Asian Studies Commons^™

Harbin’S Past, Modern Style, James Carter

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Historical preservation in China’s ever-growing cities is a challenge. Transformations to Beijing and Shanghai are best documented (for example, as evocatively narrated by Michael Meyer in his Last Days of Old Beijing), but dozens of cities, up and down the coast especially, are witnessing historically rapid change, and a rapid change to their histories.

Factories Without Smoke: Wang Jia Yi And Gao Tian Ci, Chris Cherry

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Wang Jia Yi and Gao Tian Ci, Dalian to San Li Village, Anhui Province

“How Can We Hope To Make A Living If Our Roots Are Cut?”: Track-Laying, Modernization, And People’S Livelihood In Republican Beijing, Jared Hall

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

In a post yesterday at this site, I discussed recent cleavages between the rapidly expanding Beijing Subway and segments of the public the system is meant to serve. In that post, I pointed to residents who voiced concerns about property seizures, safety lapses, and excessive noise from nearby tracks. When the subway corporation attempted to shut out community objections related to each of these issues, residents then utilized a common repertoire of protest that included petitions, visits to government offices, and public demonstrations.

Chinese Tour Groups In Europe, Chinese Tour Groups In Yunnan: Narrating A Nation In The World, Tami Blumenfield

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The first winter I stayed with a Moso (sometimes spelled Mosuo) family in southwest China, my weeks of Naru language tutoring did not help me get very far in understanding their conversations. I had trouble sorting out the names and relationships of the ten to eighteen family members who ate meals together and lived in that household. The apu (grandfather) joked to me that I, an American citizen who had been living in China, was now in the foreign country’s foreign country; no wonder I was disoriented. Their corner of Yunnan was culturally and linguistically distinct from other parts of …

China’S Water Challenges: A Quick Q & A With Environmental Historian Kenneth Pomeranz, Jeffrey Wasserstrom

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Ken Pomeranz, Kate Merkel-Hess and I had various reasons for launching this blog at the start of 2008. One thing that led us to start the venture, at a time when Kate was the only one of us with any blogging experience, was simply a sense that some of the things that we were saying to one another over lunch and in the hallways at UC Irvine might be of interest to people in other places who were working on, living in, or just curious about China. As much as the venture has developed since then (adding new contributors continually, …

Excerpt: Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse, Shelley Rigger

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Taipei 101, the blue-green glass tower that reigned for six years as the world’s tallest building, is everywhere in Taiwan. Its image appears on advertisements, magazine covers, brochures, guidebooks, and billboards; the soaring structure itself is visible from nearly everywhere in Taipei City. As ubiquitous as Shanghai’s Oriental Pearl TV tower—and considerably more graceful—Taipei 101 has become the iconic image of contemporary Taiwan.

Soft Power With Chinese Characteristics: Promoting Creative Industries While Maintaining Political Control, Thomas Glucksmann-Smith

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

On October 15-18th 2011 during the latest Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee, China’s leaders discussed ways to make China a ‘culturally strong nation’ (文化强国) and defined strategies to enhance China’s international soft power. This meeting coincided with tax evasion charges laid against China’s world renowned artist Ai Weiwei—charges he now plans to challenge.

Ai Weiwei, recently described by Art Review as the ‘world’s most powerful artist’ would, in any other nation, be regarded as a perfect diplomat for his country’s cultural industries. But, for China’s CCP leaders Mr Ai’s political activism and provocative behaviour has gone too …

Chinese Parents’ Perspectives On Adolescent Sexuality Education, Wenli Liu, Kali S. Van Campen, Carolyn P. Edwards, Stephen T. Russell

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

There is growing interest in China to understand how young people learn about sexuality, but there are few existing studies about the role of parents as sex educators of their children. This study surveyed 694 Chinese parents of adolescents in three cities about their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding sexuality education for their children. The majority supported sexuality education, yet few parents had provided it. High-income parents had more favorable sexual attitudes and, in turn, were more likely to educate children about sexuality. The findings provide insight into parents’ role in adolescents’ sexual behavior and can be useful to sexuality …

Introduction: Overview And Conceptual Approach, Supang Chantavanich

Asian Review

No abstract provided.

Preface Kasit Piromya, Minister Of Foreign Affairs Of The Kingdom Of Thailand

Asian Review

No abstract provided.

Bhutan, Megan Adamson Sijapati

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Bhutan (formally the Kingdom of Bhutan) is a small, landlocked Buddhist constitutional monarchy in the eastern Himalayas, located between China's Tibetan autonomous region and India. Its terrain is largely mountainous, and its economy is based on agriculture and forestry. Bhutan's official national language is Dzongkha, and its multiethnic population, reported in the 2005 govrnment census to be approximately 681,000, is 75% Buddhist and 25% Hindu.

