Chapter 650: Enlightenment of the People is Important
Although the Dutch government believes that the Eikenhorst Villa is not suitable for the king's status, it is really not a small villa. Not to mention the number of rooms inside, the large restaurant that can accommodate hundreds of people to dine at the same time and the large garden where thousands of people can have parties together are not something that everyone can afford to live in!
Even if it was the private property of the William family, letting a Chinese become the owner here? It is conceivable how much pressure William would have to bear.
The Dutch people are really not to be trifled with!
At best, the Dutch are tolerant; at worst, they're radical. They're famous not only for their windmills, seawalls, and tulips, but also for their laws on drugs, sex trafficking, and abortion. Everything is based on the premise of "freedom," with drug use and prostitution legal, and abortion accessible. This is truly unique in Europe, where religious ideology reigns supreme. The Netherlands was also the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage and euthanasia.
The Dutch people's attitude towards life is basically: I would rather die than live without freedom.
Why was the Netherlands unable to control the fluctuating epidemic during the pandemic? A big reason was that they brought this upon themselves.
In the face of the epidemic, the Dutch government did propose a "lockdown order" and "curfew" policies, but as soon as they mentioned the "lockdown", the Dutch people got angry.
At the beginning, their anger was similar to that in other countries, and they also held large-scale protests.
The Dutch government is amazing! What did their leader do in this situation? The prime minister rode his bicycle to the king and resigned!
The protesters were unleashed, launching a massive "zero-dollar shopping" campaign across the Netherlands. Protesters in various cities began looting, smashing, and burning, and the situation spiraled out of control.
The Dutch government has done something shady again: this time the cabinet resigned en masse, effectively withdrawing from the administration. You decide!
Things were still "normal" at this point. After all, the Americans had already shown the world how to deal with such things: Although the "zero-dollar shopping" event in the United States was a big deal, the police and the National Guard stood on the street, fired batons and threw tear gas, and the protesters calmed down - they still did not dare to confront the police and the National Guard.
But in the Netherlands, it's a different story: "I don't care if you're the police or the military, how dare you deny me my freedom?" Burning down quarantine centers, smashing police cars, and burning police stations wasn't enough; they even resorted to bombing! Protesters even blew up a local bridge in protest! When the mushroom cloud rose, the Dutch government was at its wit's end. They simply lifted the curfew, reopened schools, and...you can do whatever you want.
During the global pandemic, Westerners have taught Easterners a lesson: How could people be so foolish? All sorts of idiotic claims are constantly emerging, even believing things like "drinking disinfectant can cure the virus." The more you interact with Westerners, the more you discover their anti-intellectualism. It's no exaggeration to say that at least a third of Westerners now believe the Earth is flat.
And there is a reason for this situation: in fact, most of the Westerners we come into contact with are not the same as real Westerners.
The Westerners Chinese people interact with are either students or businessmen, all of whom have traveled extensively and broadened their horizons. But what about ordinary Westerners? They tend to live in small, "beautiful mountains and rivers, but boring" places. A city of a few thousand or even a few hundred thousand people is all they have. Even when they do travel, it's usually to Europe and America, hopping from one small city of tens of thousands to another. Finally, they make it to Paris, but it's not as big as Tieling...
How broad-minded can people be in such a living environment?
Moreover, those in power love nothing more than fools; the dumber the people, the more secure their rule. Consequently, the West vigorously promotes a model of "happy education," which essentially means you can learn if you want to, and forget about it if you don't. International students studying in the West are often surprised to discover that the level of math and physics taught in universities there is roughly equivalent to that of middle school students in China. Yet, they devote significant resources to cultivating elite talent.
This seems like a good thing, after all, Western countries have produced so many elite talents, including those at the forefront of scientific research. Consequently, countless "public intellectuals" have criticized China's elite education system, saying it's a "cramming" system and that China should focus resources on cultivating specialized talent like the West.
Fortunately, the country is not ruled by these so-called "public intellectuals". If they were, China would be completely ruined now.
Concentrate resources on cultivating professionals? Who are professionals? Is it you? The so-called "cramming education" that has been criticized, like the Huaxia model, is the true "enlightenment" of the people! Comprehensive development is true development!
Take China today. Objectively speaking, while China lags behind the US in cutting-edge technology, it far surpasses the US in production capacity and other areas. To put it in a more literal way, the US is like a student with a bias towards academics, perhaps scoring 100 in one subject and only 50 in another. China, on the other hand, scores 70 in all subjects.
How will the world develop in the future? The key depends on whether West China University of Political Science and Law improves its overall performance or whether the US improves its weaker subjects. However, at present, the former is more likely, as the US still faces irreconcilable racial tensions that hinder its development.
The Netherlands is undoubtedly a highly developed country. As William said, their shipbuilding industry is even better than Germany's, and their most powerful equipment is their lithography machine.
ASML, a Dutch company, is the world's largest semiconductor equipment manufacturer, with a global market share exceeding 75%. In the high-end market, ASML's lithography machines account for over 80% of the market.
This is the equipment that China needs most. China also purchased a top-level fifth-generation EUV lithography machine from ASML that year. However, because the Netherlands is also a member of the "arrangement", the United States stepped in to block the deal and prohibit exports to China.
In reality, lithography machines represent the culmination of the semiconductor expertise of nations like Europe, America, Japan, and Korea. They represent the product of their collective efforts. Unfortunately, these nations are part of a "plan." China is also currently developing lithography machines, a feat tantamount to single-handedly challenging the entire world.
This is also the spirit of the Chinese people!
Xiao Peng got angry when he thought of this. Although the Americans were to blame in the final analysis, it was too difficult for a small country to survive in the cracks. After the embargo on lithography machines occurred, William personally went to China to express the difficulties, but this matter had nothing to do with ordinary people like Xiao Peng.
But turning Villa Eikenhorst into the Chinese's? That seems pretty satisfying too!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
