She was probably one of the most driven women I've ever seen. I had immense respect for her.

She hadn't been back to see her family for 10 years for fear of not being able to come back due to not having her green card yet. She finally got it and we were all super happy for her.

What you're saying might be true, I never got a good sense of how rich or poor her family was, but she was always studying, always trying to be better. It was a very sharp contrast to most/all Americans I know.

She came to this country through drive rather than money, of that I have no doubt.

and neither are comparable to china, and yet the overarching idea, that strong government restrictions on the populace could drive said populace to be better educated in the use of ways around those restrictions still holds for all three.