China, Oct 2003

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

China, Oct 2003 China Country Report OCTOBER 2003 Country Information & Policy Unit IMMIGRATION & NATIONALITY DIRECTORATE HOME OFFICE, UNITED KINGDOM China, Oct 2003 CONTENTS 1. Scope of Document 1.1. - 1.4. 2. Geography 2.1. - 2.8. Geographical Area 2.1. - 2.2. Population 2.3. Naming Conventions 2.4. Languages 2.5 - 2.7 3. Economy 3.1. - 3.8. General Overview 3.1. [Detailed information Chinese Currency 3.2. on industrial unrest Economic Restructuring 3.2. - 3.4. and protest is Laid off State Workers 3.5. contained in Re-employment Initiatives 3.6. Extended Bulletin Crime and Corruption 3.7. - 3.8. 3/2003] Current Situation 3.9. 4. History 4.1. - 4.16. Revolutionary China 1949-66 4.1. - 4.2. The Cultural Revolution 1966-76 4.3. - 4.5. Economic Reform 1978-89 4.6. - 4.9. Tiananmen Square 1989 4.10. - 4.12. Post-Tiananmen Square 4.13. - 4.14. Current Situation Overview 4.15. 5. State Structures 5.1. - 4.68. The Constitution 5.1 - 5.2. Citizenship and Nationality 5.3. The Political System 5.4. - 5.6 Grassroots Political Activity in China 5.8. - 5.10. Village Committee (VC) System 5.11. - 5.12. Neighbourhood Committees 5.13. Democracy and Representation in China 5.14. Judiciary 5.15. - 5.20. [Detailed information Legal Rights / Detention 5.21. - 5.26. on the legal system State Compensation Law 5.27. - 5.31. is contained in Land Law 5.32 Extended Bulletins Death Penalty 5.33 1/2003 and 2/2003] Internal Security 5.34. - 5.35. Community Policing 5.36. - 5.38. Terrorism 5.39. - 5.43. Prisons and Prison Conditions 5.44. - 5.50 The Prison System 5.44. - 5.46. Re-education through Labour 5.47. - 5.49. Psychiatric Institutions 5.50 The Military 5.51. - 5.56. Conscientious Objectors and Deserters 5.53. - 5.56. Medical Services 5.57. - 5.71 General Information 5.57. Current Situation (referring to SARS) 5.58. - 5.61 Rural Healthcare 5.62. - 5. 64 Urban Healthcare 5.65. - 5. 66 Health Insurance 5.67. Pharmaceutical Products 5.68. - 5.70 Medical Profession and Associated 5.71. Organisations Healthcare: Specific Conditions 5.72. - 5.88 HIV / AIDS 5.72. - 5.74. Wenlou Village Scandal 5.75. - 5.76. Treatment and Strategies 5.72. - 5.77. China, Oct 2003 Tuberculosis 5.78. - 5.79 Mental Illness 5.80. - 5.84 Heart Transplants 5.85. Organ Removal 5.86. People with Disabilities 5.87. 5.88 Educational System 5.89. - 5.90. Social societies in China 5.91. - 5.93. 6.A Human Rights Issues 6.1. Overview 6.1. - 6.5. Torture 6.6. - 6.10. Freedom of Speech and the Media 6.11. - 6.20. Journalists 6.21. - 6.22. Freedom of Religion 6.23. - 6.28. The Role of Religion in the State 6.29. - 6.33. Religious Groups 6.34. Christians 6.34. - 6.73. General Information 6.34. - 6.37. Protestant Christians 6.38. - 6.44. Catholic Christians 6.45. - 6.53. Minor Christian Influenced Groups 6.54. General Background 6.54 - 6.55. The Shouters (Huhan Pai) 6.56. - 6.59. Born Again Movement (Cong Sheng) 6.60. - 6.63. The Blood and Water Holy Spirit 6.64. Spirit Church (Lingling Jiao) 6.65. Wilderness Narrow Door (Kuangye 6.66. Zhaimen) Disciples Association (Mentu Hui) 6.67. Oriental Lightning (Dongfang Shandian) 6.68. - 6.69. Elijah Church (Yiliya Jiao) 6.70. Fangcheng Church 6.71. South China Church 6.72. - 6.73. Sects 6.74. - 6.75. Falun Gong 6.76. - 6.125. [Detailed information Overview 6.76. - 6.79. on cults is contained Beliefs and Practices 6.80. - 6.84. in Revolution of the Overview of Organisation 6.85. - 6.93. Wheel 2nd edition Key Events 6.94. Nov 2002] Demonstrations 6.95. - 6.97. Arrests 6.98. - 6.103. Trials and Sentences 6.104. - 6.106. Prison Camps, Torture and Deaths in 6.107. - 6.109. Custody Other Unregistered qigong Groups 6.110. - 6.116. Asylum Cases 6.117. - 6.120. Update: April to September 2002 6.121. Update: October 2002 to March 2003 6.122. Update: April to September 2003 6.123 - 6.125. Muslims 6.126. Numbers 6.126. - 6.127. Identity 6.128. - 6.130. Practice and Levels of Commitment 6.131. - 6.137. Buddhists 6.38. - 6.144. Numbers 6.140. - 6.141. Tian Dao 6.142. - 6.144. Taoists 6.145. Beliefs and Practices 