Comparative Politics Chapter 8: China (Sections 1 + 2)
Section 1: The Making of the Modern Iranian State (pgs. 356-369)
Politics in Action
1. What does it mean to say that China is a communist-party state?
2. Examine Table 4.1 and answer the following questions:
a. When was the People’s Republic of China (PRC) established? What happened this year?
b. Is China a federal or unitary system? What does this mean?
c. What type of executive does China have? How does the president get his job?
d. Why is the legislature in China relatively weak?
e. Why is the judiciary in China relatively weak?
f. What is the dominant political party in China?
Critical Junctures
3. Who was Sun Yat-sen?
a. What was the Guomindang?
4. What group was organized in 1921 by intellectuals inspired by the Russian Revolution?
5. Who became the leader of the Nationalist Party? How did he change the alliance with the above group?
6. Who was Mao Zedong?
a. Who did he argue would lead a revolution in China against the Nationalists?
b. What was the Long March?
7. What was the result of the Chinese Civil War after World War II ended?
8. Describe Mao’s land reform campaign that he initiated when the CCP came to power:
9. Describe the process of building a centrally planned economy like that in the Soviet Union:
10. What were Mao’s goals for the Hundred Flowers Campaign?
a. What were the effects of the Hundred Flowers Campaign? (Be sure to include a description of the “Rightists” and the impact on political debate.)
11. What was the Great Leap Forward (1958-1960)? What was the goal of the GLF?
a. Explain why the GLF turned into “one of the most extreme, bizarre, and eventually catastrophic episodes in twentieth-century political history”:
12. Why did relations between China and the Soviet Union (Sino-Soviet relations) deteriorate?
13. What was the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)?
a. What was the goal of the Cultural Revolution?
b. Describe the first phase of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1969):
c. Describe the next phase of the Cultural Revolution (1969-1971):
d. Describe the final phase of the Cultural Revolution (1971-1976):
e. How did the Cultural Revolution end?
14. Who was Deng Xiaoping?
a. Explain the reforms that he instituted:
i. Economic Reforms:
ii. Social Reforms:
iii. Political Reforms:
iv. What were the effects of these reforms?
15. What happened at Tiananmen Square in 1989? (BE SURE to look at the picture on page 368.)
16. Who was Jiang Zemin?
a. What problems did China face under his leadership?
17. Who is Hu Jintao?
a. Define technocrat:
18. Describe the message of the political cartoon on page 367:
19. Describe the role of nationalism in China (see pages 368-369):
Section 2: Political Economy and Development (pgs. 369-378)
20. What is purchasing power parity (PPP)?
a. Where does China rank in global economies?
State and Economy
21. Define command economy:
22. Explain the attempts by Mao to be less bureaucratic and more egalitarian than the Soviets:
a. Were these approaches successful?
23. How did Deng Xiaoping’s economic policies differ from Mao’s economic policies?
a. Explain the meaning of Deng Xiaoping’s statement, “It doesn’t matter whether a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice.”
b. How did Deng’s policies change the authority of the CCP?
24. What are SOEs? How have SOEs changed in recent years?
25. Identify the roles that market forces and private businesses play in the modern Chinese economy:
a. What have been the effects of the move from a command toward a market economy?
26. Describe the “consumer revolution” that has occurred in China:
27. How does the PRC describe its economy today? What does this mean?
a. What role does the government play in the economy today?
b. In your opinion, should China still be considered a Communist country? Explain.
28. Describe the system of collectivized agriculture, including when it was in force:
a. How did Deng Xiaoping change the rural economy? What have been the effects of these changes?
b. Define and describe township and village enterprises (TVEs):
i. What have been the effects of TVEs?
29. Examine Figure 8.2. Identify and describe the important trends depicted by each graph:
Graph #1—
Graph #2—
Graph #3—
Society and Economy
30. Describe the iron rice bowl:
a. How was the iron rice bowl changed by economic reformers?
b. What effect have these market reforms had on Chinese society?
c. Describe China’s “floating population”? How many people are in this group? What do they do?
31. Define guanxi:
a. What effect has guanxi had on China in the transition from a command to a market economy?
32. What are the two gaps that have grown larger with the market reforms?
33. Describe the effects of China’s economic changes on the environment:
a. How has the government responded to these problems?
34. Read the section about China’s One-Child Policy on page 376. Describe the causes and effects of the one-child policy.
Causes:
Effects:
Where has this policy been relaxed? Where is it still basically in effect?
China in the Global Economy
35. Describe Deng’s strategy in opening China’s economy to the outside world:
a. How successful has this strategy been?
36. What has happened with foreign direct investment (FDI) in China in recent years? What does this mean?
Comparative Politics Chapter 8: China (Sections 3 + 4)
Section 3: Governance and Policy-Making (pgs. 379-390)
Organization of the State
37. Describe the central beliefs of Marxism:
38. Describe the central beliefs of Leninism:
39. How did Mao Zedong adapt Marxism-Leninism to China? (Be sure to include who he felt would be the vanguard (leaders) of the communist revolution in China.)
