Asian Studies Commons^™

The Sky Is Not All Grey, Xujun Eberlein

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

1. A proprietary approach I use to help assess English journalism books about China is to measure how much they tell me, a Chinese, that I don’t already know. This, needless to say, lacks objectivity, and it can easily undervalue an otherwise excellent book. As an example, Out of Mao’s Shadow by Philip Pan consists essentially of stories I had already read from the Chinese media or the internet. Not new to me, but that doesn’t mean the book is not worth reading for Western readers (in fact, it is).

On the other hand, this approach raises a high bar …

China Beat Turns 1!

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

China Beat has been in operation now for a full year. And what a year! We started this blog with the inkling that 2008 might be eventful, if only because of the Olympic Games. But the past year turned out to be one of China’s most eventful and traumatic in modern history.

It’s been an honor for us to be able to add our thoughts and ideas into the mix. We’re enormously grateful to our many contributors, as well as you, our readers, for stopping by regularly and letting us know your thoughts and sharing your own knowledge.

Here are …

Magic Lanterns

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

In the midst of this year’s bitter winter, a glimmer of hope shines through: the Lunar New Year is rapidly approaching: New Year’s Eve (除夕) is on January 25, followed by New Year’s Day (初一) on the 26th. In Taiwan, one of the main events marking this holiday is the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival (台灣燈會), which is now entering its twentieth season. This year’s Festival is timed to start on February 9, which also happens to be the date of the traditionalLantern Festival (元宵節, also known as 上元節 or the more popular 小過年), celebrated on the fifteen day of the …

The 10 Best Books About Chinese Women In 2008

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Note: these books appear in no particular order since all are excellent.

1. Joan Judge, The Precious Raft of History: The Past, the West, and the Woman Question in China. Stanford University Press. Focusing on the so-called “woman question” (funü wenti) of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Judge re-examines China’s turn-of-the-century pursuit of modernity through analysis of biographies of notable women that illustrate Chinese approaches to their own history and to the Western world as mediated through Japan.

2. Susan Mann, The Talented Women of the Zhang Family. University of California Press (2007). Mann cleverly reconstructs the lives …

Looking Back, Looking Forward

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The last year is gone, and 2009 predictions are rolling in. Here are a few of our favorite 2008 wrap-ups and 2009 predictions from the past few weeks. Looking back…

1. China Beat’s Jeffrey Wasserstrom has posted a few of his own reflections on 2009. At the Christian Science Monitor, Wasserstrom wrote about “the two big China stories you missed this year” (though regular China Beat readers likely won’t have…!). The subheading should tip you off to these two stories: “The brief yet radical shift of patriotic fervor into criticism of the government after the Sichuan earthquake and the official …

Ying Ruocheng, Claire Conceison

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

During the final three years of his life, I collaborated with Ying Ruocheng on his autobiography in English. Sitting by his bedside, he captivated me with stories from his imprisonment, education, childhood, and his careers on stage and screen as well as in political and cultural diplomacy. His resulting autobiography, entitledVoices Carry, is an unusually witty narrative that includes vivid accounts of the events listed below and many more…

1. He was chosen by Bernardo Bertolucci to star in his film The Last Emperor after Bertolucci saw him play the role of Kublai Khan in the 1982 NBC miniseries Marco …

In Case You Missed It: Big White Lie, Peter Zarrow

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

I want to share some impressions of a book that the sinologically inclined (like me) might otherwise ignore. Big White Lie, by John Fitzgerald, is most importantly a polemic about Australian history—subtitled “Chinese Australians in White Australia”—but it also has a lot to say about modern Chinese culture, politics, and business. What follows is not a systematic review but a few xinde: somewhat random and incomplete notes on what I got out of the book.

The study of overseas Chinese has always seemed to me like an orphan field—an interesting and important area of research that has long produced major …

China Beat At The Aha

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Several China Beat contributors have just returned from the annual meeting of the American Historical Association, held this year in New York City from January 2-5. While there was normal association business aplenty (including presenting historical research, catching up with colleagues from other institutions, and for some of us hearing Eugenia Lean give a stimulating talk after the Conference on Asian History’s luncheon, in which she explored the interplay between science and gender in the Republican period), the meeting also gave the editors of China in 2008: A Year of Great Significance a chance to sit down with Rowman & …

More China Writing In Surprising Places: Japan Focus

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

For quite some time, the online journal Japan Focus has been moving toward covering Asia more generally, and recently it made that shift official with its new name, The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. In our series of lists of “surprising places to find great writing on China,” this is perhaps not the most shocking as it is coordinated by Mark Selden, whose first book, The Yenan Way, is on every China specialist’s exam reading list (and who has published widely in the last thirty years on China, Japan, and Asia).

So here is a list of five sample pieces from …

Global Shanghai’S Futuristic Side

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

I’m writing this in 2008, but when you read it, the calendar will tell you it is 2009. That wouldn’t ordinarily be particularly noteworthy, since many blogs, including this one, alternate between running things just as they are written and scheduling them to appear a few days hence. It just seemed relevant to mention because two pieces I’ve recently had go up online that are linked to and provide teasers for Global Shanghai, 1850-2010 deal with time and forward-looking issues.