6.145. - 6.146. Numbers 6.147. China, Oct 2003 Taoism in Modern China 6.148. - 6.150. Religious Activity in Fujian Province 6.151. Other Unregistered Religious Groups 6.152. - 6.155. Freedom of Assembly and Association 6.156. - 6.157. Employment Rights 6.158. - 6.162. Political Activists 6.163. - 6.167. Dissident Organisations 6.168. - 6.170. China Democratic Party 6.171. - 6.179. People Trafficking 6.180. - 6.187. [Detailed information Snakeheads (people traffickers) 6.181. - 6.183. on migration and the The Profile of Claimants 6.184. - 6.185. activities of The Treatment of Returnees 6.186. - 6.187. snakeheads is Other Migration Issues 6.188. - 6.189. contained in Freedom of Movement 6.190. - 6.214. Extended Bulletin Current Situation 6.190. - 6.192. 5/2003] Registration Card (hukou) 6.193. - 6.197. Hukou Conversion 6.198. - 6.200. Hukou Reform 6.201. - 6.203. Temporary Residence Certificate 6.204. - 6.205. Citizen Identity Card 6.206. - 6.208. Residency Permits 6.209. - 6.210. Employment Records 6.211. The Sale of ‘blue seal’ hukou Status 6.212. The Floating Population 6.213. - 6.214. 6.B Human Rights - Specific Groups 6.215. Ethnic Minorities 6.215. - 6.216. Ethnic Minorities (specific groups) 6.217. - Zhuang / Chuang 6.217. - 6.218. Hui (Huihui) 6.219. - 6.221. Miao (Hmong) 6.222. Manchu 6.223. - 6224. Yi (Lolo) 6.225. - 6226. Tujia 6.227. Mongols 6.228. - 6231. Uighurs (Ughurs) 6.232. - 6.249. History 6.232. - 6.235. Han Migration 6.236. - 6.238. The Rise of Nationalism 6.239. - 6.249. Koreans 6.250. North Koreans 6.251.- 6.254 She 6.255. - 6.256. Uzbeks 6.257. - 6.258. Tibetans 6.259. - 6.325. [Detailed information Summary 6.259. - 6.261. on Tibet is contained Definition of Tibet 6.262. - 6.264. in Extended Bulletin Brief History and Geography of Tibet 6.265. - 6.270. 3/2002] Current Conditions within Tibetan (TAR) 6.271. - 6.302. Education 6.271. - 6.273. Women 6.274. - 6.275. Children 6.276. - 6.278. Healthcare 6.279. - 6.281. Cultural Rights 6.282. - 6.284. Current Issues 6.285. - 6.288. The Lamas 6.289. - 6.296. Demonstrations and Protest 6.297. Arrest, Detention and Prison 6.298. - 6.302. Conditions China, Oct 2003 Tibetan Refugees 6.303. 6.325. Documentation in Tibet 6.303. - 6.304. Exiting Tibet 6.305. - 6.307. Movement outside Tibet 6.308. Tibetan Diaspora 6.309. Nepal 6.310. - 6.313. Bhutan 6.314. India 6.315. - 6.319. The Tibetan Government in Exile 6.320. - 6.324. UK Tibetan Issues 6.325. Women 6.326. 6.336. Summary 6.326. Abduction 6.327. - 6.329. Marriage 6.330. - 6332. Divorce 6.333. All China Women's Federation 6.334. - 6.336. [Detailed information Family Planning Policies ("One Child 6.337. 6.362. on Birth Control Policy") Policies is contained Policy 6.337. - 6.342. in Extended Bulletin Implementation of Policy 6.343. - 6.349. 5/2002] Documentation 6.350. Actual Implementation and Practice 6.351. Fujian Province 6.352. - 6.358. Female Infanticide 6.359. - 6.361. "Black Children" 6.362. Children 6.363. Child Care Arrangements 6.364. - 6.370. Adoption 6.371. - 6.372. Homosexuals 6.373. - 6.376. 6.C Human Rights - Other Issues 6. 377. International Relations (including 6.377. Taiwan) Other Countries in Relation to Human 6.377. - 6.378. Rights Issues Relations with Taiwan (ROC) 6.379. - 6.388. Hong Kong Special Autonomous Region 6.389. - 6.399. Background 6.389. Current Situation 6.390. - 6.392. Elections 6.393. Dissidence in Hong Kong 6.394. - 6.397. Mainland-born Children 6.398. Vietnamese Boat People 6.399. Macao Special Autonomous Region 6.400. - 6.401. Local Officials (within PRC) 6.402. - 6.404. Annex A: Chronology of Events Annex B: Political Organisations Annex C: Prominent People Annex D: Glossaries Glossary 1 - Chinese Terms Glossary 2 - English Terms Glossary 3 - Tibetan Terms Annex E: Checklist of China information produced by CIPU Annex F: References to Source Material China, Oct 2003 1. Scope of the Document 1.1. This report has been produced by the Country Information and Policy Unit, Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Home Office, from information obtained from a wide variety of recognised sources. The document does not contain any Home Office opinion or policy. 