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People's Liberation Army Navy

People's Liberation Army Navy

The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) (中华人民共和国海军) is the naval arm of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the military of the People's Republic of China. Until the early 1990s, the navy performed a subordinate role to the PLA land forces. Since then it has undergone rapid modernisation. The PLAN also includes 35,000 Coastal Defence Force and 56,000 Naval infantry/Marines, plus a 56,000 PLAN Aviation operating several hundred landbased aircraft and shipbased helicopters.

History

In 1949, Mao Zedong asserted that "to oppose imperialist aggression, we must build a powerful navy." The Naval Academy was set up at Dalian in March 1950, mostly with Soviet instructors. The Navy was established in September 1950 by consolidating regional naval forces under General Staff Department command in Jiangyan, now in Taizhou, Jiangsu province. It then consisted of a motley collection of ships and boats acquired from the Guomindang forces. The Naval Air Force was added two years later. By 1954 an estimated 2,500 Soviet naval advisers were in China--possibly one adviser to every thirty Chinese naval personnel--and the Soviet Union began providing modern ships. With Soviet assistance, the navy reorganized in 1954 and 1955 into the North Sea Fleet, East Sea Fleet, and South Sea Fleet, and a corps of admirals and other naval officers was established from the ranks of the ground forces. In shipbuilding the Soviets first assisted the Chinese, then the Chinese copied Soviet designs without assistance, and finally the Chinese produced vessels of their own design. Eventually Soviet assistance progressed to the point that a joint Sino-Soviet Pacific Ocean fleet was under discussion. Through the upheavals of the late 1950s and 1960s the Navy remained relatively undisturbed. Under the leadership of Minister of National Defense Lin Biao, large investments were made in naval construction during the frugal years immediately after the Great Leap Forward. During the Cultural Revolution, a number of top naval commissars and commanders were purged, and naval forces were used to suppress a revolt in Wuhan in July 1967, but the service largely avoided the turmoil affecting the country. Although it paid lip service to Mao and assigned political commissars aboard ships, the Navy continued to train, build, and maintain the fleets. 1967 In the 1970s, when approximately 20 percent of the defense budget was allocated to naval forces, the Navy grew dramatically. The conventional submarine force increased from 35 to 100 boats, the number of missile-carrying ships grew from 20 to 200, and the production of larger surface ships, including support ships for oceangoing operations, increased. The Navy also began development of nuclear-powered attack submarines and nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. In the 1980s, under the leadership of Chief Naval Commander Liu Huaqing, the Navy developed into a regional naval power with some blue-water capabilities. Naval construction continued at a level somewhat below the 1970s rate. Modernization efforts encompassed higher educational and technical standards for personnel; reformulation of the traditional coastal defense doctrine and force structure in favor of more blue-water operations; and training in naval combined-arms operations involving submarine, surface, naval aviation, and coastal defense forces. Examples of the expansion of China's blue-water naval capabilities were the 1980 recovery of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in the Western Pacific by a twenty-ship fleet, extended naval operations in the South China Sea in 1984 and 1985, and the visit of two naval ships to three South Asian nations in 1985. In 1982 the Navy conducted a successful test of an underwater-launched ballistic missile. The Navy also had some success in developing a variety of ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore, shore-to-ship, and air-to-ship missiles, improving basic capabilities.

Current

Strategy, Plans, Priorities

In recent years, the PLAN has become more prominent owing to a change in Chinese strategic priorities. The new strategic threats include conflict with the United States and/or a resurgent Japan in areas such as Taiwan or the Spratly Islands. As part of its overall program of naval modernization, the PLAN has a long term plan of developing a blue water navy. There has been speculation about PLAN building or acquiring an aircraft carrier, but the idea appears to have a lower priority than other efforts. Most naval analysts believe that, without significant overall naval modernization, a PLAN aircraft carrier at present would be militarily useless and would take resources away from other parts of the military. This assessment appears to be shared by the Chinese military and political leadership. China currently has the Kuznetsov class Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag in Dalian. China could finish this carrier and make it operational, or simply use it for takeoff and landing training. In June 2005, it was reported by boxun.com that China would build a 30 billion yuan (US$362 million) carrier with a displacement of 78,000 tons, to be built by the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai. The rumor was dismissed by defense official Zhang Guangqin.

Major Upgrades in the 21st Century

China has made serious headway in just the last few years by increasing the strength of its Navy with the purchase of Sovremenny class destroyers and Kilo class submarines. The first two destroyers were equipped with the deadly SS-N-22 missile that has been dubbed an "aircraft-carrier killer" by many Western defence analysts. Furthermore, two improved versions of the destroyer are equipped with more numerous, improved versions of the missile called the Yakhont, and several more of those ships are being built. China's submarine fleet has also made major strides. The Kilo-class subs are very quiet, and are also equipped with two next-generation weapons: the Klub anti-ship cruise missile, and the VA-111 Shkval torpedo. Many Chinese subs, including the Kilo, are also thought to have air-independent propulsion which would allow them to lie in wait underwater for long periods of time to surprise enemies. Chinese naval production has made great technological strides, with Russian assistance, and its latest destroyers are using mostly local hardware that comes close to Western standards with AEGIS-style radars and stealth hull design.

Activities

[http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/front2453629.1305555557.html Chinese warships cruise near gas field claimed by Japan] "on Sept. 9 near the Chunxiao gas field in the East China Sea — the site of a fierce Sino-Japan territorial dispute, Tokyo military officials said." The warships included:
- 23,000-ton replenishment vessel
- 7,940-ton Sovremenny-class missile destroyer
- 6,000-ton missile observation support ship
- 1,702-ton Jianghu I-class missile frigate
- 1,702-ton Jianghu I-class missile frigate

Fleets

The People's Liberation Army Navy is divided into three fleets.
- the North Sea Fleet, headquartered in Qingdao, Shandong Province, patrols the Bohai Bay and the Yellow Sea. Its flagship is DDG Harbin.
- the East Sea Fleet, headquartered in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, patrols the East China Sea, which is called the Eastern Sea in Chinese. Its flagship is J302 Chongmingdao.
- the South Sea Fleet, headquartered in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, patrols the South China Sea, or the South Sea in Chinese. Its flagship is AOR/AK Nanchang.

Destroyers

South China Sea
- Anshan class — 4 ships (retired)
- Type 051 Luda-class — 16 ships
- Type 052 Luhu-class — 2 ships
- Type 051B Luhai-class — 1 ship
- Type 052B Guangzhou-class — 2 ships
- Type 052C Lanzhou-class — 2 ships
- Type 051C — 1 ship launched and 1 under construction
- Sovremenny-class (956) — 2 ships
- Sovremenny-class (956EM) — 2 ships (under construction)

Frigates


- Zuhai class - 1 ship (retired)
- Jinan class - 15 ships (retired)
- Type 053H/H1 Jianghu I/II classes - 21 ships
- Type 053HT-H Jianghu-IV class - 1 ship
- Type 053H2 Jianghu-III class - 3 ships
- Type 053H1G Jianghu-V class - 6 ships
- Type 053H2G Jiangwei class - 4 ships
- Type 053H3 Jiangwei II class - 10 ships
- Type 054 Ma'anshan class - 2 ships + 2 ships building

Submarines


- SSN
  - Type 091 Han class - 5 ships
  - Type 093 - 2 ships
- SSBN
  - Type 092 Xia class - 1 ship
  - Type 094 - 1 ship building
- Diesel-electric
  - Type 033 Romeo-class - mostly retired, ~20 remain in service
  - Type 035 Ming-class - version of Romeo, 17 ships
  - Type 039 Song-class - 7 ships + 3 under construction
  - Kilo-class - 9 ships with 3 more ordered from Russia
  - Yuan-class - version of Kilo, 1 ship + 1 under construction

See also


- Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag
- Republic of China Navy
- Ranks of the People's Liberation Navy

External links and sources


- [http://www.sinodefence.com/navy/default.asp PLAN - Chinese Defence Today]
- [http://mil.jschina.com.cn/huitong/ Chinese Military Aviation]
- [http://english.pladaily.com.cn/english/pladaily/ PLA Daily - Jiefangjun Bao] Category:Military of the People's Republic of China
- Category:Navies



People's Liberation Army Ground Force

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) deploys over 8,000 tanks, 4,000 armoured vehicles, and 25,000 artillery pieces. Although not the most modern army in the world, it is slowly re-structuring from its prior Soviet doctrines into a more suitable force to cope with future land warfare.

Units

The PLA has 10 group armies and are currently downsizing their divisions into brigades. There are 10 active tank divisions consisting of a number of independent armoured brigades. A typical PLA armoured brigade has 4 tank battalions (124 main battle tanks)- each tank battalion has 3 tank companies (30 + 1 tank for the battalion commander), 1 mechanised infantry battalion (40 amoured personnel carriers), 1 artillery battalion (18 self-propelled howitzers) - 3 batteries of 6 guns each and 1 anti-aircraft battalion (18 self-propelled howitzers) - 3 batteries of 6 guns each. There are 8 active artillery divisions consisting of a number of artillery brigades. A typical PLA artillery brigade has 4 artillery battalions each with 18 guns in 3 batteries and 1 self-propelled anti-tank gun battalion (18 vehicles).

Infantry Equipment

Pistols


- QSZ-92 - newest pistol, 9mm and 5.8mm versions
- Type 84 - 7.62mm mini pistol for security and police forces
- Type 77 - standard 7.62mm for People's Armed Police and civil police
- Type 67 - 7.62mm silenced pistol for scout and special operations
- Type 64 - 7.62mm, better performance and reliability over Type 54
- Type 54 - 7.62mm, copy of the Soviet TT1930/1933, currently being phased out

Sub-machine guns


- Type 85 - updated Type 79, reduced firing noise, also suppressed and 5.8mm versions
- Type 79 - 7.62mm for airborne, scout and special operations
- Type 64 - low flash, suppressed 7.62mm for scout and special operations

Rifles


- Type 95 - family of 5.8x42 mm bullpup design assault rifle, carbine and squad machine gun. Factory names are QBZ-95, CAR-95 and QBB-95, respectively.
- Type 87 - 5.8 mm assault rifle and squad machine gun, improved version of Type 81, refused by PLA because of outdated layout, technology used in Type 95
- Type 81 - 7.62 mm assault rifle and squad machine gun, replaced the Chinese Type 56 Assault Rifle and Chinese Type 56 Carbine, both copies of the Soviet AK-47 and Soviet SKS.
- Type 88/QBU-88 - 5.8mm newest sniper rifle
- Type 85 - improved version of Type 79, higher rate of fire but shorter range
- Type 79 - 7.62mm sniper rifle, copy of Soviet Dragunov SVD

Machine Gun


- Type 88/QJY-88 - new 5.8mm GPMG, replacing Type 67
- Type 80 - 7.62 mm general purpose machine gun (copy of the Soviet PKM)
- Type 67 - 7.62 mm general purpose machine gun, replacing the Type 53 (SG43) and Type 57 (SGM) 7.62 mm general purpose machine guns

Shoulder Launched Weapons


- PF-97 - 80 mm fuel air explosive launcher
- PF-89 - 80 mm Lightweight Anti-tank Weapon, comparable to the United States M136 AT4
- FHJ-84 - twin 62 mm rocket launcher, slowly replacing the Type 69-1 (copy of RPG-7)

Vehicles

Main Battle Tanks

RPG-7
- Type 98 and Type 98G/99 - newest MBT (100+)
- Type 85-1, Type 85-II and Type 96 (Type 88B/C) - (over 1,500)
- Type 80, Type 80-II and Type 88/A/B - (about 500)
- Type 79 - update on Type 69
- Type 69 - redesigned Type 59
- Type 59D and Type 59D1 - upgraded versions of Type 59-IIA, Type 59-II, Type 59-I and Type 59 (copy of the Russian T-54)

Light/Amphibious Tanks


- Type 63A - new and redesigned amphibious tank, 14km/h water speed, 105mm gun (several hundred near Taiwan Strait)
- Type 63 - amphibious tank, similar to Russian PT-76
- Type 62 - light tank

Infantry Fighting Vehicles


- Next-generation infantry fighting vehicle - based on Russian BMP-3, will replace Type 86 and YW 309 (which is based on the YW 531H)
- ZLC2000 - airborne IFV, may share some technology from Russian BMD-3
- Type 90/92A/ZSL-92A/WZ 551 - upgraded version of Type 92
- Type 90/92/ZSL-92/WZ 551 - amphibious IFV, similar to the French VAB
- Type 86/WZ 501/501A/503/504 - copy of Russian BMP-1

Armored Personnel Carriers


- Type 89/YW 534 - amphibious APC based on Type 85, replacing over 2000 Type 63s
- WZ 523 - also known as M1984, design similar to South African Ratel
- Type 85/YW 531H - export model amphibious APC
- Type 77/77-1/77-2 - improved version of Russian BTR-50 (+200)
- Type 63/YW 531C/D/E - also known as K-63, M1967 and M1970

Artillery


- WS-1 and WS-1B - a 8 and 4 tube 320 mm multiple launch rocket system
- A-100 - 10 tube 300mm Multiple Rocket Launcher System
- WM-80 and Type 83/WM-40 - 273mm Multiple Rocket Launcher Systems
- Type 85/YW 306(on a YW 531H) and Type 82 (on a Yanan SX250 6X6 truck) - 30 tube 130 mm multiple rocket launcher replacing the 19 tube 130 mm multiple rocket launcher of the Type 70 (on a YW 531C) and Type 63 (on a 4X4 truck)
- Type 90 (on a Tiema SC2030 6X6 flatbed truck) and Type 89 (tracks) - 40 tube 122 mm multiple launch rocket systems replacing the Type 81 (copy of the soviet BM-21 Grad)
- PLZ-45 - 155 mm self-propelled howitzer might replace the obsolete Type 83 which is a 152 mm self-propelled howitzer
- YW 323 D30 (based on the YW 531H) and the Type 89 (based on the Type 77 APC) - amphibious 122 mm self-propelled howitzers replacing the Type 85 (YW 531C chassis) and Type 70 (YW 531B chassis)
- Type 90 - 122 mm self-propelled howitzer wheeled (based on a WZ-551 chassis)
- Type 89 - 155 mm towed gun/howitzer based on the GC-45 howitzer
- Type 66 (copy of the soviet D-20) 152 mm towed gun/howitzer and the Type 83 152 mm towed gun are replacing the Type 54 itself a copy of the soviet ML-20(M1937).
- Type 59 and Type 59-1 - copy of the soviet M46 130 mm towed field gun
- Type 85 - 122 mm towed howitzer derived from the soviet D-30 (M1963) and replaced the Type 54 howitzer
- YW 382 (120 mm) and YW 383 (82 mm) - amphibious mortar carriers based on the YW 531H replacing the YW 381 and YW 304 respectively which where based on the YW 531C
- Type 80 - twin 57 mm self-propelled anti-aircraft equivalent to the ZSU-57-2 but using the Type 69 tank chassis.
- HQ-2J (Hongqi-2) - anti-aircraft missiles based on the Type 77 transporter, the missiles are upgraded versions of the HQ-1 which is a copy of the SA-2 Guideline
- HQ-10 - licensed built S-300PMU-1 (SA-10D Grumble) anti-aircraft missiles
- HQ-15 - upgraded version of the HQ-10 anti-aircraft missiles

Non-combat vehicles


- Type 84 - Tank laying bridge using the Type 69 tank chassis
- Type 653 (Type 69 tank chassis) and Type 59 (Type 59 tank chassis) - armoured recovery vehicles
- YW 703 (based on the YW 534), Type 85 (based on the YW 531H APC) - amphibious recovery vehicles
- Type 85 (based on the YW 531H), WZ 701 (based on the YW 531C), WZ 506 (based on the WZ 501) and a version based on the Type 77 - amphibious command vehicles
- Type 77-2 (based on the Type 77) - amphibious artillery ammunition carrier
- WZ 751 (based on the YW 531H), YW 750 (based on the YW 531C), WZ 505 (based on the WZ 501) and a version based on the Type 77 - amphibious armoured ambulances
- Bv206 Swedish tracked all-terrain multipurpose vehicle
- Type 77 and Type 60/WZ420/1 tracked tractors
- Type 82 consists of the HY473 (tractor truck) and HY962 (semi-trailer) - Heavy Equipment Transporter up to 75 tons
- TA580/TAS5380 (20 ton 8x8), TAS5450 (25 ton 8x8), TAS5500 (28 ton 10x10), TAS5570 (30 ton 10x10) and TAS5690 (42 ton 12x12) series special heavy duty trucks
- WS2300(6x6), WS2400(8x8) and WS2500(10x8) 20 ton series special heavy duty trucks
- XC2200 (copy of the German Mercedes-Benz 2060) 7.5 ton 6x6 heavy duty trucks
- SX2190 (copy of the Austrian Steyr-91) 7 ton 6x6 trucks replacing the JN252, CQ261 and SX250 heavy duty trucks
- SX250/SX2150 series 5 ton 6x6 heavy duty trucks
- EQ2102 series 3.5 ton trucks replacing the CA30 (copy of the 2.5 ton soviet ZIL 157)
- CA141/CA1091 series trucks replacing the CA10 (copy of the 3.5 ton soviet ZIL 150)
- EQ240/EQ2081 and EQ245/EQ2100 series 2.5 ton trucks
- EQ2050A series High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) copied from the US M998
- NJ2045/2046 series 1.5 ton lightweight vehicle
- BJ212/BJ2020 series 0.5 ton lightweight 4 x4 vehicle

External links


- http://www.sinodefence.com/army/orbat/default.asp Category:Military of the People's Republic of China Category:Armies

People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force

The People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF) (解放军海军航空兵; pinyin: Jiěfàng Jūn Hǎijūn Hángkōngbīng) is the naval aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army Navy.

External links


- [http://www.sinodefence.com/navy/orbat/navalairforce.asp sinodefense.com] Category:Military of the People's Republic of China Category:People's Liberation Army Navy Category:Air forces Category:Naval Aviation

Dalian

(大連 or 大连) Dalian, Liaoning Dalian (), or Dalny (during Russian controlled periods, aka Dairen during Japanese periods, or from Mid-century (Jointly administered by both USSR/PRC) formerly also Lüda or Luta), is the second of two strategic ice-free seaports on the Liaodong Peninsula. Today's Dalian is the governing sub-provincial city in the eastern Liaoning Province of the Northeastern People's Republic of China near the southernmost part of historic Manchuria, and serves as the administrative capital for the whole Liadong peninsula (Literally: Eastern Liaoning). The port was situated on the Southern Manchurian Railway about 525 miles (845 km) from Harbin. Port Arthur was initially developed as a commercial, industrial, and shipping center by the Russians starting in 1897-1898, after the Triple Intervention when Russia replaced Japan to lease the Guandong area. In 1905, the Japanese defeated the Russians in Russo-Japanese War, as a result, the area again came under Japanese control until 1945, when the Soviet Red Army attacked Manchuria and occupied Dalian and Lüshun. In 1955 the Soviet Union handed over the area to the People's Republic of China.

Geography

One of the most heavily developed industrial areas of China, the Dalian administrative district today consists of Dalian proper and the smaller Lüshunkou, formerly Lüshun city known in western and Russian historic references as Port Arthur, about forty nautical miles farther along the Liaotung/Liaodong Peninsula. Historical references note that the Russian designed city of Dalny (Alt. Dalney), on the south side of Talien Bay was 40 rail kilometers from Port Arthur/Lüshun (known today as Lüshunkou or literally Lüshun Port). Talien Bay Dalian is located west of the Yellow Sea (Korea Bay) and east of Bohai Sea roughly in the middle of the Liaodong/Liaotung peninsula at its narrowest neck or isthmus. With a coastline of 1 906 km, it governs the entire Liaodong Peninsula and about 260 surrounding islands and reefs. It is south-south-west of the Yalu River, and its harbor entrance forms a sub-Bay known as Dalian Bay.

History

Part of the State of Yan in the Spring and Autumn Period, a minor fishing village Ch'ing-ni-wa became a small town in the 1880s, when the Qing Dynasty established bridges, cannon platforms and camps there. The settlement was occupied by the British in 1858, returned to the Chinese in the 1880s, and then occupied by Japan in 1895 during the first Sino-Japanese War. first Sino-Japanese War In 1898, the Russians took the lease of the peninsular and established Port Arthur as ice-free headquarters of their Pacific Fleet and Dalnyi as a major commercial port. The city's name is derived from the Russian word "dalnyi", which means "distant (port)". Recently, some Chinese scholars pointed out that the Chinese form of the name, Dalian, had been used as early as October 1879, in a document by Li Hongzhang. Both Dalny (Qingniwaqiao 青泥洼桥 of Zhongshan District, Dalian) and Port Arthur (Lüshunkou) were developed and heavily fortified by the Russians in the period prior to 1904. Consequently, some historians blame the fall of Port Arthur on 2 January 1905 for the failure by Admiral Eugen Alexeiev, to concentrate on the naval base and its fortifications. Instead, he split precious resources shipped 8000 kilometers across the single tracked Trans-Siberian Railway and Manchurian railways. After the Russo-Japanese War Port Arthur was conceded to Japan (Treaty of Portsmouth), who set up the Kwantung Leased Territory or Guandongzhou. Since the foundation of Manchukuo in 1932, the sovereignty of the territory moved from China to Manchukuo. Japan still leased it from Manchukuo. In 1937, the modern Dalian City was enlarged and modernized by the Japanese as two cities: the northern Dairen (Dalian) and the southern Ryojun (Lushun). Manchukuo After World War II, Dalian was not returned to China, but taken over by Soviets with theoretical Chinese overlordship (see Yalta Conference), and was returned to full Chinese control in 1955, although the first communist Chinese mayor of the new Lüda Administrative Office (旅大行政公署) was appointed in 1945. The name Lüda was formed by combining the first characters of Lüshunkou and Dalian. Because of the sudden closure of many Japanese businesses, many Dalian residents were out of work for an extended period. On 1 December 1950, Lüda was made into a city again. From 12 March 1953 to 1 August 1954 it became a municipality. The city's name was changed back from Lüda to Dalian on 5 March 1981, after the State Council approved it on 9 February. It was upgraded from a prefecture-level city to a sub-provincial city in 1994, with no change in its administrative subdivisions.

Subdivisions

The city administrates 6 districts, 3 county-level cities, and 1 county. Ganjingzi, Zhongshan, Xigang, Shahekou make up the urban centre. Changhai County is made up entirely of islands east of the peninsula. There are 74 sub-districts and 127 town/townships (11 of which are ethnic). (see Political divisions of China#Levels) There are, in addition, 4 national leading open zones (对外开放先导区): - The Development Zone (开发区) - The Free Trade Zone (保税区) - The Hi-Tech Industrial Zone (高新技术产业园区) - The Golden Pebble Beach National Holiday Resort (金石滩国家旅游度假区) Political divisions of China#Levels

Economy

A new harbor for oil tankers, at the terminus of an oil pipeline from the Daqing oilfields, was completed in 1976. Dalian is the largest petroleum port in China, and also the 3rd largest port overall. Accordingly, Dalian is a major center for oil refineries, diesel engineering, and chemical production. Dalian has been given many benefits by the Chinese government, including the title of "open-city," (1984) which allows it considerable foreign investment (see Special Economic Zone). In recent years, the city has become a major base for the outsourcing of Japanese-language businesses, such as call-centers. Japanese is widely spoken in the area, and many local people are familiar with Japanese customs and culture.

