Take Home Test: Answer one of the following two questions in an informal essay of approximately 500-700 words.
1. Daniel Bell in his recent essay "Chinese Democracy Isn't Inevitable" writes that political reform in China "over the past three decades has been informed by three principles: the lower the level of government, the more democratic the political system, the optimal space for experimentation with new practices and institutions is in between the lowest and highest levels of government; and the higher the level of government the meritocratic the political system." (pp.2-3)
Do you agree with this statement? What evidence does Bell provide to support this view.
To what extent is Bell's argument supported or challenged by the evidence supplied by Gilboy and Read in their essay, "Political and Social Reform in China: Alive and Walking?" To what extent is it challenge or supported by Minxin Pei in his artcle "The CCP: Resilient or Fragile?"
2. "In the aftermath of the 18th CCP Congress in late 2012, many observers pinned their hopes for significant reform on Xi Jinping, the new Party leader. Because he had a strong majority on the Politburo Standing Committee and held the top Party, State and Military positions, they felt optimistic that he would bring the long period of policy stalemate under Hu Jintao to an end. However, their optimism was misplaced. Mao and Deng both were able to launch significant, even revolutionary changes because the context of the times and the nature of political institutions permitted what Burn's called ‘transformational' leadership. Beginning with the Jiang Zemin period and through the Hu Jintao period, leaders have been constrained by other power holders and more complex institutions. The same seem increasingly true of the Xi regime."
Do you agree with the statement above, which stresses the limits on the capacity of China's leadership to initiate and carry through significant change? Disagree? Why? Defend your view as concretely as possible, using evidence from the readings as well as other materials to support your views.
Attachment:- China and East Asian Democracy.pdf