China in the Reform Era
Nixon in China
President Nixon’s visit to China in 1972 is often
heralded as the “opening of China”. Nixon’s
visit ultimately resulted restored relations
between the U.S. and mainland China.
Moreover, it paved the way for China’s reentrance into the international community.
Nixon and Mao carved an agreement
that became known as the Shanghai
Communique, a carefully
orchestrated statement affirming
each nation’s stance on Korea and
Vietnam, yet agreeing on the
principle of “one China” in regards to
The Death of Mao/ End of
the Cultural Revolution
Early in 1976, Zhou Enlai died.
There was a massive
outpouring of grief. Later, in
the “year of the dragon”, Mao
died. The emotional response
was less.
Zhou Enlai
Throughout 1976, political
jockeying had ensued between
radical leftists led by Hua
Guofeng, Mao’s wife and her
cohorts in the Cultural
Revolution Authority -The Gang
of Four and progressives led by
Deng Xiaoping. (Spence p. 610-17)
Hua Guofeng/ Deng Xiaoping
Lower left: The Gang of Four (Jiang Qing, Wang
Hongwen, Yao Wenyuan, Zhang Chunqiao)
The Reform Era
(1978–Present)
It Doesn’t Matter if a Cat is Black or
White so Long as it Catches Mice –
Deng Xiaoping
In 1978, Deng Xiaoping launched
reforms that would transform China
into an economic superpower.
Deng Xiaoping
Rewards - Responsibility
System
The Four Modernizations –
Agriculture, Industry, Defense,
Science/Technology
The Responsibility System - Citizens
were given profit incentives and
allowed to start “side industries”
Special Economic Zones –
Designated cities that were meant to
entice foreign corporations through
cheap labor and low overhead costs.
Shenzen S.E.Z.
A New Open Door Policy
Shortly after the Four
Modernizations campaign
began, China announced
a new “Open Door Policy”
that would allow Western
companies to invest in
China on favorable terms.
Nearly three decades
later, many Chinese have
begun to ask themselves
whether tradition is being
modernized.
Photos – Deng in Houston, Shenzhen, S.E.Z.,
Starbucks (International Herald Tribune), Mao
with Coke (Sydney Herald)
China’s Family Planning Program
In 1978, with a population approaching 1
billion, China implemented a “one-couple,
one-child” population control program.
Despite a drop in the birth rate from 3% to
1%, the policy has been controversial. In
many rural and minority areas, exceptions
to the policy are granted. With rising
incomes, some couples have willfully paid
fines in order to have more children.
Most controversial have been accusations
of forced abortions and sterilizations to
enforce the program, as well as the skewed
sex ratio of male to female births. Less
attention has been paid to consequences
associated with a generation of “onlies”.
Growing Pains
For some, the
transformation of
society meant an end
to a comfortable
system of fixed
incomes and
guaranteed
employment,
sometimes referred
to as The Iron Rice
Bowl.
Q. What economic
systems does the
cartoon contrast?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted
and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Charter (agreement) attempted to define both basic and universal human
rights for citizens across the world. Here are a few:
Article 1 - All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
Article 2 – Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this
Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or
other status.
Article 5 – No one should be subjected to torture.
Note: China’s perception of human rights contrasts sharply with that of the
West’s. See Scott Morton’s interpretation – CHINA: Its History and Culture p.
247-49
1978 Democracy Wall
Many interpreted the new economic
reforms of the Reform Era to mean
more political expression as well.
In 1978, thousands of Chinese
posted essays in Beijing calling for
greater democracy. Later known as
the Democracy Wall movement, it
was reminiscent of the 1956 Hundred
Flowers Campaign which initially
encouraged free expression, yet
ended in arrests and imprisonments.
Most famous of China’s dissidents
was Wei Jingsheng who wrote The
Fifth Modernization.
Democracy Wall
Wei Jingsheng
1989 Tiananmen Square Protests
The 1989 “Beijing Spring” saw the
largest protests in China’s history.
Millions gathered in Tiananmen
Square and other cities to protest
the slow pace of political change,
limited opportunities for
advancement, and corruption.
Students Gathered at Tiananmen Square
The short term cause of the
protests were the announcement
on April 15, 1989, that Hu
Yaobang, a reform minded
member of China’s politburo and
former CCP General Secretary had
died.
Hu Yaobang
Moderates vs. Hard liners
A scramble for power played out
that pitted a moderate faction led
by CCP Secretary General Zhao
Ziyang, and a hard line faction led
by Prime Minister Li Peng.
One source of bitter contention
was an article published in the
government run People’s Daily
that referred to the students as
conspirators and bourgeoisie
individualists. Zhao sought to
distance himself from the article.
