https://conservapedia.com/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=DSmith 2026-06-18T08:35:56Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.24.2 https://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Conservapedia:Debate_Topics&diff=680694 2009-07-04T01:18:41Z

<p>DSmith: /* Historical debates */ ; removed link to non-existant page</p> <hr /> <div>'''Debate topic suggestions, organized so that it's not necessary to delete them.'''<br /> <br /> (Note: If some topic is miscategorized, it can be cut and pasted without affecting the relevant links.)<br /> <br /> ==Philosophical debates==<br /> # [[Debate:Can Conservapedia become the next Wikipedia, is this good or bad]]<br /> # [[Debate:If there is no objective truth, then is the claim &quot;there is no objective truth&quot; also not an objective truth?]]<br /> # [[Conservapedia:Does History Matter?|Does History Matter?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is a first cause of a process necessary, always possible, or sometimes impossible?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Can Objectivism develop beyond Ayn Rand's original formulation?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Can any man live without some code of morality?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does the universe include everything, or does something outside the universe exist?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Why is there something rather than nothing?]]<br /> # [[Conservapedia:Stem Cells| Embryonic Stem Cells: Why or why not?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Why Reason?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Why does the conservative media often an ugly undertone?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should pharmacists be forced to fill legal prescriptions they personally object to on moral grounds?]]<br /> # [[Debate:What is the real love?]]<br /> # [[Debate:who created God?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Why have conservatives let themselves get a bad name?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Is it possible for God to be timeless?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Is it possible for man to live a moral life without religion?]]<br /> # [[Debate: How do conservatives view the Open Source movement and software?]]<br /> # [[Debate: At what point does &quot;Human&quot; life begin?]]<br /> <br /> ==Religious debates==<br /> # [[Debate:Does God punish sinners for eternity?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Should certain books be banned from libraries?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Is communism founded on Christian doctrine?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should the first story of creation be read allegorically or literally?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is Scientology a false religion?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Why do Moses, Ezra, Jesus, and Paul all disagree on divorce?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Did Jesus ever claim to be God?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Grave errors/inconsistencies in the Bible make literal translation worthless.]]<br /> # [[Debate:Was Jesus born in the right time and place?]]<br /> # [[Debate:What does Christianity say about homosexuality?]]<br /> # [[Debate:If God does not exist, can anything be morally wrong?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is it wrong to have a Christmas tree?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Did God create evil?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Which Christian denomination is the most true to the central teachings of Christianity?]] <br /> # [[Debate:If Jesus were alive to day, where on the political spectrum would he fall?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should Religion Play a Large Role in Modern Societies?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does the Bible (Old and the New Testament) have the infallible words of God?]] <br /> # [[Debate:AntiSemitism]] <br /> # [[Debate:Does Intelligent Design deny the Existence of God?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Could God create a rock so heavy that he himself could not lift it?]]<br /> # [[Debate:What is the relationship between religion and the human tendency to kill each other?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Natural Disaster versus Act of God]]<br /> # [[Debate:What is the Sabbath day?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is it possible to be a conservative and not a religious person or even an atheist?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Why do we still perform Baptisms?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does the Resurrection negate Gods Sacrifice of his only son?]]<br /> # [[Debate:If most Muslims learned their religion from their parents, just like us Christians, they will probably be hard to convert. So what can we do to save their souls?]]<br /> # [[Debate:If_most_Christians_learned_their_religion_from_their_parents%2C_just_like_us_Muslims%2C_they_will_probably_be_hard_to_convert._So_what_can_we_do_to_save_their_souls%3F|Debate:If most Christians learned their religion from their parents, just like us Muslims, they will probably be hard to convert. So what can we do to save their souls?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does mainstream Islam endorse violence?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is religion morally wrong?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does the Bible display poor ethics and morals?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Why the Bible|Debate:What makes the Bible a reliable source of knowledge besides tradition?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Why should we be afraid of God?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Do conservative Christians have an unquestioning faith which is comparable to that of the Party in the book 1984?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Antisemitism]]<br /> # [[Debate:Are Christianity and the Bible superior to other religions and scriptures?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is &quot;Coercive Interrogation&quot; consistent with Christian Values?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should all access to Conservapedia be banned on Sundays?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Mary Magdalene - First Witness to the Resurrection - Significance?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Was Christ a fundamentalist?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Atheism vs. Deism]]<br /> # [[Debate:Atheism vs. Pastafarianism]]<br /> # [[Debate:Why is homosexuality so bad?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Are Young Earth Creationists detracting others from the Faith?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Would the Flood and Noah's Ark cause inbreeding?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is there 1 God or are there many gods?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Can you be a true Christian and believe in evolution?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should gay marriage be allowed?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is atheism a religion?]]<br /> # [[Debate: If not naturalism, how do we decide which supernatural explanation is correct?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Are Catholics Christians?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Do Atheist believe they have a soul?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Were Judas' actions necessary and foreordained?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Is it possible to voluntarily convert one's religion?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Can Christianity exist without Apostles and Prophets?]]<br /> # [[Debate: What do you think about the violence in the Bible?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Could Christian denominations exist without the Catholic Church?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Which version of the Bible should be used as the authoritative reference on Conservapedia?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Should Christians celebrate Christmas?]]<br /> #[[Debate:Either God is indecisive or the world's major religions have ALL got it wrong]]<br /> #[[Debate:Creationist]]<br /> #[[Debate:Did Joan of Arc truly hear voices?]]<br /> #[[Debate:Do ALL suicides go to hell?]]<br /> #[[Debate:Epicurus' Trilemma]]<br /> #[[Debate: Why does God care if we worship Him or not? Is it His ego?]]<br /> <br /> ==Historical debates==<br /> # [[Debate:Was Benjamin Franklin a deist?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Was the European colonization of the Americas good for the native people?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Was President George H. W. Bush wrong to leave Saddam in power in 1991?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Which was worse? the Civil War and it's effects or slavery?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Why are most actors turned politicians Republicans?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Did the Founding Fathers intend to apply their personal faith to the nation &quot;As an institution&quot;?]]<br /> <br /> ==Political debates==<br /> # [[Debate:Does Abstinence Only Education help or hurt us?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is homosexuality responsible for totalitarianism?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Did the Founders have a religious motive?]]<br /> # [[Debate: To what extent should we have obscenity laws]]<br /> # [[Debate: Is communism founded on Christian doctrine?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Why do we still have an embargo on Cuba?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Has Britain Declined?]] <br /> # [[Debate:Is illegal immigration control the answer to illegal immigration?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Has Britain become the 51st State of the US?]]<br /> # [[Debate:You think these Phd's are nuts?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does the European Union pose a threat to the United States?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Which is true; progressive Liberal or regressive liberal]]<br /> # [[Debate:Define torture]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should the United States have entered World War I?]] <br /> # [[Debate:Should the United States have entered World War II?]] <br /> # [[Debate:Should the United States have eliminated communism in North Korea|Debate:Should the United States have eliminated communism in North Korea as General Douglas MacArthur wanted?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Was the United States right to drop atomic bombs so quickly on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Was it wrong for him to allow the attack in order to wake up the American public and motivate Americans to fight and win the war?|Debate:If President Roosevelt had known about the Pearl Harbor attack in advance, would it have been wrong for him to allow the attack in order to wake up the American public and motivate Americans to fight and win the war?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is gun-control the answer to crimes involving guns?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Was world war inevitable?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does &quot;free trade&quot; increase wealth rather than simply redistribute it?]] <br /> # [[Debate:Is it even possible to install democracy in a Muslim country?]] <br /> # [[Debate:Is democracy even possible in Iraq?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should we have given the Panama Canal back to Panama?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should the United States leave the United Nations?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Crusades... Good or Bad?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Was American soldier Michael New right to refuse to fight wearing part of a United Nations uniform?]] See [[Michael New]]<br /> # [[Debate:Which is a more powerful ideology, Islam or communism?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should the United States intervene in small countries to defeat communism there?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should public displays of the 10 Commandments be allowed under the constitution?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Which has the best philosophy of education: the public school system, private schools, or the home school movement?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should people genetically engineer a cure for homosexuality?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should We Support Democrats For Life.org?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Women in the Military?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should students learn a foreign language?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Why does the right side of the political spectrum tend to be more religous?|Debate:Why does the right side of the political spectrum tend to be more religious?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should there be a consistent standard on human rights applied to left and right?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should American companies be allowed to send their own troops into a war which America is participating in?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Giuliani's lack of social conservative viewpoints should not stop you from voting for him.]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is President Bush good for America?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is the Iraq War a success?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does single sex schooling promotes homesexuality?|Debate:Does Single sex schooling promote homosexuality?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is the murder of 3,000 people just a few or is it a lot? Does it make a difference if the murdered people are Americans?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does the media really have a liberal bias?]]<br /> # [[Debate:What kind of leader will Democrats make if they run from debates on Fox?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Are the Democrats capable of fighting terrorism?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Can a rogue nation be thought of as a sovereign nation?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Has Russia reinstalled stealth communism?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Do we all know what Democrat Presidential candidates stand for yet?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Define Civil War]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should gun sales to terror suspects be allowed?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is Darwinism liberal or is it conservative?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Why did God place most of the world's oil in politically unstable places?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Restoring the USA image in the world, just a fancy phrase that means zilch?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Placing the blame on how America got polarized]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is most government criticism really patriotic?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is environmentalism mostly about preserving natural resources?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is the conservative stance on illegal immigration going to loose the Hispanic vote for the GOP in the 08' election?]] <br /> # [[Debate:Third Party Debate]]<br /> # [[Debate:Who kills more innocent people: religious believers or atheists?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Preferred Democrat for the White House?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does Republican equal conservative? Does Democrat equal liberal?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Obama's preacher.]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should the United States begin Colonizing Space?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should the federal government have the power to define marriage?]]<br /> # [[Debate:The Declaration of Independence or Interdependence?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should the U.S.A. abide by a withdrawal timetable if the Iraqi Parliament votes for one?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should U.S. troops be subject to Iraqi law if that allows our continued presence there?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should government restrictions on smoking be tightened or rolled back?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is Sarah Palin an asset or a liability to John McCain's candidacy?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is a candidate's military record relevant anymore?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should politicians be allowed to misspeak?]]<br /> # [[Debate: What is sufficient proof that Obama is a Muslim?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is Obama a Muslim?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Was McCain's threat to pull out of the debates a political stunt?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Are Cantonese people a non-Chinese ethnic group?]]<br /> # [[Debate:If Obama Was Conservative]]<br /> # [[Debate:What level of Gun Control is appropriate?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is the Bush administration's Conscience Rule a step forward or backward for U.S. Healthcare?]]<br /> # [[Debate: Why do political views appear to be correlated with others?]]<br /> #[[Debate:What should be America's policy toward Islam]]?<br /> #[[Debate:Is the American Occupation of the Hawaiian Islands justified?]]