China’s communist government apparently isn’t quite as big, strong and scary as most Americans may like to believe.
The 2007 book, “China: Fragile Superpower,” was the topic of discussion by its author Susan Shirk, former deputy assistant secretary of state, at the most recent E.N. Thompson Forum.
Today, the world’s fastest-growing economy belongs to communist China — a fact that causes anxiety in many Western countries.
“China’s GDP (gross domestic product) per capita, even with such a large population, has risen dramatically,” Shirk said.
Shirk’s book focuses on the paradox faced by Chinese leaders: the more developed and prosperous the country becomes, the more insecure and threatened they feel.
“What I try to do in this book is to put us in the shoes of Chinese politicians,” Shirk said. “From outside of China, the rulers seem larger than life, but I believe that in reality they’re more like scared little children.”
Shirk has studied Chinese politics and its major politicians, and she knows many of the Chinese leaders personally. She is also the director of the University of California’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation and professor at UC-San Diego’s Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies.
One difference between the United States and China politically is that “our politicians have to worry about re-election; all Chinese politicians have to worry about is the survival of the Communist Party,” Shirk said.
“China is internally fragile,” Shirk said. “It can no longer keep track of the people (due to massive urbanization), let alone control them.”
Interestingly enough, there are major differences in this Communist Party, as compared to most similar governments.
“Never before have you had a Communist Party trying to exist in a vibrant market economy,” Shirk said. “It’s a compassionate communism. They have to maintain control by constantly reassuring the people that they care and have the best interests in mind.”
Many political science students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln took this opportunity to learn a little about China’s “fragile internal politics.”
“It was interesting,” said Seth Trenchard, a junior political science major. “There’s this idea of China’s Communist Party being completely totalitarian, when really the immense pressure stems from the need to stay on top of the problem, rather than squash it.”
“The talk was pretty enlightening if you don’t know much about Chinese internal politics,” Trenchard said.
Jillian Rivera, a freshman political science major, found the talk engaging, as well.
“It was particularly interesting for me because I’ve never really thought about the Chinese government being insecure,” she said.
Shirk closed by affirming the crowd in attendance that “we need to see China clearly, and our politicians need to realize that American words and actions reverberate through China.”
jacegatzemeyer@dailynebraskan.com
Be the first to comment on this article!