Politics sciences
zbdillqhzh5
Ch7_China.pdf
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China (Chapter 5: 258-299)
INTRODUCTION
C H I N A
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China
• Socialist/communist since mid 1900s
• Used severe methods to industrialize
– Great Leap Forward
• Moving towards market economy
• But retaining communist government
• Economy growing
• A third still live in poverty
Chinese Perspectives
• Continuous civilization for over 4,000 years
• View of china as the center of the civilized world
• Eastern vs. western bias
• Inward looking
• Closed society
• Political regional geography reveals
change, instability and
possible flashpoints
China’s Population
• 1.325 billion
• Annual natural increase 0.6% (1970s - 3%)
• Birth rate: 12; death rate: 7
• Life expectancy: 70 (males), 74 (females)
• Arithmetic density: 138 people/sq km
• Physiological density: 988 people/sq km
– Only 10% of the land is arable yet 69% of the population lives on this land
• Distribution: Western 2/3’s is sparsely populated, mostly with minority populations
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China’s Relative Location
• Isolation
– Natural protective barriers
– Distance
– Inward looking (central kingdom) with minor
incidences of cultural diffusion
– Effects of one ocean
• A history of emperors who restricted use of the
coastline, except in local circumstances
• Today the ocean is playing a major role in the
economic (and cultural) transformation of coastal
China.
Kongfuzi (Confucius)
• 551- 479 BC - China’s most influential
philosopher and teacher
• Confucianism:
• Focused on the suffering
• Emphasized that human virtues, rather than
godly connections, should determine a
person’s place in society and happiness
• Teachings have dominated Chinese life and
thought for more than 20 centuries
History:
Two Chinas
• After the Chinese Civil War of
1949, the Communists under
Chairman Mao Zedong had
created the People’s Republic
of China (PRC) on the
mainland.
• The Nationalists under
Chiang Kai-Shek had fled to
Taiwan (Formosa) and
established the non-
Communist Republic of China
(ROC).
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History: Communism &
Reform
• 1950’s- 1976 Communist regime
reform:
– Based on the Soviet socialist model
– Land was expropriated.
– Farming was collectivized.
– Industries were reorganized as state-owned communal enterprises.
– Emphasis on ‘heavy industry’
– Dramatic social changes- education, religion, population growth
– Estimates 20 -140 million died in Mao’s “reforms”
People's Republic of China:
Mao’s Mass Murders
Source: R.J. Rummel
NIXON
GOES TO CHINA
• Nixon met with
Chairman Mao (1972).
• Results:
– The leaders discussed policy and philosophy, and made a favorable impression on each other.
– Immediately after the trip, Kissinger moved to establish regular contact with the PRC.
• Mao died in 1976
– However, formal diplomatic relations were not established until January 1, 1979, under the Carter administration.
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Economic Problems brought on by
Communism
• Problems stemmed from the state controlled
economy
• Serious energy shortage
• Transportation infrastructure poorly
developed
• Popular resistance and changes in central
policy have weakened China’s population
control program.
• Environmental degradation
Reforms
• Deng Xiaoping’s “reform and opening up”
since late 1970s
Deng Xiaoping Era
• Took power in 1979 as a ‘pragmatic moderate’
• Introduced economic liberalization measures
– create a ‘socialist market economy’ wedding communist political rule with capitalist economic practices
• Decentralized decision-making
• Shifted to the responsibility system in agriculture
• Created SEZ’s, open cities, and open coastal areas
• Opened China to foreign science and technology
• Permitted students to study abroad
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China today is
only a fraction of
the empire it
once controlled
A. WinklerPrins
Current Political Divisions
China’s Political Map
• Central-government-administered municipalities (shi’s): 4
– Beijing (capital); Tianjin (port city); Shanghai (largest city); Chongqing (interior river port)
• Autonomous regions: 5
– Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia); Ningxia Hui; Xinjiang Uygur (Chinese Turkestan); Guangxi Zhuang (South); Xizang (Tibet)
• Provinces: 22
– Grow in size from east to west
• Special Administrative Regions: 2
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China: Politics
• Socialist/communist since mid 1900s
• Used severe methods to industrialize
– Great Leap Forward
• Moving towards market economy
• But retaining communist government
• Economy growing
• A third still live in poverty
Political Culture
• Family ties are strong
• Consensus is important
• Gradualism & caution is applied to change
– Except under Mao
– Achieved many changes attempted in Russia
– China did not have such serious repercussions
• Dominance of state, party, & mass
cooperation
– At expense of individualism & competition
Political System
• Unitary state
• Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has all
the real power
• Difficult to determine who runs what
– Titles not always what they seem
– Personal ties and standings of key leaders
• Military has a role in civilian government
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Constitution
• Describes gov’t structure & policies of CCP impressive list of the rights and duties of citizens, including:
freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, demonstration, and religion and the right to criticize any state organ or functionary.
• Article 51: personal rights may not infringe upon
state or society
• Article 54: prohibits acts “detrimental to the
security, honor and interests” of China.
• CCP constitution better reflection of gov’t
policies
Executive • State council
– Headed by Premier (head of gov’t)
– 2nd most powerful person
• Most powerful is head of CCP
• Current party chief is also
President
– Not always the case historically
Hu Jintao
since March 15, 2003
• 2012: The
man projected
to take over
as general
secretary of
the CCP and
as president
of China is
Xi Jinping.