<br /> #[[Debate:Was the American involvement in the Vietnam War justified?]]<br /> #[[Debate:Was the North right to prevent Southern secession in the US Civil War?]]<br /> #[[Debate:Is the 2009 Stimulus Plan the right approach, and if not what would be?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is Obama being unfairly criticized, or is too much being expected of our new president?]]<br /> # [[Is it possible to be conservative and know there is no possibility of there ever being a &quot;God&quot; and/or higher being?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is Obama an Atheist?]]<br /> <br /> ==Scientific debates==<br /> # [[Debate:Why haven't intelligent designists published a single scientific article?|Debate:If intelligent design is just as valid as evolution, where are all their scientific findings and publishings?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does Darwinian natural selection suggest that bigotry is a necessary self-defense mechanism?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does Darwinian natural selection suggest that homosexuality is bad for the survival of a species?]] <br /> # [[Debate:Is Darwinian natural selection compatible with Marxism?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is the theory of macroevolution true?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is Giving Birth the Bible Way Better?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should Creationism/Intelligent design be taught as a scientific alternative to evolution in public schools?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is global warming evident, and if so, is this the fault of man, and how must man stop it?]]<br /> # [[Debate:If the universe is young and it takes light millions of years to reach us from far off stars, how can we see them?]]<br /> # [[Debate:God, Earth and Global Warming]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is the evidence in favor of evolution convincing?|Is the evidence in favor of evolution convincing?]]<br /> # [[Debate:If the Bible didn't contain a creation story, would anyone even consider the idea of a young earth?|Debate:If the Bible didn't contain a creation story, would anyone even consider the idea of a young earth?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is Relativity in direct conflict with the Genesis account?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Who feels that scientific related articles should only reference published research papers instead of websites when dealing with research instead of application?]]<br /> # [[Debate:If it could be unambiguously demonstrated that man is NOT the most evolved animal, then would this support or refute ther idea of Creation by God?|Debate:If it could be unambiguously demonstrated that man is NOT the most evolved animal]]<br /> # [[Debate:Why are God's works always questioned?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Are there any elements of choice, when it comes to carrying out homosexual acts?|Debate:Are there any elements of choice]]<br /> # [[Debate:Listing the Earth's most pressing needs in urgent order of fixing]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is homosexuality a mental illness?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Can the science of evolution be separated from the philosophy of it?]]<br /> <br /> ==Debates about Conservapedia==<br /> # [[Debate:Is Conservapedia representing a conservative POV or a Young Earth Creationist POV?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is Conservapedia anti-British?]]<br /> # [[Debate:The liberal quotient of Conservapedia; what is it? Does it matter?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does bias impair Wikipedia's reliability?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should the term list entries be included in Conservapedia's entry count?]]<br /> # [[Debate:How should Conservapedia work to avoid having a conservative bias?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Can Conservapedia Succeed?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is Conservapedia fair and balanced?]]<br /> # [[Debate:How can we protect Conservapedia by distinguishing real conservative encyclopedia articles from satires written by liberals?]]<br /> # [[Debate:What exactly is Conservapedia?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Was the media attention needed?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Conservapedia Debate Topics full of far left liberal netroots]]<br /> # [[Debate:Which is true; progressive Liberal or regressive liberal]]<br /> # [[Debate:Where do you personally look for facts and information on topics &quot;When did Brahms live&quot; or &quot;Why did Monet paint grainstacks?&quot;]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is it okay for Conservapedia to have biased articles?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Who deletes entire discussion items from here? And why?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Why do users, who contribute substantially, choose to leave this community?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is the use of copyrighted photographs without permission stealing?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Are there too many debates on Conservapedia?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is it tasteless for Conservapedia to critique the Virginia Tech poem on the Main Page?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Has anyone ever been been banned for pointing out that many of the other entries on this site are in need of citation and evidence to back up statements?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does an encyclopedia define complex subjects, or insert more bias into them?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Do sysops block editing on pages when it seems their opponents are making strong points?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is Conservapedia a 'Trustworthy Encyclopedia'?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does altering the record of debate in a wiki 'Encyclopedia' render the entire thing a farce?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Democrats next move, link more stories of heartache like those from Kansas to Gulf Coast.]]<br /> # [[Debate:Do quotes used to support a theory just make an article look stupid?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is Conservapedia blinkered?|Is Conservapedia blinkered?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does Conservapedia censor opponents the way Expelled says ID advocates are censored?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is the Conservapedia Logo in violation of US Flag Code?]]<br /> # [[Debate:The 90/10 rule exists soley to squash debate, and should be eliminated]]<br /> # [[Debate:What will Conservapedia be like if Barack Obama wins the election?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Which is more important, economic or social conservatism?]]<br /> <br /> ==Funny, maybe?==<br /> <br /> # [[Debate:Are cats just useless Dogs]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is the Platypus evidence that God has a sense of humour?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Was the shooting at Virginia Tech somehow President Bush's fault?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Are video games getting better or worse as graphics, sound, and gameplay complexity improve?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Favorite old time radio show]]<br /> # [[Debate: Does Harry Potter promote Satanic witchcraft?]]<br /> <br /> ==Other==<br /> # [[Debate:Are alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine gateway drugs?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is Rap music torture?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Should marijuana be legalized?]]<br /> # [[Debate:What are the lessons that we should take away from the Milgram Experiment]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does the Theory of Evolution promote atheism?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Mall Shootings]]<br /> # [[Debate:Creationist]]<br /> # [[Debate:Is the Theory of Evolution a conspiricy?]]<br /> # [[Debate:How should we view the fact leading scientists do not believe in god?]]<br /> # [[Debate:Does modern music negatively influence children]]<br /> # [[Debate:Propaganda in childrens' television]]<br /> # [[Debate:What Is Music?]]<br /> #[[Debate:Why are there so few homosexual athletes]]<br /> <br /> <br /> [[Category:Conservapedia]]</div>

DSmith https://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Guangzhou&diff=680688 2009-07-04T01:16:46Z

<p>DSmith: Now that the spelling of the article in question has been fixed, the additional descriptor in the link is redundant</p> <hr /> <div>'''Guangzhou''', also known as [[Canton]], is a city in south [[China]] and the capital of the province of [[Guangdong]]. It lies at the head of the [[Pearl River]] [[delta]]. Historically, it was the Chinese city most open to foreign influence through trade; the events leading up to the [[Opium War]] of 1839-42 took place here. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the city was a hotbed of nationalist and revolutionary activity, and it became the seat of [[Sun Yat-sen]]'s government in the early 1920s. The [[Northern Expedition]] set off from Guangzhou in 1926, and in 1927 there was a [[Communist]]-led uprising in the city.<br /> [[Category:Chinese Cities and Towns]]<br /> <br /> ==Local language and people==<br /> Most of the city's inhabitants are of Cantonese ethnicity. They are indigenous to Guangdong province and are of Tai origin. Contrary to assertions made by many academics (many being affiliated with organizations that are strongly left-wing), extensive DNA testing and historical research have proven that the [[Cantonese people]] have no relations to ethnic Chinese at all.<br /> <br /> The local language spoken in Guangzhou is [[Cantonese]].</div>

DSmith https://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=China&diff=680682 2009-07-04T01:11:41Z

<p>DSmith: Clearing out liberal bias</p> <hr /> <div>{{Country<br /> |name =中华人民共和国&lt;br /&gt;中華人民共和國&lt;br /&gt;Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó<br /> |map =China rel01.jpg<br /> |flag =Flag_of_the_PRC.png‎<br /> |arms =Arms of PR China.png<br /> |capital =Beijing<br /> |capital-raw =<br /> |government =Communist<br /> |government-raw =<br /> |language =Chinese (Mandarin)<br /> |king =<br /> |queen =<br /> |monarch-raw =<br /> |chairman =Hu Jintao<br /> |premier =Wen Jiabao<br /> |chancellor =<br /> |chancellor-raw =<br /> |pm =<br /> |pm-raw =<br /> |area =3,704,427 sq mi<br /> |pop =1,317,000,000 (2007)<br /> |pop-basis =<br /> |gdp =<br /> |gdp-year =$10 trillion (2007)<br /> |gdp-pc =$7,600 (2007)<br /> |currency =yuan<br /> |idd =<br /> |tld =<br /> }}<br /> '''China''' is the world's largest country by population and formerly the fastest growing. It has strong traditions dating back thousands of years, yet had dramatically transformed itself from a poor backward country 40 years ago to the world's economic dynamo. The official name is the '''People's Republic of China''' (PRC). It is a [[Chinese Communist Party]]-controlled nation encompassing mainland China. The PRC claims [[Taiwan]] (i.e., the island of [[Formosa]]) as a PRC province, although the [[Republic of China]] maintains its sovereignty. <br /> <br /> [[Hong Kong]] was transferred back to Chinese control by the [[United Kingdom]] in 1997, and [[Macau]] was handed over by [[Portugal]] in 1999. Both territories are now [[Special Administrative Region]]s and have autonomy over local affairs. Since the 1950s China has increasing asserted brutal control over [[Tibet]].<br /> <br /> ==People==<br /> ===Ethnic Groups===<br /> {| align=right border=3 cellspacing=0 style=&quot;border-width: 5px; border-color: #c0c0c0; background: #e0e0e0; margin: 2em;&quot;<br /> | style=&quot;text-align: center; padding: 10px 40px 10px 40px;&quot; | [[Previous_Breaking_News/China| Previous Breaking News:&lt;br&gt;China]]<br /> |}<br /> The largest ethnic group is the Han Chinese, who constitute about 71.9% of the total population. The remaining 28.1% are Cantonese (80 million), Zhuang (16 million), Manchu (10 million), Hui (9 million), Miao (8 million), Uygur (7 million), Yi (7 million), Mongolian (5 million), Tibetan (5 million), Buyi (3 million), Korean (2 million), and other ethnic minorities. <br /> <br /> ===Language===<br /> There are two major Chinese languages and many subdialects. Mandarin (or Putonghua), the predominant language, is spoken by over 70% of the population. It is taught in all schools and is the language of government. About three-quarters of the Han ethnic group are native speakers of Mandarin; the rest, concentrated in central Eastern China, speak a Wu language. Non-Chinese languages spoken widely by ethnic minorities include Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien, Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur and other Turkic languages (in Xinjiang), and Korean (in the northeast). <br /> <br /> ====The Pinyin System of Romanization====<br /> On January 1, 1979, the Chinese Government officially adopted the pinyin system for spelling Chinese names and places in Roman letters. A system of Romanization invented by the Chinese, pinyin has long been widely used in China on street and commercial signs as well as in elementary Chinese textbooks as an aid in learning Chinese characters. Variations of pinyin also are used as the written forms of several minority languages. <br /> <br /> Pinyin has now replaced other conventional spellings in China's English-language publications. The U.S. Government also has adopted the pinyin system for all names and places in China. For example, the capital of China is now spelled &quot;Beijing&quot; rather than &quot;Peking.&quot;<br /> <br /> ==Religion==<br /> A February 2007 survey concluded that 31% of Chinese citizens ages 16 and over, representing 300 million persons, are religious believers.&lt;ref&gt; This is approximately three times the official figure reported by the Government in April 2005.See [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108404.htm U.S. State Department &quot;International Religious Freedom Report 2008&quot;]&lt;/ref&gt;<br /> <br /> There are reportedly more than 100,000 officially recognized sites for religious activities, 300,000 officially recognized clergy, and more than 3,000 officially recognized religious organizations.<br /> <br /> The Government officially recognizes five main religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism. There are five state-sanctioned &quot;Patriotic Religious Associations&quot; (PRAs) that manage the activities of the recognized faiths. The Russian Orthodox Church operates in some regions, particularly those with large populations of Russian expatriates or with close links to Russia. Foreign residents in the country who belonged to religious faiths not officially recognized by the Government were generally permitted to practice their religions.<br /> <br /> It is difficult to estimate the number of Buddhists and Taoists, because they do not have congregational memberships and many practice exclusively at home.<br /> <br /> The Government estimated that there are 16,000 Buddhist temples and monasteries, 200,000 Buddhist monks and nuns, more than 1,700 reincarnate lamas, and 32 Buddhist schools. Most believers, particularly ethnic Han Buddhists, practice Mahayana Buddhism, while the majority of Tibetans and ethnic Mongolians, as well as a growing number of ethnic Chinese, practice Tibetan Buddhism, a Mahayana adaptation. Some ethnic minorities in southwest Yunnan Province practice Theravada Buddhism, the dominant tradition in parts of neighboring Southeast Asia.<br /> <br /> There are more than 25,000 Taoist priests and nuns, more than 1,500 Taoist temples, and 2 Taoist schools. Traditional folk religions (worship of local gods, heroes, and ancestors) are practiced by hundreds of millions of citizens and are often affiliated with Taoism, Buddhism, or ethnic minority cultural practices.<br /> <br /> The government says there are twenty million Muslims. Independent estimates range as high as fifty million or more. There are more than 40,000 Islamic places of worship (more than half of which are in the XUAR), more than 45,000 imams nationwide, and 10 Islamic schools. The country has ten predominantly Muslim ethnic groups, the largest of which is the Hui, estimated to number more than ten million. The Hui are centered in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, but there are significant concentrations of Hui throughout the country, including in Gansu, Henan, Qinghai, Yunnan, and Hebei Provinces, as well as in the TAR and the XUAR. Hui Muslims slightly outnumber Uighur Muslims, who live primarily in the XUAR. According to an official 2005 report, the XUAR had 23,900 mosques and 27,000 clerics at the end of 2004, but fewer than half of the mosques were authorized to hold Friday prayer and holiday services. The country also has more than one million Kazakh Muslims and thousands of Dongxiang, Kyrgyz, Salar, Tajik, Uzbek, Baoan, and Tatar Muslims.<br /> <br /> Officials from the Three-Self Patriotic Movement/China Christian Council (TSPM/CCC), the state-approved Protestant religious organization, estimated that at least twenty million citizens worship in official churches. Government officials stated that there are more than 50,000 registered TSPM churches and 18 TSPM theological schools. The Pew Research Center estimates that between 50 million and 70 million Christians practice without state sanction. The World Christian Database estimates that there are more than 300 unofficial house church networks.