Chapter 10:
China
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 1.What is the Population of China?
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 1.What is the Population of China?
• Over 1.3 billion people - 1/5th of
the world’s population
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 2. Population Growth Rate = 1.1%
582 million in 1953
850 million in 1976
1.3 billion today
• Rapidly growing population
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 3. Where do most of the Chinese
people live?
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 3. Where do most of the Chinese
people live?
• On the eastern side of China
• 62% in rural areas and 38% urban
• But a serious urbanization movement –
migration (China Blue)
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 3. Where do most of the Chinese
people live?
• Why move to cities?
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 4. Population is a serious issue for
Chinese Policy makers.
• 1965 – Mao said that an ever
expanding population is a “good
thing”.
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 4. Population is a serious issue for
Chinese Policy makers.1974 – Mao
denounced Pop. Control as more
“Imperialistic Tools” to weaken
developing countries
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 4. Mao’s successors realized the
danger – pop. growth was
consuming ½ of annual increase in
GDP
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 4. In late 1970’s, new pop policy
called “Two-Child Family” with
gov’t services like birth control,
education and abortions reduced
birth rate
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 4. 1979, Deng Xiaoping sets out
“One Child Policy” with incentives
and penalties to limit families to 1
child.
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 4. “One Child Policy” incentives =
encourage later marriages, free
contraceptives, abortions and
sterilization – more accepted in
urban areas
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 4. “One Child Policy” Penalties =
steep fines for more than 1 child
and loss of privileges for violators
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 4. 1 Couple 1 Child
• Explain
• How did that work out for China?
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 5. 1 Couple 1 Child
• Pros: more stable pop. Growth
• reduced fertility rate –
• 1971 women had 5.4 kids on average and
now in 2004 it was down to 1.7 kids
• 21st century projection for decrease in
population
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
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4. 1 Couple 1 Child = Cons:
Rise in female infanticide
Disproportionate # of males to females
Harder for males to find wives
Fewer sons to care for aging parents in
traditional role
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 4. 1 Couple 1 Child Status Today:
• Relaxed in rural areas but back in 2002
• Officially banned BUT NOT really as
many local political leaders are still
held accountable for the population in
their area
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 5. What else has China done about
its pop problems?
• 2004 – banned selective abortions
of female fetuses
• BUT folks still want their boys!
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 5. What else has China done about
its pop problems? Gov’t
encouraged and sponsored
contraception
• 74% of women use it which is
highest in Asia
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 5. Success? Maybe but still one
baby is born every 2 seconds in
China
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 6. Migration and China’s
“Floating Population”
• What is this? See China Blue video
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 6. Migration and China’s
“Floating Population”
• Large # of people moving from the
rural areas / countryside to the big
cities
• From central and west to the east
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 6. Migration and China’s
“Floating Population”
• Why? Rapid reform era of
economic development opens up
jobs in factories AND modern
agricultural practices reduce need
for farm workers
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 6. Migration and China’s
“Floating Population”
• Gov’t Policy? Discourage
migration – rule is that the floating
people are NOT officially
permitted to reside permanently in
these towns and cities
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 6. Migration and China’s
“Floating Population”
• Gov’t Policy? Thousands of
Tibetans cross into Nepal so the
gov’t pressures Nepal to return
these people and force them to stay
in China
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 7. Question – Does China
have a homogeneous
population?
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 7. Ethnic Groups
• China has a homogeneous pop with
92% Han Chinese
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 7. Ethnic Groups
• But 8% of population / over 100
million people are from 55 other ethnic
groups like the Zhuang, Manchu, Hui,
Mongols, Tibetans, among others
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 7. Ethnic Groups
• Policy: All nationalities are equal
according to the law
• The Constitution grants them the
right of self-government but
autonomy is very limited!
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 7. Ethnic Groups
• Most minorities live in the
“Autonomous” regions along the
borders of China covering about
60% of China’s land area
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
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7. Ethnic Groups
Mongols = near Mongolia
Tibetans = in TAR
Kazaks = along Kazakh Republic
Uyghurs = in Xinjiang out west
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 7. Ethnic Groups
• These groups have a long history
of dissatisfaction with Chinese rule
and want independence
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 7. Ethnic Groups
• The Chinese government fears and
opposes independence movements
and uses the PLA to suppress
expression of dissent
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 8. Languages – Official Lingo?
