Now that we've completed the PBS "China From the Inside", discuss TWO obstacles that China faces in it's modern government. Think about things like religion, language, and gender problems.
If you missed the videos, you can watch them here:
Two major obstacles when in China that hinders its government are both religion and language. First, being a believer in anything will not allow you to have an opinion in the government. This can leave out a great majority of the Chinese people and may only represent a small group. The same goes for language. There are many dialects and versions of the Chinese language that can hinder the understanding of politics, limiting political participation by the masses.
The goverment communist party has a problem with those who are religious especially the Islamic as the communist party must be the highest power and china is officially a aetheist state. They also view the common and poor workers as unimportant and only appease as opposed to representing them in the government. In Tibet the Chinese mainland have harsh military opperesion on top of a low view on tibetan people. The people of Tibet have a diffrent language and lower educations there for the chinese merely think of these tibetan people as lowly peasants.
Language and religion are the major obstacles in China's government. Due to the vast (56 dialects) that are spoken around the country, many government officials cannot advocate for their people. This means that there is also miscommunication between the 1.6 billion people, if not all of their voices can be heard. In terms of religion, Communism allows for no other beliefs to be worshipped. Many government officials had to switch from Islamic beliefs to communist beliefs, due to the fact that there was no room to believe in anything else. They have to devote themselves wholeheartedly to it. This also results in a negative connotation to those individuals who do not wish to partake in the communist belief. They're looked down upon.
China has struggled to establish a dominant language over its country which has caused many rifts and obstacles in allowing the country to advance. Like Catherine said, there are 56 dialects spoken all over China and if all 1.6 billion people fail to understand one common language it creates problems for the country to communicate with each other and its people. If we imagined America to be quadruple its current size with quadruple the amount of people all speaking various languages then our government would struggle in finding a common ground. This also hinders how aware Chinese people are of what is going on in their government or country politically, economically, and socially. If they fail to understand the language spoken they are completely unaware and out of the loop, for lack of a better phrase. Religion has also imposed a major problem for China because the communist party identifies the country as an atheist state, yet many people practice islamic religions and then a variety of some of the other common religions as well. Therefore officials also had to alter their beliefs when the communist party did to be able to remain loyal to their party. Since the communist party has chosen to be an atheist state they want to eliminate any breathing room for other practices that people may want to participate in. However, China believes themselves to be a democracy, yet lacks the distinctive principles of one.
The Chinese government faces a dilemma in managing the desire for justice among its people. As Chinese citizens grow more affluent and communication technology (cell phones, TV, etc.) become more affordable, they are becoming increasingly aware of the dichotomy between their societies and others. As a result, they are emboldened by knowledge, as well as desire for fulfillment beyond basic living needs, to demand reforms in the government and its treatment of the people. This is an obstacle to the continuation of the Communist party in the status quo; if it wants to remain in power for the foreseeable future, it will have to make very careful decisions in response to the growing demands of its citizens.
China also must learn how to orient itself in matters of religion in the public. While it is important that a state remain secular to ensure equal treatment of all beliefs, it also must walk carefully on a fine line between preserving government neutrality on religion and infringing on freedom of private religious practice. The Communist party knows that people must be given a degree of spiritual autonomy in order to maintain order in society, but it also seems to have an uncontrollable impulse jab people back in line when they display the slightest sign of too much individualism. In the near future, China will likely become increasingly diverse in spiritual belief, and the government will have to decide whether to become more tolerant or exert its authority by force.
The Chinese government will soon have to face an issue with its political party makeup. As technology and communication abilities advance, the 95% of people who are outside of the political party in power will become more and more knowledgeable of not only the difference in the egalitarianism of their government comparative to others, but also in the power they possess, which could possibly be displayed in the form of marches, riots, etc. in the future. The current Chinese government represents an extremely small portion of the population and its efforts to brainwash the rest of the country isn't very effective; in the near future, the Chinese government will have to decide between becoming truly democratic, and announcing itself as the communistic controlling government it currently is.
Another issue faced by the government is that of language differences. There are millions of people in China who currently don't speak the mainstream strand of Chinese- leaving them practically illiterate and unable to communicate to the government or its officials. What this does is it leaves (possibly hundreds of) millions of people without hope of advancing through the class structure. While we are on the topic of class structure, it is only just to recognize that hundreds of politicians each year are found guilty of corruption and that the disparity between the rich and the poor has been growing for years on end without any governmental interference to aid the poor. When it comes to the socio-economic structure of China, those currently with money and power are favored over those who are unable to help themselves.
Two important obstacles China faces in its' modern government are the threat of independence groups, and the struggles the government has when it comes to the factor of religion in China. When it comes to the threat of Chinese provinces and the potential of them to rebel and attempt to break away from the country, Xinjiang is one that is evidently in the spotlight. Surrounded by countries such as Russia, Pakistan and Kazakhstan, Xinjiang proves itself as an area that has the potential to be influenced to break away from China. Pro-independence groups in Xinjiang exist and although the Communist party of China may not be that concerned with them, they may consider changing that mindset. As Alissa stated, with the Chinese people's gaining more access to technology and becoming more aware of the differences between their society vs. outside societies, the desire for reform of the Chinese government is growing more and more every day.
Religion is a major factor in the Chinese government. Established officially as an atheist state, China’s constitution protects what it calls “normal religious practices” as stated in the “Freedom and Justice” video. Although China exhibits that it is citizens’ choice to pursue whichever religion they choose, there is some controversy surrounding that idea. For example, although the Communist party promotes religious tolerance, if there is any sign of too much separation of the ideas of the Communist party, then the party reacts often in a negative way. There are a variety of different religions in China such as Islam and Buddhism and when it comes to the future of religion in China, the communist party must learn to become more tolerant of the freedom of worship and “individualism” surrounding religion.
Two obstacles that the Chinese Government currently faces include the political movements that are separating from the communist party and the freedom of religion which the citizens do not have access to. The current growth in technology and communication has led to an increased movement away from the communist party. People are becoming aware of the differences between being "democratic" in china and the more true democratic nature of the world. Because of this independent groups have begun to gain momentum - as seen when the non-party member won an election - and though the Communist Party has to tolerate them for fear of becoming completely communist, the increasing strength of the movement means that they are on a clock to become either completely communist or capitalist. The current divide between the two creates a very ambivalent state in china and is causing unrest even now - as seen in the Hong Kong protests. Political ideologies are changing and the Communist Party, while still powerful, will have to make a choice about how they want the future Chinese government to be, but change is certainly coming. In regards to religion the Chinese governments hyper secular and anti-theist stance is causing unrest in citizens. While the government may choose not to embrace a religion, its restriction of religions has created certain issues that otherwise would have been avoided. Specifically its regulation of Churches and Temples has led to a very underground religion. People are not free to express their religion unless the government allows them to - and as History has proven; Religion is a very powerful force. The Dalai Lama may only be the beginning of religious opposition to the Communist Party.
The combination of these 2 factors, as well as others, means that the Chinese Government is on a course to great change, as to what that change brings - that is ultimately down to the Government of the Peoples Republic of China to decide.
The first major obstacle that China faces is religion and the threat it could pose to the Communist party. Communist officials worry that people will use religion as a cover for independence from China, and the party has struggled for a long time to control religion, especially in Tibet, where religion is an integral part of the culture. The atheist Communist party exercises religious tolerance for political control (tolerance with repression). Today in Tibet, Buddhism is allowed on the party's terms, and the state manages religion by doing things like setting limits on nun applications and requiring nuns and priests to renounce the Dalai Lama and acknowledge that Tibet is an integral part of China. The party also controls Christianity by limiting the number of churches and regulating the number of Bibles that are printed. While many people don't have any issues with the party controlling religion, there are many who feel that the government has no place in doing so. Tibetan priests are kept from studying their prayers and participating in religious events because they have to manage funds and such for the party, and some Christians worship quietly in anonymous buildings and homes, baptizing people in pools and feeling that the party has no right to come in between them and God. This could eventually lead to independence groups trying to separate from China, especially in Tibet where there are still nuns and priests who refuse to renounce the Dalai Lama and acknowledge that Tibet is an integral part of China.