<br /> <br /> <br /> The Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) reports that 5.3 million persons worship in its churches and it is estimated that there are an additional 12 million or more persons who worship in unregistered Catholic churches that do not affiliate with the CPA. According to official sources, the government-sanctioned CPA has more than 70 bishops, nearly 3,000 priests and nuns, 6,000 churches and meeting places, and 12 seminaries. There are thought to be approximately 40 bishops operating &quot;underground,&quot; some of whom are in prison or under house arrest. During the reporting period, at least three bishops were ordained with papal approval. In September 2007 the official media reported that Liu Bainian, CPA vice president, stated that the young bishops were to be selected to serve dioceses without bishops and to replace older bishops. Of the 97 dioceses in the country, 40 reportedly did not have an acting bishop in 2007, and more than 30 bishops were over 80 years of age.<br /> ===Religious discrimination===<br /> The Government restricts legal religious practice to government-sanctioned organizations and registered religious groups and places of worship, and seeks to control the growth and scope of the activity of both registered and unregistered religious groups, including &quot;house churches.&quot; Government authorities limit proselytism, particularly by foreigners and unregistered religious groups, but permit proselytism in state-approved religious venues and private settings.<br /> <br /> In 2008, the Government's repression of religious freedom intensified in some areas, including in Tibetan areas and in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Unregistered Protestant religious groups in Beijing reported intensified harassment from government authorities in the lead up to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Media and China-based sources reported that municipal authorities in Beijing closed some house churches or asked them to stop meeting during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. During the reporting period, officials detained and interrogated several foreigners about their religious activities and in several cases alleged that the foreigners had engaged in &quot;illegal religious activities&quot; and cancelled their visas. Media reported that the total number of expatriates expelled by the Government due to concerns about their religious activities exceeded one hundred. Officials in the XUAR, the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), and other Tibetan areas tightly controlled religious activity. The Government sought the forcible return of several Uighur Muslims living abroad, some of whom had reportedly protested restrictions on the Hajj and encouraged other Muslims to pray and fast during Ramadan. Followers of Tibetan Buddhism, including those in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region and most Tibetan autonomous areas, faced more restrictions on their religious practice and ability to organize than Buddhists in other parts of the country. &quot;Patriotic education&quot; campaigns in the TAR and other Tibetan regions, which required monks and nuns to sign statements personally denouncing the Dalai Lama, and other new restrictions on religious freedom were major factors that led monks and nuns to mount peaceful protests at a number of monasteries on March 10, 2008. The protests and subsequent security response gave way to violence in Lhasa by March 14 and 15. <br /> <br /> &quot;Underground&quot; Roman Catholic clergy faced repression, in large part due to their avowed loyalty to the Vatican, which the Government accused of interfering in the country's internal affairs. The Government continued to repress groups that it designated as &quot;cults,&quot; which included several Christian groups and Falun Gong.<br /> <br /> Religious and ethnic minority groups such as Tibetan Buddhists and Uighur Muslims experienced societal discrimination not only because of their religious beliefs but also because of their status as ethnic minorities with distinct languages and cultures. After the March 2008 protests in Lhasa and other Tibetan areas there were reports of increased tensions between Tibetan Buddhists and Hui Muslims.<br /> <br /> <br /> The '''Falun Gong''' is a self-described spiritual movement that blends aspects of Taoism, Buddhism, and the meditation techniques and physical exercises of qigong (a traditional Chinese exercise discipline), with the teachings of Falun Gong leader Li Hongzhi. There are estimated to have been at least 2.1 million adherents of Falun Gong before the Government banned the group in 1999. Hundreds of thousands may practice Falun Gong privately.<br /> <br /> ==Population Policy==<br /> [[Image:China Mex RGarciaOrtiz.jpg|right|Chinese at Mexico]]<br /> With a population officially just over 1.3 billion and an estimated growth rate of about 0.6%, China is very concerned about its population growth and has attempted with mixed results to implement a strict birth limitation policy. China's 2002 Population and Family Planning Law and policy permit one child per family, with allowance for a second child under certain circumstances, especially in rural areas, and with guidelines looser for ethnic minorities with small populations. Enforcement varies, and relies largely on &quot;social compensation fees&quot; to discourage extra births. Official government policy opposes forced [[abortion]] or sterilization, but in some localities there are instances of forced [[abortion]]. The government's goal is to stabilize the population in the first half of the 21st century, and current projections are that the population will peak at around 1.6 billion by 2050.<br /> <br /> ==Government==<br /> The People's Republic of China is an authoritarian state in which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) constitutionally is the paramount source of power. Party members hold almost all top government, police, and military positions. Ultimate authority rests with the 25-member political bureau (Politburo) of the CCP and its nine-member standing committee. '''[[Hu Jintao]]''' holds the three most powerful positions as CCP general secretary, president, and chairman of the Central Military Commission. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces.<br /> <br /> ===Chinese Communist Party===<br /> The 71 million member CCP, authoritarian in structure and ideology, continues to dominate government. Nevertheless, China's population, geographical vastness, and social diversity frustrate attempts to rule by fiat from Beijing. Central leaders must increasingly build consensus for new policies among party members, local and regional leaders, influential non-party members, and the population at large. <br /> <br /> In periods of greater openness, the influence of people and organizations outside the formal party structure has tended to increase, particularly in the economic realm. This phenomenon is most apparent today in the rapidly developing coastal region. Nevertheless, in all important government, economic, and cultural institutions in China, party committees work to see that party and state policy guidance is followed and that non-party members do not create autonomous organizations that could challenge party rule. Party control is tightest in government offices and in urban economic, industrial, and cultural settings; it is considerably looser in the rural areas, where the majority of the people live. <br /> <br /> Theoretically, the party's highest body is the Party Congress, which traditionally meets at least once every 5 years. The 17th Party Congress is expected to take place in the fall of 2007. The primary organs of power in the Communist Party include: <br /> *The Politburo Standing Committee, which currently consists of nine members (one seat is vacant following the June 2, 2007 death of Huang Ju); <br /> *The Politburo, consisting of 24 full members, including the members of the Politburo Standing Committee; <br /> *The Secretariat, the principal administrative mechanism of the CCP, headed by the General Secretary; <br /> *The Central Military Commission; <br /> *The Discipline Inspection Commission, which is charged with rooting out corruption and malfeasance among party cadres. <br /> ===State Structure===<br /> The Chinese Government has always been subordinate to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP); its role is to implement party policies. The primary organs of state power are the National People's Congress (NPC), the President (the head of state), and the State Council. Members of the State Council include Premier Wen Jiabao (the head of government), a variable number of vice premiers (now four), five state councilors (protocol equivalents of vice premiers but with narrower portfolios), and 22 ministers and four State Council commission directors. <br /> <br /> Under the Chinese constitution, the NPC is the highest organ of state power in China. It meets annually for about 2 weeks to review and approve major new policy directions, laws, the budget, and major personnel changes. These initiatives are presented to the NPC for consideration by the State Council after previous endorsement by the Communist Party's Central Committee. Although the NPC generally approves State Council policy and personnel recommendations, various NPC committees hold active debate in closed sessions, and changes may be made to accommodate alternate views. <br /> <br /> When the NPC is not in session, its permanent organ, the Standing Committee, exercises state power. <br /> ===Principal Government and Party Officials===<br /> *President--Hu Jintao<br /> *Vice President--Zeng Qinghong<br /> *Premier, State Council--Wen Jiabao <br /> *NPC Chair--Wu Bangguo<br /> *Vice Premiers--Wu Yi, Zeng Peiyan, Hui Liangyu <br /> *Politburo Standing Committee--Hu Jintao (General Secretary), Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Zeng Qinghong, Wu Guanzheng, Li Changchun, Luo Gan<br /> *Other Politburo Members--Cao Gangchuan, Guo Boxiong, He Guoqiang, Hui Liangyu, Liu Qi, Liu Yunshan, Wang Lequan, Wang Zhaoguo, Wu Yi, Yu Zhengsheng, Zeng Peiyan, Zhang Dejiang, Zhang Lichang, Zhou Yongkang, Wang Gang (alternate)<br /> *Alternate Politburo Members--Wang Gang<br /> *Chairman, Central Military Commission--Hu Jintao <br /> *Foreign Minister--Yang Jiechi<br /> *Minister of Commerce--Bo Xilai<br /> *Minister of Finance--Jin Renqing<br /> *Minister of Agriculture--Sun Zhengcai<br /> *Minister of Information Industry--Wang Xudong<br /> *Governor, People's Bank of China--Zhou Xiaochuan<br /> *Minister, State Development and Reform Commission--Ma Kai<br /> *Ambassador to U.S.--Zhou Wenzhong <br /> *Ambassador to UN--Wang Guangya <br /> <br /> ===Foreign Relations===<br /> [[Image:Chinese painting.jpg|thumb|Chinese painting.]]<br /> Since its establishment, the People's Republic has worked vigorously to win international support for its position that it is the sole legitimate government of all China, including Hong Kong, Macau, and [[Taiwan]]. In the early 1970s, Beijing was recognized diplomatically by most world powers. [[Beijing]] (Pekin) assumed the China seat in the [[United Nations]] in 1971 and has since become increasingly active in multilateral organizations. Japan established diplomatic relations with China in 1972, and the United States did so in 1979. As of July 2007, the number of countries that have diplomatic relations with Beijing had risen to 167, while 24 maintained diplomatic relations with Taiwan. <br /> <br /> After the founding of the P.R.C., China's foreign policy initially focused on solidarity with the Soviet Union and other communist countries. In 1950, China sent the People's Liberation Army into North Korea to help North Korea halt the UN offensive that was approaching the Yalu River. After the conclusion of the Korean conflict, China sought to balance its identification as a member of the Soviet bloc by establishing friendly relations with Pakistan and other Third World countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. <br /> <br /> In the 1960s, Beijing competed with Moscow for political influence among communist parties and in the developing world generally. Following the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and clashes in 1969 on the Sino-Soviet border, Chinese competition with the Soviet Union increasingly reflected concern over China's own strategic position. <br /> <br /> In late 1978, the Chinese also became concerned over Vietnam's efforts to establish open control over Laos and Cambodia. In response to the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, China fought a brief border war with Vietnam (February-March 1979) with the stated purpose of &quot;teaching Vietnam a lesson.&quot; <br /> <br /> Chinese anxiety about Soviet strategic advances was heightened following the Soviet Union's December 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. Sharp differences between China and the Soviet Union persisted over Soviet support for Vietnam's continued occupation of Cambodia, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and Soviet troops along the Sino-Soviet border and in Mongolia--the so-called &quot;three obstacles&quot; to improved Sino-Soviet relations. <br /> <br /> In the 1970s and 1980s China sought to create a secure regional and global environment for itself and to foster good relations with countries that could aid its economic development. To this end, China looked to the West for assistance with its modernization drive and for help in countering Soviet expansionism, which it characterized as the greatest threat to its national security and to world peace. <br /> <br /> China maintained its consistent opposition to &quot;superpower hegemony,&quot; focusing almost exclusively on the expansionist actions of the Soviet Union and Soviet proxies such as Vietnam and Cuba, but it also placed growing emphasis on a foreign policy independent of both the U.S. and the Soviet Union. While improving ties with the West, China continued to follow closely economic and other positions of the Third World nonaligned movement, although China was not a formal member. <br /> <br /> In the immediate aftermath of Tiananmen crackdown in June 1989, many countries reduced their diplomatic contacts with China as well as their economic assistance programs. In response, China worked vigorously to expand its relations with foreign countries, and by late 1990, had reestablished normal relations with almost all nations. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991, China also opened diplomatic relations with the republics of the former Soviet Union. <br /> <br /> In recent years, Chinese leaders have been regular travelers to all parts of the globe, and China has sought a higher profile in the UN through its permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and other multilateral organizations. Closer to home, China has made efforts to reduce tensions in Asia, hosting the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, cultivating a more cooperative relationship with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and participating in the ASEAN Regional Forum. China has also taken steps to improve relations with countries in South Asia, including India. Following Premier Wen's 2005 visit to India, the two sides moved to increase commercial and cultural ties, as well as to resolve longstanding border disputes. The November 2006 visit of President Hu was the first state visit by a Chinese head of state to India in 10 years. <br /> <br /> China has likewise improved ties with Russia, with Presidents Putin and Hu exchanging visits to Beijing and Moscow in April 2006 and March 2007. A second round of Russia-China joint military exercises is scheduled for fall 2007. China has played a prominent role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional grouping that includes Russia and the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Beijing has resolved many of its border and maritime disputes, notably including a November 1997 agreement with Russia that resolved almost all outstanding border issues and a 2000 agreement with Vietnam to resolve differences over their maritime border, though disagreements remain over islands in the South China Sea. Relations with Japan improved following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's October 2006 visit to Beijing, although longstanding and emotionally charged disputes over history and competing claims to portions of the East China Sea remain sources of tension. <br /> <br /> While in many ways Sudan's primary diplomatic patron, China has played a constructive role in support of peacekeeping operations in Southern Sudan and pledged to contribute an engineering unit in support of UN operations in Darfur. China has stated publicly that it shares the international community's concern over Iran's nuclear program and has voted in support of UN sanctions resolutions on Iran. Set against this has been an effort on the part of China to maintain close ties to countries such as Iran, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela, which are sources of oil and other resources and which welcome China's non-conditional assistance and investment.<br /> <br /> ==Political Conditions==<br /> ===Legal System===<br /> The government's efforts to promote rule of law are significant and ongoing. After the Cultural Revolution, China's leaders aimed to develop a legal system to restrain abuses of official authority and revolutionary excesses. In 1982, the National People's Congress adopted a new state constitution that emphasized the rule of law under which even party leaders are theoretically held accountable. <br /> <br /> Since 1979, when the drive to establish a functioning legal system began, more than 300 laws and regulations, most of them in the economic area, have been promulgated. The use of mediation committees--informed groups of citizens who resolve about 90% of China's civil disputes and some minor criminal cases at no cost to the parties--is one innovative device. There are more than 800,000 such committees in both rural and urban areas. <br /> <br /> Legal reform became a government priority in the 1990s. Legislation designed to modernize and professionalize the nation's lawyers, judges, and prisons was enacted. The 1994 Administrative Procedure Law allows citizens to sue officials for abuse of authority or malfeasance. In addition, the criminal law and the criminal procedures laws were amended to introduce significant reforms. The criminal law amendments abolished the crime of &quot;counter-revolutionary&quot; activity, although many persons are still incarcerated for that crime. Criminal procedures reforms also encouraged establishment of a more transparent, adversarial trial process. The Chinese constitution and laws provide for fundamental human rights, including due process, but these are often ignored in practice. In addition to other judicial reforms, the Constitution was amended in 2004 to include the protection of individual human rights and legally-obtained private property, but it is unclear how those provisions will be implemented. Although new criminal and civil laws have provided additional safeguards to citizens, previously debated political reforms, including expanding elections to the township level, and other legal reforms, including the reform of the reeducation through labor system, have been put on hold. