China Country Profile
China is the world's most populous country, with a
culture of nearly 4,000 years.
Many of the elements that make up the foundation of
the modern world originated in China,
including paper, gunpowder, credit banking, the compass and paper money.
After decades under the rigid rule of Communist leader
Mao Tse-Tung, China now has the world's
fastest-growing economy and is undergoing what is described as a second
industrial revolution.
Facts
·
Full name: People's Republic of China
·
Population: 1.35 billion (UN, 2010)
·
Capital: Beijing
·
Largest city: Shanghai
·
Area: 9.6 million sq km (3.7 million sq miles)
·
Major language: Mandarin Chinese
·
Major religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Taoism
·
Life expectancy: 72 years (men), 76 years (women) (UN)
·
Monetary unit: 1 Renminbi (yuan) (Y) = 10 jiao = 100 fen;
·
Main exports: Manufactured goods, including textiles, garments,
electronics, arms
·
GNI per capita: US $3,590 (World Bank, 2009)
·
Internet domain: .cn
·
International
dialling code: +86
The People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded in 1949
after the Communist Party defeated the previously dominant nationalist Kuomintang
in a civil war. The Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan,
creating two rival Chinese states - the PRC on the mainland and the Republic of
China based on Taiwan.
Beijing says the island
of Taiwan is a part of
Chinese territory that must be reunited with the mainland. The claim led to
tension and threats of invasion, but since 2008 the two governments have moved
towards a more cooperative atmosphere.
The leadership of Mao Tse-Tung supervised the often
brutal implementation of a Communist vision of society. Millions died in the
Great Leap Forward - a programme of state control over agriculture and rapid
industrialisation - and the Cultural Revolution, a chaotic attempt to eliminate
elements seen as hostile to Communist rule.
However, Mao's death in 1976 initiated in a new
leadership and economic reform. In the early 1980s the government dismantled
collective farming and again allowed private enterprise.
The rate of economic change hasn't been matched by
political reform, with the Communist Party - the world's biggest political
party - retaining its monopoly on power and maintaining strict control over the
people. The authorities still look for any signs of opposition and send
dissidents to labour camps.
Economy
Nowadays China is one of the world's top exporters
and is attracting record amounts of foreign investment. In turn, it is
investing billions of dollars abroad.
The collapse in international export during the global
financial crisis of 2009 initially hit China hard, but its economy was
among the first in the world to recover, quickly returning to growth. In
February 2011 it formally overtook Japan to become the world's
second-largest economy.
Some Chinese fear that the rise of private enterprise
and the reduction of state-run industries carries heavy social costs such as
unemployment and instability.
Moreover, the fast-growing economy has fuelled the
demand for energy. China is
the largest oil consumer after the US, and the world's biggest
producer and consumer of coal. It spends billions of dollars in pursuit of
foreign energy supplies. There has been a massive investment in hydro-power,
including the $25bn Three Gorges Dam project.
Social discontent
The economic disparity between urban China and the
rural hinterlands is among the largest in the world. In recent decades many
poor rural dwellers have flocked to the country's eastern cities, which have
enjoyed a construction boom.
China's economic transformation has not been joined by
political change
Social discontent manifests itself in protests by
farmers and workers.
Other pressing problems include corruption, which
affects every level of society, and the growing rate of HIV infection. A
downside of the economic boom has been environmental degradation; China is home
to many of the world's most-polluted cities.
Human rights
Human rights campaigners continue to criticise China for
executing hundreds of people every year and for failing to stop torture. The
country rejects what it sees as dissent among its ethnic minorities, including
Muslim Uighurs in the north-west.
Chinese rule over Tibet is controversial. Human
rights groups accuse the authorities of the systematic destruction of Tibetan
Buddhist culture and the persecution of monks loyal to the Dalai Lama, the
exiled spiritual leader who is campaigning for autonomy within China.
China is the largest media market in the world, and has the
world's largest online population.
Outlets operate under tight Communist Party control.
The opening-up of the industry has extended to distribution and advertising,
not to editorial content. However, there is certain freedom for independent
coverage that is not perceived as a threat to social stability or the Party.
Thirty-four journalists across China were in
prison in December 2010, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ). They included Uighur and Tibetan journalists who covered ethnic issues
and violent unrest.
Beijing tries to limit access to foreign news by restricting
rebroadcasting and the use of satellite receivers. Ordinary readers have no
access to foreign newspapers.
China online: Surveillance, censorship are extensive
457m internet users by end-2010 (official figure)
Reporters Without Borders lists China as an "enemy of the
internet"
There are more than 2,000 newspapers. Each city has
its own title, usually published by the local government, as well as a local
Communist Party daily. There are an estimated 1,000 state-owned radio stations.
With nearly 1.2 billion viewers, TV is a popular news
source and the sector is competitive, especially in cities. State-run Chinese
Central TV (CCTV) is China's
largest media company. Its provincial and municipal stations offer a total of
around 2,100 channels. China
is a major market for pay-TV, which is almost entirely delivered by cable.
China spends hugely on TV, radio, online and press outlets
targeted at international audiences, aiming to extend its political influence
and boost its image. It is less keen to allow foreign players into the domestic
market.
With 457 million surfers at the end of 2010 (China
Internet Network Information Centre), China has the world's largest net-using
population. Social networking has seen phenomenal growth; the leader is Sina
Weibo, a microblog platform. The top search engine is Baidu.
China has an extensive web filtering system. It blocks tens
of thousands of sites.
Thousands of cyber-police watch the web. Internet
cafes are closely monitored. Filtering targets material deemed politically and
socially sensitive. Blocked resources include Facebook, Twitter, and human
rights sites.
The press
·
Jiefangjun
Bao - People's Liberation Army daily, web pages in English
·
Gongren Ribao
(Workers' Daily) - state-run
·
Nongmin Ribao
(Farmers' Daily) - state-run, agricultural and rural issues
Television
Radio
·
China Radio
International - state-run external broadcaster, programmes in more
than 40 languages, notably to Taiwan
and Korea
News agency
·
Xinhua (New
China News Agency) - state-run, web pages in English
ACTIVITY
Read the information above and answer the
following questions about China.
1)
What
important event triggered China’s
current economic revolution?
2)
Which
aspect of China
does not match such rapid growth?
3)
What
other country became the world’s third largest economy?
4)
According
to some Chinese people, what could cause unemployment?
5)
What
is the reason for the construction boom in the eastern cities?
6)
What
negative impact has the economic growth had?
7)
Is
respect for human rights ensured? How?
8)
Nowadays
China
invests huge amounts of money on what kind of media?
9)
Why
is Internet access limited to the Chinese?
10)
In
your opinion, is China’s
sudden growth a positive one?
