By Josie Maxwell, Grace Kim, and MJ Pott

❏
❏
❏ Taiwan
❏ Hong
Kong
❏
❏
❏

J
AP
AN

• WWII left Japan in ruins
• Rapid rebuilding of economy
– Selective westernization via occupying U.S. troops
• U.S. Occupation goals:
Democratic Japan and demilitarization
• New constitution
•
Parliament made supreme political body
• Economic reforms
• Educational Reforms
• Changes accepted by public

•
Government supported business cooperation
•
Mass export expansion o
“Japan, Incorporated” o o
More exports than China, both Koreas, Taiwan,
India, Pakistan, Australia, and Brazil combined
Mostly cars and electronics o
Quality and Quantity!
•
Annual economic growth=
10% after 1950

• Active government encouragement
• Education expansion
• Foreign policy
– Japan’s army is disbanded
– Extra capital goes to support economy
• Labor policy
– Labor unions
– Strong sense of group loyalty
– Low unemployment
– Employees less likely to take vacations,
Bosses less materialistic

•
Women are increasingly well-educated o o decline in birthrates small feminist movement o focus on domestic duty and child rearing
•
Children’s education becomes extremely conformist o non-conformists are punished and humiliated

• Far fewer lawyers
• Far fewer lonely/alienated people
• Emphasis on individual competition
–
–
University entrance exams are more stressful
Heavy drinking & geisha houses accepted

•
Fascination with baseball, golf, tennis
•
Children prefer western cutlery over chopsticks o
Chopstick classes instituted
•
Traditional Art, poetry, tea ceremonies, and flower arrangements survive
•
Theatres and literature thrive
•
Art used to attack controversial issues o
Hiraoka Kimitoke (1925-1970)
(shown right)

• Japan is converted into a democracy by the
U.S.
–
–
Dominated by a single party: The Liberal Democratic
Party
•
Closer to an oligarchy
Conservative stability
• Population boom= government campaign supporting abortion and birth control
–
Strong national tradition of state-sponsored discipline

•
Pollution becomes a problem by
1960
•
Intense respect for elders challenged by younger generation
•
1990’s collapse o
Liberal Democrats are corrupt o o
 Replaced by an unstable coalition government
Severe economic depression

High unemployment rate
Relatively swift recovery

.

○ Anticommunist crusade and success during the 1930s interrupted -> Japanese invasion
○ Did not focus on invasion -> obsessed with communist and continued struggle against them
○ Forced to ally with communists against Japanese
○ Chiang’s conventional military v.s superior air, land, and sea forces of Japan
○ His retreat eroded his reputation with military allies, the rural landlords, and foreign powers
○ Arrival of Chiang’s armies meant theft, rape, and murder for
Chinese villagers
○ He did little to improve the condition of the people

● 1950s - Balance of power was shifting to Mao
● Triumphant- communist policies = support of the peasantry and others
● Good reasons to support
Mao and his revolutionary movement
○
○ land reform education improved health care
○
● Mao’s soldiers were indoctrinated w/ the need to protect the peasantry and win their support

● Harsh penalties were levied
● 1st priority -> Complete the social revolution in the rural areas
● Village tribunals
● Border disputes
● Late 1950s -> marked the
Mao’s rule had broken down
● Pragmatists -> Gang of
Four

● Communists won favor - victorious in 1949
● Victory in China drove Chiang’s regime to Taiwan
● Convinced the people that they had the leaders and the program that could improve their lives
● Intellectuals and students changed their allegiance to communists
● Strong military and political organization

● Party cadres and the
People’s Liberation Army
● Army subordinate to party
● Administered by military officials for 5 years after communists came to power
● Communist planners saw rapid industrialization -> no peasant farmers
● Stalinist style 5 year plan -> communist leaders turn away from peasantry to urban workers

● The Great Leap Forward
○ Further effort to revitalize the flagging revolution by restoring its mass, rural base
● Women/Social
○ Mao -> moved as a young boy, interested in women’s rights
○ Women’s issues and women’s support for the communist movement became important in Mao’s revolutionary strategy
○ Clash with nationalists and communists
● Mao’s cultural revolution
○ Convinced that the support among the students, peasants, and military was strong enough to launch what would be his last campaign

•
Guomindang Refuge o
Chiang Kai-shek o
China/US tensions
•
Shift focus from regaining China to economic growth o
State planning but also free market possibility o
Agriculture improves--reforms benefit farmers o
Education and literacy increase, Western medicine
•
Chiang Kai-shek dies, son Chiang Ching-kuo ascends to lead

North Korea
➢ “People’s
Democratic
Republic of Korea”
➢ Led by Kim Il-Sung
➢ Communist
○ High Soviet influence
South Korea
➢ “Republic of Korea”
➢ Led by Syngman
Rhee, a Nationalist
○ Lots of American support

