A project of the Furman University First Year Seminar taught by Dr. Tami Blumenfield
//By Vanessa Chambers, Austin Saggus, Grant Schuermann, Christen Sikora
Has the Chinese Government stopped or slowed down progress for environmental activism in China? Is China trying to stop or dilute this sort of activism? Is China polluting environmental activism? The answers may surprise you. Pollution in China is a serious issue and needs to be dealt with as this issue continues to grow at an alarming rate.
Continue reading “Is China Polluting Environmental Activism?”
//By Claire Mathon, Tommy Hauver and Michael Tan
Many societies undergo events that have profound effects on their culture. In China, this event is regarded as the Cultural Revolution. Between 1965 and 1976, Mao attempted to reassert his authority over China through implementation of his beliefs because he feared that China was moving in an inegalitarian direction. Mao was heavily influenced by similar events in the Soviet Union and made the decision to move toward a more ideologically pure society, as the Soviets did. (Cultural).
The objective of the Cultural Revolution was to get rid of old ideas and customs in order to make education, art, and literature more in line with Communist ideology. Anything that displayed feudal or bourgeois ideals was destroyed. Mao was essentially attempting to create a society in which there was no gap between urban and rural, rich and poor, and laborers and intellectuals. (Cultural Revolution)
In an effort to close this gap, many young Chinese were sent from cities to work in the countryside. In fact, the Chinese government ordered that one teenager from every urban household move to the countryside to work on the farms. (CNN: Tracy You) This deprived many young people from receiving educations in the city. Interestingly enough, this period of time in China showed an extreme urban-to-rural migration, or reverse migration, for the Chinese youth. However, soon after the Cultural Revolution, urban populations began to increase again due to an increase in employment opportunities in cities. (Britannica: Consequences of the Cultural Revolution)
This photo was taken in 1967 and shows two Chinese citizens being branded as “Capitalist Roader” and subjected to physical abuse in front of the public. Source
It is estimated that 1.5 million people were killed during the Cultural Revolution and millions of others suffered from imprisonment, torture, and humiliation. (Cultural) The long-term effects of the Revolution are still prevalent in China today, particularly in Chinese villages. The traditional village social structure was severely affected. Peasants were encouraged to seize landlords’ fields and other property, which was an effort by the government to strengthen support from the poor. Land was distributed equally among all social classes, and in the process, all traditions of the villages’ social structure were lost. The Cultural Revolution paved the way for urbanization, which ultimately transformed village culture. People were forced to move to cities because they could no longer sustain themselves in the villages. They left behind their history, their tradition, and their legacy because the country made such a dramatic shift toward a more urbanized society.
See also:
Village Farming and Food Before Cultural Revolution
Layout of Villages Before Cultural Revolution
Urbanization of Chinese Villages After Cultural Revolution
Continue reading “Urbanization: Chinese Cultural Revolution”
//By Tyler Knauss, M. Baker and Cat McNeela
Inside the city of Beijing, the Olympic facilities sit relatively unused since the end of the Games in 2008. Placed strategically in the center of the city, they are now only a place for tourists. For how grand these facilities are, as well as the fact that they are not used and have been largely dormant, it could be argued that these facilities were and are a wasted use of labor and capital for the people of China. Much can be said about whether or not it was the correct move of the world to have allowed the Olympics to be hosted in China. “The Olympics marked the beginning, it can be said, of the ascendance of the stability preservation regime in China. Looking back now, it might be that the Olympics were something [China] did that [it] ought not to have done.”
The Chinese government has used the success of the Olympics, and its ability to gather large pools of capital and resources, to assert itself over its people. Because of the spending power the government has, they are able to exert themselves greatly over the citizens of China and rule over them in a tightly controlled environment. “And he who has wealth speaks loudest,” muses Sun Liping, professor of Sociology at Tsinghua University.
With the Chinese government having so much power, coupled with the fact that it is still a one-party system, there is no room for compromise within the system. It can be said that the Olympics in 2008 were just another factor in strengthening the authority and overall ability of the government to increase their power in China. Because of the success of the 2008 Olympics, the government gained a lot of prestige for China as a whole. This prestige and success of the Olympics allowed the government to receive huge praise for the planning and execution of the games. However, the games brought on great duress to the poorer residents of Beijing. Many people there live in squalor and the funding that went towards the games could have been used to help these residents on a slightly smaller scale, but just as successfully as the Olympics. For the billions spent, the political environment brought on by the Olympics gave no cause to the government to put that money in the hands of the poor, but instead used it to support their own interests in bringing about an impressive display for the whole world to watch.
