Session #1 - February 4

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REQUIRED

Readings 

• Clarke, China's One Child Policy, 2015
• Economy, China's New Revolution, 2018
• Chan, China's Hukou System, 2009

Videos

For the first session, please watch the two mini-lectures below. You're welcome to show this video. Please do not repost to the web. 

1a. Geography/Demography

 

 

1b. The Communist Party and the Hukou (household registration) System

 

 

Optional

• Al Jazeera, China: All the Single Men, 2018 (24 minutes)
• CBS News, China's Water Crisis, 2014 (3 minutes)
• CBS News, China's North - South Water Project, 2014 (3 minutes)
• CGTN, China's Water Diversion Project, 2015 (5 minutes)
• Tim Health, China's Ruling Paradigm, 2015  (46 minutes)

 

[Billie Johnson]

After watching the two videos and reading, these are my thoughts and questions:

• In terms of demography and demographics - I never thought about the significance of the relationship between the economy and electricity when you mentioned North Korea.
• Also, looking at the size of China and its habitable space, it is astounding that there are 1.3 billion people living in China which makes me think about architecture, city planning, and design.
• Do you think that eliminating the hokou system would have a positive effect in terms of increasing birth rates...or is this similar to a caste system?
• Reading the economy and how Xi Jinping, at least it's my interpreation, how he has taken a China first policy and seems to be an isolationist of sorts. Looking at the potential implications of his decisions reminds me of Mao's Great Famine. I know that we are looking at the same toll on human lives, but what is going to happen long-term with not being open and realizing that there is more to gain when working with the rest of the world.
• I was surprised to read about the advocacy of the Trump administration confronting China on their policies...usually these days everything is so negative. I do see from the graphic you shared about the Chinese and US household costs and where the bulk of the money is spent. The market in China is huge for farmers so Xi Jinping is leveraging his capital in people against the US, whereas they need us to for their economic prosperity in terms of our political influence over other countries as a consumer powerhouse. 

All of this was incredibly intriguing and I look forward to our call this evening!

[Diana Corey]

First, the introduction to China video is very well done. I plan to show parts of it as I introduce the Chinese geography research project that I assign to my middle schoolers each year. Thank you for that!

Second, I must confess that one of my greatest weaknesses as a world language teacher is that I am not personally inclined to keep up with the news and current events. I have plenty of background knowledge about Chinese history that I gained through studying East Asia in college, and I have experienced a rapidly changing modern China while living in Shenzhen and Beijing from 2006-2009, but my interactions with and experiences in China have been limited to short trips annually over the last decade, which is not enough for me to absorb all that has changed. It is course opportunities like this one that help to keep me engaged with learning more, and this one in particular has me incredibly excited about getting a solid grasp on what has been happening in China and with US-China relations over the course of the new century. The article on China's new revolution was very informative about what has been happening under the presidency of Xi Jinping and has raised many new questions for me that I am eager to follow up on. For example, I am curious as to where Xi is seeing examples of other countries drawing on "Chinese wisdom" and taking a "Chinese approach" to solving global problems. I would like to learn more about the Belt and Road Initiative and would be very interested to see imagery of what this looks like/is projected to look like. I am wowed by the idea of a "social credit system" that would punish or reward citizens based on their monitored use of the internet from paying bills to playing games to participating in online discourse. Big Brother really is watching! I am curious about China's thoughts on the idea that "with global leadership comes greater global responsibility."

One thing that really struck me in this article was the Made in China 2025 self-sufficiency drive. It reminds me of China's exclusive exportation without importation that led to the onset of the Opium Wars. It reminds me again of China closing its doors to international visitors during the Maoist Era, relying on nothing but the collective efforts of the people to produce all foods and goods, which in many cases resulted in famine and tragedy. I wonder how an initiative like this cannot ring out to the Chinese government as horrible moments in history about to repeat themselves. 

I am looking forward to tonight's discussion!

[Aleida Rojas]

I think that what impressed me the most was the Hokou system. I cannot believe that China is still using this system that discriminates against its own people. The government has created a system that has second class citizens who are not allowed to get an education.

The second thing that impressed me the most is how China has used its economic power to influence other countries. The fact that they got apple to get rid of apps that allowed people to override China's fire wall seems very impressive and disappointing. 
The Reign of Xi Jinping reminded me of how Stalin rose to power. Xi Jinping got rid of all his opponents in what seemed to me like a political purge. Once he did that, he took absolute control over the party and the nation. The fact that there is still hope for a democratic China is not only in the hands of Chinese citizens but also on  US foreign policy. This policy must remind China that with economic power, comes great responsibility. Especially in the role that China plays in global warming, trade, and the militarization of small island in the region.

[Alison Douglas]

Yes, I agree with you about showing the first video to my middle school class.  It is very interesting and insightful to learn about the geography, population, and size.  

[Virgina Jackson]

I have learned so much in the first session alone!  There is so much history, and it is all relevant to today's China.  Here are key thoughts/questions: 

1.  How is the history of China and contemporary China taught in its school system(s)?  From whose perspective is such information written and taught?

2.  How do the various nationalities (whether the official 56 nationalities and/or the other nationalities) communicate (intellectually and cultural-wise) with one another?

