Chapter 8East Asia, the Pacific, and International Studies

Demography and Development

Introduction: Why Study East Asia and the Pacific?

• Huge geographic scale of East Asia and the Pacific – East Asia is the most populous region of the world’s

most populated continent– 30% of the world’s population lives in East Asia– East Asia has a very diverse land mass

• East Asian civilizations have a long history• Abundance of diverse cultures in East Asia• East Asia is a rising economic power• East Asia has great political power in the world

[Figure 8.1 The Great Wall of China, while not visible from space, is an important symbol of China, Photo S. Toops ]

Geography

• Asia is divided into four regions:– Northeast Asia– Southeast Asia– South Asia– Central Asia

• This chapter focuses on Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia

Geography - Northeast Asia

• Northeast Asia encompasses five countries:– China – Japan– Taiwan– North Korea– South Korea

• China and Taiwan are ethnically Chinese• North and South Korea are ethnically Korean

Geography – Southeast Asia

• Southeast Asia is comprised of eleven countries:– Mainland countries: Burma (Myanmar), Thailand,

Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos– Peninsular countries: Malaysia and Singapore– Island countries: Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei,

East Timor• This region is a crossroad of influences from

China and India

Geography - Pacific

• Pacific countries include– Australia and New Zealand– Melanesia: Papua New Guinea, Solomons,

Vanuatu, Fiji, New Caledonia– Micronesia: Nauru, Kiribati, Micronesia, Guam,

Marianas– Polynesia: Tonga, Samoa, French Polynesia,

American Samoa, Hawaii

[Map 8.1 Map of Asia]

[Map 8.2 Map of Australia and New Zealand]

Australia and New Zealand

History

• Indigenous kingdoms and empires have dominated East Asia through its long history

• Chinese empires were established in the Yellow River valley in 2000 BCE

• The Japanese empire dates back to 50 BCE• Early civilizations were established due to the

rich agriculture of the region

History – European Colonialism

• European colonialism was very strong in Southeast Asia but less so in Northeast Asia– Dutch colonized Indonesia– French colonized Indochina– British colonized Malaya– Spanish, then US colonized Philippines

• All of the European powers gained some territorial control in China

• French, British, Germans and Americans all had colonies in the Pacific

• Resistance to colonialism in the form of nationalism– Most countries were free from colonial rule by the 1970s

Culture

• Asia has a significant degree of diversity• Every country has its own language system• Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Daoism, and Confucianism are

present in Asia• By 1950 Marxist atheism prevailed over traditional religious

beliefs in China and North Korea• East Asian culture is found in many places around the world• In the Pacific, cultural complexities include aboriginal

peoples of Australia and Maori culture in New Zealand. • In Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia local languages as

well as Pijin (Pidgin English) are used.

Economics

• Asian economic developmental success is a structural economic system– Japan is the economic leader– Close behind Japan are the newly industrialized countries:

Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea– The third group is Thailand, Malaysia, and soon China– The fourth group consists of Indonesia– The poorest group are countries like Cambodia

• In the Pacific, – Australia and New Zealand have developed economies– Other Pacific countries have subsistence economies– Tourism is important in Polynesia and Hawaii

[Figure 8.2. Agricultural activity in South East Asia focuses on rice production as shown here in Thailand. Photo S. Andrus.]

Politics

• East Asia has two models of state formation since the 1950s:– Japan became a democracy following WWII– China became communist following WWII

• Political freedoms and human rights remain issues for communist China

• In Southeast Asia, political tensions are strongly related to colonial past– Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was formed to

facilitate political cooperation in the region• Many countries in the Pacific are independent. – France, US and New Zealand still control territories

[Figure 8.3 Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Chairman Mao’s portrait is at the center. On the left, the banner says 10,000 years to the People’s Republic of China. On the right, the banner reads 10,000 years to the great unity of the peoples of the world. Photo S. Toops.]

Social Issues: Demography

• Most countries in East Asia have low rates of population growth

• Currently East Asia is home to 2.1-1.2 billion people and Asia as a whole is home to 60% of the world population– To control population growth, a limit of one child per family

has been employed in China– Singapore has the opposite problem and are encouraging

people to have more children– In the Pacific, Australia and New Zealand have low

population growth rates, while other Pacific Countries have high population growth rates.

[Figure 8.4. Most people in Singapore live in huge housing complexes supported by the government. Photo: S. Toops]

Social Issues: Demography

• Urbanization is another issue in East Asia• Huge cities with populations over 1 million or not

uncommon and a city of 200,000 is considered a small town

• The level of urbanization in Northeast Asia is much higher than that of Southeast Asia

• Japan and South Korea are over 70% urban• Australia and New Zealand are highly urbanized,

urbanization varies in the rest of the Pacific

[Figure 8.5. This family in Shanghai has their future hope pinned on the success of their grand daughter. Photo: S. Toops]

Asian Economic Situation

• After World War II, economic growth meant sustaining an annual increase in GDP at 5% or more– Third world countries were obtaining this goal, but

standards of living were not going up– Not a very good indicator of economic growth

• By the 1980s, development expanded to political and cultural aspects rather than just economic aspects: life-sustenance, self-esteem and freedom

• Sustainable development seeks to balance economic growth, social equity, and environmental protection for the long term

Goals for Development

• In Japan and South Korea, the government works with corporations to set goals and aims for the economy– Have moved away from export and industry to hi-tech

goods and services• In China, until the 1980s the economy was totally

controlled by the state. Since then they have begun moving toward a market economy– Resembles what Japan and South Korea have done,

but the state still plays a very large role in the economy

Development and China

• Three reasons why China’s development is important today:– One of the largest populations by size– Economic growth has been rapid– Heavily involved in world politics

• In the 1950s land reform by Mao Zedong brought agriculture and heavy industry to the forefront of China’s economy (Great Leap Forward)– The system put in place failed and resulted in famine in which

many people died• Deng Xiaoping set forth Reform China in 1979 in which

people were responsible for more land– Light industry became the focus of Reform China

Development and China

• As a result of the reforms of the late 1970s, trade and services have boomed in China– Initially relied on the Soviet Union for trade– Have now seen great success in foreign investment and

trade as result of open-door policy– Tourism has also become big business since Deng’s

reforms• Life sustenance in China has increased dramatically

since Deng’s reforms• Self-esteem and freedom are still a goal in China

and elsewhere

The Role of East Asia in the World

• East Asia is regarded as highly as Europe and the United States as its economy continues thrive

• Asian culture is becoming more and more widespread as religion, food, films, and other cultural components of life enter the world through globalization

• China especially has become more globally connected and serves important roles in the world– Permanent member of the UN Security Council– Beijing 2008 Olympics