1.2. The report has been prepared for background purposes for those involved in the asylum / human rights determination process. The information it contains is not exhaustive. It concentrates on the issues most commonly raised in asylum / human rights claims made in the United Kingdom. 1.3. The report is referenced throughout. It is intended for use by caseworkers as a signpost to the source material, which has been made available to them. The vast majority of the source material is readily available in the public domain. 1.4. It is intended to revise the reports on a six-monthly basis while the country remains within the top 35 asylum-seeker producing countries in the United Kingdom. [Jump to overview of human rights situation] 2.
Recommended publications
  • Country Advice China China – CHN37779 – Fujian Province –
    Country Advice China China – CHN37779 – Fujian Province – Lingtou Village – Gangtou – Christians – House churches – Internal relocation 2 December 2010 1. Please provide a map showing the location of Lingtou Village, Gangtou Town in Fuqing City. If practical, please locate the Gangtou Police Station on that map. An RRT research response dated 24 November 2009 provides information on churches in Gangtou Town.1 The research response includes the following map showing the locations of Lingtou and Gangtou in Fuqing.2 1 RRT Research & Information 2009, Research Response CHN35719, 24 November, (Questions 1 & 2) – Attachment 1 2 „Gangtouzhen, Fuqing, Fuzhou, Fujian, China‟ 2009, Google maps website http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Gangtouzhen,+Fuqing,+Fuzhou,+Fujian,+China&ie=UTF8&cd=2&geo code=FfHZhQEd9jwfBw&split=0&sll=37.0625,- 95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&hq=&hnear=Gangtouzhen,+Fuqing,+Fuzhou,+Fujian,+China&ll=25.5532 05,119.484215&spn=0.040421,0.066004&z=14&pw=2 - Accessed 23 November 2009 – Attachment 2 Page 1 of 7 A map showing the location of Gangtou police station was not located in a search of the sources consulted. An RRT research response dated 7 March 20083 refers to information provided to the Tribunals by the Senior Chinese Librarian for the Asian Collections at the National Library of Australia, which includes the addresses in Chinese of police stations in Fuqing City.4 A translation of the addresses by the Research & Information section includes reference to Gangtou Police Station in Gangtou Township, Fuqing at No. 125 in the list of police stations.5 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Christianity and the Taiwanese Religious Landscape
    129 Christianity and the Taiwanese religious landscape Benoit Vermander HRISTIANS IN TAlWAN ACCOUNT FOR LESS than 5 per cent of the C population. The same is true of Mainland China. However, in Taiwan as in the Mainland, the cultural influence of Christianity goes far beyond the limits of the institutional churches. The appeal of Christian values and concepts goes with westernization, and this also explains the difficulties encountered when trying to inculturate the Gospel. Liturgy, theological thinking and spiritual methods still directly derive from the westem mould. Christianity as a whole somehow contributes to shape modern Chinese culture, but Chinese culture is still hardly relevant for defining the specificity and the future of the Chinese Christian churches. However, some Christians are now conscious that their faith will become a living reality in today's China only if Christian communities interact with other cultural and religious communities, learning to appreciate their experience and concerns while sharing with them what makes the core of their life. For Christianity, increased exchanges are the road towards spiritual renewal as well as towards social relevance. In the Chinese world, the tiny numbers make the Christians always at risk of becoming mere marginals. When they dare to situate their faith within the wealth of spiritual experiences encountered in the Chinese context, these 'marginals' may indeed fulfil a prophetic mission. What is the religious landscape in which Chinese Christians have first to situate themselves? I intend to concentrate here on religions in Taiwan today. Although the political and social situation in Taiwan is altogether very different from the one encountered in Mainland China, both countries' religious contexts present more similarities than seems to be the case at first glance.