Transportation

Dalian is served by Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport. While you can fly to Dalian from most of the major cities in China, you can always get there by train, as well as buses. From other coastal cities, such as Tianjin and Yantai, you can also get to Dalian by oceanliners.

Cultural Life

Yantai Every September Dalian hosts the Dalian International Fashion Festival. This festival is a chance for many major foreign companies to showcase their new products and sign up buyers. Before the festival, the city holds an opening ceremony attended by government officials as well as famous stars of the entertainment world. Dalian is the home of three zoological parks: Dalian Forest Zoo, Shengya Ocean World, and Polar World. The Forest Zoo has a free-range animal section as well as a more traditional zoo. Shengya Ocean World includes an underwater conveyor through a transparent tunnel. Polar World is the only park devoted to polar animals in China. Sports play a big role in the local culture. The city's soccer team has dominated the sport in China and Asia by winning 7 titles out of the past 9 years of Chinese professional soccer league. The city is also a powerhouse producing numerous track and field champions. The local cuisine heavily depends on variety of fresh seafood and fruits, both abundant in the area.

Beaches

Beaches are an important part of cultural life in the coastal city. The beaches in Dalian are not only indispensable for sightseers, they are a mecca for swimmers, sunbathers and other types of aquatic sports. Here is only a partial list of beaches of Dalian:
- Bangchui Island (Wooden Club Island)
- Fujiazhuang Beach
- Heishijiao Beach (Black Reef Beach)
- Huangjin Beach (Golden Beach)
- Laohutan Beach (Tiger Beach)
- Xinghai Bay Beach
- Xinghai Park

Miscellaneous

Dalian is considered a "model city" from which other urban planning in China is to be inspired. Dalian is a sister city of Kitakyūshū (Japan), Le Havre (France), Glasgow (Scotland), Vancouver (Canada), Bremen (Germany), Incheon (South Korea), Oakland (USA), Rostock (Germany), Houston (USA), Maizuru (Japan), Vladivostok (Russia), Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo). The Dalian's soccer club is Dalian Shide, one of twelve teams in the Chinese Super League. Prior to 2000 they were known as Dalian Wanda. Many regard Dalian Shide as China's premier soccer club having achieved success as: Jia A Champions 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 Asian Club Championship Runners-up 1997 Asian Cup Winners' Cup Runners-up 2001 Chinese Super Cup Winners 1997, 2001, 2003 China FA Cup Winners 2001 The German anatomist Gunther von Hagens runs a plastination center in Dalian.

Colleges and universities


- Dalian University of Technology
- Dalian Fisheries University
- Liaoning Normal University

See also


- Liaoning
- Shenyang
- Dandong
- Harbin
- Changchun

External links


- [http://www.dl.gov.cn Official site]
- [http://www.xzqh.org/quhua/21ln/02dalian.htm Subdivision maps]
  - [http://www.xzqh.org/ditu/21ln/210200.gif Detailed]
- [http://encarta.msn.com/map_701511958/Dalian.html Map of Location in China]
- [http://www.serasphere.net/dalian Letters and photos from an English teacher living and working in Dalian 2005-2006]

References


- Tom McKnight,PhD, et al; Geographica (ATLAS), Barnes and Noble Books AND Random House, New York, 1999-2004, 3rd revision, ISBN 0-7607-5974-X, 618 pp.
- Frank Theiss, The Voyage of Forgotten Men, 1937, Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1st Ed., Indianapolis & New York, 415 pp. Category:Cities in Liaoning Category:Subprovincial cities Dalian, P.R.C. Category:Coastal cities Category:History of China Category:Empire of Japan Category:History of Russia ja:大連

1950

1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar).

Events

January


- January 5 - U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver introduces a resolution calling for examination of organized crime in the U.S.
- January 6 - The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with Britain in response.
- January 9 - The Israeli government recognizes the People's Republic of China.
- January 11 - Huk guerillas attack the town of Hermosa in Bataan, Philippines.
- January 12 - Huk guerillas attack the town of Tuyn, kill two and torch the city of Staingnacan.
- January 12 - British submarine Truculent collides with a Swedish oil tanker in River Thames - 64 dead.
- January 13 - Finland forms diplomatic relations to People's Republic of China
- January 15 - Volcanic cloud kills 5000 in Mount Lamington, New Guinea
- January 17 - The Great Brinks Robbery - 11 thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car in Boston, Massachusetts
- January 21 - Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury
- January 23 - The Knesset passes a resolution that states Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
- January 24 - Cold War: Klaus Fuchs confesses his wartime espionage at Los Alamos to British interrogators - formally charged February 2
- January 26 - India promulgates its constitution forming a republic and Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first president.
- January 28 - Somaliland is put under Italian mandate
- January 29 - Lord Balfour criticizes the fact that rationing is still in force in Britain
- January 31 - President Harry S. Truman announces a program to develop the hydrogen bomb
- January 31 - Last Kuomintang troops surrender in continental China

February


- February 1 - Chiang Kai-shek re-elected as a president of the Republic of China
- February 4 - Ingrid Bergman's illegitimate child arouses ire in USA
- February 9 - Red scare: In his speech to the Republican Women's Club at the McClure Hotel in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State of being filled with 205 Communists.
- February 11 - Two Vietcong battalions attack a French base in Indochina
- February 11 - Finland recognizes Indonesia
- February 12 - Pro-communist riots in Paris
- February 12 - European Broadcasting Union founded
- February 13 - In USA army begins to deploy anti-aircraft cannons to protect nuclear stations and military targets
- February 14 - The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a mutual defense treaty
- February 15 - Juho Kusti Paasikivi re-elected president of Finland
- February 19 - Konrad Adenauer tries unsuccessfully to negotiate with East Germany to begin unification.
- February 12 - Albert Einstein warns that nuclear war could lead to mutual destruction
- February - British Labour Party forms a new government.

March-April


- March 1 - 7.25 PM West South Baptist Church(negro) in Bestridge, Nebraska blows up - all the choir is late for rehearsals
- March 1 - Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by giving them top secret atomic bomb data.
- March 1 - Acting Chinese President Li Tsung-jen ends his term in office
- March 1 - Chiang Kai-shek resumes his duties as Chinese president after moving his government to Taipei, Taiwan
- March 3 - Poland states that it intends to exile all Germans.
- March 8 - The Soviet Union claims to have an atomic bomb.
- March 12-March 13 - In Belgium, the referendum over the monarchy shows 57.7% support the return of king Léopold III, 42.3% against.
- March 14 - Ship Cygnet hits mine off the Dutch coast.
- March 17 - University of California, Berkeley researchers announce the creation of element 98 which they have named "californium".
- March 20 - Government of Poland decides to confiscate the property of Polish church
- March 22 - Egypt demands that Britain remove all its troops in Suez Canal
- April 15 - King Léopold III of Belgium announces that he is ready to abdicate in favor of his son Baudouin
- April 24 - Jordan formally annexes West Bank
- April 27 - Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed formally segregating races.
- April 27 - Britain formally recognizes Israel

May-June


- May 6 - Tollund Man found
- May 9 - Robert Schuman presents his proposal on the creation of an organized Europe, indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. This proposal, known as the "Schuman declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.
- May 11 - Kefauver Committee hearings about US organized crime begin
- May 25 - Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel is formally opened to traffic
- May 29 - St. Roch, first ship to circumnavigate North America arrives in Halifax Nova Scotia.
- June 3 - First ascent of Annapurna I, 10th highest mountain in the world.
- June 6 - Turkey: The Adhan in Arabic is legalized
- June 8 - Sir Thomas Blamey becomes the only Field Marshal in Australian history.
- June 10 - French police capture escaped murderer Emile Buisson in Paris restaurant
- June 24 - 58 persons were killed when a commercial airliner crashed into Lake Michigan. The reason for the disaster is unknown. Only fragments of the plane and the bodies of passengers were ever found.
- June 25 - Beginning of Korean War. In the USA, people began to hoard supplies in case of rationing and shortages.
- June 25 - NSC-68 enacted by President Truman, setting US foreign policy for the next twenty years.
- June 28 - Korean War - North Korean forces capture Seoul
- June 29 - United States defeats England 1-0 in the . For more details, see England v United States (1950).

July


- July 5 - Sicilian bandit leader Salvatore Giuliano killed in a shootout with carabinieri
- July 5 - Korean War: Task Force Smith - First clash between American and North Korean forces.
- July 5 - Zionism: The Knesset passes the Law of Return which grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
- July 6 - East Germany agrees with Poland on the Oder-Neisse line - West Germany does not at this time
- July 16 - Uruguay beat Brazil 2-1 to win 1950 World Cup
- July 17 - Julius and Ethel Rosenberg arrested
- July 19 - 15 SS-men sentenced to death in East Germany
- July 20 - Tydings committee report to US senate denounces Joe McCarthy - he begins a public attack on members of the committee standing for election in 1950
- July 20 - In Belgium, the United Chambers adopt a decree which reinstates King Léopold III in his royal dignity.
- July 23 - King Léopold III of Belgium returns to Brussels
- July 24 - Hoax by J. Bam Morrison begins the tradition of "Sucker Day" in Wetumka, Oklahoma
- July 25 - Walter Ulbricht elected the general secretary of the communist party of East Germany
- July 28 - In Belgium, demonstrations and strikes break out as a result of King Léopold III's return. In Liège, three labourers are shot.

August-September


- August 5 - Florence Chadwick swims over English Channel in 13 hours, 22 minutes
- August 5 - A bomb-laden B-29 Superfortress crashes into a residential area in California. 17 dead, 68 injured.
- August 6 - Riot in Brussels in monarchist demonstrations
- August 8 - Winston Churchill supports idea of pan-European army allied with Canada and USA
- August 15 - Earthquake and floods in Assam, India - 574 deaths, 5,000,000 believed homeless
- September 1 - Hungarian major general Laszlo Viragen defects to Austria and applies for political asylum
- September 4 - Beetle Bailey comic strip started.
- September 7 - Coal mine collapses in New Cumnock, Scotland - 13 miners dead. 116 rescued.
- September 7 - The gameshow Truth or Consequences debuts on television.
- September 12 - Communist riots in Berlin
- September 13 - First main-line diesel-electric locomtives run in Australia
- September 15 - Allied troops land in Inchon, occupied by North Korea, to begin the Battle of Inchon.
- September 19 - West Germany decides to fire all its communist officials
- September 26 - Indonesia admitted to the United Nations

October


- October 1 - The comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published in seven US newspapers.
- October 3 - Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, elected president of Brazil, for a five-year term.
- October 5 - Indonesian government quells riots in the Moluccas
- October 11 - The Federal Communications Commission issues the first license to broadcast television in color, to CBS (RCA will successfully dispute and block the license from taking effect, however).
- October 15 - In East Germany, communists win 99.7% of the vote
- October 20 - Australia passes the Communist Party Dissolution Act, later struck down by the High Court.
- October - Sister Mary Teresa begins her charity work in Calcutta and becomes known as Mother Teresa

November


- November 1 - Pope Pius XII defines a new dogma of Roman Catholicism: that God assumed Mary's body into Heaven after her death.
- November 1 - Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate US President Harry S. Truman, who is staying at the Blair-Lee House in Washington, D.C. during White House repairs.
- November 4 - United Nations ends the diplomatic isolation of Spain
- November 8 - Korean War: While in an F-80, United States Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown intercepts two North Korean MiG-15s near the Yalu River and shots them down in the first jet-to-jet dogfight in history.
- November 11 - The Mattachine Society founded in Los Angeles as the first Gay liberation organization
- November 13 - Colonel Carlos Delgado Chalbaud is kidnapped and murdered in Caracas.
- November 18 - United Nations accepts the formation of Libyan national council
- November 20 - T. S. Eliot speaks against television in the UK
- November 22 - Anti-British riots in Egypt
- November 22 - Shirley Temple announces her retirement from show business
- November 23 - George Robb was born in Aylth, Scotland
- November 26 - Korean War: Troops from the People's Republic of China move into North Korea and launch a massive counterattack against South Korean and American forces, ending any thought of a quick end to the conflict.
- November 28 - Greece and Yugoslavia reform diplomatic relations
- November 29 - Korean War: North Korean and Chinese troops force a desperate retreat of United Nations forces from North Korea.
- November 30 - Truman threatens to use nuclear weapons in Korea

December


- December 3 - Etna volcano erupts in Sicily
- December 12 - Paula Ackerman becomes the first woman in the United States to serve a congregation as a Rabbi, a few weeks after the death of her husband.
- December 24-December 25 - Scottish nationalists take the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey
- December 28 - The Peak District becomes Britain's first National Park.

Unknown date


- Ralph Schneider founds Diners Club - it initially only works in 27 restaurants in New York City.
- United Nations building finished.
- First pagers developed.
- Antihistamine discovered.
- First TV remote control, Zenith Radio's Lazy Bones is marketed.
- IBM Israel begins operating in Tel Aviv
- Japanese soldier Yuichi Akitsu surrenders in the Philippines
- President Harry Truman sends United States military personnel to Vietnam to aid French forces.
- National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA founded.

Births

January-February


- January 12 - Sheila Jackson Lee, American politician
- January 16 - Debbie Allen, American actress, dancer, and choreographer
- January 18 - Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver
- January 21 - Billy Ocean, West Indian-born musician
- January 23 - Richard Dean Anderson, American actor
- January 24 - Benjamin Urrutia, Ecuadoran author and scholar
- January 29 - Jody Scheckter, South African race car driver
- February 3 - Morgan Fairchild, American actress
- February 4 - Pamela Franklin, British actress
- February 6 - Natalie Cole, American singer
- February 10 - Mark Spitz, American swimmer
- February 12 - Michael Ironside, American actor
- February 13 - Peter Gabriel, British musician
- February 16 - Peter Hain, British politician
- February 18 - John Hughes, American film director, producer, and writer
- February 20 - Ken Shimura, Japanese television performer and actor
- February 22 - Julius Erving, American basketball player
- February 22 - Julie Walters, English actress
- February 22 - Miou-Miou, French actress
- February 22 - Ellen Greene, American actress
- February 25 - Neil Jordan, Irish film director, writer, and producer
- February 25 - Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina
- February 26 - Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand

March-April


- March 2 - Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (d. 1983)
- March 4 - Rick Perry, Governor of Texas
- March 9 - Doug Ault, baseball player (d. 2004)
- March 9 - Danny Sullivan, American race car driver
- March 11 - Bobby McFerrin, American singer
- March 11 - Jerry Zucker, American film producer, director, and writer
- March 13 - William H. Macy, American actor
- March 18 - Brad Dourif, American actor
- March 20 - William Hurt, American actor
- March 26 - Teddy Pendergrass, American singer
- March 29 - Bud Cort, American actor
- March 30 - Robbie Coltrane, British actor and comedian
- April 3 - Sally Thomsett, British actress
- April 4 - Christine Lahti, American actress
- April 5 - Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish singer and songwriter (ABBA)
- April 10 - Ken Griffey, Sr., baseball player
- April 12 - Kari Palaste, Finnish architect
- April 22 - Peter Frampton, English musician
- April 25 - Lenora Branch Fulani, American Presidential candidate
- April 28 - Jay Leno, American comedian and talk show host
- April 29 - Paul Holmes , a radio and television broadcaster in New Zealand

May-September


- May 1 - Danny McGrain, Scottish footballer
- May 1 - Dann Florek, American actor
- May 3 - Howard Ashman, American lyricist (d. 1991)
- May 7 - Randall 'Tex' Cobb, American boxer and actor
- May 12 - Bruce Boxleitner, American actor
- May 12 - Gabriel Byrne, Irish actor
- May 13 - Stevie Wonder, American singer and musician
- May 16 - Johannes Georg Bednorz, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- May 17 - Janez Drnovšek, Slovene politician
- May 17 - Valeria Novodvorskaya, Russian politician and dissident
- May 18 - Thomas Gottschalk, German television host
- May 18 - Rodney Milburn, American athlete (d. 1997)
- May 18 - Mark Mothersbaugh, American composer and musician (Devo)
- May 22 - Bernie Taupin, English songwriter
- May 22 - Mary Tamm, British actress
- June 1 - Tom Robinson, English singer and musician
- June 3 - Suzi Quatro, American singer and actress
- June 6 - John Byrne, American comic book creator
- July 18 - Sir Richard Branson, British entrepreneur
- July 18 - Glenn Hughes, American vocalist (d. 2001)
- July 19 - Per-Kristian Foss, Norwegian Minister of Finance
- August 11 - Gennidy Nikonov, Russian weapon designer
- August 14 - Bob Backlund, American professional wrestler
- August 15 - Anne, Princess Royal of England
- August 16 - Hasely Crawford, West Indian athlete
- August 27 - Charles Fleischer, American actor
- September 2 - Rosanna DeSoto, American actress
- September 14 - Paul Kossoff, British guitarist (Free) (d. 1976)
- September 17 - Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat
- September 21 - Charles Clarke, British politician
- September 21 - Bill Murray, American actor and comedian
- September 28 - John Sayles director and screenwriter

October-December


- October 1 - Randy Quaid, American actor
- October 5 - Jeff Conaway, American actor
- October 9 - Jody Williams, American teacher and aid worker, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- October 12 - Kaga Takeshi, Japanese actor
- October 22 - Bill Owens, Governor of Colorado
- October 28 - Sihem Bensedrine, Tunisian human rights activist
- October 31 - John Candy, American comedian and actor
- October 31 - Jane Pauley, American television broadcaster and journalist
- November 1 - Robert B. Laughlin, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- November 21 - Alberto Juantorena, Cuban athlete
- November 22 - Lyman Bostock, baseball player (d. 1978)
- November 28 - Russell Alan Hulse, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- December 1 - Keith Thibodeaux, American actor and musician
- December 5 - Camarón de la Isla, Spanish singer (d. 1992)
- December 18 - Leonard Maltin, American film critic
- December 23 - Michael C. Burgess, American politician
- December 25 - Manny Trillo, baseball player

Unknown date


- Charles Lee Ray, American serial killer (d. 1988)

Deaths


- January 21 - George Orwell, English author (b. 1903)
- February 6 - Georges Imbert, Alsatian chemist (b. 1884)
- February 25 - George Minot, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1885)
- March 5 - Sid Grauman, American restaurateur (b. 1895)
- March 9 - Danny Sullivan, American race car driver
- March 19 - Walter Haworth, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
- March 19 - Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author (b. 1875)
- March 24 - James Rudolph Garfield, U.S. politician (b. 1865)
- March 30 - Joe Yule, Scottish-born comedian (b. 1894)
- April 19 - Ernst Robert Curtius, Alsatian philologist (b. 1886)
- May 1 - Lothrop Stoddard, American eugenicist (b. 1883)
- May 9 - Esteban Terradas i Illa, Catalan mathematician, scientist, and engineer (b. 1883)
- May 10 - Belle da Costa Greene, American librarian, bibliographer, and archivist (b. 1883)
- July 22 - William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canadian politician (b. 1874)
- September 10 - Raymond Sommer, American race car driver (b. 1906)
- September 11 - Jan Christian Smuts, Prime Minister of South Africa (b. 1870)
- September 21 - Arthur Milne, British space physicist (b. 1896)
- October 23 - Al Jolson, American musician (b. 1886)
- October 29 - King Gustav V of Sweden (b. 1858)
- November 2 - George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856)
- November 3 - Koiso Kuniaki, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1880)
- November 25 - Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, Danish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1873)
- December 2 - Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist (b. 1917)
- December 5 - Shri Aurobindo, Indian guru (b. 1872)
- December 11 - Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer and computing pioneer (b. 1893)
- December 27 - Max Beckmann, German painter (b. 1884)

Date unknown


- Ernest Cherrington, American temperance movement leader (b. 1877)
- William E. Johnson, American Anti-Saloon League leader (b. 1862)

Nobel Prizes


- Physics - Cecil Frank Powell
- Chemistry - Otto Paul Hermann Diels, Kurt Alder
- Medicine - Edward Calvin Kendall, Tadeus Reichstein, Philip Showalter Hench
- Literature - Earl (Bertrand Arthur William) Russell
- Peace - Ralph Bunche

Fields Medalists


- Laurent Schwartz, Atle Selberg Category:1950 ko:1950년 ms:1950 ja:1950年 simple:1950 th:พ.ศ. 2493

Taizhou, Jiangsu

Taizhou () is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Situated on the north bank of the Yangtze River, it borders Nantong to the east, Yancheng to the north and Yangzhou to the west.

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Taizhou administers 6 county-level divisions, including 2 districts and 4 county-level cities.
- Hailing District (海陵区)
- Gaogang District (高港区)
- Jiangyan City (姜堰市)
- Jingjiang City (靖江市)
- Taixing City (泰兴市)
- Xinghua City (兴化市) These are further divided into 105 township-level divisions, including 91 towns, 8 townships and 6 subdistricts.

Geography and climate

At the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Jinghang Canal (Grand Canal of China), in the mid south of Jiangsu province, the north bank of lower reaches of the Yangtze river, the south end of Jianghuai Plain. It is at 1190°56' east and 320°30' north. Neighboring Areas: Yangzhou to the west, Nantong to the east, and Yancheng to the north.

History

Taizhou is a city with a long history. It was called "Haiyang" (Simplified Chinese: 海阳; Traditional Chinese: 海阳; pinyin: Hǎiyáng) in the Chunqiu Period, and "Hailing" (Simplified Chinese: 海陵; Traditional Chinese: 海陵; pinyin: Hǎilíng) during the Western Han Dynasty. It was named Hailing county in 117 B.C. It was famous during Eastern Jing Dynasty on a par with Jinling (Nanjing) and Guangling (Yangzhou), Lanling (Changzhou). It was named "Taizhou prefecture" in Southern Tang Dynasty, which means 'Peaceful country and lucky citizens'. The name has been kept since then for 2100 years. With a history of over 2100 years, Taizhou enjoys the reputation of "Ancient County in Han and Tang Dynasties and Famous District alongside the coast of the Yellow Sea". Through ages, it has seen gatherings of great talents and famous merchants. It was ever a political, economic, cultural and transportation center in Central Jiangsu. It is also the hometown of great artistic Masters like Shi Nai'an, Zheng Banqiao, and Mei Lanfang, etc, the birth place of the Navy of Chinese People's Liberation Army. It is now one of the famous historical and cultural cities of Jiangsu province.