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Military== <br /> Establishment of a professional military force equipped with modern weapons and doctrine was the last of the &quot;Four Modernizations&quot; announced by Zhou Enlai and supported by Deng Xiaoping. In keeping with Deng's mandate to reform, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which includes the strategic nuclear forces, army, navy, and air force, has demobilized millions of men and women since 1978 and introduced modern methods in such areas as recruitment and manpower, strategy, and education and training. <br /> <br /> Following the June 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, ideological correctness was temporarily revived as the dominant theme in Chinese military affairs. Reform and modernization appear to have since resumed their position as the PLA's priority objectives.<br /> <br /> The Chinese military is in the process of transforming itself from a land-based power, centered on a vast ground force, to a smaller, mobile, high-tech military eventually capable of mounting limited operations beyond its coastal borders. <br /> <br /> China's power-projection capability is limited but has grown over recent years. China has acquired some advanced weapons systems from abroad, including Sovremmeny destroyers, SU-27 and SU-30 aircraft, and Kilo-class diesel submarines from Russia, and continued to develop domestic production capabilities, such as for the domestically-developed J-10 fighter aircraft. However, much of its air and naval forces continues to be based on 1960s-era technology. As the Defense Department's Quadrennial Defense Review, released February 2006, noted, the U.S. shares with other countries a concern about the pace, scope, and direction of China's military modernization. We view military exchanges, visits, and other forms of engagement are useful tools in promoting transparency, provided they have substance and are fully reciprocal. Regularized exchanges and contact also have the significant benefit of building confidence, reducing the possibility of accidents, and providing the lines of communication that are essential in ensuring that episodes such as the April 2001 EP-3 aircraft incident do not escalate into major crises. During their April 2006 meeting, President Bush and President Hu agreed to increase officer exchanges and to begin a strategic nuclear dialogue between STRATCOM and the Chinese military's strategic missile command. U.S. and Chinese militaries are also considering ways in which we might cooperate on disaster assistance relief. <br /> <br /> ===Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Policy ===<br /> Nuclear Weapons. In 1955, Mao Zedong's Chinese Communist Party decided to proceed with a nuclear weapons program; it was developed with Soviet assistance until 1960. After its first nuclear test in October 1964, Beijing deployed a modest but potent ballistic missile force, including land- and sea-based intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles. <br /> <br /> China became a major international arms exporter during the 1980s. Beijing joined the Middle East arms control talks, which began in July 1991 to establish global guidelines for conventional arms transfers, but announced in September 1992 that it would no longer participate because of the U.S. decision to sell F-16A/B aircraft to Taiwan. <br /> <br /> China was the first state to pledge &quot;no first use&quot; of nuclear weapons. It joined the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1984 and pledged to abstain from further atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in 1986. China acceded to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1992 and supported its indefinite and unconditional extension in 1995. In 1996, it signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and agreed to seek an international ban on the production of fissile nuclear weapons material. To date, China has not ratified the CTBT. <br /> <br /> In 1996, China committed not to provide assistance to un-safeguarded nuclear facilities. China became a full member of the NPT Exporters (Zangger) Committee, a group that determines items subject to IAEA inspections if exported by NPT signatories. In September 1997, China issued detailed nuclear export control regulations. China began implementing regulations establishing controls over nuclear-related dual-use items in 1998. China also has committed not to engage in new nuclear cooperation with Iran (even under safeguards), and will complete existing cooperation, which is not of [[proliferation]] concern, within a relatively short period. In May 2004, with the support of the United States, China became a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. <br /> <br /> Based on significant, tangible progress with China on nuclear nonproliferation, President Clinton in 1998 took steps to bring into force the 1985 U.S.-China Agreement on Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ===Missiles===<br /> Although it is not a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the multinational effort to restrict the proliferation of missiles, in March 1992 China undertook to abide by MTCR guidelines and parameters. China reaffirmed this commitment in 1994, and pledged not to transfer MTCR-class ground-to-ground missiles. In November 2000, China committed not to assist in any way the development by other countries of MTCR-class missiles. However, in August 29, 2003, the U.S. Government imposed missile proliferation sanctions lasting two years on the Chinese company China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) after determining that it was knowingly involved in the transfer of equipment and technology controlled under Category II of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) Annex that contributed to MTCR-class missiles in a non-MTCR country. <br /> <br /> In December 2003, the P.R.C. promulgated comprehensive new export control regulations governing exports of all categories of sensitive technologies.<br /> <br /> ==Economy ==<br /> China's economy, based on rice and wheat farming, was generally prosperous until the 18th century. Population pressures, and failure to adopt new technology led to an impoverished nation by 1900. <br /> <br /> After Mao's death the policy of modernization along Western lines has led to a remarkable rate of economic growth in the industrial cities, which have pulled in millions of peasants from the still poor rural areas. Slack environmental standards have led to serious pollution problems. <br /> <br /> The modern Chinese economy has benefited from investments from Taiwan and Hong Kong. They jumped far ahead of China by 1970 in terms of technology, and in recent years have invested in mainland industries. <br /> <br /> These two factors have changed Chinese economy, from a command economy to a more socialist state, with the Chinese economy increasingly in the hands of privately-owned businesses, not state- or military-run enterprises. The 2001 declaration by Jiang Zemin (former leader of the Communist Party) of the &quot;theory of three represents&quot; -- that the CCP represents not only workers, but also intellectuals and entrepreneurs -- was an explicit affirmation of what had been a trend for the previous years<br /> <br /> <br /> Since 1980 China has enjoyed the highest economic growth rates in the world. Suddenly in mid-2008, the growth rate slowed sharply from 11% a year to only 5.5%. Much of the economy was geared to exports, and building factories for exports to the United States and Japan. When the [[Financial Crisis of 2008]] hit, exports fell off and prices for industrial products like steel fell in half. Many factories were shut down. The decline has especially hit steel, cement and the construction industry. The government in November 2008 announced a $586 billion stimulus program to build roads, dams, electric grids and other infrastructure projects that are designed to supplement the international market.&lt;ref&gt; David Barboza, &quot;Great Engine of China Slows ,&quot; [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/business/worldbusiness/26chinasteel.html?_r=1 ''New York Times'' Nov. 25, 2008] &lt;/ref&gt;<br /> <br /> Since 1979, China has largely rejected socialism and embraced capitalism, while maintaining Communist party rule. Private ownership of the means of production has dramatically reduced poverty and increased wealth, especially in the cities but also in rural areas. Nationally the GDP (in 2007 prices) has exploded from 2 trillion yuan in 1980 to 25 trillion in 2007.<br /> <br /> As late as 1980 60% of the people in rural China lives in poverty; by 2007 fewer than 5% did. Grain production has grown 300 to 500 tons per person, and rural income per person has soared from a few hundred yuan in 1980 to over 4000.&lt;ref&gt;See ''Economist'' Dec. 13, 2008&lt;/ref&gt;<br /> <br /> The reforms reformed and opened its economy. The Chinese leadership has adopted a more pragmatic perspective on many political and socioeconomic problems, and has reduced the role of ideology in economic policy. China's ongoing economic transformation has had a profound impact not only on China but on the world. The market-oriented reforms China has implemented over the past two decades have unleashed individual initiative and entrepreneurship. The result has been the largest reduction of poverty and one of the fastest increases in income levels ever seen. China today is the fourth-largest economy in the world. It has sustained average economic growth of over 9.5% for the past 26 years. In 2006 its $2.76 trillion economy was about one-fifth the size of the U.S. economy. <br /> <br /> In the 1980s, China tried to combine central planning with market-oriented reforms to increase productivity, living standards, and technological quality without exacerbating inflation, unemployment, and budget deficits. China pursued agricultural reforms, dismantling the commune system and introducing a household-based system that provided peasants greater decision-making in agricultural activities. The government also encouraged nonagricultural activities such as village enterprises in rural areas, and promoted more self-management for state-owned enterprises, increased competition in the marketplace, and facilitated direct contact between Chinese and foreign trading enterprises. China also relied more upon foreign financing and imports. <br /> <br /> During the 1980s, these reforms led to average annual rates of growth of 10% in agricultural and industrial output. Rural per capita real income doubled. China became self-sufficient in grain production; rural industries accounted for 23% of agricultural output, helping absorb surplus labor in the countryside. The variety of light industrial and consumer goods increased. Reforms began in the fiscal, financial, banking, price-setting, and labor systems. <br /> <br /> By the late 1980s, however, the economy had become overheated with increasing rates of inflation. At the end of 1988, in reaction to a surge of inflation caused by accelerated price reforms, the leadership introduced an austerity program. <br /> <br /> China's economy regained momentum in the early 1990s. During a visit to southern China in early 1992, China's paramount leader at the time, Deng Xiaoping, made a series of political pronouncements designed to reinvigorate the process of economic reform. The 14th Party Congress later in the year backed Deng's renewed push for market reforms, stating that China's key task in the 1990s was to create a &quot;socialist market economy.&quot; The 10-year development plan for the 1990s stressed continuity in the political system with bolder reform of the economic system. <br /> <br /> China's economy grew at an average rate of 10% per year during the period 1990-2004, the highest growth rate in the world. China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 10.0% in 2003, and even faster, 10.1%, in 2004, and 9.9% in 2005 despite attempts by the government to cool the economy. China's total trade in 2006 surpassed $1.76 trillion, making China the world's third-largest trading nation after the U.S. and Germany. Such high growth is necessary if China is to generate the 15 million jobs needed annually--roughly the size of Ecuador or Cambodia--to employ new entrants into the job market. <br /> <br /> Nevertheless, serious imbalances exist behind the spectacular trade performance, high investment flows, and high GDP growth. High numbers of non-performing loans weigh down the state-run banking system. Inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are still a drag on growth, despite announced efforts to sell, merge, or close the vast majority of SOEs. <br /> <br /> Social and economic indicators have improved since reforms were launched, but rising inequality is evident between the more highly developed coastal provinces and the less developed, poorer inland regions. According to World Bank estimates, more than 152 million people in China in 2003--mostly in rural areas of the lagging inland provinces--still live in poverty, on consumption of less than U.S. $1 a day. <br /> <br /> Following the Chinese Communist Party's Third Plenum, held in October 2003, Chinese legislators unveiled several proposed amendments to the state constitution. One of the most significant was a proposal to provide protection for private property rights. Legislators also indicated there would be a new emphasis on certain aspects of overall government economic policy, including efforts to reduce unemployment (now in the 8-10% range in urban areas), to rebalance income distribution between urban and rural regions, and to maintain economic growth while protecting the environment and improving social equity. The National People's Congress approved the amendments when it met in March 2004. The Fifth Plenum in October 2005 approved the 11th Five-Year Economic Program aimed at building a &quot;harmonious society&quot; through more balanced wealth distribution and improved education, medical care, and social security.<br /> <br /> ===Agriculture===<br /> China is the world's most populous country and one of the largest producers and consumers of agricultural products. Roughly half of China's labor force is engaged in agriculture, even though only 10% of the land is suitable for cultivation and agriculture contributes only 13% of China's GDP. China's cropland area is only 75% of the U.S. total, but China still produces about 30% more crops and livestock than the U.S. because of intensive cultivation, China is among the world's largest producers of rice, corn, wheat, soybeans, vegetables, tea, and pork. Major non-food crops include cotton, other fibers, and oilseeds. China hopes to further increase agricultural production through improved plant stocks, fertilizers, and technology. Incomes for Chinese farmers are stagnating, leading to an increasing wealth gap between the cities and countryside. Government policies that continue to emphasize grain self-sufficiency and the fact that farmers do not own--and cannot buy or sell--the land they work have contributed to this situation. While this was the case in China before Communism, many other countries have since embrace individual ownership while China has not. In addition, inadequate port facilities and lack of warehousing and cold storage facilities impede both domestic and international agricultural trade.