Nepal, Megan Adamson Sijapati

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Nepal is a democratic republic located along the southern region of the Himalayan range, bordering India to the south, west, and east and the Tibetan autonomous region of China to the north. Though a small country in geographic terms (approximately 54,362 square miles [1 mile = 1.6093 kilometers]), its population of approximately 29.5 million people is a complex and heterogeneous mix of both Indo-European and Tibeto-Burman ethnic groups and castes, each with distinct languages and religious and cultural traditions. [excerpt]

Thai Migrants' Access To Hiv/Aids Treatment In Japan, Kannikar Kijiwatchakul

Asian Review

No abstract provided.

Thai Migrants In Japan: Experience And Return, Kannika Angsuthanasombat

Asian Review

No abstract provided.

When East Meets West: Understanding The Misconduct Of Teenage Girls In Hong Kong, Violet Cheung

Psychology

Although acculturation towards western culture has been linked to higher levels of misconduct in previous research, little is understood about the mechanisms involved. The present study uses two mediators, early autonomy timetable and large family obligation discrepancy to explain how western values alter children’s behavior and family dynamics, that would push them towards misconduct. The sample included 138 girls (M = 13.8 years) from Hong Kong, a former British colony. Results showed that when indigenous youths adopted western values, their autonomy timetables were accelerated, which in turn manifested itself as misconduct. Meanwhile, the western acculturated youths also had a larger …

Caring Work: Opening A Space Of Possibility For Exploring Transnational Feminist Solidarity Between Privileged And Marginalized Women, Beverly Romero Natividad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neoliberalism, through its emphasis on personal responsibility and individual freedom in accelerating economic development globally, has only pushed women further into the margin of society. Structural adjustment programs (SAPs), which impose state budget cuts on healthcare and welfare programs, particularly have kept poor women and women of color in poverty and generally, have exploited women's labor. However, in this age of neoliberalism, women's solidarity becomes more significant. Because neoliberalism is founded on individualism, its downfall rests on alliance-building. Against this backdrop, I explore the possibility of fostering transnational feminist solidarity between privileged and marginalized women engaged in formal caring work. …

Berita Autumn 2011, Derek Heng

Berita

Chair’s Address... 2

Editor’s Foreword...3

Members’ Updates...4

Announcements...5

John A. Lent Prize...6

Islam, Corporatization and Economy in Southeast Asia...8

Singapore’s Democratic Opening? 2011 Elections...12

What is National Education in Singapore?...15

Researching the Colonial Ethnology of British Malaya & the Netherlands Indies...20

Reader Responses: Celebrating Jianbing, Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

[Editor’s note: It seems that quite a few of our readers are as fond of jianbing as we are here at China Beat HQ. This morning’s post on the tasty breakfast dish garnered a number of responses on Twitter (revealing that not everyone is a fan, though all have strong feelings on the jianbing issue), which I’ve collected below, followed by one story sent in by a reader via email. And fellow UC Irvine graduate student Aubrey Adams directed my attention to this basic recipe for jianbing, in case I (or anyone else) wants to attempt making them at home.]

Soft Power Struggle: Ai Weiwei And The Limits Of Sino-German Cultural Cooperation, Adam Cathcart

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

As an attempt to drain the seemingly endless reserves of paranoia fed by China’s rise, the extension of Chinese “soft power” [ruan shi li 软实力] into Western Europe is one of the more interesting stories of our day. How the Chinese Communist Party uses culture and cultural exchange to shape its image in Europe varies, like any good guerrilla strategy, depending on conditions. In the performing arts, PRC-sponsored groups tour European stages, acting out a meta-drama that pits twirling autonomous-region Uighurs against the ubiquitous Falun Gong-affiliated Shen Yun ballerinas (and their army of granny pamphleteers). Embassy-sponsored photographic exhibits celebrating modernization …

The Olympics In East Asia: Nationalism, Regionalism, And Globalism On The Center Stage Of World Sports, William W. Kelly, Susan Brownell

CEAS Occasional Publication Series

Yale CEAS Occasional Publication Series - Volume 3

Sabbatical Leave Proposal And Sabbatical 2011 (Blog), Paul Young

Sabbaticals

I am an associate professor at Parkland College in Champaign IL USA. After teaching graphic design full-time for 10 years, I'm very pleased to be taking a semester off for sabbatical leave in spring 2011. My sabbatical application was approved on December 22, 2009 and we immediately starting making plans. With an extented period of time available for recuperation and renewal, my partner and I wanted to do some serious traveling. At first, we thought an around-the-world trip would be rather exciting, but both the cost and weather proved to be challenging. So we narrowed our choices down to destinations …

