While in recent years Shantou has been elevated to the status of Special Economic Zone in recognition of the bustling trading relations established with Overseas Chaosan communities, the governing style of government officials often still reflects the style of the nepotistic overlords of the past who commanded obedience in return for the favours they granted. Unfortunately, some of this governing style has pervaded the University.

As a relatively young institution, and one that is geographically and culturally isolated from other universities, Shanda has suffered from administrative inexperience since its inception. Several presidents had come and gone without having been able to forge a distinctive academic culture. University operations were left to the device of administrators who either succumbed to their local compatriots’ expectations of clan loyalties being put above rational goals, or who had come from other provinces and experienced alienation from the predominant local culture. The harbouring of under-performing staff to boost one’s scope of influence became a common practice.

A further structural impediment to efficiency was the location of a watchdog "union" office in every faculty, ostensibly to represent the interests of the staff and serve as the moral guidepost for staff behaviour. Where the leader of this union and the faculty dean were mutually trusting, administration was smooth. But where there was suspicion or animosity, even day-to-day operations became an issue.

Just as the administrators were sometimes estranged by cultural differences, academics were also often torn by rivalry. Those who had come from other provinces on the basis of merit found themselves jostling for recognition and reward with local colleagues who – in their opinion – were much less deserving because they advanced largely on the basis of patronage of local administrators. This cultural divide sometimes manifested itself as "outsiders" versus "locals", or as Putonghua-speaking northerners versus Chaosan-speaking southerners. The lack of collegial communication was probably exacerbated by the lack of open, informal meetings (all meetings being formal, top-down administrative affairs), and the arrangement whereby academics did not have offices, but instead worked in their staff quarters on campus. Getting one’s research agenda supported would therefore involve much political lobbying.

The ingredients for excellence in Shanda were listed by Li Kashing as wise leadership, sound organisation, excellent staff, and harmonious cooperation. The vision for achieving this excellence would undoubtedly include internationalising its programs in line with China’s increasing engagement with the rest of the world. The physical infrastructure and political will of Shanda’s ruling council will no doubt achieve some of that vision. But how far down the hierarchy that vision gets translated into mission remains a challenge in view of the issues confronting the University.

For the internationalisation experiment to succeed, the University may do well to embrace the enterprise culture of the small businesses that proliferate and characterise Shantou City. Capitalising on its historical advantages and the global trends, the University is particularly well-situated to move away from being the monolithic institution that is being bogged down by cultural and administrative obstacles. In its place, the University could be reorganised into strategic business units each specialising in what it is best at doing and with the most cohesive team of people it could gather. The leadership problem could be overcome by giving each unit autonomy to manage itself and select its own leader, albeit accountable to the parent entity ultimately. Linked strategically by a common vision for internationalisation and a governing council, and operationally by electronic communications, each unit can relate to the others as part of a whole entity, yet maintain its flexibility and subculture sufficiently to overcome the existing cultural tensions and administrative blocks. For a start, the division of the units can best be driven academically according to the disciplines already earmarked for development under the 211 Project agenda, namely: communication and informatics, marine biology, civil and structural engineering, and mechanical and electronic engineering, Overseas Chinese business, international finance, and electronic commerce. Each can then define its goals and strategies such as to be as relevant to the needs of the local and international communities as it wishes. Certainly, such a move to entrepreneurial management of a university would require a quantum leap of faith in the political culture being liberalised. Looking at China’s imminent great leap into the WTO, that may not be far off.

Alexander, D. and Rizvi, F. (1993). Education, Markets and the Contradictions of Asia-Australia Relations. The Australian Universities’ Review, vol.36 (2): 16-20.

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Chen, J.Y. (1998). Director of International Cooperation Department, Shantou University, Interview.

Cheng, S. M. (1998). Policy’s Consequences: The Commercialisation of Australian Tertiary Education and Implications for its Asian Market. Journal of Enterprising Culture, vol.6 (4), Dec, pp.457-480.

‘Children of the East: Li Kashing,’ HKTV documentary, November 24, 1998

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Pan, L., 1998, The Encyclopaedia of the Chinese Overseas. Chinese Heritage Centre, Archipelago Press.

Peters, M., Fitzsimmons, P. and Green, B. (1997). Education and the ‘Asia-Pacific’ Discourse, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, vol.18 (1), pp.5-21.

Shantou Universty’s Inauguration Commemoration Book (1991), p.5.

An experiment in internationalisation at Shantou University,

Guangdong Province, China

Dr Cheng Soo-May,

Central Queensland University

AARE/NZARE Conference,

27 Nov – 2 Dec 1999,

Melbourne, Australia

• Government vs market-driven

• Importing vs Exporting

• The tycoon, Li Kashing

Local versus International Interests

Social versus Economic Values

Bureaucratic versus Academic Priorities

An Enterprise Model