A.
Citizens,
Society, and the State (Wood, 270)
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) now
appeals to patriotism and the traditional pride in being Chinese
Ex. China has great economic
performance. It won the 2008 er Olympics for Beijing and returned Hong Kong to
Chinese control.
I. Ethnic
Cleavages:
Ø China’s
ethnic population is primarily Han Chinese
Ø Minority
groups comprise about 8% of the PRC’s population (around 100 million citizens),
but the autonomous areas make up more than 60% of China’s territory
Ø The
five autonomous regions are Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Tibet, and
Xinjiang
Ø The
Chinese government suppress the independence of the autonomous regions and
grants the right of self-government in some matters, such as cultural affairs
Chinese
police fired on Tibetans marking Dalai Lama birthday. The incident took place
as crowds gathered to commemorate the Dalai Lama.
a. Tibetans
Ø The
former government of Tibet never recognized Chinese authority
Ø The
movement rallies around the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader who fled to India
in 1959 after Tibet’s failed uprising against China
Ø In
2011, the government-in-exile elected a prime minister, signaling the
withdrawal of the Dalai Lama from political leadership
b. Uyghurs
Ø They
are the Muslims of Turkish descent living in Xinjiang, very close to the
borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan and he Central Asian states of the former
Soviet Union
Ø In
July, 2009, the riots broke out in Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang, due to
the dissatisfaction with the Chinese central government’s handling of the
deaths of two Uyghur workers during previous disruptions
c. Linguistic
Diversity
Ø Mandarin
is the official language of government and education
Ø In
2006, China stepped up its repression of Cantonese
II. Urban-rural
Cleavages:
Ø Most
of China’s tremendous economic growth over the past few decades has taken place
in cities
Ø There
is an upsurge in protests in rural areas, which mixed with tensions among
ethnic groups
Ø Minister
Web Jiaobao announced in 2006 a new government emphasis on “a new socialist
countryside”, a program to life the lagging rural economy
The
Hundred Flowers campaign encouraged Chinese citizens to openly express their
opinions of the communist regime, which exemplified fang-shou.
B.
Policymaking:
Fang-shou
Fang-shou is a letting go, tightening-up
circle evidenced under Mao in his reaction to the Hundred Flowers Movement.
Ø It
consists of three types of actions—economic reform, political movements
(letting go), and a tightening-up by the CCP
Ø With
new reforms that reflect economic liberalization, liberal factions react with a
demand for political liberalization, which the party responds to with force
Ø It
is characterized by a lack of transparency, with policymakers meeting behind
closed doors and only revealing their plans when the government takes actions
C.
Policy
Issues
I.
Democracy and Human Rights
Ø Some
input from the National People’s Congress is accepted by the Politburo
Ø More
emphasis is placed on laws on legal procedures
Ø Village
elections are now semi-competitive, with choices of candidates and some freedom
from the party’s control
Ø The
Politburo reacted The Tiananmen Crisis with guns, and Deng sent the People’s
Liberation Army to shut down the protests
Ø China’s
human rights record came under international spotlight in 2010 when the Nobel
Peace Prize Committee bestowed its award on Liu Xiaobo, a jailed Chinese
activist who has been a vocal critic of the government
II.
The Rule of Law
Ø The
principle of rule of law is based on
the belief that rulers should not have absolute power over their subjects, and
that their actions should be constrained by the same principles that control
ordinary citizens
Ø From
the Communist point of view, law is part of politics that the bourgeoisie uses
to suppress the proletariat-
Ø Since
1978 legal codes have begun to revive,
partly because the new economic growth and investments have required that
consistent regulations be in place that allow China to trade internationally and
attract foreign companies
Ø Criminal law
has developed because of the new opportunities for bribery, theft, and inside
stock market trading created by the economic boom
Ø Procuratorates,
official who investigate and prosecute official crimes, were recreated from
earlier days, and they have cracked down on corruption within the CCP
Ø Chinese
justice is harsh, and the death penalty is often enforced for smuggling, rape,
theft, bribery, trafficking in women and children, and official corruption
Ø There
is no independent judiciary since it remains under CCP’s tight control
III.