<br /> <br /> ===Industry===<br /> Industry and construction account for about 46% of China's GDP. Major industries are mining and ore processing; iron; steel; aluminum; coal, machinery; textiles and apparel; armaments; petroleum; cement; chemicals; fertilizers; consumer products including footwear, toys, and electronics; automobiles and other transportation equipment including rail cars and locomotives, ships, and aircraft; and telecommunications. <br /> <br /> China has become a preferred destination for the relocation of global manufacturing facilities. Its strength as an export platform has contributed to incomes and employment in China. The state-owned sector still accounts for about 40% of GDP. In recent years, authorities have been giving greater attention to the management of state assets--both in the financial market as well as among state-owned-enterprises--and progress has been noteworthy. <br /> <br /> ===Regulatory Environment===<br /> Though China's economy has expanded rapidly, its regulatory environment has not kept pace. Since Deng Xiaoping's open market reforms, the growth of new businesses has outpaced the government's ability to regulate them. This has created a situation where businesses, faced with mounting competition and poor oversight, will be willing to take drastic measures to increase profit margins, often at the expense of consumer safety. This issue has recently acquired more prominence, with a number of restrictions being placed on problematic Chinese exports by the U.S. The Chinese Government recognizes the severity of the problem, recently concluding that up to 20% of the country's products are substandard or tainted. <br /> <br /> ===Energy===<br /> Together with strong economic growth, China's demand for energy is surging rapidly. In 2003, China surpassed Japan to become the second-largest consumer of primary energy, after the United States. China is the world's second-largest consumer of oil, after the United States, and for 2006, China's increase in oil demand represented 38% of the world total increase in oil demand. China is also the third-largest energy producer in the world, after the United States and Russia. China's electricity consumption is expected to grow by over 4% a year through 2030, which will require more than $2 trillion in electricity infrastructure investment to meet the demand. China expects to add approximately 15,000 megawatts of generating capacity a year, with 20% of that coming from foreign suppliers. <br /> <br /> Coal makes up the bulk of China's energy consumption (70% in 2005), and China is the largest producer and consumer of coal in the world. As China's economy continues to grow, China's coal demand is projected to rise significantly. Although coal's share of China's overall energy consumption will decrease, coal consumption will continue to rise in absolute terms. China's continued and increasing reliance on coal as a power source has contributed significantly to putting China on the path to becoming the world's largest emitter of acid rain-causing sulfur dioxide and green house gases, including carbon dioxide. <br /> <br /> The 11th Five-Year Program, announced in 2005, calls for greater energy conservation measures, including development of renewable energy sources and increased attention to environmental protection. Moving away from coal towards cleaner energy sources including oil, natural gas, renewable energy, and nuclear power is an important component of China's development program. China has abundant hydroelectric resources; the Three Gorges Dam, for example, will have a total capacity of 18 gigawatts when fully on-line (projected for 2009). In addition, the share of electricity generated by nuclear power is projected to grow from 1% in 2000 to 5% in 2030. China's renewable energy law, which went into effect in 2006, calls for 10% of its energy to come from renewable energy sources by 2020. <br /> <br /> Since 1993, China has been a net importer of oil, a large portion of which comes from the Middle East. Net imports are expected to rise to 3.5 million barrels per day by 2010. China is interested in diversifying the sources of its oil imports and has invested in oil fields around the world. Beijing also plans to increase China's natural gas production, which currently accounts for only 3% of China's total energy consumption. Analysts expect China's consumption of natural gas to more than double by 2010. <br /> <br /> In May 2004, then-Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) that launched the U.S.-China Energy Policy Dialogue. The Dialogue has strengthened energy-related interactions between China and the United States, the world's two largest energy consumers. The U.S.-China Energy Policy Dialogue builds upon the two countries' existing cooperative ventures in high energy nuclear physics, fossil energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy and energy information exchanges. The NDRC and the Department of Energy also exchange views and expertise on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technologies, and we convene an annual Oil and Gas Industry Forum with China. <br /> <br /> ===Environment===<br /> [[Image:Tianmenshan mountain.jpg|left|300px]]<br /> One of the serious negative consequences of China's rapid industrial development has been increased pollution and degradation of natural resources. China is widely expected to surpass the United States as the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases sometime in 2007 or 2008. A World Health Organization report on air quality in 272 cities worldwide concluded that seven of the world's 10 most polluted cities were in China. According to China's own evaluation, two-thirds of the 338 cities for which air-quality data are available are considered polluted--two-thirds of them moderately or severely so. Respiratory and heart diseases related to air pollution are the leading cause of death in China. Almost all of the nation's rivers are considered polluted to some degree, and half of the population lacks access to clean water. By some estimates, every day approximately 300 million residents drink contaminated water. Ninety percent of urban water bodies are severely polluted. Water scarcity also is an issue; for example, severe water scarcity in Northern China is a serious threat to sustained economic growth and the government has begun working on a project for a large-scale diversion of water from the Yangtze River to northern cities, including Beijing and Tianjin. Acid rain falls on 30% of the country. Various studies estimate pollution costs the Chinese economy 7%-10% of GDP each year. <br /> <br /> China's leaders are increasingly paying attention to the country's severe environmental problems. In 1998, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) was officially upgraded to a ministry-level agency, reflecting the growing importance the Chinese Government places on environmental protection. In recent years, China has strengthened its environmental legislation and made some progress in stemming environmental deterioration. In 2005, China joined the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development, which brings industries and governments together to implement strategies that reduce pollution and address climate change. During the 10th Five-Year Plan, China plans to reduce total emissions by 10%. Beijing in particular is investing heavily in pollution control as part of its campaign to host a successful Olympiad in 2008. Some cities have seen improvement in air quality in recent years. <br /> <br /> China is an active participant in climate change talks and other multilateral environmental negotiations, taking environmental challenges seriously but pushing for the developed world to help developing countries to a greater extent. It is a signatory to the Basel Convention governing the transport and disposal of hazardous waste and the Montreal Protocol for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, as well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and other major environmental agreements. <br /> <br /> The question of environmental impacts associated with the Three Gorges Dam project has generated controversy among environmentalists inside and outside China. Critics claim that erosion and silting of the Yangtze River threaten several endangered species, while Chinese officials say the dam will help prevent devastating floods and generate clean hydroelectric power that will enable the region to lower its dependence on coal, thus lessening air pollution. <br /> <br /> The United States and China are members of the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP). The APP is a public-private partnership of six nations--Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States--committed to explore new mechanisms to meet national pollution reduction, energy security and climate change goals in ways that reduce poverty and promote economic development. APP members have undertaken cooperative activities involving deployment of clean technology in partner countries in eight areas: cleaner fossil energy, renewable energy and distributed generation, power generation and transmission, steel, aluminum, cement, coal mining, and buildings and appliances. <br /> <br /> The United States and China have been engaged in an active program of bilateral environmental cooperation since the mid-1990s, with an emphasis on clean energy technology and the design of effective environmental policy. While both governments view this cooperation positively, China has often compared the U.S. program, which lacks a foreign assistance component, with those of Japan and several European Union (EU) countries that include generous levels of aid.<br /> <br /> ===Science and Technology===<br /> Science and technology have always preoccupied China's leaders; indeed, China's political leadership comes almost exclusively from technical backgrounds and has a high regard for science. Deng called it &quot;the first productive force.&quot; Distortions in the economy and society created by party rule have severely hurt Chinese science, according to some Chinese science policy experts. The Chinese Academy of Sciences, modeled on the Soviet system, puts much of China's greatest scientific talent in a large, under-funded apparatus that remains largely isolated from industry, although the reforms of the past decade have begun to address this problem. <br /> <br /> Chinese science strategists see China's greatest opportunities in newly emerging fields such as biotechnology and computers, where there is still a chance for China to become a significant player. Most Chinese students who went abroad have not returned, but they have built a dense network of trans-Pacific contacts that will greatly facilitate U.S.-China scientific cooperation in coming years. The U.S. space program is often held up as the standard of scientific modernity in China. China's small but growing space program, which successfully completed their second manned orbit in October 2005, is a focus of national pride. <br /> <br /> The U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement remains the framework for bilateral cooperation in this field. A 5-year agreement to extend the Science and Technology Agreement was signed in April 2006. The Agreement is among the longest-standing U.S.-China accords, and includes over eleven U.S. Federal agencies and numerous branches that participate in cooperative exchanges under the S&amp;T Agreement and its nearly 60 protocols, memoranda of understanding, agreements and annexes. The Agreement covers cooperation in areas such as marine conservation, renewable energy, and health. Biennial Joint Commission Meetings on Science and Technology bring together policymakers from both sides to coordinate joint science and technology cooperation. Executive Secretaries meetings are held biennially to implement specific cooperation programs. Japan and the European Union also have high profile science and technology cooperative relationships with China. <br /> <br /> ===Trade===<br /> China's merchandise exports totaled $969.3 billion and imports totaled $791.8 billion in 2006. Its global trade surplus surged from $32 billion in 2004 to $177.5 billion in 2006. China's primary trading partners include Japan, the EU, the United States, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. According to U.S. statistics, China had a trade surplus with the U.S. of $232.6 billion in 2006. <br /> <br /> China has taken important steps to open its foreign trading system and integrate itself into the world trading system. In November 1991, China joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group, which promotes free trade and cooperation in the economic, trade, investment, and technology spheres. China served as APEC chair in 2001, and Shanghai hosted the annual APEC leaders meeting in October of that year. <br /> <br /> China formally joined the WTO in December 2001. As part of this far-reaching trade liberalization agreement, China agreed to lower tariffs and abolish market impediments. Chinese and foreign businessmen, for example, gained the right to import and export on their own, and to sell their products without going through a government middleman. By 2005, average tariff rates on key U.S. agricultural exports dropped from 31% to 14% and on industrial products from 25% to 9%. The agreement also opens up new opportunities for U.S. providers of services like banking, insurance, and telecommunications. China has made significant progress implementing its WTO commitments, but serious concerns remain, particularly in the realm of intellectual property rights protection. <br /> <br /> While accession does not guarantee smaller trade deficits, full implementation of all WTO commitments would further open China's markets to--and help level the playing field for--U.S. exports. China is now one of the most important markets for U.S. exports: in 2006, U.S. exports to China totaled $55.2 billion, almost triple the $19 billion when China joined the WTO in 2001 and up 32% over 2005. U.S. agricultural exports have increased dramatically, making China our fourth-largest agricultural export market (after Canada, Japan, and Mexico). Over the same period (2001-2006), U.S. imports from China have risen from $102 billion to $287.8 billion. <br /> <br /> Export growth continues to be a major driver of China's rapid economic growth. To increase exports, China has pursued policies such as fostering the rapid development of foreign-invested factories, which assemble imported components into consumer goods for export, and liberalizing trading rights. In its eleventh Five-Year Program, adopted in 2005, China placed greater emphasis on developing a consumer demand-driven economy to sustain economic growth and address global imbalances. <br /> <br /> The United States is one of China's primary suppliers of power generating equipment, aircraft and parts, computers and industrial machinery, raw materials, and chemical and agricultural products. However, U.S. exporters continue to have concerns about fair market access due to strict testing and standards requirements for some imported products. In addition, a lack of transparency in the regulatory process makes it difficult for businesses to plan for changes in the domestic market structure. The April 11, 2006 U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) produced agreements on key U.S. trade concerns ranging from market access to U.S. beef, medical devices, and telecommunications; to the enforcement of intellectual property rights, including, significantly, software. The JCCT also produced an agreement to establish a U.S.-China High Technology and Strategic Trade Working Group to review export control cooperation and facilitate high technology trade. <br /> <br /> ===Foreign Investment===<br /> China's investment climate has changed dramatically in 24 years of reform. In the early 1980s, China restricted foreign investments to export-oriented operations and required foreign investors to form joint-venture partnerships with Chinese firms. Foreign direct investment (FDI) grew quickly during the 1980s, but stalled in late 1989 in the aftermath of Tiananmen. In response, the government introduced legislation and regulations designed to encourage foreigners to invest in high-priority sectors and regions. Since the early 1990s, China has allowed foreign investors to manufacture and sell a wide range of goods on the domestic market, and authorized the establishment of wholly foreign-owned enterprises, now the preferred form of FDI. However, the Chinese Government's emphasis on guiding FDI into manufacturing has led to market saturation in some industries, while leaving China's services sectors underdeveloped. China is now one of the leading recipients of FDI in the world, receiving almost $80 billion in 2005 according to World Bank statistics. <br /> <br /> As part of its WTO accession, China undertook to eliminate certain trade-related investment measures and to open up specified sectors that had previously been closed to foreign investment. New laws, regulations, and administrative measures to implement these commitments are being issued. Major remaining barriers to foreign investment include opaque and inconsistently enforced laws and regulations and the lack of a rules-based legal infrastructure. <br /> <br /> Opening to the outside remains central to China's development. Foreign-invested enterprises produce about half of China's exports, and China continues to attract large investment inflows. Foreign exchange reserves were $1.1 trillion at the end of 2006, and have now surpassed those of Japan, making China's foreign exchange reserves the largest in the world.<br /> <br /> == History ==<br /> {{main|Chinese History}}<br /> <br /> Although archaeologists have found settlements in China dating to [[5000 BCE]], the earliest nation that can be dated in the area of modern China is the [[Shang Dynasty]], approximately [[2000 BCE]].<br /> <br /> Dynasty followed dynasty, as old regimes would lose the &quot;mandate of heaven;&quot; it was believed that each emperor ruled only with the approval of heaven, and a ruler who was unfit to rule would curse the nation until replaced. In addition, the Chinese capital would occasionally be overrun by &quot;barbarians,&quot; who invariably would start a new dynasty in the Chinese capital, integrating their nations into the former dynasty.<br /> <br /> Chinese had an advanced artistic culture and well-developed science and technology. However, its science and technology stood still after 1700 and in the 21st century very little survives outside museums, except in for the popular forms of traditional medicine. <br /> <br /> In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by large-scale civil wars, major famines, military defeats by Britain and Japan, regional control by powerful warlords and foreign intervention such as the [[Boxer Rebellion]] of 1900. In 1911 the revolution deposed the [[Qing Dynasty]] and a republic was proclaimed. Under the leadership of the [[KMT]] (Kuomintang), headed by [[Chiang Kai-shek]] (1887-1975), the central government finally suppressed the local warlords who effectively controlled many provinces. The KMT tried to destroy the Communists under [[Mao Zedong]], but they escaped in the &quot;Long March&quot; of 1934-35. Japan seized Manchuria in 1931, and in 1937 invaded all of China, seizing the coast, the major cities, and setting up a puppet government that controlled most of the population. China was allied with the U.S. and Britain against Japan, and at war's end joined the United Nations as a permanent member of the 5-nation Security Council, with a veto. The Americans attempted to force a negotiated settlement between the KMT and the Communists, but failed. In the face of economic collapse the Communists won the civil war in 1949 under [[Mao Zedong]] established a dictatorship, driving the KMT to Taiwan. Taiwan is recognized as an integral part of China in theory, but in practice has been independent since 1949. Mao liquidated millions of opponents, fought the United States in the bloody [[Korean War]] )1950-53), and broke with the Soviet Union over the issue of who best represented the Marxist orthodoxy. Mao's regime imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, Mao's successor [[Deng Xiaoping]] focused on market-oriented economic development, and by 2000 output had quadrupled, population growth ended (by imposing a one-child policy), and good relations were secured with the West. