Western perspectives on the People's Republic of China : politics, economy and society / Colin Mackerras.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mackerras, Colin, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

China--Foreign public opinion.

China.

China--History--1949-.

China--Foreign relations--Foreign public opinion.

China--Economic policy--Foreign public opinion.

China--Population policy--Foreign public opinion.

China--Environmental aspects--Foreign public opinion.

National characteristics, Chinese.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (272 p.)

Place of Publication:

Hackensack, New Jersey : World Scientific, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"How have Westerners seen the People's Republic of China over the years? The question raises many important issues, which this book aims to present, analyze and explain. The basic conclusion is that Western perspectives are somewhat more complex than simply viewing China's realities. Involved also are politics and power relations, trends in journalism and scholarship, as well as individual and group personalities and psychologies. Based on extensive personal experiences in China dating back to 1964 and wide-ranging travel in Tibet and ethnic regions since the 1980s, the author attempts to distinguish trends in different Western countries. However, most of the material will concern the United States, which has been the dominant contributor to Western perspectives during the whole period of concern to this book. The perspectives are taken up by topic, including politics, economy, society, and ethnic minorities. Inherent in each topic is the way cultures see and react towards each other. Images and perspectives can affect policy, and have done so many times in the past, which adds to the importance of this book. It also takes up questions of the sources of Western perspectives, both in terms of direct sources, such as newspapers, television or the internet, and deeper ones, such as social values and temperament."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Contents; List of Tables; About the Author; Chapter 1. Introduction; The Sources of Perspectives: Theoretical Framework; The Literature: Why Is This Book Different?; Methodology; Development of the Media; Some General Points; Conclusions; Chapter 2. Historical Background; The Eighteenth Century; The Nineteenth Century; The First Half of the Twentieth Century; American perspectives on China; Non-American Western perspectives; Conclusion; Chapter 3. Political and International Relations Perspectives on China, 1949-1971; The Context; The Formulation of Perspectives/Images

Perspectives from 1949 to 1966A repressive regime; Soviet domination; An aggressive China; Some personal experiences and impressions; The Cultural Revolution and Western Images; Some mainstream images; Conclusion; Chapter 4. Trends in Political and Foreign Relations Perspectives on China, 1971-2001; The Context; Two Major Oscillations in Perspectives on China; Major Issues; Leadership and perspectives on Deng Xiaoping; Human rights; Governance; The image of the "China threat"?; Some Personal Impressions; Conclusion

Chapter 5. Political and General Western Perspectives on China in the Twenty-First CenturyThe Context; The Formulation of Perspectives; The Rise of China; China as a potential threat; Some specific issues relevant to the "China threat"; Some further survey popular images on China's influence; China's relations with Africa; Democracy and Human Rights; Human rights; The Beijing Olympics of 2008; The lead-up to the Games; The Olympic Games themselves; Expectations of the Future; The near-term future; The longer-term future; Conclusion

Chapter 6. Perspectives on the Chinese Economy, Population Policy and Environment to the End of the Twentieth CenturyThe Economy under Mao; Population issues; The environment; The 1980s and 1990s; Perspectives on China's population policy; The impact of reform policies on the environment; Some Personal Impressions; Conclusion; Chapter 7. The Twenty-First Century: Perspectives on the Chinese Economy, Population Issues and Environment; The Economy: Western Views of Domestic Growth; What Does China's Economic Growth Mean for the Outside World?; Two related images; An Australian perspective

Involvement in Africa and BrazilThe Environment and Population; Copenhagen 2009; The environment more broadly; Population; Conclusion; Chapter 8. Socio-cultural Perspectives on the People's Republic of China; Socio-cultural Perspectives to the Late 1970s; Family and women, including personal impressions; Religion, including some personal impressions; The Reform Period; Soft power; Family, women; Personal impressions of family and women; Religion and traditional thinking; Perspectives on the Internet; Film images; Conclusion; Chapter 9. Perspectives on the Ethnic Minorities

Western Perspectives on Tibet and the Tibetan Areas

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed April 16, 2015).

ISBN:

981-4566-55-1

OCLC:

907289839