Thursday, August 27, 2009
Thoughts for the Weekend
To this juncture we have read a diverse assortment of material on China--culture, history, geography, language, politics, and religion and listened to a little too much wayward commentary by Dr. J. on issues tangential to our proper course subject. Still, from your reading and from our discussions so far you should have a few emerging judgments and perhaps quite a few questions. In this first installment of the class webblog, permit yourself to record the state of your thinking to date. What have you learned so far and what has surprised you? Is there a recurring theme (or themes) that you can identify in our course work to this point? Is what you have learned so far suggest that China is genuinely unique in its contemporary complex of problems or does it resemble other newly industrializing economies (NIEs) or developing countries with which you might be familiar?
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After the first week of beginning to study the current political, social, and religious Chinese climate, I have been most surprised by the great problems that plague the nation. Although I did not know much about China, I had assumed that the Chinese Communist Party was strong and the government centralized enough to exercise the control needed to make China as successful in the global market as I thought it has been.
ReplyDeleteIn China we witness what is referred to as the sovereignty of the local, as opposed to centralization. Indeed, China is decentralized and various differences in language and even culture serve as evidence of these sectional differences. Widespread crime and violence also serve as more negative reminders of this sectionalism. Diversity results in part from ethnicity and geography, and it leads to the formation of autonomous areas that are not under the complete control of the nation and that form their own cultural identities. Thus, overall there is a conflict between the diverse local communities and the Chinese Communist Party-state. The original image I had of China as centralized and strong with a competent central government was very far from the truth.
Not only was I surprised by the political climate of China, I was even more taken aback by the simultaneous religious persecution and persisting religious diversity within China. After speaking about the various different local religions as well as the strength of Chinese Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, etc we concluded that the religiosity of the Chinese people is still increasing. I find it surprising that even with the current political problems and violence, the decentralization of the Communist Party, and the religious persecution of Chinese “cults,” there is still much religious activity. This strongly suggests that the human desire for faith is very powerful.
Furthermore, I find it alarming that the Chinese government is still so clearly fearful of any other social activity outside its approval and is so willing to resort to violence to put an end to it. As shown with the Falun Gong, a spiritual movement based on the cultivation of the self, the Chinese government is very intolerant and fearful of that which it does not know or have control over. Falun Gong practitioners are persecuted and even put to death in labor camps. I don’t understand why the government reacts so violently when the Falun Gong followers are peaceful. I think that this struggle, although unique to the Falun Gong and China, is mirrored in other parts of the world where religious, ethnic, and social persecution has led to modern genocides and other crimes against humanity. Overall, I think that the struggle within China between the national party and the local is similar to the problem of sectarianism that is evident worldwide, in which fear of differences among groups leads to hatred and cruelty.
I find it unlikely the Chinese government will be able to sustain the status quo indefinitely. Many Chinese people are currently living under terrible oppression, a state of being I believe is the unnatural state for humans to live in. As long as enough Chinese are being held under the Chinese government's brutality, there will always be a force of Chinese seeking to break out from bondage. The Chinese government is trying to keep a river dammed up, but given enough time, a river will be able to break through a dam. Although we in a free society give up some of our rights, these rights are given up in return for assurances that other people will not violate our rights. This is consistent with Jean Jacques Rousseau's idea of the social contract. Chinese who are giving up their rights are only doing so out of fear of persecution. China uses local warlords to maintain order, but these local warlords are merely exploiting the opportunity of power given to them by the Chinese government and therefore have little actual loyalty to the Chinese government. As soon as local warlords cease their submission to the Chinese government, the Chinese government will have a major problem.
ReplyDeleteSo far, I have learned that the Chinese government is in fact a totalitarian regime, but a totalitarian regime which does not necessarily have everything under control. The fact that the Chinese government makes deals with local warlords shows that the Chinese government is fearful of a revolution, because it would otherwise not make deals with volatile groups. One recurring theme I have noticed is the seemingly fearful nature of the Chinese government. It almost seems to me that the Chinese government is paranoid, and perceives any new development as a threat to its stability. Although all modern nation-states are unique in a certain sense, I don't think China's status as a dictatorial nation-state fearful of any new developments is unique. Russia is a country which in my mind is very similar to China in many respects. Both countries have laissez-faire style economic systems which allow rich urbanites to stay rich at the expense of all others, both countries tightly control the media, and both countries allow neither true freedom of speech nor true democracy. The main difference between these two countries I have been able to discern is that China is aboveboard about its dictatorial nature whereas Russia feigns freedom of speech and democracy. Russia has also been using fervent nationalism to keep its proletariat from uprising. Russia invaded Georgia, is critical of America and uses nationalistic slogans at its United Russia (the main party of Vladimir Putin and Dmitriy Medvedev) party functions. China does not need to use such nationalism to keep its proletariat from uprising because China is not even pretending to be a democracy as Russia is.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very intereting to compare the geopgraphical features and political boundaries of the United States to those of China and how they relate to the effectiveness of the national govenment. In class we discussed how the provinces of Tibet and Xinjiang are so far away from the capital city of Bejing and therefore probably have more influence from the surrounding nations than that of the Chinese central govenment. However, in the United States, whose capital is also located in an extremely eastern part of the nation, the national government has a much more organized control than the Chinese Communist Party ever will have. Is this because of the fair distribution of power between the local, state, and national governments? Or is the level of corruption amongst local officials in China to blame for the inefficiency and division amongst the Chinese government?
