This study analyzes the experience of Daoism in the Netherlands among practitioners of three body practices: taijiquan, qigong and Healing Tao. It describes how this ancient Chinese tradition has...Show moreThis study analyzes the experience of Daoism in the Netherlands among practitioners of three body practices: taijiquan, qigong and Healing Tao. It describes how this ancient Chinese tradition has found its place in the daily life of practitioners of three “Daoist” body practices and how the practitioners experience Daoism. Through analyzing qualitative interviews with teachers and students practicing taijiquan, qigong and Healing Tao, this thesis shows that Daoism in the Netherlands is mostly experienced as a practical guideline and serves as the basis for these body practices. For a significant number of practitioners, Daoism is applicable everywhere and gives meaning to life. It explains the world around the practitioners without requiring a strong “belief” in anything. Some practitioners connect Daoism and their body practice to its Chinese origin, whereas others believe the underlying principles are the most important. Through this analyzation, it becomes clear that Daoism is experienced stronger in the Netherlands than was expected prior to this research.Show less
China’s role in renewable energy technology projects in Ghana only implements green growth to a certain extent. This thesis draws the notion of green growth from the definition by the OECD. It is...Show moreChina’s role in renewable energy technology projects in Ghana only implements green growth to a certain extent. This thesis draws the notion of green growth from the definition by the OECD. It is sustained economic growth, while the environment is not harmed and provides services that benefit people’s livelihood. A good mean to foster green growth is investing in renewable energy. Lower developed countries like Ghana do not have the resources to invest in renewable energy as much in comparison to China, who is currently the biggest investor in renewable energy, However, the market for renewable energy in Ghana is highly present and welcoming, which makes it a great opportunity for outside actors to invest in renewables in Ghana. This thesis highlights six renewable energy projects in Ghana where China has been actively involved in, and analysed China’s challenges on its green growth strategy in these projects. Using the theoretical framework, it became apparent that all projects, except the Bui Dam, foster or potentially foster Ghana’s economic development. As the Bui Dam case demonstrate, it does occur that the locals were not adequately taken into account. 1,216 people were forced to resettle, and even though the authority had a resettlement program, it was not adequately implemented. This left some people jobless, homeless and generally, socio-economic speaking better off before the dam was constructed. The issues that the framework make apparent, indicate that it remains challenging for the Chinese government to maintain influence on overseas practices to stress its said green growth policies. This could be due to the numerous actors involved, that makes it hard to establish accountability for bad practices. Consequently, this results in a limited focus on local livelihoods and no regard to the environment. By actively engaging with the community, and implementing social and environmental policies could cultivate the social and environmental pillar of green growthShow less
This thesis is dedicated to the shift in human rights dialogue between the Czech Republic and China. The Czech Republic serves as an extreme case study of period between 1993-2017, that shows...Show moreThis thesis is dedicated to the shift in human rights dialogue between the Czech Republic and China. The Czech Republic serves as an extreme case study of period between 1993-2017, that shows general trends of other European countries, particularly their current restraining from emphasis on human rights while preferring economic advantage that is brought about by the China's rising economic powerhouse.Show less
This thesis provides an analysis of international cybersecurity regulations within the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts. With China as one of the world's largest influential actors...Show moreThis thesis provides an analysis of international cybersecurity regulations within the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts. With China as one of the world's largest influential actors within the field of cybersecurity, a perspective from the country's foreign policy is given. This is realised using documents and meeting reports of the United Nations GGEs from 2013 to 2017 in order to measure the impact of China within its decision-making. By incorporating China's international objectives on information security within the broader context of the United Nations, the reasons for success and failure within the UN GGEs are determined. China's impact on cybersecurity seems to be significant but not determinative within the outcome of the international cooperation of United Nations cybersecurity policy.Show less
The present research is an attempt to explore the presented and hidden narratives, or non-disclosed behaviors, of the galleries of two art hubs located in Beijing: Caochangdi art village and 798...Show moreThe present research is an attempt to explore the presented and hidden narratives, or non-disclosed behaviors, of the galleries of two art hubs located in Beijing: Caochangdi art village and 798 art district. These two districts are perceived as radically different from each other: 798 is considered by many workers of the field as commercialized, whereas Caochangdi is deemed to be "about art." However, is there an actual difference between the galleries of the two art hubs? Thus the research question was easily defined: “What are the narratives the two Beijing’s Contemporary art district’s galleries use to present themselves and do the districts differ in it or are they similar? In which way would they be similar?” This research aims at answering this question through a series of interviews. These interviews were based on theory drawn from secondary sources and are aimed at defining commercial (innovative) or non-commercial (inventive) behaviors in the sample galleries.Show less