Ecomomy

Having a favorable geographical location, rich resources and solid economic foundation, Taizhou was approved by the State's Council to be one of open coastal cities. In the past 20 years, the economic growth has remained at the average speed of over 10%. It is one of central cities inside the Yangtse River Delta for its developed industry, convenient transportation and prosperous commerce. In the year of 2000, the GDP reached RMB 40.58 billion yuan, the GDP per capita RMB 8,093 yuan, the fiscal revenue RMB 3.18 billion yuan, the total amount of bank deposit RMB 38.9 billion yuan. Five county-level cities or districts are ranked among the "China's Top 100 Counties with Greatest Comprehensive Power". It boasts numbers of large-sized enterprises or groups, such as Chunlan Group. Taizhou was among the first few cities in Jiangsu to be recognized as having famousus cultural history. In 1990, Heheng village in Jiangyan county was awarded Global 500 Roll of Honor by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) because of its success in protecting the environment while increasing the grain yield and its wide use of marsh biogas ponds.

Sister cities

Thus far, Taizhou has six sister cities.
- Newport News, Virginia, USA
- La Trobe, Victoria, Australia
- Eumseong County, Chung Chong Buk Do, Republic of Korea
- Kotka, South Finland, Finland
- Hutt City (Lower Hutt), New Zealand
- ??

Transportation

The Nanjing-Jinjiang-Yancheng Highway passes through from south to north and National Highway 328 goes from west to east. The routes to get to Taizhou includes:
- Take buses from Shanghai or Nanjing through National Highway 328 or Nanjing-Jinjiang-Yancheng Highway.
- Take trains from Beijing through Xinyi-Changxing Railway (新长铁路) or Nanjing through Nanjing-Qidong Railway (宁启铁路).

Company headquarted in Taizhou


- Chunlan Group Corp
- Linghai Motocyle Corp

Tourism

Nanjing-Qidong Railway]
- Gardens and Parks
  - Qintong Boat Festival, Jiangyan (溱潼会船) Qintong Boat Festival is held in Qingming (around April 4-6) every year. During the festival boats from nearby villages and towns converge in Xique lake for a few days of rejoicing. Theatrical performances, dragon and lion dances, and other folk dances are staged right on board the boats.
  - Xique Lake, Jiangyan (喜鹊湖) The lake located in Qingtong town, 15 km north of Jiangyan city. The water was composed of Nanhu (南湖), Xique (喜鹊湖), and Beihu (北湖). It is part of Qintong Swamp.
  - Père David's Deer Reserve, Jiangyan (麋鹿故乡园) Biggest reserve outside of Dafeng.
  - Taizhou Park
  - Heheng Agricultural Tour, Shengao, Jiangyan
- Museum
  - Navy Birthplace Museum
  - Hu Jintao Birthplace Museum, Jiangyan

Colleges and schools


- Chunlan College
- Jiangsu Jiangyan Zhongxue (江苏省姜堰中学)
- Jiangsu Taixing Zhongxue (江苏省泰兴中学)

External links


- [http://www.taizhou.gov.cn Government website of Taizhou] (available in Chinese and English)
- [http://61.132.43.189/hcj/ Qintong Boat Festival] Category:Cities in Jiangsu

Jiangsu

Jiangsu (; Postal System Pinyin: Kiangsu) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name "Jiangsu" comes from Jiang, short for the city of Jiangning (now Nanjing), and Su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is 苏 (Hanyu Pinyin: Sū), the second character of its name. Jiangsu borders Shandong in the north, Anhui to the west, and Zhejiang and Shanghai to the south. Jiangsu has a coastline of over 1,000 km along the Yellow Sea, and the Yangtze River passes through its southern parts.

History

The province of Jiangsu was formed in the 17th century. Before then, the northern and southern parts of Jiangsu had little to do with each other. South Jiangsu is currently the dominant part, being much wealthier and more influential than the north, and has been so for centuries; it is also firmly a part of southern Chinese culture. North Jiangsu, on the other hand, is at the juncture between North China and South China. Culturally it is of North China, but it has influences from South China, and is indeed still a part of a province that is based in the south. During the earliest of the Chinese dynasties, Jiangsu was far removed from the center of Chinese civilization, which were to the northwest in Henan; it was home to the Huai Yi (淮夷), an ancient ethnic group. During the Zhou Dynasty more contact was made, and eventually a state of Wu (centered at Gusu, now Suzhou) appeared as a vassal to the Zhou Dynasty in south Jiangsu, one of the many hundreds of states that existed across north and central China at the time. Near the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu became a great power under King Helu of Wu, and was able to defeat in 484 BC the state of Qi, a major power to the north in modern-day Shandong province, and contest for the position of overlord over all the states of China. The state of Wu was subjugated in 473 BC by the state of Yue, another state that had emerged to the south in modern-day Zhejiang province. Yue was in turn subjugated by the powerful state of Chu from the west in 333 BC. Eventually the state of Qin swept away all the other states of China, and established China as a unified nation in 221 BC. Under the reign of the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), which brought China to its first golden age, Jiangsu was a relative backwater, far removed from the centers of civilization in the North China Plain. Jiangsu was at the time administered under two zhou (provinces): Xuzhou Province in the north, and Yangzhou Province in the south. Although south Jiangsu was eventually the base for the kingdom of Wu (one of the Three Kingdoms from 222 to 280), it did not become significant until the invasion of northern nomads during the Western Jin Dynasty, starting from the 4th century. As northern nomadic groups established kingdoms across the north, ethnic Han Chinese aristocracy fled southwards and set up a refugee Eastern Jin Dynasty in 317, in Jiankang (modern day Nanjing). From then until 581 (a period known as the Southern and Northern Dynasties), Nanjing in south Jiangsu was to be the base of four more ethnic Han Chinese dynasties facing off with northern barbarian (but increasingly sinicized) dynasties. In the meantime, north Jiangsu was a buffer of sorts between north and south; it initially started as a part of southern dynasties, but as northern dynasties gained more ground, it became part of northern dynasties. In 581 unity was reestablished again, and under the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907) China once more went through a golden age, though Jiangsu at this point was still rather unremarkable among the different parts of China. It was during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), which saw the development of a wealthy mercantile class and emergent market economy in China, that south Jiangsu emerged as a center of trade. From then onwards, south Jiangsu, especially major cities like Suzhou or Yangzhou, would be synonymous with opulence and luxury in China. Today south Jiangsu remains one of the richest parts of China, and Shanghai, arguably the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan of mainland China cities, is a direct extension of south Jiangsu culture. The Jurchen Jin Dynasty gained control of North China in 1127, and the river Huai He, which used to cut through north Jiangsu to reach the Yellow Sea, was the border between the north, under the Jin, and the south, under the Southern Song Dynasty. The Mongols took control of China in the 13th century. The Ming Dynasty, which was established in 1368 after driving out the Mongols who had occupied China, initially put its capital in Nanjing. Following a coup by Zhu Di (later Yongle Emperor), however, the capital was moved to Beijing, far to the north. (The naming of the two cities continue to reflect this: "Nanjing" literally means "southern capital", "Beijing" literally means "northern capital.) The entirety of modern day Jiangsu as well as neighbouring Anhui province kept their special status, however, as territory-governed directly by the central government, and were called Nanzhili (南直隸 "Southern directly-governed"). Meanwhile, South Jiangsu continued to be an important center of trade in China; some historians see in the flourishing textiles industry at the time incipient industrialization and capitalism, a trend that was however aborted, several centuries before similar trends took hold in the West. The Qing Dynasty changed this situation by establishing Nanzhili as Jiangnan province; in 1666 Jiangsu and Anhui were split apart as separate provinces, and Jiangsu was given borders approximately the same as today. With the start of the Western incursion into China in the 1840s, the rich and mercantile south Jiangsu was increasingly exposed to Western influence; Shanghai, originally an unremarkable little town of Jiangsu, quickly developed into a metropolis of trade, banking, and cosmopolitanism, and was split out later as an independent municipality. South Jiangsu also figures strongly in the Taiping Rebellion (1851 – 1864), a massive and deadly rebellion that attempted to set up a Christian theocracy in China; it started far to the south in Guangdong province, swept through much of South China, and by 1853 had established Nanjing as its capital, renamed as Tianjing (天京 "Heavenly Capital"). The Republic of China was established in 1912, and China was soon torn apart by warlords. Jiangsu changed hands several times, but in April 1927 Chiang Kai-Shek established a government at Nanjing; he was soon able to bring most of China under his control. This was however interrupted by the second Sino-Japanese War, which began full-scale in 1937; on December 13, 1937, Nanjing fell, and the combined atrocities of the occupying Japanese for the next 3 months would come to be known as the Nanjing Massacre. Nanjing was the seat of the collaborationist government of East China under Wang Jingwei, and Jiangsu remained under occupation until the end of the war in 1945. After the war, Nanjing was once again the capital of the Republic of China, though now the Chinese Civil War had broken out between the Kuomintang government and Communist forces, based further north, mostly in Manchuria. The decisive Huaihai Campaign was fought in northern Jiangsu; it resulted in Kuomintang defeat, and the communists were soon able to cross the Yangtze River and take Nanjing. The Kuomintang fled southwards, and eventually ended up in Taipei, from which the Republic of China government continues to administer Taiwan and its neighbouring islands, though it also continues to claim (technically, at least) Nanjing as its rightful capital. After communist takeover, Beijing was made capital of China and Nanjing was demoted to be the provincial capital of Jiangsu. The economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping initially focused on the south coast of China, in Guangdong province, which soon left Jiangsu behind; starting from the 1990s they were applied more evenly to the rest of China. Suzhou and Wuxi, two southern cities of Jiangsu in close proximity to neighbouring Shanghai Municipality, have since become particularly prosperous, being among the top 10 cities in China in gross domestic product and outstripping the provincial capital of Nanjing. The income disparity between north Jiangsu and south Jiangsu however remains large.

Geography

Nanjing Jiangsu is very flat and low-lying, with plains covering 68 percent of its total area (water covers another 18 percent), and most of the province not more than 50 m above sea level. Jiangsu is also laced with a well-developed irrigation system, which earned it (especially the southern half) the moniker of 水乡 (shuǐxiāng "land of water"); the southern city of Suzhou is so crisscrossed with canals that it has been dubbed "Venice of the East". The Grand Canal of China cuts through Jiangsu from north to south, traversing all the east-west river systems. Jiangsu also borders the Yellow Sea. The Yangtze River, the longest river of China, cuts through the province in the south and reaches the East China Sea. Mount Yuntai near the city of Lianyungang is the highest point in this province, with an altitude of 625 m. Large lakes in Jiangsu include Lake Taihu (the largest), Lake Hongze, Lake Gaoyou, Lake Luoma, and Lake Yangcheng. Historically, the river Huai He, a major river in central China and the traditional border between North China and South China, cut through north Jiangsu to reach the Yellow Sea. However, starting from 1194 AD, the Yellow River further to the north changed its course several times, running into the Huai He in north Jiangsu each time instead of its other usual path northwards into Bohai Bay. The silting caused by the Yellow River was so heavy that after its last episode of "hijacking" the Huai He ended in 1855, the Huai He was no longer able to go through its usual path into the sea. Instead it flooded, pooled up (thereby forming and enlarging Lake Hongze and Lake Gaoyou), and flowed southwards through the Grand Canal into the Yangtze. The old path of the Huai He is now marked by a series of irrigation channels, the most significant of which is the North Jiangsu Irrigation Main Channel (苏北灌溉总渠), which channels a small amount of the water of the Huai He along its old path into the sea. Jiangsu Province spans the warm-temperate/humid and subtropical/humid climate zones, and has clear-cut seasonal changes, with temperatures at an average of -2 - 4 °C in January and 26 - 30 °C in July. There are frequently "plum rains" between spring and summer, typhoons with rainstorms in late summer and early autumn. The annual average rainfall is 800 - 1200 mm, concentrated mostly in summer when the southeast monsoon carries rainwater into the province. Major cities:

Administrative divisions

monsoon Jiangsu is divided into 13 prefecture-level divisions, all of them prefecture-level cities:
- Nanjing (Simplified Chinese: 南京市, Hanyu Pinyin: Nánjīng Shì)
- Xuzhou (徐州市 Xúzhōu Shì)
- Lianyungang (连云港市 Liányúngǎng Shì)
- Suqian (宿迁市 Sùqiān Shì)
- Huai'an (淮安市 Huái'ān Shì)
- Yancheng (盐城市 Yánchéng Shì)
- Yangzhou (扬州市 Yángzhōu Shì)
- Taizhou (泰州市 Tàizhōu Shì)
- Nantong (南通市 Nántōng Shì)
- Zhenjiang (镇江市 Zhènjiāng Shì)
- Changzhou (常州市 Chángzhōu Shì)
- Wuxi (无锡市 Wúxī Shì)
- Suzhou (苏州市 Sūzhōu Shì) The 13 prefecture-level divisions of Jiangsu are subdivided into 106 county-level divisions (54 districts, 27 county-level cities, and 25 counties). Those are in turn divided into 1488 township-level divisions (1078 towns, 122 townships, 1 ethnic township, and 287 subdistricts). See List of administrative divisions of Jiangsu for a complete list of county-level divisions.

Economy

county-level divisions Jiangsu has an extensive irrigation system supporting its agriculture, which is based primarily on rice and wheat, followed by maize and sorghum. Main cash crops include cotton, soybeans, peanuts, rape, sesame, ambary hemp, and tea. Other products include peppermint, spearmint, bamboo, medicinal herbs, apples, pears, peaches, loquats, ginkgo. Silkworms also form an important part of Jiangsu's agriculture, with the Lake Taihu region to the south a major base of silk production in China. Jiangsu is also an important producer of freshwater fish and other aquatic products. Jiangsu has coal, petroleum, and natural gas deposits, but its most significant mineral produces are non-metal minerals such as halite (rock salt), sulfur, phosphorus, as well as marble. The salt mines of Huaiyin have more than 0.4 trillion tonnes of deposits, one of the highest in China. Jiangsu is historically oriented towards light industries such as textiles and food industry. Since 1949 Jiangsu has also developed heavy industries such as chemical industry and construction materials. The economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping has greatly benefited southern cities, especially Suzhou and Wuxi, which outstrip the provincial capital Nanjing in total output. In the eastern outskirts of Suzhou, Singapore has built the Suzhou Industrial Park, a flagship of China-Singapore cooperation and the only industrial park in China that is in its entirety the investment of one single foreign country. Jiangsu is very wealthy among the provinces of China, with the second highest total gross domestic product (after Guangdong Province). Its GDP per capita was 14500 Renminbi in 2002, but geographical disparity is great, and southern cities like Suzhou and Wuxi have GDP per capita around twice of the provincial average, making south Jiangsu one of the most prosperous regions in China. Economic indicators in 2003: Gross domestic product: 1245.18 billion Renminbi
Gross domestic product per capita: 16796 Renminbi
Gross domestic product growth rate: 13.5%
Gross domestic product share by sector (primary/secondary/tertiary): 8.9% / 54.5% / 36.6%
Gross domestic product share by sector (public/private): 49.0% / 51.0%

Demographics

The majority of Jiangsu residents are ethnic Han Chinese. Other minorities include the Hui and the Manchus. Demographic indicators in 2000: Population: 74.058 million (urban: 34.637 million; rural: 39.421 million) (2003)
Birth rate: 9.04 per 1000 (2003)
Death rate: 7.03 per 1000 (2003)
Sex ratio: 102.55 males per 100 females
Average family size: 3.25
Han Chinese proportion: 99.64%
Illiteracy rate: 7.88%

Culture

There are wide disparities in culture in Jiangsu. North Jiangsu is closer to Shandong and Henan provinces in culture while south Jiangsu is more similar to Zhejiang and Shanghai. Two main subdivisions of the Chinese language, Mandarin and Wu, are spoken in different parts of Jiangsu. Dialects of Mandarin are spoken over most of northern Jiangsu and central Jiangsu, as well as parts of southern Jiangsu, such as in the provincial capital, Nanjing; a more detailed classification would put dialects of northern Jiangsu (such as in Xuzhou) under "Zhongyuan dialects" and those of central and southern Jiangsu (such as in Yangzhou or Nanjing) under "Jianghuai dialects". Dialects of Wu are spoken in the southernmost parts of Jiangsu, such as in Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou. Mandarin and Wu are not mutually intelligible and the dividing line is sharp and well-defined. (See also: Nanjing dialect, Xuzhou dialect, Yangzhou dialect, Suzhou dialect, Wuxi dialect, Changzhou dialect.) Changzhou dialect] Jiangsu is rich in cultural traditions. Kunqu, originating in Kunshan, is one of the most renowned and prestigious forms of Chinese opera. Pingtan, a form of storytelling accompanied by music, is also popular: it can be subdivided into types by origin: Suzhou Pingtan (of Suzhou), Yangzhou Pingtan (of Yangzhou), and Nanjing Pingtan (of Nanjing). Xiju, a form of traditional Chinese opera, is popular in Wuxi, while Huaiju is popular further north, around Yancheng. Jiangsu cuisine is one of the eight great traditions of the cuisine of China. Suzhou is also famous for its silk, embroidery art, jasmine tea, stone bridges, pagodas, and its classical gardens. Nearby Yixing is famous for its teaware, and Yangzhou is famous for its lacquerware and jadeware. Nanjing's yunjin is a famous form of woven silk, while Wuxi is famous for its peaches. Since ancient times, south Jiangsu has been famed for its prosperity and opulence, and simply inserting south Jiangsu place names (Suzhou, Yangzhou, etc.) into poetry gave an effect of dreaminess, as was indeed done by many famous poets. In particular, the fame of Suzhou (as well as Hangzhou in neighbouring Zhejiang province) has led to the popular saying: 上有天堂，下有蘇杭 (above there is heaven; below there is Suzhou and Hangzhou), a saying that continues to be a source of pride for the people of these two still prosperous cities. Similarly, the prosperity of Yangzhou has led poets to dream of: 腰纏十萬貫，騎鶴下揚州 (with a hundred thousand strings of coins wrapped around the waist, riding a crane down to Yangzhou).

Famous people

This is a list of famous people from Jiangsu in chronological order. Note that modern-day Jiangsu province dates from the 17th century, so most of the people in this list would not know what "Jiangsu" is.
- King Helu of Wu (? - 496 BC), king of the state of Wu
- Gan Jiang
- Mo Xie
- Xiang Yu (232 BC - 202 BC), warlord at the end of Qin Dynasty
- Emperor Gao of Han (256 BC - 195 BC), first emperor of Han Dynasty
- Han Xin, Han Dynasty general
- Xiao He, Han Dynasty general
- Cao Shen, Han Dynasty general
- Zhang Zhao, Three Kingdoms era strategist
- Lu Xun, Three Kingdoms era strategist and general
- Ge Hong
- Tao Hongjing
- Gu Kaizhi (348 - 409), painter
- Lu Ji
- Lu Yun
- Emperor Wu of Song (363 - 422), first emperor of Song Dynasty (420-479)
- Zhang Xu (? - ?), Tang Dynasty calligrapher
- Li Houzhu (937 - 978), last emperor of Later Tang Dynasty, poet
- Fan Zhongyan (989 - 1052), Song Dynasty politician, poet
- Fan Chengda
- Gu Xiancheng
- Xu Xiake (1586 - 1641), travel writer
- Shen Zhou
- Wen Zhengming
- Dong Qichang
- Zhu Yunming
- Wu Cheng'en (? - 1582), author of Journey to the West
- Gui Youguang
- Feng Menglong
- Zheng Banqiao (1693 - 1765), poet, painter, scholar
- Jin Shengtan (1608 - 1661), writer, critic
- Gu Yanwu
- Zhao Yi
- Liu E
- Xu Beihong (1895 - 1953), painter
- Mei Lanfang (1894 - 1961), Beijing opera actor
- Jiang Zemin (1926 - ), President of the People's Republic of China

Tourism

Nanjing was the capital of several Chinese dynasties and contain a variety of historic sites, such as Purple Mountain, Purple Mountain Observatory, the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Ming Dynasty city wall and gates, Ming Xiao Ling, Lake Xuanwu, Jiming Temple, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial, Nanjing Confucius Temple, Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, and Nanjing Zoo, with circus. Suzhou is renowned for its classical gardens (designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site), as well as Hanshan Temple, and Huqiu Hill. Yangzhou is known for Thin West Lake.
- Chaotian Palace
- Gulin Park
- Jiangxin Island
- Night Markets
- Qixia Temple in Qixia Mountains
- Swallow Rock in Yanziji
- Tombs of Southern Tang Emperor

Miscellaneous topics

Sports

Professional sports teams in Jiangsu include:
- Chinese Football Association Jia League
  - Jiangsu Shuntian
  - Nanjing Youyou
- Chinese Basketball Association
  - Jiangsu Nan'gang Dragons

Colleges and Universities


- Nanjing Aeronautics and Astronautics University (Nanjing)
- Nanjing Agricultural University (Nanjing)
- Nanjing Normal University (Nanjing)
- Nanjing University (Nanjing)
- Nanjing University of Science and Technology (Nanjing)
- Southeast University (Nanjing)
- Suzhou Medical College (Suzhou)
- Suzhou University (Suzhou)

External links


- [http://www.jiangsu.gov.cn/ The Provincial Government of Jiangsu]
- [http://www.muztagh.com/images/map/map-of-jiangsu-large.jpg Large map of Jiangsu] Category:Provinces of the People's Republic of China ko:장쑤 성 ja:江蘇省

Guomindang

:KMT redirects here. For the scientific usage of KMT, see Kinetic theory. The Chinese Nationalist Party (; Tongyong Pinyin: Jhongguo Guomindang), commonly known as the Kuomintang (KMT), is a conservative political party currently active in the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan. Together with the People First Party, it forms what is known as the pan-blue coalition, which leans towards Chinese reunification whereas the pan-green coalition leans towards Taiwan independence. Organized shortly after the Xinhai Revolution, which overthrew the Qing Dynasty in China, the KMT fought the Beiyang warlords and the Communist Party of China for control of the country before its retreat to Taiwan in 1949. There, it controlled the government under a one-party authoritarian state until reforms in the late 1970s through the 1990s loosened its grip on power. The ROC was once referred to synonymously with the KMT and known simply as "Nationalist China" after its ruling party. The KMT in Taiwan became the world's richest political party, with assets once valued to be around US$ 2.6-10 billion, though these assets have begun to be liquidated since 2000.

Support

Support for the KMT on Taiwan encompasses a wide range of groups. KMT support tends to be higher in northern Taiwan, where it draws its backing primarily from business interests, Mainlanders, Hakka, and aboriginals. Business interests and persons, especially in Taipei, tend to agree with the KMT's pro-business ideology, who seek, among other issues, to better relations with the mainland. In rural areas, support for the KMT comes largely as a result of patronage and social networks, in which supporters of the KMT view as working for the people. Critics tend to view this as a form of corruption that benefits only a select group of people. KMT also has strong support in the labor sector because of the many labor benefits and insurances implemented when it was in power. KMT traditionally has strong cooperations with labor unions too. aboriginals Opponents of the KMT include strong supporters of Taiwan independence. There also is opposition due to an image of KMT both as a Mainlander's and urban party out of touch with rural life. In addition, many oppose the KMT on the basis of its authoritarian past, such as the 228 Incident and the reign of White Terror. The party is a member of the International Democrat Union.