See Also:
Before and After the Beijing Olympics: Economic Change
Before and After the Beijing Olympics: Physical Change
Sources
Adam, Taylor. Business Insider, “The Beijing Olympics Were a Mistake.” Last modified March 27, 2013. Accessed March 5, 2014. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-beijing-olympics-were-a-mistake-2013-3.
Feng Huiling, The Humanistic Values of the Beijing Olympics, (Singapore: Enrich Professional Publishing, 2011), 1 -334.
Yong Zhou and John Ap, “Residents’ Perceptions Towards the Impact of the 2008 Olympic Games,” Journal of Travel Research 48, no. 1 (2009): 78-91.
//By Justin Kane, Conner Griffin, and Jimbo Barnes
China has the largest Internet user population in the world with 500 million users. With this absurd amount of users, the Chinese government had to raise the bar when it came to censoring what their users can access and post on the web. The video “Behind the Chinese Firewall” China’s social media gives the Chinese public the opportunity to micro-blog with 300 million other people everyday. Although social media is completely legal, the government has blocked Google, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube and replaced them with sites that are only available to the Chinese. They ban and copy all of the social media sites because without their own server in Beijing, they have no control of what people put up. The Government monitors everything that goes on these websites. For example if you put on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, that you want to meet up somewhere with a group of people, the police could be waiting for you at your destination. If there is any suspicious activity, the police can arrest the group on the spot. Also, you cannot post the name of the president of Chongqing as well as any government leaders. China’s firewall is one of the biggest in the world for a reason, they want to protect their information and prevent it from spreading anywhere.
Anti, Michael. “TEDTalks: Michael Anti. Behind the Great Firewall of China.” Films On Demand. 2012. Accessed March 4, 2014.
BBC News reports “more than two million people in China are employed by the government to monitor web activity.” (BBC News 2012) China’s “Sina Weibo” is a micro blogging website that went viral in 2010 and has collected more than five-hundred million followers who post over one-hundred million messages daily. This website is now commonly used as a source for Chinese citizens to vent and criticize Chinese governmental actions. Tang Xiaotao, a designated monitor for this site says, “he sits in front of a PC everyday monitoring negative comments related to his clients, and then reports them.” (BBC News 2012)
Few people are aware of tactics taken by Chinese officials aimed at concealing societal criticisms, but the phenomenon is becoming more evident everyday. BBC news continues, saying that there are many more websites like Sina Weibo, and many more agencies designed to sift through the postings. (BBC News 2012)
Freedom of speech and expression is a liberty that Chinese people don’t have, and great efforts are being made to punish people who feel differently.
By Jimbo Barnes, Conner Griffin, and Justin Kane
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-24396957.
Rebecca MacKinnon states that 212,583 messages are deleted daily out of the 1.6 million articles checked on China’s Sina Weibo, adding up to more than 16 percent. (MacKinnon 2009) Common American social media programs including Facebook and Twitter are forbidden in China. Without these networks, Chinese citizens are forced to find other ways to express themselves. The domestic Chinese micro blogging website, Sina Weibo, has turned into China’s twitter. Sina Weibo is now a countrywide phenomenon, and according to First Monday, Chinese people are “found to be spending more time online and are more likely to contribute to online forums than people in all countries except Korea and France.” (MacKinnon 2009) The facts are simple, nobody in China has the right of freedom of speech, and even on forums and micro blogs like Sina Weibo, and they are always being watched. China’s filtering system is known as the “Great Firewall of China” because of how secure and closely watched the Chinese Internet is. (MacKinnon 2009)
By Jimbo Barnes, Justin Kane, and Conner Griffin
Chinese Media Censorship: Not Playing By the Rules
In 2007, the year before the Beijing Olympics were held, China held the number one spot for arresting journalists. This was not just a one-year coincidence; this was the 9th consecutive year that China had been the world’s leader of putting journalists in jail. China is very strict with the rules they set on media and act on anyone that poses a threat to them. China is very strict on their media censorship but they allow the public to report on simple things like: Sports, entertainment, consumer lifestyle, and local news safety. But many subjects that the government considers “unflattering” are still highly monitored and have tight restrictions on them. During the Beijing games, the Chinese government promised to follow the rules of Article 51 of the International Olympic Committee that stated, “all necessary steps in order to ensure the fullest coverage by the different media and the widest possible audience in the world for the Olympics.” (Kine 116) But the Chinese refused to follow these rules and continued to harass, intimidate, and detain local and foreign journalists.
By: Justin Kane, Jimbo Barnes, and Conner Griffin
Worden, Minky. China’s Great Leap (New York, NY: Seven Stories Press, 2008), 115.
Chinese Media Censorship: Why censor the Internet?