    [Show full text]
  • Christian House Church Members by the Public
    Responses to Information Requests - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Page 1 of 8 Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Home > Research Program > Responses to Information Requests Responses to Information Requests Responses to Information Requests (RIR) respond to focused Requests for Information that are submitted to the Research Directorate in the course of the refugee protection determination process. The database contains a seven- year archive of English and French RIRs. Earlier RIRs may be found on the UNHCR's Refworld website. Please note that some RIRs have attachments which are not electronically accessible. To obtain a PDF copy of an RIR attachment please email [email protected]. 10 October 2014 CHN104966.E China: Treatment of "ordinary" Christian house church members by the Public Security Bureau (PSB), including treatment of children of house church members (2009-2014) Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa 1. House Church Demography According to the Bertelsmann Stiftung Transformation Index (BTI), which analyzes the quality of democracy and political management in 128 countries (Bertelsmann Stiftung n.d.), there are an estimated 80 million Christians in China, "many of whom congregate in illegal house churches" (ibid. 2014, 5). The Wall Street Journal reports that house church members could number between 30 and 60 million (29 July 2011). Voice of America (VOA) notes that the exact number of Christians is difficult to estimate because many worship at underground house churches (VOA 16 June 2014). For detailed information on the estimated number of registered and unregistered Christians in China, by denomination, as of 2012, see Response to Information Request CHN104189.
    [Show full text]
  • Performing Shakespeare in Contemporary Taiwan
    Performing Shakespeare in Contemporary Taiwan by Ya-hui Huang A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Central Lancashire Jan 2012 Abstract Since the 1980s, Taiwan has been subjected to heavy foreign and global influences, leading to a marked erosion of its traditional cultural forms. Indigenous traditions have had to struggle to hold their own and to strike out into new territory, adopt or adapt to Western models. For most theatres in Taiwan, Shakespeare has inevitably served as a model to be imitated and a touchstone of quality. Such Taiwanese Shakespeare performances prove to be much more than merely a combination of Shakespeare and Taiwan, constituting a new fusion which shows Taiwan as hospitable to foreign influences and unafraid to modify them for its own purposes. Nonetheless, Shakespeare performances in contemporary Taiwan are not only a demonstration of hybridity of Westernisation but also Sinification influences. Since the 1945 Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party, or KMT) takeover of Taiwan, the KMT’s one-party state has established Chinese identity over a Taiwan identity by imposing cultural assimilation through such practices as the Mandarin-only policy during the Chinese Cultural Renaissance in Taiwan. Both Taiwan and Mainland China are on the margin of a “metropolitan bank of Shakespeare knowledge” (Orkin, 2005, p. 1), but it is this negotiation of identity that makes the Taiwanese interpretation of Shakespeare much different from that of a Mainlanders’ approach, while they share certain commonalities that inextricably link them. This study thus examines the interrelation between Taiwan and Mainland China operatic cultural forms and how negotiation of their different identities constitutes a singular different Taiwanese Shakespeare from Chinese Shakespeare.