•
Started in 1950 by North Korea
•
US jumps to aid South, border gets pushed up into North Korea o
General MacArthur
•
Communist China sends troops, push border back down
•
Front stabilizes in 1952, war ended 1953
•
Border clashes and tensions continue, but no more outright war

➢ Tendency for leaders to be ‘Strongmen’
➢ Focus shifts to economic growth
○
Industrialization and mass production
○
Hyundai
➢ Population growth
○
○
Gov’t began to urge limited birthrates
Emigration and air pollution became common

❖ 1600’s--French Catholic Missionaries
➢ French motives became more political and economic
❖ 1770’s--Tayson Rebellion
➢ Peasants overthrew the Nguyen dynasty, then the rival Trinh dynasty
❖ French support Nguyen Anh
➢
➢
Last Nguyen prince
➢ With French arms and tactics he conquers Vietnam
❖ 1802--Proclaims himself Gia Long emperor of Vietnam
French get benefits

❖ Gia Long was a big fan of Confucianism
➢
➢
Capitol at Hue mimicked Imperial palace
Administration made up of Confucian bureaucrats
➢ French Catholic missionaries disappointed
❖ Minh Mang
➢ 2nd emperor, also very Confucian
➢ Starts persecuting Catholics--very bad move
❖ 1840-1890--French conquest of Vietnam,
Laos, and Cambodia
➢
➢
Nguyen princes reduced to ‘puppets’
Economic and Social problems worsen

❖ Confucianism is rejected
➢ Ideological vacuum created
❖ Nationalism- “V. Quoc Dan Dong” (VNQDD)
➢ Secret society supporting the violent overthrow of the
French
➢ Mostly made up of the emerging middle class
➢ Failed due to French secret police
❖ Communism
➢
➢
Party led by Nguyen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi
Minh)
French crush them, too, but the
Communist underground survives

❖ Japanese invade in 1941
➢ Viet Minh gain power in N. Vietnam
➢ Gain support of the people
❖ Viet Minh control N. Vietnam by 1945
➢ General Vo Nguyen Giap--guerilla tactics
❖ French reaction
➢
➢
S. Vietnam is politically divided
French forces seize Saigon and come to control much of S. and central Vietnam with the help of the British
➢ French are supported by US at this point
❖ V. capture French Fort at Dien Bien Phu
➢ Decisive end to the war

❖ 1954 Geneva conference
➢ Recognized Vietnam as independent
➢ Called for elections within 2 years
❖ Tensions with the US
➢
➢
➢
During WWII Viet Minh and US cooperated against
Japan, but US sided with France in the next war
While the Cold War US was against Communism, Ho
Chi Minh was a popular leader in Vietnam
Anti-Communist sentiment in the US led the US to believe it should protect S. Vietnam from becoming
Communist
■ Ngo Dinh Diem--US-backed Nationalist leader of
S. Vietnam

❖ Diem worked against the Communists
➢ Focused on Communist cadres in S. Vietnam
❖ Communist reaction
➢ Viet Cong threatened, N. V. send guns, advisors, etc.
➢ S. V. communists form “National Liberation Front”
➢ Guerilla warfare spreads
❖ Full-out war
➢
➢
➢
Diem is ineffective, US has his generals overthrow him
US and N.V. keep sending in more resources
■
■
US troops increased to almost 500,000
More explosives dropped than in WWII
Communists don’t give in, war ends 1970’s

❖ Vietnam was united under the Communists
➢ S. V. regime fell apart quickly without US support
❖ Communists failed to rebuild Vietnam
➢ Economy and environment shattered, no aid
➢ Leaders push harsh socialist agendas
➢ Gov’t controls economy, unsuccessful
❖ Slow recovery
➢
➢
➢
Communist method clearly failing by the 1980’s
Outside nations open up economy somewhat
Vietnam still faces sweatshop conditions, social inequality, very little education

Hong Kong
❖ British colony until 1997
➢ Returned to China
➢ Communists promised to preserve its free market economy
❖ Bridge Nation
➢ Connected Communist
China with the rest of the world
➢ Many fled the
Communists and settled in Hong Kong
❖ Thriving Economy
Singapore
❖
British Naval base until
1971
❖
Became a nation in 1965
➢
Prime Minister Lee Kuan
Yew
❖
Very dense population
❖ High gov’t control
❖
Huge economic success
➢
Shipping and manufacturing
❖
Education and health improve

➔ “Little Tigers”-Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand
◆ Experienced Economic growth and air pollution
➔ Common Themes
◆
Confucian influence
◆
Strong central governments
➔ Late 20th century problems
◆
◆
◆
Economic growth fails, problems arise
West sees this as a sign that free market is necessary
●
Some change: Indonesia--
>democracy
Growth picks back up around the turn of the century