Another major issue faced by China's government is that of AIDS. AIDS is such a large issue because government officials refuse to acknowledge that it is an issue. In many rural areas in China, people sell their blood for money. The problem with this is that many people are infected with the HIV virus. What's tragic and angering about this problem is that government officials know when AIDS is present in an area, but they say nothing out of fear that there will be something of an economic downfall in that area if people know that AIDS is present there. Blood transfusion laws have been in effect for about ten years, and yet people infected with the virus are still donating their blood, continuing to infect and kill people. This shows how the government doesn't care enough for people in rural areas, and this could eventually cause some kind of revolt, considering the already considerable gap between the rich and the poor, and how the voices of the common people aren't being heard by the government.
China faces many obstacles in it's modern government but a few in particular contribute more to their problems than others. First of all, language and communication is one their biggest setbacks. With about 1.6 billion people speaking different variations of the same language, you could imagine the confusion it must cause. This obstacle is one that the government faces every day in understanding it's people, and the people face in understanding the government. This leaves both the people and government at a disadvantage in advancing as a country. A second major obstacle they face is religion. Because the government is established as an atheist state it separates any religion from the government body. This creates a very fine line between allowing it's people to practice religion freely and putting too much restriction on it. The government must make decisions that will benefit it's nation and be careful of not creating a backlash by restricting religion too much.
One of the biggest problems that China faces is that it is ruled more by people than a rule of law. the most important thing for China's government is to be a member of the communist party, not advance in any issues. Anyone who goes against that would be likely to be treated unfairly by the communist government. Also, the governments fear of religion is causing even more of a push away from the current state in China. With restrictions on various religions, the government is in danger of losing power due to civil unrest because the citizens can't outwardly proclaim their religion.
Two of the biggest problems that modern China faces include language and religion. The language differences that reside in China make it difficult for the government and the people to understand one another. In order to create a more unified country, the Chinese people would need to unite under a common language. Along with the differences in language that hinder the advancement of modernization throughout China, the differences in religions is troubling as well. The Chinese state is strictly atheist, meaning that other religions are not tolerated by the government. The repression of other religions creates tension within China. The Chinese government must decide whether the happiness and religious freedom of the people outweighs their beliefs.
Modern day China faces a major problem in their ratios of male to female genders being unbalanced. Ever since the communist ruling party instilled the one child policy, a male child has been more coveted and thought more highly of than a female child. With the population of china already one of the most dense and largest in the world, the gender imbalance becomes and even bigger issue. Not only is the population not going to be able to sustained at it's current number, but less than half of all Chinese citizens will not have marital partners and will subsequently not be able to raise a family to continue on their name or contribute to the work force. With sufficient measures not being taken at the right time, the situation is getting worse before it improves. Religion presents another problem in modern day china. With China's main leadership heads attempting to "rid" the nation of religion, anger and eventually protests follow. Citizens in more poverty stricken areas in rural and western china, like Tibet, often use religion as a front or motivation to succeed from the communist rule. Their cause is furthered by the support of religious practices and belief. With the communist party trying to instill a sense of "unity" among it's people and show "power" to the rest of the world, the instability of its population becomes a major obstacle. The insecurity of religious preferences around china deters not only the process by which the communist party thinks unity can be achieved, but also sours the global image of china and it's government.
The efficiency of the nation of China has been threatened due to many problems, two alarmingly more so than others. Those two are language barriers that plague the nation and also religion issues that run rampant across the country. China is home to many different languages, which causes internal issues in that communication is very difficult across regions. Representatives for these regions cannot properly represent, because things get lost in translation and people can not appropriately get their voices heard. Religion is also problematic due to unrest caused by communist policy. The communist Regime desires to expel religion in order to create unity throughout the nation. Many religions are not supposed to be practiced, at the demand of the government. The government, labeled "atheist," allows the practice of only one religion, and does not take kindly to those who practice any other religion. The problems caused by language issues and lack of religious tolerance only serves to diminish any capabilities the country had previously.
Two of China's more significant problems besides freedom have to do with the growing population against a very regulated government, ad the difference in language and economy in the large country of China.
The middle class in China increasingly grows and as previously stated in the comments above, the Chinese population will start to recognize their freedom choices such as, religion and communication with others. The growing middle class and the one-child rule will start to create an imbalance of the population in the country, with mostly men and less women. Plus the urbanization influence that will eventually hit China because of the economy will create a new section of the population that the communist government has not had to deal with yet. Also the language is an obvious problem that the Chinese country faces. With several different orientations of the same language, communication is a problem with the Chinese people. However, as I previously stated, communication will grow in the population, but only if the language barrier can be broken.
Gender problems and language are two obstacles that China faces in it's modern government. Due to the impact of the one-child policy, boys are more favored than girls. Boys are more favored because they carry on the family name and are more likely to take care of there parents when they get older. They also are important in the agricultural life style in the mountainous areas outside the cities. Due to the demand for boys, abortions and abandonment are a common consequence for girls. This had led to a disproportional ratio of males to females in the country. Another effect of the one-child policy is the strain on the welfare system. With the aging of the population, the younger generation can't provide enough money for the system to aid the older generation. The isolated regions of China creates different variations of languages. This can create problems in communication. In a communist system, communication between the local, state, and central government is important.
Gender issues represent one of the larger stains in the modern Chinese government. Due to the government imposed One Child Policy, the male to female ratio is skewed so greatly that it is leading to less marriages and births, therefore lacking a young work force to support the overgrowing senior population. This gender disparity is the cause of social unrest which the government must now face as it tried to reverse what it had started decades ago to primarily prevent an overgrowing population.
Another issue the Chinese government faces is religion among its citizens. The Chinese constitution technically grants freedom of religion to people, but with a catch. The religion one practices in China must be a part of the few government approved religions, and even then they are still subject to restrictions and controls. The remaining religious groups that are unmentioned in the constitution are in risk or harassment and arrest. In summary, the Chinese government creates a false sense of freedom to the people by letting them believe that they have a choice, when in reality they do not.
No matter what the Chinese government would like to call themselves, They are a communist country. It all starts with the Communist party in complete control over all the people. As seen in the video, this causes serious distrust between the people and the government. When elections are held, you either vote for the Communist party or you don't vote at all. How could you not have distrust in a government that takes away simple human rights like the freedom to practice your own religion. China's massive and growing population have made them one of the worlds superpowers. The Communist party is willing to do whatever it takes to make China a superpower, even if some people become disloyal to the standards set to make them one.
In China, the government has declared an atheist state, meaning that religion cannot be practiced openly anywhere in China. While it is impressive that the government has managed to control the beliefs of the people in its own right, the fact is that controlling the religious beliefs of anyone will cause a feeling of mistrust and anger. This is an obstacle for China's government because doing this exact thing to an entire country will cause disruption so frequently, that it could be hard for the Chinese government to control all of it. Another obstacle are the groups seeking independence from the communist party, often under the guise of religion. This problem could be a double edged sword for China's government. On one hand, the government has to keep control of the groups, which are increasing and number and could pose a serious threat of discord and revolts. On the other, China has to keep these groups in line without going after them with extreme violence or even any actions that could cause more discord. With independence groups, China walks a thin line between keeping peace and all out mistrust of the government.
One obstacle that the Chinese face is their gender unbalance. Chinese has adopted a policy called "The One Child Policy", which means that each family is only allowed to have one child due to the massive increase in population in china. Males are favored in their culture, because they are the ones that carry on the family name. Because of this, families want to have the one child be a boy and not a girl. This ultimately leads to more males in society. Which causes a lot of men to be single for life or it is hard to find a lady. One would think that it would be easier for a women to find a man in a society like this, but when there are a lot of men coming after women it is overwhelming. Women are often brutally beaten and forced into marriage. This gender imbalance will continue to be an increasing problem if China stays with the "One Child Policy."
Another problem in China is the language differences. In a country filled with over a billion, there are 9 different languages spoken with over 50 different dialects. This cause communication problems between people. There are millions of people in China that don't speak the government language, which causes those people to be unable to communicate with governmental officials. This pretty much makes everyone who doesn't speak the typical languages illiterate. Ultimately causing them to be in the bottom barrels of society.
China is a large nation that plays a key role in how we live our day-to-day lives. However, despite its grandeur influence, even China’s modern government is presented with difficulties and complications. In China, many dialects of the Chinese language are spoken. Coupled with the 1.3 billion people that inhibit China, a clear language barrier is formed within the nation. Those people who do not speak Standard Mandarin are excluded from political participation. The miscommunication between the people of China hinders the modern Chinese government by disproportionately representing the majority. Furthermore, the issue of religion acts as a major difficulty for the modern Chinese government. Though the Communist Party of China promotes religious tolerance, they rarely execute it. Instead, the Communist Party enforces their own beliefs upon its people. However, this approach has far greater effects than just threatening religious freedom. The notion that the Chinese people have no control over their choices is a potential threat to the Community Party if the people decide to harness their power of majority. The demand for freedom by the Chinese people will most likely increase in the years to come as they watch other people prosper in other nations. This will ultimately lead the People’s Republic of China towards democracy.