The People’s Republic of China has had an increase in economy, population, and military for the past three decades, becoming one of the most dominant powers in Asia. Therefore, the relationship...Show moreThe People’s Republic of China has had an increase in economy, population, and military for the past three decades, becoming one of the most dominant powers in Asia. Therefore, the relationship between The United States of America and The People’s Republic of China has been covered extensively by the media, especially when it concerned the territorial dispute of the South China Sea in 2001. The media uses frames to show different perspectives of an event or issue. This thesis concerns itself with how the media in China and the United States framed their position and the South China Sea island dispute. To uncover the frames, a qualitative, inductive frame analysis is conducted on a set of articles from the New York Times, Washington Post, China Daily, and People’s Daily, from the span of 2011 to 2012. Uncovered were seven different frames. Four from the New York Times and Washington Post and three from China Daily and People’s Daily. In The New York Times and Washington Post, the United States was mostly framed as an ally to the smaller and militarily weaker ASEAN States, with a special focus on the Philippines. The second frame established the Chinese position in the dispute, which unlike the United States had a more ‘negative’ connotation. It concentrated on the aggression that came from China’s action within the South China Sea dispute. These frames were the opposite in the Chinese media outlets. China was deemed the peaceful power, while the interference of the United States has led to participant countries becoming more aggressive in their actions against China. While American media, concentrates on presenting the South China Sea dispute as a tense and long-standing issue, Chinese media looks at it, as a new way to increase and deepen regional ties. Both countries shine a positive frame on their actions, while simultaneously casting the other in the role of aggressor or villain.Show less
Bachelor thesis about the effects of Chinese FDI on Brazil´s economic development with representative case studies from Brazil´s petrochemical, - electric power transmission,- and telecommunication...Show moreBachelor thesis about the effects of Chinese FDI on Brazil´s economic development with representative case studies from Brazil´s petrochemical, - electric power transmission,- and telecommunication industry. Based on a multidisciplinary approach grounded in business, economics, public policy and political economy the hypothesis that Chinese FDI leads to deindustrialization in Brazil via (1) facilitating commodity exports through infrastructure provision and (2) incentivizing the import of manufactured Chinese goods by creating technological dependencies. Key findings include that even though Chinese investment is mostly resource-seeking and conducted by Chinese SOEs in the Brazilian energy sector, the presence of national Champions such as Eletrobras and Petrobras with high innovative capacities might still lead to technological spillovers. So, do complementary technological expertise and Brazilian capital needs. However, a conservative industrial policy paired with an expansionary fiscal policy enabled rent-seeking behavior and culminated in the Lava Jato scandal, which substantially hampered Brazilian absorptive capacities. Especially in the telecommunication sector a clear link between Chinese FDI and Brazilian deindustrialization was evident, as investment incentivized technology imports from China. Nonetheless, the outlook is mixed as academics predict a shift from resource-seeking to efficiency-, and asset-seeking investment, which has yet to materialize but might yield more positive externalities in the future.Show less
The remarkable economic growth at the beginning of the new millennium enables China to be an attractive destination for international immigrants. In order to administrate the increasing number of...Show moreThe remarkable economic growth at the beginning of the new millennium enables China to be an attractive destination for international immigrants. In order to administrate the increasing number of foreigners, the Chinese government promulgated a new immigration law in 2012, which was expected to be a more comprehensive, consistent, and effective entity compared to the former legislation. However, by studying the previous researches on migration control in other countries as well as Chinese immigration legislative transition, we found that this transition was trapped in a dilemma. Similar to the UK, the transition has strengthened the restrictiveness over foreigners’ entry, residence, and employment, while this method failed to effectively tackle the illegalities on this field but even deteriorate the situation. Through the case study of African immigrants in Guangzhou city, this thesis argues that the legislative transition has reinforced illegal stay and deteriorate the precarious immigration employment relationship. Besides, aiming to maintain a positive image of Sion-Africana friendship, the central government uses a non-recording strategy, leaving the problems to the local level, which created an oblivion for this group, further enforced their vulnerability.Show less
The Chinese Dream has been a buzzword for theorizing about China's future ever since Xi Jinping took office in 2012. But what does it mean for ordinary Chinese people? How big can their dreams get...Show moreThe Chinese Dream has been a buzzword for theorizing about China's future ever since Xi Jinping took office in 2012. But what does it mean for ordinary Chinese people? How big can their dreams get in a society that seems to revolve around the group and not the individual?Show less
