session 1 readings

[Anonymous]

I was not surprised to learn of Japan's declining population, but surprised by proposed solutions: bringing in foreigners. I've always thought of Japan as an isolated country, closed to outsiders, but I see they are willing to take Japanese from other countries and Asian immigrants. There simply are not enough young adults to take care of the aging baby boom generation and join the workforce. Women and men are marrying later and children are being born later.

This article reminds me of the shortage of women in China because of the one-child policy. The most favored gender tend to be male so there is an abundance of them and a lack of females. Asian and Russian women are being imported from other countries to China to essentially marry Chinese men, especially in rural areas where birthing (multiple, mostly male-desired) children are highly encouraged to support family-run farms. The Han Chinese will continue to grow their population, and having mixed blood will not be a great matter. Extending generations and carrying on a last name do matter.

[Anonymous]

China has finally grown into a country that has authority, a large part due to its rising economy supported by a growing middle and upper class. As many industries it can buy or foreign investments it can accrue, China's greatest problems continue to grow with its rising economic status: social and environmental responsibility. Perhaps China believes it can buy happiness and ignore the problems this huge population creates or neglects. Lack of clean air and clean water continue to be a huge problem in a country with a huge population. I wonder what kind of policies exist for self-sustaining a clean and healthy environment.

[Anonymous]

Interesting read! I have obviously heard about the three noted customs (foot binding, opium smoking, selling girls as bondservants) but I didn't know anything about how/when these customs ended. It was fascinating to discover that intellectuals blamed China's military weakness in part on China's culture and customs. I loved learning more about the campaigning - and other steps taken - to end these "uncivilized and debilitating" customs.

[cgao]

Geography
Please read the following three short articles from the “east-asia-geography-demography-readings.pdf” attachment.
-Japan: “Don’t bring me your huddled masses”
-South Korea: “Contested grounds”
-China: “A ravenous dragon”

Also:
1. South Korea: “An urbanist’s tour of South Korea: a glimpse into the future of world cities”
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/jul/14/an-urbanists-tour-of-south-korea-a-glimpse-into-the-future-of-world-cities

2. Japan: “The shape of Japan to come”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/17/opinion/the-shape-of-japan-to-come.html?_r=0

3. The Chinese Dream
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/special/chinesedream/
This is the official Chinese news agency website devoted to this Chinese President Xi Jinping’s use of this term.

Please browse the site and be sure to read:
How is the Chinese Dream changing the world?
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2015-06/09/c_134311698.htm

Since this is a major propaganda effort, you’ll also find other Dream collections at other state media sites and in other foreign languages as well as Chinese. Here are three Spanish language articles about it:
http://espanol.cri.cn/782/2013/03/27/1s274252.htm
http://spanish.peopledaily.com.cn/31616/8395445.html
http://espanol.cri.cn/741/2013/12/14/1s298135.htm

Optional (attached):
Kang Youwei, “Confucius as a reformer”
“footbinding-opium-early-20th”
edited by cgao on 9/18/2015

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[Anonymous]

There are so many fascinating topics to read about for this session, but the piece about the Chinese Dream really stood out to me. As I read through the article, I kept wanting to fact check each fact that was mentioned. I definitely agree with previous posters about the fact that the Chinese Dream sounds very similar to the American Dream. It was great to read about the positive way that innovation and entrepreneurs are being described when the article explains the 3 different examples of Chinese Dreams. However, I feel skeptical to believe the story about the farmer who invented a submarine that can dive below ground. (I did look this up, and it has been reported on by various other news outlets, including NBC). I know that what we are reading is propaganda, because that's how we were introduced to it on the forum. But I guess part of the reason I am so unwilling to trust the article is because of the way it is written. I am accustomed to more objective, if not critical or cynical, journalism. It is rare that I stumble across articles that only extol the positives of the American government. I think it would be really interesting to have students compare this piece with President Barack Obama's most recent (or upcoming) Inaugural Address. Students would be able to practice reading tone and understand the way that what an author chooses to leave out is just as important as what they include.

[Author]

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