The biggest obstacle that China has to deal with in the near future in the increasing amount a men compared to women. The gender gap is dangerously large due to China's one child policy. With girls not being able to continue the family name many families opt for abortion or abandon the baby girls. Families rather have a baby boy who can help do work and in the long term carries on the family name. This want for a boy over a girl caused problems later down the road. There are millions of more men than women and the gap is continuing to grow. The chinese government needs to find an alternate solution to overpopulation.
Another large obstacle that the Chinese goverment is faced with is the many language barriers throughout the country. China is laced with a bounty of different languages in different regions which causes difficulty communicating. The chinese government needs to teach the youth a single language nation wide because with different languages all over the place people have a hard time communicating and obeying laws when they are written in completely different languages.
China faces major issues... Freedom and justice. More specifically the lack there of; people in China do not have the freedom of speech or the freedom of religion like we do in America and which we way too often take for granted. The atheist communist party exercises religious tolerance as a means for political control. They are in control of the religions within China, they are tolerant of religions but it comes with a cost and a loss of right to practice their religion freely. The communist party sees religion as a threat and as a tool that could lead to revolts and uprisings. The Communist party is unjust in the way that they allow such a huge gap between the rich and poor. In the video it was said that rich peoples pets are better off than the less fortunate. The government this far has failed to bridge the gap between the classes specifically between farmers and government officials who have gotten so high up by lying, stealing, and cheating.
China is run by the Communist Party, which bases its legitimacy on delivering both stability and prosperity. But stability is under threat as economic boom strands millions. The growth rate is not up to par, due to a lack of any attempt to nurture the middle class. Due to poor income distribution and economic stagnation of the Chinese economy, the resultant is a large gap between rich and poor. The rich are in the clouds while the poor are dying of starvation and AIDS. The road leading towards the middle class has become extremely difficult for low-income households. High housing prices have eroded people’s spending power, putting middle-class beyond their reach. The income distribution is one major obstacle that China needs to overcome. The second obstacle is the unbalanced male and female ratio. China has its rigid one-child policy, which not only contributes to the aging of the population and a depletion of the demographic, but also affects the country’s economic growth and retirement benefits, causing hardships to many families that have lost their only children. A communist government that believes it's democratic while the government makes all the decisions for its citizens and eventually, the citizens will get fed up and revolt.
China's modern government faces many issues, among them include those of religion and language. Religious intolerance is a major obstacle in China. China's communist party rules has declared China an atheist state, greatly limiting the religions that can be practiced legally. The government allows certain religious groups to practice freely in China; however, there are many stipulations. The false sense of religious freedom created by the government is causing unrest among the people. Language has become a growing barrier for communication between the people and government. China is a linguistically diverse country, and the communist party's intolerance of cultural differences is proving to hurt the governance of China as a whole.
Two major and highly significant obstacles China is left to face are gender issues, and language barriers. China has 1.3 billion people and 56 officially recognized ethnic nationalities. It's a large mix of languages, living standards, beliefs and customs. Thus creating many different opinions on the way of life. There are too many dialects, creating a separation between the political, and social aspects, and the people need to come together under one language. China's women have always been under pressure: from men, from family, from work. Now more and more are under new pressure -- from themselves -- to take control of their lives; to get an education; to have a career; to marry for love. There are too few women, and children and too many men and elderly. This is caused by the one-child policy; limiting each Chinese family to one child per household. Many people believe that if women become rarer, in today's world, their social "value" will increase, leading to greater empowerment. But, there can be complicated and unpredictable effects; in the case of China, an imbalance in the relative numbers of males and females can only be bad.
One problem going on in Chinas modern day government is that there a over a billion different languages spoken, which makes it hard for the government and the people to communicate. The communist government is very harsh in China, the people are treat poorly while government members live in higher standards. Given that they don't speak the same language, the people are look upon as a lower level of society. To bring China together they should first start off with a common language, that way the people and the government can be on the same page.
Another problem that Chinas government has faced is the "Gender Problem". In China males are more favored than females because they carry the family name. Also, China has the One-Child policy where a family can only have one child because of over-population in China. This problem can lead to Abortions because males are wanted more than females and less marriages. For example, The male to female is more dominant with males.
In modern China, there are two main problems with society: religion and the growing separation of classes due to economic ability. According to the videos, China has been declared an “atheist state”; in order to participate in government and politics, you must denounce the religion you practice (whatever it may be) and join the Communist Party, the sole political party in the Republic of China. When these videos were produced, there were over 60 million members in the Communist Party, averaging out to about one member per 22 citizens of China. This could potentially equate to roughly 21 non-participants in government for every 22 Chinese citizens, leaving the current government severely underrepresented in ideologies, beliefs, and political views. The problem of religion leads to what I believe to be China’s other main problem with society, the increasing gap between the Communist Party and the lower class. In these videos, it was indicated that being a member of the Communist Party meant that you would have access to power, money, and a formal education. These 60 million individuals are much more likely to have all of the power when it comes to the Republic of China, which again leads to discrepancy over who should, by fairness, have the ability to “manage” the 1.3 billion people within the Chinese borders.
One major problem in China is how the government provides a false sense of democracy. For example, in the People's Congress, some deputies believe it is "totally democratic" to be able to vote yes or not vote at all on certain issues, but when passing laws, almost everyone conforms to voting yes to avoid being singled out. In village elections, although many claim that voting gives people a huge part democracy, local party officials have rigged elections and candidates have won from bribing the villagers.
Another obstacle China faces is the lack of a common language. This is due to the attempts by state councils to standardize languages in certain areas, combined with different traditions by families. The numerous dialects create a barrier between government officials trying to pass bills or run for office. Since most families base their language off of tradition, this problem will be very hard to solve by simply "standardizing the language dialect" in schools and government institutions throughout the country.
Two of the main problems in China are gender issues and the lack of a common language. The gender issues in China are caused by the "One Child Policy." Because of overpopulation, China says you can only have one child. Since boys are the desired gender, because they carry the family name and can do more work, girl babies are often killed or left stranded, This leads to many males not being able to find a wife and start a family. Also, girls being beaten and abused, and forced into marriages. The problem caused by language is due to the fact that there are over a billion people in China, and tons of nationalities. There are many different languages spoken, and there's not any single "main" one. This leads to issues in all aspects of life, including government. China needs to work on deciding on a common language for its people.
In modern day China, two of the main problems the government faces are gender and language. Due to the vast amount of population in present day China, the "One Child Policy" is in effect. This policy allows only one child per family, hoping to slower the increase of the population of the country. Consequently, males are favored over females due to the facts that males can carry on the family name and are also in higher demand than women for manual labor and agriculture. This makes a misbalance in the genders of the country having the male population higher than females. Another problem that Communist China is that there is a large amount of miscommunication with the people and government officials. This being because there is a large amount of dialects that many government officials cannot represent well. They cannot speak for the people if they cannot speak to the people. Consequently, this only causes problems for the people and the nation itself.
The China is a massive country with many different peoples, many of which who have different languages and faiths. The lack of one cultural identity can easily be seen in the two most western (geographically) Chinese states: Xinjiang and Tibet. Both of these two states have large populations of peoples that do not identify with the Chinese government. Religious and ethnic tension in these regions have resulted in the Tibetan nationalists and the Kyrgyz separatists (they were simply called the “terrorists” in the film). The Chinese government has tried multiple policies such as resettlement programs and banning religious iconography and materials used in rituals. It is unknown if these policies have eased tension or exacerbated them, due to the lack of non-biased sources. Regardless of how successful China’s policies maybe, there is little doubt that ethnic tension is a major issue within their country. China is a country with rich with culture and values that have been passed on for thousands of years. The traditional values and desires are constantly at odd with the communist government. An example of this is the failure of the Chinese one-child policy. The policy was meant to slow down China’s rapid population growth, which it did to some degree, but (due to traditional Chinese values) baby girls were deemed undesirable and where mistreated, abandoned, or in some cases, outright killed. There is now a massive skew in the population of boys to girls and crime has increased dramatically. This correlation may seem unfounded, but there is a human trafficking organization inside of China specifically for people to buy brides. The past and the present vie for control of China’s future.
