Topic: Critically evaluate the effects of the Poverty Reduction Policy in China.
In what ways has this policy improved the social welfare system and solved the aging problem in China?
Model Description
This is a long-semester model comprising two interrelated parts. The first part - Contemporary China - focuses on the historical background of modem China, the rise of communism, the socio-political and economic development of the People's Republic of China. The second part will focus on the structure of the government and the major policy area in present-day China
The aid of the civil war in 1949 and the establishment of a socialist state failed to stem the tide of political, economic and social crisis in China. In the course of the next three decades, Socialist China succumbed first to the impulse for "continuing revolution", and then to power struggle. Out of the chaos, however, there gradually emerged a new type of theoretical and practical experimentation, led by Deng Xiaoping and his associates, and transformed the society.
Contemporary China provides a comprehensive, theoretically informed introduction to the mainland China since the end of the civil war. The module is organized chronologically and within that framework, topically.
Regular attendance and active participation in lectures and tutorials are necessary V) successfully complete this module. Each student is required to make one joint presentation and write an individual paper (typed in A-4 size paper, double-spaced, approximately 2,500 words).
Lecture schedule and topics:
1. Changes and revolutions of modem China
2. Key issues: enlightenment versus patriotism
3. Theoretical model I & II: Marxism, Leninism and Maoism; Elites and factions
4. Theoretical model III & IV: Institutional approach; the supra-stable perspective
5. Chinese Communist Party: Ideology, organization, power and social mobilization
6. State and society in the pre-cultural revolution era
7. Cultural Revolution and its impacts
Article 1- The NGO Community in China Expanding Linkages With Transnational Civil Society and Their Democratic Implications by Chen Jie
Article 2 - What Kind of Welfare State is Emerging in China? by Stein Ringen and Kinglun Ngok