As China opens its doors, foreigners are no longer a rare sight that tends to trigger screams of disbelief or be mischievously tagged "devils." However, their role in China is all the more valued. Stapleton, as well as other Friendship Award winners, are examples of how foreign talent can help China in various fields, including economic development, technology, education and culture.

A Chinese love affair

Stapleton's love affair with the Fourth Military Medical University in Xi'an began when he visited the city in 1979 as a guest of the Chinese Medical Association. He said he was deeply impressed by the dean as he showed him around the college library.

In the library, Stapleton found a section of books devoted to English literature. The discovery heartened him, as the dean shared his belief that it is important for medical students to be educated not only in medicine but also in the culture and literature of the world.

Two years later, he wrote to the dean, asking him to send military medical students over to the University of Sydney in Australia where he was teaching. He had one or two Chinese undergraduates with him each year for two months until he retired back to England in 1983.

However, he continued to render support to the university. In England, he arranged for doctors from the university to go to Oxford to do research free of charge, while providing lodging for them in his own house.

According to the Fourth Military Medical University, he has sponsored over 40 young teachers and doctors to study in England, with an estimated expenditure of over 1 million pounds. When the university celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2004, he set up a scholarship named after him with a donation of 200,000 pounds.

"I am a pacifist, one who does not think countries should solve their problems by having wars," he explained. "So I decided when I retired, I would infiltrate the military of several countries with peaceful ideas, because as military doctors grow up they are likely to meet with important people."

He also had military doctors from many other countries, such as Japan, Russia, Pakistan and Thailand, with him.

Chinese soldiers have a good reputation in Oxford, he said, adding that whenever he sent a Chinese doctor to Oxford, the professors would say, "Another one of old Tom's Chinese soldiers, and of course we'll take him."

Asked what the Friendship Award meant to him, "old Tom," as he is affectionately nicknamed, replied, "As I see it, it is a recognition of the help that I have tried to give to your people and your country."

Simple environmental techniques

This sentiment is echoed by Roland van Asch from New Zealand. "This is the national award of the highest level for a foreign expert," he said. "I am honored to receive an award like this. It gives me a lot of satisfaction. I feel I have made some useful contributions to the people in China."

Van Asch, 58, was in charge of an Australian-sponsored forest resource project in west China's Qinghai Province from 2002 to May this year. The project involves around 5,000 local residents in four counties surrounding Xining, capital of Qinghai.

In sharp contrast to the modern, prosperous cities in the east, this area is still plagued by poverty. Given the difficult life of the rural dwellers, van Asch underscored the need to fight poverty in this ecologically vulnerable region.

He said the two objectives of the project-to improve management of the forest areas and to reduce poverty-were interrelated, as the poor people depend heavily on natural resources to survive. The project helped lessen farmers' dependence on natural resources by introducing new farming technology and providing training so that they can diversify their sources of income.

Van Asch and his fellow workers on the project first showed the farmers what impact they could have on the environment by conducting short-term demonstrations. For example, they told the farmers to stop grazing an area for one year and let them see the changes.

When they asked farmers to stop grazing the lands, they provided them with incentives, such as introducing new farming technology or training one or two members of their families to become hairdressers, drivers or welders. They also provided them with solar cookers so that they could stop using trees for fuel. "A solar cooker is equivalent to one daughter in terms of labor saved in collecting vegetation for fuel," van Asch quoted a farmer as saying.

Once the farmers saw the change, they were willing to start solving the problem. "Farmers are very practical people," he asserted. "If they see it is a good idea, they will try it. In fact they are bound to change more quickly than the government officials suppose."

He remembered that when they tried to introduce a simple farming technology-new seeds, fertilizers and different types of livestock-local government officials thought that the ideas were too simple to work, but the farmers were willing to try. Once shown to be successful, the simple technologies were adopted by many farmers.

Foreigner friendly

Foreign experts have different comments on working in China but they all seem to enjoy the experience. Van Asch found it difficult to reach a common understanding with Chinese partners.

"Translation and interpretation may not be that accurate, and people have a different cultural understanding," he remarked. "Misunderstandings are probably the biggest problem that we face." He believes "being patient" is crucial when working in a different cultural situation.

However, Jan Wolter Post, a 32-year-old Dutchman with a Chinese wife, thinks China suits him, though not perfectly. The young award winner currently works with the China Chongqing Automobile Research Institute as a senior researcher. He won the award for helping China make a major breakthrough in natural gas vehicle technology.

"The nice thing about working here is that you can achieve a lot in a short time," he said. "It is very rewarding to see that the effort you put in is making an impact on the industry."

At the same time, he observed that something that can be a problem in Europe could turn out to be easy to achieve in China and vice versa.

In Europe, everybody has a driving license. With their driving experience, everybody can assess the performance of cars. In China, however, not everybody drives a car, and the problem is that people who are not used to driving cars do not always realize the importance of certain aspects, according to Post. At the same time, he noted that making prototypes is much easier in China than in Europe.

Post commented that China is open and friendly to foreigners from the government perspective. "You don't feel you are aliens," he added. Unlike what he had learned about China, he feels that China is a more open country than many people think.

Stapleton also noted there is widespread misunderstanding about China in the West. He said he was upset at the misreporting in England about the situation in Tibet, when he returned from his first visit to Tibet five years ago. There was nothing about the improvements that have been made and nothing about the development of agriculture, he said, adding that some quarters are always trying to find things to criticize about China.

"Not everything is all right in China," he said, "but things have improved and this is what matters. Besides, the attitude of people is so nice here."

The Friendship Award

The State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, authorized by the State Council, established this state-level annual award in 1991 to recognize particularly significant contributions of foreign experts in diverse fields. The award is presented on the eve of the National Day, which falls on October 1. Winners are invited to Beijing to receive the award and attend National Day celebrations. They also get an opportunity to meet top Chinese leaders. The Friendship Award is the highest recognition China gives to foreign experts.

To date, 899 foreign experts from 56 nations have received the prestigious award. In 2006, 49 people from 19 countries were honored. Apart from the state-level award, over 30 provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions and cities also grant local Friendship Awards to foreigners working in their region.