Political Science

1. The Xinhai Revolution also known as the Revolution of 1911 totally brought the two thousand year dynasty to its end. The revolution was a big blow to Chinas condition and it caused several political commotions to arise. But the May Fourth Movement was the event that roused the birth of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The May Fourth Movement was led by thousands of students from Beijing. They rallied and protested against the Versailles Conference that will award Japan the leasehold of Shandong province. Soon the students elicited the same response from workers, businessmen, and students from other parts of the country. After the historical May Fourth Movement, another event shook the mending state of China- the Japanese invasion. The Japanese occupation of China began at 1931 causing numerous resistance war that killed thousands of people Japan surrendered in 1945. One of the early leaders of CCP was Mao Zedong. Mao is a Marxist and he applied it in his leadership. The mass consisted of the nationalists intellectuals, peasants and workers participated well in Maos endeavors for the country. Gaining the support of the mass, Mao brought the CCPs power to the peak.

2. Maos revision of Marxism can be observed through his reliance on the peasants rather than the industrial workers. He empowered the peasants by delegating them as the forefronts of revolution. Mao focused on the needs and grievances of the underprivileged people who were  oppressed by the warlords. He also stressed political voluntarism that means only our human will is capable of achieving social change and not through reliance on material changes. The use of propagandas, campaign, and ideologies like the Little Red Book and the banding of the Red Guards and the so-called Cult of Mao are some examples. Another manifestation of Maos adaptation of Marxism is the mass-line. He states that  the right way to lead is from the masses to the masses which means that leaders should listen and understand the concerns of the masses, concentrate and study about it until they can produce a systematic and complete idea, and disseminate it to the masses until they accept it wholeheartedly and bring those ideas into life.

One of the good outcome of the Great Leap Forward is that the country broke free from the Soviets model of industrialization. Rural industries and building roads had been successful in its proceedings.  Radical egalitarianism prevailed. But the GLF had more unfortunate effects rather than good ones.  This includes the largest famine in the countrys history that killed millions of people. The famine  happened due to the exaggeration of harvest, decline of production, bad weather, zealous officials and the withdrawal of Soviet aid. After the GLF, there was a massive resettlement of the urban population to the rural areas. The life in the rural communes and urban units were regimented (danwei). Factional politics in the Chinese Communist Party was also observed especially in the 1959 Lushan Conference. In the Cultural Revolution however, violent factional struggles  caused large numbers of death. Most of the state and party organizations were rendered ineffective and others were paralyzed. Social life was politicized to unprecedented degree.  The personality cult of Mao was also at its peak during the Cultural Revolution.

Fragmented Authoritarianism probably is the most accurate means to understand Chinese politics. It describes the Chinese bureaucratic system entirely. The concept of fragmented authoritarianism explains that the authority under the highest leader of the government is separated. That is why Chinas bureaucracy is divided into many groups according to their functions. For example, the economic division deals with specific strategies to advance the countrys economy in Maos time there was the GLF. Theres also the education and propaganda group which is responsible for shaping the knowledge, values, and ideals of the citizens. They include their propagandas in educational systems and through the media. Mao is known for abusing the use of propagandas to attain his goals. The Red Guards, his literary works, the cultural revolution are some examples of the latter. After Maos rule, China went to a series of reforms but bureaucracies and the concept of fragmented authoritarianism still lives on.

5. The political scene in Taiwan started to change due to the February 28 incident. Chaing Kai-shek decided to pay more attention to Taiwan due to the violent incident that happened. Chiang Kai-shek removed Chen Yi and other high-ranking officials from their positions. He also declared Taiwan as a province and at the same time, he also withdrew military rule. In line with this, Chiang Kai-shek placed Taiwanese in high posts in the government. Moreover, different government monopoly enterprises were sold to the private sector and various steps were made in order to address unemployment in Taiwan. Nevertheless, the tainted image of the Nationalist government has been deeply embedded among Taiwanese, which resulted for their hatred to the government and Mainland Chinese.

Chiang Kai-sheks endeavor to advance the countrys economy stimulated the land reform. The land reform was also the first vital measure to improve the agriculture sector.  And  it was one of the biggest factor in the economys development too. It was enforced by implementing Farm Rent Reduction of about 50 to 37.5 of the main crop, the trade of public lands to tenant farmers, and the land-to-the-tiller program that compelled landlords to sell the land they do not personally farm. Taiwans land reform became very successful, thus making the Nationalist government image in the international community better. It also improved Taiwans economic plight, and made the country a favorite of the US foreign aid.

Taiwan reached democracy through a series of  political, cultural, and economic hardships. But through the determination of the Formosan, they have attained democracy eventually.   The year 1970 to the 1980s were considered as the start of Taiwans democratization. The prosperous economy of Taiwan gave them economic and social stabilty but it was also accompanied by new demands for political participation and pressure for democratization.

Although the country is under martial law, opponents of the government were allowed to run only for the Legislative Yuan. Members of the opposition grabbed the opportunity to fill the Legislative Yuan to debate against the KMT. The opposition called themselves Tangwai. In 1979, the Kaohsiung incident urged the Tangwai to form the Democratic opposition or the Democratic Progressive Party that worked to end the martial law charged by Chiang Kai-shek and successor son Chiang Ching-kuo. It is notable that Ching-kuo became a bridge to democratization by loosening political restrictions when he allowed the formation of political oppositions and lifted the martial law in 1987.