Early years

The Kuomintang was originally founded in Guangdong Province on August 25, 1912 from a collection of several revolutionary groups, including the Revolutionary Alliance, as a moderate democratic socialist party and Anarchists active in the Student movement. The party traces its roots to the Revive China Society, which was founded in 1895 and merged with several other anti-monarchist societies as the Revolutionary Alliance in 1905. Sun Yat-sen, who had just stepped down as provisional president of the Republic of China, was chosen as its overall leader under the title of premier (總理), and Huang Xing was chosen as Sun's deputy. However, the most influencial member of the party was the third ranking Sung Chiao-jen, who mobilized mass support from gentry and merchants for the KMT in winning the 1912 National Assembly election, on a platform of promoting constitutional parliamentary democracy. Though the party had an overwhelming majority in the first National Assembly, President Yuan Shikai started ignoring the parliamentary body in making presidential decisions, counter to the Constitution, and assassinated its parliamentary leader Sung Chiao-jen in Shanghai in 1913. Members of the KMT led by Sun Yat-sen staged the Second Revolution in July 1913, a poorly planned and ill-supported armed rising to overthrow Yuan, and failed. Yuan dissolved the KMT in November (whose members had largely fled into exile in Japan) and dismissed the parliament early in 1914. Second Revolution While exiled in Japan in 1914, Sun established the Chinese Revolutionary Party, but many of his old revolutionary comrades, including Huang Xing, Wang Jingwei, and Chen Jiongming, refused to join him or support his efforts in inciting armed uprising against the Beijing government, and Sun was largely sidelined within the Republican movement during this period. Sun returned to China in 1917 to establish a rival government at Guangzhou, but was soon forced out of office and exiled to Shanghai. There, with renewed support, he resurrected the KMT on October 10, 1919, but under the name of the Chinese Kuomintang (the old party had simply been called the Kuomintang). In 1920, Sun and the KMT were restored in Guangdong. In 1923, the KMT and its government accepted aid from the Soviet Union after being denied recognition by the western powers. Soviet advisers -- the most prominent of whom was an agent of the Comintern, Mikhail Borodin -- began to arrive in China in 1923 to aid in the reorganization and consolidation of the KMT along the lines of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, establishing a Leninist party structure that lasted into the 1990s. The Communist Party of China (CPC) was under Comintern instructions to cooperate with the KMT, and its members were encouraged to join while maintaining their separate party identities, forming the First United Front between the two parties. Soviet advisers also helped the Nationalists set up a political institute to train propagandists in mass mobilization techniques, and in 1923 Chiang Kai-shek, one of Sun's lieutenants from the Tongmenghui days, was sent to Moscow for several months' military and political study. At the first party congress in 1924, which included non-KMT delegates such as members of the CPC, they adopted Sun's political theory, which included the Three Principles of the People - nationalism, democracy, and the livelihood of the people.

Civil and World War

Following the death of Sun Yat-sen, General Chiang Kai-shek emerged as the KMT leader and launched the Northern Expedition in 1926 against the warlord government in Beijing. He halted briefly in Shanghai in 1927 to purge the Communists who had been allied with the KMT, which sparked the Chinese Civil War. Kuomintang forces took Beijing in 1928 and received widespread diplomatic recognition in the same year. The capital was moved from Beijing to Nanjing, the original captial of the Ming dynasty. Thus began the period of "political tutelage," whereby the party was to control the government while instructing the people on how to participate in a democratic system. After several military campaigns, the Communists were forced (1934-35) to withdraw from their bases in southern and central China. The Kuomintang continued to attack the Communists, even during the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). After the defeat of the Japanese, full-scale civil war between the Communists and Nationalists resumed. Chiang Kai-shek ordered his forces to the cities to defend industrialists and financiers, allowing the Communists to move freely through the countryside. Much of the war from 1946-1949 was financed from Taiwan's sugar and rice reserves acquired by the KMT. By the end of 1949 the Communists controlled almost all of mainland China, as the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan with 2 million refugees along with a hoard of China's national treasures. Some leftists stayed and broke away from the main Kuomintang to found the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang, which still exists (as of 2005) as one of the eight minor registered parties in the People's Republic of China.

KMT in Taiwan

In 1950 Chiang took office in Taipei under the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion which halted democratic processes until the mainland could be recovered from the communists. During this time, as a result of the 228 Incident, Taiwanese people had to endure what is called the "White Terror", a KMT-led political repression. The various government organs previously in Nanjing were re-established in Taipei as the KMT-controlled government actively claimed sovereignty over all China. The Republic of China retained China's seat in the United Nations until 1971. In the 1970s, the Kuomintang began to allow for "supplemental elections" on Taiwan to fill the seats of the aging representatives. Although opposition parties were not permitted, Tangwai (or, "outside the party") representatives were tolerated. In the 1980s, the Kuomintang focused on transforming itself from a party of a single-party system to one of many in a multi-party democracy, and on "Taiwanizing" itself. With the founding of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 1986, the Kuomintang found itself competing against the DPP in Taiwanese elections. Lee Teng-Hui, the ROC President and the leader of the Kuomintang during the 1990s, angered the People's Republic of China and a significant number of voters on Taiwan with his advocacy of "special state-to-state relations" with the PRC, which many associated with Taiwan independence. In order to maintain influence, the Kuomintang was allegedly involved in vote-buying and black gold, which decreased its support among the Taiwanese middle class. black gold, was seen as a symbol of the party's wealth and dominance.]] As the ruling party on Taiwan, the KMT amassed a vast business empire of banks, investment companies, petrochemical firms, and television and radio stations. Its wealth in the year 2000 was at an estimated US $6.5 billion, making it the richest political party in the world. Although this war chest appeared to help the KMT throughout until the mid-1990s, it led to accusations of black gold corruption, and after 2000, the KMT's financial holdings appeared to be far more of a liability than an asset. After 2000, the KMT claims to have divested itself of a large quantity of assets, but because the transactions were not disclosed and because there is no transparency in the spending of campaign funds (no reporting is required), these claims are difficult to verify. There were accusations in the 2004 presidential election that the KMT retained assets that were illegally acquired, and in any case, the KMT retains large properties throughout Taiwan. According to political opponents, most of the KMT's properties used to be governmental public assets belonging to the Japanese ruling government and were not supposed to be transfered to non-governmental entities after the second world war. Currently, there is a law proposed by the DPP in the Legislative Yuan to recover illegally acquired party assets and return them to the government; however, since the pan-Blue alliance, the KMT and its smaller partner PFP, control the legislature, it is very unlikely to be passed. The KMT also acknowledged that part of its assets were acquired through extra-legal means and thus promised to "retro-endow" them to the government. However, the quantity of the assets which should be classified as illegal are still under heated debate; DPP, the current ruling party, claimed that there is much more that the KMT has yet to acknowledge. Also, the KMT actively sold assets under its title in order to quench its recent financial difficulties, which the DPP argues is illegal. Current KMT Chairman Ma Ying-Jiu's position is that the KMT will sell off some of its properties at below market rates rather than return them to the government and that the details of these transactions will not be publicly disclosed. The Kuomintang faced a split in 1994 that led to the formation of the Chinese New Party, alleged to be a result of Lee's "corruptive ruling style". The New Party has, since the purging of Lee, largely reintegrated into KMT. A much more serious split in the party occurred as a result of the 2000 Presidential election. Upset at the choice of Lien Chan as the party's presidential nominee, former party Secretary-General James Soong launched an independent bid, which resulted in the expulsion of Soong and his supporters and the formation of the People's First Party (PFP). The KMT candidate placed third behind Soong in the elections. After the election, Lee's strong relationship with the opponent became apparent. In order to prevent defections to the PFP, Lien moved the party away from Lee's pro-independence policies and became more favorable toward Chinese reunification. This shift led to Lee's expulsion from the party and the formation of the Taiwan Solidarity Union. With the party's voters defecting to both the PFP and TSU, the KMT did poorly in the December 2001 legislative elections and lost its position as the largest party in the Legislative Yuan. More recently, the party did well in the 2002 mayoral and council election with Ma Ying-jeou, its candidate for Taipei mayor, winning reelection by a landslide and its candidate for Kaohsiung mayor narrowly losing but doing surprisingly well. Since 2002, the KMT and PFP have coordinated electoral strategies. In 2004, the KMT and PFP ran a joint presidential ticket, with Lien running for president and Soong running for vice-president. In December 2003, however, the KMT chairman and presidential candidate, Lien Chan, initiated what appeared to some to be a major shift in the party's position on the linked questions of Chinese reunification and Taiwanese independence. Speaking to foreign journalists, Lien said that while the KMT was opposed to "immediate independence," it did not wish to be classed as "pro-reunificationist" either. At the same time, Wang Jin-pyng, speaker of the Legislative Yuan and the Pan-Blue Coalition's campaign manager in the 2004 presidential election, said that the party no longer opposed Taiwan's "eventual independence." This statement was later clarified as meaning that the KMT opposes any immediate decision on unification and independence and would like to have this issue resolved by future generations. The KMT's position on the cross-strait relationship was redefined as hoping to remain in the current neither-independent-nor-united situation. There has been a recent warming of relations between the pan-blue coalition and the PRC, with prominent members of both the KMT and PFP in active discussions with officials on the Mainland. In February 2004, it appeared that KMT had opened a campaign office for the Lien-Soong ticket in Shanghai targeting Taiwanese businessmen. However, after an adverse reaction in Taiwan, the KMT quickly declared that the office was opened without official knowledge or authorization. In addition, the PRC issued a statement forbidding open campaigning in the Mainland and formally stated that it had no preference as to which candidate won and cared only about the positions of the winning candidate. The loss of the presidential election of 2004 to DPP President Chen Shui-bian by merely over 30000 votes was a bitter disappointment to party members, leading to a few rallies for a few weeks protesting alleged electoral fraud and the "odd circumstances" of the shooting of President Chen. However, the fortunes of the party were greatly improved when the KMT did well in the legislative elections held in December 2004 by maintaining its support in southern Taiwan achieving a majority for the pan-blue coalition. Soon after the election, there appeared to be a falling out with the KMT's junior partner with the coalition the People's First Party and talk of a merger seemed to have ended. This split appeared to widen in early 2005, as the leader of the PFP, James Soong appeared to be reconciling with President Chen Shui-Bian and the Democratic Progressive Party. However, Soong appeared to split with Chen Shui-Bian after Chen attended a protest against the Anti-Secession Law passed by the People's Republic of China. In 2005, Party chairman Lien Chan announced that he was to leave his office. The two leading contenders for the position include Ma Ying-jeou and Wang Jin-pyng. On April 5 2005, Mayor of Taipei Ma Ying-jeou said he wishes to lead the opposition Kuomintang with Wang Jin-pyng, if he were elected its chairman in an exclusive interview with CTV talk show host Sisy Chen. On March 28 2005, thirty members of the Kuomintang (KMT), led by KMT vice chairman P. K. Chiang, arrived in mainland China, marking the first official visit by the KMT to the mainland since it was defeated by communist forces in 1949 (although KMT members include Chiang had made individual visits in the past). The delegates began their itinerary by paying homage to the revolutionary martyrs of the Tenth Uprising at Huanghuagang. They subsequently flew to the former ROC capital of Nanjing to commemorate Sun Yat-sen. During the trip KMT signed a 10-points agreement with the CPC. The opponents regarded this visit as the prelude of the third KMT-CPC cooperation. Weeks afterwards, in May, Chairman Lien Chan visited the mainland and met with Hu Jintao. No agreements were signed because Chen Shui-bian's government threatened to prosecute the KMT delegation for violating laws prohibiting citizens from collaborating with Communists. On 16 July 2005 Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou was elected as KMT chairman in the first contested leadership in Kuomintang's 93-year history. Some 54 percent of the party's 1.04 million members casted their ballots. Ma Ying-jeou garnered 72.4 percent of vote share, or 375,056 votes, against Wang Jin-pyng's 27.6 percent, or 143,268 votes. After failing to convince Wang to stay on as a vice chairman, Ma named, as vice chairpersons, holdovers Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄), Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤), and Lin Cheng-chi (林澄枝), as well as long-time party administrator and strategist John Kuan (關中), and the vice chairpersons were approved by handcount of party delegates. The KMT won a decisive victory in the 3-in-1 local elections of December 2005, replacing the DPP as the largest party at the local level. This was seen as a major victory for the party ahead of legislative elections in 2007, and especially for Ma Ying-jeou ahead of the 2008 presidential elections.

List of leaders of the Kuomintang

President: # Sung Chiao-jen (1912-1913) Premier: # Sun Yat-sen (1913-1915, 1918-1925) # Hu Hanmin (1925-1927) Chairman of Central Executive Committee # Hu Hanmin (1927-1931) # Chiang Kai-shek (1931-1938) Director-General: # Chiang Kai-shek (1938-1975) Chairman: # Chiang Ching-kuo (1975-1988) # Lee Teng-hui (1988-2000) # Lien Chan (2000-2005) # Ma Ying-jeou (2005-)

See also


- History of the Republic of China
- Politics of Taiwan
- List of political parties in Taiwan

Further reading


- Chris Taylor, "Taiwan's Seismic shift," Asian Wall Street Journal, February 4 2004 (not available online)

External link


- [http://www.kmt.org.tw/ Kuomintang official web site] ([http://www.kmt.org.tw/Aboutus/English/Aboutus-12.html English]) Category:Conservative parties Category:International Democrat Union Category:Nationalist parties Category:Political parties in Taiwan (Republic of China) Category:Republic of China Category:Single-party system parties zh-min-nan:Tiong-kok Kok-bîn-tóng ko:중국국민당 ja:中国国民党

Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, abbreviated USSR ( (СССР) ; tr.: Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik [SSSR])), more commonly known as the Soviet Union (; tr.: Sovetsky Soyuz) was an officially socialist state founded in 1922, centered on Russia, and dissolved in 1991. From 1945 until its dissolution it was historically notable as one of the world's two superpowers. The formation of the Soviet Union was the culmination of the Russian Revolution of 1917, which overthrew short-lived Provisional Government (established after Tsar Nicholas II abdicated on March 15, 1917), and later the Red Army victory in the violent Russian Civil War from 1918-1920. The geographic boundaries of the Soviet Union varied with time, but by 1945 it approximately corresponded to that of historic Imperial Russia, with the notable exclusions of Poland and Finland. The geographic size of the Soviet Union remained from 1945 until its dissolution. The Soviet Union, founded three decades before the Cold War, became a primary model for future Communist states; the socialist government and the political organization of the country were defined by the only permitted political party, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

History

The Soviet Union is traditionally considered to be the successor of the Russian Empire. The last Russian monarch, Tsar Nicholas II, ruled until March 1917 and was eventually executed. The Soviet Union was established in December 1922 as the union of the Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Transcaucasian Soviet republics ruled by Bolshevik parties. By Soviet historiography, revolutionary activity in Russia began with the Decembrist Revolt of 1825, and although serfdom was abolished in 1861, its abolition was achieved on terms unfavorable to the peasants and served to encourage revolutionaries. A parliament, the State Duma, was established in 1906, after the 1905 Revolution but political and social unrest continued and was aggravated during World War I by military defeat and food shortages. A spontaneous popular uprising in Petrograd, in response to the wartime decay of Russia's physical well-being and morale, culminated in the toppling of the imperial government in March 1917 (see February Revolution). The autocracy was replaced by the Provisional Government, whose leaders intended to establish democracy in Russia and to continue participating on the side of the Allies in World War I. At the same time, to ensure the rights of the working class, workers' councils, known as soviets, sprang up across the country. The radical Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, agitated for socialist revolution in the soviets and on the streets. They seized power from the Provisional Government in November 1917 (see October Revolution). Only after the long and bloody Russian Civil War of (1918-1921), which included combat between government forces and foreign troops in several parts of Russia, was the new communist regime secure. In a related conflict, the "Peace of Riga" in early 1921 split disputed territories in Belarus and Ukraine between Poland and Soviet powers. From its first years, government in the Soviet Union was based on the one-party rule of the Communist Party, as the Bolsheviks called themselves beginning in March 1918. After the extraordinary economic policy of war communism during the Civil War the Soviet government permitted some private enterprise to coexist with nationalized industry in the 1920s and total food requisition in the countryside was replaced by a food tax (see New Economic Policy). Debate over the future of the economy provided the background for Soviet leaders to contend for power in the years after Lenin's death in 1924. By gradually consolidating his influence and isolating his rivals within the party, notably Lenin's more obvious heir Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin became the sole leader of the Soviet Union by the end of the 1920s. In 1928 Stalin introduced the First Five-Year Plan for building a socialist economy. In industry the state assumed control over all existing enterprises and undertook an intensive program of industrialization; in agriculture collective farms were established all over the country (see Collectivisation in the USSR). The Soviet Union became a major industrial power; but the plan's implementation produced widespread misery for some segments of the population. Collectivization met widespread resistance from peasants, resulting in a bitter struggle against the authorities in many areas, famine, and estimated millions of casualties. Social upheaval continued in the mid-1930s, when Stalin began a purge of the party (see Great Purges). Yet despite this turmoil, the Soviet Union developed a powerful industrial economy in the years before World War II. Although Stalin tried to avert war with Germany by concluding the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, which involved the invasion of Poland, in 1939, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. It has been debated that the Soviet Union had the intention of invading Germany once it was strong enough. The Red Army stopped the Nazi offensive, with the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943 being the major turning point, and drove through Eastern Europe to Berlin before Germany surrendered in 1945 (see Great Patriotic War). Although ravaged by the war, the Soviet Union emerged from the conflict as an acknowledged superpower. superpower after the fall of Nazi Germany]] During the immediate postwar period, the Soviet Union first rebuilt and then expanded its economy, while maintaining its strictly centralized control. The Soviet Union aided postwar reconstruction in Eastern Europe, set up the Warsaw Pact and Comecon, supplied aid to the eventually victorious communists in the People's Republic of China, and saw its influence grow elsewhere in the world. Meanwhile, the Cold War, turned the Soviet Union's wartime allies, the United Kingdom and the United States, into foes. Joseph Stalin died on March 5 1953. In the absence of an acceptable successor, the highest Communist Party officials opted to rule the Soviet Union jointly, although a struggle for power took place behind the facade of collective leadership. Nikita Khrushchev, who won the power struggle by the mid-1950s, denounced Stalin's use of repression and eased repressive controls over party and society (see de-Stalinization). During this period the Soviet Union launched the first satellite Sputnik 1 and man Yuri Gagarin into orbit. Khrushchev's reforms in agriculture and administration, however, were generally unproductive, and foreign policy toward China and the United States suffered reverses. Khrushchev's colleagues in the leadership removed him from power in 1964. Following the ouster of Khrushchev, another period of rule by collective leadership ensued, lasting until Leonid Brezhnev established himself in the early 1970s as the preeminent figure in Soviet political life. Brezhnev presided over a period of Détente with the West while at the same time building up Soviet military strength; the arms buildup contributed to the demise of Détente in the late 1970s. Another contributing factor was the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. After some experimentation with economic reforms in the mid-1960s, the Soviet leadership reverted to established means of economic management. Industry showed slow but steady gains during the 1970s, while agricultural development continued to lag. Throughout the period the Soviet Union maintained parity with the United States in the areas of military technology but this expansion ultimately crippled the economy. In contrast to the revolutionary spirit that accompanied the birth of the Soviet Union, the prevailing mood of the Soviet leadership at the time of Brezhnev's death in 1982 was one of aversion to change. Two developments dominated the decade that followed: the increasingly apparent crumbling of the Soviet Union's economic and political structures, and the patchwork attempts at reforms to reverse that process. After the rapid succession of Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko, transitional figures with deep roots in Brezhnevite tradition, the energetic Mikhail Gorbachev made significant changes in the economy (see Perestroika) and the party leadership. His policy of glasnost freed public access to information after decades of government regulations. In late 1980s constituent republics of the Soviet Union started declaring sovereignty over their territories or even independence citing Article 72 of USSR Constitution, which stated that any constituent republic was free to secede. Many republics proceeded to produce legislation contradicting the Union laws in what was known as "The War of Laws." In 1989 Russian SFSR, which was then the largest constituent republic (with about 2/3 of population and territory) convened a Congress of Deputies. Boris Yeltsin was elected the chairman of the Congress. On June 12, 1989 the Congress declared Russia's sovereignty over its territory and proceeded to pass laws that attempted to supersede some of the USSR's laws. The period of legal uncertainty continued for the next three years as constituent republics slowly growing de-facto independent. A referendum for the preservation of the USSR was held on March 17, 1991, with the population voting for preservation of the Union in most republics. The referendum gave Gorbachev a minor boost, and in the summer of 1991 an new Union Treaty was designed and agreed upon by most republics which would have turned the Soviet Union into a much looser federation. The signing of the treaty, however, was interrupted by the August Coup - an attempted coup d'état against Mikhail Gorbachev by conservative members of the Communist Party, referred to as "Hardliners" by the Western media. After the coup was defeated, Yeltsin came out as a hero while Gorbachev's power was greatly reduced. The balance of power tipped significantly towards the republics. Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania were immediately granted independence, while the other 12 republics continued discussing new, increasingly looser, models of the Union. On December 8 1991 Presidents of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed Belavezha Accords which declared the Union dissolved and established the Commonwealth of Independent States in its place. While doubts remained over their authority to dissolve the Union, on 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned as the president of the USSR and turned the powers of his office over to Boris Yeltsin. The following day, the Supreme Soviet, the highest governmental body of the Soviet Union, dissolved itself. This is generally recognized as the official, final dissolution of the Soviet Union as a functioning nation. Many organizations such as the Red Army and Police forces continued to remain in place in the early months of 1992, but were slowly phased out or absorbed by the newly independent nations.

