1987年至2003年，我在雅加达担任国家政府的信息和通信技术顾问。在我逗留期间，我结识了许多印尼国民和各阶层的华裔印尼人。
One day, I had a discussion with a very good friend, a successful Indonesian Chinese descendant. I asked him exactly the same question. I have noticed that ordinary Indonesian mixed-race children are often not successful, and there are great problems in making ends meet. They have no plans for money. When they run out of money, they are helpless. They usually like to spend money on small things.
一天，我和一位非常好的朋友，一位成功的印尼华裔后裔进行了讨论。我问了他完全相同的问题。我注意到，普通的印尼混血儿往往不太成功，而且在入不敷出方面存在很大问题。他们对钱财没有规划，钱用完后，就束手无策了，他们通常喜欢把钱花在小玩意儿上。
I asked my friend whether the Chinese are smarter than the Indonesians. But I was surprised and inspired by his answer.
我问我的朋友，中国人是否比印尼人聪明。但我对他的回答感到惊讶和启发。
China is a large country with a large population. One hundred years ago, it was very difficult to make a living in China; Lack of resources, facilities and funds. Therefore, people look for other countries to make a living.
中国是一个人口众多的大国。一百年前，在中国谋生非常困难；缺乏资源、设施和资金。因此，人们寻找其他国家谋生。
When they came to Indonesia, they found themselves in other people's countries, where people were struggling to make a living. The difference is that these new Chinese families have nothing to rely on, no relatives, because they have left everything behind. Therefore, they realized that in order to compete with local people, they must work hard and earn little money.
当他们来到印度尼西亚时，他们发现自己在别人的国家，那里的人们也在为生计而挣扎。不同的是，这些新的中国家庭没有什么可依靠的，没有亲人，因为他们把一切都抛在了身后。因此，他们意识到，为了与当地人竞争，他们必须努力工作，只赚很少的钱。