Two major problems that modern day China is faced with are language and culture gaps as well as the lack of democracy. The Communist Party has control over a vast region of Asia, and this area encompasses various people and cultures. Tibet for example is under this government, but the people speak a different language and are also a more religious society. As an atheist state, China does not allow government participants to follow any religion. That, and the language barrier between the party and the people of Tibet poses the issue that a notable percent of the population is not being represented in the government. This problem ties in with China's lack of democracy as well. As we saw in the video, the party is dipping it's toes into small versions of citizen voting. However, pretty much all of the "candidates" are party members, and each town lacks substantial say in the laws they are required to follow.
The goal of the Communist Party is to create unity and peace within China’s borders; however, due to language barriers and religion the realization of this aim seems distant. China is home to 1.3 billion people---this, coupled with more than 50 officially recognized ethnic nationalities, makes it impossible for communication between government [officials] and the majority of China’s people. With regards to religion, China is an atheist state, though its constitution does protect “normal religious practices.” Nonetheless, due to the Communist Party, this protection has been converted into a mask of suppression. For instance, Tibet’s Buddhists have found themselves stifled by the Party, as stipulations outlining the extent of their practices are heavily enforced. On a similar note, in order to become an active member of the Communist Party, one must renounce his or her religious associations, and swear fealty to communism and its objectives.
The first obstacle is religion in government. China likes to place government higher than God or religious beliefs; therefore, people who become part of the Chinese government must be atheist. This means that a large group of people aren't represented in the government. China doesn't want any one group having independence from the government, but how is this supposed to be done with a large group unrepresented.
The second obstacle is government officials cannot be impeached and the people cannot participate in elections. One woman said that the people are being treat some what like slaves. They are being ruled by people that they did not vote for and if one person makes a horrible mistake or does not belong as part of the government, he cannot be removed. I don't like how villages vote for individual village issues, but they cannot vote for the people who run the entire country.
Two of many problems in modern day China is language and the widening ratio of men to women. As stated in many comments above, the numerous dialects lead to miscommunication between officials and the people. This also means that large numbers of people are not able to voice their opinion and are therefore not contributing. People cannot help each other if they cannot understand where they are coming from and what they need from the government. This results in a very inefficient system. The skewed gender ratio of men to women is also causing a social unrest in the country. With so many men and so few women, there is less families and children. Without enough of the new generation, there will be a skewed age ratio, a larger older generation and a smaller younger (working) generation. There will not be enough of a labor force in the future.
Two of the greatest problems China's modern day government face involve different opinions from the communist party. In their idealisms, the government tries to conform and unify the large and widely diverse country. With so many cultures, different languages and different opinions, there is no feasible way to achieve their goals. This causes disruption and problem in the government and the people it governs. One of the biggest is the issue of religion. The government is Athiest, since they believe country and government rules - not some divine power. Some people need to believe in a higher power, which is the whole reason religion was made in the first place. It's a powerful way to unify people, though China's policies only separate some of it's citizens to the government. They surpress religions and the display of prayer. In doing so, it causes discontent and unrest since the people can't show what they believe in. Another issue, which really impacted me as I watched the video, is the "One Child" policty the Chinese government implemented. They heavily promote abortion as an alternative and to keep the over population at bay. Women shouldn't be told how many children they can or can't have. Ethically, it's wrong but in the communist ideals of unity, it's perfectly logical to have the perfect, same number in a family. It makes the family a calcualted unit, and could create many problems for them if more unrest grows.
Language and gender are two major problems in China’s government. Many dialects exist in the Chinese language and this causes many problems when it comes to communication between the Chinese. China’s struggle to establish one dominant dialect causes poor communication in its country which in turn leads to government officials not being able to reach out to as many groups as they would want to. Poor communication can also lead to poor discussion/understanding of political issues, bad work relations, discrimination and more. This would cause limited political participation which would affect the government badly and would cause high unemployment which would affect the economy poorly as well. The gender ratio in China predominately favors males due to their one-child policy and this has caused mass abortion of female children. There are so many males currently in China that not all can find spouses, which leads to the kidnapping and selling of women as wives – many who end up being abused and raped. China’s population density is already bad as it is, a gender imbalance being added to its densely populated country only makes things worse. Sustainment of the population will only grow more and more difficult and crimes involving kidnapping, rape, and abuse will only heighten.
Two issues that China's government is dealing with is the widening gender gap and the inability to unite the country under a single language.
After enacting the one child policy in 1979, China has seen a slow distortion in gender ratios: female percentage of the population decreasing, and male percentage of the population increasing. The vision that baby boys are more beneficial to a family (they carry on the family name, they can assist on the farm in rural areas...) has led to the abandonment and abortion of female babies. The widening gender gap became more evident as time passed, reaching over 35 years of the policy being active with minimal reforms on the governments part. This will affect China socio-economically, as many Chinese men today can't find women to marry as a result of the policy. Additionally, the women will choose men who have more economic stability, which will cause the poor men to not be able to find women as easily. The gender gap has also lead to an increase of crime against women in China such as kidnapping women and forcing these women to act as wives.
Additionally, the unification of language in China is a large issue. As China is the most populous country in the world with over 1.3 billion people, it is difficult to maintain unity of language throughout the different regions. This also becomes an issue with the peoples' representation in government (when residents of certain regions can't speak the government mandated language). Approximately 70% of China's population can speak Mandarin, the country's official language, leaving out 30% that speak languages such as Cantonese, Zhuang, Mongolian, and Tibetan. This is an issue with people being misrepresented in the government.
China's government struggles to control its people because it is more concerned with keeping itself in power than tending to its people. Obstacles with religion exist because secularity has contorted and transformed into religious oppression - the communist government sees fit to repress religious passion in areas like Tibet in fear of any sort of separatism and individuality. It is principle to keep religion and government separate, atrocity for one to control the other. Another massive problem is China's immensity, in both mass and population. This problem can manifest itself as a language barrier (with so many people, there are myriads of cultures and myriads of languages, and it is virtually impossible to represent them all) or as the very real problem of overpopulation, which China has attempted to solve with its one child policy. The one child policy, however, causes an impact beyond the cultural significance of families shrinking from the typical four child to one child, one that develops into a problem in itself: gender ratio. China has a cultural pattern of male favor, but today it has resulted in extremely elevated rates of female infanticide and a large gender gulf wherein almost thirty million more males than females will reach adulthood. The result will almost certainly be increased crime and violence, largely sexual (human trafficking, rape) due to a whole host of males that will never start a family. Due to these issues, it is impossible to flip or turn the picture or perspective to see a side where China's people are represented wholly and completely represented.
Two obstacles that the Chinese Government currently face includes gender inequality and language . The deep cultural roots, have skewed the percentage of male to female children dangerously. This gender imbalance is a product of centuries of gender inequality in traditional societies, where boys have always been preferred over infant girls. This will not only lead to hypergamy but also would lead to a social discontent and disharmony for the country - just the opposite of what the Chinese government wants to achieve. Language is also a significant problem; Speakers who speak various languages like Cantonese, Mandarin, Wu (Shanghaiese), simply can't have a proper conversation where they can understand each other. This eventually can lead to a huge gap in political participation but also a large economic loss.
Due to China's vast amount of dialects, communication amongst the people is extremely difficult. People do not know how to communicate, leading to many issues amongst the people. Also, the gender ratio in China is skewed to many men and very little women, causing vast issues, including jobs, and no children being born, due to the lack of women. These two issues lead to many cultural and social unrests. With the unrests, China will never be able to fully prosper of these issues do not change.
China still faces a startling amount of gender inequality. Men are superior in most social interactions and that extends to the business and political world as well. In the village election, men ran and a man won. There wasn't even a woman on the ballot. The second issue would be hhe continuing communist control. Again with the village election, they gave the appearance of a free election, but it was totally controlled and corrupt. One man even cast two ballots. In a more serious way, the elections in Hong Kong are an even more prescient example of communist control.
Two major obstacles when in China that hinders its government are both religion and language. First, being a believer in anything will not allow you to have an opinion in the government. This can leave out a great majority of the Chinese people and may only represent a small group. The same goes for language. There are many dialects and versions of the Chinese language that can hinder the understanding of politics, limiting political participation by the masses.
