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PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Brief modern history-Sun-Yat Sen- China’s FirstPresident -1912Educated in the U.S. Wanted to adopt a governmentbased on Western democraticprinciples After he died in 1916 a struggle for power resulted in Civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists

Chiang-Kai-Shekwas the leader of the Nationalists

MAO-ZEDONGwas the leaderof theCommunists

• Civil war was interrupted by WW II

• Afterward fighting continued and the

• Communists defeated the Nationalist

• forces and formed a Communist government in 1949

• The Nationalists retreated to Taiwan

• Taiwan has continued to be independent

• from China and has prospered with the

• assistance of developed nations

• In 1950, China invaded Tibet ,

destroyed Buddhist monasteries and

drove Dalai Lama into exile.

• Tibet has been called the “Rooftop

of the World” average elevation is

16,000 ft.

Tibet’s new name is Xizang (shee-

zahng) hidden land of the west

• LHASA, TIBET

ROOFTOP OF THE WORLD

The Dalai Lama, TenzinGyatso, has beenin exile in India since thetake over by China in 1950.

• OUTDOOR RESTAURANT IN TIBET

• LHASA, TIBET

THREE GREAT RIVER SYSTEMS: HUANG (YELLOW)RIVER, YANGTZE RIVER, AND XI (HSI) RIVER

THREE GORGES ALONG THE YANGTZE

WHEN COMPLETEDIN 2009, THE THREEGORGES DAM WILL BE THE LARGEST HYDROELECTRIC DAMIN THE WORLD

THREE GORGES DAM PROJECT

THE GRAND CANAL

OLDEST AND LONGEST IN THE WORLD

486 B.C-610 A.D. 1,114 miles long

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GREAT WALL OF CHINA BUILT 2,000 YEARS AGO

BY THE QIN (CH’IN) DYNASTY

• ENLARGED DURING THE MING DYNASTY – 1368-1644

4,000 MILES LONG

• BEIJING, CHINA

ARCHEOLOGICALSITETHOUSANDS OFTERRACOTTA SOLDIERS FOUNDBURIED ATXIANDiscovered in 1974

POPULATION POLICY

• 1970s-one child policy in urban areas

• Rewards for those who followed policy

(better housing, jobs, pay increases)

• Punishments for those who had more than one child ( fines, wage cuts, loss of jobs, social disapproval

POPULATION POLICY

• Farmers in rural areas were pressured to produce and needed children to help in the fields.

• Many in rural areas had large families and accepted the punishments. Enforcement of punishments not as strict in rural areas.

POPULATION POLICY

• Population growth has decreased, however,

• CHINA is still the most populated country with 1.3 billion people.

ETHNIC DIVERSITY

• 55 Ethnic minority groups –mainly

Han (94%)

• 52 separate languages

• Mandarin Chinese official language

• Use ideograms-pictures or characters that represent a thing or an idea

CHINESE LANGUAGES

• Written form gives no clues to pronunciation

• To read a newspaper, one needs to know 2,000-3,000 characters

• To achieve a solid grasp of language, need to know 20,000 characters.

RELIGION

• Officially, an atheist country

• Atheism denies the existence of God

• Many however, are followers of

Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism

TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

• Practice acupuncture

and use herbal remedies.

FOOD

BARBECUED RAT AND DOG

FOR ENTERTAINMENT

CHINA IS ONE OF THEWORLD’SFASTESTGROWINGECONOMIES

FASHION SHOW IN CHINA

• S.E.Z. SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES ARE AREAS IN CHINA WHERE FOREIGN COMPANIES ARE ENCOURAGED TO INVEST

• THERE ARE NOW HUNDREDS OF

S.E.Z.s IN CHINA BECAUSE THEY ARE SO SUCCESSFUL

80% of toys forthe U.S.are madein China

While the economy is moving towardcapitalism, Chinese citizens still do not have individual freedomsIn 1989-STUDENTS ADOPTED THIS SYMBOL OF THESTATUE OF LIBERTYASKING FORDEMOCRATIC REFORMS

DEMONSTRATION AT TIANAMEN SQUARE1989- 100,000 DEMONSTRATORS ASKING FOR

MORE FREEDOMS

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PEOPLE IN RURAL AREAS CAME TO SUPPORT THE STUDENTS

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THE GOVERNMENT REPONDED BY BRINGING IN THE MILITARY

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TROOPSOPENEDFIRE WITH-OUT WARNINGKILLING2,000 ANDWOUNDINGHUNDREDSMORE“Tank man” challengessoldiers.

• This incident sent a message that the

Communist government was not going

to allow freedoms

• Repression has continued. Chinese

citizens have been imprisoned for

challenging the government

• Special economic zones, however,

have opened the door for more economic freedoms

SHI TAO-Journalist in China sentan email to aNew York basedpro-democracywebsite about ameeting recognizing the15th anniversaryof the June 4, 1989 crackdown of personal freedoms at Tianamen Square.

YEAR-2006

Shi Tao was tried and convicted of “illegally spreading state secrets overseas.” He wassentenced to 10 years in prison.

Shi Tao is 37 years old.

BIKES ARE STILL POPULAR AS A MEANS OF

TRANSPORTATION

56% of the people live in rural areas. More and moreare moving to the cities.

94% of China’s 1.3 billion people live on 46 % of the land.

SHANGHAI, CHINA

HU JINTAOOF CHINA

AND LULADA SILVAOF BRAZIL

HONG KONG

HONG KONGBECAME PART OFCHINA IN 1997

IT IS A PENINSULAATTACHED TO CHINA WITH OVER235 ISLANDS

MEANS FRAGRANTHARBOR

AGREEMENTBETWEENT CHINA ANDTHE BRITISHIN 1997 ALLOWSHONG KONG TO KEEP ITSCAPITALISTSYSTEM FOR50 YEARS

15,968 PEOPLE PER SQUARE MILE IN HONG KONG

MAJOR MANUFACTURING AND BANKING CENTER

CHINACONSIDERSTAIWAN ASPART OFCHINADOES NOTSUPPORT ANINDEPEN-DENTTAIWAN

55% OFTAIWANIS COVEREDWITHFORESTS

Taiwan lost United Nations seat to China in 1971

TAIWAN-25TH LARGEST ECONOMY

WORLD’S 13TH IMPORTANT TRADING NATION

PRO INDEPEPENDENCECHEN SHUI-BIANELECTED WHICHSENT A MESSAGE TOCHINA THAT TAIWANLEADERSHIP DOES NOT WANT TOBE PART OF CHINA.

CHINESE GOVERNMENT INSISTS THAT TAIWAN SHOULD BE PART OFCHINA.