ReplyDeleteI believe that relegion plays a major role in the differential politics that I have described. Also theoretically China recognizes several faiths amongst its citizens, it heavily regulates their practice. For instance, in class we made the point that Catholicism in China is directed by the Chinese government, not the Pope. Also, when a religious movement becomes too popular, such as Falun gong, the government feels obligated to supress it. I can imagine that this hypocrisy, of the laws dictating one thing and the goverment implementing the opposite, would cause a distrust among the people. For this reason, the American govenment makes an effort to earn the people's trust, so that large-scale riots and constant tension. The Chinese Communist Party takes no strides to do this, but instead installs fear in its citizens to scare them into obedience.
This kind of religious intolerance reminds me of the regimes in the Middle East. Hezbollah, which is a political party based in Lebanon, which holds seats in the Lebanese government, uses its military strength, suicide attacks, and often kidnappings to force its religious Shi'a Islamic religion onto others.
After our first week of class, I have definitely gained a greater understanding of the problems China faces. Most interesting to me was the situation regarding copyright violations. I had always wondered why China could not crack down further on pirated materials. Now I understand the unique situation with Deng Xiaoping and the Tiananmen Massacre. Also, I have learned to apply what I now know of China's geography to my previous knowledge of Chinese history. For example, as a Chinese language major, I knew that for a section of Chinese history, there was no defined written language. It took brutal tactics for the ruler of the Qin province to set a universal language and unite China. Now I realize why this was such an incredible undertaking.
ReplyDeleteI was most surprised by the sheer numbers of practitioners of religions such as Catholicism. Our reading specified that there were more Catholics in China than in Ireland. My image of China was always linked with Buddhism, so the scope of religions present in China surprised me.
I have noticed that, similar to other developing nations that encompass many different ethnicities, China experiences a great deal of trouble uniting its people. In my opinion, this is what leads to their problems in maintaining the government's jursidiction away from Beijing. The various ethnic backgrounds of the Chinese people, as well as China's geography, present quite a few obstacles to China's unity as a nation. Ethnic minorities are more likely to place their loyalty with local leaders who share their background rather than a far off government likely run by Han Chinese. For China to operate as a unified sovereign nation, its people must place their loyalty with the nation above all. This does not happen in China where ethnic differences and geographical obstacles mean people put the local above the national. Similar situations have been seen in several developing countries in the Middle East and Africa, where various ethnicities fight for control of the nation because they refuse to accept the authority of a differing racial minority. China's situation is unique only in the extremity of this conflict and in its geography.
I think it is interesting that we have focused so much on the political state in China and how the government has affected religious practices. In several of our readings, the authors have pointed out that religion in China is experiencing a revival despite the government. I got the impression that the government limited religious practices and people have obeyed for a time, but now they have realized that they are, in reality, free to practice as they choose. I agree with Christina that I was surprised by the lack of actual control the regime exerts. In the article “How much of China is ruled by Beijing,” I was surprised by his examples of criminality and general lawlessness that exists in much of the countryside. I was a little unsure whether his arguments about the regime not ruling the hearts of its people were legitimate, but I thought his examples of lawlessness, especially where such activities were the norm in small towns and villages, were excellent support for his general theory that Beijing has little control. That was a general theme through other of our readings as well. For instance, the Overmyer reading, “Religion in China Today,” focused on peripheral regions and their strong religious practices and cultures.
ReplyDeleteI have also been surprised by the diversity in China. Professor, you said in class the first day that there are 50 different languages in China. I knew China was big country, but the variation in the people still surprises me. The introduction piece we read from China Off-Center focused on several factors that determine the unity or diversity of Chinese culture including history, language, ethnicity, and geography.