With the emergence of the Internet in Chinese society, a “paradoxical relationship” between the government’s repressive censorship policies and the “freer” and “private-based” global Internet society has developed. The Chinese government views the Internet as dangerous instrument that can undermine its authority and legitimacy. China is classified as cyber-nationalist in its policies relating to the Internet, meaning that the government heavily regulates and censors what is put on the web. This stance is avant-garde to the way in which most countries handle Internet use. In the 2010 White Paper, a government publication that explains specific policies or issues, the government outlined its Internet policy, stating, “Spreading rumors” or posting on the Internet any information that may endanger “state security” or challenge “national unification” is illegal.
The government allows Internet activity as long as it coincides with Chinese economic interest, advances state nationalism, or strengthens the legitimacy of those in power. “Constant monitoring and surveillance of communications, propaganda activities…and accurate targeting of political and social threats” are tactics used to ensure that the regime remains in control. Those in power fear that an uncensored Internet will bring together uncontrollable social forces with both the means and willingness to engage in anti-regime discussion or activity.
By: Conner Griffin, Justin Kane, and Jimbo Barnes
Mueller, Milton L. “China and Global Internet Governance: A Tiger by the Tail.” Access Contested: Security, Identity, and Resistance in Asian Cyberspace (Cambridge, MA. MIT Press): 177-194.
A Picture Says 1000 Words About Google’s Censorship In China – Danny Sullivan
Chinese Media Censorship: power of blogs in today’s China
The Chinese government has allowed the rise of the Internet in China only as a means to help “business, entertainment, education, and information exchange” all the while effectively censoring Internet users from exchanging anti-regime opinions and discussion. Rebecca MacKinnon argues that in the future blogs could be a source for political change because they “enlarge the space for collaboration and conversation” about political issues. However, the Chinese government uses its vast resources to limit the scope of “participatory media” in China and she sites a 2005 study that concluded that the Chinese government has the most “broad-reaching system of Internet filtering in the world”. The Internet and blogging in particular could become a vehicle through which future political change could travel, but that it would not become the engine that powers the change. The cause for political change has to come from “charismatic and capable leaders”.
By: Conner Griffin, Jimbo Barnes, and Justin Kane
Mackinnon, Rebecca. Springer Science/Business Media. Accessed April 7, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27698209.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Han_Han_2.jpg
//By A. Nichols
On March 15th 2012, when Xinhua released the news that the political superstar, Party chief of Chongqing Bo Xilai was replaced by Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang, many people felt relieved. He was believed to be one of the most radical Maoist members in the Political Bureau, and his political moves in Chongqing indicated the resurgence of the Neo-Cultural Revolution. Chinese people are afraid of any signs of the Cultural Revolution in the 21st century because of what they learned from the ten-year long Cultural Revolution under Mao’s iron fist.
All classes of people suffered during the Cultural Revolution, including the Red Guards who almost took control of China’s cities from 1966 through 1968. The Red Guards were formed under Mao’s order and dismissed for the same reason. They were mainly teenagers who came from high schools and colleges, because the government abolished the higher education system, the Red Guards became the only occupation available to them. Schools became their battlefield: they humiliated their teachers, assaulted the “Five Black Categories”, smashed the “Four Olds”, and many innocent people lost their lives. The casualties also included many Red Guards who died in the “violence struggles” with other Red Guard “gangs”. After 1968, again, under Mao’s order, many of those young Red Guards turned into Rusticated Youth of China and went to the countryside to help build infrastructure and agriculture system. Far away from Beijing and other big cities, they were forced to stay in the countryside once they were married to the locals. Peasants and soldiers,who had highest social classes according to Mao, turned against these Rusticated Youths. They were used as laborers and many girls were raped by the officials. The trauma caused by this movement remained in their minds forever.
Ordinary people did not have a good time during the Cultural Revolution either. The unfortunate ones, who had connections with Taiwan or the United States, were likely to go to Struggle Meetings in their work units. These usually lasted for five hours daily according to Nian Cheng’s experiences. Some of them would go to prison, and others committed suicide in order to let their relatives survive. Cheng’s grandparents’ monthly salary remained at 105 yuan for ten years, but the price for livestock kept climbing. But it is still better than most of the families who lost their beloved during this nightmare.
There were some high level Communist officials who didn’t escape from the terror of the Cultural Revolution, either. President Liu Shaoqi and Vice President He Long died in prison just because they had some opposite political views with Mao Zedong. Mao’s bootlickers, including the Gang of Four, used this opportunity to gain their political capital, while others like Zhou Enlai and Chen Boda were tried their best to save historical relics from the Red Guards’ destructions.
