Citizens, Society & State in ChinaCitizens, Society & State in China

Jonah ChazanPd. 3

Jonah ChazanPd. 3

CleavagesCleavages

Urban/Rural

East/West

Ethnicity

Language

Religion

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

GeographyGeography

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

Political ParticipationPolitical Participation

Citizens rate the government an average of 8.0 on a 10-point scale

Censorship of opponents?

Civil rights can come after the rights to a healthy life and a good standard of living (claims the gov’t)