“Hanban’s website reveals that Confucius Institutes are present all over the world, with 135 institutes in Asia, 187 in Europe, 20 in Oceania, 61 in Africa, and 138 in America and specifically 75...Show more“Hanban’s website reveals that Confucius Institutes are present all over the world, with 135 institutes in Asia, 187 in Europe, 20 in Oceania, 61 in Africa, and 138 in America and specifically 75 in the U.S. In 2009, the website reveals that the institutes offered 9,000 Chinese courses on a worldwide scale, reaching a total enrollment of 260,000 people. However, Confucius Institutes are increasingly surrounded by worldwide criticism due to their affiliation with the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP. Many U.S. politicians and academics are raising concerns about issues regarding academic freedom and more recently of a potential political agenda being carried out by the party through the institutes. The NGO Human Rights Watch reported in January 2020 that 22 CIs have closed in the U.S. since August 2018 after the ‘John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019’ was signed by the Congress (Legerwood, 2020).”Show less
China's economic growth in the last decades has slowed down due to a decrease in productivity. Automation has presented itself as an opportunity for China to obtain a stronger global economic...Show moreChina's economic growth in the last decades has slowed down due to a decrease in productivity. Automation has presented itself as an opportunity for China to obtain a stronger global economic position. While automation certainly seems to be able to provide many opportunities, it also brings many challenges for the Chinese government. This thesis discusses the opportunities and challenges that automation in China presents, and concludes that the Chinese government seems to have taken effective measurements against the challenges of automation on the long run, but possibly has not addressed the short term problems of automation such as job displacement enough.Show less
The main goal of this work is to make a timely and relevant contribution to understanding where moral legitimacy stems from in the Chinese context during a period of economic, political, and social...Show moreThe main goal of this work is to make a timely and relevant contribution to understanding where moral legitimacy stems from in the Chinese context during a period of economic, political, and social change. Particularly, how is Chinese government reestablishing its moral authority through the implementation of a centralized SCS? Is it possible, from a Chinese perspective, to restore the government’s morality by limiting individuals’ agency? What are the risks and benefits of this majestic project? To solve these queries, it is necessary to delve into China’s political tradition and contemporary history, and to highlight the role of morality as a source of government’s legitimacy. I believe this work will contribute to paving the road to an unbiased understanding of the rationale behind the implementation of the SCS.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
This thesis explores how Chinese newspapers report on Singles Day, a holiday celebrated on November 11. The thesis covers the origins of Singles Day and how it has evolved from an Anti-Valentine’s...Show moreThis thesis explores how Chinese newspapers report on Singles Day, a holiday celebrated on November 11. The thesis covers the origins of Singles Day and how it has evolved from an Anti-Valentine’s Day to a Global Shopping Festival. This development, amongst others, is represented by the term “Double 11”, which has become Alibaba’s precious trademark to promote this holiday. Furthermore, a chapter illustrates how top-down and bottom-up forces constitute China’s media landscape, and also explains what methodologies have been used for the study. The main body consists of an analysis and discussion of six newspaper articles in Chinese. By analyzing articles by the People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and the Beijing News, a mainstream newspaper, the thesis compares and contrasts what discourses emerge in two newspapers in Beijing and how these newspapers differ in style and content. A qualitative discourse analysis has resulted in the main finding that the People’s Daily mainly provides positive, informative reports on how the holiday is progressing, while the Beijing News creates vivid and sensational narratives that constructively criticize the success story of Singles Day.Show less
This thesis examines the narrative of the Chinese Communist Party as portrayed in revolutionary sites, also known as red tourism sites. Through a comparative policy analysis of the Red Tourism...Show moreThis thesis examines the narrative of the Chinese Communist Party as portrayed in revolutionary sites, also known as red tourism sites. Through a comparative policy analysis of the Red Tourism Initiative and case study of the Yan'an Revolutionary Memorial Hall, this thesis provides some insight on recent attempts of the Chinese government to evoke nationalism in museum space. More specifically, the Yan'an Revolutionary Hall propagates a positive image of the party's revolutionary past by using modern values such as entrepreneurship, allowing visitors to easily identify with a largely imagined past. As a consequence, museum space provides the Chinese government with legitimization in a society that has become increasingly alienated with communist values, ideals, and ideology.Show less
