Lol I know you want me to be Chinese, even though I'm not. The pressure to get high scores at the national exam is similar for all countries that have national exams. It's more intense in North Asia (including Singapore) because top universities opens more opportunities and a way out of working class status, and many families put everything they have to support their kids reach that top level while missing the grade is synonymous with failure.
Mind you, I'm not a proponent of such systems but I can assure you that on the positive side they produce outstanding individuals at the end of the road. Of course, the churn is pretty bad.
Also, I've never suggested that Chinese were creative. In fact, if history is any indication, they are the opposite, they are conformists because of their hierarchical culture. When the emperor liked something created by his various artisans, the item would very quickly be copied and only evolve when new colors were invented. Creating something that wasn't first appreciated by the various levels of hierarchy could lead to serious problems for the artisan.
Chinese are less a supply side culture than but a demand side producers. Ask them and they have the skills to make anything, but give them a blank sheet and they stumble. Or at least they did when I lived there 20 years ago. Since then, they've become more sophisticated and taking risks creating new products for their market primarily. But they still prefer foreigners coming in with specific products to copy or with detailed plans to develop from.