Civil Rights and Liberties
Ø Hu
Jingtao has adopted new measures to regulate discussions on university internet
website, in which several dissident writers were arrested
Ø The
status of civil rights and liberties was widely debated
IV.
Population Policy
Ø In
1979, China’s new leader Deng Xiaoping instituted the “one-child policy”, which
included both incentives and penalties to assure that couples produced only one
child and sterilizations were provided to families that followed the policy
Ø Penalties
include steep fines
Ø In
1984, the policy was relaxed n rural areas, but it was reinstated in 2002 in
reaction to reports that many rural births were not reported to the government
Ø There
is a rise in female infanticide
since traditional Chinese society has always valued males above females
Ø The
practice led to a disproportionate number of male to female children
Ø China’s
population is dramatically aging and is full of elderly people
Ø Minorities,
such as Tibetans and Uyghurs, are permitted a second child, whatever the sex of
the first born
Ø In
November, 2013, China's top legislature has formally adopted a resolution easing the country's one-child policy
V.
Economic Policy
Ø From
1949~1978, China followed a communist political economic model: a command
economy directed by a central government based on democratic centralism, in
which Mao called it the “iron rice ball”
Ø Deng
Xiaoping began a series of economic reforms that make up the socialist market
economy—gradual infusion of capitalism while still retaining state control
a. The
people’s communes
Ø During
the Great Leap Forward, farms merged into gigantic people’s communes with several thousand families
Ø These
communes were poorly managed and had low production and rural living standards
due to lack of incentives
b. Household
responsibility system
Ø Deng
dismantled the communes and replaced them with a household responsibility
system in the early 1980s
Ø Individual
families took full charge of the production and marketing of crops
Ø Families
may consume or sell what they produce after paying government taxes and
contract fees to the villages
c.
Private
Business
Ø It
included urban-co-ops, service organizations, and rural industries that largely
operate as capitalist enterprises
Ø It’s
called “bamboo capitalism”
Ø Private
industry remains heavily regulated by the government and are far more
profitable and dynamic than are the state-owned ones
Ø The
fastest growing sector of the Chinese economy is rooted in township and village
enterprises (TVEs), rural factories, and businesses that vary greatly in size,
and are run by local government and private entrepreneurs
Ø TVEs
make their own decisions and are responsible for their profits and losses
d.
Unemployment
and inequality
Ø The
growing inequality has created a floating population of rural migrats seeking
job opportunities in cities
Ø Crime
rates have increased and infrastructures are strained in the cities
e.
Inefficiency
of the state sector
Ø The
state sector is plagued by corruption, inefficiency, and too many workers
f.
Pollution
Ø Air
and water pollution have become increasingly serious problems. Ex. Beijing and
Shanghai have some of the most polluted air in the world
Ø The
government has set targets for energy efficiency and improved air and water
quality, but so far they have gone unmet
Ø The
State Environmental Protection Administration has been upgraded to a ministry
position, and so state coordination of environmental policy may improve
g.
Product
safety
Ø In
2007 Chinese factories were caught exporting poisonous pharmaceutical
ingredients, bogus pet food, faulty tires, and unhealthy shellfish
Ø Authority
has been decentralized, so that local officials have gained lots of decision-making
power
By
November 2008, China reported an estimated 300,000 victims and an
estimated 54,000 babies being hospitalized due to poisoned milk. Chinese
people remain concerned about dairy industry safety standards after the 2008
scandal.
D.