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls and Internet censorship remain tight.<br /> <br /> China's economy during the last quarter century has changed from a centrally planned system that was largely closed to international trade, to a more market-oriented economy that has a rapidly growing private sector and is a major player in the global economy.<br /> <br /> == Religion ==<br /> In addition to the native folk religions, China is home of two of the world's oldest surviving religions: [[Confucianism]] and [[Taoism]]. [[Buddhism]], carried over from India and [[Tibet]], has strongly influenced China and today there are several schools of Buddhism in the country.<br /> <br /> In addition, China has several religious minorities. [[Islam]] in China is rather moderate, and Chinese Muslims (majority are of [[Hui]] ethnicity) often define their faith in Taoist or Confucian terms, although they do not believe in the supernatural elements of those faiths. [[Christianity]] was suppressed or taken over by the state after 1949. In recent years, the restrictions have eased. However several religious groups that reject governmental control are persecuted, notably the [[Falun Gong]]. <br /> <br /> <br /> ===The Next 5 Years===<br /> The next 5 years represent a critical period in China's development. To investors and firms, especially following China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, China represents a vast market that has yet to be fully tapped and a low-cost base for export-oriented production. Educationally, China is forging ahead as partnerships and exchanges with foreign universities have helped create new research opportunities for its students. China used the Summer Olympics in 2008 to showcase to the world its amazing gains of the past two decades. The new leadership is committed to generating greater economic development in the interior and providing more services to those who do not live in China's coastal areas, goals that form the core of President Hu's concepts of a &quot;harmonious society&quot; and a &quot;spiritual civilization.&quot; However, there is still much that needs to change in China. <br /> <br /> <br /> For more information on China, see [[World History Lecture Three]].<br /> <br /> == Human Rights ==<br /> Under Mao millions of Chinese were killed by famines or government action against the middle classes. The &quot;[[Cultural Revolution]]&quot; in the 1960s was a counterattack against intellectuals endorsed by Mao; it set back China by decades until his death in 1975.<br /> <br /> After the mid-1980s the new leader [[Deng Xiaoping]] promoted rapid modernization. While Mao's memory was still revered, most of his brutal policies were ended and much economic freedom--and a dash of political liberalization--was allowed. Intellectuals were encouraged to speak out again and to share in a new spirit of &quot;democratization.&quot; However Communist party leaders in 1986 warned that modernization must not be used as an excuse to introduce &quot;bourgeois philosophies and social doctrines.&quot; By late 1986 student groups began to demonstrate demanding more student participation in local government, a greater degree of democracy, and better living conditions. As demonstrations escalated Hu Yaobang, the general secretary of the party, resigned, confessing that he had made major mistakes and would take responsibility for them. It was a setback to political and economic liberalization, though Hu remained, out of office, a symbol of the potential for democracy. Hu's death in April 1989, sparked widespread public rallies in favor of broad social changes in Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities. Tens of thousands of students defied a government clampdown to demonstrate in May in [[Tiananmen Square]] central Beijing. The Party moved to kill dissent, sending uneducated rural troops into square on June 3-4; hundreds of demonstrators were killed, wounded, or arrested. The world was appalled. Following the savage repression of democrats in all major cities Deng Xiaoping appeared to be even more firmly in control. <br /> <br /> The China country reports in the U.S. State Department's 2009 Human Rights Practices and International Religious Freedom Reports&lt;ref&gt; See [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119037.htm U.S. State Department, ''2008 Human Rights Report: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)'' Feb. 25, 2009] &lt;/ref&gt; noted China's well-documented and continuing abuses of human rights in violation of internationally recognized norms, stemming both from the authorities' intolerance of dissent and the inadequacy of legal safeguards for basic freedoms. Reported abuses have included arbitrary and lengthy incommunicado detention, forced confessions, torture, and mistreatment of prisoners as well as severe restrictions on freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, religion, privacy, worker rights, and coercive birth limitation. In 2006, China continued the monitoring, harassment, intimidation, and arrest of journalists, Internet writers, defense lawyers, religious activists, and political dissidents. The activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), especially those relating to the rule of law and expansion of judicial review, continue to be restricted.<br /> <br /> In 2008 China loosened its restrictions somewhat for the Summer Olympics. The government arbitrarily closes down Internet access to prevent the people from learning about the world.<br /> <br /> Human rights failures remain a major concern. Abatement of pollution and improvements in systems to ensure food, drug, and product safety are major concerns, especially after notorious episodes of exporting poisoned pet food, toothpaste and infant formula.<br /> ===Repression in 2008===<br /> In 2008 China's human rights record remained poor and worsened in some areas. During the year the government increased its severe cultural and religious repression of ethnic minorities in Tibetan areas and the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR), increased detention and harassment of dissidents and petitioners, and maintained tight controls on freedom of speech and the Internet. Abuses peaked around high-profile events, such as the Olympics and the unrest in Tibet. As in previous years, citizens did not have the right to change their government. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), both local and international, continued to face intense scrutiny and restrictions. Other serious human rights abuses included extrajudicial killings, torture and coerced confessions of prisoners, and the use of forced labor, including prison labor. Workers cannot choose an independent union to represent them in the workplace, and the law does not protect workers' right to strike. The government continued to monitor, harass, detain, arrest, and imprison journalists, writers, activists, and defense lawyers and their families, many of whom were seeking to exercise their rights under the law.&lt;ref&gt; See [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119037.htm U.S. State Department, ''2008 Human Rights Report: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)'' Feb. 25, 2009] &lt;/ref&gt;<br /> <br /> ==Further reading==<br /> * Chow, Gregory C. ''China's Economic Transformation'' (2nd ed. 2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Chinas-Economic-Transformation-Gregory-Chow/dp/1405156244/ref=pd_sim_b_img_3 excerpt and text search]<br /> * Eberharad, Wolfram. ''A History of China'' (2005), 380 pages' [http://books.google.com/books?id=5LgjunIn1CEC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=intitle:history+intitle:china&amp;num=30&amp;as_brr=1&amp;sig=k1CgHXYb6jQ6BgdwVpUWngov7So full text online free] <br /> * Entwisle, Barbara, and Gail E. Henderson, eds. ''Re-Drawing Boundaries: Work, Households, and Gender in China,'' U of California Press, 2000; on 1990; [http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt938nd0k8/?&amp;query=&amp;brand=ucpress complete text online free]<br /> * Fairbank, John King and Goldman, Merle. ''China: A New History.'' (1998). 546 pp. <br /> * Gries, Peter Hays. ''China's New Nationalism: Pride, Politics, and Diplomacy,'' U of California Press, (2004); recent history [http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt9290249r/?&amp;query=&amp;brand=ucpress online edition free]<br /> * Naughton, Barry. ''The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth'' (2007), important new survey<br /> *Ogden S. (ed) ''China.'' (2006) <br /> * Oi, Jean C. ''Rural China Takes Off: Institutional Foundations of Economic Reform,'' U of California Press, (1999) [http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft8j49p1hv/?&amp;query=&amp;brand=ucpress complete text online free] <br /> * Perkins, Dorothy. ''Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture.'' (1999). 662 pp. <br /> * Rawski, Thomas G. and Lillian M. Li, eds. ''Chinese History in Economic Perspective,'' University of California Press, 1992 [http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft6489p0n6/?&amp;query=&amp;brand=ucpress online free]<br /> * Roberts, J. A. G. ''A Concise History of China.'' (1999). 341 pp. <br /> * Schoppa, R. Keith. ''The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History.'' (2000). 356 pp. [http://www.questia.com/library/book/the-columbia-guide-to-modern-chinese-history-by-r-keith-schoppa.jsp online edition]<br /> * Shambaugh, David. ''China's Communist Party: Atrophy and Adaptation'' (2009)<br /> * Shambaugh, David. ''Modernizing China's Military: Progress, Problems, and Prospects'' U of California Press, (2003) [http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt4779q33t/?&amp;query=&amp;brand=ucpress complete text online free]<br /> * Spence, Jonathan D. ''The Search for Modern China'' (1991), 876pp; well written survey from 1644 to 1980s [http://www.amazon.com/Search-Modern-China-Jonathan-Spence/dp/0393307808/ref=pd_sim_b_title_2 excerpt and text search]; [http://www.questia.com/read/98946348 complete edition online]<br /> * Wang, Ke-wen, ed. ''Modern China: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism.'' (1998). 442 pp.<br /> <br /> ==See also==<br /> *[[Chinese History]]<br /> *[[Great Wall of China]]<br /> *[[Oriental art]]<br /> *[[Previous Breaking News/China|Articles about '''China''' from previous &quot;Breaking News&quot;]]<br /> <br /> ==References==<br /> &lt;references/&gt;<br /> <br /> ==External link==<br /> *[http://www.chinadetail.com/Nation/ All About China]<br /> *[http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/china/home.html People's Daily: China at a Glance]<br /> *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1287798.stm BBC News - ''Country Profile: China'']<br /> *[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html CIA World Factbook - ''China'']<br /> *[http://www.monthlyreview.org/1105wu.htm &quot;Rethinking ‘Capitalist Restoration’ in China&quot;] by Yiching Wu<br /> *[http://www.gov.cn/ The Central People's Government of People's Republic of China]<br /> *[http://www.china.org.cn/ China's Official Gateway for News &amp; Information]<br /> *[http://www.globalpolitician.com/articles.asp?ID=341 The Dragon's Dawn: China as a Rising Imperial Power] February 11, 2005.<br /> *[http://www.china-profile.com/history/hist_list_1.htm History of The People's Republic of China] Timeline of Key Events since 1949.<br /> *[http://www.danwei.org/ Media, advertising, and urban life in China.]<br /> *[http://www.chinastudygroup.org/index.php?action=front2&amp;type=view&amp;id=152 China's Neoliberal Dynasty] by Peter Kwong, originally published in [[The Nation]] October 2, 2006.<br /> <br /> [[Category:Asian Countries]]<br /> [[Category:China]]<br /> [[Category:Communist States]]</div>

DSmith https://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Vietnam&diff=680673 2009-07-04T00:59:42Z

<p>DSmith: Clearing out liberal bias</p> <hr /> <div>{{Country<br /> |name =''Cộng hòa Xã hội Chủ nghĩa Việt Nam''<br /> |map =Vietnam rel92.jpg<br /> |flag =Vietnamflag.gif<br /> |arms =Arms of Vietnam.png<br /> |capital =Hanoi<br /> |capital-raw =<br /> |government =Socialist Republic (communist)<br /> |government-raw =<br /> |language =Vietnamese<br /> |king =<br /> |queen =<br /> |monarch-raw =<br /> |president =Nguyễn Minh Triết<br /> |president-raw =<br /> |chancellor =<br /> |chancellor-raw =<br /> |pm =Nguyễn Tấn Dũng<br /> |pm-raw =<br /> |area =128,065 sq mi<br /> |pop =87,375,000 (2007)<br /> |pop-basis =<br /> |gdp =$262.5 billion <br /> |gdp-year =2006<br /> |gdp-pc =$3,100 (2006)<br /> |currency =đồng <br /> |idd =<br /> |tld =<br /> }}<br /> <br /> The '''Socialist Republic of Vietnam''' is a [[communist]] nation in Southeast Asia previously part of [[Indochina]]. <br /> Vietnam borders [[China]], [[Cambodia]], [[Laos]], and the [[Pacific Ocean]]. The capital of Vietnam is [[Hanoi]].<br /> <br /> ==People==<br /> Originating in what is now southern China and northern Vietnam, the Vietnamese people pushed southward over 2 millennia to occupy the entire eastern seacoast of the Indochinese Peninsula. Ethnic Vietnamese constitute about 90% of Vietnam's population. <br /> <br /> The second-largest ethnic minority grouping, the central highland peoples (formerly termed Montagnards or mountain people), comprise two main ethnolinguistic groups--Malayo-Polynesian and Mon-Khmer. About 30 groups of various cultures and dialects are spread over the highland territory. <br /> <br /> The third-largest minority, the Khmer Krom (Cambodians), numbering about 600,000, is concentrated near the Cambodian border and at the mouth of the Mekong River. Most are farmers. Other minority groups include the Cham--remnants of the once-mighty Champa Kingdom, conquered by the Vietnamese in the 15th century--Hmong, and Thai. <br /> <br /> Vietnamese is the official language of the country. It is a tonal language with influences from Thai, Khmer, and Cantonese. Since the early 20th century, the Vietnamese have used a Romanized script introduced by the French. Previously, Chinese characters and an indigenous phonetic script were both used. <br /> *Population (2007 estimate): 85.2 million.<br /> *Annual growth rate (2007 estimate): 1.004%.<br /> *Ethnic groups: Vietnamese (85%-90%), [[Hmong]], Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups.<br /> *Religions: [[Buddhism]], Hoa Hao, [[Cao Dai]], Christian (predominantly [[Roman Catholic]], some Protestant), [[animism]], [[Islam]].<br /> *Languages: Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Cantonese, and Khmer, mountain area languages.<br /> *Education (2004): Literacy--90.3%.<br /> *Health (2007 estimate): Birth rate—16.63 births/1000 population. Infant mortality rate--17.4 /1000. Life expectancy--70.8 yrs. Death rate--6.56/1,000.<br /> ===Religion===<br /> <br /> More than half of the population is at least nominally Buddhist. The Roman Catholic Church comprises 8 to 10%, several Cao Dai organizations comprise 1.5 to 3%, the primary Hoa Hao organization 1.5 to 4%, Protestant denominations 0.5 to 2%, and one Muslim organization less than 0.1% of the population. Most other citizens consider themselves nonreligious, although many practice traditional beliefs such as veneration of ancestors and national heroes.&lt;ref&gt; See [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108430.htm U.S. State Department &quot;International Religious Freedom Report 2008&quot;]&lt;/ref&gt;<br /> <br /> Many Buddhists practice an amalgam of Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism that is sometimes called the &quot;triple religion.&quot; The CRA cited an estimate of 10 million (12% of the population) practicing Mahayana Buddhists, most of whom are members of the ethnic Kinh majority and found throughout the country, especially in the populous areas of the northern and southern delta regions. There are proportionately fewer Buddhists in certain highland areas, although migration of Kinh to these areas is changing this distribution. A Khmer ethnic minority in southern Vietnam practices Theravada Buddhism. Numbering more than 1 million, they live almost exclusively in the Mekong Delta. In 1981 the officially sanctioned Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) was established. The Government does not recognize the legitimacy of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV).<br /> <br /> There are an estimated 8 million Catholics in the country, although government statistics place the number at 5.9 million. Catholics live throughout the country, but the largest concentrations remain in the southern provinces around Ho Chi Minh City, in parts of the Central Highlands, and in the provinces southeast of Hanoi. Catholicism has revived in many areas in recent years, with newly rebuilt or renovated churches and growing numbers of people who want to be religious workers.<br /> <br /> Government statistics put the number of Cao Dai at 2.3 million, although Cao Dai officials routinely claim as many as 5 million adherents. Cao Dai groups are most active in Tay Ninh Province, where the Cao Dai &quot;Holy See&quot; is located, in Ho Chi Minh City, and throughout the Mekong Delta. There are many separate groups within the Cao Dai religion; the largest is the Tay Ninh sect, which represents more than half of all Cao Dai believers. Cao Dai is syncretistic, combining elements of many faiths.