    [Show full text]
  • Hong Kong SAR
    China Data Supplement November 2006 J People’s Republic of China J Hong Kong SAR J Macau SAR J Taiwan ISSN 0943-7533 China aktuell Data Supplement – PRC, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, Taiwan 1 Contents The Main National Leadership of the PRC 2 LIU Jen-Kai The Main Provincial Leadership of the PRC 30 LIU Jen-Kai Data on Changes in PRC Main Leadership 37 LIU Jen-Kai PRC Agreements with Foreign Countries 47 LIU Jen-Kai PRC Laws and Regulations 50 LIU Jen-Kai Hong Kong SAR 54 Political, Social and Economic Data LIU Jen-Kai Macau SAR 61 Political, Social and Economic Data LIU Jen-Kai Taiwan 65 Political, Social and Economic Data LIU Jen-Kai ISSN 0943-7533 All information given here is derived from generally accessible sources. Publisher/Distributor: GIGA Institute of Asian Affairs Rothenbaumchaussee 32 20148 Hamburg Germany Phone: +49 (0 40) 42 88 74-0 Fax: +49 (040) 4107945 2 November 2006 The Main National Leadership of the PRC LIU Jen-Kai Abbreviations and Explanatory Notes CCP CC Chinese Communist Party Central Committee CCa Central Committee, alternate member CCm Central Committee, member CCSm Central Committee Secretariat, member PBa Politburo, alternate member PBm Politburo, member Cdr. Commander Chp. Chairperson CPPCC Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference CYL Communist Youth League Dep. P.C. Deputy Political Commissar Dir. Director exec. executive f female Gen.Man. General Manager Gen.Sec. General Secretary Hon.Chp. Honorary Chairperson H.V.-Chp. Honorary Vice-Chairperson MPC Municipal People’s Congress NPC National People’s Congress PCC Political Consultative Conference PLA People’s Liberation Army Pol.Com.
    [Show full text]
  • Guidelines for Authors
    The Axis of Ancient BeiJing that Declaraed the World Cultural Heritage and the Tourism of BeiJing First Author Beijing University of Technology, the Collage of Architecture and Urban Planning, Zhangfan, No.100 Pingleyuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China e-mail: [email protected] Abstract This essay is mainly about six aspects on the Axis of Ancient BeiJing which Declaraed the WCH and it’s relationship between the Tourism of BeiJing: First, how to find out the Outstanding Universal Value of the Axis? Second, how to estimate the OUV? Which Criterias shall we choose for the assessment? Third, Authenticity vs Integrality: Rebuilt or Restoration (Rehabilitation)? Some discussions about the rebuilt of QianMen (the front gate which is also the south gate of the inner city) District and the DiAnMen (the north gate of the inner city). Forth, what are the main tourism problems along the Axis of Ancient BeiJing and what we are going to do with it after the Axis’ Declaration? Keywords: The Axis of Ancient BeiJing, WCH (World Cultural Heritage), OUV (Outstanding Universal Value), Criteria for the Assessment of OUV, Tourism (three lines) Introduction (two lines) The ancient capital of Beijing's central axis which is the landmark of the city center, is also the world's longest existing city axis. There are many existing heritage buildings along the 7.8 km of the axis including the Yongding Gate (rehabilitation), Yan Tun, Temple of Heaven, Xian Nong Temple, Zhengyang Gate, the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Jingshan, Beihai, Pudu Temple, Wanning Bridge, fire temples, the Drum Tower, Bell Tower and so on(Figure 1: Heritage Area and it’s buffer zone).
