Session 11 - 11/18, Clay Dube

[Matthew Hurwitz]

I was also shocked at how few people in China are members of the Communist Party, and it made me question how China is able to call itself the "People's" Republic, and consider itself a Communist country when the "People's" party that is in charge comprises only 7% of the population. This feels like to me one of the central tensions in the way that China, and people who talk about China have faced since the integration of China into the global Capitalist market in the 1990s. When students ask what kind of country China is, what do we say? When students ask if China is Communist, what do we say? Do we tell them what the Chinese government would say? Do we tell them what people in China would say? What people in Hong Kong would say? Do we go by the definition of Communist in the dictionary? It's all very confusing, which makes it both really interesting as a case study of how Communism and Capitalism, Dictatorship and Democracy can be merged (either successfully or unsuccessfully depending on who you ask). But it also makes it difficult to teach in a clear way in the couple of days or week that teachers are able to spend teaching modern China in their classes.  I think that in my more advanced classes (AP), I could pose the question of "Is modern China Communist?" or "Is it possible to merge dictatorship and democracy together?" using evidence from their notes on China to back up their argument, but I wonder if there is a strategy or way of conveying the complexities of modern China to a sheltered class or a class with students at all different levels, in a couple days, in a way that avoids the easy labels and definitions but is still easy to understand. Or is that just wishful thinking?

[Kurt Hansen]

After reading “The Red Guard,” I keep thinking, “Where’s the poop?” It sounds like major propaganda. They wandered across the continent starving, entertaining, relying on handouts to survive. Each section tells us how just thinking about Mao allowed them to overcome all obstacles. It’s like a bandwagon. I read it and realize that every village and its occupants are part of the people's party. Plus these people sound so happy and contented leading Mao’s Red Army that I want to join in the parade. Every line shows the virtue of our army and the enemies of our beloved group are ruthless evil people who are vanquished by Mao’s followers. This diary doesn’t ring true. It's kind of like a political ad on Facebook. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

 

[Kurt Hansen]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/28/asia/hong-kong-reaction-trump-legislation-intl-hnk/index.html

The following article is important because this affects the future relationship between the United States, China and Hong Kong. It relates to the class because its China!!

 

President Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act to show support for Hong Kong protestors. The act allows the US to re-examine Hong Kong's special trading status with the United States every year. It allows sanctions and the reversal of the trading status if Washington decides to do so. The main purpose of the bill was to support freedom protests in Hong Kong. It shows the protestors that the west supports their democatic freedoms and autonomy.There are drawbacks however. Let's talk about the players:

The US - Stands up for pro-democracy in a time where it has stood up for very little around the world. Possibly even at the expense of expanding trade sanctions on both sides of the China/US trade talks. The US will probably not use any of the parts of the bill, using it more as a symbolic gesture.

China - Angry that the US is involving itself in its own internal conflict. China says, "We urge the United States not to insist on going down this path, or China would firmly strike back and the United States would have to bear all consequences," China is reliant on Hong Kong trade and stock market. If the US decides to take away Hong Kong’s special trading status, China loses economically.

Hong Kong - Protestors are happy. Their only hope is that the world recognizes their struggle and places pressure on China to work this out. Hong Kong officials are under intense pressure from Beijing to fix the situation and the United States position makes this even more difficult for them.

The United States has stood up for Democracy in Hong Kong. This bill signed by the President creates a symbolic gesture of support. Anything beyond that symbolic gesture creates problems for all the players involved. I do believe it was important for the US to show this support. It feels like we stand for nothing lately. This law finally shows Hong Kong, China and the world that we still believe in something. It also, hopefully, gives world focus to these protestors to put additional pressure on China to come to an agreement. 

 

 

[Kurt Hansen]

I knew that Tiananmen Square was a protest for Democracy, but I didn’t know any details. We always see the famous photo of the lone student standing in front of the tank, but I had no idea that 100s or maybe 1000s died. I also didn’t know that the protests had lasted for months and that a hunger strike was involved. I also didn’t know what started the protests. When thinking about it, do we ever feel that these protests accomplish anything? Did these protestors give their lives for nothing? My theory, probably not. This protest was against corruption and greed. The communist party at the time was divided and most likely corrupt. This protest and the growth it acquired before it was brought down must have been a wake up call to the party that their current methods probably didn’t have a great shelf life and that change was needed. Is the current communist party the same as the one in the 80s? No. Changes have been made. There is private ownership, jobs, more personal freedoms. Whether these protestors are responsible for the future changes we’ve seen or not, I believe it made the communist party (Party of the people, BTW), be more responsive to the people's needs. 

