Showing papers in "Journal of Contemporary Asia in 1996"
TL;DR: In this paper, the Legitimacy crisis and legitimation in China are discussed. But the authors focus on the problem of legitimacy crisis and do not address the issue of legitimization.
Abstract: (1996). Legitimacy crisis and legitimation in China. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 201-220.
72 citations
TL;DR: In this article, Confucianism and development in East Asia are discussed, focusing on the development of East Asia as a whole, and Confucians' role in this process.
Abstract: (1996). Confucianism and development in East Asia. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 28-45.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, Divergent development and regional income gap in China are discussed. But the authors focus on the differences between the two regions and do not consider the differences among the regions.
Abstract: (1996). Divergent development and regional income gap in China. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 46-58.
23 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, electoral funding of general, state and party elections in Malaysia is discussed. But the authors focus on the role of money in the election process and do not discuss the role that money played in the candidates' campaigns.
Abstract: (1996). Electoral funding of general, state and party elections in Malaysia. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 81-99.
23 citations
21 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a peer monitoring system for low-cost credit in the rural and unorganized sectors has been proposed, where the environment of mutual responsibility in peer monitoring mechanisms induces the borrowers to monitor each other's performance in the utilization and repayment of loans.
Abstract: Peer monitoring within the framework of group lending is a viable method of providing low-cost credit in the rural and unorganized sectors and it has several advantages over conventional lending. The environment of mutual responsibility in peer monitoring mechanisms induces the borrowers to monitor each other's performance in the utilization and repayment of loans. This article demonstrates that at the same interest rate, the expected rate repayment is higher, and the risk involved therein is lower in peer monitoring. It is also argued that a lender can charge lower rates under a peer monitoring system, in comparison to a conventional lender.
19 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the Sarawak Malaysia political party Parti Bansa Dayak SARawak and its use of "Dayakism" or Dayak ethnic nationalism as an election strategy.
Abstract: Chin examines the Sarawak Malaysia political party Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak and its use of "Dayakism" or Dayak ethnic nationalism as an election strategy. It is suggested that political parties appealing on communal lines in semi-competitive arenas like Sarawak may not be successful.
15 citations
TL;DR: The great U-turn in Taiwan: Economic restructuring and a surge in inequality as mentioned in this paper, is a seminal work in Taiwan's history, which is also related to our work in this paper.
Abstract: (1996). The great U-Turn in Taiwan: Economic restructuring and a surge in inequality. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 151-163.
15 citations
TL;DR: The case of upland communities, which, spread over the boundaries of China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, have been exposed to considerable outside political and economic forces as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Modernization and commercialization of agriculture have caused profound transformation in the societies of ethnic minority groups in the modern states of Asia. This is the case of Akha upland communities, which, spread over the boundaries of China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, have been exposed to considerable outside political and economic forces. Thus, in Thailand, the Akha have repeatedly been victims of state assimilation programmes and land speculation pressures. In China, the Akha, who, like other minority groups had been the target of repression during the collective era, have regained, under the economic and political reforms of the past decade, a degree of control over their social and economic development. The Akha have made use of greater freedom of cultural expression to revive some of their traditions and customs. At the same time, by participating in the national market economy, they have been able to improve their standards of living and diversify their sources of income. Ne...
13 citations
TL;DR: In this article, economic development, civil society and democratization in Hong Kong are discussed, focusing on Hong Kong's economic development and civil society, and the role of women in this process.
Abstract: (1996). Economic development, civil society and democratization in Hong Kong. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 482-504.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss periodizing capitalism and the political economy of post-war Japan. But their focus is on the economic system and not the social order of the country.
Abstract: (1996). Periodizing capitalism and the political economy of post-war Japan. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 431-451.
TL;DR: The authors examines the latest trends with respect to inequality in Singapore, and attempts some assessment of the policy responses and the potential for social instability, and assesses the risk of social instability.
Abstract: The economic development of Singapore has been such that it is frequently cited as a model for capitalist development. One of the most striking features of the Singapore development process has been its distributional consequences. Rapid economic growth has produced remarkably equitable outcomes and the average Singaporean has had little cause for complaint — or at least until recently. This article examines the latest trends with respect to inequality in Singapore, and attempts some assessment of the policy responses and the potential for social instability.
TL;DR: In this paper, a short description of the Indonesian rainforest and its transformation into logs and plywood over the past 25 years is presented and evaluated; supervened by a section showing that sustainability is not yet an appropriate word to use in a discussion of Southeast Asia's tropical moist rainforests.
Abstract: Tropical moist rainforests are one of the world's most important natural resources, principally because they contain the largest number of species of any known ecosystem. In terms of rainforests, Indonesia's are among the most species-rich. By definition their disappearance is of concern to all the world's peoples. The following section reiterates the seriousness of the well-known fact that the world is losing about 21 million hectares of tropical moist rainforest annually. this is followed in the next two sections by a short description of the Indonesian rainforest and its transformation into logs and plywood over the past 25 years. Some of the most discussed reasons for the wasteful decline of Indonesian tropical hardwoods are presented and evaluated; supervened by a section showing that "sustainability" is not yet an appropriate word to use in a discussion of Southeast Asia's tropical moist rainforests.