Party elder Deng Xiaoping
appeared to support the hard
liners.
Students at the Monument to People’s Soldiers
Prime Minister
Li Peng
CCP General Secretary
Zhao Ziyang
The Protests Mount
By mid-May, hundreds of
thousands of Chinese students,
workers and professionals had
occupied Tiananmen Square
confronting the ruling elite with a
major dilemma.
Deng Xiaoping tried to go along
with a previously scheduled visit
from Soviet Premier Mikhail
Gorbacev, who received a
hero’s welcome. In the days
before Gorbachev’s arrival,
students launched a hunger
strike in which 3,000 students
participated.
Mikhail Gorbachev and Deng Xiaoping
Symbolism and Tiananmen
China’s student leaders invoked
western symbolism, such as the
“Goddess of Democracy”. Yet
most participants in the protests
later testified that their political
goals were modest in comparison
to the norms experienced in
Western societies.
Wang Dan - Student Leader
The P.L.A. in a Dilemma
An almost unspoken assumption
was that the P.L.A. would never
use conventional weapons
against the people. Early on this
appeared to be the case.
Ultimately, this would prove
untrue.
The Crackdown –
“The sovereignty and security of the
state must always be the top priority”.
– Deng Xiaoping
On June 3rd, some 300,000 PLA
soldiers were finally ordered to clear
the square and surrounding streets.
Though accounts of the number of
dead varied, over time the consensus
settled between 300 and 1000 deaths.
An Enduring Image
Among the many lasting
images, the sight of a
single person stopping a
column of tanks was
perhaps the most
lasting.
Further Reading: The
Black Hands of Beijing
by George Back and
Robin Munro
Recommended Viewing:
PBS - Tank Man
Photo – Jeff Widener - AP
The Unwritten Contract
The decades since the Tiananmen
protests have witnessed an
“unwritten contract,” wherein China’s
citizens are encouraged to pursue
economic goals, yet refrain from
challenging Party authority.
This policy may appear successful,
but close examination of the
challenges facing China reveals a
number of “stress cracks” most
notably income disparities that could
renew dissent.
Moreover, not everyone has
remained silent: 2010 Nobel Peace
Prize Recipient Liu Xiaobo.
Photo - Abraham
Empty Chair for Liu Xiaobo at 2010
Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.
The “Great Firewall of China”
China’s efforts to censor the Internet have
raised the question of how long and how
successful the government can be in
controlling access to information and
freedom of speech for its 420 million plus
Photo –
Jingong,
China
(Abraham)
New York Times Upfront
netizens (January 2010 / China Internet Network Information
Center).
Until recently, Western companies such as
Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Cisco have
mostly complied with China’s censorship
efforts. The proliferation of blogs and an
underground arts scene have been
successful in exposing corruption and
publicizing protests.
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/01/23/arts/1231545688617/china-sunderground-hip-hop-movement.html?scp=1&sq=china%20hip%20hop&st=cse
Chinadigitaltimes.net
My Father is Li Gang!
The Impact of
Modernization and
Westernization
“Socialism’s real nature is to
liberate productive forces,
and the ultimate goal of
socialism is to achieve
common prosperity.” - Deng
Xiaoping
Increased consumer choice
has led some to question
whether China might be
labeled a capitalist nation.
The CPC refers to its brand of
communism as “Socialism
with Chinese Characteristics.”
New Demands
China has “leap-frogged”
transportation technology going
from bicycles to automobiles,
bypassing motorbikes. Bicycles
are now banned in Shanghai’s
city center.
Photo - Abraham
Photo - Abraham
Photo - New York Times
Tradition endures
modernization
A major challenge for
China is trying to
preserve traditional
aspects of its culture in
Glimpses of Beijing’s
an era of intense change. vanishing hutongs
American fast food restaurant with traditional tile
roofs and Chinese takeout meal
Canals traversing the city
of Lijiang, Yunnan.
The Drive to Succeed
A Confucian value, education was interrupted during the Cultural
Revolution. Especially for “onlies” or “singletons,” education is once
again viewed as an avenue to success.
Shandong No. 1 Experimental School
Beijing No. 2 Middle School
Pangliu Village, Xian Elementary School
Beijing Migrant Workers’ Dandelion School
Marriages: A mix of old and
new customs
• Mutual agreement among bride,
groom, and couple’s families but
can also include a matchmaker or
personal ads
• Exchange of modest gifts
• Western dress for ceremony
• Chinese dress during lavish feast
New Approaches in
Chinese Cinema
4th Generation (50s–70s)
Communist propaganda
5th Generation (80s–90s)
examination of the
Cultural Revolution
Directors: Zhang Yimou
and Chen Kaige
6th Generation (post
2000) focus on Reform
era and globalization;
documentary style
independent films
“A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie
Fire” – Mao
A Nation of Peasants
With more than half of
China’s population identified
as farmers, China is still
regarded as a nation of
peasants.