 

[Haena Shin]

Hi Cynthia, 

Thanks for sharing this article. I think your comparison to the protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989 with the current ongoing protests in Hong Kong are an interesting point. While these protests have many similarilities since the past 30 years, you're right in the sense that military tactics look somewhat different. I think it would be quite interesting for students to have a conversation in classrooms regarding the current protests in Hong Kong and what they notice about protests in the past. 

With the increase in social media and technology, the world definitely has a closer view on what's going on and the government is definitely much more susceptible to scrutiny from the public's eye. I wonder whether this has impacted protestors and their decision making process in choosing to use more violent tactics to get their message across.

 

[Haena Shin]

This was such an interesting article. I definitely found this topic to be relevant and applicable to our sessions about Japanese artichecture. While Japan struggles with the issue of space and sustainability, the concepts of these capsules address both issues allowing space to be used and designed efficiently while also renovating old spaces that are likely to be more susceptible to damage from natural disasters occuring in Japan such as earthquakes and tsunamis. I enjoyed reading how the architect's intention in design was to preserve the art and technology allowing the building to be functional for the next 200 years. He also points out that there are two different kinds of appreciating in allowing the preservation of the history of the past and appreciating the building as a part of the urban fabric. It's innovative to see how buildings such as the Nakagin Capsule Tower are able to be preserved but continue to step forward with future technologu and design.

[Kurt Hansen]

I liked “Gilded Age, Gilded Cage”. It seems that every story I read has a different perspective. This one seems so ordinary, yet shows the change in China. I didnt think about the changes that China has gone through and how they would affect someone like Bella, as well as her parents. Any societal change has an impact on every person. Additional freedoms given to anyone also creates stress. Less freedoms mean less options, but that also means conformity is the rule. When a government tells you what you can and cannot do, there is more of a requirement to not standout. Bella’s extra curricular activities are what makes her stand out from her standard school scores. The competition for the best schools takes on a new necessity to be your best. At the end, whether she wants to or not, she was invited to join the Junior Communist group. Her and her parents have adopted the new ways, made all the right moves and led her to the new age of Communist China.

 

[Kurt Hansen]

Xi Jinping made a speech during the 70th anniversary of cross strait relations advocating the reunification of China. He reiterates how much mainland China will respect Taiwan’s beliefs, religions and way of life for unification. He believes there is no other way to go and that we are the same, referring to Taiwan. He continues to say that there should be no violence between them yet he does not take military intervention off the table. If I’m Taiwan, I need only look to the southwest to realize China’s respect of others belief has severe limits. Hong Kong has had struggles to keep its autonomy since its transfer of sovereignty to China. Taiwan has been very successful economically, politically and socially. East Asia is always talking about reunification. The Koreas since 1953 and now China. The talks will always continue. Seeing it actualized will always be the problem. The closing quotes show Taiwanese compatriots excited about the reunification. I guess we’ll see.

[Andrew Frank]

The following article I discovered today while skimming through BBC News. I find the topic of technology incredibly fascinating, so I found an article about the China Communist Party's manipulation of technology a perfect combination between my own interest & our seminar! Why I find an article like this relevant to my China curriculum is because it presents a complex (rather than one-sided) view of the Chinese government. My goal as an instructor is to present students with as complex & unbiased of a view as possible of the East. This article both presents the pros & cons of China's plan to use face ID: for instance, a "true identity" must be required to post online (since 2017), which positively prevents "catfishing" and "meddling" - like the kind America has experienced. Alternatively, as researcher Jeffrey Ding at Oxford explains, this may be just a way to "keep tabs" on citizens and maintain more data. I would love to have my students read the article and attempt to make an informed decision for themselves!

 

 

“China due to introduce face scans for mobile users” by BBC News Team

Published in BBC NEWS on 1 December 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50587098

People in China are now required to have their faces scanned when registering new mobile phone services, as the authorities seek to verify the identities of the country's hundreds of millions of internet users.

The regulation, announced in September, was due to come into effect on Sunday.

The government says it wants to "protect the legitimate rights and interest of citizens in cyberspace".

