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Asien, Nr. 100 (2006): ASIEN (Juli)

Asien, Nr. 114/115 (2010): ASIEN (Januar/April)

Asien, Nr. 61 (1996): ASIEN (Oktober)

The latest EU policy paper on China published in October 2006 reflects European concerns about the ramifications of China’s rise in an unvarnished fashion. It therefore aroused widespread discontent in the Chinese academic and diplomatic community. This paper describes the EU’s changed perception of its Chinese counterpart. Dissenting from the views of Chinese critics, it will be argued that the EU still only has a vague idea of its role in Asian security and that the EU’s strategy towards China is dominated by its economic interests. That means the recent annoyance was primarily induced by economic problems and dashed hopes about the EU’s capacities to mould the other side. Consequently, the Chinese side can actively contribute to mending the relationship by taking European concerns seriously and by levelling the economic playing field., China aktuell, China aktuell - 6/2007

The latest EU policy paper on China published in October 2006 reflects European concerns about the ramifications of China’s rise in an unvarnished fashion. It therefore aroused widespread discontent in the Chinese academic and diplomatic community. This paper describes the EU’s changed perception of its Chinese counterpart. Dissenting from the views of Chinese critics, it will be argued that the EU still only has a vague idea of its role in Asian security and that the EU’s strategy towards China is dominated by its economic interests. That means the recent annoyance was primarily induced by economic problems and dashed hopes about the EU’s capacities to mould the other side. Consequently, the Chinese side can actively contribute to mending the relationship by taking European concerns seriously and by levelling the economic playing field., China aktuell, China aktuell - 6/2007

China aktuell, China aktuell - Data Supplement - 1/2005

Educational equality, or equity, has gradually become an important issue for central government officials. Chinese newspapers have been quoting them since spring 2005, as they have been calling for more equal educational opportunities (see C.a., 2/2005, Dok 23; XNA, 8.9.05). Researchers name educational inequality as one of the key problems facing the Chinese education system after twenty years of reform. Educational disparities are not only apparent between eastern and western regions in China, but they clearly exist between rural and urban areas as well., China aktuell, China aktuell - 5/2005

China aktuell, China aktuell - September 2002

China's leadership currently seems to be extremely worried about unemployment, and particularly youth unemployment, even though the country's official unemployment rate is rather low. Possible reasons for this are that (1) the youth unemployment rate is actually higher than stated; (2) the inadequate employment situation faced by many young people is actually worse than the incomplete measurements of unemployment indicate; (3) particularly graduates of tertiary education institutions face a job reality below their expectations; (4) the Chinese population is highly concerned about the labor market's development; and, (5) the state fears that frustration and discontent might trigger protests, as was recently the case in the Arab world and other countries. This paper analyzes the different dimensions of the inadequate employment situation of Chinese youth and provides evidence to support all five of these assumptions, although indications of direct actions being undertaken by unemployed young people in China in response are rather scarce. But aside from that, there are other forms of youth resistance as well. Many young people in the country vent their frustration over the internet, and opting out and cynicism can also threaten social harmony. Tertiary-sector graduates make up approximately half of all young people entering the Chinese labor market every year and are the ones most affected by the currently unsatisfying job prospects. Though the unemployment of graduates is only short term in nature, a lack of job opportunities combined with declining opportunities for upward mobility carry strong potential to generate further uneasiness and disorder in China.

In international relations, transnational academic exchange or, more generally, cultural ex-change is usually seen as a function of the quality of bilateral relations. As a variety of public diplomacy intended to win the 'hearts and minds' of intellectuals in another country, the development of educational exchanges depends on the twists in foreign policy. Academic exchange across the Taiwan Strait commenced in the late 1980s, directly after the lifting of the travel ban, and had gathered momentum by the mid-1990s. It even accelerated further after the inauguration of the pro-independence Chen-government in Taiwan in 2000, creat-ing the 'paradox' of the expansion of social contacts in times of frosty political relations. One possible explanation for this is that due to the rather unique situation in the Taiwan Strait people-to-people exchanges between Taiwan and mainland China have been officially promoted as a substitute for official contacts. What is often neglected by analysts of cross-Strait relations, however, is the fact that academic exchange is also a response to the global pressure to internationalize higher education. Within this two-dimensional framework (in-ternational relations and the internationalization of higher education), cross-Strait academic exchange has been developing its own dynamic. The outcome has been an increasing amount of nonofficial communication and the growing 'professionalization' (in the sense of the academic profession) of academic exchange. Wissenschaft zwischen Diplomatie und Exzellenz: Die 'Akademisierung' des taiwanisch-chinesischen Wissenschaftleraustauschs. In den Internationalen Beziehungen wird der akademische Austausch zwischen zwei Ländern gewöhnlich in Abhängigkeit von der Entwicklung der bilateralen Beziehungen gesehen. Als Teilbereich des Kulturaustauschs und als eine Form von public diplomacy dient er u.a. dazu, die 'Herzen und Köpfe' der Partner auf der anderen Seite zu gewinnen. Der Austausch über die Taiwanstraße hinweg begann Ende der 1980er Jahre nach der Aufhebung des Reiseverbots und nahm selbst dann noch zu, als sich mit dem Amtsantritt Präsident Chens im Jahre 2000 die Beziehungen verschlechterten. Das heißt, auch im Falle der wissen-schaftlichen Beziehungen ist das Paradoxon zu beobachten, dass sich die sozialen Kontakte trotz frostiger politischer Beziehungen stetig ausweiteten. Eine Erklärung dafür bietet die spezifische Situation in der Taiwanstraße, wo soziale Kontakte die fehlenden offiziellen Kontakte ersetzen. Aber es darf auch nicht vernachlässigt werden, dass die Ausweitung des akademischen Austauschs eine Folge des globalen Drucks auf die Wissenschaften ist, exzellent zu sein. Beide Dimensionen - die internationalen Beziehungen und die Internationalisierung von Wissenschaft - verleihen der Entwicklung des taiwanisch-chinesischen wissenschaftlichen Austauschs eine eigene Dynamik. Sie führt zu einer Zunahme nicht offizieller Kommunikation und zu einer 'Akademisierung' des Austauschs. Dies kann am Beispiel der politischen Wissenschaften illustriert werden, die an der Schnittstelle von Diplomatie und Wissenschaft tätig sind.

