Showing papers in "China Report in 2015"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the strategic hedging framework as a way to trace the determinants of the foreign policies of hedging states and use the case of Chinese energy security strategy in the Middle East as an illustrative case study.
Abstract: This study presents the strategic hedging framework as a way to trace the determinants of the foreign policies of hedging states. We use the case of Chinese energy security strategy in the Middle East as an illustrative case study. It first uses four criteria to establish that China’s energy security strategy in the Middle East is a strong example of strategic hedging behaviour. Then it examines the impact of oil production in the Middle East countries on the growth of Chinese economic relationships with these countries. The results of this study show clearly that oil production plays an important role in the Sino-Middle East relations. We find a positive relationship between oil production in Middle East countries, on the one hand, and the distribution and growth of China’s trade and investment with these countries, on the other hand. These results confirm that strategic hedging behaviour leads to developing China’s economic relations with the oil-producing countries in order to cover its growing needs f...
27 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a sociological analysis of empirical data regarding the alleged rising nationalism in contemporary China is presented, which is different from most of the studies of Chinese nationalism with a focus on the offic...
Abstract: This is a sociological analysis of empirical data regarding the alleged rising nationalism in contemporary China. Different from most of the studies of Chinese nationalism with a focus on the offic...
16 citations
TL;DR: This paper argued that involuntary bachelorhood is a manifestation of the gendered features of the marriage system which work against low-class men and explored the nuptiality plights of involuntary bachelors.
Abstract: Despite the universality of marriage in Chinese society, involuntary bachelorhood exists, and is becoming an increasingly critical issue. While many studies have addressed the problem from the standpoint of demographic imbalance, we argue that the issue should be understood as a manifestation of the gendered features of the marriage system which work against low-class men. This understanding relates involuntary bachelorhood to the combined effects of spouse selection and marriage practices. To elaborate our argument, the present study explores nuptiality plights of involuntary bachelors. In particular, it examines their marginalisation in the marriage market, defiant choices in the face of market exclusion, and instability of marital relationships.
16 citations
TL;DR: Most countries are grappling with the rising income inequality problem and many governments believe that it is important to reduce income inequality as discussed by the authors. This is because income inequality is associated with poverty and crime.
Abstract: Most countries are grappling with the rising income inequality problem and many governments believe that it is important to reduce income inequality. This is because income inequality is associated...
8 citations
TL;DR: In this article, outbound inveses of Chinese and Indian enterprises have been increasingly involved in international business thereby attracting global attention since the turn of the 21st century, and the authors examined outbound outbound infrastructures of these two countries.
Abstract: Chinese and Indian enterprises have been increasingly involved in international business thereby attracting global attention since the turn of the 21st century. This article examines outbound inves...
5 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the China coverage in India's English-language press is presented, identifying different kinds of adversarial strategies in the coverage.
Abstract: Between the Lines: Indian Media’s China War is a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the China coverage in India’s English-language press. The study identifies different kinds of adver...
4 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors track the evolution of the family planning programs in India and China and the conceptual linkages between the two, and conclude that the small family norm was operationalised in various differing ways in both states and yet the commonalities that arose were the following: the declining sex ratio in both countries as an immediate consequence of the enforcement of the small-family norm.
Abstract: The article tracks the evolution of the family planning programmes in India and China and the conceptual linkages between the two. This comparison in turn serves as an entry point for studying the following: The role that the family plays in becoming the site of governance and deploying state-led capitalism in the two countries. The assumptions behind the development trajectories in both countries. What are the ways in which the policies amplified patrilineal hierarchies within families to produce the disturbing outcome of the missing girl child - this even as the family planning policies became constrained as they were acting within a cultural milieu of patriarchy. The article uses studies and commentaries across disciplines such as historical demography and anthropology to situate its arguments. The conclusion it attempts to put forth is that the small family norm was operationalised in various differing ways in both states and yet the commonalities that arose were the following: The declining sex ratio in both states as an immediate repercussion of the enforcement of the small family norm. The structuring of the health services around the family planning operations. The small family norm becoming an end in itself as a mode of reaching a level of development akin to the West and as an ethic for modernising nations.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the initiatives taken by the government of the People's Republic of China towards ensuring government information transparency and provided a comparative analysis of information disclosure initiatives in China and India.
Abstract: This article examines the initiatives taken by the government of the People’s Republic of China towards ensuring government information transparency. The Open Government Information Regulations (OGI) which was adopted in 2007 is a landmark in the transparency reforms process in China. The analysis of this initiative and further reforms becomes vital as China has witnessed newly emerged emphasis on anti-corruption campaign and rule of law. Though these regulations were adopted in 2007 at national level, many reforms have been introduced in these regulations in terms of annual guidelines from time to time. This article analyses the origin and development of OGI; the scope of these regulations; the legal, political and structural problems obstructing the successful implementation of these regulations; and further reforms towards making China more open and transparent. This work also provides a comparative analysis of information disclosure initiatives in China and India.