China already uses facial recognition technology to survey its population.

It is a world leader in such technologies, but their intensifying use across the country in recent years has sparked debate.

What are the new rules?

When signing up for new mobile or mobile data contracts, people are already required to show their national identification card (as required in many countries) and have their photos taken.

But now, they will also have their faces scanned in order to verify that they are a genuine match for the ID provided.

China has for years been trying to enforce rules to ensure that everyone using the internet does so under their "real-name" identities.

In 2017, for example, new rules required internet platforms to verify a user's true identity before letting them post online content.

The new regulation for telecom operators was framed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as a way to "strengthen" this system and ensure that the government can identify all mobile phone users. Most Chinese internet users access the web via their phones.

• Xinjiang police 'monitor citizens by app'
• 'Deepfake' app causes fraud and privacy fears in China
• China teen killing sparks internet boot camp debate

Jeffrey Ding, a researcher on Chinese artificial intelligence at Oxford University, said that one of China's motivations for getting rid of anonymous phone numbers and internet accounts was to boost cyber-security and reduce internet fraud.

But another likely motivation, he said, was to better track the population: "It's connected to a very centralised push to try to keep tabs on everyone, or that's at least the ambition."

Are people worried?

When the regulations were announced in September, the Chinese media did not make a big deal of it.

But online, hundreds of social media users voiced concerns about the increasing amount of data being held on them.

"People are being more and more strictly monitored," one user of the Sina Weibo microblogging website said. "What are they [the government] afraid of?"

Many others complained that China had already seen too many data breaches. "Before, thieves knew what your name was, in the future they'll know what you'll look like," said one user, receiving more than 1,000 likes. Another criticised the policy, saying: "This is being implemented without the consent of the public."

Another said they often received scam calls from people who knew their name and address, and asked: "Will they be able to tell what I look like now?"

But others were less cynical, saying that the move was simply in line with "technological progress".

China already extensively censors and polices the web, removing and blocking content it does not want its citizens to see and talk about.

How widespread is facial recognition in China?

China is often described as a surveillance state - in 2017 it had 170 million CCTV cameras in place across the country with the goal of installing an estimated 400 million new ones by 2020.

The country is also setting up a "social credit" system to keep score of the conduct and public interactions of all its citizens in one database.

The aim is that by 2020, everyone in China will be enrolled in a vast national database that compiles fiscal and government information to give a "ranking" for each citizen.

Facial recognition plays a key role in the surveillance system and it has been lauded as a way of catching fugitives. Last year, media noted that police were able to pick a fugitive out of a crowd of 60,000 at a concert using the technology.

In the western region of Xinjiang, where up to a million Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities have been detained for what the authorities call "re-education", surveillance cameras use facial recognition to specifically track Uighurs, based on their appearance, the New York Times reported earlier this year.

• China's hidden camps
• China sets up huge 'social credit' system
• Smart cameras catch man in 60,000 crowd

But facial recognition is increasingly becoming a part of daily life and commercial transactions in China. It's used more and more, for example, to pay in shops and supermarkets.

However there has been some blow-back. Earlier this year, a university professor sued a wildlife park for making facial recognition mandatory for visitors - sparking a wider debate about the state's mass collection of data on its citizens.

In September, the Chinese government said it planned to "curb and regulate" the use of facial recognition technology in schools after reports a university was trialling using it to monitor the attendance and behaviour of students.

Mr Ding said it was clear that there is increasing backlash against China's widespread adoption of facial recognition technology.

Such criticism used to focus on fears of data theft, hacking and abuses by commercial companies, he said. However, increasingly, citizens seem willing to criticise how the Chinese government might exploit such data to track the population.

[Andrew Frank]

One of my favorite features of the final lecture by Professor Dube was discovering the logic behind the Great Leap Forward, as well as all the incredibly smart (albeit manipulative) methods that Mao used to "win over" Chinese citizens once the People's Republic was established. For example, the creation of multiple political parties was an incredibly thoughtful move by Mao, as it allowed individuals to maintain the illusion of choice (when in reality, all the political parties were required to actually support the Communist Party's ideologies). The Land Reform Law also demonstrated Mao's ability to recognize the importance of the poorer members of the Chinese agrarian communities, as well as his ability to gain the capital that is produced from the agriculture economy in the countryside. By framing the struggle for production as a "war" with his "Great Leap Forward," he also was able to maintain stronger control of his citizens, while enhancing socialization within communities through the erasure of private property. It would be fascinating for students to experience a "role play" as Chinese citizens experiencing these changes, then have students write/discuss how each experience would make them feel...

