Plans have been announced for the building of a community, for foreign benefit only in Chengdu, sub provincial city of China’s Sichuan province.
The planned community, compromising of a church, hospital and playgrounds, are expected to be completed in two phases. The first of these phases is likely to be completed by October. In a move that attracted mixed reactions, Zheng Xiaoming, Chieft of Planning and Construction Bureau of the Chengdu National Hi-Tech Zone, stated to maintain the international-ness of the community no apartments will be sold to local residents, only rented out to foreign nationals.
One side of the argument supports such a move, as it would allow foreign nationals to meet, and would benefit those who have just arrived into China without knowing anyone. However, others feel that by going ahead with this project, it would cause segregation, and isolation between foreign and Chinese within Chengdu.
As a foreigner in China, and a foreign employee at Lehman, Lee & Xu, it is through integration and unity, and not segregation which is the way forward. My thoughts are such plans would not be beneficial to either to the Chinese citizens, or foreigners living in Chengdu. It’s through people coming together, that we are able to understand and experience each other’s cultural fingerprints. Both sides can learn a lot from each other.
“We cannot be separated in interest or divided in purpose. We stand together until the end.” – Woodrow T. Wilson (1856 – 1924).