3.  Has there ever been an artistic presentation of the Yellow River?  How have the stories of the economic and social growth around the foundational Yellow River been shared?

4.  How do the citizens of China feel about "The China Dream?"

5.  Is there documentation/oral history from individuals who were part of the "Great Leap Forward" era?

6.  What psychological impact has the Hukou System had on China's citizens over the decades?

7.  How is China preparing for the ongoing and forthcoming population shift(s) as it relates to the age demographics?

This week's session has peaked my interest and research inquiries even more.  

 

 

 

 

[Alison Douglas]

The readings and the videos gave me a great insight on what China is like, and I look forward to learning more about the specific topics.  I found it interesting that the second hand citizens don't have access to the same benifits as other citizens.  Also, how the Hukou system is set up, and how people are denied basic needs if they don't register or even if they do.  The picture at the end of the video said a lot about society and how not everyone was able to go to school beyond elementary level.  It's intriging how the communist party has 90 million members and is the largest political party and how 1.2 billion are not part of the party.  I can see why it will be very difficult to make any changes or how slowly those changes may take effect.  The first video on the geography would be great for me to show to my middle school class.  A lot of great information about the population and it's distribution of it. 

[Robert Parker]

How effective will the Hokou system continue to be with the continued increase in influence of the market system?  I loved the first video, as a "map nerd"  I got a lot out of the graphs, maps and charts provided, and the sattelite photographs were amazing.  I was struck by the prblems with flooding along the Yellow river and similar issues with levys along the Mississippi river.  As the levy system raises the river above the surrounding land, and breach becomes catostrophic.  I would also like to find out more about the people and towns displaced by the Three Gorges dam Project, and the possibility of the pressure on the mountains creating eathquakes.

What, if any demographic changes have occured in the past 40 years regarding male/ female ratios? There was a bit mentioned but I didn't see any clear numbers?  If there are many more men than women in these past two generations, what kind of social impact has that created?

[Kelly McKee]

• The article about the one-child policy shares a lot of valuable insight about the future of China's population.  In 2050 25% of China's population will be over 65 years old.  This is alarming and I'm curious to know how the government is preparing to address this issue within the next thirty years.  How will the elderly be cared for in the future?  How does China take care of its elderly population today?
• China's New Revolution article is packed with content takeaways to use in the classroom.  I found the section on 'social credit' to be quite interesting as I have never heard of this term before.  This is another example of how controlled the nation is if the government is aware of how much time you spend playing video games, and knowing one can be punished for spending too much time playing them.  What type of 'punishment' will people endure if they are labeled as being untrustworthy and lacking in social credit?
• The article also highlights to power of the CCP in business today.  I've always wondered just how much influence does the government have over a company's ability to create capital.  As the second video stated 'Jack Ma is the wealthiest man in China and he is also a member of the party.'  Is this true of CEO's of other big Chinese companies?  How are companies taxed and how much control does the communist party have on corpoarte revenue and growth?
•  The Belt and Road Initiative is something I share with students in my World History class.  It is referenced as a modern day 'Silk Roads' initiative.  I'm curious to know how (or if) the US is countering China's expansion of trade ports, terminals, etc. around the world.  Also, what future plans does China have to continue extending the existing trade routes?

[Gail Shaw-Hawkins]

I look at the reason why China has chosen to continue to enforce this  hukousystem because it seems  that rural-hukou migrants represent a huge pool of cheap labor for factories  which has help China. I look forward  to learning more about China system of goverrnment

[DiederichAnn]

The resources provided for our first session left me with much food for thought.  I have read extensively on the One Child Policy and heard the author Mei Fong speak about the issue, but reading this article reminded me of the demographic challenges.  I think that the most mind-boggling topic was on the hukou system.  The lens through which the Chinese see the world differs so much from ours in the US.

 

[Lynne Szczepanek]

There are so many aha moments this week. I never knew about the hokou system, which is probably the one topic I had never heard of. Prohibiting work outside of your resgistration area sounds so discriminatory, but with the population, it makes sense to restrict where people can work, in order to provide jobs for those that live in that community. 

The demographics of where people live versus open land was also quite interesting. I had always assumed that the population was more dispersed than what the maps showed. This is something I can not wait to share with my students and hear their thoughts.

 

[Gail Shaw-Hawkins]

https://tubitv.com/movies/462504/last_train_home?utm_source=google-feed&tracking=google-feed

[clay dube]

Here is the link I promised for the Coronavirus map and growth chart at the Johns Hopkins University website:
https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

By the way - are you following us on Facebook, please do:
Go to the institute page at: https://www.facebook.com/uschinainstitute and click "follow."
And please join the Teaching about Asia group that Catherine manages: https://www.facebook.com/groups/teachingaboutasia/?source_id=138810906479
If your colleagues are interested, please encourage them to join the group as well.

In the past couple of weeks, we've posted additional information about the virus outbreak and many other topics (do you know what innovation McDonalds has come up with in Japan? -- check it out).

 

[clay dube]

Some recommended video resources:
Watch One Child Nation on Amazon, then watch our discussion with Nanfu Wang.
Mei Fong, One Child short interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr6esw1vzW8

Mei Fong, talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=399k0gtiVDc

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