Contemporary Chinese Politics: An Introduction (7th Edition) - Softcover

Wang, James C.F.

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9780130907820: Contemporary Chinese Politics: An Introduction (7th Edition)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0130907820 ISBN 13: 9780130907820

Publisher: Pearson, 2001

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This comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date book provides information and analysis for a complete examination of contemporary China and its political and economic developments. Chapter topics include the origin and rise of the Chinese communist movement: from military communism to Deng's reforms; the erosion of Chinese communist ideology: Marxism-Leninism, Mao's thought, Dengism, and the thinking of Jiang Zemin; political institutions of the party-state: structural issues and the policy process; Elites and the Cadre System: leadership style, factionalism, succession, and recruitment; reform for a creditable Socialist legal system; provincial and local politics: centralism versus regionalism, national minorities, and the case of Tibet; Greater China: reversion of Hong Kong and Macao, and the Pearl River delta regional development, and the Taiwan Question; The military's role in Chinese politics; democracy, dissent, and the Tiananmen mass movement; the politics of modernization: rural and urban economic reforms; and the politics of modernization: education, science and technology, the open door policy, and the intellectuals. For individuals interested in Chinese politics.

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From the Publisher:

Comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date, this text provides facts and information--interspersed with analysis--in its examination of contemporary China and its political and economic developments.

The seventh edition of Contemporary Chinese Politics: An Introduction, originally published in 1980 and revised in 1985, 1989, 1992, 1995, and 1999, is designed for both undergraduate and graduate students. The publisher and author have striven to make the text as current and as comprehensive as possible by revising and updating its content periodically. The events unfolding in China necessitate such revision and updating.

This edition contains some major revisions and additions in a number of areas. In Chapter 3 a new section is added containing an examination of recent developments in promoting "Jiang Zemin Thought" to the level of Mao and Deng, but which is designed to unify the various contending factions within the leadership. Discussion here is intended to explore the meaning of Jiang's recent ideological pronouncement of the "Three Representations" and the "Three Stresses or Talks:"

In Chapter 4 an added section addresses recent amendments to the state constitution, such as recognition of private businesses as an important component to the socialist market economy (Article 6); recognition of the various rural cooperatives as belonging to the socialist market economy (Article 8); and also deletion of the term "counterrevolutionary" from Article 28.

In Chapter 5 a new section is added on corruption in China's officialdom, a sort of "malignant tumor" in Chinese body-politics. This new section considers corruption in terms of its scope, forms, causes, and remedial actions taken in recent years.

In Chapter 7, there is discussion about the introduction of primary elections on the direct village level—elections whereby villagers could write the names of their favored candidates on blank ballots. There is discussion of the extension of popular elections to townships and counties, and the possible impact of this approach on the party's control and prestige.

Also added to Chapter 7 is a review dealing with the Muslim unrest in China'9 vast western region, particularly in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, and a discussion on China's environmental problems and questions that were raised in response to the building of the gigantic Three Gorges Dam.

Three new sections are added to Chapter 10. One deals with the problem of Hong Kong's judicial independence that was raised as a result of cases on the court's residency ruling and defacing of the Chinese flag. The second new section deals with the historical background of Taiwan unification, the origin of the "one China" formula, and a possible solution to the Taiwan problem within the framework of "one China:"

Third, a new section is added that deals with the reasons for suppressing the quasi-religious meditation sect, the Falun Gong (Wheels of Law). The examination focuses not only on the reason for the ban, but also provides a historic perspective in terms of "overreacting" to a religious movement, thereby "politicizing" it.

In Chapter 11 there is a section added that discusses the target set for year 2002 on reform in the troubled state-owned enterprises: including reduction of the size and the number of these establishments, as well as the gradual introduction of other forms of ownership along with public or state ownership.

Finally, in Chapter 12, a brief discussion is made on problems associated with implementation of the new nine-year compulsory education program in China.

A new feature has been added to this edition: a suggested bibliography at the end of each chapter intended as a reference for students and teachers alike. Most of these entries represent recent publications in the Chinese study field. These bibliographies augment the footnote citations for each chapter.

The preparation of the seventh edition of this book on contemporary Chinese politics would not have been possible without the help of a number of persons. Many colleagues from a large number of universities and colleges have made useful comments and suggestions. To all of them I owe a debt of gratitude. Once again I must acknowledge my great indebtedness to those China scholars whose work is cited in the text. I would also like to thank political science editors at Prentice Hall, particularly Brian Prybella and Joanne Riker, for rendering invaluable assistance in reading of the manuscript for style. And many thanks to Edith Worsencroft for typing and some editing of the revised manuscript.

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