Politics

Supreme Soviet] The government of the Soviet Union administered the country's economy and society. It implemented decisions made by the leading political institution in the country, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). In the late 1980s, the government appeared to have many characteristics in common with democratic political systems. For instance, a constitution established all organs of government and granted to citizens a series of political and civic rights. A legislative body, the Congress of People's Deputies, and its standing legislature, the Supreme Soviet, represented the principle of popular sovereignty. The Supreme Soviet, which had an elected chairman who functioned as head of state, oversaw the Council of Ministers, which acted as the executive branch of the government. The chairman of the Council of Ministers, whose selection was approved by the legislative branch, functioned as head of government. A constitutionally based judicial branch of government included a court system, headed by the Supreme Court, that was responsible for overseeing the observance of Soviet law by government bodies. According to the 1977 Soviet Constitution, the government had a federal structure, permitting the republics some authority over policy implementation and offering the national minorities the appearance of participation in the management of their own affairs. In practice, however, the government differed markedly from Western systems. In the late 1980s, the CPSU performed many functions that governments of other countries usually perform. For example, the party decided on the policy alternatives that the government ultimately implemented. The government merely ratified the party's decisions to lend them an aura of legitimacy. The CPSU used a variety of mechanisms to ensure that the government adhered to its policies. The party, using its nomenklatura authority, placed its loyalists in leadership positions throughout the government, where they were subject to the norms of democratic centralism. Party bodies closely monitored the actions of government ministries, agencies, and legislative organs. The content of the Soviet Constitution differed in many ways from typical Western constitutions. It generally described existing political relationships, as determined by the CPSU, rather than prescribing an ideal set of political relationships. The Constitution was long and detailed, giving technical specifications for individual organs of government. The Constitution included political statements, such as foreign policy goals, and provided a theoretical definition of the state within the ideological framework of Marxism-Leninism. The CPSU leadership could radically change the constitution or remake it completely, as it did several times throughout its history. The Council of Ministers acted as the executive body of the government. Its most important duties lay in the administration of the economy. The council was thoroughly under the control of the CPSU, and its chairman - the Soviet prime minister - was always a member of the Politburo. The council, which in 1989 included more than 100 members, was too large and unwieldy to act as a unified executive body. The council's Presidium, made up of the leading economic administrators and led by the chairman, exercised dominant power within the Council of Ministers. According to the Constitution, as amended in 1988, the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union was the Congress of People's Deputies, which convened for the first time in May 1989. The main tasks of the congress were the election of the standing legislature, the Supreme Soviet, and the election of the chairman of the Supreme Soviet, who acted as head of state. Theoretically, the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet wielded enormous legislative power. In practice, however, the Congress of People's Deputies met infrequently and only to approve decisions made by the party, the Council of Ministers, and its own Supreme Soviet. The Supreme Soviet, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, the chairman of the Supreme Soviet, and the Council of Ministers had substantial authority to enact laws, decrees, resolutions, and orders binding on the population. The Congress of People's Deputies had the authority to ratify these decisions. The judiciary was not independent. The Supreme Court supervised the lower courts and applied the law, as established by the Constitution or as interpreted by the Supreme Soviet. The Constitutional Oversight Committee reviewed the constitutionality of laws and acts. The Soviet Union lacked an adversarial court procedure known to common law jurisdictions. Rather, Soviet law utilised the system derived from Roman law, where judge, procurator and defense attorney worked collaboratively to establish the truth. The Soviet Union was a federal state made up of fifteen republics joined together in a theoretically voluntary union. In turn, a series of territorial units made up the republics. The republics also contained jurisdictions intended to protect the interests of national minorities. The republics had their own constitutions, which, along with the all-union Constitution, provide the theoretical division of power in the Soviet Union. In 1989, however, the CPSU and the central government retained all significant authority, setting policies that were executed by republic, provincial, oblast, and district governments.

Leaders of the Soviet Union

The official leader of the Soviet Union was the First/General Secretary of the CPSU. The head of government was considered the Premier, and the head of state was considered the President. The Soviet leader could also have one (or both) of these positions, along with the position of General-Secretary of the party. :List of Soviet Premiers :(Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (1923-1946); Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (1946-1990); Prime Minister of the USSR (1991)) :List of Soviet Presidents :(Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets (1917-1922); Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR (1922-1938); Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1938-1989); Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1989-1990); President of the Soviet Union (1990-1991))

Foreign relations

:Main article: Foreign relations of the Soviet Union Foreign relations of the Soviet Union] Once denied diplomatic recognition by the capitalist world, the Soviet Union had official relations with the majority of the nations of the world by the late 1980s. The Soviet Union also had progressed from being an outsider in international organizations and negotiations to being one of the arbiters of Europe's fate after World War II. A member of the United Nations at its foundation in 1945, the Soviet Union became one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council which gave it the right to veto any of its resolutions (see Soviet Union and the United Nations). The Soviet Union emerged from World War II as one of the two major world powers, a position maintained for four decades through its hegemony in Eastern Europe (see Eastern Bloc), military strength, aid to developing countries, and scientific research, especially into space technology and weaponry. The Soviet Union's growing influence abroad in the postwar years helped lead to a socialist system of states in Eastern Europe united by military and economic agreements. Established in 1949 as an economic bloc of communist countries led by Moscow, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) served as a framework for cooperation among the planned economies of the Soviet Union, and, later, for trade and economic cooperation with the Third World. The military counterpart to the Comecon was the Warsaw Pact. The Soviet economy was also of major importance to Eastern Europe because of imports of vital natural resources from Russia, such as natural gas. Moscow considered Eastern Europe to be a buffer zone for the forward defense of its western borders and ensured its control of the region by transforming the East European countries into stable allies. Soviet troops intervened in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and cited the Brezhnev Doctrine, the Soviet counterpart to the U.S. Johnson Doctrine and later Nixon Doctrine, and helped oust the Czechoslovak government in 1968, sometimes referred to as the Prague Spring. In the late 1950s, a confrontation with China led to the Sino-Soviet split and a tense confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States over the Soviet deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba sparked the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The KGB (Committee for State Security), served in a fashion as the Soviet counterpart to both the FBI and the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) in the U.S. It ran a massive network of informants throughout the Soviet Union, which was used to monitor violations in law. The foreign wing of the KGB was used to gather intelligence in countries around the globe. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was replaced in Russia by the SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service). The KGB was not without substantial oversight. The GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate), not publicized by Russia until the end of the Soviet era during perestroika, was created by Lenin in 1918 and served both as a centralized handler of military intelligence and as an institutional check-and-balance for the otherwise relatively unrestricted power of the KGB. Effectively, it served to spy on the spies, and, not surprisingly, the KGB served a similar function with the GRU. As with the KGB, the GRU operated in nations around the world, particularly in Soviet bloc and client states. The GRU continues to operate in Russia today, with resources estimated by some to exceed those of the SVR [http://www.fas.org/irp/world/russia/gru/] [http://www.fas.org/irp/world/russia/svr/c103-gb.htm]. military intelligence]] In the 1970s, the Soviet Union achieved rough nuclear parity with the United States. It perceived its own involvement as essential to the solution of any major international problem. Meanwhile, the Cold War gave way to Détente and a more complicated pattern of international relations in which the world was no longer clearly split into two clearly opposed blocs. Less powerful countries had more room to assert their independence, and the two superpowers were partially able to recognize their common interest in trying to check the further spread and proliferation of nuclear weapons (see SALT I, SALT II, Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty). By this time, the Soviet Union had concluded friendship and cooperation treaties with a number of states in the non-communist world, especially among Third World and Non-Aligned Movement states like India and Egypt. Notwithstanding some ideological obstacles, Moscow advanced state interests by gaining military footholds in strategically important areas throughout the Third World. Furthermore, the Soviet Union continued to provide military aid for revolutionary movements in the Third World. For all these reasons, Soviet foreign policy was of major importance to the non-communist world and helped determine the tenor of international relations. Although myriad bureaucracies were involved in the formation and execution of Soviet foreign policy, the major policy guidelines were determined by the Politburo of the Communist Party. The foremost objectives of Soviet foreign policy had been the maintenance and enhancement of national security and the maintenance of hegemony over Eastern Europe. Relations with the United States and Western Europe were also of major concern to Soviet foreign policy makers, and relations with individual Third World states were at least partly determined by the proximity of each state to the Soviet border and to Soviet estimates of its strategic significance. When Mikhail Gorbachev succeeded Konstantin Chernenko as General Secretary of the CPSU in 1985, it signalled a dramatic change in Soviet foreign policy. Gorbachev pursued conciliatory policies toward the West instead of maintaining the Cold War status quo. The Soviet Union ended its occupation of Afghanistan, signed strategic arms reduction treaties with the United States, and allowed its allies in Eastern Europe to determine their own affairs. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union on 25 December, 1991, the Russian Federation claimed to be the legal successor to the Soviet state on the international stage despite its loss of superpower status. Russian foreign policy repudiated Marxism-Leninism as a guide to action, soliciting Western support for capitalist reforms in post-Soviet Russia.

Republics

Russian Federation)]] The Soviet Union was a federation of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSR). The first Republics were established shortly after the October Revolution of 1917. At that time, republics were technically independent from one another but their governments acted in closely coordinated confederation, as directed by the CPSU leadership. In 1922, four Republics (Russian SFSR, Ukrainian SSR, Belarusian SSR, and Transcaucasian SFSR) joined into the Soviet Union. Between 1922 and 1940, the number of Republics grew to sixteen. Some of the new Republics were formed from territories acquired, or reacquired by the Soviet Union, others by splitting existing Republics into several parts. The criteria for establishing new republics were as follows: # to be located on the periphery of the Soviet Union so as to be able to exercise their alleged right to secession; # be economically strong enough to survive on their own upon secession; and # be named after the dominant ethnic group which should consist of at least one million people. The system remained almost unchanged after 1940. No new Republics were established. One republic, Karelo-Finnish SSR, was disbanded in 1956. The remaining 15 republics lasted until 1991. Secession remained theoretical, and very unlikely, given Soviet centralism, until the 1991 collapse of the Union. At that time, the republics became independent countries, with some still loosely organized under the heading Commonwealth of Independent States. Some republics had common history and geographical regions, and were referred by group names. These were Baltic Republics, Transcaucasian Republics, and Central Asian Republics. In its final state, the Soviet Union consisted of the following republics. (See Republics of the Soviet Union for the list and timeline of other Union republics that existed over time.)

Economy

Republics of the Soviet Union power stations in the Soviet Union]] Prior to its collapse, the Soviet Union had the largest centrally directed economy in the world. The government established its economic priorities through central planning, a system under which administrative decisions rather than the market determined resource allocation and prices. Since the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the country grew from a largely underdeveloped peasant society with minimal industry to become the second largest industrial power in the world. According to Soviet statistics, the country's share in world industrial production grew from 4 percent to 20 percent between 1913 and 1980. Although many Western analysts considered these claims to be inflated, the Soviet achievement remained remarkable. Recovering from the calamitous events of World War II, the country's economy had maintained a continuous though uneven rate of growth. Living standards, although still modest for most inhabitants by Western standards, had improved. Although these past achievements were impressive, in the mid-1980s Soviet leaders faced many problems. Production in the consumer and agricultural sectors was often inadequate (see Agriculture of the Soviet Union and shortage economy). Crises in the agricultural sector reaped catastrophic consequences in the 1930s, when collectivization met widespread resistance from the kulaks, resulting in a bitter struggle of many peasants against the authorities, famine, particularly in Ukraine, but also in the Volga River area and Kazakhstan. In the consumer and service sectors, a lack of investment resulted in black markets in some areas. black market] In addition, since the 1970s, the growth rate had slowed substantially. Extensive economic development, based on vast inputs of materials and labor, was no longer possible; yet the productivity of Soviet assets remained low compared with other major industrialized countries. Product quality needed improvement. Soviet leaders faced a fundamental dilemma: the strong central controls that had traditionally guided economic development had failed to promote the creativity and productivity urgently needed in a highly developed, modern economy. Conceding the weaknesses of their past approaches in solving new problems, the leaders of the late 1980s were seeking to mold a program of economic reform to galvanize the economy. The leadership, headed by Mikhail Gorbachev, was experimenting with solutions to economic problems with an openness (glasnost) never before seen in the history of the economy. One method for improving productivity appeared to be a strengthening of the role of market forces. Yet reforms in which market forces assumed a greater role would signify a lessening of authority and control by the planning hierarchy. Assessing developments in the economy was difficult for Western observers. The country contained enormous economic and regional disparities. Yet analyzing statistical data broken down by region was a cumbersome process. Furthermore, Soviet statistics themselves might have been of limited use to Western analysts because they are not directly comparable with those used in Western countries. The differing statistical concepts, valuations, and procedures used by communist and noncommunist economists made even the most basic data, such as the relative productivity of various sectors, difficult to assess.

Geography

The Soviet Union occupied the eastern portion of the European continent and the northern portion of the Asian continent. Most of the country was north of 50° north latitude and covered a total area of approximately 22,402,200 square kilometres. Due to the sheer size of the state, the climate varied greatly from subtropical and continental to subarctic and polar. 11 percent of the land was arable, 16 percent was meadows and pasture, 41 percent was forest and woodland, and 32 percent was declared "other" (including tundra). The Soviet Union measured some 10,000 kilometers from Kaliningrad on the Gulf of Gdańsk in the west to Ratmanova Island (Big Diomede Island) in the Bering Strait, or roughly equivalent to the distance from Edinburgh, Scotland, east to Nome, Alaska. From the tip of the Taymyr Peninsula on the Arctic Ocean to the Central Asian town of Kushka near the Afghan border extended almost 5,000 kilometers of mostly rugged, inhospitable terrain. The east-west expanse of the continental United States would easily fit between the northern and southern borders of the Soviet Union at their extremities.

Demographics and society

The Soviet Union was one of the world's most ethnically diverse countries, with more than 150 distinct ethnic groups within its borders. The total population was estimated at 293 million in 1991. The majority of the population were Russians (50.78%), followed by Ukrainians (15.45%) and Uzbeks (5.84%). After all Soviet republics gained independence, Russia remained the largest country in the world by area, and still remains one of the most ethnically diverse.

Nationalities

The extensive multinational empire that the Bolsheviks inherited after their revolution was created by Tsarist expansion over some four centuries. Some nationality groups came into the empire voluntarily, others were brought in by force. Generally, the Russians and most of the non-Russian subjects of the empire shared little in common—culturally, religiously, or linguistically. More often than not, two or more diverse nationalities were collocated on the same territory. Therefore, national antagonisms built up over the years not only against the Russians but often between some of the subject nations as well. For seventy years, Soviet leaders had maintained that frictions between the many nationalities of the Soviet Union had been eliminated and that the Soviet Union consisted of a family of nations living harmoniously together. However, the national ferment that shook almost every corner of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s proved that seventy years of communist rule had failed to obliterate national and ethnic differences and that traditional cultures and religions would reemerge given the slightest opportunity. This reality facing Gorbachev and his colleagues meant that, short of relying on the traditional use of force, they had to find alternative solutions in order to prevent the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The concessions granted national cultures and the limited autonomy tolerated in the union republics in the 1920s led to the development of national elites and a heightened sense of national identity. Subsequent repression and Russianization fostered resentment against domination by Moscow and promoted further growth of national consciousness. National feelings were also exacerbated in the Soviet multinational state by increased competition for resources, services, and jobs.

Religious groups

linguistically]] The state was separated from church by the Decree of Council of People's Comissars 1918 January 23. Official figures on the number of religious believers in the Soviet Union were not available in 1989. But according to various Soviet and Western sources, over one-third of the people in the Soviet Union, an officially atheistic state, professed religious belief. Christianity and Islam had the most believers. Christians belonged to various churches: Orthodox, which had the largest number of followers; Catholic; and Baptist and various other Protestant sects. There were many churches in the country (7500 Russian Orthodox churches in 1974). The majority of the Islamic faithful were Sunni. Although there were many ethnic Jews in the Soviet Union, actual practice of Judaism was rare in Communist times. Jews were the victims of state-sponsored anti-semitism and were one of the few Soviet citizens allowed to emigrate from the country. Other religions, which were practiced by a relatively small number of believers, included Buddhism, Lamaism, and shamanism, a religion based on spiritualism. The role of religion in the daily lives of Soviet citizens varied greatly. Because Islamic religious tenets and social values of Muslims are closely interrelated, religion appeared to have a greater influence on Muslims than on either Christians or other believers. Two-thirds of the Soviet population, however, had no religious beliefs. About half the people, including members of the CPSU and high-level government officials, professed atheism. For the majority of Soviet citizens, therefore, religion seemed irrelevant.

Culture

shamanism] All media in the Soviet Union were controlled by the state including television and radio broadcasting, newspaper, magazine and book publishing. This extended to the fine arts including the theatre, opera and ballet. Art and Music was controlled by ownership of distribution and performance venues. Censorship was made in cases where performances did not meet with the favour of the Soviet leadership with newspaper campaigns against offending material and sanctions applied though party controlled professional organizations.
- Soviet education
- Soviet cinema
- Soviet television
- USSR at the Summer Olympics
- USSR at the Winter Olympics
- USSR Chess Championship
- Palace of Culture
- Research in the Soviet Union
- Soviet Ballroom dances
- Soviet Student Olympiads
- Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Holidays

Related articles


- Post-Soviet states
- Prometheism
- List of Soviet Leaders
- List of premiers of the Soviet Union
- List of the presidents of the Soviet Union

Further reading


- Brown, Archie, et al, eds.: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Russia and the Soviet Union (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1982).
- Gilbert, Martin: The Routledge Atlas of Russian History (London: Routledge, 2002).
- Goldman, Minton: The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (Connecticut: Global Studies, Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc., 1986).
- Howe, G. Melvyn: The Soviet Union: A Geographical Survey 2nd. edn. (Estover, UK: MacDonald and Evans, 1983).
- Katz, Zev, ed.: Handbook of Major Soviet Nationalities (New York: Free Press, 1975).
- Rizzi, Bruno: "The bureaucratization of the world : the first English ed. of the underground Marxist classic that analyzed class exploitation in the USSR" , New York, NY : Free Press, 1985

External links


- [http://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/art/photography/index.htm Images of the Soviet Union] - a collection of photos showing everyday life in the Soviet Union
- [http://geocities.com/deweytextsonline/isr.htm Impressions of Soviet Russia, by John Dewey]
- [http://www.n-wisdom.com/map_volume/world_map/Western_Soviet_Union_map.jpg Map of Western USSR]
- [http://www.angelfire.com/de/Cerskus/english/saitai.html Leonas Cerskus (the highest judge, a God):Crimes against Humanity committed by the Soviet Union]
- [http://koeln.tucker.in/music/gimn_sowjetskowo_sojusa.mp3 Melody of the Soviet National Anthem]
- Vladimir Lenin: What Is Soviet Power? (Text of the speech, )

References


- - [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/sutoc.html Soviet Union] Category:Communism Category:Former countries Category:History of the Soviet Union and Soviet Russia Category:Former countries in Europe ko:소비에트 연방 ja:ソビエト連邦 simple:Soviet Union th:สหภาพโซเวียต

Admirals

Admiral is a word from the Arabic term Amir-al-bahr (commander of the sea). Crusaders learned the term during their encounters with the Arabs, perhaps as early as the 11th century. The Sicilians and later Genoese took the first two parts of the term and used them as one word, amiral. The French and Spanish gave their sea commanders similar titles. As the word was used by people speaking Latin or Latin-based languages it gained the "d" and endured a series of different endings and spellings leading to the English spelling "admyrall" in the 14th century and to "admiral" by the 16th century. The word Admiral has today come to be almost exclusively associated with the highest naval rank in most of the world's navies, equivalent to the rank of (Full) General. The rank of Admiral has also been subdivided into various grades, several of which are historically extinct while others are used by most present day navies. The generic terms for these naval equivalents of army generals is Flag Officer. Some navies have also used army-type titles for them, such as the Cromwellian General at sea

Admiral ranks by seniority

The following are the various grades of Admiral, listed by seniority. Several science fiction sources also give mention of the additional Admiral ranks of Sector Admiral, High Admiral, and Branch Admiral. None of these fictional Admiral ranks have ever been used, however, in an actual real world Navy. The rank of Fleet Admiral is also common in science fiction sources.

Admiral ranks by country


- Canadian Navy (Canada)
- German Navy (Germany)
- Royal Netherlands Navy (Netherlands)
- Russian Navy (Russian Federation)
- Swedish Navy (Sweden)
- Royal Navy (United Kingdom)
- United States Navy (United States)

See also


- Comparative military ranks
- List of naval commanders Category:Military ranks
- Admiral Category:Arabic words ja:海軍大将

1950s

----

Events and trends

The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the the baby boom from returning GIs who went to college under the Montgomery G.I. Bill and settled in suburban America. Most of the internal conflicts that had developed in earlier decades like women's rights, civil rights, imperialism, and war were relatively suppressed or neglected during this time as a returning world from the brink hoped to see a more consistent way of life as opposed to liberalism and radicalism of the 1930s and 1940s. The effect of suppressing social problems in the 50s would backfire in the 60s with the counter-culture movement. The 1950s were also marked with a rapid rise in conflict with the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union that would heighten the Cold War to an unprecedented level which would include the Arms Race, Space Race, McCarthyism, and Korean War. Stalin's death in 1953 left an enormous impact in Eastern Europe that forced the Soviet Union to create more liberal policies internally and externally. The rise of Suburbia as well as the growing conflict with the East are the two generally accepted reasons for the conservative domination of this decade.

Technology


- United States tests the first fusion bomb. See History of nuclear weapons
- Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, and thus the Sputnik crisis
- The De Havilland Comet enters service as the world's first jet airliner
- Charles Townes builds a maser in 1953 at Columbia University.

Science


- Urey-Miller experiment shows that under simulated conditions resembling those thought to have existed shortly after Earth first accreted, many of the basic organic molecules that form the building blocks of modern life are able to spontaneously form
- Francis Crick and James D. Watson discover the helical structure of DNA at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge
- Bruce Heezen discovers the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
- Polio vaccine
- The first organ transplants are done in Boston and Paris in 1954.

War, peace, and politics


- Korean War
- Red Scare, McCarthy Hearings
- Suez Crisis
- European Common Market founded.
- Warsaw pact founded.
- Most aboveground nuclear test explosions happened during this decade.
- The United States CIA orchestrated the overthrow of the Guatemalan government.
- Hungarian revolution of 1956 brutally suppressed by Soviet Union's troops.
- Fidel Castro gains power in Cuba.
- Mahmoud Abbas becomes involved in Palestinian politics in Qatar.
- Decolonization: Algeria, Vietnam, and elsewhere.
- Early history of the People's Republic of China, of the state of Israel, and of the Indonesian state.

Economics


- "Economic miracle" in West Germany and Italy.

Culture, religion


- Traditional pop music reaches its climax; early rock and roll music was embraced by teenagers/youth culture while generally dismissed or condemned by older generations.
- Brylcreem and other hair tonics have a period of popularity
- Television replaces radio as the dominant mass medium in industrialized countries.
- In the West, the generation traumatized by the Great Depression and World War II creates a culture with emphasis on normality and calm conformity.
- Juvenile delinquency said to be at unprecedented epidemic proportions in USA, though some see this era as relatively low in crime compared to today. Continuing poverty in some regions during recessions later on in this decade.
- Fairly high rates of unionization, government social spending, taxes, and the like in the US and European countries. Mostly liberal or moderate Western governments, though communism/Cold War play a role in reaction to, and within, domestic politics.
- Beatnik culture/ The Beat Generation
- Optimistic visions of semi-Utopian technological future including such devices as the flying car.
- The Day the Earth Stood Still hits movie theaters.
- Along with the appearance of the sentence Kilroy was here across the United States, graffiti as an art form develops, especially among urban African Americans; graffiti eventually becomes one of the four elements of hip hop
- Considerable racial tension with military and schools desegregation in the US, though controversy never truly erupts as later on in the 1960s.
- The Catcher in the Rye
- The Twilight Zone premiers as the first major science-fiction show. Rise of evangelical Christianity including Youth for Christ (1943); the National Association of Evangelicals, the American Council of Christian Churces, the Billy Graham Evagelistic Association (1950), and the Campus Crusade for Christ (1951). Christianity Today was first published in 1956. 1956 also marked the beginning of Bethany Fellowship, a small press that would grow to be a leading evangelical press.
- Carl Stuart Hamblen religious radio broadcaster.

Others


- Wartime rationing ends in the United Kingdom.

