Tan compared China to other rich nations in areas like literacy, governmental focus on education, perspectives on wealth, sense of responsibility to the community, and the people's ambition, quality of character, and mental outlook.
在他的心裡，關於中國與發達國家有許多對比，包括人民識字與不識字的對比，政府重視教育程度的對比，財富觀的對比，人民社會責任感的對比，人民的追求、素質、精神面貌的對比等等。