ReadyThor

Kudos for mentioning parents. Whenever someone mentions their achievements I often ask them about their parents to get an idea of where they started from. You're very honest for recognizing your parents contribution to your success.

spying against the U.S. is not a crime in China.

Actually they might give him some kind of club membership for that.

As a teacher I concur. Still, even loving and well-intentioned parents can be limited in what they can provide for their children.

I used to do something similar on IRC when I was younger...

1. initiate chat with a guy; say 'hi'
2. initiate chat with a girl; say 'hi'
3. cut the first reply received
4. edit the reply, changing nickname, minor details, etc.
5. paste the reply to the other end
6. repeat

This way I could see their conversation and get any pics exchanged etc.

I made pretty sure any details which could help them identify each other in IRL (excluding direct visual contact) would be changed.

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Obvious FAQ:

Q: How did you know if he/she were really of the sex they claimed to be?

A: After a few minutes of conversation you get to know who is a guy and who is not.

Because it's not their tax dollars. It's all a matter of perspective. If you're studying and unemployed (and therefore not paying any tax) your education is free from your perspective.

You might counter argue that once you're working you'll be paying for the education of other students. In this case the education of the other students would not be free from your perspective. Still, yours would have been free.

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If paying for the education of professionals means that once they graduate they won't be so debt ridden as to have to hyperinflate charging for their services to be profitable then I'm more than happy to pay for their studies from my taxes. And so I do in my European country.