Chapter 7 East Asia and International Studies Demography and Development

Introduction: Why Study East Asia? Huge geographic scale East Asia is the most populous region of the world’s most populated continent 30% of the world’s population lives in East Asia East Asia has a very diverse land mass There is a long history associated with Asian civilizations Abundance of diverse cultures in East Asia Asia is a rising economic power Asia has great political power in the world

[Figure 7.1 The Great Wall of China, while not visible from space, is an important symbol of China, Photo S. Toops ]

Geography Asia is divided into four regions: Northeast Asia Southeast Asia South Asia Central Asia This chapter focuses on Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia The following chapters focus on South and Central Asia

Geography - Northeast Asia Northeast Asia encompasses five countries: China Japan Taiwan North Korea South Korea Languages among these countries are not closely interrelated Ethnic groups are distinct in terms of history and political identities

Geography – Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is comprised of eleven countries: Burma (Myanmar) Thailand Vietnam Cambodia Laos Peninsular countries: Malaysia and Singapore Island countries: Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, East Timor This region is a crossroad of influences from China and India

[Figure 7.1 Map of Asia]

History Indigenous kingdoms and empires have dominated East Asia through its long history Chinese empires were established in the Yellow River valley in 2000 BCE The Japanese empire dates back to 50 BCE Early civilizations were established due to the rich agriculture of the region

History – European Colonialism European colonialism was very strong in Southeast Asia but less so in Northeast Asia Dutch colonized Indonesia French colonized Indochina British colonized Malaya Spanish colonized Philippines All of the European powers gained some territorial control in China Resistance to colonialism in the form of nationalism Most countries were free from colonial rule by the 1970’s

Culture Asia has a significant degree of diversity Every country has its own language system for the most part Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Daoism, and Confucianism are present in Asia 1950 Marxist atheism prevailed over traditional religious beliefs in China and North Korea East Asian culture is found in many places around the world Example from the text talks about Chinese restaurants in a small Ohio town

Economics Asian economic developmental success is seen as a structural economic system, a common metaphor is that of a goose flock migrating Japan is the economic leader Close behind Japan are the newly industrialized countries: Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea The third group is Thailand, Malaysia, and soon China The fourth group consists of Indonesia The poorest group are countries like Cambodia

[Figure 7.2. Agricultural activity in South East Asia focuses on rice production as shown here in Thailand. Photo S. Andrus.]

Politics East Asia has two models of state formation since the 1950’s: Japan became a democracy following WWII China became communist following WWII Political freedoms and human rights remain issues for communist China In Southeast Asia, political tensions are strongly related to colonial past Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was formed to facilitate political cooperation in the region

[Figure 7. 3 Tiananmen Square in Beijing [Figure 7.3 Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Chairman Mao’s portrait is at the center. On the left, the banner says 10,000 years to the People’s Republic of China. On the right, the banner reads 10,000 years to the great unity of the peoples of the world. Photo S. Toops.]

Social Issues: Demography Population growth is a problem facing East Asia in coming years Currently East Asia is home to 1.4-1.5 billion people and Asia as a whole is home to 60% of the world population To control the population growth, a limit of one child per family has been employed in China Singapore has the opposite problem and are encouraging people to have more children

[Figure 7.4. Most people in Singapore live in huge housing complexes supported by the government. Photo: S. Toops]

Social Issues: Demography Urbanization is another problem plaguing Asia Huge cities with populations over 1 million or not uncommon and a city of 200,000 is considered a small town The level of urbanization in Northeast Asia is far worse than that of Southeast Asia Japan and South Korea are over 70% urban

[Figure 7.5. This family in Shanghai has their future hope pinned on the success of their grand daughter. Photo: S. Toops]

Asian Economic Situation After World War II, economic growth mean sustaining an annual increase in GDP at 5% or more Third world countries were obtaining this goal, but standards of living were not going up Not a very good indicator of economic growth By the 1980’s, development expanded to political and cultural aspects rather than just economic aspects Values of a “good life” were formed: Sustenance Self-esteem Freedom from servitude

Goals for Development In Japan and South Korea, the government works with corporations to set goals and aims for the economy Recently have moved away from export and industry to hi-tech goods and services In China, until the 1980’s the economy was totally controlled by the state. Since then they have begun moving toward a market economy Resembles what Japan and South Korea have done, but the state still plays a very large role in the economy

Development and China Three reasons why China’s development is important today: One of the largest populations by size Economic growth has been rapid Heavily involved in world politics In the 1950’s land reform by Mao Zedong brought agriculture and heavy industry to the forefront of China’s economy (Great Leap Forward) The system put in place failed and resulted in famine in which many people died Deng Xiaoping set forth Reform China in 1979 in which people were responsible for more land Light industry became the focus of Reform China

Development and China As a result of the reforms of the late 1970’s, trade and services has boomed in China Initially relied on the Soviet Union for trade Have now seen great success in foreign investment and trade as result of open-door policy Tourism has also become big business since Deng’s reforms Life sustenance in China has increased dramatically since Deng’s reforms Self-esteem and freedom are still a goal in China and elsewhere

The Role of East Asia in the World East Asia is regarded as highly as Europe and the United States as its economy continues thrive Asian culture is becoming more and more widespread as religion, food, films, and other cultural components of life enter the global medium through globalization China especially has become more globally connected and serves important roles in the world Permanent member of the UN Security Council Beijing 2008 Olympics