On 1 May 2004, the world witnessed the largest expansion in the history of the European Union (EU). This process has lent new weight to the idea of an expanded EU involvement in East Asia. This paper will examine the question of whether there has been a change in the EU's foreign policy with respect to its Taiwan policy after the fifth enlargement. It analyses the EU's policy statements on Asia and China to find evidence. The political behaviour of the EU has not changed, although there has been a slight modification in rhetoric. The EU - notwithstanding its claim to be a global actor - currently continues to keep itself out of one of the biggest conflicts in East Asia. The new members' interests in the East Asia region are too weak to alter the EU's agenda, and their economic priorities are rather linked to the programmes of the EU than vice versa. Mit zehn neuen Mitgliedsstaaten erfuhr die Europäische Union (EU) am 1. Mai 2004 ihre größte Erweiterung seit Gründung. Schon der Erweiterungsprozess hatte Vorstellungen genährt, die EU werde ihr Engagement in Ostasien verstärken und könne auch mehr zur Lösung des chinesisch-taiwanischen Konflikts beitragen. Dieser Artikel geht am Beispiel der Taiwanpolitik der EU der Frage nach, ob im Zuge der Erweiterung eine Änderung der Außenpolitik der EU festzustellen ist. Eine Analyse der offiziellen Dokumente lässt keinen grundsätzlichen Wandel erkennen, allerdings eine leichte Modifizierung in der Darstellung des Konflikts. Die EU hält sich trotz ihres Anspruchs, ein globaler Akteur zu sein, auch weiterhin aus einem der größten Sicherheitsprobleme in Ostasien heraus. Die Interessen der neuen Mitglieder in Ostasien sind zu schwach, um die außenpolitische Agenda der EU zu ändern; diese sehen im Gegenteil ihre ökonomischen Belange eher mit der bisherigen EU-Politik verbunden.

China's transition to a market economy has been a process of basic institutional changes and institution building. The institutional change from a socialist labour regime (SLR) as one of the backbones upholding the traditional leninist system to a new 'socialist' market labour regime (SMLR) became particularly important for the success of economic and political reforms. This analysis is based on the analytical framework of regimes and makes use of the idea of path dependence. An ensemble of institutions, mutually interconnected and influencing each other, forms the regime and shapes its trajectory. Six institutions are identified to constitute the employment regime: (1) the system of social control, (2) the production system, (3) the system of industrial relations, (4) the welfare system, (5) the family order, and (6) the educational system. The SMLR is still characterised by its socialist past and differs from other varieties of transformation labour regimes and bears little resemblance to labour regimes in Western market economies. Die Entstehung einer Marktwirtschaft in der VR China ist ein tief greifender Prozess institutionellen Wandels. Der Wandel von einem sozialistischen Beschäftigungsregime, das zu den Stützen des traditionellen leninistischen Systems gehörte, hin zu einem neuen 'sozialistischen' marktwirtschaftlichen Beschäftigungsregime ist dabei von besonderer Bedeutung für den Erfolg der wirtschaftlichen und politischen Reformen. Für die Analyse dieses Prozesses wird in diesem Paper der Regimeansatz vorgeschlagen, der das weitgehend national verfasste Beschäftigungsregime als ein Ensemble von Institutionen auffasst, die miteinander verbunden sind und sich gegenseitig beeinflussen. Sechs Institutionen werden betrachtet: (1) das System sozialer Kontrolle, (2) das Produktionssystem, (3) das System der Arbeitgeber-Arbeitnehmer-Beziehungen, (4) das Wohlfahrtssystem, (5) das Haushaltssystem und (6) das Bildungssystem. Das so konstitutierte Beschäftigungsregime entwickelt eine Eigendynamik mit pfadabhängigen Wandlungsmustern. Die 'sozialistische' marktwirtschaftliche Ordnung trägt daher immer noch Züge der sozialistischen Vergangenheit und unterscheidet sich von den Beschäftigungsregimen anderer Transformationsländer und westlicher Marktwirtschaften.