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AnonymousRecently, I saw on TV a discussion of China where the question was asked, will China transform into a democratic government? In reading this article, it seems highly doubtful to me. First, China seems to have shown that good leadership can lead to economic success. Second, that non-democratic governments can pivot quickly. Shenzen is a perfect example. With a billion dollar investment, in five years, according to the article, Shenzen transformed from a village to a city of 350,000 on track to rival Hong Kong.
On a counterpoint, it will certainly be bad leadership which will then bring down the government. Although, isn't that true of all governments, eventually?
AnonymousIn all the readings and videos this week, I have seen something that I find is interesting--the conflict innate in having a "communist" government between the real and the ideal. Certainly there is this in every government, but it appears to be a real thorn for Chinese reform. Perhaps because in a democracy conflict and dissent is an essential part of the system, it stands out that China really has a problem with History and real life experiences. There is a disjointed nature between the way things are supposed to be and the way they are. Whether this is related to economic reform, or social reform, or simply unclear policies towards the press, China has a problem with what I might call the existential experience, as it often contradicts official ideology. Yet, in another way, the Chinese system is able to ignore human experience and simply "get things done" with better or worse outcomes.
clay dubeThese materials focus on the economic reforms and the 1989 Tiananmen demonstrations.
First -- REQUIRED READINGS (all others optional)
1970s-1980s readings
Second - documentaries on how these were reported.
1. Assignment: China "Opening Up" http://china.usc.edu/assignment-china-opening
2. Assignment: China "Tiananmen Square" http://china.usc.edu/assignment-china-tiananmen-square
3. An Australian take on reporting on China "From Mao to Now" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsAKRb5DqrM
Third - sources from the first decade of reform
1. Johnson, Christopher (1985), "Economic Reform in China," The World Today 41.3:55-57.
2. Link, Perry (1987), "The Limits of Cultural Reform in Deng Xiaoping's China," Modern China 13.2:115-176. (long, but insightful)
3. Dube compilation - voices in the push for democracy (1979-1989)
4. MUST WATCH (only 6 minutes) -- 1979 CCTV report on the performances for Deng Xiaoping at Kennedy Center. They included the Harlem Globetrotters and ended with children singing "We love Tiananmen Square."
Recent years:
China Environmental Ethics (9min) http://www.pbs.org/video/2365607392/
China Blue (we brought the director here some years ago) http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chinablue/
Factory City https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3lPjxiVvkQ (2009, Discovery Channel, Mark Stevenson and others)
Xmas without China (made by two USC grads, broadcast on PBS every December) http://www.pbs.org/show/xmas-without-china/
Please Vote for Me http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/pleasevoteforme/film.html (review: http://china.usc.edu/chen-weijun-please-vote-me-film-2007)
Who Will Feed China 2014 http://www.pbs.org/video/2365325047/
Fourth -- Tiananmen
Dube essay - 25th anniversary: http://china.usc.edu/talking-points-june-3-18-2014
The most comprehensive documentary on the 1989 demonstrations is "The Gate of Heavenly Peace". The website for the film is a rich one: http://www.tsquare.tv/ Several video excerpts are available as are many primary sources.
Louisa Lim's The People's Republic of Amnesia is an excellent book on how the government and individuals have worked to suppress memories and to preserve them of what happened in 1989. Her talk at USC is a good summary: http://china.usc.edu/video-tiananmen-revisited-louisa-lim
Tan, Frank (1990) "The People's Daily: Politics and Popular Will -- Journalistic Defiance in China During the Spring of 1989," Pacific Affairs 63.2: 151-169. Former editor of the People's Daily discusses how the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party became a critic of the Party during the Beijing Spring.
edited by Clay Dube on 11/29/2016