Communist and Post-Communist Countries-China

Questions
1
xWhat are the 5 remaining communist states in the world today?

Explain how mandate of heaven dynastic cycles were characteristic of China’s history.

How was power organized during dynastic periods and what group helped to maintain/carry out that
organizational power in terms of the emperor and bureaucracy?

How is power theoretically distributed in the constitution of China and what is the reality?
2
How were citizens viewed during the dynastic period?

When was the Chinese Republic created and who was its first leader?

What force made it unable for China to have a democratic regime/government after the revolution and
what was the result in 1949?

How was Maoism similar and different from Marxism/Leninism?

3
Since the Tiananmen incident (1989) how has the government reacted to rebellions?

How are decisions made during times of crisis and by whom, such as the Tiananmen incident?

Identify how the military (PLA) has played an important role in China.

5 important historical traditions are authoritarianism, Confucianism, bureaucracy, Middle Kingdom

and communist ideologies; provide a short overview of each.

What are 5 geographical features which have played a role in China?

4
What are the 3 main historical eras of China that have shaped its political culture?

Maoism focused on the strength of the peasant and had what 5 central values?

Explain what Deng Xiaoping Theory is and what is his famous quote?

Official positions in China do not count as much as what informal arrangement and when did this
system get its start?
5
Why is it hard to understand how policymaking will be affected when a new leader comes to power
and what is the best way to try and figure out policymaking goals of new leaders?

The Qing (pronounced Ching) Dynasty fell victim to what imperialistic powers (foreign devils) in the
19th century?

Between 1911 and 1949 there were 3 main chaotic themes. What were they?

What was the Long March (1934-1936) about, what role did WWII play and what was the result by
1949?
6
The Peoples Republic of China was born out of a fight between what two groups and what was the
result?

What were the 3 main features of the Soviet model period (1949-1957)?

Why did Mao initiate the Great Leap Forward (1958-1966) and what was the ultimate goal?

What were the 4 goals of the Great Leap Forward (1958-1966)?

7
What are some reasons the Great Leap Forward was actually a leap backward?

Why did Mao initiate the Cultural Revolution and what was the goal (1966-1976)?

What was the effect on education with the Cultural Revolution?

What were 5 important principles of the Cultural Revolution, most of which were similar to Maoism?
8
When Mao died in 1976 his followers divided into what 3 main factions?

What happened to the Gang of Four?

Who came up with the idea of the 4 modernizations, who implemented it and what were the 4
modernizations?

The 4 modernizations put China on a new path in what 3 major areas?

9
List the 5 leaders of the PRC since its founding.

Today the CCP realizes that people no longer view ideology as important so what is the current focus
on the CCP?

What is the major ethnic group in China?

What percent of the population do minority ethnic groups represent, how many ethnic groups are
there and where do most minorities live?
10
Why are the autonomous areas important to China and identify two problematic ones?

What is the Chinese government’s policy with minority ethnic groups?

How autonomous are the autonomous regions in China?

What is the worry with the Uyghurs and why is their location a problem for China?
11
What has China done to promote Mandarin and why is one common language important?

How are urban/rural relations a social cleavage and how has the government reacted?

What are the 3 major cleavages in China?

Chinese tradition views people as not participants in the political system but what and how are things
slowly changing with respect to social movements?
12
Identify 2 important features of CCP membership and what is the youth party feeder group?

What change did Deng Xiaoping implement with respect to party members and what has been the
effect on party membership?

What is the trend with civil society in China today and where is its growth particularly strong?

How has the role of NGO’s changed since the 1990’s?

13
What are 2 examples which show that the CCP has limits to a strong civil society?

What is the hukou and how has it played a role in migration from the countryside to cities?

Why can we define the political regime as authoritarian and how do elections and traditions reinforce
this?

Why has centralization of economic matters become a problem in China today and how is China
responding?
14
What is a major difference between the role of the military in the Soviet Union and China?

What is democratic centralism?

How many constitutions are there in China and what are they for?

Outline the top-down organizational structure of the CCP based on the constitution of the party?
15
Per the above question, how many of these people are directly elected by the people?

Note that the above is the organizational structure for the CCP and that the government has its own
People’s Congresses and President (see page 289)

What is an important change taking place within the National People’s Congress?

Explain the relationship to parties other than the CCP in China.

16
Who controls the groups that run elections as well as candidates allowed to run and what is special
about elections at the local level?

Who elects the people’s congresses and how does this differ from local/village elections?

What is the Chinese equivalent of patron client relations in China with respect to the “Old Guard?”

What is the Nomenklatura?

17
What are 4 major political factions in China today and how do they view economics and politics?

Explain what fang-shou means.

What is the most common form of corruption in China today and are there any measures to address
this issue and does corruption affect elections?

Interest groups are allowed to exist under the authority of whom and what about NGO’s?
18
What is the danwei?

Is there a major labor union in China? If so, what is it known as and can workers organize
independent unions and how does this contrast with farmers?

What are some important points to note about media conditions in China and the internet?

What are the three parallel hierarchies in China’s political structure and which entity dominates?
19
Why is China’s political system so similar to that of the Soviet Union and what is the reality of that
system?

Even though China has 3 branches of government why is this not important?

What is the theoretical power of the National People’s Congress (not National Party Congress), the
highest level of people’s congresses, what is the reality and what leaders do they select?

The book says the office of presidency is mostly ceremonial in nature. If that is so, then how can it be
that President Xi Jinping (formerly Hu) is clearly recognized as the true leader of China?
20
Who is the head of government in China and who is head of state?

Identify some major points with the bureaucracy.

Identify some major points of the current judicial system and compare it to what it was like under
Mao.

What is the state of rule of law in China and what group seems to have rule of law enforced on it more
than others?
21
What group represents the PLA in the government, how strong is that group and who currently heads
it?

What is unusual about capitalism and democracy in China, relative to other nations?

Explain fang-shou and how is transparency a problem.

What are some democratic reforms which have occurred?

22
Outline the original purpose of the Tiananmen incident and what it escalated in to?

What is the current state of human rights in China under Xi Jinping (and Hu Jintao) and explain the
Nobel Prize example?

Why have legal codes (rule of law) taken on greater importance since Mao’s rule and why do
problems remain with the judiciary?

What are some examples of the current state of civil rights and liberties in China with respect to the
internet and criticism of the government?
23
Explain the meaning of the iron rice bowl and what policy replaced it.

What were the people’s communes and what system has replaced them?

Do private businesses exist in China?

What rural private business system has helped to stem the flow of migrants to cities?

Why does The CCP/government guarantee minority groups some seats in the National People’s
Congress?
24
What are some major problems economic reform has brought?

What are the Special Economic Zones which have been an important part of economic reform?

What is China’s relationship with Hong Kong and how autonomous and free is Hong Kong today?

What is China’s relationship with Taiwan?

While the Chinese constitution guarantees things like speech, religion, press and assembly, what’s the
reality?

25 (7th Edition Update)

Outline some points regarding population and population policy.

Describe the 2014 Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong

26 (8th Edition Update)

NO SIGNIFICANT UPDATES
Youtube links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg-PgXt8Tkc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dDQ_VSGkPE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R6kntniDPI&list=PL58875CA71CA3AE4A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMHAnh0IeEw