| Governing China |
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CHST A322
Governing China
| Introduction |  |
CHST A322 Governing China is a higher level course for Hong Kong students. The object of study is mainly the People's Republic of China (PRC). Since Hong Kong was returned to China's sovereignty in July 1997, the fate of the Hong Kong people has been more closely tied to the PRC's current development and its future well-being. Hong Kong people therefore need to be able to help China move in the right direction of development as well as exercise the rights associated with the principle of `one country, two systems'. To achieve this end, it is very important for you to acquire a good understanding of the PRC.
There are no prerequisites for this course, but it will be helpful if you have studied SOSC A101 Social Sciences: A Foundation Course.
By now you have completed other OUHK courses. You are, therefore, well aware of the study skills required for distance learning and are familiar with the organization of OUHK courses. Even so, you should read this Course Guide thoroughly before proceeding to look at the study units and your textbooks. Some of the contents will be familiar to you, but much of the information is specific to CHST A322 Governing China. The approach of this course may be slightly different from that of some of the other courses you have taken, so please take time to read the Course Guide.
| About the course | |
As an introduction to the government and politics of contemporary China, CHST A322 is a political science course, which inevitably deals with the crucial elements of the discipline, e.g. the function of political parties, process of governance, interaction between major social interests, the role of ideology, and international relations. However, in order for you to acquire comprehensive knowledge of China's social-political development, the course has a multi-disciplinary approach, covering sections of the country's political history, political culture, political system and process, its post-Mao reform, its relations with Hong Kong and Taiwan, and its relations with the major powers.
The structure of the course is shown in the table below.
Unit Title Weeks Area of study 1 China between 1900 and 1949 3 Political history 2 China under Mao Zedong 5 3 The Chinese Communist Party 4 Social/ political system in the PRC 4 The Constitution and the structure of government 4 5 The People's Liberation Army 4 6 The post-Mao reform 3 Post-Mao reforms 7 The consequences of the reform 3 8 Greater China 3 9 China's foreign policy 3 10 China's current and future challenges 2 Revision 2 TOTAL 36 As you can see, although there are ten units, some of them are grouped together in blocks because they deal with a major area of study.
The course begins with political history. Unit 1 evaluates China's political legacy since the fall of the Qing Dynasty. The emphasis is on the rise of communism in China and the eventual victory of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after 28 years of armed struggle. Unit 2 revisits some of the major historical events of the PRC from its founding until the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, for example the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.
The next group of units is the core of the course, which deals with the social-political system in the PRC. Unit 3 is about the CCP. As you know, being the sole ruling party in China, the CCP is the core of the political system. No knowledge of contemporary Chinese politics can be achieved without a study of the CCP. First, the unit tries to establish the link between China's traditional political culture and the Party's ideology. Then it describes in detail the basic features of China's party politics. The following unit analyses China's government bureaucracy, and the interlocking relations between the Party and the state. It also assesses the functions of the Constitution, the National People's Congress (the legislature) and the State Council. Unit 5 introduces to you China's unique civil/military relations, with an emphasis on the role of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in national politics. It evaluates China's defence policy, military strategy and weapons modernization efforts.
The next two units are designed to tackle China's post-Mao reforms. Unit 6 first analyses the guiding principle for, and the strategy of, the reform. It then moves to evaluate the Party and government reforms. China's economic reforms (industrial and rural) and its opening to the outside world are two other major components of the unit. It is these reforms that have been instrumental to affect a far-reaching transformation of the country's political, social and economic systems. The consequences of the reform amount to a quiet revolution from below, as it profoundly alters state-society relations. Logically, this is the theme of Unit 7, which introduces to you how the reform is changing relations between the central and local governments, and how the Party's ideological basis has been shifted from communism to nationalism. In discussing the outcome of the reform, there is one important question: Is China democratizing slowly, or does it have many unresolvable problems that tie it to another self-destructive cycle?
Unit 8 explores the concept of Greater China, namely the tripartite relations between the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The economic integration of the three places has an immediate bearing on your everyday life. Although culturally the concept of Greater China is easy to understand, politically, questions have been raised about the inadequacy of the concept. This considers the concept of Greater China from economic, cultural and political angles.
Unit 9 is about China's foreign policy. It first takes an evolutionary view of the PRC's foreign policy to date. Among the issues discussed is China's position in the Cold War Grand Triangle (China and the two superpowers). However, greater emphasis is placed on the post-Cold War era. Then the unit accounts for China's two major foreign policy strategies: the big power strategy and the regional strategy, designed to cope with the fluid international situation since the 1990s. Finally it looks at China's major bilateral relationships (e.g. those with the US and Japan).
The last unit, Unit 10, is the summary of the course. It evaluates China's journey in the 20th century: the achievements it can claim and lessons it has to learn. However, the main focus of this section is China's current situation: whether it is strong enough to gain a leading position in world affairs, and the problems it has to tackle to realize its national ambition. The big question is, however, without breakthroughs in reform, whether the current political and economic system is capable of overcoming these problems. Here you get the chance to predict China's future. You can make your judgement based on your assessment of China's potential and difficulties.
Aims of this course
As a Hong Konger you are probably familiar with Chinese politics. Media coverage of the country is abundant, allowing you to learn more about what is happening in China than many ordinary Chinese. Through providing a sophisticated and critical review of China's political development in the 20th century, set within the context of its cultural tradition, this course aims to help you piece together what you already know, in a more systematic manner. More importantly, I hope that it will help you understand better what reality is for China now and in the near future, thus sharpening your analytical power to determine by yourself what is the best for the country in general and for Hong Kong in particular.