<br /> <br /> According to the Government, there are 1.2 million Hoa Hao followers; affiliated expatriate groups estimate that there may be up to 3 million adherents. Hoa Hao followers are concentrated in the Mekong Delta, particularly in provinces such as An Giang and Dong Thap, where the Hoa Hao were dominant as a social, political, and military force before 1975. The government-recognized Hoa Hao Administrative Committee (HHAC) was organized in 1999. Some Hoa Hao belong to other sects that oppose the HHAC.<br /> <br /> The two largest officially recognized Protestant churches are the Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV or ECVN-S) and the smaller Evangelical Church of Vietnam North (ECVN). The Grace Baptist Church and the United World Mission are also officially recognized. A growing number of other Protestant denominations are also present, including the Vietnam Mennonite Church, the Vietnam Presbyterian Church, and the Vietnam Seventh-day Adventist Church (all officially registered), as well as others yet to be registered. Estimates of the number of Protestants ranged from government figures of 610,000 to claims by churches of more than 1.6 million. There were estimates that the growth of Protestant believers has been as much as 600% over the past decade. Some new converts belong to unregistered evangelical house churches. Based on adherents' estimates, two-thirds of Protestants are members of ethnic minorities, including minority groups in the Northwest Highlands (H'mong, Dzao, Thai, and others) and in the Central Highlands (Ede, Jarai, and Mnong, among others).<br /> <br /> Mosques serving the small Muslim population, estimated at between 50,000 to 80,000 people, operate in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, western An Giang Province, and provinces in the southern coastal area. The Government officially estimates there are 67,000 Muslim believers. The Muslim community is composed mainly of ethnic Cham, although in Ho Chi Minh City and An Giang Province it includes some ethnic Kinh and migrants originally from Malaysia, Indonesia, and India. Approximately half of the Muslims are Sunnis; the other half practice Bani Islam, a type of Islam unique to the ethnic Cham who live on the south-central coast.<br /> <br /> There are several smaller religious communities, the largest of which is the Hindu community. Approximately 50,000 ethnic Cham in the south-central coastal area practice a devotional form of Hinduism. Another 4,000 Hindus live in Ho Chi Minh City; some are ethnic Cham, but most are Indian or of mixed Indian-Vietnamese descent.<br /> <br /> There are approximately 800 hundred members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) throughout the country, but primarily in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.<br /> <br /> At least ten active but unregistered congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses operate in the country, each reportedly with several hundred members. Most of the congregations are in the south, with five in Ho Chi Minh City.<br /> <br /> At least 14 million citizens constituting 17% or more of the population reportedly do not practice any organized religion. Other sources strictly define those whose activities are limited to visiting pagodas on ceremonial holidays to not be practicing Buddhists. Using this stricter definition, the number of nonreligious people in the country would be much higher, perhaps as many as 50 million. No statistics were available on the level of participation in formal religious services, but it was generally acknowledged that this number has been increasing since the early 1990s.<br /> <br /> Ethnic minorities constitute approximately 14% of the population. They historically practice different traditional beliefs than those of the majority Kinh. Many ethnic minorities, particularly among the H'mong, Dao, and Jarai groups in the Northwest and Central Highlands, have converted to Protestantism.<br /> <br /> The Government does not officially favor a particular religion. Virtually all senior government and CPV officials, as well as the vast majority of National Assembly delegates, are formally &quot;without religion.&quot; However, many party and government officials openly practice traditional ancestor worship, and some visit Buddhist pagodas. The prominent traditional position of Buddhism does not adversely affect religious freedom for others, including those who do not practice a religion.<br /> <br /> The Government officially recognizes Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Baha’i, Muslim, and Pure Land Buddhist Home Practice. Individual congregations within each registered or recognized group established after the legal framework took effect must also be registered. Practitioners of alternative Buddhist, Protestant, Hoa Hao, and Cao Dai groups do not participate in the government-recognized/registered religious organizations.<br /> <br /> The Government does not permit religious instruction in public schools; however, it permits clergy to teach at universities in subjects in which they are qualified. Buddhist monks have lectured at the Ho Chi Minh Political Academy, the main Communist Party school. Several Catholic nuns and at least one Catholic priest teach at Ho Chi Minh City universities. They are not allowed to wear religious dress when they teach or to identify themselves as clergy. Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Buddhist groups are allowed to provide religious education to children. Catholic religious education, on weekends or evenings, is permitted in most areas and has increased in recent years in churches throughout the country. Khmer Theravada Buddhists and Cham Muslims regularly hold religious and language classes outside of normal classroom hours in their respective pagodas and mosques. Religious groups are not permitted to operate independent schools beyond preschool and kindergarten. Atheism is not officially taught in schools.<br /> <br /> ==Government and Political Conditions==<br /> A new state constitution was approved in April 1992, reaffirming the central role of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in politics and society, and outlining government reorganization and increased economic freedom. Though Vietnam remains a one-party state, adherence to ideological orthodoxy has become less important than economic development as a national priority. <br /> <br /> The most important powers within the Vietnamese Government--in addition to the Communist Party--are the executive agencies created by the 1992 constitution: the offices of the president and the prime minister. The Vietnamese President, presently Nguyen Minh Triet, functions as head of state but also serves as the nominal commander of the armed forces and chairman of the Council on National Defense and Security. The Prime Minister of Vietnam, presently Nguyen Tan Dung, heads a cabinet currently composed of three deputy prime ministers and the heads of 26 ministries and commissions, all confirmed by the National Assembly. <br /> <br /> Notwithstanding the 1992 constitution's reaffirmation of the central role of the Communist Party, the National Assembly, according to the constitution, is the highest representative body of the people and the only organization with legislative powers. It has a broad mandate to oversee all government functions. Once seen as little more than a rubber stamp, the National Assembly has become more vocal and assertive in exercising its authority over lawmaking, particularly in recent years. However, the National Assembly is still subject to party direction. More than 80% of the deputies in the National Assembly are party members. The assembly meets twice yearly for 7-10 weeks each time; elections for members are held every 5 years, although its Standing Committee meets monthly and there are now over 100 &quot;full-time&quot; deputies who function on various committees. There is a separate judicial branch, but it is still relatively weak. Overall, there are few lawyers and trial procedures are rudimentary. <br /> <br /> The present 14-member Politburo, elected in April 2006 and headed by Communist Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, determines government policy, and its Secretariat oversees day-to-day policy implementation. In addition, the Party's Central Military Commission, which is composed of select Politburo members and additional military leaders, determines military policy. <br /> <br /> A Party Congress, which most recently was comprised of 1,176 delegates at the Tenth Party Congress in April 2006, meets every 5 years to set the direction of the party and the government. The 160-member Central Committee (with an additional 21 alternate members), was elected by the Party Congress and it usually meets at least twice a year. <br /> <br /> ===Principal Government Officials=== <br /> *President--Nguyen Minh Triet<br /> *Prime Minister--Nguyen Tan Dung<br /> *National Assembly Chairman--Nguyen Phu Trong<br /> *Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs--Pham Gia Khiem<br /> *Ambassador to the United States--Nguyen Tam Chien<br /> *Ambassador to the United Nations--Le Luong Minh <br /> ====Politburo====<br /> Tenth Party Congress Politburo, named April 25, 2006; listed in the order it was announced, including the individuals’ current positions:<br /> *General Secretary of CPV Central Committee, 10th Party Congress--Nong Duc Manh<br /> *Minister of Public Security--Le Hong Anh<br /> *Prime Minister--Nguyen Tan Dzung<br /> *State President--Nguyen Minh Triet<br /> *Standing Secretariat Member--Truong Tan Sang<br /> *National Assembly Chairman--Nguyen Phu Trong<br /> *Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs--Pham Gia Khiem<br /> *Minister of Defense, General Chief of Staff--Phung Quang Thanh<br /> *Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman, Party Internal Affairs Commission--Truong Vinh Trong<br /> *Secretary of HCMC Party's Committee--Le Thanh Hai<br /> *Standing Deputy Prime Minister--Nguyen Sinh Hung<br /> *Secretary of Hanoi Party's Committee--Pham Quang Nghi<br /> *Chairman, Party Organization and Personnel Commission--Ho Duc Viet<br /> *Chairman, Party Control Commission--Nguyen Van Chi<br /> <br /> ===Foreign Relations===<br /> During the second Indochina war (1954-75), North Vietnam balanced relations with its two major allies, the Soviet Union and China. By 1975, tension began to grow as Beijing increasingly viewed Vietnam as a potential Soviet instrument to encircle China. Meanwhile, Beijing's increasing support for Cambodia's Khmer Rouge sparked Vietnamese suspicions of China's motives. <br /> <br /> Through the 1980s, Vietnam received nearly $3 billion a year in economic and military aid from the Soviet Union and conducted most of its trade with that country and with other Council for Mutual Economic Assistance countries. However, Soviet and East bloc economic aid ceased after the breakup of the Soviet Union. <br /> <br /> Vietnam did not begin to emerge from international isolation until it withdrew its troops from Cambodia in 1989. Within months of the 1991 Paris Agreements, Vietnam established diplomatic and economic relations with ASEAN as well as with most of the countries of Western Europe and Northeast Asia. China reestablished full diplomatic ties with Vietnam in 1991, and the two countries continue their joint efforts to demarcate their land and sea borders, expand trade and investment ties, and build political relations. <br /> <br /> In the past decade, Vietnam has recognized the increasing importance of growing global economic interdependence and has made concerted efforts to adjust its foreign relations to reflect the evolving international economic and political situation in Southeast Asia. The country has begun to integrate itself into the regional and global economy by joining international organizations. Vietnam has stepped up its efforts to attract foreign capital from the West and regularize relations with the world financial system. In the 1990s, following the lifting of the American veto on multilateral loans to the country, Vietnam became a member of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Asian Development Bank. The country has expanded trade with its East Asian neighbors as well as with countries in Western Europe and North America. Of particular significance was Vietnam's acceptance into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July 1995. Vietnam joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) in November 1998 and hosted the ASEAN summit in 2001 and APEC in 2006. Vietnam is seeking to join the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member for the 2008 and 2009 term.<br /> <br /> While Vietnam has remained relatively conflict-free since its Cambodia days, tensions have arisen in the past between Vietnam and its neighbors (especially China). Vietnam and China each assert claims to the Spratly Islands (as does Taiwan), an archipelago in a potentially oil-rich area of the South China Sea. Over the years, conflicting claims have produced small-scale armed altercations in the area; in 1988 more than 70 people were killed during a confrontation between China and Vietnam. China's assertion of control over the Spratly Islands and the entire South China Sea has elicited concern from Vietnam and its Southeast Asia neighbors. The territorial border between the two countries is being definitively mapped pursuant to a Land Border Agreement signed in December 1999, and an Agreement on Borders in the Gulf of Tonkin signed in December 2000. Vietnam and Russia declared a strategic partnership in March 2001 during the first visit ever to Hanoi of a Russian head of state, largely as an attempt to counterbalance the People's Republic of China's (P.R.C.) growing profile in Southeast Asia. <br /> <br /> ===Relations with the United States===<br /> After a 20-year hiatus of severed ties, President Clinton announced the formal normalization of diplomatic relations with Vietnam on July 11, 1995. Subsequent to President Clinton's normalization announcement, in August 1995, both nations upgraded their Liaison Offices opened during January 1995 to embassy status. As diplomatic ties between the nations grew, the United States opened a consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City, and Vietnam opened a consulate in San Francisco. <br /> <br /> U.S. relations with Vietnam have become deeper and more diverse in the years since political normalization. The two countries have broadened their political exchanges through regular dialogues on human rights and regional security. They signed a Bilateral Trade Agreement in July 2000, which went into force in December 2001. In 2003, the two countries signed a Counternarcotics Letter of Agreement (amended in 2006), a Civil Aviation Agreement, and a textile agreement. <br /> <br /> As of November 2, 2006, the U.S. Government listed 1,796 Americans unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, including 1,373 in Vietnam. Since 1973, 850 Americans have been accounted for, including 608 in Vietnam. Additionally, the Department of Defense has confirmed that of the 196 individuals who were &quot;last known alive&quot; (LKA), the U.S. Government has determined the fate of all but 31. The United States considers achieving the fullest possible accounting of Americans missing and unaccounted for in Indochina to be one of its highest priorities with Vietnam. <br /> <br /> Since entry into force of the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement on December 10, 2001, increased trade between the U.S. and Vietnam, combined with large-scale U.S. investment in Vietnam, evidence the maturing U.S.-Vietnam economic relationship. In 2006, the United States exported $1.1 billion of goods to Vietnam and imported $8.6 billion of goods from Vietnam. Similarly, U.S. companies continue to invest directly in the Vietnamese economy. During 2006, the U.S. private sector committed $444 million to Vietnam in foreign direct investment. This number is expected to rise dramatically following Vietnam's accession into the WTO. <br /> <br /> Another sign of the expanding bilateral relationship is the signing of a Bilateral Air Transport Agreement in December 2003. Several U.S. carriers already have third-party code sharing agreements with Vietnam Airlines. Direct flights between Ho Chi Minh City and San Francisco began in December 2004. Vietnam and the United States also signed a bilateral Maritime Agreement in March 2007 that opened the maritime transport and services industry of Vietnam to U.S. firms.<br /> <br /> Cooperation in other areas, such as defense, nonproliferation, counterterrorism, and law enforcement, is also increasing at a measured pace.<br /> <br /> ==Economy==<br /> [[Image:Vietnam.JPG|right|300px]]<br /> Economic stagnation marked the period after reunification from 1975 to 1985. In 1986, the Sixth Party Congress approved a broad economic reform package called &quot;Doi Moi&quot; (renovation) that introduced market reforms and dramatically improved Vietnam's business climate. Vietnam became one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, averaging around 8% annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth from 1990 to 1997 and 6.5% from 1998-2003. In 2004-2005, GDP grew over 8% annually. Vietnam's inflation rate, as measured by the consumer price index, which stood at an annual rate of over 300% in 1987, was below 4% from 1997 (except in 1998 when it rose to 9.2%) until 2003. However, in 2004 the consumer price index increased to 9.5%, dropping in 2006 to 7.5%. Average annual foreign investment commitment has risen sharply as a result of the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement and Vietnam's drive toward membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). In 2007, investment commitment is expected again to reach $10 billion, matching the $10 billion level of 2006. The average Vietnamese savings rate is about 30%. From 1990 to 2005, agricultural production nearly doubled, transforming Vietnam from a net food importer to the world's second-largest exporter of rice.