I’m not sure I know enough about any other countries to discuss whether China’s problems are unique. I don’t believe they are, but I have no other examples to compare to. I think China is unique in the scale in which its problems present themselves. For instance, we discussed in class the great numbers of people who associate with any one religion. Generally, China has more people of any religion than any other country. That was surprising, but understandable, because even when a religious group is a minority, in China that group could include many more people than most other countries. This scale, combined with the geographical size of China and the diversity of the people there, makes the religious and political problems more complicated.
There were several facts about China that surprised me. I had been vaguely aware that, despite persecution, there were quite a few Roman Catholics in China. I now know that the actual number is easily over ten million, and that there is also a very strong Muslim presence in China. I was also very surprised by the fact that there were provisions within the Chinese Constitution meant to ensure some degree of religious freedom.
ReplyDeleteA recurring theme I have noticed in our studies is that, although the political structure of China (something of a totalitarian regime) influences all aspects of public life for those who live in China, it seems unable to do more than “paper over” the various ethnicities and religions of the Chinese people. The government is not even successful in fully controlling its military, administration, or police forces. The apparent paradox of a fragmenting political structure that insists on total control of all aspects of life (a demand that is likely to breed a good deal of discontent) and is unable to enforce that demand has been highlighted both in our discussion and our readings, perhaps because it seems so untenable (and unsustainable) a position.
Unfortunately, I do not have a great familiarity with many newly industrializing or developing countries. However, the impression I’ve gotten so far seems to suggest that China is in a very unique position, with far less dependence on the World Bank that other NIE’s, and far stronger manufacturing ties to the United States. It is not entirely dissimilar to other developing countries, however. The natural resources (in land and people) at China’s disposal, are fragmented by the competition of various local authorities, and prone to exploitation by outside forces.
B. Murphy
One of the reoccurring themes in our readings is the ethnic diversity in China, as other classmates have touched on. These ethnic differences cause problems on both a national and a local scale. Often, the ethnic differences involve religious differences as well. What caught my attention in the readings was the mention of the Uyghur minority, especially in the autonomous region of Xinjiang. This ethnic group are Muslims and number over 7 million members.
ReplyDeleteAs an avid newspaper fan, the mention of the Uyghurs (or Uighurs) brought to mind the clashes this summer in Xinjiang. The Chinese government has encouraged Han migration to this industrial area for years. The conflict this summer began as a small clash between Han and Uyghur workers at a toy factory. The Uyghurs claim that the CCP had failed to investigate the conflict sufficiently. The Uyghur workers, in response, staged a protest, leading to violent clashes between police and the protesters. Full scale rioting broke out soon afterwards.
The violence continued when Uyghur men went on a bloody rampage at night, killing at least 197 Han workers. The Han then retaliated, resulting in more dead on both sides. In the following days, anyone suspected of being involved in starting or perpetrating the violence was rounded up and were imprisoned or killed. Many arrested were students that were not involved in the riots, but merely were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The CCP has denied that this conflict was ethnic in origin. However, its easy to see that ethnic tensions caused these issues. While the Uyghurs have largely been left alone, they have faced increasing prejudice. Because to China's push to industrialize the less-populated western part of the country, Han chinese now account for a large percentage of the population of the province. This will only continue to cause conflicts in the future.
I think that this news situation is interesting because it looks at the relationship between China's increasing economic power, generated from industrializing Western China, and the rising ethnic tension that comes along with labor conflicts. It also leads me to question if China can maintain its economic growth with growing ethnic tensions. How can China reconcile its diversity with its desire for global economic dominance?
Frankly, I took this course expecting a very narrowly scoped and specialized look purely on Chinese religion; thus, I am overjoyed to witness the wide array of topics that we've been dealing with, looking at the political, social, cultural, and even geographical factors that affect religion. I also came into this course knowing very little about China other than its immense size and plurality of exports.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I have been the most shocked by the sparse population living in the west, some areas even being practically uninhabitable, and the complete lack of authority the government has been unable to exert over many of its regions. The fact that many Chinese citizens put more emphasis on their locality rather than their government came as a surprise to me. I always pictured China as they portray themselves in the media, as a unified, nationalistic culture that puts nation before self.
Personally, I find it interesting that the Chinese government emphasizes culture and tradition to such an extent, as so many different cultures, languages, and religions exist that trying to pick one out and declare it the national language or religion could only be be counterproductive to the final goal of creating a national identity. If anything the brute might required to enforce the chosen practice would make the people feel like they're working at odds with their government rather than in conjunction with it.