Foreign
Policy and International Trade
Ø Chinese-Japanese
relations have been problematic since the late 19th century when
Japan began to rise as a world power, generally at China’s expense
Ø China
is Asia’s central economy
Ø Under
Mao, China provided substantial development assistance to some of the most
radical states, such as Korea and Vietnam
Ø In
1972, President Nixon visited China and opened relations with a ping-pong match
Ø After
Deng Xiaoping’s leadership began in 1978, his open door policy helped lead the
way to more substantial contact with the US
Ø The
U.S. has pressured China to devalue their currency and to crack down on illegal
exports, but China has resisted the currency adjustment, and the illegal
exports continue to be a problem
Ø China’s
prime minister is Li Keqiang, who tries to increase employment, offer more
affordable housing, provide basic health care, balance regional development,
and promote innovation in clean energy technology
Ø Four
Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were
established in 1979, in which the foreign investors were give preferential tax
rates and other incentives
Ø The famous SEZs are -Shantou and Ziamen,
Shenzen and Zhuhai
Ø China
is a member of World Trade Organization, and it also has “most favored nation
status” for trading with the U.S.
Ø British
gave Hong Kong back to Chinese control in 1997
E.
Policy
Performance
I. Economic Growth
Ø A key economic
reform strategy has been decentralization. Leaders in Beijing have devolved
authority to empower local governments, enterprises, households, and
individuals.
Ø The Chinese
response to the global financial crisis is characterized as hugely successful
and pragmatic
II. Environmental degradation
Ø China’s rapid
economic growth has resulted in serious environmental damage. Environmental
pollution and degradation have increased at a rate that outpaces the capacity
of the Chinese state to protect the environment.
Ø In the policymaking
process, the environmental bureaucracy is weak in negotiations with the many
ministries with developmental priorities.
III. Population
control
Ø While reducing
state intervention to promote economic growth, policymakers have increased
their intervention involving a new policy priority: population control.
Ø The one-child
family policy is inherently difficult to implement in China, particularly
in the countryside, where nearly 50 percent of Chinese live.
Ø Policy
implementation has taken a number of forms: a legal requirement of late marriage,
a requirement of insertion of an intrauterine device after a first birth, and a
requirement of sterilization of one partner after a second birth.
Ø There are
incentives to sign a one-child family certificate after the first birth,
including priority in entrance to schools and funding for health fees for the
child.
Ø Policymakers have
expressed concern about a perverse result of compulsory family planning: the
shortage of young girls, compared with boys.
Ø China’s success in
reducing population growth has strong supporters and detractors outside the
country.
Ø
The official Chinese response to criticism from human
rights advocates has focused on “economic rights” that the government argues
would be denied to all Chinese in the decades to come if population growth is
not brought under control.
Jiang oversaw the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom on July
1, 1997
F.
Hong
Kong
Ø The island of Hong
Kong and adjacent territory on the Chinese mainland were ceded by treaty to
Britain in perpetuity.
Ø In 1984, the
Chinese communist authorities elaborated the principle of “one country, two
systems,” applicable to Hong Kong after 1997
Ø
China and Britain signed a joint declaration: Hong Kong
would revert to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, but would continue to enjoy “a
high degree of autonomy.”
Ø Hong
Kong still maintained a high degree of autonomy, meaning that it maintains its
capitalist system, legal system, and ways of life
Ø Hong
Kong’s elite remains staunchly pro-business, and the Chinese government has
supported the city’s economic development
G.
Taiwan
Ø Taiwan
has claimed to be the Republic of China, separate from the People’s Republic of
China ruled by the Communist Party since post-WWII
Ø In
1971, Taiwan lost its membership in the United Nations and its seat on the
Security Council to the People’s Republic of China
Ø Chinese
leaders assert that Taiwan is historically and legitimately a part of China and
should be returned to its control
Ø The
fact that China is Taiwan’s biggest trade partner encourages the Taiwanese
leadership to explore the possibility of bringing the island close to the
mainland
Ø Weekend
charter flights began in July 2008, and weekday services were added by the end
of the year
Ø China
and Taiwan still had a prickly relationship
H.
