citizens, society & state in china jonah chazan pd. 3 jonah chazan pd. 3
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Citizens, Society & State in ChinaCitizens, Society & State in China
Jonah ChazanPd. 3
Jonah ChazanPd. 3
Urban/RuralUrban/RuralHukou system requires registration of all individuals
Originally separated urban and rural dwellers by law
Now relaxed somewhat
Law still applies very differently between country and city
Urban dwellers get pensions, health insurance, and better education
Rural dwellers are shareholders of village assets
Urban/RuralUrban/RuralHukou was created to enforce order in the system during the change to a command economy
More privileges were granted to urban workers because they were more likely to rebel
Urban workers make on average triple what rural farmers do
The balance has shifted to more urban
Special Administrative Regions
Special Administrative Regions
Hong Kong
Ruled by British until 1997 (except during Japanese occupation in WWII)
Run as a sort-of democracy
1,200 person Election Committee elects Chief Executive and half of the Legislative Council
Other half of Legislative Council is elected as usual
Center for global trade
Capitalist economy with very low taxes
Special Administrative Regions (cont.)
Special Administrative Regions (cont.)
Macau
Portuguese colony until 1999
Similar government with Election Committee
Tourism-based economy
EthnicityEthnicity
Fifty-six officially recognized
Most have their own language and autonomous region
Han
Majority: 92% of mainland China
Next largest: Zhuang, Manchu, Hui
Ethnicity (cont.)Ethnicity (cont.)
Uyghurs
Most live in Xinjiang
Speak Uyghur, a Turkic language
Muslim
Have repeatedly protested for independence (and had it in 1933-34 and 1944-49)
XinjiangXinjiang
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
Majority Muslim
Formerly known as Chinese Turkestan
Largest region, with lots of oil and natural gas
Recently lots of ethnic tension
Ethnicity (cont.)Ethnicity (cont.)
Tibetans
Speak a variety of Tibetan languages
Mostly Tibetan Buddhist
Has a “government in exile,” the Central Tibetan Administration, founded by the 14th Dalai Lama and based in India
TibetTibet
Tibet Autonomous Region
92.8% ethnic Tibetan
Second largest division, least densely populated (2 people per square kilometer)
Also known for a separatist movement, although not violent
ReligionReligion
45% are “convinced atheists”
The government tends to strongly underreport religious believers
Religions (cont.)Religions (cont.)Lots of Buddhists (100 million)
Hard to define borders between superstition, Daoism, and Buddhism
Lots of Daoists (“over 100 million”)
Many Muslims (28 million)
Many Christians, (23 million Protestant, 5 million Catholics)
Government appoints priests for official churches
This doesn’t count “house-church” Christians - 50 million according to China Daily
GenderGender
The gender ratio in China is skewed towards male, especially for the age group that is 10-14 now
This is due to the One Child Policy
There traditionally was a preference for male children - females became members of the husband’s family and thus can’t care for the elderly
This is often written about, but exaggerated
Civil SocietyCivil Society
Low social capital
Peasants tend to be very disconnected from politics
China has fairly extreme censorship laws
“The Great Firewall”
On the Internet, TV, and other media
CensorshipCensorshipPolitical information
1989 protests
Cultural artifacts
Movies depicting China in a bad light
Foreign animations during certain hours to help Chinese animators
Delay of Beijing Olympics on TV
Social media
To suppress “cyber-dissidents” as well as to help local Web companies
NGOsNGOsChina now has nearly 500,000 NGOs, mostly for environmental and social issues
Some are GONGOS (Government-operated NGOs)
In order to register with the government, an NGO needs a supervising government office
Others register as a corporation, but face higher taxes
Still have little power
Laws against public fundraising
Lack of public awareness and expertise