<br /> *GDP (2006): $61 billion.<br /> *Real growth rate (2006): 8.2%.<br /> *Per capita income (2006): $726.<br /> *Inflation rate (2006): 7.5%.<br /> *External debt (2005): 32.5% of GDP, $17.2 billion.<br /> *Natural resources: Coal, crude oil, zinc, copper, silver, gold, manganese, iron. <br /> *Agriculture and forestry (20.4% of GDP, 2006): Principal products--rice, maize, sweet potato, peanut, soya bean, cotton, coffee, cashews. Cultivated land--12.2 million hectares. Land use--21% arable; 28% forest and woodland; 51% other.<br /> *Industry and construction (41.5% of GDP, 2006): Principal types--mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity, gas, water supply, cement, phosphate, and steel.<br /> *Services (38.1% of GDP, 2006): Principal types--wholesale and retail, repair of vehicles and personal goods, hotel and restaurant, transport storage, telecommunications, tourism.<br /> *Trade (2006): Exports--$39.6 billion. Principal exports--garments/textiles, crude oil, footwear, rice (second-largest exporter in world), sea products, coffee, rubber, handicrafts. Major export partners--U.S., EU, Japan, China, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, and Germany. Imports--$44.4 billion. Principal imports--machinery, oil and gas, garment materials, iron and steel, transport-related equipment. Major import partners--China, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Exports to U.S. (2006)--$8.6 billion. Imports from U.S. (2006) $1.1 billion. <br /> <br /> Foreign trade and foreign direct investment have improved significantly. The shift away from a centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented economic model improved the quality of life for many Vietnamese. Per capita income, $220 in 1994, rose to $726 in 2006 with a related reduction in the share of the population living in acute poverty. However, regional differences in average income are wide: $726 for the whole country on average but about $1,800 in Ho Chi Minh City and much lower than average in poorer provinces of the central and northern highlands. <br /> <br /> The East Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s slowed the pace of economic growth that marked the earlier part of the decade. While a return to pre-crisis levels of growth and development has been slow, the pace has picked up in recent years, primarily as the result of ongoing economic and trade liberalization. Vietnam's economic stance following the East Asian financial crisis first emphasized macroeconomic stability, then shifted its focus toward growth. While the country has moved toward a more market-oriented economy, the Vietnamese Government still holds a tight rein over major sectors of the economy through large state-owned enterprises and the banking system. The launch of the State Capital Investment Corporation at the end of 2005 is intended to make state-owned enterprises operate more competitively. The government has plans to reform key sectors and privatize state-owned enterprises, but implementation has been gradual. Greater emphasis on private sector development is critical for job creation. Urban unemployment has been rising in recent years, and rural unemployment, estimated to be between 25% and 35% during non-harvest periods, is already at critical levels. <br /> <br /> The December 10, 2001, entry-into-force of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) between the U.S. and Vietnam was a significant milestone for Vietnam's economy and for normalization of U.S.-Vietnam relations. Implementation of this agreement, which includes provisions on trade in goods, trade in services, enforcement of intellectual property rights, protection for investments, and transparency, fundamentally changed Vietnam’s trade regime and helped liberalize its economy. By virtue of the BTA, normal trade relations (NTR) status was accorded to Vietnam on a conditional basis. Bilateral trade between the two countries expanded dramatically, rising more than five-fold from 2001 to $9.6 billion in 2006. <br /> <br /> By requiring a range of reforms to Vietnam's trade and investment regime, the BTA also helped Vietnam prepare for the next major step in its integration into the world economy: membership in the WTO. Following the conclusion of bilateral negotiations with interested WTO members and completion of multilateral negotiations in 2006, the WTO General Council approved the terms for Vietnam's membership on November 7, 2006. Vietnam formally acceded to the WTO as its 150th member on January 11, 2007. Vietnam was granted unconditional normal trade relations (NTR) status by the United States through a Presidential Proclamation signed by President Bush on December 29, 2006. On January 11, 2007 the United States removed the application of quotas on textile and apparel imports from Vietnam consistent with the terms of our WTO bilateral market access agreement and treatment provided other WTO members. To meet the obligations of WTO membership, Vietnam revised nearly all of its trade and investment laws and guiding regulations. As a result, foreign investors and those seeking to sell goods and services to the increasingly affluent Vietnamese population will benefit from the improved legislative framework and lower trade barriers. Local firms that have heretofore enjoyed a range of protections, meanwhile, will experience increased competition. As 2006 drew to a close, the Government of Vietnam reasserted its goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2010. That would entail raising the average per capita income to at least $1,000 from the 2006 average of $726. Economic analysts, including those at the World Bank, believe that this goal is attainable.<br /> <br /> ===Agriculture and Industry===<br /> Land reform, de-collectivization, and the opening of the agricultural sector to market forces converted Vietnam from a country facing chronic food shortages in the early 1980s to the second-largest rice exporter in the world. Besides rice, key exports are coffee, tea, rubber, and fisheries products. Agriculture's share of economic output has declined, falling as a share of GDP from 42% in 1989 to 20.4% in 2006, as production in other sectors of the economy has risen. <br /> <br /> Paralleling its efforts to increase agricultural output, Vietnam’s industrial production has grown. Industry contributed 41.5% of GDP in 2006, up from 27.3% in 1985. State-owned enterprises are marked by low productivity and inefficiency, the result of a command-style economic system applied in an underdeveloped country. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a dynamic feature of Vietnam's industrializing economy. As of the end of 2005, cumulative implemented foreign direct investment totaled over $34 billion, helping to transform the industrial landscape of Vietnam. <br /> <br /> Vietnam has successfully increased exports of manufactured goods, especially labor-intensive manufactures, such as textiles and apparel and footwear. Subsidies have been cut to some inefficient state enterprises. The Government is also in the process of &quot;equitizing&quot; (e.g., transforming state enterprises into share holding companies and distributing a portion of the shares to management, workers and private foreign and domestic investors) a significant number of state enterprises. However, to date the government continues to maintain control of the largest and most important companies. Despite reforms, the state share of GDP has remained relatively constant since 2000, at 38-39%. <br /> <br /> ===Trade and Balance of Payments===<br /> From the late 1970s until the 1990s, Vietnam was heavily dependent on the Soviet Union and its allies for trade and economic assistance. To compensate for drastic cuts in Soviet-bloc support after 1989, Vietnam liberalized trade, devalued its exchange rate to increase exports, and embarked on a policy of regional and international economic re-integration. Vietnam has demonstrated its commitment to trade liberalization in recent years, and integration with the world economy has become one of the cornerstones of its reform program. Vietnam has locked in its intention to create a more competitive and open economy by committing to several comprehensive international trade agreements, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organization will further integrate Vietnam into the global economy.<br /> <br /> As a result of these reforms, exports expanded significantly, growing by as much as 20%-30% in some years. In 2005, exports accounted for 63% of GDP. Imports have also grown rapidly, and Vietnam has a significant trade deficit (forecast to be $4.8 billion in 2006). Vietnam’s total external debt, accounting for 32.5% of GDP in 2005, was estimated at around $17.2 billion.<br /> <br /> ==History==<br /> Vietnam's identity has been shaped by long-running conflicts, both internally and with foreign forces. In 111 BC, China's Han dynasty conquered northern Vietnam's Red River Delta and the ancestors of today's Vietnamese and Cantonese. Chinese dynasties ruled Vietnam for the next 1,000 years, inculcating it with Confucian ideas and political culture. In 939 AD, Vietnam achieved independence under a native dynasty. After 1471, when Vietnam conquered the Champa Kingdom in what is now central Vietnam, the Vietnamese moved gradually southward, finally reaching the rich Mekong Delta, encountering there earlier settled Cham and Cambodians. While Vietnam's emperors reigned ineffectually, powerful northern and southern families fought civil wars in the 17th and 18th centuries. <br /> <br /> ====French Rule and the Anti-Colonial Struggle==== <br /> In 1858, the French began their conquest of Vietnam starting in the south. They annexed all of Vietnam in 1885, but allowed Vietnam's emperors to continue to reign, although not actually to rule. In the early 20th century, French-educated Vietnamese intellectuals organized nationalist and communist-nationalist anti-colonial movements. <br /> <br /> Japan's occupation of Vietnam during World War II further stirred nationalism. Vietnamese communists under Ho Chi Minh organized a coalition of anti-colonial groups, the Viet Minh, though many anti-communists refused to join. After Japan stripped the French of much power in Indochina in March 1945, Ho Chi Minh announced the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945. <br /> <br /> ====North and South Partition==== <br /> France's post-World War II unwillingness to leave Vietnam led to failed talks and an 8-year guerrilla war between the communist-led Viet Minh on one side and the French and their anti-communist nationalist allies on the other. Following a humiliating defeat at Dien Bien Phu in May 1954, France and other parties, including Britain, China, the Soviet Union, and the United States, convened in Geneva, Switzerland for peace talks. On July 29, 1954, an Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Vietnam was signed between France and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The United States observed, but did not sign, the agreement. French colonial rule in Vietnam ended. <br /> <br /> The 1954 Geneva agreement provided for a cease-fire between communist and anti-communist nationalist forces, the temporary division of Vietnam at approximately the 17th parallel, provisional northern (communist) and southern (noncommunist) zone governments, and the evacuation of anti-communist Vietnamese from northern to southern Vietnam. The agreement also called for an election to be held by July 1956 to bring the two provisional zones under a unified government. However, the South Vietnamese Government refused to accept this provision. On October 26, 1955, South Vietnam declared itself the Republic of Vietnam. <br /> <br /> After 1954, North Vietnamese communist leaders consolidated their power and instituted a harsh agrarian reform and socialization program. In the late 1950s, they reactivated the network of communist guerrillas that had remained behind in the south. These forces--commonly known as the Viet Cong--aided covertly by the north, started an armed campaign against officials and villagers who refused to support the communist reunification cause. <br /> <br /> ====American Assistance to the South==== <br /> In December 1961, at the request of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, President Kennedy sent U.S. military advisers to South Vietnam to help the government there deal with the Viet Cong campaign. In the wake of escalating political turmoil in the south after a 1963 generals' coup against President Diem, the United States increased its military support for South Vietnam. In March 1965, President Johnson sent the first U.S. combat forces to Vietnam. The American military role peaked in 1969 with an in-country force of 534,000. However, the Viet Cong's surprise Tet Offensive in January 1968 deeply hurt both the Viet Cong infrastructure and American and South Vietnamese morale. In January 1969, the United States, governments of South and North Vietnam, and the Viet Cong met for the first plenary session of peace talks in Paris, France. These talks, which began with much hope, moved slowly. They finally concluded with the signing of a peace agreement, the Paris Accords, on January 27, 1973. As a result, the south was divided into a patchwork of zones controlled by the South Vietnamese Government and the Viet Cong. The United States withdrew its forces, although U.S. military advisers remained. <br /> <br /> ====Reunification====<br /> In early 1975, North Vietnamese regular military forces began a major offensive in the south, inflicting great damage to the south's forces. The communists took Saigon on April 30, 1975, and announced their intention of reunifying the country. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (north) absorbed the former Republic of Vietnam (south) to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on July 2, 1976. <br /> <br /> After reunification, the government confiscated privately owned land and forced citizens into collectivized agricultural practices. Hundreds of thousands of former South Vietnamese Government and military officials, as well as intellectuals previously opposed to the communist cause, were sent to re-education camps to study socialist doctrine. <br /> <br /> While Vietnamese leaders thought that reunification of the country and its socialist transformation would be condoned by the international community, this did not happen. Besides international concern over Vietnam's internal practices, the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978 and its growing tight alliance with the Soviet Union appeared to confirm suspicions that Vietnam wanted to establish hegemony in Indochina. <br /> <br /> Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia also heightened tensions that already existed between Vietnam and China. Beijing, which had long backed the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, retaliated in early 1979 by initiating a border war with Vietnam. <br /> <br /> Vietnam's tensions with its neighbors and its stagnant economy contributed to a massive exodus from Vietnam. Fearing persecution, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese nationals fled, seeking temporary refuge in camps throughout Southeast Asia. <br /> <br /> The continuing grave condition of the economy and the alienation from the international community became focal points of party debate. In 1986, at the Sixth Party Congress, there was an important easing of communist agrarian and commercial policies. <br /> <br /> {{Template:Copyright Details (US Government)}}<br /> License = This work is in the [[public domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.| source = [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/4130.htm]<br /> ====references====<br /> &lt;references/&gt;<br /> [[Category:Asian Countries]]<br /> [[Category:Vietnam]]<br /> <br /> == See also ==<br /> <br /> *[[Ho Chi Minh]]<br /> *[[Viet Minh]]<br /> *[[Viet Cong]]</div>

DSmith https://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Cantonese&diff=680668 2009-07-04T00:47:35Z

<p>DSmith: Cleared out liberal bias; removed misinformation</p> <hr /> <div>'''Cantonese''' ([[Jyutping]]: jyut6 jyu5) is the de facto [[official language]] of [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]] and is also the lingua franca of Guangdong Province. Although it is sometimes called a [[dialect]] (mainly by some leftist governments), it is completely different from [[Mandarin]], the official spoken language of [[China]], differing [[phonology|phonologically]], [[grammar|grammatically]] and in [[vocabulary]].<br /> <br /> Linguistic studies have shown that the Cantonese language is '''not''' a dialect of any language in particular but rather a language in its own right with its own history. It is related to many languages spoken in South East Asia, particularly the languages used in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. However, written Cantonese is rarely encountered outside Hong Kong even in overseas Cantonese-speaking communities.<br /> <br /> Since Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule in 1997, the central Chinese government has not asserted that Mandarin would take over as the official spoken language of the region (as it is throughout China), but removed Cantonese's status as an official language, declaring that &quot;Chinese&quot; as the official language. Since Cantonese is not a Chinese language (despite claims by the government to the contrary), this can be taken to mean that although Cantonese is still used in practice in Hong Kong's institutions, strictly speaking the language no longer has any legal status at all and there is a danger that its use may be undermined in the distant future, a proposition that the mainstream media is unlikely to report on.<br /> <br /> [[Category:China]]</div>

DSmith