ReplyDeleteThe goverment communist party has a problem with those who are religious especially the Islamic as the communist party must be the highest power and china is officially a aetheist state. They also view the common and poor workers as unimportant and only appease as opposed to representing them in the government. In Tibet the Chinese mainland have harsh military opperesion on top of a low view on tibetan people. The people of Tibet have a diffrent language and lower educations there for the chinese merely think of these tibetan people as lowly peasants.
ReplyDeleteLanguage and religion are the major obstacles in China's government. Due to the vast (56 dialects) that are spoken around the country, many government officials cannot advocate for their people. This means that there is also miscommunication between the 1.6 billion people, if not all of their voices can be heard. In terms of religion, Communism allows for no other beliefs to be worshipped. Many government officials had to switch from Islamic beliefs to communist beliefs, due to the fact that there was no room to believe in anything else. They have to devote themselves wholeheartedly to it. This also results in a negative connotation to those individuals who do not wish to partake in the communist belief. They're looked down upon.
ReplyDeleteChina has struggled to establish a dominant language over its country which has caused many rifts and obstacles in allowing the country to advance. Like Catherine said, there are 56 dialects spoken all over China and if all 1.6 billion people fail to understand one common language it creates problems for the country to communicate with each other and its people. If we imagined America to be quadruple its current size with quadruple the amount of people all speaking various languages then our government would struggle in finding a common ground. This also hinders how aware Chinese people are of what is going on in their government or country politically, economically, and socially. If they fail to understand the language spoken they are completely unaware and out of the loop, for lack of a better phrase. Religion has also imposed a major problem for China because the communist party identifies the country as an atheist state, yet many people practice islamic religions and then a variety of some of the other common religions as well. Therefore officials also had to alter their beliefs when the communist party did to be able to remain loyal to their party. Since the communist party has chosen to be an atheist state they want to eliminate any breathing room for other practices that people may want to participate in. However, China believes themselves to be a democracy, yet lacks the distinctive principles of one.
ReplyDeleteThe Chinese government faces a dilemma in managing the desire for justice among its people. As Chinese citizens grow more affluent and communication technology (cell phones, TV, etc.) become more affordable, they are becoming increasingly aware of the dichotomy between their societies and others. As a result, they are emboldened by knowledge, as well as desire for fulfillment beyond basic living needs, to demand reforms in the government and its treatment of the people. This is an obstacle to the continuation of the Communist party in the status quo; if it wants to remain in power for the foreseeable future, it will have to make very careful decisions in response to the growing demands of its citizens.
ReplyDeleteChina also must learn how to orient itself in matters of religion in the public. While it is important that a state remain secular to ensure equal treatment of all beliefs, it also must walk carefully on a fine line between preserving government neutrality on religion and infringing on freedom of private religious practice. The Communist party knows that people must be given a degree of spiritual autonomy in order to maintain order in society, but it also seems to have an uncontrollable impulse jab people back in line when they display the slightest sign of too much individualism. In the near future, China will likely become increasingly diverse in spiritual belief, and the government will have to decide whether to become more tolerant or exert its authority by force.
The Chinese government will soon have to face an issue with its political party makeup. As technology and communication abilities advance, the 95% of people who are outside of the political party in power will become more and more knowledgeable of not only the difference in the egalitarianism of their government comparative to others, but also in the power they possess, which could possibly be displayed in the form of marches, riots, etc. in the future. The current Chinese government represents an extremely small portion of the population and its efforts to brainwash the rest of the country isn't very effective; in the near future, the Chinese government will have to decide between becoming truly democratic, and announcing itself as the communistic controlling government it currently is.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue faced by the government is that of language differences. There are millions of people in China who currently don't speak the mainstream strand of Chinese- leaving them practically illiterate and unable to communicate to the government or its officials. What this does is it leaves (possibly hundreds of) millions of people without hope of advancing through the class structure. While we are on the topic of class structure, it is only just to recognize that hundreds of politicians each year are found guilty of corruption and that the disparity between the rich and the poor has been growing for years on end without any governmental interference to aid the poor. When it comes to the socio-economic structure of China, those currently with money and power are favored over those who are unable to help themselves.
Two important obstacles China faces in its' modern government are the threat of independence groups, and the struggles the government has when it comes to the factor of religion in China. When it comes to the threat of Chinese provinces and the potential of them to rebel and attempt to break away from the country, Xinjiang is one that is evidently in the spotlight. Surrounded by countries such as Russia, Pakistan and Kazakhstan, Xinjiang proves itself as an area that has the potential to be influenced to break away from China. Pro-independence groups in Xinjiang exist and although the Communist party of China may not be that concerned with them, they may consider changing that mindset. As Alissa stated, with the Chinese people's gaining more access to technology and becoming more aware of the differences between their society vs. outside societies, the desire for reform of the Chinese government is growing more and more every day.
ReplyDeleteReligion is a major factor in the Chinese government. Established officially as an atheist state, China’s constitution protects what it calls “normal religious practices” as stated in the “Freedom and Justice” video. Although China exhibits that it is citizens’ choice to pursue whichever religion they choose, there is some controversy surrounding that idea. For example, although the Communist party promotes religious tolerance, if there is any sign of too much separation of the ideas of the Communist party, then the party reacts often in a negative way. There are a variety of different religions in China such as Islam and Buddhism and when it comes to the future of religion in China, the communist party must learn to become more tolerant of the freedom of worship and “individualism” surrounding religion.
Two obstacles that the Chinese Government currently faces include the political movements that are separating from the communist party and the freedom of religion which the citizens do not have access to.
ReplyDeleteThe current growth in technology and communication has led to an increased movement away from the communist party. People are becoming aware of the differences between being "democratic" in china and the more true democratic nature of the world. Because of this independent groups have begun to gain momentum - as seen when the non-party member won an election - and though the Communist Party has to tolerate them for fear of becoming completely communist, the increasing strength of the movement means that they are on a clock to become either completely communist or capitalist. The current divide between the two creates a very ambivalent state in china and is causing unrest even now - as seen in the Hong Kong protests. Political ideologies are changing and the Communist Party, while still powerful, will have to make a choice about how they want the future Chinese government to be, but change is certainly coming.
In regards to religion the Chinese governments hyper secular and anti-theist stance is causing unrest in citizens. While the government may choose not to embrace a religion, its restriction of religions has created certain issues that otherwise would have been avoided. Specifically its regulation of Churches and Temples has led to a very underground religion. People are not free to express their religion unless the government allows them to - and as History has proven; Religion is a very powerful force. The Dalai Lama may only be the beginning of religious opposition to the Communist Party.
The combination of these 2 factors, as well as others, means that the Chinese Government is on a course to great change, as to what that change brings - that is ultimately down to the Government of the Peoples Republic of China to decide.
The first major obstacle that China faces is religion and the threat it could pose to the Communist party. Communist officials worry that people will use religion as a cover for independence from China, and the party has struggled for a long time to control religion, especially in Tibet, where religion is an integral part of the culture. The atheist Communist party exercises religious tolerance for political control (tolerance with repression). Today in Tibet, Buddhism is allowed on the party's terms, and the state manages religion by doing things like setting limits on nun applications and requiring nuns and priests to renounce the Dalai Lama and acknowledge that Tibet is an integral part of China. The party also controls Christianity by limiting the number of churches and regulating the number of Bibles that are printed. While many people don't have any issues with the party controlling religion, there are many who feel that the government has no place in doing so. Tibetan priests are kept from studying their prayers and participating in religious events because they have to manage funds and such for the party, and some Christians worship quietly in anonymous buildings and homes, baptizing people in pools and feeling that the party has no right to come in between them and God. This could eventually lead to independence groups trying to separate from China, especially in Tibet where there are still nuns and priests who refuse to renounce the Dalai Lama and acknowledge that Tibet is an integral part of China.
ReplyDeleteAnother major issue faced by China's government is that of AIDS. AIDS is such a large issue because government officials refuse to acknowledge that it is an issue. In many rural areas in China, people sell their blood for money. The problem with this is that many people are infected with the HIV virus. What's tragic and angering about this problem is that government officials know when AIDS is present in an area, but they say nothing out of fear that there will be something of an economic downfall in that area if people know that AIDS is present there. Blood transfusion laws have been in effect for about ten years, and yet people infected with the virus are still donating their blood, continuing to infect and kill people. This shows how the government doesn't care enough for people in rural areas, and this could eventually cause some kind of revolt, considering the already considerable gap between the rich and the poor, and how the voices of the common people aren't being heard by the government.
