Essays on Tiananmen

Britain took Hong Kong as a 99-year lease from the Chinese authorities through a treaty in 1898. This happened at a time when China’s Qing dynasty was at its weakest after the first Sino-Japanese war of 1895 and 1895. Thus, Britain presented the Convention for the Extension of the Hong Kong Territory as a means of gaining a strategic trading post that could give Britain power to operate within the Asia-Pacific region. The lease ended on 1st July, 1997 and Britain handed Hong Kong back to China. As of 1997, there was a completely different China from Qing ...

Introduction

It’s called a fugue state. A fugue state is characterized by a complete removal from, or interruption of, a person’s identity and a personal history. A fugue state is not always permanent, but during the episode, a person can completely forget who they are, and can assume a completely new identity for themselves. Usually, the fugue state isn’t even diagnosed until a person can recall their identity after the fugue state has ended (Costandi). This is a perfect metaphor for Death Fugue, a novel by Sheng Keyi. In her novel, she explores the events related to ...

Introduction

The period between 1980s and 1990s remains one of the significant periods in the political arena of China. During this period, the Tiananmen Square protests were witnessed Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang passed away. Students who demanded democracy and greater transparency in the government led the protests. During these protests, Cui Jian, a Chinese rock artist was one of the main individuals that inspired these students as they advocated for a democratic country. Cui started singing in 1981 and went on to form a band in 1984. He became famous in 1985 when he performed his hit ...

Introduction

It is a cliché to say that the relationship between China and the world has become complex, multidimensional and interdependent. But that does not mean that we fully understand the complexity of the Chinese attitude towards globalization nor its interdependence with the world in general and the Western industrial democracies in particular, with the implications thereof. The thesis that we develop in this article argues that economic interdependence greatly strengthens Chinese authoritarianism in its ability to politically influence the attitude of States and civil liberties in Western democracies, rather than the reverse. It contradicts the usual thesis that Western ...

Identification Questions

3.2 Party of the Institutionalized Revolution The Party of the Institutionalized Revolution was a political party in Mexico that was created by Plutarco Elias Calles in 1929. It lasted for 71 years in power in the country, and was the largest political party in Mexico at the time. The party leans toward socialism but has been grouped together with other socialist-democratic government parties. The PIR is historically significant because of its different take on the idea of revolution and the government. Every revolution in history has been based on the idea of breaking down institutions and tearing apart the ...

Introduction:

Coming out of the post Mao age, Deng Xiaoping was certainly a force to be reckoned with in the early days of the Chinese economic miracle. Having brought the concept of state capitalism to China, Xiaoping managed to change a culture which was essentially rooted in paternalism and complete control but this was obviously at the expense of some economic and social freedom. The eventual events which led to the Tiannammen Square massacre remain a blot on Deng’s copybook and he definitely could have dealt with the situation in a far better way without being so utterly ruthless.

Tactics and solutions:

Deng Xiaoping was definitely a ...