Democratizing China
F05, F06
Eileen Scully
Come explore China—past, present, future —with stops in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong. The Peoples Republic is at a critical juncture in its history, and what its leaders and myriad peoples do next will shape the 21st-century world. Communist Party leaders are “riding the tiger” of globalization, as they allow capitalism to take hold piecemeal and to open their long-closed society to international forces—all while holding tight the reins of power, resisting the translation of economic freedoms into full-blown democracy. With Hong Kong back in China’s orbit, “the tiger” is even more difficult to tame. With its long history, immense population, majestic culture, complicated, often tragic politics, and its entangled relations with outsiders, China provides a rich case study illuminating the impact of globalization, the legacies of imperialism, and the “Asian conception” of human rights.