Course learning outcomes
On completing CHST A322 Governing China, you should be able to:
Give an account of the struggle between the CCP and the GMD, and explain why the CCP defected the GMD in 1949.
Analyse Chinese political history under the Mao Zedong era from 1949 to 1976, and explain Mao's ideas of building communism.
Give an account of the structures and operational principles of the CCP, the Chinese Government and the People's Liberation Army; and discuss their inter-relationships.
Describe and analyse the guiding principle of China's post-Mao reform.
Discuss the concept of Greater China, specifically the tripartite relations between mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and examine China's perception of the outside world.
Explain the complicated nature of China's transition away from the communist political system, and discuss the problems associated with the transition.
| Course materials | |
In addition to this Course Guide, you will be provided with the materials listed below.
Study units
The course is conducted through ten study units, each with its own theme and emphasis. You are strongly advised to spend no less than 30 hours on average on each of these units. They guide your reading of the textbook and the supplementary readings (see below). During your reading time you digest the main points of the reading material, analyse various questions related to the topic of each unit and compare different interpretations on the issues offered by the course. The activities enable you to deepen your understanding of the topic. The course provides you with some answers or hints to the questions in order to guide your own search, but you are encouraged to approach these with a critical mind. You need to know that these answers and hints are designed to help you focus on key concepts and arguments from the readings. You are also encouraged to read outside the course when possible.
Set textbook and resource readings
Lieberthal, K (2004) Governing China: From Revolution through Reform, New York: WW Norton & Company.
The Open University provides the study units for CHST A322 Governing China, which are organized around the set textbook. But at this level of study, one textbook cannot provide you with all of the different perspectives and information you need to develop your own analytical skills. Some units, therefore, include supplementary readings in the readings file. Sometimes, if these readings are particularly demanding, I comment on them and guide you through them. At other times, you are expected to use them as a resource, to supplement the reading and activities you undertake in the unit. You should also refer to them when writing your assignments.
In addition to these supplementary readings, I provide lists of further reading at the end of each unit. These publications are available in the OUHK library, and although you are not required to refer to them, you will find that doing so will enrich your study.
Assignment File
There are four assignments for this course. You can find them in your Assignment File. More information is provided under the heading 'Assignments' in this Course Guide. Please read it through carefully.
Presentation Schedule
A Presentation Schedule is available on the Online Learning Environment (OLE). It informs you about the dates for completing assignments, attending tutorials, day schools, and so on.
| Assessment | |
You should make self-assessment of your progress from time to time in accordance with the questions and activities in the study units. Your tutor will assess assignments included in the Assignment File. In answering self-test questions and doing the assignments, you should grasp key concepts, work out clear hypotheses, and link your hypotheses to the topic of the unit.
Assignments
There are four assignments for the course. Each assignment consists of an essay of 1,500 to 2,000 words. You should work out a theme for your essay and elaborate on it in a piece of well-structured writing. The best three of the four assignment grades will count towards 50% of the total course grade.
Final examination and grading
The final examination for CHST A322 Governing China is three hours, and is 50% of the total course mark. The examination paper consists of five questions. You are required to answer only THREE questions. All questions carry equal marks.
| Tutors and tutorials | |
Your tutor for this course will follow your progress closely by reading your essays and other assignments. He or she will make comments and marks on your written work. There will also be 11 two-hour tutorials in this course. Tutorials are the best setting for you to engage the tutor and mix with other students. During the tutorials you can point out to the tutors where your difficulties are, either personal or academic, and what your expectation is for the course. Needless to say, you are also encouraged to take advantage of other forms of communication: telephone, email and fax.
Getting the most out of this course
This course focuses on China's political and economic development since the mid-20th century. You learn how the country was engulfed by a bloody revolution in the first half of the century, ruled under a proletarian dictatorship in the next three decades and led to a painfully difficult transition as seen at the dawn of the new millennium. The long historical evolution of China in this century makes this course very rich in contents and colourful in interpretations. By the end of the day, you will find that you are bombarded by a large body of knowledge. Therefore, absorbing the best you can from the course becomes a major challenge, given the limited time and energy you can make available to pursue the study. In a way, the learning has to be an art of selection. You exercise your best judgement about what to concentrate on. Of course this is a difficult task ahead of you. Your instructors and tutors will try their best to help you out. And I have tried to help, too. For each unit they will identify the central theme, the major points associated with the theme and a few core concepts which you should develop clear definitions for.
They will also provide a list of reference readings for you to do assignments, and answer your questions as effectively as they can. For your part, it is of course up to you to make your participation in this course rewarding. You need to fulfil the course requirements faithfully and creatively. All this cannot be achieved without a high level of cooperation between you and us.
| Conclusion | |
CHST A322 Governing China introduces you to basic knowledge of how China is run, who governs it and what evolutionary course it is embarking on now. Questions are raised about the direction it may take in the future. They seem like simple questions, but as you will find out, the answers are very complicated. Looking for them should be a fascinating and challenging experience.
One last thing I'd like to say about the course is how to approach an academic subject that has generated enormous controversial debate. I think that you should try to strike a balance between being non-judgemental, objective and factual on the one hand, and being critical on the other. This may be difficult, but you should at least be conscious that you are engaged in an academic exercise. This is where political science differs from politics.
Finally, I wish you good luck in your challenging endeavour ahead. Let us work closely together and make it an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
| A note about the developer of this course | |
The developer, Dr You Ji, is a graduate of Peking University and holds a doctorate from the Australian National University. He is author of three books: The Modernisation of Chinese Military in the Hi-tech Era (1996), China's Enterprise Reform: Changing State/Society Relations since Mao (1997) and The Armed Forces of China (1999). He has also published numerous journal articles and book chapters in English on China's political, economic, military and foreign affairs.