People

World leaders


- Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent (Canada)
- Prime Minister John Diefenbaker (Canada)
- Chairman Mao Zedong (People's Republic of China)
- President Chiang Kai-shek (Republic of China on Taiwan)
- President Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt)
- Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (India)
- Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion (Israel)
- Emperor Hirohito (Japan)
- Pope Pius XII
- Pope John XXIII
- Taoiseach John A. Costello (Ireland)
- Taoiseach Eamon de Valera (Ireland)
- Taoiseach Sean Lemass (Ireland)
- Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union)
- Nikita Khrushchev (Soviet Union)
- King George VI (United Kingdom)
- Queen Elizabeth II (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Robert Menzies (Australia)
- Prime Minister George Borg Olivier (Malta)
- President Harry S. Truman (United States)
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower (United States)
- Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (West Germany)
- President Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia)

Entertainers


- Desi Arnaz
- Abbott and Costello
- Paul Anka
- Lucille Ball
- Jack Benny
- Chuck Berry
- Humphrey Bogart
- Marlon Brando
- Maria Callas
- Dalida
- James Dean
- Bo Diddley
- Margot Fonteyn
- Ava Gardner
- The Goons
- Cary Grant
- Tony Hancock
- Audrey Hepburn
- Charlton Heston
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Buddy Holly
- Grace Kelly
- Ernie Kovacs
- Mario Lanza
- Jerry Lewis
- Dean Martin
- Groucho Marx
- Marilyn Monroe
- Paul Newman
- Laurence Olivier
- Elvis Presley
- George Reeves
- Little Richard
- James Stewart
- Gale Storm
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- Jacques Tati
- Elizabeth Taylor
- John Wayne
- Jack Webb
- Ed Wynn

Sports figures


- Alberto Ascari (Italian racing driver)
- Roger Bannister (English track and field athlete)
- Yogi Berra (American baseball player)
- Maureen Connolly (American tennis player)
- Colin Cowdrey (England cricketer)
- Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentinian racing driver)
- Neil Harvey (Australian cricketer)
- Gordie Howe (Canadian ice hockey player)
- Len Hutton (England cricketer)
- Rocky Marciano (American boxer)
- Stanley Matthews (English soccer player)
- Willie Mays (American baseball player)
- Ferenc Puskás (Hungarian soccer player)
- Maurice Richard (Canadian ice hockey player)
- Sugar Ray Robinson (American boxer)
- Bill Russell (American basketball player)
- Gary Sobers (West Indies cricketer)
- Brian Statham (England cricketer)
- Frank Tyson (England cricketer)
- Frank Worrell (West Indies cricketer)
- Lev Yashin (Russian soccer player)

See also


- United States in the 1950s
- List of rock and roll albums in the 1950s

External links


- [http://www.fiftiesweb.com The FiftiesWeb]
- [http://vlib.iue.it/history/USA/ERAS/20TH/1950s.html WWW-VL: 1950s History] Category:1950s ko:1950년대 ja:1950年代 simple:1950s

1960s

The 1960s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. The Sixties has come to refer to the complex of inter-related cultural and political events which occurred in approximately that period, in western countries, particularly Britain, France, the United States and West Germany. Social upheaval was not limited to just these nations, reaching large scale in nations such as Japan, Mexico and Canada as well. The term is used both nostalgically by those who participated in those events, and pejoratively by those who regard the time as a period whose harmful effects are still being felt today. The decade was also labelled the Swinging Sixties because of the libertine attitudes that emerged during the decade. Popular memory has conflated into the Sixties some events which did not actually occur during the period. For example, although some of the most dramatic events of the American civil rights movement occurred in the early 1960s, the movement had already began in earnest during the 1950s. On the other hand, the rise of feminism and gay rights began only in the very late 1960s and did not fully flower until the Seventies. However, the "Sixties" has become synonymous with all the new, exciting, radical, subversive and/or dangerous (according to one's viewpoint) events and trends of the period.

Events and trends

Many of the trends of the 1960s were due to the demographic changes brought about by the baby boom generation, the height of the Cold War, and the dissolution of European colonial empires. The rise in social revolution, civil rights movements, human rights movement, anti-War movements, and the Counterculture movement are only some of the characteristics that defined the 1960s. Many experts attribute the 1960s "counter-culture revolution" as being the result of the major social and political factors that rose in the 1950s like brinksmanship, continued fighting in the 3rd world, and a return to pre-WWII lifestyle. The new generation was determined to reject a pre-WWII conformist lifestyle with men in suits and women in the kitchen. While many believed it to be just a "Western" phenomenon, the '60s revolution spread far beyond the borders of America and Western Europe. In South America, revolutions were at a height, in the Eastern Bloc, movements were made inspired by the Hungarian Revolution to reject Soviet domination, and in the Middle East attempted to resist Soviet and American domination (see Non-Aligned Movement). Overall, the '60s affected almost the entire globe. It was during this time that protectionist, command, and mixed economies reached their peak...

Technology

Non-Aligned Movement Non-Aligned Movement]
- USSR puts first man (Yuri Gagarin) and first woman (Valentina Tereshkova) in outer space
- The United States puts man on Earth's Moon (see Apollo 11)
- Geosynchronous satellites revolutionize global communications
- Start of the development of algorithmic information theory
- The ARPAnet, precursor of the Internet, is founded in 1969 as a United States Department of Defense project. The numbered series of Request For Comments (RFC) documents begins in order to document the standards and practices of this network, and continues to this day
- Direct Use of the Sun's Energy by pioneer solar-energy scientist Farrington Daniels is published (1964)
- Compact audio cassette introduced; begins to displace reel-to-reel audio tape recording for home users

Science


- Discovery of plate tectonics revolutionizes understanding of continental drift
- Jacques Monod and Francois Jacob discover the lac operon
- Rise of the science of ecology in the awareness of the intelligentsia

War, peace and politics

intelligentsia"]] intelligentsia]
- Cultural Revolution in mainland China causes political and economic chaos.
- Nigerian Civil War begins.
- 6-Day War between Israelis and Arabs in 1967.
- Beginning of The Troubles in Northern Ireland
- Berlin Wall built in 1961.
- Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961, the United States sponsored an attempt to overthrow Cuba's socialist government and Fidel Castro.
- Civil rights movement in the United States; end of official segregation and disenfranchisement of African-Americans; racial tensions continue with large race riots in Watts (Los Angeles) in 1966, Detroit in 1967, and Hough and Glenville in Cleveland.
- Sino-Indian War in late 1962. China attacks India and gains some land in Kashmir.
- Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
- Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 over Kashmir ends in a stalemate.
- The Vietnam War and protests, leading to Kent State University shootings in May, 1970.
- Suppression of uprising in Czechoslovakia.
- The Stonewall Riots in New York City give birth to the gay rights movement, June 1969.
- United Nations imposes sanctions against South Africa to protest the policy of Apartheid.
- Students protesting perceived problems with the status-quo are suppressed with violence by police and soldiers in USA, France, Mexico, Czechoslovakia. See New Left.
- The Quiet Revolution (Révolution tranquille) begins in Quebec - precipitous decline of the Roman Catholic church, liberalism, social-democratic programs, and the birth of modern Quebec nationalism.
- The rise of radical feminism.

Economics


- Many countries in The West experience high economic growth (4 to 8% per year)

Culture


- Rock and roll develops, diversifies, and becomes very hip. The Beatles eclipse Elvis Presley and become the most popular musical artists in the world. "Topical" artists like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez worked social commentary into their music.
- 2001: A Space Odyssey hits movie theaters
- The long running BBC family science fiction show Doctor Who begins in 1963
- Star Trek makes its debut in 1966
- James Bond movies begin. Dr. No is the first of the series in 1962, starring Sean Connery as Bond
- Hippies, drug culture & rock and roll converge at the Woodstock festival, 1969
- In the West, the growing popularity of religions other than Christianity (for example, as discussed in the writings of Alan Watts), and of atheism; Time Magazine asks: "Is God Dead?" See Fourth Great Awakening, Consciousness Revolution
- Memorable expositions, or "World's Fairs," are held in Seattle (1962), New York (1964/1965), Montreal (1967) and San Antonio (1968)
- Progressive rock emerges
- The fine arts begins to move away from exclusively consisting of painting, drawing, and sculpture and begins to incorporate elements from popular culture (Pop art) and begins to favour the ideas behind a work, rather than the work itself (Conceptual art)

Others

Conceptual art built in 1969]]
- Post-Colonialism; many new or previously colonized countries achieve independence in Africa, Asia
- U.S. president John F. Kennedy assassinated in 1963; his brother Robert F. Kennedy assassinated in 1968
- U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated on April 4, 1968
- Charles Manson gave up his ambitions of becoming a popular song writer to become a cult leader and mass murderer, 1969
- Nation of Islam leader Malcolm X assassinated on February 21, 1965
- U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society program
- In the United States, increase in crime; riots in Los Angeles in 1965 and Chicago, Illinois at the 1968 Democratic National Convention
- Rise of the baby boom generation to adulthood
- First widespread availability of practical birth control pill for women; See sexual revolution
- Sweden switches from driving on the left to the right, in order to harmonise with neighbouring countries. See Rules of the road

Big changes during the Sixties

In the United States

The movement for civil and political rights for African Americans (in the early '60s usually called Negroes and in the later '60s Blacks), initially a non-violent movement led by Martin Luther King, Jr. and other Gandhian figures but later producing radical offshoots such as the Black Power movement and competing with the Black Panther Party and the Black Muslims for primacy in the African-American community. The beginning of what was generally seen as a new political era with the election of President John F. Kennedy in 1960, and its ending in tragedy and disillusionment with Kennedy's assassination in 1963, the assassinations of King and Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, and the collapse of Lyndon Johnson's presidency. The rise of a mass movement in opposition to the Vietnam War, culminating in the massive Moratorium protests in 1969, and also the movement of resistance to conscription (“the Draft”) for the war. The antiwar movement was initially based on the older 1950s "Peace movement" controlled by the Communist Party USA, but by the mid '60s it outgrew this and became a broad-based mass movement centred on the universities and churches. Stimulated by this movement, but growing beyond it, the large numbers of student-age youth, beginning with the Free University of California, Berkeley]] in 1964, peaking in the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois and reaching a climax with the shootings at Kent State University in 1970. The rapid rise of a "New Left," employing the rhetoric of Marxism but having little organizational connection with older Marxist organizations such the Communist Party, and even less connection with the supposed focus of Marxist politics, the organized labor movement, and consisting of ephemeral campus-based Trotskyist, Maoist and anarchist groups, some of which by the end of the 1960s had turned to terrorism. terrorism The overlapping, but somewhat different, movement of youth cultural radicalism manifested by the hippies and the counter-culture, whose emblematic moments were the Summer of Love in San Francisco in 1967 and the Woodstock Festival in 1969. The rapid spread, associated with this movement, of the recreational use of cannabis and other drugs, particularly new synthetic psychedelic drugs such as LSD. The breakdown among young people of conventional sexual morality and the flourishing of the sexual revolution. Initially geared mostly to heterosexual male gratification, it soon gave rise to contrary trends, Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation. The rise of an alternative culture among affluent youth, creating a huge market for rock and blues music produced by drug-culture influenced bands such as The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane and The Doors, and also for radical music in the folk tradition pioneered by Bob Dylan.

In other Western countries

The peak of the student and New Left protests in 1968 coincided with political upheavals in a number of other countries. Although these events often sprang from completely different causes, they were influenced by reports and images of what was happening in the United States and France. Students in Mexico City, for example, protested against the corrupt regime of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz: in the resulting Tlatelolco massacre hundreds were killed. The influence of American culture and politics in Western Europe, Japan and Australia was already so great by the early 1960s that most of the trends described above soon spawned counterparts in most Western countries. University students rioted in London, Paris, Berlin and Rome, huge crowds protested against the Vietnam War in Australia and New Zealand (both of which had committed troops to the war), and politicians such as Harold Wilson and Pierre Trudeau modelled themselves on John F. Kennedy. An important difference between the United States and Western Europe, however, was the existence of a mass socialist and/or Communist movement in most European countries (particularly France and Italy), with which the student-based new left was able to forge a connection. The most spectacular manifestation of this was the May 1968 student revolt in Paris, which linked up with a general strike called by the Communist-controlled trade unions and for a few days seemed capable of overthrowing the government of Charles de Gaulle.

In non-Western countries

In Eastern Europe, students also drew inspiration from the protests in the west. In Poland and Yugoslavia they protested against restrictions on free speech by Communist regimes. In Czechoslovakia, 1968 was the year of Alexander Dubček’s Prague Spring, a source of inspiration to many Western leftists who admired Dubček's "socialism with a human face." The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August ended these hopes, and also fatally damaged the chances of the orthodox Communist Parties drawing many recruits from the student protest movement. In the People's Republic of China the mid 1960s were also a time of massive upheaval, and the Red Guard rampages of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution had some superficial resemblances to the student protests in the West. The Maoist groups that briefly flourished in the West in this period saw in Chinese Communism a more revolutionary, less bureaucratic model of socialism. Most of them were rapidly disillusioned when Mao welcomed Richard Nixon to China in 1972. People in China, however, saw the Nixon visit as a victory in that they believed the United States would concede that Mao Zedong thought was superior to capitalism (this was the Party stance on the visit in late 1971 and early 1972). The Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara also became an iconic figure for the student left, although he was in fact an orthodox Communist.

People

World leaders

Ernesto "Che" Guevara]]
- Prime Minister Robert Menzies (Australia)
- Prime Minister Harold Holt (Australia)
- Prime Minister John McEwen (Australia)
- Prime Minister John Diefenbaker (Canada)
- Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson (Canada)
- Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau (Canada)
- Chairman Mao Zedong (People's Republic of China)
- President Chiang Kai-shek (Republic of China on Taiwan)
- President Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt)
- President Charles de Gaulle (France)
- Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (India)
- Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri (India)
- Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (India)
- Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion (Israel)
- Prime Minister Levi Eshkol (Israel)
- Emperor Hirohito (Japan)
- Pope John XXIII
- Pope Paul VI
- Prime Minister Basil Brooke (Northern Ireland)
- Prime Minister Terence O'Neill (Northern Ireland)
- Prime Minister James Chichester-Clark (Northern Ireland)
- Governor Luis A. Ferré (Commonwealth of Puerto Rico)
- Taoiseach Sean Lemass (Republic of Ireland)
- Taoiseach Jack Lynch (Republic of Ireland)
- Nikita Khrushchev (Soviet Union)
- Leonid Brezhnev (Soviet Union)
- Queen Elizabeth II (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Harold Wilson (United Kingdom)
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower (United States)
- President John F. Kennedy (United States)
- President Lyndon Johnson (United States)
- President Richard Nixon (United States)
- Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (West Germany)
- Chancellor Ludwig Erhard (West Germany)
- Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger (West Germany)
- President for Life Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia)

Writers and intellectuals


- Isaac Asimov
- J. G. Ballard
- Truman Capote
- Andy Capp
- Rachel Carson
- Noam Chomsky
- Judith Christ
- Philip K. Dick
- Louise Fitzhugh
- Milton Friedman
- Allen Ginsberg
- Seamus Heaney
- Robert A. Heinlein
- Frank Herbert
- Ken Kesey
- Timothy Leary
- Norman Mailer
- Marshall McLuhan
- Jules Pfeiffer
- Carl Sagan
- Charles Schulz
- Dr. Seuss
- John Steinbeck
- Hunter S. Thompson
- Joseph Heller
- Gore Vidal
- Kurt Vonnegut
- Alan Watts
- Tom Wolfe

Sports figures


- Lance Alworth (American football player)
- Richie Benaud (Australian cricket captain)
- George Best (Northern Irish football player)
- Nino Benvenuti (Italian boxer)
- Jim Brown (American football player)
- Wilt Chamberlain (American basketball player)
- Bobby Charlton (English football player)
- Jim Clark (Scottish racing driver)
- Cassius Clay later known as Muhammad Ali (American boxer)
- Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rican baseball player)
- Eusebio (Portuguese football player)
- Peggy Fleming (American figure skater)
- Bob Gibson (American baseball player)
- Cookie Gilchrist (American football player)
- Bobby Hull (Canadian hockey player)
- Gordie Howe (Canadian hockey player)
- Franz Klammer (Austrian skier)
- David Kopay (American football player)
- Sandy Koufax (American baseball player)
- Denis Law (Scotland footballer)
- Vince Lombardi (American football coach)
- Willie Mays (American baseball player)
- Stan Mikita (Slovak-Canadian hockey player)
- Bobby Moore (English football player)
- Joe Namath (American football player)
- Jack Nicklaus (American golfer)
- Arnold Palmer (American golfer)
- Gary Player (South African golfer)
- Bobby Orr (Canadian ice hockey player)
- Pelé (Brazilian football player)
- Richard Petty (American NASCAR racing driver)
- Frank Robinson (American baseball player)
- Bill Shankly (Liverpool FC football manager)
- Gary Sobers (Barbados & West Indies cricket captain and all-rounder)
- Alfredo di Stefano (Argentinian/Spanish football player)
- Fred Trueman (Yorkshire & England cricketer)

Entertainers

cricket
- Bud Abbott
- Steve Allen
- Ursula Andress
- Julie Andrews
- Fred Astaire
- John Astin
- Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello
- Joan Baez
- Lucille Ball
- Brigitte Bardot
- Billy Barty
- The Beach Boys
- The Beatles
- Tony Bennett
- Jack Benny
- Milton Berle
- Joey Bishop
- Ray Bolger
- Ernest Borgnine
- Charles Bronson
- Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner
- Johnny Brown
- Carol Burnett
- George Burns
- The Byrds
- Sid Caesar
- Godfrey Cambridge
- Diane Cannon
- Cantinflas
- Capucine
- Vicki Carr
- Diahann Carrol
- Johnny Carson
- Violet Carson
- Art Carney
- Jack Cassidy
- Ted Cassidy
- Carol Channing
- Roy Clark
- Imogene Coca
- Nat King Cole
- Sean Connery
- Tim Conway
- Bill Cosby
- Joan Crawford
- Bing Crosby
- Gary Crosby
- Phillip Crosby
- Tony Curtis
- Dalida
- Bette Davis
- Sammy Davis, Jr.
- Doris Day
- John Derrick
- Neil Diamond
- Angie Dickenson
- Walt Disney
- The Doors
- Donovan
- Mamie Van Doren
- Kirk Douglas
- Patty Duke
- Jimmy Durante
- Dick Van Dyke
- Bob Dylan
- Clint Eastwood
- Barbara Eden
- Linda Evans
- Robert Evans
- Henry Fonda
- Jane Fonda
- Peter Fonda
- Eileen Fulton
- Judy Garland
- James Garner
- Gerry & the Pacemakers
- Jack Gilford
- Jackie Gleason
- Cary Grant
- Kathryn Grant aka Kathryn Crosby
- Grateful Dead
- Dick Gregory
- Andy Griffith
- Merv Griffin
- Fred Gwynne
- Buddy Hackett
- Joey Heatherton
- Jimi Hendrix
- Audrey Hepburn
- Katharine Hepburn
- Charlton Heston
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Dustin Hoffman
- Bob Hope
- Dennis Hopper
- Ron Howard
- Rock Hudson
- The Jackson 5
- Chad and Jeremy
- Antonio Carlos Jobim
- Carolyn Jones
- Shirley Jones
- Tom Jones
- Janis Joplin
- Boris Karloff
- Danny Kaye
- Buster Keaton
- Gene Kelly
- Don Knotts
- Jimmy Komac
- Harvey Korman
- Nancy Kwan
- Bert Lahr
- Peter Lawford
- Norman Lear
- Bruce Lee
- Janet Leigh
- Jack Lemmon
- Jerry Lewis
- Art Linkletter
- Gina Lollobrigida
- Sophia Loren
- Peter Lorre
- Paul Lynde
- Shirley Maclaine
- Ann Margret
- Dean Martin
- Groucho Marx
- James Mason
- David McCallum
- Country Joe McDonald
- Steve McQueen
- Barry Melton
- The Monkees
- Mary Tyler Moore
- Rita Moreno
- Pat Morita
- Howard Morris
- Zero Mostel
- Paul Newman
- Jack Nicholson
- David Niven
- Roy Orbison
- Gregory Peck
- Peter & Gordon
- Oscar Peterson
- Patricia Phoenix
- Pink Floyd
- Sidney Poitier
- Vincent Price
- Richard Pryor
- Elvis Presley
- Otis Redding
- Robert Redford
- Steve Reeves
- Debbie Reynolds
- Don Rickles
- Chita Rivera
- The Rolling Stones
- Mickey Rooney
- Dan Rowan and Dick Martin
- Peter Sellers
- Rod Serling
- David Seville
- Dick Shawn
- Dinah Shore
- Simon & Garfunkel
- Frank Sinatra
- Frank Sinatra, Jr.
- Nancy Sinatra
- Red Skelton
- The Smothers Brothers
- Elke Sommer
- Sonny and Cher
- Jill St. John
- Connie Stevens
- Inger Stevens
- Stella Stevens
- James Stewart
- Ed Sullivan
- The Supremes
- Russ Tamblyn
- Jacques Tati
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Danny Thomas
- Marlo Thomas
- The Three Stooges
- Spencer Tracy
- Robert Wagner
- William Wagoner
- Burt Ward
- John Wayne
- Tuesday Weld
- Raquel Welch
- Orson Welles
- Adam West
- The Who
- Gene Wilder
- Andy Williams
- Flip Wilson
- Natalie Wood
- Stevie Wonder
- Ed Wynn
- Keenan Wynn
- Led Zeppelin
- Bradley Football
- Cass Elliot -- The Mamas & the Papas
- Carl Stuart Hamblen

See also


- List of rock and roll albums in the 1960s

Further Viewing

To see examples of the idealism of the Sixties, view the Woodstock Movie.

External links


- [http://www.public.iastate.edu/~rjackson/webbibl.html The 1960s: A Bibliography] Category:1960s ko:1960년대 ja:1960年代 simple:1960s

Great Leap Forward

: The Great Leap Forward also refers to a hypothesized stage in human evolution. The Great Leap Forward () was a campaign by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of the People's Republic of China from 1958 to early 1962 aimed at using mainland China's plentiful supply of cheap labor to rapidly industrialize the country.

Historical background

During the 1950s, the Chinese had carried out a program of land distribution coupled with industrialization under state ownership with grudging technical assistance from the Soviet Union. By the mid-1950s the situation in Mainland China had somewhat stabilized, and the immediate threat from the wars in Korea against the United States and in Vietnam against France had receded. People perceived as capitalists by the new leadership had been expropriated in 1952-1953, members of the left-wing opposition imprisoned at the same time, and the remaining Kuomintang on the mainland had been eliminated. For the first time in generations, China seemed to have a strong and stable national government. However, Mao Zedong had become alarmed by Soviet Union Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's term since the 20th Party Congress Twentieth Congress. He perceived that far from "catching up and overtaking" the West, the Soviet economy was being allowed to fall behind. Uprisings had taken place in East Germany, Poland and Hungary, and the USSR was seeking "Peaceful coexistence" with what the Chinese regarded as imperialism/ imperialist Western powers. These policies meant for Mao that the PRC had to be prepared to "Sino-Soviet split go it alone."

