For China, it's sort of the same reason public spaces are all landscaped with flower hills and winding pathways. There are literally far fewer places where crowds can gather. This mentality is very much incorporated into their educational system. Even very well educated history buffs in China have nothing but good things to say, and often adhere to erroneous assumptions such as "China is 5000 years old" (despite a vastly shifting geography through the millennia) and "China has never invaded another country" (patently false), etc. Qualification does not exist once the authorized view has been articulated.
When I said that China is eating our breakfast in STEM, it's not entirely accurate, either. I mean, they are indeed cranking out legions of engineers - but the Confucian-Communist culture sees to it that they are firmly rooted in a reverse-engineering mindset, rather than an anticipatory, problem-solving or innovative one. This goes with the mainland's rote, cookie-cutter education system, and is reinforced by internet censorship and travel restriction. And before anyone apologizes, yes there are exceptions, because reality does not work quite the way communism dictates it.
The current generation in China is an elephant on a rope. It has been chained so long it no longer test its bonds and can be held all the easier.
Not to worry - not only are China's test scores highly dubious - more innovations come from businesspeople and scientists than engineers anyway, especially ones in mundane manufacturing industries. When it comes to China, India et al - a person would be wise to always look beyond the surface numbers; and to observe the negative space in the official accounts.
But let's be clear: while China and North Korea are entirely dependent upon the free world markets, (avoiding in practice a liberal economy or empowered middle class, propping up glitzy international shopping malls no one buys anything from), they do keep the world at arm's (or arms') length for the home audience. Case in point: a bristling unwelcome in one of the heaviest-trafficked international shipping waterways in the world. Ha ha, "free trade" they tout. Sure, for them.
Captive audience. I will only add that I have been in China long enough to recognize it is foot-dragging its so-called modernization to the fullest extent. It could have come much, much further by now if it only chose to. This is because their government is, in fact, protecting their profitable status quo. And instead of freedom, the people are taught to yearn for (xenophobic) ethnic pride, as subsumed by the communist party paradigm - despite "5,000 years" of ethnic existence without the benefit of totalitarian communism.
Cheers!
