“Communist” Economies

• International Trade and Special Economic Zones

– Special economic zones (SEZ) were first experiment with export manufacturing, and located in the SE coasts, leading those cities to be economic powerhouses

• Economic and technology development zones (ETDZs) are spread throughout the whole country

– Allowed foreign investment, reduced import taxes, non-interference in management, freedom to remove profits

• Have become growth poles

• China and WTO

– China’s joining in 2001 seen as necessary for WTO’s legitimacy since it is center for export and raw material import

• Some upset it allowed to join despite environmental, worker rights, minority, democracy suppression problems

– This is especially important as Japan, China and South Korea are heavy FDI and government bond investors (both through public and private sector)

“Communist” Economies

• Life in the Growing Cities in China

– Millions of young migrants leave rural villages to work in SEZs.

• Many come to send money back home and go back to help after working

• Wages are usually less than promised

– Some come w/o a job in hand, become unemployed, homeless, w/o access to government services

• Remnant of hukou system (where people were only allowed jobs based on their birth location)

• Either “urban” or “rural”

• They become the floating population

– Cities have been marked by huge real estate speculation, infrastructure improvement (including green infrastructure), pollution , and growing inequality.

• China on International Stage

– In recent years, China has been using soft power to gain access to new mineral markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America, promising only investment (not interference) and putting on exhibitions and giving aide.

– Like Japan before it, Chinese firms starting to open branch plants in other countries; seeing more investment in international assets (from real estate to US Treasury securities)

Urban Economies

• Japan’s urban development concentrated on East Coast; constrained by mountains, building codes, ocean little new land becomes available

– This leads to people living in very small apartments even in suburban areas with very long commutes.

• Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997 (legacy of the Opium Wars); it was the place foreign investment into mainland China started and it remains SE China’s financial hub

– Although Shanghai has grown spectacular, with many old neighborhoods demolished to make way for over 1000 residential and commercial skyscrapers and a new transport infrastructure

• It also has a reputation as one of the more cosmopolitan cities in China; as a results it attracts young people, artists, musicians

– It is also the epicenter of China’s gay and lesbian communities

Power and Politics

• China still has extensive levels of censorship, everywhere from broadcast media to the internet which is filtered, screened by government officials

– There are protests in China, but most are small scale and against a particular act of corruption, which plaques regional and local levels of Chinese government

• On the geopolitics front, China has been attempting to claim/create small islands in the East China Sea and South China Sea, to control shipping lanes, fisheries and mineral deposits.

Population Stuff

– In Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea women average less than 2 kids.

• Japan has lowest birthrate, most elderly in world

• Over time, China will age too; the old will be in the countryside, young in cities

– China emphasizes exercise to keep population healthy

– China realized in 1970’s that population was growing too quickly

• Family planning and one child policy start in 1980’s

– Enforced unevenly: minorities, rural excepted, sometimes incentives, sometimes penalties

– Has led to missing females due to son preference: already a shortage of marriage age women

» In fact, 32 million more men in the 20’s in China than women

– Extended family traditionally important; now cousins, siblings, aunts will cease to exist

– Now, urban costs encouraging smaller families w/o government pressure

Population Patterns

• China’s birth rate now lower than average

– Urban couples get 1 child; rural couples allowed 2

– Population will grow for a while b/c so many young people

• But in a few generations, could be the biggest old population in history of world

• Japan already has one of most elderly populations – 2 workers for 1 retiree

– Literally, the country is looking towards robotics, instead of foreign workers.

• 90 % of pop. is clustered on 1/6 of the land.

Disease

• AIDS

– Some regions of China are experiencing noticeable levels of HIV infection, among sex workers and drug users

• Could be potentially explosive if gets into low-risk population

• SARS

– Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome appeared in southeastern China in 2002,

• Originally downplayed by secretive Chinese government

• Infection in 29 countries in 6 months, with about 1/3 of known cases dying

• Shut down air travel; showed downside of globalization

Measures of Human Well-Being

• Between Japan and North Korea, income disparity is enormous

• Mongolia, and China have attempted to provide basic necessities for their citizens, and for last two decades have been successful

• Gender equality statistics not available for much of region

– In China, all children get primary school; more men than women go to secondary school and university/technical school (16% to 14%)

– In Mongolia, more women than men go to college

• Mongolia has gender income parity greater than US; China equal; Japan has huge gaps

• China has made gigantic strides since the 1970s in reducing infant mortality and increasing life expectancy.

– Japan and South Korea amongst healthiest countries in world

Minority Rights

– Most countries have one dominant ethnic group

• But each still have small minorities

– Han is not an ethnic group, but an identification with Chinese culture and belief in its superiority

• All languages use same writing system

– 7% of China is minority – but that’s 117 million people

– Turkic speaking Uygurs and Kazakhs live in NW

• Many are still nomadic, most Islamic from influence of silk road

• China has sent many Han settlers here to dilute local population power; controls what can be said in mosques

– Hui are also Islamic, but tend to be converts, work as merchants and now business men

Minority Rights (cont.)

• The Tibetans

– Tibetans are an impoverished ethnic minority

– China invaded Tibet in 1950, divided it into two provinces

• Buddhism targeted: monasteries destroyed, monks and nuns massacred, Dalai Lama exiled, Potala turned to museum

– Hundreds of thousands of Han resettled in Tibet,

• they control the economy cities, exploit resources, and force native Tibetans to adopt Han ways.

• Indigenous Population Groups of Southern China

– Most in rugged SE Yunnan province

– Men and women equally valued, man goes to live in wife’s household

Minority Rights (cont.)

• Aboriginal Peoples in Taiwan

– 90% Han, but 60 minority groups.

• Strong connection to SE Asia, Pacific cultures

– Native cultures are dying out

• incomes lag the Han, suffer more social ills

– Mountain dwellers have resisted assimilation better than plains dwellers

• Both are now protected and may live in mountain reserves if they choose.

• Japan

– Highly conformist country

• Ainu (originally of N. Asia steppe) face discrimination, loss of land, largely assimilated

– Lack of young workers means Japan will have to look at immigration (or robots), being less conformist

• Overseas Chinese

– Like with South Asia, millions of people who consider themselves Chinese; especially in Southeast Asia, but pretty much everywhere

Family and Work in East Asia

– Most domestic work still done by women

• Even amongst university graduate women in Japan, a large % want to be at home

– The “culture of work” in Japan (and S. Korea) is most demanding in the world

• Commutes 1.5 hours each way, overtime cannot be refused

• To advance must socialize with other people in your firm

– Compared to U.S., firms and employees very loyal to each other

• Spending time w/ family by men looked down on

– Men organizing to change this

– Without forced overtime, productivity may suffer