One is the concluding segment of a Danwei.org two-parter on Shanghai and visions of the future. This installment focuses on …

2008 Retrospective: Olympics In Taiwan, Jennifer Liu

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

China Beat will be running a series of 2008 retrospectives over the coming weeks–pieces that both look back at events of the year (some well-trod ground, others largely unnoticed) as well as tying those earlier events into on-going trends and situations. In this piece, Jennifer Liu reflects on Taiwan’s 2008 Olympic experience, memories of which take on a different hue in light of Taiwan’s tumultuous autumn.

Olympic fever still hasn’t waned in China (especially in Beijing), but when I was living in Taiwan this summer, it seemed Olympic excitement had already run its course or maybe it never even took …

Human Rights And China’S Public Diplomacy, Hongmei Li

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

While the Tournament of Roses is busy preparing for the Pasadena Rose Parade on Jan. 1, 2009, it is interesting to revisit a controversy over a Beijing Olympic float for the 2008 parade for at least three reasons: (1) the controversy, largely provoked by FLG practitioners and other human rights groups, attracted huge media attention and the Pasadena city government and its human relations commission held several meetings to consider its position; (2) some analogies can be drawn between the controversy and the protests against the overseas leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay; (3) the controversy also indicates the …

Chinese Eyes On The Prize: Strategic Partnerships And Changing Priorities, Elizabeth O'Grady

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The overall theme of this paper is increasing knowledge of the evolution of Chinese priorities and strategy since the Korean War, and how the evolution of China's relationships reveals changes in priorities. Why were these partnerships entered into on the part of China? What was China's strategic thinking? How do strengths and weaknesses in these partnerships reflect China's changing priorities? To attempt to answer these questions, three case studies are used to reveal and analyze changes: Sino- North Korean relations since the Korean War, Sino-Russian relations after the end of the Cold War, and Chinese participation (relations with member states) …

Human Rights In China: Introduction, Hsiu-Lun Teng

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The People’s Republic of China has experienced rapid and cardinal changes in its political, economic, and societal realms over the past thirty years. These changes, in conjunction with China’s political and economic policies abroad, have left recognizable imprints on a variety of human rights issues. The human rights issues discussed in this digest cover both domestic and international dimensions.

Trafficking Of Women And The Harmonious Society: The Chinese National Plan Of Action On Combating Trafficking In Women And Children Within The Context Of Chinese Patriarchy And Reform, Sean Michael Barbezat

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Chinese National Plan of Action on Combating Trafficking in Women and Children, an evolution of prior regional cooperative work in coordination with the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Trafficking (UNIAP), is a considerable accomplishment. It represents a comprehensive, practical foundation for counter-trafficking work, and addresses the most serious concerns raised by Chinese and international anti-trafficking research over the last dozen years. However, a statement of this magnitude produced by a state not known for its sweeping human rights instruments leads to suspicion.

Tibet Under Chinese Rule, Dina Buck

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The struggle between Tibet and China has been a long and intractable one. How China chooses to deal with Tibet, commonly referred to as the “Tibet Question,” is a point of controversy both within China and for the international community at large. The two main points of concern are Tibet’s quest for self-determination and Tibetan quality of life under Chinese rule. While Tibet’s struggle for self-determination can be linked with the questionable treatment Tibetans face under the Chinese government (hereafter referred to as Beijing), the two issues are not exactly the same.

Uyghurs Under The Chinese State: Religious Policy And Practice In China, Katie Corradini

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is notorious for committing human rights violations. These violations include infanticide, human trafficking, violent enforcement of the one-child policy, and religious persecution. The international community commonly overlooks religious persecution of the Uyghurs, who are targeted and often oppressed by the Chinese government. China is arguably the center of the political and economic international system but, as the Uyghur diaspora expands to developed countries, including the United States, the rest of the world must understand the issues at the forefront of the conflict.

Chinese Women And Economic Human Rights, Lisa Fry

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Women’s human rights in China have an intriguing history and a challenging present. In ancient China, Confucianism espoused the virtues of silent women who stayed at home. During the Maoist period, on the other hand, gender equality was prioritized by the state, and women were equally appointed to leadership positions and agricultural collectives with men. After Mao’s death, the country transitioned to a social market economic system that resulted in a loss of state support for gender equity. Today, the rights of women in China are not clearly defined, protected, or promoted. China’s patriarchal traditions have reasserted themselves, obstructing women’s …

Why China Supports Burma’S Dictators, Dustin Stokes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Burma, also known as Myanmar, is governed by a repressive dictatorship that is guilty of numerous human rights abuses. Political prisoners, oppressed women and ethnic minorities, and child soldiers are examples of human rights violations in Burma. Burma’s government benefits from its relationship with China, whose support for the dictatorship is motivated by its own economic and strategic interests. The United States and its Western allies must alter their existing Burma policy, which has been part of the problem, in order to help end the suffering of the Burmese people.