China’s
Political Future (Powell, 421)
Ø Two main themes
have run through this study of Chinese politics today.
1. First, despite
very significant economic liberalization and a nascent political institutionalization,
Chinese politics takes place within the boundaries of what is still essentially
a communist party-state.
2. Second, the
dramatic changes sweeping the Chinese economy, polity, and society seem beyond
the control of political leaders, which are a by-product of reform as a direct
product of reform policies.
Ø
Around the world, political change in recent decades has
created an age of democratization – the result, in many countries, of
revolutions that toppled communist regimes older than the Chinese regime.
I. Current Issues
A.
China's Booming Sperm Black Market
Ø
According
to a report by China’s Global
Times, the lack of viable sperm as a result of
pollution adds to the nation’s ongoing shortage of usable sperm donations.
Ø China’s sperm banks have long struggled with
getting men to donate samples, with many hospitals finding it difficult to
recruit donors.
Ø
However,
due to the lack of widely available sperm banks, and an increased interest in
artificial insemination, many couples who are struggling with fertility issues
are turning to the booming black market for sperm.
Ø
State
statistics published by Xinhua says that an estimated 40 million Chinese people
suffer from fertility problems.
Chinese
President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan arriving in Tanzania, March 25,
2013.
B.
Peng Liyuan: China's New First Lady
Quickly Becomes Pop Culture Icon
Ø
Peng Liyuan
is the wife of newly installed Chinese President Xi Jinping
Ø
Peng’s
humble upbringing is also a welcome contrast with China’s political elite, most
of whom are "princelings," the sons and daughters of former political
powerhouses.
Ø
Peng made a
name for herself independently as a folk singer, as well as being a
philanthropist and holding the rank of major general in the People’s Liberation
Army
A
Chinese naval officer looks through a pair of binoculars onboard China's
aircraft carrier Liaoning during military exercises in the South China Sea
C.
Territorial
Disputes in South Chinese Sea
Ø
China is the largest nation among all
the nations bordering the South China Sea, and it claims almost all of the
waters in the sea.
Ø
China says that their claims have been
based on over 2,000 years of history, back when those islands were an integral
part of China.
Ø
When dealing with territorial disputes,
China likes to engage in bi-lateral talks, where it gains an advantage over the
other nation due to its larger size.
Ø
Other Southeast Asian nations have
protested against this, instead preferring to talk to China in multi-lateral
talks so that China does not have as much power in the negotiations.
Ø
China and Japan fought over Senkaku
Islands and the escalated tension endangered the relationship
Bibliography:
Wood, Ethel. AP Comparative
Government and Politics: An Essential Coursebook and Study Guide. 5th ed. N.p.:
WoodYard Publications, 2011. Print.
Powell, G. Bingham, Russell J. Dalton,
and Kaare Strom. Comparative Politics Today. 10th ed. 2012: Pearson,
2005. Print.
Kaiman, Jonathan. "China's
one-child policy to be relaxed as part of reforms package." theguardian.com.
Guardian News and Media, 16 Nov. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/15/china-one-child-policy-relaxed-reforms>.
FlorCruz, Michelle . "China's
Booming Sperm Black Market: Air Pollution Could Be Causing Virility Issues
Among Chinese." International Business Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb.
2014.
<http://www.ibtimes.com/chinas-booming-sperm-black-market-air-pollution-could-be-causing-virility-issues-among-chinese>.
"Japan holds military drill as S.
China Sea islands dispute widens - RT News." Japan holds military
drill as S. China Sea islands dispute widens - RT News. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb.
2014. <http://rt.com/news/japan-military-drill-islands-491/>.
"Peng Liyuan: Folk singer who
became China's first lady." BBC News. BBC, 6 May 2013. Web. 21 Feb.
2014. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20321610>.
"US presses Beijing over South
China Sea dispute." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-26062033>.
No comments:
Post a Comment