Southeast Asia Study Guide
Asia Location:
§ People live near rivers and coastlines. The rivers in the Asia are the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers in China, the Mekong River in Vietnam, the Ganges River in India, and the Indus River in Pakistan. Very few people live in the deserts (like the Gobi in northern China or the Taklimakan in western China or mountainous regions (like the Himalayas between China and India).
Questions:
1. How have the Himalaya Mountains affected India and Pakistan?
a. Made much of India a desert
b. Helped India to trade with China
c. Isolated India and Pakistan from China
d. Provided good soil for the development of agriculture
Asia Environment:
The environmental issues in this region are:
· Pollution on the Yangtze River in China and the Ganges River in India—water pollution affects the food supply (fish and crops), the health of people (drinking dirty water or not
having enough water to drink), the economy, etc. The pollution is caused by untreated sewage, agricultural runoff, factory runoff, and human remains and bathing in the Ganges, etc.
· Air pollution in India and China—this is caused by cars and factories, improper cooking fuels, and overpopulation. There is so much air pollution that it has created the “Asian
Brown Cloud” that affects photosynthesis, weather patterns, health of the people, etc.
· Flooding in India and China—monsoons are usually the cause of flooding in India and
China. Flooding is made worse by deforestation (cutting down trees) near the rivers and building things near the river. This causes more destruction because the water does not have anywhere to go.
Questions:
2. Each year, millions of people bathe in the most sacred river in India. Because the river is a source of sacred healing, people with sicknesses and diseases bathe themselves
hoping to be cured. For others, such as Hindu priests, bathing in the river is a sacred tradition. As a result of some religious practices, lack of sanitation infrastructure in certain areas, and the difficulty of regulating factories, cremated bodies, raw sewage, and industrial waste from factories float down the river.
Based on the passage above, what environmental issue are the people of India facing?
a. Pollution of the Ganges
b. Deforestation of the rainforest
c. Erosion in Himalayan mountains
d. Pesticides polluting the region’s ground water
3. In South Asia, air pollution is a very serious problem. What is the primary cause of the serious indoor air pollution problem in South Asia?
a. Improper sanitary procedures b. Too many people in the cities
c. Lack of green cleaning products
d. Cooking and heating with biomass fuels
Asian Religious Groups:
§ Buddhism—follows the teachings on Buddha, founded in India, believes in reincarnation, does not believe in the existence of a god, practiced mainly in China today
§ Hinduism—founded in India, monotheistic (they believe in many gods as a manifestation of one god), mainly practiced in India, believe in reincarnation
§ Confucianism—considered a philosophy because it focuses on how to live your life, they do not worship a god and they do not tell you what happens to you in the afterlife, where the “Golden Rule” came from, mainly practiced in China
§ Islam—founded by Muhammad, practiced mainly in the Middle East but in Asia it is widely practiced in Indonesia, monotheistic
§ Shinto—native religion of Japan, only practiced in Japan, believes everything in nature contains kami or spirits, become kami after death, worship nature and ancestors
Questions:
4. Which of these identifies a person as a member of a religious group?
a. Same language b. Shared beliefs
c. Same nationality
d. Shared physical traits
5. Which is a major difference between Hinduism and Islam?
a. Having sacred texts
b. View of the “Afterlife”
c. Important influence on Southern and Eastern Asia d. Having different sects or groups within the religion
Asian Government:
§ I n d i a’s Government—federal republic—individual states (local governments) do have some power, but not as much as the states in the U.S. India has a president and a prime minister. The President is the head of state (no real power) and the prime minister is
the head of government (has power). The prime minister is elected by the legislative branch (parliamentary). All citizens 18 and older may vote for their legislators.
§ Ch i n a’s Government—communist—the communist party in China has all of the power (oligarchy)—they have a president (head of state—no power) and a premier (head of government (has power)—The people elect the congress, but there is only one political party, the communists.
§ Jap an ’s Government—constitutional monarchy—the emperor is the head of state (symbolic role with no real power), the prime minister is the head of government (has power), all adult citizens may vote for the legislature.
Questions:
6. In Japan, the prefectures (Japan’s word for states or provinces) do not have any independent authority. Instead, they carry out the laws and policies of the national government. This is an example of what system of government?
a. unitary
b. confederation c. federal
d. parliamentary
7. In a parliamentary government, unlike the presidential system, the head of government belongs to which branch?
a. judicial b. national
c. executive d. legislative
8. How does a democratic government differ from an oligarchic government?
a. Role of the citizen
b. Law making process c. Judicial system
d. Role of individual states
9. Based on the information below, which term identifies India’s government:
· A national government as well as 28 state governments
· The leader of each state legislature’s majority is appointed governor by the
president
· Citizens of each state elect state legislatures a. Federal republic
b. Communist state
c. Constitutional monarchy d. Autocratic confederation
10. Based on the information below, which term identifies Japan’s government?
· The emperor holds a ceremonial role as head of state
· The prime minister is head of government
· The government’s true power lies with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet a. Federal republic
b. Communist state
c. Constitutional monarchy d. Autocratic confederation
Southeast Asian Economy:
§ China’s Economy : it would fall slightly to the market side of the center of a continuum—40% of China’s economy is still run by the government, China’s growth is limited by the problems in government-run industries, they export a large amount of manufactured goods
§ India’s Economy: it would fall more to the market side of a continuum than China— they have slowly been allowing more individual ownership of businesses, many rely on subsistence agriculture for survival, it is difficult to start a business, they have an increasingly educated workforce (especially in engineering and computer science)
§ Japan’s Economy: it would fall closest to the market side of the continuum—mostly market driven (supply and demand decide what will be produced), they have a high standard of living, which creates a large market for goods and services (businesses are able to sell their goods to the Japanese), they do not have many natural resources so they focus on human capital and capital, they specialize in technology
§ North K orea’s Economy : as close to command as you can get on a continuum—the
government controls everything about their economy
Questions:
11. What effect does an increase in a country’s literacy rate have on the people who live
there?
