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clay dubeJust a quick follow-up. Taiwan ISN'T an SAR. It's official name is Republic of China. We will probably have a one day workshop devoted to Taiwan later in the year. Taiwan functions as an independent nation. By law, the US treats people from Taiwan as it does citizens of other countries. Taiwanese can visit the US without a visa. China's government is unhappy with all of this and wants Taiwan to accept some sort of political accord which would make Taiwan part of the People's Republic of China. Few countries (15) formally recognize the Republic of China as a country, but most countries have ties with Taiwan. It is a tech and trading power.
The key US law on Taiwan is the Taiwan Relations Act: https://china.usc.edu/taiwan-relations-act-1979
You may also find this presentation by Shirley Kan on TRA to be of interest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAVIXGAXndc
I've already recommended Shelley Rigger's book and this talk, but it's useful again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zeg0MoR7gLs
Finally, we had this discussion a year ago on the 2020 Taiwan elections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6c0ogUMHOo
clay dubeFor Johnny and others interested in early Chinese economic planning:
China Learns from the Soviet Union: The Transfer of Soviet Practices and Experiences to a Communist Ally, edited by Thomas Bernstein and Hua-yu Li
review: https://china.usc.edu/bernstein-and-li-china-learns-soviet-union-2010
interview with Tom Bernstein: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1770&context=chinabeatarchive
Bernstein talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MvACKtx1WA
clay dubeAllison - the middle income trap is the threat here. The low-hanging fruit has been picked. Justin Yifu Lin argues that consumption will produce three more decades of growth, but Scott Rozelle is worried that China needs to expand rural high school availability: USCI | YouTube. Here's a CNBC report that draws on Justin Lin's expertise.
clay dubeclay dubeJeanine, you've hit on one of China's worries. How to build brands that represent quality and innovation? Here's an article in China Daily about top brands. Perhaps students might research the history and standing of these companies?
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201907/16/WS5d2d00c2a3105895c2e7d902_1.html
clay dubeJohnny, the Soviet example loomed large, in part because of the USSR's "socialist brother" status, the many advisors sent to China, and the training some received in the Soviet Union. The role of five year plans is significant. You'll see many business organizations and companies paying a lot of attention to the goals included in the plan. No idea if they are recording an English-language propaganda video to accompany the roll-out of #14 in March.
The plan was discussed at the Party's Central Committee plenum last fall and leaders met in December to hammer out the details. It will be presented and ratified at the National People's Congress in March. Every level of government will have its own plan, to support the central agenda.
At the same time that all this planning is going on, the private sector is where most Chinese work and where a large share of the country's GDP is produced. How might we teach about the usefulness and potential problems of a planned economy and how China continues to "build socialism with Chinese characteristics"?
clay dubeChina's expansion of higher education is helping the country dramatically expand the professional class. There's still elitism (see the Li talk under optional above for this). Scott Rozelle's talk on Thursday explored the challenges facing China because high school education eludes too many of China's rural students. You can watch at our website or YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gRKg_RXV1M&list=PLEAC41A08E1EE341A
clay dubeIt's pretty easy to bring the government's views to students, Hector. Xiaozhen's suggested one set of videos on China in the Time of Xi. Those reflect the emphasis on Xi's leadership. The views of ordinary people require more digging, since dissenting views can be dangerous to express. Glad to see the suggestions for readings offering views of women and men. Factory girls is great, especially in giving us a sense of the experience of migrants. We're a week from lunar new year, the film Last Train Home is great for the challenges facing migrants. It, is a decade old, but extremely powerful. Last Train Home is on Kanopy, Pluto and a few other free services. https://www.kanopy.com/product/last-train-home
China in the Time of Xi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrV5GpogjDg
clay dubeYes, Derek, the party-state likes to emphasize the "socialism with Chinese characteristics". The party has emphasized focusing on leading productive forces rather than the vanguard of the proletariat.
clay dubeDerek, I quite agree with Heath, but would note that Leninism remains strong in China. In Chinese propaganda, political study and in the constitution, Leninism is always tied together with Marxism. But as it functions in China, it is quite separate and evident. Nationalism is among the tools employed by the Leninist party-state. Ask about attitudes toward Japan in our discussion to help sharpen this idea.
clay dubeRyan - the hukou system has had some benefits, but is mostly an artificial designation that leads to systematic discrimination. Discrimination ultimately serves some who enjoy privileges, but harms the overall society in generating stigma, negative individual experiences, and denying the full utilization of the talents of the entire population. Many Chinese argue that hukou saved China from problems that beset ever larger cities in the developing world. It was a control mechanism but had and has terrible social consequences. We'll come back to this in several discussions.
clay dubePing, thanks for mentioning science fiction. It's not really my realm, but Liu Cixin's works have become hugely popular. The Three Body Problem won the 2015 Hugo Award, an international honor. The film version of one of his short stories, The Wandering Earth, became a megahit in China and is available on Netflix. A colleague of mine highlights differences between the film and story versions. Netflix is also making a series based on The Three Body Problem. It's likely that many students will be introduced to and interested in Liu's work.
In 2015, our students interviewed Ken Liu, the author-translator who brought The Three Body Problem to English audiences. You can read that here: https://china.usc.edu/qa-ken-liu-translator-three-body-problem
Four years later, Liu Cixin told the New York Times that he encourages readers who have a choice to read Ken Liu's translation rather than his Chinese original: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/magazine/ken-liu-three-body-problem-chinese-science-fiction.html
clay dubeKimberly, delighted you're picking up on the odd circumstance of linking hukou to the mother's location (this wasn't always consistent). Let's talk about it Tuesday afternoon.
clay dubeJulie - great point about individual stories being powerful in the classroom. Mei Fong's book includes several good ones, including use of fertility clinics and the tragedy of those who lost only children in the 2008 Sichuan quake.
clay dubeJeanine,
Delighted to have you and everyone else with us. China is really pioneering the use of technology for social control and promoting ideological conformity. In many respects Chinese enjoy much greater freedom than they did during Mao's time (1949-1976), but the reach of technology is deeper and more sweeping than existed during those days. We'll be talking about this quite a lot over the course of the seminar.
Here are two of the most respected articles on how the Chinese government regulates and uses social media.