4 citations
TL;DR: The authors highlights the availability of diaries and other records left by the poor or the tenant farmers of the Meiji and Taisho periods and shows how a study of these, along with the macro picture presented by the modernisation economists, completes the canvas and brings one closer to the realities of the prewar period.
Abstract: For long, the study of Japanese economic history of the prewar period has been colored by the dominant view of the modernisation economists who clearly held an anti-Marxist or a non-Marxist approach. One casualty of this approach has been the neglect of the rich micro level studies and data that are available on this period in the Japanese language. The standard view of agricultural development in Japan tends to ignore or gloss over the various struggles and difficulties the poor peasant went through. This article highlights the availability of diaries and other records left by the poor or the tenant farmers of the Meiji and Taisho periods. It shows how a study of these, along with the macro picture presented by the modernisation economists, completes the canvas and brings one closer to the realities of the prewar period. It raises questions about the image of a smooth and painless transition to modernisation that has been holding centre stage in the discourse about Japan for so long.
3 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined Prime Minister Modi's May 2015 visit to China with reference to several issues: the border dispute, trade, investment and economic cooperation; education, culture and people exchanges; South Asia, Pakistan; Silk Silk, BCIM and other routes; and building trust.
Abstract: Prime Minister Modi’s May 2015 visit to China is examined with reference to several issues: the border dispute; trade, investment and economic cooperation; education, culture and people exchanges; South Asia, Pakistan; ‘Silk’, BCIM and other routes; and building trust. External Affair’s Minister Sushma Swaraj’s January 2015 hint in Beijing about an ‘out of box’ solution to the border issue was not borne out; we may ask if Indian publics are being prepared for a possible settlement, and without that it appears that the issue has not reached a tipping point where past positions become redundant. But the bilateral engagement has been widened and deepened. Modi seems to act on the premise that diplomacy can deliver result attuned to India’s basic objective of national social-economic development.
2 citations
TL;DR: The People's Republic of China went through a peaceful and orderly transfer of power from November 2012 to March 2013 as mentioned in this paper, the second one in its 64-year history, and the first one was the 2002-3 change of...
Abstract: The People’s Republic of China went through a peaceful and orderly transfer of power from November 2012 to March 2013, the second one in its 64-year history. The first one was the 2002–3 change of ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address the question of why despite the enormous success achieved by China in economic growth there are significant indicators showing relatively adverse life situations for women in many respects.
Abstract: This article addresses the question of why despite the enormous success achieved by China in economic growth there are significant indicators showing relatively adverse life situations for women in many respects. A falling proportion of women in the population, unfavourable employment situation, disparity in wages, inadequate representation of women in political leadership are some of the indicators of the negative fallout of the Chinese growth story even as women too have benefited from the substantial improvement of Chinese people’s livelihood conditions during the recent decades. Based on field visits to Wuxi over a thirty-year period and using macro data we argue that the Chinese experience raises serious questions about the pattern of economic growth that has been adopted by the Chinese leadership and advanced globally in recent years.
TL;DR: In 2014, China organized a forum on the development of Tibet in Lhasa as mentioned in this paper, where about 40 international participants from about 30 countries participated, out of the 100 or so participants, about 40 were international participants were from the USA.
Abstract: On 12 and 13 August 2014, China organized a conference titled, ‘Forum on the Development of Tibet’ in Lhasa. Out of the 100 or so participants, about 40 were international participants from about 30 countries. This article materialized out of an interest to probe a few inter-related questions such as what is the point of holding another Forum on development of Tibet when the ‘Tibet work forums’ are already doing that since 1980? Why are there international participants in it? What is the significance of the Forum in the Chinese government’s overall approach to the Tibet question? Interestingly, the conference did not have a dedicated website or it’s like where one could access information about it. On its conclusion, a document ‘Lhasa Consensus’ was brought out, which failed to provide any sense of the conference’s proceedings. Instead, it emphasized Chinese achievements in Tibet and denounced the Dalai Lama and international media for being biased. Outside China, the Forum attracted attention less for it...
TL;DR: The authors explored the theoretical approaches to the translation of poetry in Chinese literature and compared different approaches to film translation, using two brief examples and a longer case study, it is shown how best to convey information implicit and explicit in images from one frame to another.
