happy to you porridge for every meal why
because if there isn’t porch that day
that means she goes hungry she digs her
trash to try to find fruit and forage
for weeds to view her stomach she walks
a long way to drink water even if it’s
contaminated lacking paper as school
she’ll have to write on the dirt I will
leave it to your imagination as why
there’s a pie of rocks next to the
village toilet but you know she
appreciates simply being alive a luxury
that her younger brother did not get to
enjoy what do you say to a little girl
like this that she should try to be
positive her future is almost certainly
that of a substance farmer that little
girl was my mom that village was her
home my grandma who grew up in even
worse conditions so no hope for her
daughter if she remain in the village so
the whole family worked extremely hard
to earn some actual bucks and some
actual points in 1981 my mom got
accepted to the best middle school in
the county so the whole family moved
four people two chickens one bike in
case you didn’t get that like picture
four people sitting on the single bike
and holding two chickens they moved from
a small village to a slightly bigger one
in shanxi china some things did get
better my grandpa found a new job in a
paper mill
so there was no longer a pie of rocks
next to the village toilet however as
the toilet remand to Odin planks over a
large hole the balancing act while using
bathroom remained a crucial skill hey my
grandma at one point that some things
will just not get any better there so
she told my mom leave go to Beijing find
another home with this simple words my
mom decide on her future it’s actually
funny because the high ever even been to
Beijing but somehow they knew that wheel
place were the couch and your lives
Elise it wouldn’t be worse later my mom
become the first college graduating her
family she left everything she was
familiar with got on a twenty-four-hour
tray and guess what she did said in the
trim bathroom why no because that’s
significantly better than any bathroom
she had ever used actually maybe um it’s
actually because she could not afford to
buy a seat ticket and that’s the only
place where you can be and now be
constantly pushed finding a new home is
hard not only the living part but also
the writing part my mom was a so-called
outsider at her college different accent
different habits it was challenging but
she made it eventually she SAT her down
in Beijing had a job had a family and
most importantly had me you know
sometimes I cannot help I imagine if she
remained in the village instead of
becoming
a CEO of engineering firm the only
expertise she could possibly develop is
about the various methods of growing
course ladies and gentlemen her
relocation is also why have a chance to
speak with you today my mom not only
found herself a new home but also give
me a chance to find mine her story
taught me a simple lesson thatís you
have the right to decide where you want
your home to be it does not need to be
where you were born now what if I tell
you there are millions people in China
like my mom who wanted to find
themselves in new homes without you
including my uncle our government
created internal passport system that
makes free migration throughout the
country extremely challenging we’re told
it will better promote social stability
allocate resources and provide citizens
with safety and I don’t need to look far
to see how the actual impacts people’s
lives my cousin who was the same dreams
talents and ambitions as I do has to
stay in the same town facing much more
challenges with much fewer opportunities
and this gap between us existing every
single aspect of our lives from welfare
services to health care from education
to employment isn’t that ridiculous that
those barriers not only exist but
they’re artificially designed enforced
and justified it must seem so alien to
you guys imagine we’re being Iowa means
interestingly enough most people find
the same idea in a slightly different
contacts be completely reasonable that
is our current immigration system
the barrier would create it
intentionally to prevent free migration
in the world we’re so used to this
division between countries that we don’t
even think of it we don’t even think of
it has anything wrong because we think
it’s natural we tell immigrants to go
back to your homes as if home our word
the word bored with their passport says
as homes are kind of some immutable
characteristics determine at birth as if
home can never change but I ask why you
should it be able to now some of you
might think she’s crazy how can finding
a new home in a different city be the
same as finding a new home in a
different country well my go today is to
challenge you all to see the similarity
between this two it’s a matter of log
where you were born the country is the
lottery the city is the lottery the
country has even more power to determine
your life if you believe if you believe
that the quality of your whole life
should not be determined by some random
lottery draw at birth you should be very
cautious about any system that enforces
this idea such as our current
immigration system I want to take this
time to remind you guys the
arbitrariness of the division between
nations we categorize the people with
the same nationality as us as our people
and categorize people who happen to born
on other side of political boundaries
those people we’re causing a very
dangerous line we need to remember if
tiny things changing the history those
some of you may think okay but can we
just put morality aside for a second and
think about all the jobs and welfare
services immigrants will take away from
us
they think when immigrants come in to
seek homes they only diminish our homes
many people believe where immigrants
come in the only receive help from us if
the idea of us even exist in the first
place however what the overlooked is
that women’s come in think I also create
homes and they are not only ones who
receive help from us we only receive
help from immigrants just look at love
of entrepreneurship in the United States
and guess how many great startups are
started by immigrants who are now born
over fifty percent of top billion-dollar
startups in the United States are either
founded or co-founded by immigrants who
are now born here and then the fortune
500 companies created by them alone
employee more than 3.6 million people a
figure equivalent to the population of
Connecticut furthermore we should really
look at the long-term impact of
immigration not just how much the first
generation of immigrants can bring but
also how much their kids and their
grandkids can create i will tell you
guys three quick stories in the late
1970’s and early 1980s three families
came to united states here we have this
first family of this kid came in from
paris with his iranian-born parents and
later when he grew up he created an
auction website allow direct
person-to-person transaction that is
orange of ebay she’ll have the second
family there were both from dan the
soviet union and later when they kid
grew up he went to Stanford and enter
and add there he and his friend
create a web search engine that is
orange of Google and that is also the
orange of my procrastination here we
have this third family a korean couple
they came to united states and three
years later they started a clothing
store in california that is so we’re in
jail forever 21 and also probably half
of my clothes if that does not impress
you if that does not impress you okay
think about Chinese takeout sushi and
tacos see how we’re benefited from
immigrant happened thirty and forty
years ago and what immigrants have been
able to achieve in the United States
should have shown the world a long time
ago how beneficial it can be if we open
up and let different people a chance to
contribute if we want the next
generation to enjoy vibrant technology
signs products culture and of course
even better food we should really open
up and the numeric I should keep doing
where has been so good at becoming the
home for the dreamers you ask me is
immigration and easy answer for all the
problems we have no does it come with
social economic and political challenges
yes it does a lot of them will some
people’s interests or feelings be heard
during the process unfortunately yes but
sure we still do it I believe so not
only because everyone deserves a second
chance to choose their homes but also I
believe in the long run we now just
America not just Chinese but humanity as
a whole will be better off I hope in the
future we can agree the home should not
be a matter of law
during but rather the community to help
us become the person we want to be thank
you [Applause]