I do believe that China is genuinely unique in both its problems and strengths. The only similiar nation I know of that rivals China in its size and diversity, while attempting to maintain a fairly strong central government is the United States. No other NIE's have to deal with these problems on the scale that China does. The Arab countries in the Middle East are probably the closest, but they generally rule through a controlled dictatorship or democracy, both of which offer their own unique sets of problems.
-Ryan Jenks
I had never heard of Falun Gong before this class. Actually prior to this class, I had viewed China as an entirely post-religious state. And, even though I had heard of the terrible poverty in China's western provinces, I had envisioned China to be a giant, modern metropolis. To me, it seems as if Falun Gong is a very mystical, and superstitious religion that began as an extension of other breathing and self-healing movements from the 1980s. It seems to combine many elements of past Chinese religions. They seem to draw on Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism along with less formal regional, mystic religions. Overall, I am seeing a greater connection between contemporary China and historical China than I had expected. The Chinese state seems to dislike Falun gong at least partially because of its popularity, and the Party's inability to control Falun Gong's members. China seems to share problems of corruption and lack of interior infrastructure with other NEI countries like India. The greatest unique struggle China seems to have is their general opposition to religion; however, I wonder if that is a strength as well? I rarely hear of religious fanatics from China, but there are always stories of cultural clash in India and Iran.
ReplyDeleteThrough the first week of class, I would say the most important thing I have learned about China is that it is not nearly the homogenous place I had been led to believe it was. But this is how the government chooses to present itself, no? For example, the lasting image I have in my mind of the Beijing Olympics is of 500 (or so) drummers playing in unison. The powers that be seem to celebrate the sameness, rather than the diversity, of the country. To contrast that performance with the new knowledge of the number of minority ethnic groups is quite startling.
ReplyDeleteI am curious if a theme we are seeing will continue in the future. Local government officials often hold very little actual authority over their jurisdictions. Religious "freedom", however limited, is a fairly new development for a once officially atheist country. The Chinese Communist Party, ironically, appears to be encouraging rampant, unrestrained capitalism. In each of these cases, it seems that the government has reached the breaking point, thrown up its hands, and said, "Fine. Do what you want." Obviously, there have been terrible reaffirmations of the governments authority, such as the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the crackdown of Falun Gong. However, it will be interesting the see if and when the country reaches similar breaking points with regards to state media, rival political parties, etc.
As an aside, I'm curious about how the five recognized religions were actually chosen for that distinction. Was it just a simple case that only these five had a critical mass of followers already? Or, did the government for whatever reason feel that these religions could be manipulated for its own purposes more so than, say, the Jewish or Morman religions might be. It just seems like such a bizarre law from my perspective.
I think China is in a unique position as a newly industrialized economy. It faces many of the same challenges as India with respect to high-tech advancement, but India does not face the challenges that come with a totalitarian regime. And while Venezuela has a similar top-down approach to politics, Hugo Chavez is taking an "old-China" approach to his economy, utilizing centralized industry. In the end, I do not think that a free economy will be compatible with so many limits on freedom elsewhere in Chinese society, and eventually the Chinese people will successfully realize those other freedoms. That is my hope, anyway.
-Michael Fremeau
The first week of class proved to be eye-opening and intriguing for me. One thing I am looking forward to the most is exploring and refuting stereotypes and commonly held ideas of China that might not hold any truth. For me the Lin Biu essay highlighted how different life in China is than what many people conceive it to be. The power struggle occurring between the central government and provincial powers is very telling of the current state of affairs. In this sense, I see China as resembling other NIE's, as any economy must address the level of government oversight and control, especially those trying to industrialize and grow.
ReplyDeleteOne unique challenge facing China relates to our study of the map; language. With vast discrepancies in population density and an extremely large number of languages used, China could benefit from a central authority involved in the economy, however history tells that a free market is the most successful. This discussion on economy relates to religion through a common factor; politics.
As noted in class and other posts, politics seems inextricably linked to religion in China. Only certain religions are allowed in practice, although the constitution guarantees freedom of religion. This was probably the most striking thing to me so far. The government appears to be in great fear of people organizing, and it seems strange to me that they would not ban something outright if they had a problem with it. Not following their constitution seems to show weakness, however I realize they have to appeal to international judgement.
This notion of maintaining control at home while handling opinions from abroad will play a large role in our discussion of Falun Gong, subject to frequent questions on human rights violations. Both the Chinese people and the CCP are living in fear of each other, which is a recipe for conflict. This being said, most religion is inherently peaceful, thus the clash between the two will be a careful dance between freedom and control.
