Official China Discussion Thread

There didn't seem too be a thread for this large, diverse country , so I figured I would start one. when we talk about China it's as if it's this monolithic entity. But that's not true. China is incredibly diverse - the sheer number of different cultures within it escapes most people. This is one of the things I'd like to discuss , as well as how that affects China's role in the world.

I'd also like to discuss China's politics . How exactly does it government work, how has that changed , and how might that be different from how we perceive it?

Th reason I ask this stuff is partially out of curiosity , but I'd also like a better perspective on the South China Sea conflict

You are aware that there are threads for East Asia (although I'll grant that China is probably big and diverse enough to deserve it's own thread and for Asian maritime conflicts already?

I'm sure that he was aware of that. I'm going to interpret the OP as specifying a focus on Chinese internal or domestic issues and politics, rather than the foriegn policy focus of those other threads (please correct me if I'm wrong OP).

So, to start us off, how about a discussion of the Uiger issue? China must get its Uygur policy right if it is to woo the Muslim world

Although "Wooing the Muslim World" isnt exactly the policy focus I would like the see the Chinese concern themselves with (I think it's more about human rights) but that's probably an unrealistic expectation for the CP, so if this gets them to change their approach, I'm all for it.

I'm actually hoping we can have discussions about China here that don't constantly involve theories about their military strength and force projection, so I welcome this thread with open arms. There is quite a bit I have to say about the Uyghur people. It's something I've formally and informally researched in great detail, but I don't have time to post much right now.

For now, this video is a useful overview of modern China. My Chinese language professor personally recommends it.

edited 20th Jul '15 8:05:56 AM by Aprilla

Well. It is not about China but it is Chinese.

Whatever. Here is some Chinese learning method that has grown some fame as of late.

It is called Chineasy. SORRY I KNOW NOTHING OF MODERN CHINA.

Everyone: when I made the East Asia thread, I also put a focus on internal matters within the countries (e.g. corruption trials in these recent years).

So, this thread feels kinda redundant to me, imo.

I'm afraid that didnt last.

The thing about the Uigers, the Chinese gov't cant afford to allow them any sense of ethnic identity, because in the eyes of the party political legitimacy is a zero sum game. It's the same story with the Tibetans.

That's another thing I wanted to ask about. The "party". Just how politically unified are they?

And Quag, technically there's also a Japanese Culture thread , so this could be seen as something like. You could also argue China covers a greater area than the East Asia region

Well, do you want to talk about Chinese culture specifically? Or the Party (which has been talked about a lot in the East Asia thread)? Can you see my perspective here (if not, I'll clarify)?

edited 20th Jul '15 12:20:31 PM by Quag15

From the OP:

This seems distinct from what has been discussed in the East Asia thread, which hasn't really discussed China's different cultures.

If the focus is not on its relationship/comparison to Korea/Japan, I don't think this thread is redundant.

Ok, if it's the cultures here, it's allright. It's just that the other thread already has discussions on the Party and some internal trouble (the thread also dealt with internal stuff in Japan and South Korea), hence my initial idea of this feeling a bit redundant.

I'm not a mod, anyway, so, it's not up to me to judge. Just my opinion, anyway.

I think a good line between these threads would be that this one is (mostly) about China's internal politics (and culture and so on) while the East Asia thread deals with China as a member of that region (and thus will cover most of China's foreign politics).

EDIT: And to mirror the above post a bit, I am a Mod but this post is still meant to be taken as a suggestion.

edited 20th Jul '15 7:19:47 PM by BestOf

Don't forget China's (both internal and external) economy in that thread. It has been discussed there since the first page.

I suppose that stuff would be going into this thread, then.

I get your point about redundancy but to be honest East Asia is already massive without China, and China of course is massive by itself, so I'd imagine we'd have enough stuff for both threads. The other one still doesn't have to be "East Asia (Except China)" or anything. A bit of overlap doesn't hurt, and some China-related items will more naturally flow into the other thread than it will into this one.

Fair enough. Whatever floats on specific contexts.

Can we also discuss Chinese-American issues here too? Or is this thread Chinese-only?

Or rather, Chinese ethnic Westerners.

Forget I said anything.

edited 20th Jul '15 7:58:47 PM by blkwhtrbbt

Thump

I was wondering if this was a good place to also discuss Chinese history , since that's also a part of their culture , and something that tends to get glossed over in school.

May I formally petition for the OP to change the title of thread to the "General China & Taiwan Discussion Thread" due to the Unfortunate Implications of the Republic of China/Taiwan's recognition status should the island country be discussed in this thread?

China feared CIA worked with Sheldon Adelson's Macau casinos to snare officials

Taiwan should probably be discussing in the general East Asia thread, likewise the Taiwan/China issue is very much a multi-nation issue and as such should be discussed there.

I agree with the above. Taiwan goes in the East Asia thread, as do its interactions with China.

I am aware of how problematic the usage of the single-word "China" to refer to the People's Republic of China is, but that usage is so common that there really is no ambiguity. If you want to talk about the Republic of China just say Taiwan. It's not entirely fair but I think common usage can (and in this case should) trump politics.

The folks I know who are from the island republic refer to it Taiwan. Ethnically they call themselves "hua(2) ren(2)", or "Chinese race"

Politically, they speak of "China" and "Taiwan" separately. Mainlanders emphasize this distinction much less

I don't know ho to change the thread title

A moderator has to do it. What is the requested title?

I don't see the need to change it.

General China & Taiwan Discussion Thread

My argument for such a change was that relations and history between the People's Republic of China and the ROC/Taiwan are so intertwined and affected by one another that it's basically inevitable that discussions about the two arise within this thread - however, the singular presence of the term "China" in the original title may let out an Unfortunate Implication that Taiwan/the ROC lacks the geopolitical legitimacy to be included in the title.