The Great Leap Forward

The Great Leap Forward borrowed elements from the history of the USSR in a uniquely Chinese combination. Collective farming Collectivization from the USSR's "Third Period;" Stakhanovism from the early 1930s; the "people's guards" Khrushchev had created in 1959; and the uniquely Chinese policy of establishing People's communes as relatively self-sufficient economic units, incorporating light industry and construction projects. It was thought that through collectivization and mass labor, China's steel production would surpass that of the United Kingdom only 15 years after the start of the "leap." An experimental commune was established in Henan early in 1958, and soon spread throughout the country. Tens of millions were mobilized to produce one commodity, symbolic of industrialisation—steel. Approximately 25,000 communes were set-up, each with around 5,000 households. The hope was to industrialize by making use of the massive supply of cheap labor and avoid having to import heavy machinery. Small backyard steel furnaces were built in every commune while peasants produced "turds" of cast iron made out of scrap. Sometimes even factories, schools, and hospitals abandoned their work to smelt iron. The majority of this home produced iron was of extremely low quality and completely useless for any purposes. Simultaneously, the peasants were collectivized.

Outcome

The Great Leap Forward is now widely seen both within China and outside as a major economic disaster. As inflated statistics reached planning authorities, orders were given to divert human resources into industry rather than agriculture. Various Western and Eastern [http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat1.htm sources] put the death toll at about 25 million people, with the majority of the deaths owed to starvation. The three years between 1959 and 1962 were known as the "Three Bitter Years," the Three Years of Natural Disasters (although this name is now rarely used in China), and the Great Leap Famine, as the Chinese people suffered from extreme shortages of food. It is believed by some to have been the greatest famine in history. Droughts, floods, and general bad weather caught China completely by surprise. In July of 1959, the Yellow River flooded in East China. According to the Disaster Center[http://www.disastercenter.com/disaster/TOP100K.html], it directly killed, either through starvation from crop failure or drowning, an estimated 3 million people, while other areas were affected in other ways as well. It is ranked as the seventh deadliest natural disaster in the 20th century. In 1960, at least some degree of drought and other bad weather affected 55 percent of cultivated land while an estimated 60 percent of agricultural land received no rain at all [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/FD01Ad04.html]. The Encyclopaedia Britannica Yearbooks for 1958 to 1962 speak of abnormal weather, droughts followed by floods. This includes 30 inches of rain at Hong Kong in five days in June 1959, part of a pattern that hit all of South China. However, it is extremely misleading to blame the widespread famines on abnormal weather. Many observers have noted that under sensible agrarian policy, the abnormal weather would not have caused widespread famine. The Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen, who has written extensively on the causes of famine, phrases the argument this way:
I have discussed elsewhere the remarkable fact that, in the terrible history of famines in the world, no substantial famine has ever occurred in any independent and democratic country with a relatively free press. We cannot find exceptions to this rule, no matter where we look: the recent famines of Ethiopia, Somalia, or other dictatorial regimes; famines in the Soviet Union in the 1930s; China's 1958-61 famine with the failure of the Great Leap Forward; or earlier still, the famines in Ireland or India under alien rule. China, although it was in many ways doing much better economically than India, still managed (unlike India) to have a famine, indeed the largest recorded famine in world history: Nearly 30 million people died in the famine of 1958-61, while faulty governmental policies remained uncorrected for three full years. The policies went uncriticized because there were no opposition parties in parliament, no free press, and no multiparty elections. Indeed, it is precisely this lack of challenge that allowed the deeply defective policies to continue even though they were killing millions each year. The same can be said about the world's two contemporary famines, occurring right now in North Korea and Sudan.

Famines are often associated with what look like natural disasters, and commentators often settle for the simplicity of explaining famines by pointing to these events: the floods in China during the failed Great Leap Forward, the droughts in Ethiopia, or crop failures in North Korea. Nevertheless, many countries with similar natural problems, or even worse ones, manage perfectly well, because a responsive government intervenes to help alleviate hunger. Since the primary victims of a famine are the indigent, deaths can be prevented by recreating incomes (for example, through employment programs), which makes food accessible to potential famine victims. Even the poorest democratic countries that have faced terrible droughts or floods or other natural disasters (such as India in 1973, or Zimbabwe and Botswana in the early 1980s) have been able to feed their people without experiencing a famine.

-- Sen, A., Journal of Democracy, 1999.

According to Jasper Becker - a journalist with long experience in China - in his book Hungry Ghosts: China's Secret Famine, most of the critics of the Great Leap outside China "watched China from Hong Kong." Thus, the conflict in the 1950s and 1960s over the Great Leap shaped up roughly along the lines of those who had experience living in Mao-governed China and those who did not. W.E.B. DuBois (1959, author of an article "China") visited China during the Great Leap Forward and never supported famine-related criticisms of the Great Leap. Another author visiting China during the Great Leap named Anna Louise Strong wrote a book titled When Serfs Stood Up in Tibet based on her experience. Strong's book is heavily criticized for its very positive portrayal of Chinese rule in Tibet. Starting in the early 1980s, critics of the Great Leap added quantitative muscle to their arsenal. U.S. Government employee Judith Banister published what became an influential article in the China Quarterly and since then estimates as high as 30 million deaths in the Great Leap became common in the U.S. press. Critics point to birth rate assumptions used in the most widely cited projections of famine deaths. However, estimations vary largely because of inaccurate data. According to Wim F Werthheim, emeritus professor from the University of Amsterdam, in the article "Wild Swans and Mao's Agrarian Strategy"; :Often it is argued that at the censuses of the 1960s "between 17 and 29 millions of Chinese" appeared to be missing, in comparison with the official census figures from the 1950s. But these calculations are lacking any semblance of reliability...it is hard to believe that suddenly, within a rather short period (1953-1960), the total population of China had risen from 450 [million] to 600 million.[3] Chinese expert of demography, Dr Ping-ti Ho, professor of history at the University of Chicago, in a book titled Studies on the Population of China, 1368-1953, Harvard East Asian Studies No 4, 1959, mentions that: :My conclusion is that the claim that in the 1960s a number between 17 [million] and 29 million people was "missing" is worthless if there was never any certainty about the 600 millions of Chinese. Most probably these "missing people" did not starve in the calamity years 1960-61, but in fact have never existed. [4] Today there is a growing exchange of ideas between China and the West. Discussion of population projection and statistical issues of the Great Leap is becoming more frequent. During the Great Leap, the Chinese economy initially grew, and iron production increased 45% in 1958 and a combined 30% over the next two years, but plummeted in 1961, and would not reach the level it was at in 1958 until 1964. Despite the risks to their careers, some Communist Party members openly laid blame for the disaster at the feet of the Party leadership and took it as proof that China must rely more on education, acquiring technical expertise and applying bourgeois methods in developing the economy. It was principally to crush this opposition that Mao launched his Cultural Revolution in early 1966. Mao stepped down as Chairman of the CCP in 1959, predicting he would take most of the blame for the failure of the Great Leap Forward. This left a large vacuum of power within the Party, hence the resulting "Power Struggle". Liu Shaoqi (PRC Chairman) and Deng Xiaoping (CCP General Secretary) were left in charge to execute measures to achieve economic recovery. Additionally, this failure in Mao's regime meant that he became a "dead ancestor" as he labelled himself, a person who was respected but never consulted, occupying the political background of the Party. Furthermore, he also stopped appearing in public. All of this was later regretted by Mao, as he relaunched his Cult of Personality with the publishing of the Little Red Book and the Great Yangtze Swim. After the death of Mao and the start of Chinese economic reform under Deng Xiaoping the tendency within the Chinese government was to see the Great Leap Forward as a major economic disaster and to attribute it to the cult of personality under Mao Zedong and to regard it as one of the serious errors he made after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

See also


- Marxism
- Maoism
- The Hundred Flowers Movement
- List of CCP Campaigns
- Breaking With Old Ideas
- Three Years of Natural Disasters

Bibliography


- Greene, Felix. A Curtain of Ignorance: China: How America Is Deceived. (London: Jonathan Cape, 1965)
- Becker, Jasper. Hungry Ghosts : Mao's Secret Famine. (1996)

External links


- [http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/mao.html Mao Zedong - Time.com's Most Important People of the Century]
- [http://www.planio.it/linearossa/lrengmao.htm Further information about Zedong, including Chinese writtenprimary and secondary sources]
- [http://www.iisg.nl/~landsberger/glf.html Propaganda Posters In the time of Great Leap Forward] Category:1950s Category:History of the People's Republic of China Category:History of China Category:Mainland China Category:Economic disasters ja:大躍進政策

Cultural Revolution

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (; often abbreviated to 文化大革命 wénhuà dà gémìng, literally "Great Cultural Revolution", or simply 文革 wéngé, literally "Cultural Revolution") in the People's Republic of China was a revolutionary upsurge by Chinese students and workers against the bureaucrats of the Chinese Communist Party. It was launched by Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 to secure Maoism (known domestically as Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought) in China as the state's dominant ideology and eliminate political opposition. Though Mao himself officially declared the Cultural Revolution to have ended in 1969, the term is today widely used to also include the period between 1969 and the arrest of the Gang of Four in 1976. This dating of the Cultural Revolution is significant and represented a victory for supporters of Deng Xiaoping as it allowed them to portray all of the events between 1966 and 1976 as a single movement under the leadership of the Gang of Four. Between 1966 and 1969, Mao encouraged revolutionary committees containing Red Guards to take power from the Chinese Communist Party authorities of the state. In the chaos that ensued, many died and millions more were imprisoned. Although the period after 1969 was less chaotic, the leaders of the Cultural Revolution proper remained in power and this is now widely considered to have been a period of economic stagnation. The Communist Party of China officially repudiated the Cultural Revolution in 1981, placing responsibility for it on Mao Zedong. According to a Central Committee resolution adopted on June 27, 1981, the Cultural Revolution was carried out "under the mistaken leadership of Mao Zedong who was used by the counterrevolutionaries Lin Biao and Jiang Qing and brought serious disaster and turmoil to the Party and the Chinese people."

Background

Great Leap Forward

Main Article: Great Leap Forward In 1957, after China's first Five-Year Plan, Mao Zedong called for an increase in the speed of growth of "actual socialism" in China (as opposed to "dictatorial socialism"). To accomplish this goal, Mao began the Great Leap Forward, establishing special communes in the countryside through the usage of collective labor and mass mobilization. The Great Leap Forward was intended to increase the production of steel and to raise agricultural production to twice 1957 levels. However, the Great Leap turned into an utter disaster. 1958 had excellent weather, and should have been a good year for agricultural production, but as the peasants were working in urban centers on steel production, much of the crop was left unharvested. Industries went into turmoil, because peasants were producing nothing but steel. Furthermore, the peasants, as farmers, were ill-equipped and ill-trained to produce steel, partially relying on such mechanisms as backyard furnaces to achieve production goals, which had been mandated by the threatening local cadres. Meanwhile, farming implements like rakes were melted down for steel, making agricultural production impossible. This led to declines in production of everything but steel. To make matters worse, in order to avoid punishment, local authorities continually reported grossly unrealistic production numbers, which hid the problem for years, intensifying it. Having barely recovered from decades of war, the Chinese economy was headed into disaster. Steel production did show significant growth, to over 14 million tons of steel a year, from the previous 5.2 million. The original goal was to produce a completely unrealistic 30 million tons of steel, though that was later revised down to 20 million. However, much of the steel produced was impure and useless. In the 1959 Lushan meeting of the Central Committee, Peng Dehuai criticized Mao's policies in the Great Leap with a private letter. Peng wrote that the Great Leap was plagued by mismanagement, and "petty-bourgeois fanaticism". Although Mao made repeated self-criticisms in speeches for the Great Leap and called for dismantling the communes in 1959, he did not want to surrender the overall evaluation that the Great Leap was 70% correct. Politically, Mao formed an alliance with Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping, in which he granted them day-to-day control over the country, in return for framing Peng and accusing him of being a "right opportunist". The attack on Peng was also combined with an attack on the Soviet Union and the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev. This change was also a part of the deterioration of Sino-Soviet relations begun by the Korean War (see Sino-Soviet split). Among Liu's and Deng's reforms were a partial retreat from collectivism, which had miserably failed.

Increasing conflict between Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi

In China, the three years beginning with 1960 were known as the Three Years of Natural Disasters. Food was in desperate shortage, and production fell dramatically. By the end of the Three Years of Natural Disasters, which was the direct result of the failed Great Leap Forward campaign, an estimated 20 million people had died from widespread famine. Liu Shaoqi decided to end many Leap policies, such as rural communes, and to restore the economic policies used before the Great Leap Forward. Because of the "success" of their economic reforms, Liu had won prestige in the eyes of many party members both in the central government and among the masses. Together, Liu began planning to gradually retire Mao from any real power, and to turn him into a figure-head. To restore his political base, and to eliminate his opposition, Mao initiated the Social Education Movement, in 1963. Mao later admitted to some general mistakes, while strongly defending the Great Leap Forward, in concept. One great irony of the Social Education Movement is that it called for grassroots action, yet was directed by Mao himself. This movement, aimed primarily at school-children, did not have any immediate effect on Chinese politics, but it did influence a generation of youths, upon whom Mao could draw for later support in the future. In 1963, Mao began attacking Liu Shaoqi openly, stating that the idealism of "the struggle of the classes" must always be fully understood and applied; yearly, monthly, and daily. By 1964, the Social Education Movement had become the new "Four Cleanups Movement", with the stated goal of the cleansing of politics, economics, ideas, and organization. The Movement was directed politically against Liu.

Influences elsewhere

Four Cleanups Movement In early 1960, historian and Beijing Deputy Mayor Wu Han published the first version of a historical drama entitled "Hai Rui Dismissed from Office" (pinyin: Hai Rui Ba Guan). In the play, a virtuous official was dismissed by a corrupt emperor. The story initially received praise from Mao. In 1965 Mao Zedong's wife Jiang Qing and her protégé Yao Wenyuan—who at the time was a little-known editor of a prominent newspaper in Shanghai—published an article criticising "Hai Rui Dismissed from Office". Jiang and Yao saw the play, which they labeled as "poisonous weeds", as an attack on Mao, using the allegory of Mao Zedong as the corrupt emperor and Peng Dehuai as the virtuous official. The publication of the Shanghai newspaper article received much publicity nationwide, with many other prominent newspapers asking for publication rights to the same article. Beijing Mayor Peng Zhen, a supporter of Wu Han, established a committee studying the recent publication and emphasizing that the criticism had gone too far, but denunciations, whether public or under the table, came from Jiang Qing and Lin Biao. This committee, called "Group of Five in Charge of the Cultural Revolution", on February 12, 1966 issued "Theses on the ongoing scientific discussion". In May, 1966, Jiang Qing and Yao Wenyuan once again published various articles with content denouncing both Wu Han and Peng Zhen. On May 16, 1966, under Jiang Qing's influence, a formal notice was issued, representing figuratively the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. In this document, titled "Message from the Central Committee of CCP", Peng Zhen and his theses were deeply criticized, and the "Group of Five" was disbanded. "Completely penetrated with double-dealing, the theses furiously attacked the Great cultural revolution, personally developed and managed by comrade Mao Zedong, the instructions of comrade Mao Zedong concerning criticism of Wu Han", stated the "Message". One year later, on May 18, 1967 this "Message" was called "a great historical document developed under direct management of our great leader comrade Mao Zedong" in the editorial of People's Daily. People's Daily In a later meeting of the CCP Politburo in 1966, the new Group in Charge of the Cultural Revolution (GCCR) was formed. On May 18, Lin Biao said in a speech that "Chairman Mao is a genius, everything the Chairman says is truly great; one of the Chairman's words will override the meaning of ten thousands of ours." Thus started the first phase of Mao's cult of personality led by Jiang Qing, Lin Biao, and others. At this time, Jiang and Lin had already seized some actual power. On May 25, a young teacher of philosophy at Beijing University, Nie Yuanzi, wrote a dazibao (poster) where the rector of the university and other professors were labeled as "the black anti-Party gangsters". Some days later, Mao Zedong ordered to broadcast the text of this dazibao nationwide and called it "the first Marxist dazibao in China". On May 29, 1966, in the Middle School of Tsinghua University, the first organization of Red Guards was formed. It was aimed at eliminating intellectuals, and Mao's political enemies. On June 1, 1966, the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the CCP, stated that all "imperialists", "people with affiliations with imperialists", "imperialistic intellectuals", et al., must be purged. Soon a movement began, that was aimed at purging university presidents and other prominent intellectuals. On July 28, 1966, representatives of the Red Guards wrote a formal letter to Mao, stating that mass purges, and all such-related social and political phenomena were justified, and right. Thus began the Cultural Revolution.

The Cultural Revolution

1966: "The road to democracy" begins

1966 On August 8, 1966, the Central Committee of CCP passed a bill, "Decisions on the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution". This bill stated that the official position of China's government was now supportive of the purging of intellectuals and imperialists. Most of these purges were to be the work of Mao's Red Guards. "Now our goal is to smash those capitalist roaders in power, to criticize the reactionary bourgeois "authorities" in science, to criticize the ideology of bourgeoisie and all other exploiter classes, to transform education, to transform the literature and art, to transform all areas of the superstructure mismatching economic base of socialism, to promote the strengthening and development of the socialist system", said the bill. On August 16, millions of Red Guards from all over the country gathered in Beijing for a peek at the Chairman. On top of the Tiananmen Square gate, Mao and Lin Biao made frequent appearances to approximately 11 million Red Guards, receiving cheers each time. Mao praised their actions in the recent campaigns to develop socialism and democracy. For three years, until 1969, the Red Guards expanded their areas of authority, and accelerated their work of socialist reconstruction. The Red Guards began by passing out leaflets explaining their actions to develop and strengthen socialism, and posting the names of suspected "counter-revolutionaries" on bulletin boards. They assembled in large groups, and wrote educational plays. The Red Guards held public meetings with suspected "counter-revolutionaries", and gave them the opportunity to make a self-criticism. (This would be used against them later, at their trials as "counter-revolutionaries." Most of those found guilty would be publicly executed as examples to the people, or exiled to gulags and worked to death as slave labor.) By 1966, the Red Guards had become the foremost authority of China. People that were labeled as the "Bourgeoisie" (middle-class capitalists) were criticised at public meetings. Soon, the Red Guards went even further. The whole of China joined in the democratic processes of the Cultural Revolution. Liu Shaoqi was sent to a detention camp, where he later died in 1969. Deng Xiaoping, who was himself sent for a period of re-education three times, was sent to work in an engine factory, until he was brought back years later by Zhou Enlai. But most of those accused were not so lucky, and many of them never returned. The work of the Red Guards was praised by Mao Zedong. On August 22, 1966, Mao issued a public notice, which stopped "all police intervention in Red Guard tactics and actions." Those in the police force who dared to defy this notice, were labeled as "counter-revolutionaries". On September 5, 1966, yet another notice was issued, encouraging all Red Guards to come to Beijing, over a stretch of time. All fees, including accommodations and transportation, were to be paid by the government. On October 10, 1966, Mao's ally, General Lin Biao, publicly criticised Liu and Deng as "capitalist roaders" and "threats". Later, Peng Dehuai was brought to Beijing to be publicly displayed and ridiculed; he was then purged.

1967: Political power struggles

On January 3, 1967, Lin Biao and Jiang Qing were behind the "January Storm", in which many prominent Shanghai municipal government leaders were heavily criticised and purged. This raised Wang Hongwen into real power in the city, and in the city's CCP power apparatus. In Beijing, Liu and Deng were once again the targets of criticism, but others, who were not as engaged in the CCP criticism sessions, like Chen Boda and Kang Sheng, pointed at the wrong-doings of the Vice-Premier of the State Council Tao Zhu. Thus started a political struggle among central government officials and local party cadres, who seized the Cultural Revolution as an opportunity to accuse rivals of "counter-revolutionary activity" as the paranoia spread. On January 8, Mao praised these actions through the People's Daily, urging all local governmental leaders to rise in self-criticism, or criticism and purging of others. This started the massive power struggles of purge after purge among some local governments, which stopped functioning altogether. Involvement in some sort of "revolutionary" activity was the only way to avoid being purged, but it was by no means a certain way out of being purged. Once this terror was un-leashed, no one was safe. At the same time, many large and prominent Red Guard organizations rose in protest against other Red Guards organizations, further complicating the situation. This led to a notice to stop all unhealthy activity within the Red Guards. On April 6, Liu Shaoqi was openly, and widely-denouced by a Zhongnanhai faction. This was followed by a protest and mass demonstrations, most notably the one in Wuhan on July 20, which Jiang Qing openly denounced as "counter-revolutionary activity"; she later personally flew to Wuhan to criticise Chen Zaidao, the general in charge of the Wuhan area. On July 22, Jiang Qing directed the Red Guards to replace the People's Liberation Army when needed, and thereby to render the existing forces powerless. After the initial praise by Jiang Qing, the Red Guards started to steal and loot from barracks and other army buildings. This activity, which could not be stopped by any army general, went on until autumn 1968.

1968: Cult of personality

In the spring of 1968, a massive campaign began, that was aimed at promoting Mao Zedong to a god-like status. Mao was depicted as the origin, or source of life's necessities. Socialism had become the state religion, as well as the economic system running China. Also, at this time, Lin Biao began to gain power for himself. Mao had lost basic control over the country; he could not stop anything, from local looting to huge national protests. On July 27, the Red Guards' power over the army was officially ended, and the central government sent in units to protect many areas still being targeted by Red Guards. Mao had supported this idea, and promoted it, by allowing one of his "Highest Directions" to be heard by all of the people. A year later, the Red Guard factions were dismantled entirely; Mao feared that the chaos they caused and could still cause, might harm the very foundation of the Chinese Communist Party. In any case, their purpose had been largely fulfilled, and Mao had largely consolidated his political power, following the example of the Soviet leader, Stalin. In early October, Mao decided to purge many officials. They were sent to the countryside, to work in labor camps. In the same month, at the 12th Plenum of the 8th Party Congress, Liu Shaoqi was "forever expelled from the party", and Lin Biao was made the Party's Vice-Chairman, second only to Mao. In December 1968, Mao began the "Down to the Countryside Movement". During this Movement, which lasted for the next decade, young intellectuals were ordered to go into the country and receive "education" from "middle and poor peasants". Mao saw this disruption of ordinary social processes as a way to remove future emerging forces who could be a threat to the CCP. For many of the 'intellectuals,' most of whom were recently-graduated college students, this deployment to the countryside was in effect a kind of internal exile, and the conditions under which they were forced to labor were often harsh in the extreme; many deaths from malnutrition, overwork, and disease were reported, and many were not.

