are internationally established, but regional boundaries are in the eye of the beholder. For example, what Westerners think of as ‘the Middle East’ is called ‘West Asia’ in the Malaysian media. For our purposes, the Asian countries covered in this section are those in the Asia Pacific region, with shorelines washed by Pacific Ocean waters. Even within this definition, Asia is a vast and diverse region, stretching from the highly seasonal north of Japan down to the equator and beyond, including the year-round tropical heat of Indonesia. The religious landscape is similarly varied, ranging from Confucianism in the north, Catholicism in the Philippines, through many varieties of Buddhism and growing devotion to Islam in the south, with a recent overlay of Marxism in China and Vietnam.
Talking with people in the region, there seems to be little clear agreement about what makes them ‘Asian’. For some, it’s a certain gentleness and graciousness of manner that contrasts with the more abrupt style of Westerners. For others, it’s the central place that rice growing and eating have had in shaping the cultures of the region, or it’s a question of geographical proximity and unity, even though the vast majority of people in the region have never travelled abroad. Still others cite the much-touted ‘Asian values’, meaning respect for authority and age, and a willingness to put the interests of the group before the interests of the individual.
In the final analysis, being Asian may ultimately be a question of choice, a question of identifying with the issues, interests and sensibilities of other people in the region, and making common cause with them. Unlike in Europe, where a similar process is taking place, most Asians are fortunate in not having recent memories of war to overcome as they forge links with their neighbours. Although memories of Japanese occupation linger long for some older Asians, there are fewer people old enough to remember the war.
The development of Asian consciousness, and with it Asian power, will come not just from trading goods, but also from sharing ideas and culture. While Asia is a powerhouse exporter of manufactured goods, it continues to be a big importer of entertainment and style products – Hollywood films, popular music, designer fashion wear, computer software, sports. Consumers in Asia, and indeed around the world, would have no hesitation in buying electronic goods or domestic appliances made in Asia, but the same cannot be said for ‘intellectual copyright’ products. The region has its own products in this area, but the audience is barely regional, let alone global.
As Steven Lyons, of Burson-Marsteller Hong Kong, said, ‘Lifestyles and values will continue to be altered by Western media and product developments. Asia will have to work hard at maintaining its cultural identities. Rural areas will be the last bastions of traditional cultural and family values.’
The emergence of Asian confidence and creativity will be a key factor in the maturing of the region. The turning point will come when Vietnamese soap operas top the TV ratings in Indonesia, when Indonesian pop stars play to packed stadiums in Thailand, when a Thai fashion designer sells like hotcakes in Shanghai, when a Chinese feature film breaks box office records across Asia.
Getting Schooled
One of the cornerstones of ‘Asian values’ is emphasis on the importance of education. In societies without social security, children are a sort of pension plan. It used to be smart to have lots of children to spread the risk. These days, the emphasis has switched from having lots of pairs of hands to having a few well-educated brains. Family sizes are shrinking, and parents are investing in putting their children through higher education.
The pressure to get educated is being felt by children of all ages, all the way down to preschoolers. Steven Lyons expects ‘serious education to start at increasingly younger ages (three to four)’. Our colleague Stuart Harris, a market research practitioner in Kuala Lumpur, reports, ‘My son Ruben got his first school report in Kuala Lumpur at age twenty-one months!’ As DY&R Shanghai observed, ‘The pressures from their parents are tremendous, to the point where children are given little time to enjoy themselves – most of it is spent studying or learning new skills, such as computer, piano, painting, etc.’
Rapidly expanding economies need skilled and educated people at every level, which has resulted in a severe labour shortage in some of the faster growing economies of the region – and has provided a bonanza for overseas universities, particularly in Australia, Britain, the United States and Canada. But the sharp devaluation of some currencies in the region, and the risk of devaluation hitting other currencies, is making students look closer to home for their education. ‘There will be a major drop in Asian students being sent abroad,’ predicted Han van Dijk, of DY&R Singapore.
Two key education factors will be crucial in determining the shape and success of Asia in the twenty-first century.
The first is how education is imparted. Obedience and respect for authority are deeply instilled in Asian children. Unquestioning rote learning is the norm, and not only for Chinese and Japanese children, who need to memorize hundreds of complex characters just to be able to read. While the top-down, memorizing approach produces socially responsible youngsters who apply themselves diligently to their studies, some people are beginning to worry that it doesn’t foster the personal qualities that Asia needs to make quantum leaps into new economies of the next century.
Already Japanese employers are complaining that university graduates are not up to speed for today’s workplace – the Economist reports that unemployment among graduates and school leavers is two to three times higher than the national average. The government has introduced changes to take the emphasis off exhaustive examination. However, as the Economist reported separately last year, parents may welcome the idea of more liberal, creative education, but they fear changes may damage their children’s chances of employment.
Nevertheless, DY&R Tokyo thinks the country is likely to see greater emphasis on teaching analytical skills, with more attention paid to the personal development of children, while in China, DY&R Shanghai forecasts that education will become ‘more focused on guiding children, bringing out their potential instead of forcing them to memorize everything that they may not even understand. The whole examination system will be changed. Grades are still important, but will not mean everything ten years later. More students will be accepted in universities as the system will be based on potential/talent rather than just examination grades. In addition, there may also be more private universities available.’
The second key factor will be the development of regional centres of educational excellence. High-quality establishments already exist, but they tend to draw students from their local markets. Ambitious students study either locally or in the West, with few considering study in other countries in the region.
Television and Internet chat will help to build relations between young Asians, but there is no substitute for the bonds that are created when people from different countries meet face to face and study together.
Dealing with China
How to deal with China is an issue for all countries in Asia, including China itself. The sheer size of the place, its 1.2 billion population and its diaspora make it impossible to ignore.
Chinese culture and thinking continues to have an impact on all countries in the region. Throughout the centuries, Japan adopted and adapted hugely from China – Japanese writing is based on the Chinese system, even though the languages are totally different. Countries sharing borders with China have felt the need to assert their own identity while developing a modus vivendi for living with such a huge neighbour.
Chinese emigrants have established themselves throughout the region, often achieving great success in business and arousing local envy in the process. So-called ‘Overseas Chinese’ number some 57 million worldwide, with an estimated 53 million of them in Asia Pacific, according to John Naisbitt in Megatrends Asia.