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 8. Languages – Official Lingo?
• Mandarin or standard Chinese
• Many other dialects flow from
Mandarin
• Many other languages spoken by
other ethnic groups
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 8. Languages – What is Pinyin?
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 8. Languages – What is Pinyin?
• Common written form of Chinese
language accepted by groups
• System of phonetic spelling as a
way to increase literacy
• It is required under law
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 8. Languages – In 2006, the govt
forced 100 million people in
Shanghai to use Mandarin as
opposed to Shanghainese
(Cantonese) language
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 8. Languages – In 2008, Hong
Kong Minister of Education
banned teaching in Cantonese
because English speaking students
did better in universities.
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 9. Religions – 1st – It is an issue as
China was a communist regime
which means atheism so religion
was not tolerated
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 9. Religions – 2nd – Chinese
Constitution protects freedom of
religious belief
• But no one may use religious
activities to disrupt public order
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 9. Religions – Confucianism is a
philosophy still in existence in
China
• It is a system of ethical conduct
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 9. Religions – Confucianism
• Promotes peace and harmony and
good morals with reverence for
one’s ancestors, family and
superiors
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 9. Religions – Daoism and
Buddhism are also common place
in China
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 9. Religions – It is difficult to find
accurate numbers of people and
their religious beliefs due to nature
of communist regime
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 9. Religions – Some underground
communities of Protestants and
Catholics
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 9. Religions – What is the Falun
Gong?
• The Wheel of Law – established in
1992 with close to 100 million
followers
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 9. Religions – What is the Falun
Gong?
• It is a quasi-religious movement
based on traditional deep breathing
exercises and Daoist and Buddhist
practices
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 9. Religions – What is the Falun
Gong?
• So why do the Communist leaders
want these people out of the
picture?
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 9. Religions – What is the Falun
Gong?
• Perceived antigovernment activities
and positions so it was outlawed in
1999
• Many arrested and “reeducated”
through labor camps or placed in
mental hospitals
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 10. Urban – Rural Cleavages
• Most econ growth takes place in
urban eastern areas so increase in
income gap between urban and
rural peoples = called “Two
Chinas”!!!
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 10. Urban – Rural Cleavages
• This led to a divide in social and
cultural lifestyles from urban to
rural areas and a migration of
people from farms to industrial
centers
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 10. Urban – Rural Cleavages
• This led to protests and dissent in
rural areas over tax policies and
corruption in government
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 10. Urban – Rural Cleavages
• In 2006, PM Wen Jiabao set out
policy of “New Socialist
Countryside” to improve the rural
economy and slow down migration
of people (TVE’s)
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 11. Education
• What is the Literacy Rate in
China?
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 11. Education
• What is the Literacy Rate in
China? 90.9 %
• Is this a good number?
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 11. Education is controlled by the
Ministry of Education
• Average 6.2 years of ed. But goal
was upped to 9 years by 2000
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 11. EDUCATION –
• free primary ed for five years at age 7
• Then 5 years of secondary ed from 12
to 17
• Attendance rates drop from 99% for
primary to 80% for higher levels
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 11. EDUCATION –
• Free higher ed was abolished in
1985 so now candidates compete
with each other for scholarships
and admissions
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 12. Health care in China
• Gov’t sponsored health care
• But not enough doctors and
hospitals
• Most medical care is concentrated
in cities and on the eastern side
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 12. Health care in China
• Policy? Gov’t set up a 5 year plan
(again!) to invest $2.4 billion into
rebuilding rural medical services,
clinics and hospitals
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
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12. Health Issues
Hepatitis B outbreaks
SARS – vaccine in 2004
Bird Flu
HIV / AIDS on the rise
PEOPLE / SOCIAL ISSUES
• 12. Health Issues – But the big deal is
environmental
• 2002 – only 92% urban and 68% rural
had access to improved water supply
• Only 69% urban and 29% rural had
access to improved sanitation facilities