Singapore Management University Report To Stakeholders 2011 - 2012, Singapore Management University

Report to Stakeholders

“Student Life” offers exciting updates on undergraduates’ achievements; “Academic Review” shares key news about our faculty and programmes; “Global Profile” surveys how SMU is raising its international profile; and “Horizons” reviews how the University is building strong, lasting relationships with our partners. Each story is a single tile and together they form a mosaic which portrays the creativity, colour and dynamism of SMU today. Three feature articles offer in-depth analysis of the ways SMU is striding towards meeting its strategic goals. The proactive, collaborative efforts of the SMU community are explored in “SMU President’s ‘Want Something, Do Something’ Culture”. A …

Women In Transition: Experiences Of Asian Women International Students On U.S. College Campuses, Siva Jeyabalasingam

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

Often referred to as people in transition, international students usually arrive in the U.S. with a clear sense of their academic goals; however, they often have not considered what their lives will be like or how they may change in non-academic ways. In addition to the typical level of university-related stress, international students face additional problems and difficulties generated in part by the cultural differences between the U.S. and their own countries. This is particularly true for Asian students. Of several studies that have investigated the experiences of international students in the U.S., only a handful have examined Asian students' …

Late Qing Dreams Of Modernity, Peter Zarrow

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

I would like to alert China Beat readers to a new film, Datong: The Great Society [Chinese title: 大同：康有為在瑞典]. This docu-drama tells the story of Kang Youwei (1858-1927) and to a great extent that of his second daughter Kang Tongbi (aka Kang Tung Pih, 1887-1969).

I found the film a powerful and affecting evocation of a philosopher’s life, and found myself challenged to consider what we make of the past and what it makes of us. The film-maker, Evans Chan, calls Datong: The Great Society a “docu-drama,” since it is based on verifiable records, period photos, and vintage footage—as well …

Straight Out Of Wukan: A Quick Q & A With Journalist Rachel Beitare, Jeffrey Wasserstrom

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Earlier this year, a Beijing-based Israeli journalist named Rachel Beitare contacted me out of the blue to set up an interview about the impact the Arab Spring events might have in China. I ended up impressed by the caliber of the questions put to me, so I started keeping an eye out for her byline, in case she published things in English (much of her work comes out in Hebrew, which I don’t read). I wasn’t disappointed, as before long Foreign Policy ran a smart commentary, ”Guilty By Association,” in which Ms. Beitare looked at the way the Party had …

Bow Before The Portrait: Sino-North Korean Relations Enter The Kim Jong Un Era, Adam Cathcart

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The pigs were being slaughtered in the streets when the news of Kim Jong Il’s death arrived in Dachuan, a small logging village in the mountains of western Sichuan province. Over the immense and extended cacophony of the blood-letting, the retired head of the local bank explained, with a bit of apologetic joy, that the villagers were getting ready for Spring Festival, then turned back to the news from Pyongyang, shaking his head at the retrograde tendencies of China’s Korean socialist brothers.

Book Review: Behind The Gate: Inventing Students In Beijing, Ling Shiao

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

By drawing our attention to the previously unexamined question of space for student activism, Fabio Lanza has successfully remapped the May Fourth Movement, despite the fact that it is perhaps the most well-travelled terrain in historical research of modern China. This is not a revisionist study that seeks to de-center May Fourth in China’s passage from tradition to modernity by looking for pre-May Fourth modern experimentations and the continuity between the late Qing and May Fourth periods. In fact, Lanza travels back to the historical site of Beijing University (hereafter Beida) and the canonical moment of the May Fourth years …

When Things Go Wrong: Village Elections As A Process Creating Contention, Kerry Brown

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

At the heart of the big story of Chinese rural democracy is the many millions of smaller stories of those who have been touched by this immense process. Before looking at village elections, therefore, here is one single story, of one man, who tried to stand in a village election, and of what happened to him. It is concrete experiences of engaging in the whole process of rural democracy like this that give village democracy its tremendous significance and interest. This section is based on papers obtained in Beijing in August 2009.

New Issue Of Twentieth-Century China Available

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The latest issue of Twentieth-Century China should be arriving in subscribers’ mailboxes right now, bringing readers four research articles described below by Chief Editor James Carter in an excerpt from the journal’s editorial:

Ai Weiwei And The “Age Of Madness”: Day Five And Counting, Lionel M. Jensen

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Just over four days after Ai Weiwei’s sudden apprehension by China’s Public Security Bureau, the government has initiated, as is its tireless and terrifying custom, the public process of building a case against the disappeared by alluding to the subject’s “crimes.”