Government in East Asia March 13, 2015

After Mao’s Death in China After Mao’s death in 1976, the government tried to modernize They admitted to past mistakes, including the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution While the standard of living has improved for many Chinese, the government does still control many aspects of daily life As a result, many rebellions have popped up to protest the government controls

Tiananmen Square In 1989, pro-democracy college students gathered in Tiananmen Square, a large city square in Beijing The non-violent protestors were calling for freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right to make their own economic decisions The government sent in the military to break up the protest No official report exists, but rumors say that as many as a few thousand protestors were killed by the military

Chinese Government Today In the aftermath of the massacre at Tiananmen Square, democracy movements were suppressed The government remains an autocratic, unitary, communist state – this means there is very little private ownership of property and the government controls almost everything

Leadership and the Role of the Citizen in China All citizens are granted the right to vote at age 18 However, they do not get to vote for the national leader The leader of China, called the Premier, is elected by the legislature The legislature, called the People’s National Congress, is chosen in small local elections However, the only people who are allowed to run in these elections are members of the Communist party

Government of Japan After WWII, the U.S. occupied Japan until 1952, and helped them establish a democratic government Japan is a constitutional monarchy: A system of government in which a monarch (king/queen/emperor) is guided by a constitution. His/her responsibilities are traditional and they have no real power. The true power in the government is with the prime minister and a legislature

Role of the Citizen in Japan Japan’s emperor is a hereditary position The emperor has no real power in the government – he is a figurehead The prime minister, the true head of government, is elected by the legislature The legislature is elected by the people All citizens have the right to vote at age 20

Government in North and South Korea When Korea split, the U.S. established a democratic government in South Korea and the Russians established a communist government in North Korea North Korea – A communist dictatorship that operates the same as China, except even more strict; there is no private ownership of property and the government controls everything South Korea – A republic that operates as a presidential democracy (the people vote for their leaders)

Role of the Citizen in North Korea North Korea’s government is more tightly controlled than any in the world Even though “elections” are held, the people running for office are chosen by the Communist party, and they run unopposed (nobody challenges them) Men and women can vote for the legislature at age 17, but not the president and premier. They are chosen by the leadership of the Communist party

Role of the citizen in South Korea All citizens are granted the right to vote at age 19 They vote for the president and the legislature

Questions 1. What did the Chinese government do after Mao’s death in 1976? 2. Why did rebellions happen in China? 3. Where did college students gather in 1989? 4. Why were college students protesting? 5. How did the government respond to the protestors in Tiananmen Square? 6. What type of government does China have today? 7. Who has the right to vote in China? 8. Who elects China’s premier? 9. Who are the only people allowed to run in elections?

More Questions 10. Why did the U.S. occupy Japan after World War II? 11. What type of government does Japan have? 12. What is the role of Japan’s emperor in their government? 13. Who has the right to vote in Japan? 14. What type of government does North Korea have? 15. What type of government does South Korea have? 16. Who has the right to vote in North Korea? 17. Who chooses the president and premier of N. Korea? 18. Who has the right to vote in South Korea? 19. Who do South Koreans vote for?