China faces many obstacles in it's modern government but a few in particular contribute more to their problems than others. First of all, language and communication is one their biggest setbacks. With about 1.6 billion people speaking different variations of the same language, you could imagine the confusion it must cause. This obstacle is one that the government faces every day in understanding it's people, and the people face in understanding the government. This leaves both the people and government at a disadvantage in advancing as a country. A second major obstacle they face is religion. Because the government is established as an atheist state it separates any religion from the government body. This creates a very fine line between allowing it's people to practice religion freely and putting too much restriction on it. The government must make decisions that will benefit it's nation and be careful of not creating a backlash by restricting religion too much.
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest problems that China faces is that it is ruled more by people than a rule of law. the most important thing for China's government is to be a member of the communist party, not advance in any issues. Anyone who goes against that would be likely to be treated unfairly by the communist government. Also, the governments fear of religion is causing even more of a push away from the current state in China. With restrictions on various religions, the government is in danger of losing power due to civil unrest because the citizens can't outwardly proclaim their religion.
ReplyDeleteTwo of the biggest problems that modern China faces include language and religion. The language differences that reside in China make it difficult for the government and the people to understand one another. In order to create a more unified country, the Chinese people would need to unite under a common language. Along with the differences in language that hinder the advancement of modernization throughout China, the differences in religions is troubling as well. The Chinese state is strictly atheist, meaning that other religions are not tolerated by the government. The repression of other religions creates tension within China. The Chinese government must decide whether the happiness and religious freedom of the people outweighs their beliefs.
ReplyDeleteModern day China faces a major problem in their ratios of male to female genders being unbalanced. Ever since the communist ruling party instilled the one child policy, a male child has been more coveted and thought more highly of than a female child. With the population of china already one of the most dense and largest in the world, the gender imbalance becomes and even bigger issue. Not only is the population not going to be able to sustained at it's current number, but less than half of all Chinese citizens will not have marital partners and will subsequently not be able to raise a family to continue on their name or contribute to the work force. With sufficient measures not being taken at the right time, the situation is getting worse before it improves. Religion presents another problem in modern day china. With China's main leadership heads attempting to "rid" the nation of religion, anger and eventually protests follow. Citizens in more poverty stricken areas in rural and western china, like Tibet, often use religion as a front or motivation to succeed from the communist rule. Their cause is furthered by the support of religious practices and belief. With the communist party trying to instill a sense of "unity" among it's people and show "power" to the rest of the world, the instability of its population becomes a major obstacle. The insecurity of religious preferences around china deters not only the process by which the communist party thinks unity can be achieved, but also sours the global image of china and it's government.
ReplyDeleteThe efficiency of the nation of China has been threatened due to many problems, two alarmingly more so than others. Those two are language barriers that plague the nation and also religion issues that run rampant across the country. China is home to many different languages, which causes internal issues in that communication is very difficult across regions. Representatives for these regions cannot properly represent, because things get lost in translation and people can not appropriately get their voices heard. Religion is also problematic due to unrest caused by communist policy. The communist Regime desires to expel religion in order to create unity throughout the nation. Many religions are not supposed to be practiced, at the demand of the government. The government, labeled "atheist," allows the practice of only one religion, and does not take kindly to those who practice any other religion. The problems caused by language issues and lack of religious tolerance only serves to diminish any capabilities the country had previously.
ReplyDeleteTwo of China's more significant problems besides freedom have to do with the growing population against a very regulated government, ad the difference in language and economy in the large country of China.
ReplyDeleteThe middle class in China increasingly grows and as previously stated in the comments above, the Chinese population will start to recognize their freedom choices such as, religion and communication with others. The growing middle class and the one-child rule will start to create an imbalance of the population in the country, with mostly men and less women. Plus the urbanization influence that will eventually hit China because of the economy will create a new section of the population that the communist government has not had to deal with yet.
Also the language is an obvious problem that the Chinese country faces. With several different orientations of the same language, communication is a problem with the Chinese people. However, as I previously stated, communication will grow in the population, but only if the language barrier can be broken.
Gender problems and language are two obstacles that China faces in it's modern government. Due to the impact of the one-child policy, boys are more favored than girls. Boys are more favored because they carry on the family name and are more likely to take care of there parents when they get older. They also are important in the agricultural life style in the mountainous areas outside the cities. Due to the demand for boys, abortions and abandonment are a common consequence for girls. This had led to a disproportional ratio of males to females in the country. Another effect of the one-child policy is the strain on the welfare system. With the aging of the population, the younger generation can't provide enough money for the system to aid the older generation. The isolated regions of China creates different variations of languages. This can create problems in communication. In a communist system, communication between the local, state, and central government is important.
ReplyDeleteGender issues represent one of the larger stains in the modern Chinese government. Due to the government imposed One Child Policy, the male to female ratio is skewed so greatly that it is leading to less marriages and births, therefore lacking a young work force to support the overgrowing senior population. This gender disparity is the cause of social unrest which the government must now face as it tried to reverse what it had started decades ago to primarily prevent an overgrowing population.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue the Chinese government faces is religion among its citizens. The Chinese constitution technically grants freedom of religion to people, but with a catch. The religion one practices in China must be a part of the few government approved religions, and even then they are still subject to restrictions and controls. The remaining religious groups that are unmentioned in the constitution are in risk or harassment and arrest. In summary, the Chinese government creates a false sense of freedom to the people by letting them believe that they have a choice, when in reality they do not.
No matter what the Chinese government would like to call themselves, They are a communist country. It all starts with the Communist party in complete control over all the people. As seen in the video, this causes serious distrust between the people and the government. When elections are held, you either vote for the Communist party or you don't vote at all. How could you not have distrust in a government that takes away simple human rights like the freedom to practice your own religion. China's massive and growing population have made them one of the worlds superpowers. The Communist party is willing to do whatever it takes to make China a superpower, even if some people become disloyal to the standards set to make them one.
ReplyDeleteIn China, the government has declared an atheist state, meaning that religion cannot be practiced openly anywhere in China. While it is impressive that the government has managed to control the beliefs of the people in its own right, the fact is that controlling the religious beliefs of anyone will cause a feeling of mistrust and anger. This is an obstacle for China's government because doing this exact thing to an entire country will cause disruption so frequently, that it could be hard for the Chinese government to control all of it. Another obstacle are the groups seeking independence from the communist party, often under the guise of religion. This problem could be a double edged sword for China's government. On one hand, the government has to keep control of the groups, which are increasing and number and could pose a serious threat of discord and revolts. On the other, China has to keep these groups in line without going after them with extreme violence or even any actions that could cause more discord. With independence groups, China walks a thin line between keeping peace and all out mistrust of the government.
ReplyDeleteOne obstacle that the Chinese face is their gender unbalance. Chinese has adopted a policy called "The One Child Policy", which means that each family is only allowed to have one child due to the massive increase in population in china. Males are favored in their culture, because they are the ones that carry on the family name. Because of this, families want to have the one child be a boy and not a girl. This ultimately leads to more males in society. Which causes a lot of men to be single for life or it is hard to find a lady. One would think that it would be easier for a women to find a man in a society like this, but when there are a lot of men coming after women it is overwhelming. Women are often brutally beaten and forced into marriage. This gender imbalance will continue to be an increasing problem if China stays with the "One Child Policy."
ReplyDeleteAnother problem in China is the language differences. In a country filled with over a billion, there are 9 different languages spoken with over 50 different dialects. This cause communication problems between people. There are millions of people in China that don't speak the government language, which causes those people to be unable to communicate with governmental officials. This pretty much makes everyone who doesn't speak the typical languages illiterate. Ultimately causing them to be in the bottom barrels of society.
China is a large nation that plays a key role in how we live our day-to-day lives. However, despite its grandeur influence, even China’s modern government is presented with difficulties and complications. In China, many dialects of the Chinese language are spoken. Coupled with the 1.3 billion people that inhibit China, a clear language barrier is formed within the nation. Those people who do not speak Standard Mandarin are excluded from political participation. The miscommunication between the people of China hinders the modern Chinese government by disproportionately representing the majority. Furthermore, the issue of religion acts as a major difficulty for the modern Chinese government. Though the Communist Party of China promotes religious tolerance, they rarely execute it. Instead, the Communist Party enforces their own beliefs upon its people. However, this approach has far greater effects than just threatening religious freedom. The notion that the Chinese people have no control over their choices is a potential threat to the Community Party if the people decide to harness their power of majority. The demand for freedom by the Chinese people will most likely increase in the years to come as they watch other people prosper in other nations. This will ultimately lead the People’s Republic of China towards democracy.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest obstacle that China has to deal with in the near future in the increasing amount a men compared to women. The gender gap is dangerously large due to China's one child policy. With girls not being able to continue the family name many families opt for abortion or abandon the baby girls. Families rather have a baby boy who can help do work and in the long term carries on the family name. This want for a boy over a girl caused problems later down the road. There are millions of more men than women and the gap is continuing to grow. The chinese government needs to find an alternate solution to overpopulation.