Uighurs In Xinjiang: A General Assessment Of The Roots Of Unrest, Vladislav Shchukin

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Chinese governmental repression in Xinjiang against the Uighur minzu, or ethnic group, constitutes a significant infringement on human rights. The atmosphere of repression in Xinjiang is perhaps unmatched even by that of Tibet, and it is virtually the only region in China where execution of political prisoners is still common. Uighurs are subject to severe censorship, arbitrary arrest and the denial of due process, torture and inhumane treatment, and punishment disproportionate to their crimes.

Eastphalia Rising?: Asian Influence And The Fate Of Human Security, David P. Fidler, Sung Won Kim, Sumit Ganguly

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Update Mental Pictures Of Rural China, Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Women in straw hats stoop over water-logged plots, working together to plant rice seedlings. A weather-worn man trudges behind an ox ploughing his family's field. Farmers throw newly harvested grain in the air so the wind can carry off the chaff. Tour buses navigate past grain carefully laid out on the black-topped road to dry. Though picturesque, these images of rural China perpetuate stereotypes of a conservative culture resistant to change - and affect public policy.

More Than A Cultural Celebration: The Politics Of Chinese New Year In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In the aftermath of the May 1998 riots that forced President Suharto to step down, ethnic Chinese received unprecedented freedom to assert their long suppressed cultural and religious identity. Following the transition from assimilation to multiculturalism, for the first time in over three decades Chinese culture became more visible and ethnic Chinese could finally enjoy the freedom to celebrate Chinese New Year (Imlek) publicly. This article focuses on the politics of the re-emergent Chinese New Year celebration in the Indonesian public sphere. It demonstrates the significance of Imlek as an ethnic symbol to Chinese-Indonesians. Borrowing Hobsbawm’s concept of “invented tradition”, …

Tahira Khan On Wives, Widows, Concubines: The Conjugal Family Ideal In Colonial India By Mytheli Sreenivas. Bloomington, In: Indiana University Press, 2008. 169pp., Tahira Khan

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Wives, Widows, Concubines: The Conjugal Family Ideal in Colonial India by Mytheli Sreenivas. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2008. 169pp.

Peace From Below: Recent Steps Taken Along The Track-Two Diplomacy Path, Michael Thomas Kuchinsky

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Peacemakers in Action: Profiles of Religion in Conflict Resolution. Edited by David Little. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

and

Peace Out of Reach: Middle Eastern Travels and the Search for Reconciliation. By Stephen Eric Bronner. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2007.

The One-Child Policy, Gay Rights, And Social Reorganization In China, Kody Gerkin

Human Rights & Human Welfare

China’s youth are becoming adults in an unprecedented era. The Chinese have achieved rapid, sustained economic growth under a Communist government that has simultaneously been initiating a wide range of social planning initiatives.

Education For All Children, Sharon Harrall

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The UN Declaration of Human Rights, ratified in 1948, declared for the first time the right to education as a human right. Article 26 (1) states that “everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory.” Since then, the right to education has been reaffirmed in subsequent treaties and global conferences. These treaties have also highlighted the need to provide education to all children without discrimination, and particularly to ensure equal access for girls. Historically, we have seen great gender disparities in the enrollment rates of …

Economic Incentives Preempt Independence Movements: A Case Study Of The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region In China, Iman Jafarynejad

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Self-determination and freedom from foreign territorial acquisition and annexation still are core issues in the international arena and a source of human rights struggles. Through the consolidation of economies in the twenty-first century, there has, however, been a shift in the importance of these issues and in the meaning of “occupied” territories. This paper challenges the idea that the status quo of self-determination is the most important element of the human rights agenda of the indigenous Uyghur community in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China.

The Continuation Of Slavery In The Modern World: The People’S Republic Of China And Forced Labor Practices, Jasmine Koehn

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The age-old scourge of slavery has returned to plague the modern world. Though updated to match societal advances, the basic premise remains: human beings degraded to the point of becoming a mere commodity. Today’s world calls modern day slavery human trafficking, and it can take many forms, including forced labor. In the People’s Republic of China (PRC), two distinct forms of forced labor exist. One form is the more traditional master-slave system, wherein people are bought and sold, or kidnapped, and subsequently forced to work, often in intense and dangerous manual labor. The second form exists legally under the Chinese …

Institutionalizing Torture: The Case Of Hospitals And Prisons In China, Leighann Mcchesney

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has a notorious reputation, especially within the international human rights community, concerning its state-implemented practices of torture. Although the government of China has been charged by many international organizations with having a gruesome human rights record, on anything from freedom of speech to freedom of religion, the accusations of state-sanctioned torture undoubtedly have caused some of the strongest reactions around the world. This article seeks to address the various manifestations of torture that take place inside two of the most prominent public institutions in China: the prisons and the mental hospitals. By utilizing these …