This paper talks about the influence of the Cultural Revolution in a global context. 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of a remarkable year: 1968, during which the Mai 68 events of France and the...Show moreThis paper talks about the influence of the Cultural Revolution in a global context. 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of a remarkable year: 1968, during which the Mai 68 events of France and the 68er-Bewegung of West Germany happened. In the 1960s, mobilised struggles evolved into new social movements, whose formation was largely influenced by the Maoist Cultural Revolution in China. This article analyses the role of Chinese Cultural Revolution in shaping the new social movements in 1960s Western Europe (France and West Germany) and the communications of the Cultural Revolution from China to the Western European recipients. The paper finds that the Cultural Revolution inspired the 1960s Western European social movement with new elements including a grass-roots approach, anti-authoritarian label and the students’ leadership. The Cultural Revolution reshaped the pattern of French social movement but brought inspiration to West German far-left terrorism.Show less
In early 2016, two different companies, Mobike in Shanghai and Swapfiets in the Netherlands introduced a new type of bike-sharing service that quickly gained popularity. In just two to three years,...Show moreIn early 2016, two different companies, Mobike in Shanghai and Swapfiets in the Netherlands introduced a new type of bike-sharing service that quickly gained popularity. In just two to three years, distinctive and easily recognizable bicycles earned their place on many city streets in China and the Netherlands. Even though these two companies introduced services that were in essence nothing new, they both managed to tweak two different concepts in a way that resulted in staggering adoption rates. No academic studies on Swapfiets have been published. Furthermore, the developments of shared-bicycle systems in China are taking place at such a rapid pace that academic studies written in the last few years and even months quickly become outdated. This study aims to address this lack of literature on Swapfiets and offers more up to date evaluation of the developments on the Chinese bike-sharing market. This study also provides insights in recent developments in the bike-sharing industry and the status quo of bike-sharing in Shanghai as of late 2018. By comparing the development of these two services this study explores the question how their development, sudden growth and popularity can be explained and evaluates to what extent Shanghai could be a viable market for Swapfiets. This is important because bike-sharing is widely promoted as a way of making personal transport more sustainable.Show less
This paper investigates masculinity in Chinese media. Specifically, it was written to address “To what extent is the changing of masculinity in the Chinese media an indication of a changing of...Show moreThis paper investigates masculinity in Chinese media. Specifically, it was written to address “To what extent is the changing of masculinity in the Chinese media an indication of a changing of masculinity in wider society?” To achieve this, the paper will first lay out an overview over how Chinese masculinity has changed over the centuries and the last decades. In order to more easily assess issues regarding masculinity, it will borrow the wén-wǔ distinction introduced by Kam Louie. Then it will address the current relationship between the Chinese (state-) media and masculinity in China. The third part will focus on idols and beauty boys, two forms of masculinity that are criticised often by conservative voices. It will also include a discussion on how much women are involved in the changing masculine ideals. Consequently, this paper will analyse two media productions to see how they portray masculinity, what effects this would have, and how this is related to the literature discussed in this paper. And finally, this paper will conclude that rather than just a shift in masculinity, there is also an entrenchment of older masculine ideals taking place.Show less
In November 2017, the Chinese Vice Finance Minister announced the government's intention to remove the limits on foreign ownship in commercial banks, asset management firms, securities firms, and...Show moreIn November 2017, the Chinese Vice Finance Minister announced the government's intention to remove the limits on foreign ownship in commercial banks, asset management firms, securities firms, and fund management firms. A few months later, the Governor of the People's Bank of China offered what can be considered a timeline for implementation. Although subsequent information has been very scarce and no specific rules have been issued, yet, the author's interest was so much piqued that he has written a thesis that speculates about the government's motivations to decide in this manner. With speculation as the driving force, in order to establish what foreign ownership may mean for a national banking sector in general and the Chinese one in particular, the author presents an overview of seminal research into this field as it has been published in the first decade of the century and has not been published since. Comparative studies on countries that show similarities with China also are presented. The Chinese banking sector, much like the political system, is like a black box. Few studies have appeared that describe the state of the financial sector in a non-partisan way. Nonetheless, the author has identified a number of existing problems that might be assuaged by allowing foreign ownership, by testing them against a number of hypotheses that have been distilled from the general literature. Again, speculation is the defining word, but on the basis of rational arguments, a number of very convincing reasons are presented why the Chinese government may decide to open up its financial sector to outside ownership.Show less
In deze scriptie wordt toegelicht wat voor rol westerse feestdagen, met name Kerstmis en Valentijnsdag, spelen in de Chinese stedelijke samenleving. Er wordt beschreven hoe het vieren van de...Show moreIn deze scriptie wordt toegelicht wat voor rol westerse feestdagen, met name Kerstmis en Valentijnsdag, spelen in de Chinese stedelijke samenleving. Er wordt beschreven hoe het vieren van de feestdagen en de houding van de Chinese bevolking tegenover hen verschillen met het westen, en de westerse feestdagen worden geplaatst tegenover Chinese tradities. Ik beargumenteer dat er drie hoofdmotivaties te noemen zijn voor het vieren van westerse feestdagen in China: westerse feestdagen worden gevierd voor commerciële doeleinden; ze zorgen voor gezelligheid en rust; en ze creëren een ruimte om gevoelens directer te uiten, die de Chinese traditionele cultuur mist. De westerse feestdagen zullen in de toekomst een blijvende invloed hebben op de Chinese cultuur. Het wederzijdse beïnvloeden van culturen is een natuurlijk bijproduct van globalisatie en kan dus niet vermeden worden.Show less
De scriptie zet het onderwerp in een groter kader: blogs en bloggers in TW en in de wereld; bloggers als mavens; manieren om populariteit en potentiële invloed van bloggers te meten;...Show moreDe scriptie zet het onderwerp in een groter kader: blogs en bloggers in TW en in de wereld; bloggers als mavens; manieren om populariteit en potentiële invloed van bloggers te meten; internetgebruik en het gebruik van mobieltjes in TW; consumentengedrag en hoe dat kan worden beïnvloed; wat actieve en niet-actieve volgers zijn; etc. etc.Show less