a. A lower urban population
b. A higher infant mortality rate
c. An increase in standard of living
d. An increase in the agricultural labor force
12. Why do countries have mixed economies?
a. Each part of a country has different types of money
b. A country’s economy has both national and state elements
c. Each part of a country has a different economy
d. A country’s economy has both command and market elements
13. According to the information below, North Korea’s economy is MOST LIKE which
economic system? a. traditional b. market
c. command d. bartering
14. In order to protect a nation’s car manufacturing industry from foreign car producers, the government charges the importer a fee for each imported car. This is an example of what kind of trade barrier?
a. subsidy b. tariff
c. quota
d. embargo
15. Jiang wants to sell his products manufactured in his country to consumers in several other Asian countries. This will involve him in international trade. What needs to be in place so Jiang can accurately determine the price of his products in these other nations?
a. A common Asian currency
b. An embargo on the countries he trades with
c. A system for exchanging currencies between countries
d. A treaty with each country setting the price for his products
16. Microsoft Corp, the world’s largest software company said that the company will invest
$1.7 billion in India over the next four years to expand its operations. The money will be spent to make India a major hub for Microsoft’s research, product and application development, and services and technical support. India’s highly skilled software professionals, low-cost operations, a booming economy, good telecommunications
links, and a rapidly growing market have made many foreign companies announce plans to expand their operations in India.
Which is an example of human capital in the above passage?
a. Skilled software professionals
b. Computer factories in New Delhi c. Research products for Microsoft
d. Loans to local software companies
17. China’s economy is growing at a very rapid pace. Why are entrepreneurs important in the growth and transition of China’s economy?
a. They build new factories b. They run the government
c. They planned the Olympics in 2008
d. They provided guidance on education
18. China’s economy has begun to change from a command economy to a more market economy. This has resulted in increased investment both by the Chinese and by foreign entrepreneurs. How will this investment in capital affect China’s GDP?
a. Increase GDP
b. Decrease GDP
c. No effect on GDP
d. Not related to GDP
Southeast Asian History:
· I n d i a’s I nd ep en d en ce —India gained independence from the British shortly after World
War II. Mohandas Gandhi led them to independence with non-violent protest.
· Vietnam’s I ndependence and Vietnam War—Vietnam gained independence from France. Ho Chi Minh led the Vietnamese in a war and defeated France. When Vietnam gained independence, the United States used their influence to have Vietnam split. The northern half became communist under Ho Chi Minh’s rule. The southern half became democratic. We did this because of the domino theory (we wanted to stop the spread
of communism). The U.S. then helped southern Vietnam in the Vietnam War against Ho
Chi Minh and North Vietnam. The U.S. eventually pulled out of the war. Soon after that, Ho Chi Minh united Vietnam as one communist country.
· Japan after WWII—Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1941 and brought the U.S. into WWII. In 1945, we ended WWII by dropping two atomic bombs on Japan
(Hiroshima and Nagasaki). Japan was completely destroyed. We then sent troops in to occupy Japan under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur. He gave Japan a constitutional monarchy. He wrote a new constitution for them. Japan cannot rebuild their military and cannot attack anyone unless they are attacked first. He also helped rebuild their economy and infrastructure.
· China—
o Mao Zedong—he was the first communist leader in China. He instituted the Great Leap Forward to try to help China’s economy produce more. It did not work and China’s economy went backwards. This lost him a lot of respect of the Chinese people. Later, he instituted the Cultural Revolution where he tried to get rid of anyone who criticized him and his government.
o Tiananmen Square—In 1989, students were protesting in Tiananmen Square in Beijing for freedom and democracy. The Chinese government got tired of it and brought in tanks and attacked the protestors.
· Korean War—When Japan lost WWII, they had to give up territory they had taken over during the war. Korea was one of those territories. The U.S. controlled the southern part of Korea and the Soviet Union controlled the northern part. Instead of holding elections, the Soviet Union set up a communist government in the northern part. The U.S. set up a democratic government in the southern part. North Korea then attacked South Korea in an effort to unite all of Korea as a communist country. The U.S. got involved because we did not want communism to spread (Domino Theory).
Questions:
19. What is the theme that ties the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and
Tiananmen Square Massacre together?
a. Mao Zedong led each of them
b. Improvements to China’s economy were a result
c. They all led to fewer freedoms for the people of China d. They all led to more opportunities for people of China
20. What role did the U.S. play in the rebuilding of Japan after WWII?
a. Provided free loans
b. Helped rebuild Japan’s army
c. Required Japan to pay war damages
d. Developed a plan to help Japan’s economy recover
21. Why did the United States believe it was necessary to become involved in both Korea and Vietnam?
a. To protect them from attack b. Prevent a serious health crisis
c. Stop the spread of communism
d. Improve each country’s economy