Abstract: China Report 51, 4 (2015): 339–369 social and historical documentation. Through a review of two innovative translators, Chapter 6 has explored the theoretical approaches to the translation of poetry. The authors have argued that since ‘fidelity’ and ‘accuracy’ are contested notions, transcreation or creative adaptation should be considered as a viable option. In Chapter 7, the authors take a look at the issues involved in the translation of absurdity and irony in Chinese literature in the contemporary period. The texts have been chosen from diverse sources such as blogs and the published literary works of two bestselling Chinese writers, namely, Wang Meng and Yan Lianke. The exercise highlights that being highly culture specific in content, yet universal in intent, humour and irony pose a challenge to the translators. Chapter 8 is a case study of drama which tells us about the way people think in source culture, and about how a superficial translation can be unsuccessful in recreating people’s thoughts and behaviour in the target language to an extent that even tragedy can become rather comic. In Chapter 9, which is the last chapter of the book, the authors have compared different approaches to film translation. Using two brief examples and a longer case study, it is shown how best to convey information implicit and explicit in images from one frame to another. This volume is a valuable addition to the field of translation studies which has witnessed rapid movement and growth. The ideas presented by the authors are not necessarily to be agreed with or rejected. That translation of cultural texts is not a mechanical process is well known, but what this volume has helped to establish with authenticity is the intricacy of the problems faced by translators, both expert and novice, in finding the correct note that will create a lasting echo between two cultures. The authors demonstrate convincingly that it is by finding the ‘difference in similarity’ and by finding the ‘similarity in difference’ that arbitrary and imaginary barriers to understanding can be overcome.
TL;DR: Lam et al. as mentioned in this paper described the limited scope and superficial nature of China's political reforms and concluded that structural reforms in the direction of the rule of law, an independent judiciary, greater transparency and freedom of expression have become indispensable to ensure China's continued progress.
Abstract: China Report 51, 4 (2015): 339–369 of masses with the Party’s ambitions by improving their economic, environmental and cultural standards of living under the Party’s continued leadership. The book succeeds in describing the limited scope and superficial nature of China’s political reforms. In post-reform China, CCP’s legitimacy is founded on its capacity to deliver a better standard of living to the people. The initial reform measures have run their due course and groups with strong vested interests have surfaced. Structural reforms in the direction of the rule of law, an independent judiciary, greater transparency and freedom of expression have become indispensable to ensure China’s continued progress. However, these requirements pose a direct threat to the CCP’s absolute authority and Xi Jinping has resolved to not undertake any ‘subversive methods’. Although gradual and incremental reforms are being carried out, the leadership accords highest priority to the CCP’s continued monopoly over power. From this perspective, it is evident that Xi’s amassing of power is for power’s sake, and strongly hints of survivalism. An inherent drawback of the book is its premature critique of the Xi administration. While Professor Lam’s analysis of the barely 2-year-old regime (at the time of going to print) is commendable in its richness and fairness, the Xi regime has still not assumed its final form. By some measures, it is still undergoing the consolidation phase. The Four Comprehensives unveiled in February 2015 prior to the lianghui (the annual sessions of the National People’s Congress and the National Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference) are expected to become Xi Jinping’s ideological legacy. Although the book has not covered this development, the concepts enunciated in this theory nevertheless have been thoroughly discussed. Because of the concurrent nature of the subject, the book draws heavily upon news and Internet sources. The CCP-specific jargon has been adequately explained while the theoretical aspects of Chinese politics have not been discussed. This book is an erudite analysis of a dynamic subject and is recommended to readers keen on understanding the nuances of contemporary Chinese politics.
TL;DR: In 2014, India-Japan relations have changed dramatically after Yoshiro Mori, then Japanese prime minister, visited New Delhi in August 2000 as mentioned in this paper and established the Global Partnership in the 21st Century.
Abstract: 2014 marked an important year for India–Japan relations. The most important events were the victory in the Indian general elections of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and his visit to Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is widely known as a pro-India politician, had called up Modi soon after his victory and invited him to visit Japan. This invitation was warmly accepted by Modi and resulted in his visit to Tokyo and Kyoto from 30 August to 3 September. After the summit on 1 September, Modi and Abe announced the ‘Tokyo Declaration’ which declared ‘the dawn of a new era in Japan–India relations’ (MOFA, Japan 2014a). India–Japan relations have changed dramatically after Yoshiro Mori, then Japanese prime minister, visited New Delhi in August 2000. The two countries had kept a distance from each other before the visit, mainly due to the Cold War politics, with Japan’s alliance with the US and India’s involvement with the Non-Aligned Movement. This state of ‘indifference’ in the relationship worsened to ‘bad relations’ when India conducted nuclear tests in 1998 and Japan imposed sanctions against it. The goal of Mori’s visit in 2000 was to improve the relationship and this objective it seems was largely achieved. He and then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, also of the BJP, agreed to establish the ‘Global Partnership in the 21st Century’ (Embassy of India, Tokyo 2014). Since then, the two governments have successfully developed diplomatic relations in a wide area, including security cooperation.