It is concluded that to date, the emphasis in Indonesia has been on production of wood rather than on the sustainable utilisation of forestry resources. While the situation appears to be changing for the better, much has already been lost.
TL;DR: In this paper, an economy in transition is discussed in Brunei, and an economic model is proposed for the country's economy in the context of the transition of the Brunei economy.
Abstract: (1996). Brunei: An economy in transition. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 505-511.
TL;DR: In this paper, the state, family and industrial development: The Singapore case is discussed. But the authors focus on the state's role in the industrial development of Singapore and do not consider the family aspect.
Abstract: (1996). The state, family and industrial development: The Singapore case. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 3-27.
TL;DR: In this paper, a Korean unification: Learning from the German experience is discussed. But it is not discussed in detail and the authors do not discuss the unification process in this paper.
Abstract: (1996). Korean unification: Learning from the German experience. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 59-80.
TL;DR: In this paper, corporate ownership in the agricultural sector is used as a basis for assessing Iban opportunities to develop choices in regard to rural development in Sarawak, and the authors investigate the predominant discourse on rural development as the symbolic environment which ultimately determines the nature of participation by agriculturalists.
Abstract: This article unravels corporate ownership in the agricultural sector as a basis for assessing Iban opportunities to develop choices in regard to rural development in Sarawak. It proceeds to investigate the predominant discourse on rural development as the symbolic environment which ultimately determines the nature of participation by agriculturalists. My sources comprise census materials, scholarly research, and newspaper reports from 1987–93. The results reflect critical disablement of recently autonomous peoples at the level of subsistence. My findings affirm the right to participate but they refute any causal linkage of development and economic advantage to rural Iban in Sarawak.
TL;DR: Raymond et al. as discussed by the authors studied the political implications of stagnant agricultural productivity in Cambodia and found that the majority of the productive population of rural Cambodia were still engaged in agriculture and sixty-five percent of the farmers were rice cultivators.
Abstract: Chad Raymond(FN*) Political Implications of Stagnant Agricultural Productivity in Cambodia Journal of Contemporary Asia v26 no3 p366-79 1996 The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and it is reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article in violation of the copyright is prohibited. When Cambodia gained independence from France in late 1953, the country's economy was overwhelmingly agricultural. By 1962, eighty-one percent of the productive population was still engaged in agriculture, and sixty-five percent of the productive population were rice cultivators.(FN1) Mechanization was almost nonexistent and fertilizers were expensive. Cambodian peasants utilized a variety of methods to overcome a scarcity of labor in the production process, including cooperative, reciprocal labor arrangements. Though Khmer peasants utilized reciprocal labor arrangements to overcome scarcity in the means of production, these arrangements were temporary agreements between households rather than permanent social structures. The agricultural economy was based on the family unit, which was the only clearly defined social grouping in rural Cambodia. Khmer villages had no formal associations, such as religious cults. The only social networks in the community other than blood and affective kin networks were cooperative work teams "organized primarily for agricultural labor at certain stages of the rice cultivation cycle when the household alone could not supply enough manpower."(FN2) Peasants with financial needs sought out private moneylenders or rice brokers and either borrowed rice (if they had a deficit caused by a small harvest), borrowed money, or occasionally sold property. Bank credit was unavailable in rural Cambodia in the 1950s and 1960s. Nearly all short-term credit given by private banks went to commercial enterprises, instead of agricultural or industrial production. The 1963 nationalization of the country's banking system by Cambodia's ruler, Prince Sihanouk, did not alleviate peasants' need for credit, and the state's Royal Cooperative Office (OROC), designed to provide low-interest loans to cooperative farmers, was "inefficient, if not blatantly corrupt."(FN3) Because fellow villagers usually did not produce enough of a surplus to extend loans in kinds, peasants commonly borrowed money to purchase rice for food or inputs needed for next year's harvest. Loans were repaid in rice. Peasants usually required loans prior to the harvest, when the purchase price of rice was high, and were forced to repay the loan after the harvest, when market prices for rice were relatively low. Interest averaged ten percent per month, and land was used as collateral. The lender usually designated which parcel was mortgaged, and normally selected the borrower's most productive land.(FN4) Though debt was common, complete loss of land was infrequent. Peasants normally paid off their debt after one year, but often borrowed again to compensate for shortages caused by repayment of the previous loan or a bad harvest. This process resulted in an endless cycle of debt for many peasants, which pushed them closer toward the limits of subsistence. Delvert found that in different provinces indebted farmers ranged from ten to seventy-eight percent of the peasant population in 1956.(FN5) A colonial survey conducted in 1952 reported that nationwide, seventy-five percent of Cambodian peasants were significantly indebted.(FN6) Widespread debt during the 1950s and 1960s did not create a large rural landless population