ReplyDeleteAnother large obstacle that the Chinese goverment is faced with is the many language barriers throughout the country. China is laced with a bounty of different languages in different regions which causes difficulty communicating. The chinese government needs to teach the youth a single language nation wide because with different languages all over the place people have a hard time communicating and obeying laws when they are written in completely different languages.
China faces major issues... Freedom and justice. More specifically the lack there of; people in China do not have the freedom of speech or the freedom of religion like we do in America and which we way too often take for granted. The atheist communist party exercises religious tolerance as a means for political control. They are in control of the religions within China, they are tolerant of religions but it comes with a cost and a loss of right to practice their religion freely. The communist party sees religion as a threat and as a tool that could lead to revolts and uprisings. The Communist party is unjust in the way that they allow such a huge gap between the rich and poor. In the video it was said that rich peoples pets are better off than the less fortunate. The government this far has failed to bridge the gap between the classes specifically between farmers and government officials who have gotten so high up by lying, stealing, and cheating.
ReplyDeleteChina is run by the Communist Party, which bases its legitimacy on delivering both stability and prosperity. But stability is under threat as economic boom strands millions. The growth rate is not up to par, due to a lack of any attempt to nurture the middle class. Due to poor income distribution and economic stagnation of the Chinese economy, the resultant is a large gap between rich and poor. The rich are in the clouds while the poor are dying of starvation and AIDS. The road leading towards the middle class has become extremely difficult for low-income households. High housing prices have eroded people’s spending power, putting middle-class beyond their reach. The income distribution is one major obstacle that China needs to overcome. The second obstacle is the unbalanced male and female ratio. China has its rigid one-child policy, which not only contributes to the aging of the population and a depletion of the demographic, but also affects the country’s economic growth and retirement benefits, causing hardships to many families that have lost their only children. A communist government that believes it's democratic while the government makes all the decisions for its citizens and eventually, the citizens will get fed up and revolt.
ReplyDeleteChina's modern government faces many issues, among them include those of religion and language. Religious intolerance is a major obstacle in China. China's communist party rules has declared China an atheist state, greatly limiting the religions that can be practiced legally. The government allows certain religious groups to practice freely in China; however, there are many stipulations. The false sense of religious freedom created by the government is causing unrest among the people. Language has become a growing barrier for communication between the people and government. China is a linguistically diverse country, and the communist party's intolerance of cultural differences is proving to hurt the governance of China as a whole.
ReplyDeleteTwo major and highly significant obstacles China is left to face are gender issues, and language barriers. China has 1.3 billion people and 56 officially recognized ethnic nationalities. It's a large mix of languages, living standards, beliefs and customs. Thus creating many different opinions on the way of life. There are too many dialects, creating a separation between the political, and social aspects, and the people need to come together under one language. China's women have always been under pressure: from men, from family, from work. Now more and more are under new pressure -- from themselves -- to take control of their lives; to get an education; to have a career; to marry for love. There are too few women, and children and too many men and elderly. This is caused by the one-child policy; limiting each Chinese family to one child per household. Many people believe that if women become rarer, in today's world, their social "value" will increase, leading to greater empowerment. But, there can be complicated and unpredictable effects; in the case of China, an imbalance in the relative numbers of males and females can only be bad.
ReplyDeleteOne problem going on in Chinas modern day government is that there a over a billion different languages spoken, which makes it hard for the government and the people to communicate. The communist government is very harsh in China, the people are treat poorly while government members live in higher standards. Given that they don't speak the same language, the people are look upon as a lower level of society. To bring China together they should first start off with a common language, that way the people and the government can be on the same page.
ReplyDeleteAnother problem that Chinas government has faced is the "Gender Problem". In China males are more favored than females because they carry the family name. Also, China has the One-Child policy where a family can only have one child because of over-population in China. This problem can lead to Abortions because males are wanted more than females and less marriages. For example, The male to female is more dominant with males.
In modern China, there are two main problems with society: religion and the growing separation of classes due to economic ability. According to the videos, China has been declared an “atheist state”; in order to participate in government and politics, you must denounce the religion you practice (whatever it may be) and join the Communist Party, the sole political party in the Republic of China. When these videos were produced, there were over 60 million members in the Communist Party, averaging out to about one member per 22 citizens of China. This could potentially equate to roughly 21 non-participants in government for every 22 Chinese citizens, leaving the current government severely underrepresented in ideologies, beliefs, and political views. The problem of religion leads to what I believe to be China’s other main problem with society, the increasing gap between the Communist Party and the lower class. In these videos, it was indicated that being a member of the Communist Party meant that you would have access to power, money, and a formal education. These 60 million individuals are much more likely to have all of the power when it comes to the Republic of China, which again leads to discrepancy over who should, by fairness, have the ability to “manage” the 1.3 billion people within the Chinese borders.
ReplyDeleteOne major problem in China is how the government provides a false sense of democracy. For example, in the People's Congress, some deputies believe it is "totally democratic" to be able to vote yes or not vote at all on certain issues, but when passing laws, almost everyone conforms to voting yes to avoid being singled out. In village elections, although many claim that voting gives people a huge part democracy, local party officials have rigged elections and candidates have won from bribing the villagers.
ReplyDeleteAnother obstacle China faces is the lack of a common language. This is due to the attempts by state councils to standardize languages in certain areas, combined with different traditions by families. The numerous dialects create a barrier between government officials trying to pass bills or run for office. Since most families base their language off of tradition, this problem will be very hard to solve by simply "standardizing the language dialect" in schools and government institutions throughout the country.
Two of the main problems in China are gender issues and the lack of a common language. The gender issues in China are caused by the "One Child Policy." Because of overpopulation, China says you can only have one child. Since boys are the desired gender, because they carry the family name and can do more work, girl babies are often killed or left stranded, This leads to many males not being able to find a wife and start a family. Also, girls being beaten and abused, and forced into marriages. The problem caused by language is due to the fact that there are over a billion people in China, and tons of nationalities. There are many different languages spoken, and there's not any single "main" one. This leads to issues in all aspects of life, including government. China needs to work on deciding on a common language for its people.
ReplyDeleteIn modern day China, two of the main problems the government faces are gender and language. Due to the vast amount of population in present day China, the "One Child Policy" is in effect. This policy allows only one child per family, hoping to slower the increase of the population of the country. Consequently, males are favored over females due to the facts that males can carry on the family name and are also in higher demand than women for manual labor and agriculture. This makes a misbalance in the genders of the country having the male population higher than females. Another problem that Communist China is that there is a large amount of miscommunication with the people and government officials. This being because there is a large amount of dialects that many government officials cannot represent well. They cannot speak for the people if they cannot speak to the people. Consequently, this only causes problems for the people and the nation itself.
ReplyDeleteThe China is a massive country with many different peoples, many of which who have different languages and faiths. The lack of one cultural identity can easily be seen in the two most western (geographically) Chinese states: Xinjiang and Tibet. Both of these two states have large populations of peoples that do not identify with the Chinese government. Religious and ethnic tension in these regions have resulted in the Tibetan nationalists and the Kyrgyz separatists (they were simply called the “terrorists” in the film). The Chinese government has tried multiple policies such as resettlement programs and banning religious iconography and materials used in rituals. It is unknown if these policies have eased tension or exacerbated them, due to the lack of non-biased sources. Regardless of how successful China’s policies maybe, there is little doubt that ethnic tension is a major issue within their country.
ReplyDeleteChina is a country with rich with culture and values that have been passed on for thousands of years. The traditional values and desires are constantly at odd with the communist government. An example of this is the failure of the Chinese one-child policy. The policy was meant to slow down China’s rapid population growth, which it did to some degree, but (due to traditional Chinese values) baby girls were deemed undesirable and where mistreated, abandoned, or in some cases, outright killed. There is now a massive skew in the population of boys to girls and crime has increased dramatically. This correlation may seem unfounded, but there is a human trafficking organization inside of China specifically for people to buy brides. The past and the present vie for control of China’s future.