POLITICAL SYSTEM
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Political Organizations • National People’s Congress
– In theory, makes laws & selects national leaders (rubber stamp)
• Judiciary - role is to enforce party & state policies
• Politburo - small subset of CCP
– Holds ultimate power
• Media – controlled by party
• Only local districts have direct elections
• Higher levels elected by lower levels
– theoretically
Delegates attend the opening of the National People’s Congress in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, in March 2011. The sheer size of the Congress, coupled with its short meetings, means that it is able to achieve little beyond confirming policy decisions that have already been made by the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.
Liao jiangheng/AP Photo
POLITICAL PARTIES
In China, there is only one significant political party— the Chinese Communist Party.
It is the source of all meaningful political power.
It controls all other political organizations, plays a key role in deciding the outcome of elections, and dominates both state and government.
ELECTIONS AND PARTIES
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FOREIGN POLICY
Nuclear power building up and modernizing both its short-range ballistic missiles and its long-range strategic missiles.
In recent years it has moved to strengthen ties with its Asian neighbors, continues to ensure the isolation of Taiwan, and works to adjust to the requirements of WTO membership.
Relations with the United States sometimes strained
but have generally been cordial.
POLICIES AND POLICYMAKING
29
Taiwan Issue
• Former colony of Japan (1895-1945).
• Nationalists fled to Taiwan after the Civil War.
• 2 Views:
China: Taiwan is an inalienable part of the
territory.
Taiwan: The legitimate government of China.
• US supports “Two Chinas” or “Taiwan Independence.” – There is a fear in Taiwan that US is less capable or
interested in maintaining this status quo.
Other Issues
• South China Sea
– Philippines
– Vietnam
• Oil
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People’s Liberation Army
• World’s largest military: 375,520,255 people
• Includes all services & (MIL) party functions
• Used primarily for internal political control
• National leaders need support of military
• Recently gov’t has attempted to reduce political influence
• Tech Savvy: cyber warfare
Economics • State ended its monopoly on services
– Allowed creation of small businesses
– This lowered unemployment
• International trade & foreign investment
has jumped
• Income & consumption has increased
• Capitalism no longer officially condemned
• Worsening crime & corruption
Figure 7.1 Comparative Economic Growth
Sources: Figures for 2005–2006 from World Bank, and for 2007–2012
from The Economist. Figures for 2011–2012 are projections.
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Economic Initiatives
• Special Economic Zones (SEZ) – 7 SEZ’s established; 3 in Guangdong Province – Investment incentives: low taxes, import/export
regulations eased, land leases simplified, etc.
• Open cities – First 4 coastal cities, increased to 15 cities – National investment focused on Shanghai
• Open coastal areas – Also designed to attract foreign investments – Concentrated along pacific coast deltas and
peninsulas
Open Cities
• Size
• Overseas trading history
• Links to ‘overseas
Chinese’
• Levels of industrialization
• Pool of local talent and
labor
• Confined to coastal areas A. WinklerPrins
Qingdao – an ‘open city,’ sometimes
called ‘little Shanghai’
Pudong
A. WinklerPrins
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Economic Reform Measures
• Sequence
– agricultural production (late 1970s - )
– international trade and investment (1979 - )
– state-owned enterprises (early 1980s - )
– “socialist market economy” (1993 - )
– fiscal reforms (1994 - )
– privatization and private sector (1997 - )
– accession into the WTO (2001)
– Democracy Next? (20..?)
Democratization: economic
development and democracy • Modernization Theory
– Economic development either increases
chances for a transition to democracy. As
economic development progresses,
democratization will become inevitable.
• Role of the middle class
– Demands representation from elites
State & Middle Class
• Party-state remains central to China’s economic
development and to its emerging new middle
class
• Middle class of the reform era have emerged
from within the local ``establishment”
• The new middle class are not alienated or
independent from the party-state
• They operate in close proximity and through
close cooperation with the party-state
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2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
% a
m o
n g
p ri
v a
te e
n tr
e p
re n
e u
rs
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
30
20
17 17
13
8
15
CCP Members
Democratization
One-Child Policy
• Policy implemented in 1979
• Cultural preference for male children
• Severe gender imbalance
– 116 males born for every 100 females on average;
some provinces >125:100
• The One-Child Policy has disrupted natural
population growth
• Major implications for lack of women to marry
– Female kidnapping and smuggling
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Summary
• Becoming a major power
• Disparity between economic & political
system
• Increasing affluence of middle class
– Could challenge political system
– Greater moves toward democracy, or
– Return to managed economy
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. Is it still appropriate to think of China as a “communist” country?
2. The relationship between party and government in China has been described as one between a principal and an agent. To what extent can the same be said of the relationship between parties and government in liberal democracies?
3. Who governs China?
4. In what way have the changes made to the government of China produced more political stability?
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STUDY QUESTIONS (CONT’D)
5. How does leadership change in China, and how
does the process compare with changes of
leadership in liberal democracies?
6. Is it possible to have true democracy within a
single political party?
7. What differences are there between the
methods used by Chinese leaders to win control
and the methods used by politicians in liberal
democracies?
8. Is China a superpower?
China
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