//By A. Nichols
In the 1900’s, the USSR’s GDP was higher than that of China. Today, however, it is China’s GDP which is higher. The swap was due to a multitude of reasons including better reform decisions and work culture in China than in the USSR. Furthermore, the USSR used prisoners of war as mass laborers, who did shabby work because they resented it. China’s mass laborers (who were Chinese), on the other hand, felt obliged to work for their motherland, and thus did better work.
Photo of Sputnik, the first satellite in space. By Cliff1066
The Soviet Union spent a huge proportion of its GDP on the military, reducing funding to other sectors of the economy. This reduced economic growth. China comparatively spent a small proportion of its GDP on its military. China, therefore, had enough left to spend on other economic activities, thus burgeoning economic growth. In the 1970’s, China allowed some level of capitalism in its economy and individuals set up companies, thereby expanding growth. The USSR didn’t allow any individual to establish a company, and so did not get the benefit that comes from an increase in companies: higher revenue. Also, the abundance of cheap labor in China attracted foreign investment, further expanding job creation and growth. Russia at that time lacked, and still lacks, abundant cheap labor. This discouraged foreign investment, leaving investment largely to the sole local investor, the state.
When both countries reformed in the 1980’s, China opened up to general ideas from the West about economic reform, and these copious ideas led to a greater understanding of how the economy works. China then used these to properly rearrange its economy in a way that has now made the country prosperous.
Chengdu, China. Photo by jdklub.
Russia, on the other hand, believing that the West had nothing to teach them, utterly rejected reform ideas from the West, thus, limiting the reform options that the Soviets could have had. This led to poor reform decisions, which consequently led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union also dismissed globalization, equating it to Americanization. This meant that Russia did not get the benefit of trade, more income. China, on the other hand, opened up to globalization, exporting numerous goods, and is now enjoying a high rate of growth due to the exports.
A human rights protest. Photo by hunxue-er.
However, China might collapse just like the Soviet Union did. Many Chinese citizens now resent their government for its repression, brutality, and high corruption. If these vices of the government accelerate, people could revolt. A specific example would be the repression of the Tibetans, and the Uyghurs in Xinjiang province. Just like the Soviet republics of Georgia and Ukraine started to demand secession from the Union, residents of Tibet and Xinjiang are also demanding secession from China. Simply put, despite China having achieved more than the Soviet Union, it could end up disintegrating just like it.
//By A. Nichols
The Chinese government seems to have a say in every aspect of life in China – even in sports. The PRC goes to great lengths to control sports in China, whether it is physical education in primary schools or if it is at an international level in Olympic training or occupational sports.
http://images.cdn.fotopedia.com/flickr-2810245623-hd.jpg
In the earliest form of education, primary school, there is an obvious sense of uniformity. Throughout the day, children are doing exercises and doing tasks that are organized by the school’s Party Secretary. From the documentary, Olympic Fever, students also compete in pre-Olympic athletic activities during a time period called Sports Day. Students participating in the opening ceremonies for Sports Day are called in for multiple hours to perform a show just like in the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics. Young students eagerly try to stay synchronized with the others and the students who cannot perform well are told to leave.
http://a398.idata.over-blog.com/600×341/0/00/79/01/divers-3/Chinese-gymnasts-gold-16.jpg
The Chinese government also has an impact on the lives of the athletes by instilling a mindset that losing is unacceptable. Chinese athletes have a lot of pressure on them. The entire nation is watching their every move, and if something goes wrong and they do not compete very well, they will suffer for it in the end. When Zu Jianhua, a Chinese high jumper, won the bronze medal in 1984, enraged locals smashed his windows. Athletes are under so much extreme pressure that they even feel compelled to almost cheat the system of sports in order to win. In the New York Times it states that, “Two Chinese women were among eight badminton player expelled from the London Games for allegedly gaming the system to improve their medal chances.” China’s morality in the London Olympic games was questioned a lot after this episode.
http://capl.washjeff.edu/4/l/219.jpg
In China, unlike in the West, there are no means of making occupational sports popular such as letting companies invest into sports and have sponsorships. There are two components to the Chinese occupational sports programs that have conflicting interests. On one hand, there is the Sports Event Association, which was made to increase the competitive level of the national team and on the other hand, there is the Association of Clubs, which has a goal of promoting brands and investing into the sport just as Westerners do. However, the goals of these two organizations are not the same and there is continuous conflict. With both of these groups in turmoil, athletes have to plan ahead for when they are unable to compete anymore. The lack of money that is put into occupational sports is forcing athletes to attend classes so that they can eventually get a degree and start working.
Although China seems to be on the move economically with the U.S., they are not quite there when it comes to sports. The Chinese government needs to let the sports world develop as they let business growth develop. If China were to do this, they would be more successful socially and economically.