•
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Brief modern history-Sun-Yat Sen- China’s FirstPresident -1912Educated in the U.S. Wanted to adopt a governmentbased on Western democraticprinciples After he died in 1916 a struggle for power resulted in Civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists
Chiang-Kai-Shekwas the leader of the Nationalists
MAO-ZEDONGwas the leaderof theCommunists
• Civil war was interrupted by WW II
• Afterward fighting continued and the
• Communists defeated the Nationalist
• forces and formed a Communist government in 1949
• The Nationalists retreated to Taiwan
• Taiwan has continued to be independent
• from China and has prospered with the
• assistance of developed nations
• In 1950, China invaded Tibet ,
destroyed Buddhist monasteries and
drove Dalai Lama into exile.
• Tibet has been called the “Rooftop
of the World” average elevation is
16,000 ft.
Tibet’s new name is Xizang (shee-
zahng) hidden land of the west
• LHASA, TIBET
ROOFTOP OF THE WORLD
The Dalai Lama, TenzinGyatso, has beenin exile in India since thetake over by China in 1950.
• OUTDOOR RESTAURANT IN TIBET
• LHASA, TIBET
THREE GREAT RIVER SYSTEMS: HUANG (YELLOW)RIVER, YANGTZE RIVER, AND XI (HSI) RIVER
THREE GORGES ALONG THE YANGTZE
WHEN COMPLETEDIN 2009, THE THREEGORGES DAM WILL BE THE LARGEST HYDROELECTRIC DAMIN THE WORLD
THREE GORGES DAM PROJECT
THE GRAND CANAL
OLDEST AND LONGEST IN THE WORLD
486 B.C-610 A.D. 1,114 miles long
•
GREAT WALL OF CHINA BUILT 2,000 YEARS AGO
BY THE QIN (CH’IN) DYNASTY
• ENLARGED DURING THE MING DYNASTY – 1368-1644
4,000 MILES LONG
• BEIJING, CHINA
ARCHEOLOGICALSITETHOUSANDS OFTERRACOTTA SOLDIERS FOUNDBURIED ATXIANDiscovered in 1974
POPULATION POLICY
• 1970s-one child policy in urban areas
• Rewards for those who followed policy
(better housing, jobs, pay increases)
• Punishments for those who had more than one child ( fines, wage cuts, loss of jobs, social disapproval
POPULATION POLICY
• Farmers in rural areas were pressured to produce and needed children to help in the fields.
• Many in rural areas had large families and accepted the punishments. Enforcement of punishments not as strict in rural areas.
POPULATION POLICY
• Population growth has decreased, however,
• CHINA is still the most populated country with 1.3 billion people.
ETHNIC DIVERSITY
• 55 Ethnic minority groups –mainly
Han (94%)
• 52 separate languages
• Mandarin Chinese official language
• Use ideograms-pictures or characters that represent a thing or an idea
CHINESE LANGUAGES
• Written form gives no clues to pronunciation
• To read a newspaper, one needs to know 2,000-3,000 characters
• To achieve a solid grasp of language, need to know 20,000 characters.
RELIGION
• Officially, an atheist country
• Atheism denies the existence of God
• Many however, are followers of
Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism
TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
• Practice acupuncture
and use herbal remedies.
FOOD
BARBECUED RAT AND DOG
FOR ENTERTAINMENT
CHINA IS ONE OF THEWORLD’SFASTESTGROWINGECONOMIES
FASHION SHOW IN CHINA
• S.E.Z. SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES ARE AREAS IN CHINA WHERE FOREIGN COMPANIES ARE ENCOURAGED TO INVEST
• THERE ARE NOW HUNDREDS OF
S.E.Z.s IN CHINA BECAUSE THEY ARE SO SUCCESSFUL
80% of toys forthe U.S.are madein China
While the economy is moving towardcapitalism, Chinese citizens still do not have individual freedomsIn 1989-STUDENTS ADOPTED THIS SYMBOL OF THESTATUE OF LIBERTYASKING FORDEMOCRATIC REFORMS
DEMONSTRATION AT TIANAMEN SQUARE1989- 100,000 DEMONSTRATORS ASKING FOR
MORE FREEDOMS
•
PEOPLE IN RURAL AREAS CAME TO SUPPORT THE STUDENTS
•
THE GOVERNMENT REPONDED BY BRINGING IN THE MILITARY
•
TROOPSOPENEDFIRE WITH-OUT WARNINGKILLING2,000 ANDWOUNDINGHUNDREDSMORE“Tank man” challengessoldiers.
• This incident sent a message that the
Communist government was not going
to allow freedoms
• Repression has continued. Chinese
citizens have been imprisoned for
challenging the government
• Special economic zones, however,
have opened the door for more economic freedoms
SHI TAO-Journalist in China sentan email to aNew York basedpro-democracywebsite about ameeting recognizing the15th anniversaryof the June 4, 1989 crackdown of personal freedoms at Tianamen Square.
YEAR-2006
Shi Tao was tried and convicted of “illegally spreading state secrets overseas.” He wassentenced to 10 years in prison.
Shi Tao is 37 years old.
BIKES ARE STILL POPULAR AS A MEANS OF
TRANSPORTATION
56% of the people live in rural areas. More and moreare moving to the cities.
94% of China’s 1.3 billion people live on 46 % of the land.
SHANGHAI, CHINA
HU JINTAOOF CHINA
AND LULADA SILVAOF BRAZIL
HONG KONG
HONG KONGBECAME PART OFCHINA IN 1997
IT IS A PENINSULAATTACHED TO CHINA WITH OVER235 ISLANDS
MEANS FRAGRANTHARBOR
AGREEMENTBETWEENT CHINA ANDTHE BRITISHIN 1997 ALLOWSHONG KONG TO KEEP ITSCAPITALISTSYSTEM FOR50 YEARS
15,968 PEOPLE PER SQUARE MILE IN HONG KONG
MAJOR MANUFACTURING AND BANKING CENTER
CHINACONSIDERSTAIWAN ASPART OFCHINADOES NOTSUPPORT ANINDEPEN-DENTTAIWAN
55% OFTAIWANIS COVEREDWITHFORESTS
Taiwan lost United Nations seat to China in 1971
TAIWAN-25TH LARGEST ECONOMY
WORLD’S 13TH IMPORTANT TRADING NATION
PRO INDEPEPENDENCECHEN SHUI-BIANELECTED WHICHSENT A MESSAGE TOCHINA THAT TAIWANLEADERSHIP DOES NOT WANT TOBE PART OF CHINA.
CHINESE GOVERNMENT INSISTS THAT TAIWAN SHOULD BE PART OFCHINA.