    [Show full text]
  • OCTOBER 2005 Home Office Science and Research Group
    OCTOBER 2005 CHINA Home Office Science and Research Group COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION SERVICE 1 OCTOBER 2005 CHINA Country of Origin Reports are produced by the Science & Research Group of the Home Office to provide caseworkers and others involved in processing asylum applications with accurate, balanced and up-to-date information about conditions in asylum seekers’ countries of origin. They contain general background information about the issues most commonly raised in asylum/human rights claims made in the UK. The reports are compiled from material produced by a wide range of recognised external information sources. They are not intended to be a detailed or comprehensive survey, nor do they contain Home Office opinion or policy. 2 Disclaimer: “This country of origin information report contains the most up-to-date publicly available information as at 31 August 2005. Older source material has been included where it contains relevant information not available in more recent documents.” OCTOBER 2005 CHINA Contents 1. Scope of document 1.1 2. Geography 2.1 Languages 2.5 Mandarin (Putonghua) 2.5 Pinyin translation system 2.6 Naming conventions 2.7 Tibetan names 2.8 Population 2.9 3. Economy 3.1 Shadow Banks 3.2 Poverty 3.4 The Environment 3.9 State owned enterprises (SOEs) 3.11 Unemployment 3.16 Currency 3.18 Corruption 3.20 Guanxi 3.26 Punishment of corrupt officials 3.28 4. History 4.1 1949-1976: The Mao Zedong era 4.1 1978-1989: Deng Xiaoping as paramount 4.3 leader Tiananmen Square protests (1989) 4.4 Post-Tiananmen Square 4.7 Jiang Zemin as core leader 4.9 Hu Jiantao: chairman of the board 4.10 5.
    [Show full text]
  • Submitted for the Phd Degree at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
    THE CHINESE SHORT STORY IN 1979: AN INTERPRETATION BASED ON OFFICIAL AND NONOFFICIAL LITERARY JOURNALS DESMOND A. SKEEL Submitted for the PhD degree at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 1995 ProQuest Number: 10731694 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731694 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 A b s t ra c t The short story has been an important genre in 20th century Chinese literature. By its very nature the short story affords the writer the opportunity to introduce swiftly any developments in ideology, theme or style. Scholars have interpreted Chinese fiction published during 1979 as indicative of a "change" in the development of 20th century Chinese literature. This study examines a number of short stories from 1979 in order to determine the extent of that "change". The first two chapters concern the establishment of a representative database and the adoption of viable methods of interpretation. An important, although much neglected, phenomenon in the make-up of 1979 literature are the works which appeared in so-called "nonofficial" journals.
    [Show full text]
  • Elite Politics and the Fourth Generation of Chinese Leadership
    Elite Politics and the Fourth Generation of Chinese Leadership ZHENG YONGNIAN & LYE LIANG FOOK* The personnel reshuffle at the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is widely regarded as the first smooth and peaceful transition of power in the Party’s history. Some China observers have even argued that China’s political succession has been institutionalized. While this paper recognizes that the Congress may provide the most obvious manifestation of the institutionalization of political succession, this does not necessarily mean that the informal nature of politics is no longer important. Instead, the paper contends that Chinese political succession continues to be dictated by the rule of man although institutionalization may have conditioned such a process. Jiang Zemin has succeeded in securing a legacy for himself with his “Three Represents” theory and in putting his own men in key positions of the Party and government. All these present challenges to Hu Jintao, Jiang’s successor. Although not new to politics, Hu would have to tread cautiously if he is to succeed in consolidating power. INTRODUCTION Although the 16th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress ended almost a year ago, the outcomes and implications of the Congress continue to grip the attention of China watchers, including government leaders and officials, academics and businessmen. One of the most significant outcomes of the Congress, convened in Beijing from November 8-14, 2002, was that it marked the first ever smooth and peaceful transition of power since the Party was formed more than 80 years ago.1 Neither Mao Zedong nor Deng Xiaoping, despite their impeccable revolutionary credentials, successfully transferred power to their chosen successors.
