Ecb at 12:01, 17 June 2010

Ecb — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:01:27 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:01, 17 June 2010
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	[[Category:East Asia]]		[[Category:East Asia]]
	[[Category:Chinese Bloc]]		[[Category:Chinese Bloc]]
-	~~[[Category:Great Powers]]~~
	* '''Population:''' 1.4 billion		* '''Population:''' 1.4 billion
	* '''Aspects:''' Very Stable, Great Power, Repressive, Third Wave		* '''Aspects:''' Very Stable, Great Power, Repressive, Third Wave

Ecb at 12:01, 17 June 2010

Ecb — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:01:01 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:01, 17 June 2010
Line 3:		Line 3:
	[[Category:East Asia]]		[[Category:East Asia]]
	[[Category:Chinese Bloc]]		[[Category:Chinese Bloc]]
		+	[[Category:Great Powers]]
	* '''Population:''' 1.4 billion		* '''Population:''' 1.4 billion
	* '''Aspects:''' Very Stable, Great Power, Repressive, Third Wave		* '''Aspects:''' Very Stable, Great Power, Repressive, Third Wave

Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Nations Category:Asia Category:East Asia Category:Chinese Bloc * '''Population:''' 1.4 billion * '''Aspects:''' Very Stable, Great Power, Repressive, Thi…'

Ecb — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 02:17:51 GMT

Created page with 'Category:Nations Category:Asia Category:East Asia Category:Chinese Bloc * '''Population:''' 1.4 billion * '''Aspects:''' Very Stable, Great Power, Repressive, Thi…'

New page

[[Category:Nations]]
[[Category:Asia]]
[[Category:East Asia]]
[[Category:Chinese Bloc]]
* '''Population:''' 1.4 billion
* '''Aspects:''' Very Stable, Great Power, Repressive, Third Wave
* '''Notes:''' Free in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan special administrative regions. Fourth Wave in Guangzhou, Macau, and Taiwan. Fifth Wave in Hong Kong.
Just as the 20th century was often called “the American
century,” the 21st can be considered “the Chinese century.”
Today’s China is the most powerful single
nation-state on the planet. It is not the most populous, the
most technologically advanced or the most prosperous
nation. Even so, the People’s Republic stands near the top
in all three of these measures, and thus has the largest
economy in the world. Meanwhile, it enjoys internal unity
and a sense of national purpose that multiply its effectiveness
in world affairs.

The People’s Republic was originally a Communist
state. In 2100 state power remains with the National People’s
Congress, which is still dominated by the Chinese
Communist Party. Despite the name, the Party has
evolved far from Mao Zedong’s version of Communism.
China remains an authoritarian state, in which political
and civil rights are limited in order to protect the Party’s
domination. The Chinese people do enjoy a variety of
civil and economic rights, especially in the “special
administrative regions” of Guangzhou, Hong Kong,
Macau, and Taiwan. Privately owned business is the
main driver of the economy. Indeed, since about 2050
the senior Party leadership has been composed primarily
of successful businessmen.

The Chinese system of governance has changed in
other ways as well, allowing regions within the state
greater independence. At the beginning of the century,
there was already considerable tension between China’s
highly centralized political
system and its decentralized
economic system.
About 2010, a new generation
of Communist Party
leadership began to deliberately
loosen the grip of
the central government.
Henceforth, portions of
China would be permitted
to experiment with
democracy or other “dangerous”
ideas, so long as
the experiments were safely
limited in geographical scope and the authority of the Party
was not threatened.

This careful opening to new political ideas had some
precedent in the “one country, two systems” rule under
which Hong Kong and Macau had been allowed to retain
democratic institutions. Soon the notion faced its sternest
test, as the Chinese government opened negotiations with
its “renegade province” on Taiwan. The so-called Republic
of China was offered almost total internal autonomy, its
democratic and free-market institutions to be left intact. In
exchange, foreign and defense policy would be turned over
to the Beijing government, although Taiwan was guaranteed
representation in the appropriate ministries.

The negotiations went surprisingly well. Although
there was an active independence movement on Taiwan,
the ruling Kuomintang party had always supported the
idea of eventual reunification. Reassured that they would
not be robbed of their hard-won democracy, many Taiwanese
supported reunification on the grounds of common
culture. Reunification was complete by 2022.

Strict state controls have tended to make Chinese
adoption of Third Wave technologies rather slow. To this
day, ordinary citizens outside the “special regions” are not
permitted to use advanced privacy technology. The state
has traditionally made large investments in systems which
allow it to monitor telecommunications traffic and otherwise
track the activities of its citizens. “Abuse” of web
technology is a serious offense in most parts of the People’s
Republic.

On the other hand, since the 2020s China has been
a leader in the area of biotechnology. Bioengineering
was applied to agriculture early and on a massive scale,
making China a world leader in agricultural exports as
early as 2035. Human cloning, variant human genotypes,
and bioroid manufacture all gradually became
important elements of the Chinese economy. These
industries have made China an industrial
powerhouse, even without the universal
adoption of [[Fifth Wave]] technology. Of
course, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan
all have advanced Fifth Wave
economies, and represent the leading
edge of Chinese industry.

The Chinese government strives for
self-sufficiency in world affairs, despite
extensive economic ties to the rest of the
world community and full participation in
most international organizations. The People’s
Republic follows its own diplomatic
course, rejecting any “interference” from
outside and refusing to form substantive
alliances with any other nation. For their
part, the Chinese people are not entirely
happy with their own government, but
most are patriotic and distrustful of foreigners.
Most think of China as a nation
set apart, dedicated to carving out its own
destiny without the help (or interference)
of others.

For over 20 years China has been
engaged in political and covert maneuvering
on a grand scale, less to build an
empire of its own than to prevent any of its
rivals from building a strong anti-Chinese
position. Today Chinese agents might be
found almost anywhere in the world, ferreting
out secrets, trying to manipulate
national politics, or supporting friendly
movements in the local population.

China - Revision history

Ecb at 12:01, 17 June 2010

Ecb at 12:01, 17 June 2010

Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Nations Category:Asia Category:East Asia Category:Chinese Bloc * '''Population:''' 1.4 billion * '''Aspects:''' Very Stable, Great Power, Repressive, Thi…'