The Impacts of Globalization on Traditional Chinese Values

Good morning,everyone.

Today, an invisible yet powerful hand seems to be breaking the boundaries of every conceivable kind to integrate the world, from the flow of capital to the spread of information and to the exchange of ideas.As globalization becomes so pervasive, I begin to wonder what will happen to our traditional values .Will it be strengthened in the process or the other way around?

In the whole process of globalization that the world is integrating politically, economically and culturally, into one, we do witness in our country a great influx of western culture and values - McDonald's, KFCs, soccer players and NBA players. In the midst of western products pouring in China as a result of globalization, sometimes we do wonder, where does our own culture belong? When we see our younger generations going away from traditional values such as contextual and role-based ethics['eθiks] , ideal of community, hierarchy ['haiə,rɑ:ki] and non-litigious [li'tidʒəs] nature of society, we may even think our traditional values are challenged and even threatened. But, are we really losing our values?

Ladies and gentlemen,however, don’t forget we are now also a major player in the New World Order. Zhang Yimou, Lee An, John Woo, Jackie Chan have already made their presence felt in world cinemas. Every day, in every corner of the world, non-Chinese people are practicing “Tai Chi” and “Kung Fu”. Sinology is a hot topic in major universities. And countless examples…

Ladies and gentlemen, globalization, yes it has its impacts on our values. It is sending our values overseas and bringing in new ones. Let's not see the bringing in of new ones a threat to our own culture. As a matter of fact, the bringing in is a very good opportunity and time to rethink and reflect who we are and what we want to be. It is upon us whether globalization has a positive or negative impact on our traditional values. Ladies and gentlemen, I see this positively, I know even if our traditional values are changing or to change, the change is for better, not for worse.This is the end of my speech.Thank you for your attention.