Time dominated by Lin Biao

Transition of the party apparatus

On April 1, 1969, at the CCP's Ninth Congress, Lin was the big winner, officially becoming China's second in charge, and also holding military power. Lin's biggest political rival, Liu Shaoqi, had been purged, and Zhou Enlai's power was gradually fading. The Ninth Congress started with Lin Biao delivering a Political Report, being critical of Liu and other "counter-revolutionaries", and continuously quoting Mao's Little Red Book. The second thing to be tackled was the new party constitution, when it was modified to officially design Lin as Mao's successor. Henceforth, at all occasions, Mao's name was to be linked with Lin's. Thirdly, a new Politburo was elected with Mao Zedong, Lin Biao, Chen Boda, Zhou Enlai, and Kang Sheng being the five new members of the Politburo Standing Committee. This new politburo consisted mostly of those whom had arisen because of the Cultural Revolution, with Zhou barely keeping his status; as he ranked fourth.

Attempts at expanding power base

After being confirmed as Mao's successor, Lin's focus lay on the restoration of the State President position, which was abolished by Mao, only because of Liu Shaoqi's dismissal from power. His aim was to become Vice-President, with Mao holding onto the position of State President. On August 23rd, 1970, the Second Plenum of the CCP's Ninth Congress was once again held in Lushan. Chen Boda was the first to speak, widely praising Mao, boasting of Mao's status (with the intentions of raising his own). At the same time, Chen was asking for the return of the position of State President. Mao was deeply critical of the speech delivered by Chen, and removed him from the position of Politburo Standing Committee member. With this event, there started a series of criticism sessions across the country for people who used "deceit" for gains, calling them "Liu Shaoqi's representative for Marxism, and political liars". Chen's removal from the Politburo Standing Committee was also seen as a warning, directed toward Lin Biao. After the Ninth Congress, Lin continuously asked for promotions within the party and the Central Government, leading Mao to think that Lin wanted supreme power, and intended to oust Mao himself. Chen's speech also added to Mao's apprehensions. If Lin were to become Vice-President, then after the President's death, he would legally have supreme power and control of the country -- a clear danger to Mao's safety.

Lin's attempted military coup

Marxism Because of Mao's refusal to let Lin gain more prominence within the party and the government, Lin became deeply angered. Moreover, his power base was shrinking day by day within the Party apparatus; Lin decided to use the military power still within his hands, to try to oust Mao in a coup. Soon afterwards, Lin and his son Lin Liguo and other loyal comrades, founded a coup organ in Shanghai (many Chinese believe that Lin's son was solely responsible for the coup, and Lin Biao didn't know anything about it, until the coup failed, and Lin was being hunted by the Chinese government), aimed solely at ousting Mao from power by the use of force. In one of the known documents, Lin stated in Shanghai that "A new power struggle has surged upon us, if indeed we could not take control of revolutionary activity, then these control powers will fall upon someone else." Lin's plan consisted mainly of aerial bombardments, and the widespead use of the Air Force. If the plan were to succeed, Lin could successfully arrest all of his political rivals, and gain the supreme power he wanted. But if his plan were to fail, there would be great and dire consequences awaiting him. Assassination attempts were made against Mao in Shanghai, from September 8 to September 10, 1971. It was learned that before these attacks upon Mao, there was initial knowledge of Lin's activities on the part of local police, who stated that Lin Biao had been coordinating a huge political plot, and Lin's loyal backers were receiving special training in the military. From these events onward, came continuous allegations and reports of Mao being attacked. One of these reports suggested that en route to Beijing in his private train, Mao was physically attacked; another alleged that Lin had bombed a bridge that Mao was to cross to reach Beijing, which Mao avoided because of intelligence suggesting such an incident -- causing him to change routes. In these nervous days, guards were placed every 10–20 meters on the railway tracks of Mao's route to avoid attempts at assassination. Although these reports were conflicting, and sometimes fabricated, it is known for sure that after September 11 of the same year, Lin never appeared in public again, nor did his backers, most of whom attempted to escape to Hong Kong. Most of these attempts failed, and around twenty army generals were arrested. It was also learned that on September 13, 1971, Lin Biao and his family travelled by plane to the Soviet Union. En route, Lin's plane crashed in Mongolia, killing all on-board. On the same day, the CCP Politburo met in an emergency session, to discuss matters pertaining to Lin Biao. Only on September 30, was the information of Lin's death confirmed in Beijing, which led to the cancellation of the National Day celebration events, that had been scheduled for the following day. The exact cause of the plane crash remains a mystery; although it is widely-believed that Lin's plane ran out of fuel, or that there was an abrupt engine failure. There was also speculation that the plane was shot down by the Chinese. It could also have been the Soviet forces, who later claimed the bodies of those on board. Nonetheless, Lin's attempted coup had failed, and it led to the complete destruction of his image in the CCP and China.

Times of the "Gang of Four"

Developments and Pi-Lin Pi-Kong Campaign

After Lin Biao's death in 1971, Mao, age 78, was busy trying to find a new successor. In September 1972, Shanghaiese Wang Hongwen was transferred to work in Beijing for the Central Government, becoming the Party Vice-Chairman, in the subsequent year. At the same time, under the influence of Premier Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping was transferred back to Beijing. In the preceding time, Mao was already shaken deeply by the Lin Biao plot, and had to rely on Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping again. Compared to Extreme Leftism, Mao was still no great enthusiast of the Right. In 1974, a campaign that appears absurd in retrospect, was started by Jiang Qing and several backers (later to be known as the Gang of Four): the Pi-Lin Pi-Kong campaign, or literally "Criticize Lin Biao, Criticize Confucius". This widely-publicised campaign was aimed at Premier Zhou Enlai, for he allegedly possessed "unhealthy" ideas related to Lin and to Confucius, but Zhou's name was never mentioned throughout the campaign. Since the death of Lin Biao, Zhou had become the main political rival of the Gang of Four for the succession to power. But the weary population was tired of the many campaigns that had proved useless or devastating, and had little interest in this one. This campaign failed to achieve its goals. In October, Premier Zhou Enlai became gravely ill, and was admitted into day-to-day hospital care. Deng Xiaoping was named First Vice-Premier, and was the actual one in charge of the daily business of the State Council. Deng continued to further expand Zhou's Four Modernizations idea for a better China. In September 1975, Mao himself was also admitted into hospital with a grave illness (possibly, advanced venereal disease).

1976: Cultural Revolution's end

1975 1976 became a very important year in the Cultural Revolution. On January 8, Zhou Enlai died of bladder cancer. The subsequent day, Beijing's Monument of the Martyrs already started filling up with wreaths expressing the people's mourning for the beloved Premier. The event was unprecedented. On January 15, Zhou's funeral was held, and events commemorating Zhou across the country were held. Deng Xiaoping delivered Zhou's official eulogy. In February, the rival Gang of Four had started to criticise the only one left to oppose them, Deng Xiaoping. With permission from Mao, Deng was once again demoted. But after Zhou's death, Mao did not select a member of the Gang of Four to become premier, but instead chose the relatively-unknown Hua Guofeng. April 5 was China's Qing Ming Festival, a traditional day of mourning for those who had passed away. People had already gathered since late March in Tiananmen Square, mourning the death of Zhou Enlai. At the same time, the people were also signaling an expression of anger towards the Gang of Four. Gradually, more and more people began writing and posting messages of hatred against the Gang of Four. On April 5, around 2 million people were gathered in and around Tiananmen Square, turning the assembly into a form of protest against the Gang of Four. The Gang of Four had ordered police to enter the area, clear the wreaths and messages of hate, and to disperse the crowds. The Gang of Four pointed to Deng Xiaoping as the planner of this expression of public dissatisfaction. This incident was later "politically rehabilitated" (i.e. the process by which people, events in the political process, or political party members, which have fallen into disgrace, are restored to public life) in the winter of 1978, and became known as the Qingming Tiananmen Square incident (not to be confused with the Tiananmen Massacre). On September 9, 1976, Mao Zedong died. Before dying, Mao had written a message on a piece of paper stating "With you in charge, I'm at ease", to Hua Guofeng. Hence, Hua became the Party's Chairman. (Although there has been controversy as to what the message really meant.) Before this event, Hua had been widely-considered to be one without too much political skill or urge, and as posing no threat to the Gang of Four in the power succession. But under the influence of prominent generals like Ye Jianying, and partly under influence of Deng Xiaoping, and with the support of the Army, Hua ordered the arrest of the Gang of Four, following Mao's death. By October 10, the 8341 Special Regiment had all members of the Gang of Four arrested. Thus ended the Cultural Revolution.

After the Revolution

Even though Hua Guofeng publicly denounced and arrested the Gang of Four in 1976, he continued to invoke Mao to justify his policies. Hua opened what was known as the Two Whatevers, saying "Whatever policy originated from Chairman Mao, we must continue to support," and "Whatever directions were given to us from Chairman Mao, we must continue to work on their basis." Like Deng, Hua's goal was to reverse the damage of the Cultural Revolution; but unlike Deng, who was not against new economic models for China, Hua intended to move the Chinese economic and political system to resemble Soviet-style planning of the early 1950's. Soon afterwards, Hua found that without Deng Xiaoping, it was hard for him to continue on daily affairs of the state. On October 10th, Deng Xiaoping personally wrote a letter to Hua, asking to be transferred back to state and party affairs. Also, unconfirmed information allegedly stated that Politburo Standing Committee member Ye Jianying would resign, if Deng was not allowed back into the Central Government. With increasing pressure from all sides, Hua decided to bring Deng back into regular state affairs, first naming him Vice-Premier of the State Council, in July 1977, and to various other positions. In actuality, Deng had already become China's number two figure. In August, the Party's Eleventh Congress was held in Beijing, officially naming (in ranking order) Hua Guofeng, Deng Xiaoping, Ye Jianying, Li Xiannian, and Wang Dongxing as the latest members of the Politburo Standing Committee. Li Xiannian In May, 1978, Deng seized an opportunity for protégé Hu Yaobang to be elevated into further power. Later, Hu published an article in the Bright Daily Newspaper to cleverly use Mao's quotations, while expanding Deng's power base. After reading this widely-publicized article, almost everyone supported Hu, and thus became Deng's supporters. On July 1st, Deng publicized Mao's self-criticism report of 1962, regarding the Great Leap Forward. With an expanding power base, in September 1978, Deng had already started to openly attack Hua Guofeng's "Two Whatevers." On December 18th, 1978, the Third Plenum of the Eleventh CCP Congress was held. Deng stated that "a liberation of thoughts" and "an accurate view leads to accurate results" was needed within the party. Hua Guofeng gave self-criticisms, stating his own "Two Whatevers" was wrong. Wang Dongxing, formerly Mao's trusted supporter, was also criticised. At the Plenum, the Qingming Tiananmen Square incident was also politically rehabilitated. Liu Shaoqi was allowed a belated state funeral. In the Fifth Plenum of the Eleventh CCP Congress, held in 1980, Peng Zhen and many others, who had been purged during the Cultural Revolution, were politically rehabilitated. Hu Yaobang was named General-Secretary of the CCP, and Zhao Ziyang, another of Deng's protégés, was named into the Central governing apparatus. In September, Hua Guofeng resigned, with Zhao Ziyang being named the new Premier. Deng was the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. By this time, Deng was the foremost and paramount figure in Chinese politics.

Effect

The effects of the Cultural Revolution directly, or indirectly touched essentially all of China's populace. During the Cultural Revolution, much economic activity was halted, with "revolution" being the primary objective of many. The start of the Cultural Revolution brought huge numbers of Red Guards to Beijing, with all of their expenses paid by the government, and the railway system was in turmoil. Countless ancient buildings, artifacts, antiques, books, and paintings were destroyed by Red Guards. By December 1967, 350 million copies of Mao's Quotations had been printed. Elsewhere, the ten years of Cultural Revolution also brought the education system to a virtual halt. The university entrance exams were cancelled during this period, only restored by Deng Xiaoping, in 1977. Many intellectuals were sent to rural labor camps. Many survivors and observers suggest that almost anyone with skills over that of the average person, was the target of political "struggle" in some way. According to most Western observers as well as followers of Deng Xiaoping, this led to almost a generation of inadequately-educated individuals. Mao Zedong Thought had become the central operative guide to all things in China. The authority of the Red Guards surpassed that of the army, local police authorities, and the law in general. China's traditional arts and ideas were ignored, and was Mao praised for doing so. People were encouraged to criticize cultural institutions, and to question their parents and teachers, which had been strictly forbidden in Confucian culture. This was emphasized even more during the Anti-Lin Biao; Anti-Confucius Campaign. However, no matter how much or how far the generations of one's parents and their ancestors could be questioned, one thing definitely could not, and these were the "thoughts of Mao Tse-tung". The Cultural Revolution also brought to the forefront numerous internal power struggles within the Communist party, many of which had little to do with the larger battles between Party leaders, but resulted instead from local factionalism and petty rivalries. Members of different factions often fought on the streets, and political assassination, particularly in the more rural provinces, was common. One example, given by the writer Patrick French in his book Tibet, Tibet, is of the 'Big' and 'Small' factions in the Wuxuan county of the Guangxi Zhang Autonomous Region, which fought gun battles and threw bombs on the streets. The leader of the Small Faction, Zhou Weian, was eventually murdered in 1968, and his eight-month pregnant widow, Wei Shulan, forced to kneel under his dismembered body and denounce him; a typical example of the climate of the times. There was devastating damage done to China's historical reserves, artifacts and sites of interest, as these were thought to cause "old ways of thinking". Many artifacts were seized from private homes, and often destroyed on the spot. There are no records of exactly how much was destroyed. Western observers suggest that much of China's five thousand years of dynamic history was in effect destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, in a short period of ten years, and such destruction of historical artifacts cannot be matched anywhere else in the world, at any time. Religious persecution, in particular, intensified during this period, as being opposed to Marxist-Leninist, and Maoist thinking. Some temples, however, such as the Longxing Temple near Shijiazhuang, survived because of the protection of local party members, who sometimes sent units of the PLA to protect the Temple from mobs of Red Guards. The effects of the Cultural Revolution were particularly devastating as to China's 56 ethnic minorities and their cultures. This supposedly stemmed from Jiang Qing's personal animosity towards, and contempt for ethnic minorities. "The centrality of the Han ethnic group" was a major theme throughout this period (similar to the Aryan super-man, in Nazi Germany). In Tibet, over 2,000 monasteries were destroyed, often with the complicity of local ethnic Tibetan Red Guards. In Inner Mongolia, many were executed during a ruthless witchhunt to find members of the allegedly "separatist" Inner Mongolian People's Party, which had actually been disbanded, decades before. In Xinjiang, Koran books of the Uighur people were burned, and Muslim imams were reportedly paraded around with paint splashed on their persons. In the ethnic Korean areas of northeast China, some killings occurred, and language schools were destroyed. In Yunnan Province, the palace of the Dai people's king was torched, and an infamous massacre of Hui Muslim people, at the hands of the People's Liberation Army, called the "Shadian Incident", claimed over 1,600 lives, in 1975. It is ironic that all this activity and violence was directed at so-called "foreign influences", when the driving force behind Maoist thinking, which was the doctrines of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, had come into China, from "foreign out-siders" themselves. The Cultural Revolution also caused external effects. Workers in Hong Kong went on strike, Quotes from Chairman Mao was published in many languages, to be circulated in many African and other third-world or developing countries, and China's image was considerably damaged in much of the West. "Revolutionary" movements in several African countries, often resulting in considerable damage, were inspired by the Cultural Revolution; it was also one of the models for Cambodia's Year Zero, under Pol Pot. The Cambodian genocide, which began in 1975, and has been called "the Killing Fields", can be directly attibuted to the influence of Chairman Mao, and the Cultural Revolution. Millions in China had their human rights reportedly discarded during the Cultural Revolution. Forced displacement of millions of people occurred. During the Cultural Revolution, young people from the cities were forcibly moved to the countryside. Once there, they were forced to abandon all forms of standard education, for the propaganda teachings of the Chinese Communist Party. Crimes against the government were brutally, and publicly punished. People were forced to walk through the streets naked, were flogged publicly, or forced, some report, to sit in the jetliner position for hours. Many deaths occurred in police custody, although they were often covered-up as "suicides". People had to carry two or more copies of Mao's Little Red Book, to avoid being accused of not supporting Mao. Numerous individuals were accused, often on the flimsiest of grounds, of being foreign spies; to have, or have had, any contact with the world outside of China, could be extremely dangerous. Accusations were often based upon 'symbolic' language or gestures, such as the omittance of certain strokes from a written character, or the placing of a picture of Mao in a subordinate position in a room. This paranoia may in part have derived from the tradition of Chinese revolutionaries, who used code-words and symbolic gestures in communication. Some commentators argue that the Cultural Revolution years saw the Chinese people leave behind many uncritical habits of conformist and authoritarian thinking. This can be seen in the words of some of the student leaders of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. According to student leader Shen Tong in his book, Almost a Revolution, the trigger for the famous hunger-strikes of 1989 was a "dazibao", the big-character poster (leaflet) brought to fame in the Cultural Revolution as a means of public political discussion, and subsequently outlawed, after the Cultural Revolution. When students organized demonstrations in their millions, not seen since the Cultural Revolution, youths from outside Beijing rode the trains into Beijing, and relied on the hospitality of the train workers and Beijing residents, just as their counter-parts had ridden the trains freely, during the Cultural Revolution. Also, as in the Cultural Revolution, students formed factions, with names similar to those of Red Guard factions, using the term "Headquarters" for instance, and according to Shen Tong, these factions even went to the extent of kidnapping members of other factions, just as they did in the Cultural Revolution. Finally, in some small minority of cases, some of the student leaders of 1989 had been youth activists in high school during the Cultural Revolution. It was as a result of the Cultural Revolution, that criticism of high-level authority in public became more thinkable than ever in the PRC, although criticism of Mao Zedong still remained entirely off-limits. Estimates of the death toll, civilians and Red Guards, from [http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat1.htm various Western and Eastern sources] are about 500,000 in the true chaos years of 1966–1969. However, these figures are increasingly being challenged, since many deaths went unreported, or were actively covered up by the police or local authorities. The true death toll may range from hundreds of thousands to a few million, but the state of Chinese demographics at the time, combined with the reluctance of the PRC to allow serious research into the period, means that the real figures are unlikely ever to be known.

World reaction

The reaction abroad was mixed, and inevitably, tied to political movements of the time. The opposition to the Vietnam War fostered a sympathy for communist revolutions, and many Western observers, predominantly on the Left of the political spectrum, were sympathetic with the Cultural Revolution. Reports of violence and excess were often explained with excuses, or dismissed as 'rightwing propaganda'. An example of the political atmosphere among Left-leaning intellectuals during the Cultural Revolution can be gleaned from a debate in 1967, where Noam Chomsky, during a discussion with Susan Sontag and Hanah Arendt [http://www.chomsky.info/debates/19671215.htm] on "The Legitimacy of Violence as a Political Act?", said "... take China, modern China; one also finds many things that are really quite admirable. ... But I do think that China is an important example of a new society in which very interesting positive things happened at the local level, in which a good deal of the collectivization and communization was really based on mass participation and took place after a level of understanding had been reached in the peasantry that led to this next step." Reactions were muted, or non-existent among many on the Left, once the full extent of the destruction became known. Sympathies for the Cultural Revolution were also famously denounced by John Lennon of the Beatles, in the song "Revolution", showing that the issue was of some controversy in the late 1960's West. Whatever the case, several self-described "Maoist" political parties survive today, throughout the globe.

Historical views

Today, the Cultural Revolution is seen by most people inside and outside of China, including the Communist Party of China and Chinese democracy movement supporters, as an unmitigated disaster, and as an event to be avoided in the future. There are no politically significant groups within China that defend the Cultural Revolution, aside from the still-ruling Communist Party. However, there are many workers and peasants in China who, left behind by economic liberalization and the widening rich-poor gap, feel nostalgia towards the Cultural Revolution (as well as the Maoist Era in general), during which the proletariat was glorified. Author Gao Mobo has written essays praising the Cultural Revolution, as a "golden age" of urban and rural development. Among those who condemn the Cultural Revolution, the causes and meaning of the Cultural Revolution remain highly controversial. Supporters of the Chinese democracy movement see the Cultural Revolution as an example of what happens when democracy is lacking, and place responsibility for the Cultural Revolution at the hands of the Communist Party of China. Similarly, human rights activists, and conservatives in the West also see the Cultural Revolution as examples of the dangers of statism. Briefly put, these views of the Cultural Revolution attribute its cause to "too much government, and too little popular participation". By contrast, the official view of the Communist Party of China sees the Cultural Revolution as what can happen when one person establishes a cult of personality, and manipulates the public in such a way as to destroy party and state institutions. In the view of the Communist Party, the Cultural Revolution is an example of too much popular participation in government, rather than too little; and that it is an example of the dangers of anarchy rather than statism. The Communist Party also strongly de-emphasises the extent of Mao's involvement in the creation of the Cultural Revolution, preferring to shift most of the blame onto the Gang of Four, as the convenient culprit. The consequence of this view, is the consensus among the Chinese leadership that the lesson of the Cultural Revolution is that China must be governed by a strong party institution, in which decisions are made collectively and according to the rule of law, and in which the public has only limited input. These contradictory views of the Cultural Revolution were put into sharp relief during the Tiananmen Protests of 1989, when both the demonstrators and the government justified their actions as being necessary to avoid another Cultural Revolution. Despite some knowledge of the Cultural Revolution by many Chinese, there has not been a single museum dedicated to its events on the mainland, until recently. In mid-2005, a privately-funded museum opened in Guangdong province, created by Peng Qi'an, 74, a former deputy mayor of Shantou. Peng himself was almost executed during the Cultural Revolution, and survived only due to a last-minute reprieve. He stated that he wanted future generations of Chinese to realise how large an impact the period had on China, and how far ordinary Chinese suffered. However after its opening, authorities made it clear that open discussion of the issues it raises were still not on the official agenda.

Epilogue

In present day, the Chinese Government offered to help those who suffered from the Red Guards by allowing them to reclaim the property they lost during the Cultural Revolution, as long as they got some "evidence" to prove their property -- for example a photo or ownership paper. However, the majority of the victims' descendants face great difficulty in reclaiming the property, because of the lack of evidence due to the Red Guards' vandalism.

References


- Simon Leys (penname of Pierre Ryckmans) was one of the first analysts to describe the reality of Cultural Revolution in these four books:
  - Broken Images: Essays on Chinese Culture and Politics (1979). ISBN 0805280693.
  - The Burning Forest: Essays on Chinese Culture and Politics (1986). ISBN 0030050634; ISBN 0586086307; ISBN 0805003509; ISBN 0805002421.
  - The Chairman's New Clothes: Mao and the Cultural Revolution (1977; revised 1981). ISBN 0850312086; ISBN 0805280804; ISBN 031212791X; ISBN 0850312094; ISBN 0850314356 (revised ed.).
  - Chinese Shadows (1978). ISBN 0670219185; ISBN 0140047875.
- Chan, Anita. 1985. Children of Mao: Personality Development and Political Activism in the Red Guard Generation. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
- Chan, Che Po. 1991. From Idealism to Pragmatism: The Change of Political Thinking among the Red Guard Generation in China. Ph.D. diss., University of California, Santa Barbara.
- Liu, Guokai. 1987. A Brief Analysis of the Cultural Revolution. edited by Anita Chan. Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe.
- