well, for david muir, clarissa ward, i'm diane sawyer in china.d we will leave you now with some images of an ancient country and a new horizon. we'll see you tomorrow night from new york. ♪ when i saw all the jobs disappearing, i knew i needed to find a better way to support my daughter. at age forty, greg flowers went back to school. i got a job as a computer applications engineer. but now some in washington want regulations restricting access to career colleges and universities, denying opportunity to millions of people like greg, letting government decide who can go to college. it's my education, my job, it should be my choice. don't let washington get in the way. me and the lads earn rewards just for everyday banking.

clarissa ward is here, she covers the region. and you've heard about a little state in america, the little engine that could? >> reporter: yeah, it's unbelievable. we've really seen a parade of heavy hitters coming through here, from governor schwarzenegger to mayor bloomberg, all jockeying for part of the chinese market. so, how is it that a little welterweight has made such a big hit? washington state. in the last decade, its exports to china have grown over 300%. nearly $6 billion last year. flying high on boeing aircraft exports, pushing hard with frequent visits and targeting marketing. china is eating washington up, from its apples to salmon and its candy. well, one candy in particular. almond roca. an affordable treat in the u.s., but marketed here as a luxury item, showcased in upscale department stores. repackaged with chinese characters, the one for roca actually means "happy family" here. it's a popular gift for the holidays. >> it's a well known brand and the packaging, very premium, very classy. >> reporter: it's als

well, for david muir, clarissa ward, i'm diane sawyer in china.d we will leave you now with some images of an ancient country and a new horizon. we'll see you tomorrow night from new york. ♪ captioned by closed captioning services,

clarissa ward, who covers this region for abc news, tells us about two women, one name. >> reporter: meet tara tang. she's 25 years old and lives in beijing. and this is tara walsh, 29, of washington, d.c. two women with the same name, nearly 7,000 miles apart. walsh begins her day at 5:15, tang is up at 7:30. they have a quick bite for breakfast. >> same thing i eat every single day. oatmeal. >> it's just like sticky rice. >> reporter: and then it's a 20-minute commute to work. for american tara, driving to the charter school where she teaches kindergarten. >> i'm really happy being in the classroom. >> reporter: for chinese tara, who doesn't own a car, walking to lenovo, a computer technology corporation where she works as a lawyer. >> yes, of course i love my job. >> reporter: and they've worked hard to get where they are now. six years of college for both. the payoff? in china, average starting attorney salary -- $12,000. in america, average starting teacher salary -- $35,000. both taras are married, but tang wore red robes, considered lucky in china, a tradition dating back 1,40

. >> reporter: i'm clarissa ward in beijing. living here now for two years but i've been visiting china for nearly 15 years. and one thing i've really started to notice recently is that the chinese are really starting to learn english and they're starting at a very young age. >> what's this? >> it's a monkey. >> good! >> reporter: most urban parents here can only have one kid and that means absolutely no expense is spared when it comes to making sure that they go to the best schools. we're here with a group of 5-year-olds, they may look like tiny tots but already they've started to master some key phrases. and they're really starting to have an affect. hi, what's your name? >> jane. >> reporter: nice to meet you, jane. >> so much more to come. for the students at the walter cronkite skul of journalism, for all of us at "world news" from phoenix, we are headed to the airport. we'll see you monday from shanghai. our china exploration begins. good night. the moment you feel run down or achy nip flu-like symptoms in the bud, with os

and clarissa ward is telling us how they're doing it. she's in beijing tonight. ood evening, diane. china is in the throes of a campaign to break through the language barrier. in the next five years, all government employees under 40 will be required to master at least 1,000 phrases in english and all schools will begin teaching english in kindergarten. china is learning english. >> what color? >> orange. ♪ really no others >> reporter: parents who can afford it are forking out for private language schools that are popping up across the country. >> my name is -- >> reporter: where kids start learning as young as 2. >> elephant. >> good. >> i'm 5 years old. >> reporter: you're 5 years old? and do you like to study english? >> yes. >> reporter: by the time they're 10, they're fluent. >> ready? >> yes! >> reporter: what do you want to do when you grow up? >> i want to be a soldier in the future because i want to protect our country. >> reporter: it's part of a push to promote internationalism. >> china is more open to the world. we want our kids to open their eyes to

tonight, david muir and clarissa ward tackle the one-child policy and the shortage of girls.t we begin with david muir tackling the question of freedom and human rights. >> reporter: adam from pennsylvania e-mailed us saying, "i'd like to know more about the human rights violations in china." and we know the human rights risk atlas ranked china the 12th worst country out of the 196 that it studies when it comes to human rights violations. of course the nobel peace prize winner liu xiaobo remains behind bars here. an 11-year sentence. and we took note of this number when it comes to freedom of the press. it's estimated that 80% of the relevant information that we get on the internet back home, on tv, in the newspaper, is never published here in china. the next e-mail from patrick in california -- "i'd love to see the current conditions of the polluted environment." and we just wanted to show you the sun. this is right in the middle of the day here, and you can see the haze over the sun. >> ni hao. >> reporter: you want to see my passport? yes. this is, when it comes to flee do