While economic incentives
and remittances ($45 bill. in
2004) have improved rural
life, ongoing burdens such
as educational, wedding,
funerary costs and local
corruption and land seizures
continue to weigh heavily on
China’s peasants.
Guizhou: Photo - Abraham
A Rural-Urban Gap
Distinct social classes have
appeared since the start of the
Reform Era.
A middle class (PCI – $10,000 per
year) has emerged that includes
some 100 – 150 million people,
mostly situated in coastal China.
Beijing
(Leslie Chang)
Yet, in 2005, the Asian
Development Bank estimated that
approximately 82 million of China’s
1.3 billion people live on less than
$1.25 per day.
DaPuo Village, Guangxizhuang
China’s “Overnight” Cities
1978 – 191 cities with 18% of total
population
2005 – 661 cities and 44% of total
population
Seven cities and provinces –
Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai,
Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong
and Fujian – have absorbed 82
percent of cross-province
migrant workers. In Beijing and
Zhejiang about 1/3 of the total
population are migrant workers,
while in Shenzhen, which grew
from a small town in the late
1970s to become a vast
metropolis three decades later,
12 million of the total 14 million
population are migrants.
(china-labour.org.hk)
Shanghai
Photo Liz Nelson
Chongqing
Photo Abraham
China’s Floating
Population
China’s economic boom has
increased the need for
migrant laborers. In 2010
this “floating population”
was estimated at 230 million
people (china-labour.org.hk).
Moving from a rural township
to an urban center was once
illegal, but now migrant
laborers can take advantage
of schools for their children
and even a choice of
registering to vote where
they live or work (“Grassroots
elections in full swing.” 11/24/11
bjreview.com)
Photo – Abraham
Photo - Abraham
Photo – NY Times
Migrant Challenges
Providing migrant laborers
with adequate housing, health
care and education is a major
challenge for a nation which
has come to depend on their
labor.
There are ongoing concerns
with unpaid wages, abuse of
migrant laborers and their
families, and severance of
rural ties.
Photo – Last Train Home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DXEP1TBM0
w&feature=related
Recommended Resources:
China’s Factory Girls by Leslie Chang
Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler
Last Train Home dir. Lixin Fan 2009
Photo - Liz Nelson
Photo - Abraham
Contrasting Opportunities
The quality of education
however varies greatly from the
cities to the countryside.
Moreover, China lags greatly
behind the U.S. in percentage of
college aged students entering
universities – 11% compared to
64% in the U.S. as of 2008.
Rural Classroom in Daya Cun Village
(Chang)
Related Films:
Not One Less
Please Vote for Me
Art classroom in Jinan,
Shandong’s capital city
Environmental Threats
The increase in the number
and size of cities in China
has magnified the need for
coal. Moreover, the
operation of factories,
especially in the north, has
endangered the nation’s
water supply.
A few facts
• 400 of China’s 600
largest cities lack adequate
clean water.
• Northern China houses
43% of population, but only
14% of nation’s water
supply.
Photo – China and The World
Map – New York Times
The Quest for Sustainable
Development
China has a long history of public
works projects that include
attempts to harness the forces of
nature. China’s efforts to
modernize quickly however have
taken an unprecedented toll on its
environment and the nation. The
Three Gorges Dam controls
deadly flooding and allows oceangoing vessels to reach Chongqing.
Three Gorges Dam
all photos - Abraham
South-North Water Transfer Project
Begun in 2003, this massive
canal project is expected to
take almost 50 years to
construct. It will eventually
divert 44.8 billion cubic meters
of water annually to the
population centers of the drier
north, esp. Beijing and Tianjin.
When finished, the work will link China's four main rivers – the
Yangtze, Yellow River, Huaihe and Haihe – and requires the
construction of three diversion routes, stretching south-to-north
across the eastern, central and western parts of the country.
The complete project is expected to cost $62bn – more than twice
as much as the country's controversial Three Gorges Dam.
(http://www.water-technology.net/projects/south_north/)
Preserves for endangered
species, especially China’s
most recognizable pandas,
are threatened by demand for
natural resources, industry,
and development.
Long Road to Democracy
Trying to crack the CPC’s
hold on power will not be
easy.
Despite new trends such as
local elections, protests and
even experimental voting in
schools, the CPC’s hold on
power is as strong, or
stronger today than it was at
the height of Mao’s power.
Protest against land grabs in southern China
Government in China