However Mr Loewe is forced to leave China due to his visa expiry soon. China has very strict immigration laws. It issues visa with short stay length and renew times limitation. Mr Loewe obtained his visa four years ago. Now he is not able to renew or obtain a new visa onshore, which means he has to arrange his visa offshore, perhaps in Germany. He also tried to apply for a Chinese citizenship but failed. China only allows naturalization when a person makes ‘special contribution’ to China or has close relatives as Chinese citizens. Apparently the government was not convinced that what Mr Loewe did was a ‘special contribution’ to the whole nation. Mr Loewe was forced to remove all the entries from his blog and leave a message stating that he is neither a credentialed teacher nor a volunteer.
The Chinese Internet community has a very strong reaction toward this news. The story was interpreted as; Mr Loewe’s blog touched a sensitive issue in China (left behind children) and annoyed the authority so he was forced to leave. People blame the government for this decision and wrote hundreds of articles online to criticise the government. Then these articles were shared on SNS websites so more people believed it was the government which to blame. (Click here)
I admire what Mr Loewe did to the Chinese kids and his contribution to local community. However I believe this time it is not the government which should be blamed. The immigration law is very clear about visas and citizenships. The government has no position to change or break the law just to appeal some interest of some people. (However I believe the law should be modified under proper procedures.) Moreover, the government should regulate the education system by issuing credentials to qualified teachers. Kids in primary school should not be taught by teachers without credentials. In this case, Mr Loewe is not holding any form of credential which allows him to teach in China. His teaching activities have breached the law and regulations.
Can you image a Chinese citizen coming to Australia, volunteer for the community for four years without any kind of certificates, and then asked for a citizenship? Go home. Out of question. Then why should people blame Chinese government for doing same things?
It should be pointed out, that Chinese government should put more money into education system. Moreover, the whole exam-directed system should be changed. I think they are why people are so angry in Mr Loewe’s case. Only by achieving those, kids in rural communities can enjoy the same rights with kids in the city.
"It should be pointed out, that Chinese government should put more money into education system. Moreover, the whole exam-directed system should be changed. I think they are why people are so angry in Mr Loewe’s case. Only by achieving those, kids in rural communities can enjoy the same rights with kids in the city."
ReplyDeleteThis is not enough. In the area Eckart Loewe services, there're around 45% children come from families both parents work far away from home for a long time. Some have no adults at home. This is the left behind children problem Loewe pays more attention. In summer holidays, he chose to stay with them one family a day. He teaches arts, music and supply teacher. I think the children there don't just need credentialed teachers. They also need adults at home.
The left behind children problem is not simply putting more money in rural education can help.
yeah you are right about this. I do believe it is the government who should be blamed. The laws regarding compulsory educations in China should be implemented and enforced.
ReplyDeleteI think the government should approach towards free and fair education to all. Those parents should be allowed to take their kids with them and receive some sort of allowance.