By Connor
April 1, 2026

This edited talk was given during the launch of the book “China Changes Everything.” held at the SHAPE (Self Help for African People Everywhere) Center in Houston and online on March 28, 2026. Go to youtube.com/watch?v=D3RRYJD0wQU to view the entire program.

Hello friends and comrades, my name is Connor and I am a candidate with Workers World Party. Today I wanted to briefly talk about my time living in China, the teaching, working conditions, the lack of capitalist alienation, the amazing and rapid development and the overall higher standard of living I experienced while living there. I lived in the south of China in the cities of Guangzhou and Zhuhai from 2014 to 2019 but I have visited all over China from Beijing to Xinjiang.

Teaching English in China is the most rewarding experience I have had the pleasure to be a part of. I taught students from kindergarten through high school. The students were eager and determined to learn a new language, not just for themselves but for the betterment of China as a whole. That is the Chinese dream.

Working as a teacher also gave me an opportunity to meet the first Chinese person in space, Yang Li Wie. But that wasn’t the only perk while working in China.

We got paid for sick and vacation days, along with having a high living wage, many holidays and festivals off. Most importantly, Chinese labor laws protected us from abuse from bosses in the workplace, something the U.S. sorely lacks.

One thing that almost everyone living in the capitalist world has experienced is capitalist alienation, struggling with our own human potential under the shackles of capitalism. This is something I did not experience in China. I had all my needs met, a time for leisure, a home to live in, a job, affordable essential products like food and much more that allows you to feel human and gives you an opportunity to live up to your potential.

Having all your basic needs met even as a foreigner was something unknown to me, and I hope one day we can extend this to the entire world.

Another marvel I witnessed was the ability of the Chinese to rapidly build, plan and develop. I saw apartment blocks being built in a week. I have seen massive bridges being built across the Bay of Hong Kong. I have even seen beautiful newly built mosques and scenic, human-made sandy beaches for the entire family to enjoy.

Even once after a disastrous typhoon that hit Zhuhai and knocked down nearly every tree and many buildings, the people came together and repaired the damage and replanted the trees within a matter of weeks. These feats are only possible through China’s socialist mode of production and their collective unity as a people.

China’s high standard of living is the result of a sustained, people-centered development strategy that has delivered tangible improvements across multiple dimensions of daily life. From health care, high wages and affordable products and homes, Chinese people enjoy a much higher standard of living than we are used to in the U.S.

Thank you everyone for listening to a small part of my experience living in China, and I hope you all can experience China one day as well.