Today, we're going to discuss a final thought. The Chinese people have a few sayings that are still relevant. There's a truth in the old saying: as long as foolishness is not yet outdated, ancient wisdom will not be. This saying from Confucius dates back 2,509 years.

Confucius said that a country should not be the one to choose its people; rather, the people should choose the country. This should be based on their own free will. However, for a long time, especially since Mao's era, China's approach has been different. It's not based on natural attraction but on state-led selection. We are living in a world similar to Confucius's time, where many people are still being controlled. The ruling party uses the state to influence them. With modern information flow, you can't be completely isolated from the world, but manipulation persists.

To understand this, we can see two different models in the world, exemplified by the comparison between China and the United States.

The first model is what I call "building a nest to attract the phoenix." The government uses its power and money to target specific high-tech fields and recruit top talent. This approach can, in a short time, quickly gather a group of highly accomplished people in a concentrated area to achieve significant results. China's "Thousand Talents Plan" from 2008 to 2018 is a prime example. The government provides cash, funding, and resources, essentially using money to build a nest for those it deems valuable.

This piece of forest is cultivated under a system. The heart of this system is a form of top-down control. It's not about free choice; it's about being selected for a project. I want you, so I set up the conditions for you to come and work within my designated framework.

The second model is like a vast, free forest, which is the American way. The American government's role is not to build specific nests. Instead, it maintains an environment—a free land with a suitable climate—where anyone can thrive. It welcomes people from all over the world. The top talents, the most successful people, are a very small percentage who rise through their own efforts. For example, in America, you don't need to work in a designated place; you can succeed just by your own skills. This sends a clear signal to the world: America welcomes you to use your power to create your own success. The government doesn't direct you.

So, one model is the government putting in money to make people conform to its tree-like structure, as Confucius might have described it. The other model is the government maintaining an environment for high-achievers to emerge naturally. Confucius saw these two distinct ways a country can develop.

The "build a nest" model, though it seems efficient in the short term, has high costs and its effects can be fleeting. History provides a stark warning. In the early 20th century, Germany was a global center of science and culture. In just 30 years, the number of Nobel laureates from Germany was immense, spanning natural sciences, art, and rhetoric. It was a peak of human intellectual achievement.

However, in 1933, when the Nazi Party came to power, this environment was totally changed. In just a few years, the country forced its top minds to flee—greats like Einstein and von Neumann. These top-tier intellects left because they were not free and their rights were not respected. Germany's loss of these people directly contributed to America's rise as the world's scientific powerhouse.

This is a story that tells us a lot. In recent years, China's success, especially in attracting high-level talent, has been based on offering good money and resources. But the most important thing is the environment.

The most telling evidence comes from China's own elite. Their families, their kids, almost all live in America. They know they can make quick money in China, but their kids' future is in America. Why is that?

I think, in their minds, what's more important than a child's immediate gains is the environment. This includes the openness of ideas, connection to the world, and the future. A normal person doesn't want their kids to be cut into a subservient shape by the education system. So, whether from the policy perspective or the personal choice perspective, the answer is clear.

The party can use money to buy a person's expertise for a project, but it cannot buy the whole country's future this way. If China is to become a truly great nation, it must find a way that works for all people. The effect of just using money is short-lived. After 2018, this approach began to fail.

As Confucius said, the simple way is to make those near you happy, and those who are far will come. A real person, a free person, will use their own eyes to watch and their own feet to choose the world they want. America's logic, as Confucius would have seen it, is that it has given a system and an environment where there is choice. The core of China's model is the "tree" that the government plants and controls. It's a man-made setting, not a natural choice. One path creates a free environment; the other needs to control. The answer to which is better is clear.