China as the Middle Kingdom
Throughout time, it appeared that the Chinese considered themselves to be more advanced than others and specially chosen to rule. These ideas and their accompanying attitudes stem from the translation of some ancient Chinese which refers to China as the “middle kingdom”. The meaning of middle kingdom is to be superior to countries around them, and in that role, to rule with a strong hand.
It would appear that this attitude is still strong as the country continues its economic and military growth. They have repeatedly demonstrated this superior attitude toward Taiwan, a country which they deem to be an errant child needing to either be punished or returned to the family fold. This attitude may be of general concern to both neighboring countries as well as indicate their opinion and attitudes toward the world in general.
China’s Population Growth Issues
China faces grave population growth issues. Although their one child for each family experiment was not greatly successful, their current population is heavily unbalanced with a huge work force and an increasingly growing aged population. In another generation the decreased population of young will grow be the work force, and the larger population will be the elderly. A national crisis looms on the horizon as the country struggles to feed and care for its unwieldy population.
An unexpected plus to having most of their population in the work force has been to allow China to grow economically. They are showing signs of prosperity which their youth will expect to enjoy as they age.
The current population of China is estimated to be approximately 1.3 billion people placing them in the position of being the most populous country in the world. However, by 2030 statisticians project that the population of India will overtake that of China. At that time their under 35 population will begin to swell the ranks of the older Chinese who will need health care, housing and general needs care. It is unlikely that the new population of workers will be able to adequately care for this population.
The Industrialization of China
The country has enjoyed economic success over the past 40 years due to a large labor pool who accepted low pay, and technology that was sufficient to meet their needs. Expansion was a natural outcome of this success. The country has an extremely large consumer market not to mention a patriotic attitude not seen in most of the top industrialized countries.
Unprepared for such economic growth, the government attempted unsuccessfully to micromanage all aspects of the industrialization development. China faced the need to repair the micromanagement attitude they fostered after the 1950’s. They have been forced to allow a more capitalistic approach to their economics. Interestingly, this huge growth seems to be concentrated on the coastal regions, while the interior of the country remains in un-industrialized circumstances hardly more advanced that they were a century ago.
To make room for the increased industrialization, land once used for housing and production of food crops has been taken for industry. China now faces a pollution problem unlike any other developing nation, and this (acid rain with air and water pollution) is becoming a worldwide problem.
Industrialization has placed a great strain on the nation. Land that was once used for food crops is now used for industry, cash crops and housing as more and more people move to the cities. Pollution from industry is also a great concern not only for China but also for neighboring countries which may be affected by acid rain and pollution coming from China.
Discuss South Africa’s apartheid policy of 1948. How was it initiated? Provide historical information of the time from the passing of this policy until gaining independence in 1979.
South Africa, alone of all the British colonies did not follow the political course of embracing democracy and freedom. Even though the geographic area called South Africa had a large British presence, the country was required to follow legislation given in the agreement of the surrender in 1806 from the Dutch. Those terms meant that the country was allowed to diverge from English law and replace it with South African law. The country at that time was not plagued with inequality, layers of a class system, prejudice or discrimination and the building of a new society was the idea on everyone’s minds. This ideal was not to be attained.
In 1948 the National Party, led the first campaign that was openly racist. The National Party won 80 seats (mainly from Afrikaner voters), compared to the United Party’s 64 seats.Following the elections, legal or enforced apartheid or racial segregation officially began in 1948. It was not a new idea, but had been prevalent under the Dutch in colonial times. Legislation followed which separated the population into four racial groups (eventually changing in 1950 to three) with different rules for each. Suddenly racial discrimination was institutionalized (The History of Apartheid in South Africa, 1978). Residential areas, education, medical care, and other public services were separated. It is sad to say that the services were widely disparate in comparison to the services to white people which were vastly superior to the services to the non-white population. There were white only jobs and marriage between non-whites and whites was illegal. Non-compliance with the race laws were dealt with severely. All blacks were required to carry ``pass books'' containing fingerprints, photo and information when in non-black areas.
In 1970 all non-white political representation was abolished and ten tribally based, self-governing “homelands” (Bantustans) were established, effectively denationalizing nine million South Africans.South Africa found that apartheid triggered defiance among the public. Uprisings as well as protests found many anti-apartheid leaders imprisoned, and the unrest was met with increasingly stronger military opposition and violence.
Two particularly stringent acts, the Public Safety Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act allowed for a state of emergency to be declared if deemed necessary. It was enacted in 1960 for 156 days over a group of blacks who refused to carry their passes. At the end of the emergency, 69 people were dead and 187 wounded.
The penalties even for non-violent protests were severe. Thousands of people died in custody, some from gruesome acts of torture. “Those who were tried were sentenced to death, banished, or imprisoned for life, like Nelson Mandela” (Apartheid (1948-1994), n.d.).
Officially, apartheid ended in the democratic elections of 1994, and Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa.
Resources
Apartheid (1948-1994), (n.d.). Retrieved October 2012 from
Industrialization of China increases fragility of global food supply, (January 21, 2009). Retrieved October 2012 from