[Andrew Frank]

I think a fun idea for an interactive classroom activity would be to have students frame the Mao & Lenin relationship in terms of a "boxing match" and have them create a short video where they can demonstrate their understanding of the split between China & Russia. (Students could perhaps play commentators watching a match and give commentary on what is happening with each "punch" between the two dictators!) The students could chart the history of relations to this present day, including the complexities that popped up post-Stalin's death. By asking students questions like, Why did China feel that Russia "went soft" after Stalin's death? and Why did Mao move factories from the Northeast to the South, farther away from Russia?, students could come to their own understandings about the relation between these two global powerhouses. By layering in information for students little by little, students can act as Mao and attempt to think back on why decisions were made to strengthen Chinese security. (I would look forward to showing my students pictures of all the many tunnels under the cities!) 

[Andrew Frank]

Kurt, I appreciate your thoughtfulness and candor in response to analyzing the events that occured at Tiananmen Square! I too feel very ignorant about the exact reasoning behind the protests, but (maybe it is just the optimist in me) I also feel that the protests did have some positive impact on bettering the practices of the Communist Party. Perhaps the "Hundred Flowers Movement" was some indication that the Party hoped to be more open to listening to what the citizens themselves felt about how their country was run... (Even though this did backfire a bit, as it led to the Anti-Right Movement, leading to many individuals sent to forced labor camps.) What is fascinating to me is how liberalism and intense conservativism worked side-by-side in the country, as epitomized by something like the PRC Marriage Law in 1950. Although lawful divorce was provided for, the fact that 80,000 women were killed in the process of trying to earn this right reveals that the country has always struggled with mixed ideologies & social practices. I think this would be a very intriguing question for students to grapple with: in what ways was China more progressive than America in the 1950s? 

[Andrew Frank]

I was blown away to discover the giant impact youth played in progressing Mao's Cultural Revolution! The fact that schools & universities were literally closed, in order that students may work as Red Guards was a complete shock to me. Although it may be an unfair or unfortunate comparison, it is hard to not call to mind the Hitler Youth as well, knowing that Chinese youth in the 60s found great joy in "purging China of objects and habits that...reflect[ed] fuedal or bourgeois influences." Reading the article from the Red Guard newspaper, it is hard to not feel inspired as well, hearing the call to "rebel!" What is fascinating to me is hearing that part of this "rebellion" included proposing getting rid of "poisonous things in barber shops, tailer shops, and book-lending shops" (451). I am curious of how these students came to take such an active part in their government and it would be fascinating for students to brainstorm in a lesson how & why they think they would get so actively involved in political action. What would the U.S. government need to do to bring about such activism from people their age?

[Andrew Frank]

Kurt, this article was also one of my favorite of the required readings, as it seemed to demonstrate on a personal level just how much communism has an impact on growing up. One of the most interesting lines to me is "Freedom is not always liberating for people who grew up in a stable socialist society" (Chang 1). Looking at Bella's schedule, it is hard not to feel sympathy for a young girl who seems to be constantly focused on "progressing" to become the most well-rounded citizen possible. What would be a great exercise for American high school students would be to compare Bella's school & extracurricular schedule to their own...I would let students know that both U.S. & Chinese society rank high school students as some of its most stressed-out individuals - why is this so, when both have such vastly different schedules/lives? 

[Andrew Frank]

Cynthia, I'm so happy you shared this article! I actually think it's a fascinating piece of visual journalism, as it so clearly emphasizes the extreme military intervention in Hong Kong. I think it's a fascinating comparison to the optional article we were asked to read about "one country, two systems" in relation to Taiwan. Although I know the relationship between the mainland & Taiwan/Hong Kong are extremely different, I am still curious about why there is such an extreme hostility between the mainland & HK, while President Xi Jiping seems so incredibly peaceful/positive in his relations to Taiwan. Is this simply because protests & political activism against the Chinese government are nonexistent in Taiwan? I must say it is hard to believe that "the social system and way of life of Taiwan will be fully respected" as President Xi said, if Hong Kong has not received the freedoms they were offered. Only time will tell if the situation with Taiwan is truly vastly different from that of Hong Kong's...

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