Two major problems that modern day China is faced with are language and culture gaps as well as the lack of democracy. The Communist Party has control over a vast region of Asia, and this area encompasses various people and cultures. Tibet for example is under this government, but the people speak a different language and are also a more religious society. As an atheist state, China does not allow government participants to follow any religion. That, and the language barrier between the party and the people of Tibet poses the issue that a notable percent of the population is not being represented in the government. This problem ties in with China's lack of democracy as well. As we saw in the video, the party is dipping it's toes into small versions of citizen voting. However, pretty much all of the "candidates" are party members, and each town lacks substantial say in the laws they are required to follow.
ReplyDeleteThe goal of the Communist Party is to create unity and peace within China’s borders; however, due to language barriers and religion the realization of this aim seems distant. China is home to 1.3 billion people---this, coupled with more than 50 officially recognized ethnic nationalities, makes it impossible for communication between government [officials] and the majority of China’s people. With regards to religion, China is an atheist state, though its constitution does protect “normal religious practices.” Nonetheless, due to the Communist Party, this protection has been converted into a mask of suppression. For instance, Tibet’s Buddhists have found themselves stifled by the Party, as stipulations outlining the extent of their practices are heavily enforced. On a similar note, in order to become an active member of the Communist Party, one must renounce his or her religious associations, and swear fealty to communism and its objectives.
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ReplyDeleteThe first obstacle is religion in government. China likes to place government higher than God or religious beliefs; therefore, people who become part of the Chinese government must be atheist. This means that a large group of people aren't represented in the government. China doesn't want any one group having independence from the government, but how is this supposed to be done with a large group unrepresented.
ReplyDeleteThe second obstacle is government officials cannot be impeached and the people cannot participate in elections. One woman said that the people are being treat some what like slaves. They are being ruled by people that they did not vote for and if one person makes a horrible mistake or does not belong as part of the government, he cannot be removed. I don't like how villages vote for individual village issues, but they cannot vote for the people who run the entire country.
Two of many problems in modern day China is language and the widening ratio of men to women.
ReplyDeleteAs stated in many comments above, the numerous dialects lead to miscommunication between officials and the people. This also means that large numbers of people are not able to voice their opinion and are therefore not contributing. People cannot help each other if they cannot understand where they are coming from and what they need from the government. This results in a very inefficient system. The skewed gender ratio of men to women is also causing a social unrest in the country. With so many men and so few women, there is less families and children. Without enough of the new generation, there will be a skewed age ratio, a larger older generation and a smaller younger (working) generation. There will not be enough of a labor force in the future.
Two of the greatest problems China's modern day government face involve different opinions from the communist party. In their idealisms, the government tries to conform and unify the large and widely diverse country. With so many cultures, different languages and different opinions, there is no feasible way to achieve their goals. This causes disruption and problem in the government and the people it governs. One of the biggest is the issue of religion. The government is Athiest, since they believe country and government rules - not some divine power. Some people need to believe in a higher power, which is the whole reason religion was made in the first place. It's a powerful way to unify people, though China's policies only separate some of it's citizens to the government. They surpress religions and the display of prayer. In doing so, it causes discontent and unrest since the people can't show what they believe in. Another issue, which really impacted me as I watched the video, is the "One Child" policty the Chinese government implemented. They heavily promote abortion as an alternative and to keep the over population at bay. Women shouldn't be told how many children they can or can't have. Ethically, it's wrong but in the communist ideals of unity, it's perfectly logical to have the perfect, same number in a family. It makes the family a calcualted unit, and could create many problems for them if more unrest grows.
ReplyDeleteLanguage and gender are two major problems in China’s government.
ReplyDeleteMany dialects exist in the Chinese language and this causes many problems when it comes to communication between the Chinese. China’s struggle to establish one dominant dialect causes poor communication in its country which in turn leads to government officials not being able to reach out to as many groups as they would want to. Poor communication can also lead to poor discussion/understanding of political issues, bad work relations, discrimination and more. This would cause limited political participation which would affect the government badly and would cause high unemployment which would affect the economy poorly as well.
The gender ratio in China predominately favors males due to their one-child policy and this has caused mass abortion of female children. There are so many males currently in China that not all can find spouses, which leads to the kidnapping and selling of women as wives – many who end up being abused and raped. China’s population density is already bad as it is, a gender imbalance being added to its densely populated country only makes things worse. Sustainment of the population will only grow more and more difficult and crimes involving kidnapping, rape, and abuse will only heighten.
Two issues that China's government is dealing with is the widening gender gap and the inability to unite the country under a single language.
ReplyDeleteAfter enacting the one child policy in 1979, China has seen a slow distortion in gender ratios: female percentage of the population decreasing, and male percentage of the population increasing. The vision that baby boys are more beneficial to a family (they carry on the family name, they can assist on the farm in rural areas...) has led to the abandonment and abortion of female babies. The widening gender gap became more evident as time passed, reaching over 35 years of the policy being active with minimal reforms on the governments part. This will affect China socio-economically, as many Chinese men today can't find women to marry as a result of the policy. Additionally, the women will choose men who have more economic stability, which will cause the poor men to not be able to find women as easily. The gender gap has also lead to an increase of crime against women in China such as kidnapping women and forcing these women to act as wives.
Additionally, the unification of language in China is a large issue. As China is the most populous country in the world with over 1.3 billion people, it is difficult to maintain unity of language throughout the different regions. This also becomes an issue with the peoples' representation in government (when residents of certain regions can't speak the government mandated language). Approximately 70% of China's population can speak Mandarin, the country's official language, leaving out 30% that speak languages such as Cantonese, Zhuang, Mongolian, and Tibetan. This is an issue with people being misrepresented in the government.
China's government struggles to control its people because it is more concerned with keeping itself in power than tending to its people. Obstacles with religion exist because secularity has contorted and transformed into religious oppression - the communist government sees fit to repress religious passion in areas like Tibet in fear of any sort of separatism and individuality. It is principle to keep religion and government separate, atrocity for one to control the other. Another massive problem is China's immensity, in both mass and population. This problem can manifest itself as a language barrier (with so many people, there are myriads of cultures and myriads of languages, and it is virtually impossible to represent them all) or as the very real problem of overpopulation, which China has attempted to solve with its one child policy. The one child policy, however, causes an impact beyond the cultural significance of families shrinking from the typical four child to one child, one that develops into a problem in itself: gender ratio. China has a cultural pattern of male favor, but today it has resulted in extremely elevated rates of female infanticide and a large gender gulf wherein almost thirty million more males than females will reach adulthood. The result will almost certainly be increased crime and violence, largely sexual (human trafficking, rape) due to a whole host of males that will never start a family. Due to these issues, it is impossible to flip or turn the picture or perspective to see a side where China's people are represented wholly and completely represented.
ReplyDeleteTwo obstacles that the Chinese Government currently face includes gender inequality and language . The deep cultural roots, have skewed the percentage of male to female children dangerously. This gender imbalance is a product of centuries of gender inequality in traditional societies, where boys have always been preferred over infant girls. This will not only lead to hypergamy but also would lead to a social discontent and disharmony for the country - just the opposite of what the Chinese government wants to achieve. Language is also a significant problem; Speakers who speak various languages like Cantonese, Mandarin, Wu (Shanghaiese), simply can't have a proper conversation where they can understand each other. This eventually can lead to a huge gap in political participation but also a large economic loss.
ReplyDeleteDue to China's vast amount of dialects, communication amongst the people is extremely difficult. People do not know how to communicate, leading to many issues amongst the people. Also, the gender ratio in China is skewed to many men and very little women, causing vast issues, including jobs, and no children being born, due to the lack of women. These two issues lead to many cultural and social unrests. With the unrests, China will never be able to fully prosper of these issues do not change.
ReplyDeleteChina still faces a startling amount of gender inequality. Men are superior in most social interactions and that extends to the business and political world as well. In the village election, men ran and a man won. There wasn't even a woman on the ballot.
ReplyDeleteThe second issue would be hhe continuing communist control. Again with the village election, they gave the appearance of a free election, but it was totally controlled and corrupt. One man even cast two ballots. In a more serious way, the elections in Hong Kong are an even more prescient example of communist control.