The main focus of this paper was to examine the role of the Chinese government in the development of its state-owned airlines. Usually, state-owned enterprises have not been considered competitive...Show moreThe main focus of this paper was to examine the role of the Chinese government in the development of its state-owned airlines. Usually, state-owned enterprises have not been considered competitive in a market due to the lack of efficiency and incentives compared to privately-owned enterprises. However, the recent growth of Chinese state-owned airlines compared to other Asian airlines indicates that these enterprises are able to compete successfully with privately-owned airlines. Therefore, this paper tried to explain why these airlines have been able to do this, by focusing on the strong role played by its owner, the Chinese government. Due to this ownership, the government has significant influence on the market on both the regulatory and the operational sides of the Chinese airline industry. This paper has shown that the Chinese government provided its airlines with favourable policies aimed at reducing competition, especially in the domestic market. Through regulatory and financial support, the airlines have faced few difficulties in competing in the airline industry and therefore could successfully develop to being part of Asia’s largest airlines.Show less
This research paper poses the question of why Beijing is currently investing in the Regional Economic Comprehensive Partnership. Ever since China announced its participation in the agreement in...Show moreThis research paper poses the question of why Beijing is currently investing in the Regional Economic Comprehensive Partnership. Ever since China announced its participation in the agreement in 2012, scholarly debate attempted to make sense of this course of action. With many initially arguing that Beijing was planning a strategic move to counter the US rebalance to Asia through Washington’s TPP participation, lesser attention has been paid to other plausible reasons. Now, after the US withdrawal from the TPP in 2017, it appears useful to stretch out the debate and analyse other indicators that might encourage China to continue its participation efforts in the RCEP. Therefore this thesis identifies four indicators as key motivational drivers for the Chinese cooperation effort and conducts qualitative as quantitative analysis of those.Show less
With the end of the financial crisis, China launched multiple infrastructure investment projects in Asia, Africa and Latin America. This display of global engagement has led to an ongoing debate...Show moreWith the end of the financial crisis, China launched multiple infrastructure investment projects in Asia, Africa and Latin America. This display of global engagement has led to an ongoing debate among scholars and policy makers concerning the significance of geo-economics. This study aims to shed some light into this debate and to determine the geo-economic implications of Chinese infrastructure investments in Myanmar. To this end, the research question for this thesis is as follows: How are infrastructure investment and its effects utilised as a tool of economic diplomacy to produce geo-economic gains for China in Myanmar? To answer the research question, the effects and geo-economic implications are analysed through a qualitative policy and discourse analysis, as well as the examination of data and the effects of infrastructure investment and its geo-economic implication over time. The study shows, that the effects of the infrastructure projects are nurturing new interdependencies and dependencies, increasing the vulnerability of Myanmar towards China, who can utilise these dependencies as political leverage. Further research can be undertaken to identify similar patterns in the relationship of China and other nations, as well as the role of infrastructure investment as economic diplomacy tool.Show less
In December 2015, the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP) took place in Paris, France. The Paris COP has widely been perceived as the most successful climate change conference ever. It resulted in...Show moreIn December 2015, the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP) took place in Paris, France. The Paris COP has widely been perceived as the most successful climate change conference ever. It resulted in the Paris Agreement; here 196 Parties came together under one agreement with the aim of limiting the level of global warming to 1.5 to 2 ̊C above pre-industrial levels. On the other hand, you have the Copenhagen COP, a COP that took place six years prior to Paris, of which the outcome is widely perceived as a failure. This research looks at the changes in China’s stance between Copenhagen and Paris, with a focus on China’s role as a developing country. This research revolves around the principle of ‘Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities’, as this principle has been used as an argument for China, along with other developing countries, to exclude itself from any legally binding global climate agreement. Yet, the. This research has found that while China has not given up on the principle of CBDR-RC, there have been several factors that changed between Copenhagen and Paris that led China to compromise its previous stance, and ratify a legally binding international climate agreement for the first time ever.Show less
The Chinese Social Credit System (SCS) has often been described by Western observers as an “Orwellian nightmare”. However, within China, so such outrage appears to exist. Therefore, this paper...Show moreThe Chinese Social Credit System (SCS) has often been described by Western observers as an “Orwellian nightmare”. However, within China, so such outrage appears to exist. Therefore, this paper examines the current state of the SCS and analyses to what extent the system really intents to further repress the Chinese people using surveillance and big data. First, a number of common myths are dispelled, namely the confusion between Sesame Credit and SCS and the use of big data. Then, a more comprehensive overview of the SCS is created and the actual real-life implementation in local pilots is examined. The final chapters then turn to an interpretation of the SCS. The key finding is that while the SCS has the potential to turn into this feared Orwellian nightmare, this does not appear to be the intended goal of the system. Instead, the main focus is on improving the population’s “suzhi” (or: quality) in order to improve economic and social regulation and make China a more “trustworthy” place.Show less
