I don't think Chinese mothers are "superior". I think it
depends on the yardstick you use. If you're interested in
instilling discipline in children and achieving feats, then yes, I
feel that most Chinese moms are strict enough, and sometimes too
strict.
One of the striking things I saw in the workplaces here when I
first moved to Melbourne, was how low the standards were.
Compared to the Singapore workplace, the Aussies get praised much
more for doing / knowing much less! The uni students / grads
would come to work not knowing the basics, stuff that over here,
you'd jolly well know at the back of your hand or else face
humiliation and scolding! When mistakes are made here, you
can be sure that there will be consequences and although you may
weep and feel really bad about it, the important thing is, we learn
out of the incident, and we never repeat the same mistake ever
again. In contrast, when mistakes are made in the workplaces
here, it's a pat on the back, "It's alright! Don't
worry! You're fine!", and that's about it - whipped by a
feather. I find there's too much pussyfooting here, and most
of the Singaporeans working in my profession share the same
observations.
As a result, we get cohorts of grads who are full of themselves,
think that they know everything and end up being pretty boastful,
talk down to their seniors and boss them around, and even when they
commit an error, you have to be really careful how you approach
them because they can turn the tables on you and make it out to be
a case of you bullying them and not "helping to create a conducive
environment for learning" and/or not being approachable.
And... get this... you aren't exactly allowed to fail them nor
give them bad grades because then, they'll go crying / complaining
to their supervisors, and then you'll get approached and
'counselled' on how to be a 'better mentor' the next time
round! 
All this stems from parents who mollycuddle too much and are
overly concerned about bruising their kids fragile self-esteem and
egos. Never having been told that they need to brush up on
their work, put in more effort in their studies, etc, these people
then grow up to be folks who believe the world of themselves and
toot their own horns loudly even though in reality, they are just
mediocre workers who are just really good in Public
Relations. Sure, their social skills may end up being more
refined but the crux of the matter is, if you strip off the veneer,
you don't really see a good, solid foundation. Think of
candyfloss - voluminous on the outside, but as it all melts on
contact in the mouth or on the fingers, you realise that it's just
a little bit of sugar being poofed up manifold. Think empty
vessels making the most noise.
Instilling discipline in children is very important, so is
ensuring that the basic skills are learnt when they are in
school. Sure, playtime is very important, but from an early
age, they should learn discipline and realise that work, ie.
studies comes first, THEN play.
I think the Chinese might take it to the extreme sometimes cause
it might be all work and no play for the poor kids. And
Chinese parents do verbally abuse their children in general.
Whilst most kids grow up alright, there are kids who, being more
sensitive and emotional in nature, might end up being emotionally
scarred although to encounter a Chinese kid who goes postal from
these childhood incidents is pretty rare, compared to the Western
counterparts. I think the Chinese kids might just be more
resilient in a sense because they had to learn from a young age to
deal with harsh criticisms, to accept failure and feel the sting
and pain of not being a success and then subsequently becoming
determined to succeed and not wanting to fail again. This is
a good quality to instill in children and with that character, they
will grow up to become adults who strive to achieve higher
standards at work, and not be satisfied with getting lots of nice,
feel-good comments for merely mediocre work.