I’ve been surprised and enlightened by what we have discussed so far. My previous thoughts of China have been of a nation that is strictly ruled by the government. I’ve been concerned about the risk to the United States economically. Much of what I have thought about China has come from events such as the 2008 Olympics. This event showed the people’s vast abilities at coming to together, as evidenced by the performances in the opening ceremonies. The opening ceremonies also showed the corruption that exists within the government with the way they lied about the young singer and the “fireworks” over the city.
ReplyDeleteSo far, I’ve learned that my previous conceptions were only partly true. China is a land that is very diverse and not everyone is on the same page. The government has total control, but not everyone is completely controlled due to logistical cultural issues. I am also surprised to learn that there are so many different religions being practiced throughout China. I guess this is not my fault because it seems as if the Chinese government attempts to downplay the widespread practices of some religions.
I feel as if China as a whole is a nation that is struggling to form a newer, more modern identity, while still holding onto many longstanding beliefs, traditions and practices. It seems as though this is a problem for other NIEs.
The most striking thing that we have learned so far about China is how different this country is from other newly industrializing economies throughout the world. I don’t believe that developing nations in Europe, for instance, face the same problems that China faces today. The troubles facing China today seem much more deeply ingrained and serious. I believe that the two main detriments to China’s attempt to stabilize its economy is the widespread political strife and criminal activity taking place in every corner of the country.
ReplyDeleteNational unity is absolutely necessary for a country to pull together and work together towards creating peace. The rampant factionalism that is taking place in China is making this sort of national peace impossible, which therefore makes a stabilized national economy impossible. From east to west and everywhere in between, different Chinese factions, each with their different agendas, try to get things done. What, exactly, is the cause of this political disunity?
I think that the central theme behind all of China’s strife is the oppressive, unstable government in Beijing. It has been well documented that members of the Chinese Communist party have had a history of oppressing the Chinese people, most notably the practitioners of the Falun Gong faith, who have been subjected to all forms of torture and even execution. The government is centralized in the nation’s capital; it is not hard to conclude, then, that if the capital is in disarray, then that anarchy will spread throughout the rest of the country, like an infection.
After all that reading, I thought 'so, why is this happening in China?" I think the biggest factor that differentiates China from other countries is communism. Does communism have any influence in such dramatic suppression of Falun Gong in China?
ReplyDeleteFalun Gong values truth, goodness and endurance (眞善忍). But on the other hand, the Chinese Government, Zhongguo Gongchandang of Zhongguo Renmin Gongheguo stands under the influence of the Marxism-Leninism, the ideology of Mao and the principles of Deng Xiao Ping. And the above three conceptions are thought to be about falsity, evil and conflict (假惡鬪). So, there is discrepancy between two “parties”.
Falun Gong promotes truth – say the truths, and act truthfully – but ZhongGong always relied on lies and brainwashing. Falun Gong promotes goodness – it teaches its followers to think about others before you and always must face people with goodwill and endurance. But ZhongGong advocated ‘atrocious combat, heartless damage.’ Therefore, to “bad” ZhongGong, the “good” Falun Gong is just a pain in the as*.
I think ZhongGong had two choices: (1) to become “good” or (2) to be even more “bad.” And it decided to take the second route. And therefore, unless China decides to be good, not only Falun Gong but anything and everything that could be a threat to the “bad” ideology of ZhongGong will not be able to prosper in China.
Sorry, I've never heard of ZhongGong (Zhongguo Gongchandang of Zhongguo Renmin Gongheguo?) before. Could you explain it? Or just refer me to resources. Assume a complete beginner. (I'll look it up on wikiepdia, but frankly, I doubt that place's accuracy sometimes, especially on subjects that are not as wellknown by the predominant culture of the US.)I think its something I need to know before Im able to really examine your argument.
ReplyDelete-B. Murphy
After reading about the history of religion in China, I realized that Daoism wasn't all that different from Falun gong in terms of beliefs. This made me wonder why falun gong posed such a threat to the Chinese government while Daoism seemingly did not. My conclusion is that possibly daoism emphasizes individualism and separation from society while falun gong is a practice that involves being part of a group. The Chinese government cannot have any large organized groups to contend with and therefore decided to end the then increasingly popular falun gong craze. Falun gong was also growing at an exceedingly fast pace which virtually saw no end to its membership. Daoism was an established spiritual practice at the onset of the communist Chinese government's reign in 1949 which had coexisted in Chinese society for centuries with little major conflict.
ReplyDelete