When China was manufacturing fake pressing irons

 

The pressing iron breaks down again every time the African student takes it back to the Chinese shop for repairs.

China is widely recognized as a significant global force that has a significant military and economic influence on the world stage. However, many people don't know that the country couldn't produce a high-quality pressing iron that could last even a week decades ago.

 

"An African Student in China" is a 1963 memoir by Emmanuel John Hevi, a Ghanaian student who studied medicine in Beijing during the early 1960s under the influence of Kwame Nkrumah's alignment with China.

 

The book provides a firsthand account of his experiences and those of fellow African students in China during Mao's era, particularly during the period of the Great Leap Forward.

 

Hevi describes the initial idealism he and other African students held toward China as a beacon of anti-imperialist and anti-colonial progress, only to be disillusioned by the reality of life under the Communist regime.

 

The narrative details the challenges faced by African students, including poor living conditions, totalitarian surveillance, and racial discrimination. Hevi recounts how Chinese authorities courted and propagandized African students, yet failed to win their loyalty, as many became aware of the regime's hypocrisy regarding racial equality.

 

He highlights incidents of racial prejudice, such as Chinese citizens expressing surprise at his skin color and touching his skin to verify his complexion, which he found humiliating. Hevi also notes that African students were often isolated, with some being forced to sit at the back of classrooms to avoid attention.

 

Nevertheless, nothing excites me more than his purchase of a pressing iron, despite all the stories and lessons about the prejudice African pupils encountered. Emmanuel John Hevi, a student, went to a Chinese store to purchase a pressing iron. 

I must clarify that this is a brand-new pressing iron, not a used one. The iron broke down after the first week, so he returned it to the shop. The student received the iron back after it was fixed, but it breaks down again every time.

 

This is a tale, in my opinion, of the Chinese discovering and researching what was truly disassembling the pressing iron until they were able to create the ideal pressing iron of today. As a result, throughout the entire time, the Chinese leadership was perfecting its blunders while the developed nations were undervaluing China.

 

Emmanuel John Hevi's account in his book about the pressing iron, which repeatedly malfunctioned and was fixed by China, might serve as a main story in international scientific journals about how China became an industry leader in electronics today.