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.

 

My thoughts on how China became a superpower country

China, once the least respected country in Asia, has now become the world's most powerful country.

 

China is now a superpower. This is a status that can't be achieved overnight or in a decade. So how did China, a country that, about six decades ago, many developed countries hardly respected, suddenly become such a great country, ready to conquer the whole world?

 

"Superpower" is a word associated with politics and science. I used to hear a lot, especially about America, when I was a student, and the thorough explanation of what a superpower country is increased my liking of America, because if you are not a great country, you can never be a superpower.

 

So what is a superpower?  A superpower is a very powerful state with enormous political, economic, military, and cultural potential, possessing a superiority over most other states, which allows it to exercise hegemony not only in its region but also in the most remote parts of the planet.

 

However, it seems some of the weaker countries realized that the US government, or America, actually preaches virtue and practices vice. They don't do what they say; they rather took the opportunity of being a superpower to oppress weaker nations. 

 

That sent a wake-up call to sensible nations, including China and North Korea, to pursue a rigorous ambition to be superpowers themselves. Today, North Korea and China can be classified as the two most dangerous countries in the world, after the United States of America.

 

We need to find out how China, a country that many developed countries don't have respect for, suddenly became one of the most fearful countries in the world.

 

An African Student In China

 

In the late seventies in Ghana, I read the book 'An African Student In China,' by a Ghanaian author, Emmanuel John Hevi. The book discussed many issues about human rights violations and the abuse of women in China, but there is a particular story that caught my attention.

 

Student Emmanuel John Hevi went to a Chinese shop to buy a pressing iron. I have to make it clear here: a new pressing iron, not a second-hand one. Within the first week, the iron broke down, and he took it back to the shop. The iron was repaired and given back to the student, but each time after repairs, the iron breaks down again.

 

This is a story, in my opinion, of the Chinese were finding out and studying what was actually breaking down the pressing iron until they gained the perfection of creating a perfect pressing iron today. 

 

Thus, in the entire period, while the advanced countries were underestimating China, the Chinese government was creating perfection from their mistakes. 

 

Emmanuel John Hevi's experience in his book relating to the pressing iron, which broke down many times and was repaired by China many times, can be a lead story in world scientific journals of how China became perfect in the electronics industry today.

 

Mao Zedong's perception

 

There is another story that I can bring out that I think inspired China to pursue higher dreams. Between 1960 and 1964, Chinese leader Mao Zedong became very worried, and during a conversation with a delegation of the Japanese Socialist Party, in relation to his theory, he spoke about how the US government had joined hands with Russia to dominate the world. 

 

He called both countries superpowers that possess more military and economic power than all other countries of the world, taken together, and display aggressive aspirations unprecedented in world history.

 

Underestimation is like a virus that spreads from advanced countries towards developing countries, then after a period of time, comes back to the countries of origin to haunt them. The United States government, from time to time, has underestimated China, but it has learned a very bitter lesson from the coronavirus.

 

There was a time Donald Trump referred to Africa as a 'shithole nation,' yet it was the same government that killed Gaddafi of Libya because he was too strong and wanted to change the face of Africa. It was the same US government that planned a coup together with Ghanaian soldiers to overthrow Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.

 

"How long shall they kill our prophets, while we sit aside and look?" asked Bob Marley in his 'Redemption Song." 

 

If this article means something significant to African leaders, then they should do away with corruption and lift the face of Africa and the downtrodden masses from the dust; after all, the creator has already provided them with all the rich mineral resources.