    [Show full text]
  • Representations of Cities in Republican-Era Chinese Literature
    Representations of Cities in Republican-era Chinese Literature Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Hao Zhou, B.A. Graduate Program in East Asian Languages and Literatures The Ohio State University 2010 Thesis Committee: Kirk A. Denton, Advisor Heather Inwood Copyright by Hao Zhou 2010 Abstract The present study serves to explore the relationships between cities and literature by addressing the issues of space, time, and modernity in four works of fiction, Lao She’s Luotuo xiangzi (Camel Xiangzi, aka Rickshaw Boy), Mao Dun’s Ziye (Midnight), Ba Jin’s Han ye (Cold nights), and Zhang Ailing’s Qingcheng zhi lian (Love in a fallen city), and the four cities they depict, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Hong Kong, respectively. In this thesis I analyze the depictions of the cities in the four works, and situate them in their historical and geographical contexts to examine the characteristics of each city as represented in the novels. In studying urban space in the literary texts, I try to address issues of the “imaginablity” of cities to question how physical urban space intertwines with the characters’ perception and imagination about the cities and their own psychological activities. These works are about the characters, the plots, or war in the first half of the twentieth century; they are also about cities, the human experience in urban space, and their understanding or reaction about the urban space. The experience of cities in Republican era fiction is a novel one, one associated with a new modern historical consciousness.
    [Show full text]
  • Crisis and Governance: Sars and the Resilience of the Chinese Body Politic
    CRISIS AND GOVERNANCE: SARS AND THE RESILIENCE OF THE CHINESE BODY POLITIC Patricia M. Thornton How crisis-prone is the reform-era Chinese state? Recent scholarly contributions yield no shortage of dire predictions, ranging from the regime’s imminent collapse 1 to the steady deterioration of the state’s extractive capacities due to persistent bureaucratic corruption and inefficiency.2 Lurking behind the “glitzy skylines of Shanghai, Beijing and other coastal cities”, Minxin Pei finds “a hidden crisis of governance” provoked by a range of pathologies, including élite cynicism and mass disenchantment due to deteriorating government performance.3 Bruce Gilley recently described a political system on the cusp of impending breakdown following the élite consolidation of power that began in 1994, the latest iteration of four such cycles that have unfolded since 1949. Gilley predicts that, driven by the inherently volatile “logic of concentrated power” and barring democratic breakthrough, the current leadership will probably rely on Party purges and increased social repression to maintain control, setting off periodic waves of crisis and consolidation into the foreseeable future.4 1 Jack A. Goldstone, “The Coming Chinese Collapse”, Foreign Policy, No. 99 (June 1995), pp 35-52; Gordon Chang, The Coming Collapse of China (New York: Random House. 2001). 2 Wang Shaoguang and Hu Angang, The Chinese Economy in Crisis: State Capacity and Tax Reform (Armonk: M. E. Sharpe, 2001). 3 Minxin Pei, “China’s Governance Crisis: More than Musical Chairs”, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 81, No. 5 (September–October 2002), pp. 96-109; on China’s “governance crisis”, see also Shaoguang Wang, “The Problem of State Weakness”, Journal of Democracy, Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Responses to Information Requests
    RIR Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada www.irb-cisr.gc.ca Français Home Contact Us Help Search canada.gc.ca Home > Research > Responses to Information Requests RESPONSES TO INFORMATION REQUESTS (RIRs) New Search | About RIR's | Help 07 September 2005 CHN100387.E China: Situation of Protestants and treatment by authorities, particularly in Fujian and Guangdong (2001-2005) Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Ottawa General Information Estimates of the number of Protestants in China vary among sources consulted by the Research Directorate. The Chinese government claims that there are more than 15 million adherents of the official Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement, although Protestant church officials put the number of worshippers who attend registered churches at 20 million (International Religious Freedom Report 2004 15 Sept. 2004). Estimates of the number of Protestants who belong to "unregistered" church groups range from 30 million to 50 million (Christian Science Monitor 8 Mar. 2004; U.S. News & World Report 30 Apr. 2001; see also International Religious Freedom Report 2004 15 Sept. 2004, Sec. 1). Some academics place the total number of Protestants in China at 90 million (ibid.). Sources agree that the number of Protestants is growing (ibid.; Christian Science Monitor 24 Dec. 2003; Economist 21 Apr. 2005), particularly among urban intellectuals, business people and university students (ibid.; Washington Post 24 Dec. 2002). Henan, the "Bethlehem" of China (Christian Science Monitor 8 Mar. 2004), reportedly has the largest number of Christians among all the provinces of China, with about five million worshippers, most of whom attend "house" churches (SCMP 9 Jan. 2002; see also U.S.
    [Show full text]