40. When was the current Chinese Constitution adopted?
The Executive
41. What does the author mean when he says, “The government of the People’s Republic of China is organizationally and functionally distinct from the Chinese Communist Party.”
a. Where does real executive power in the Chinese political system lie? Why is this?
b. What is the purpose of the government of the PRC?
42. Why is the role of the National Party Congress more “symbolic than substantive”?
a. What is the essential function of the National Party Congress?
43. What is the Central Committee? Who is on the Central Committee?
a. What does the Central Committee do?
44. What are the two most powerful political organizations in China’s communist party-state?
a. How many members are there in each of the bodies?
b. Why is China’s government sometimes called a “technocracy”?
EXAMINE FIGURE 8.3 TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE CCP’S ORGANIZATION
45. How did the top position in the Communist Party change in 1982? Why did this change occur?
a. What are the names of the two most recent General Secretaries of the CCP?
46. Read the section about Hu Jintao on page 383. How is Hu’s rise to power a good example of the importance of guanxi?
47. How is the National People’s Congress different from the National Party Congress?
a. Describe the system of subnational levels of government in China:
b. Who does the National People’s Congress elect? What limits the ability of the National People’s Congress to choose whoever they want?
48. How long is the term for the National People’s Congress?
a. How long is the President’s term? How many terms can he serve?
i. What are the duties of the President?
ii. Who is the current president?
49. Who chooses the premier (prime minister)? What limits this selection?
a. What does the premier (prime minister) do?
b. How long is the premier (prime minister)’s term? Term limit?
c. Who is the current premier (prime minister)?
50. What is the state council? What is it similar to? What does it do?
51. Why is the creation of truly independent regulatory agencies in China difficult?
52. Define cadres:
a. The cadres are similar to bureaucrats in the United States. What do they do? Where do most cadres work?
Other State Institutions
53. What is China’s army called? What is unique about the Chinese army?
a. What is the CMC? What does it do?
i. Who is currently the chair of the CMC?
54. Describe China’s four-tiered “people’s court” system:
a. What does the Supreme People’s Court do?
i. Does it have the power of judicial review?
b. What does the “People’s Protectorate” do? What is this similar to in the U.S.?
c. In what ways has the legal system of China been revitalized in recent decades?
d. What is unique about China’s application of the death penalty?
e. What limits the independence of the Chinese judiciary?
55. How has government administration become more decentralized in recent years?
a. What has limited this process of decentralization?
56. How has subnational government become more representative/democratic in recent years?
The Policy-Making Process
57. What is the “cadre list”? What function does it serve?
a. What is the “cadre list” similar to?
EXAMINE FIGURE 8.4 ON PAGE TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE PRC GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION
Section 4: Representation and Participation (pages 390-405)
The Legislature
58. What powers does the National People’s Congress (NPC) have?
a. Is the NPC unicameral or bicameral?
b. How long are NPC deputies’ terms?
c. How often does the NPC meet? What does this tell you about the real power of the NPC?
59. When the NPC is not in session (which is most of the time), what exercises state power?
a. Who conducts the day-to-day business of the NPC?
60. What limits the independence of the NPC and its leadership?
61. Describe the composition of the 2003-2008 NPC. What proportion of the NPC is composed of women? Ethnic minorities?
62. What sort of votes usually occur for most legislation?
Political Parties and the Party System
63. How many members are there of the CCP? What proportion of the Chinese population are members of the CCP? Why might this be surprising?
a. How has the social composition of the CCP changed dramatically since 1949?
b. What does membership in the CCP provide?
c. What strategy by the CCP in recent years has helped it to stay in power?
64. What role do the 8 noncommunist “Democratic Parties” play in China?
Elections
65. Explain the “indirect” system of most elections in China:
a. How is this different from elections in the United States?
66. Where are direct elections most common?
a. What have been the effects of increased democratic representation and participation in the rural villages?
Political Culture, Citizenship, and Identity
67. How is “Deng Xiaoping Theory” different from “Mao Zedong Thought”?
68. Define the “Four Cardinal Principles”:
69. In what ways is the Chinese media more open now than in the Maoist period?
70. How is the Internet controlled by the Chinese government?
71. What is the Young Pioneers?
72. What is the Communist Youth League?
73. Read the section on “Tibet and China” on pages 400-401. Describe the source of conflict between Tibet and China. Who is the Dalai Lama? What role has he played in this conflict?
Interest Groups, Social Control and Citizen Protest
74. Describe the example of patron-client politics that is given in the book.
75. How do individuals and small groups often pursue their interests in China?
76. Define and identify an achievement of each of the following organizations:
All-China Women’s Federation—
All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU)—
77. What are NGOs? What role do they play in China?
78. Define the hukou system. What role did this play in China?
a. What has happened to the hukou system since market reforms were introduced?
79. Read Section 5 to gain a deeper understanding of China today.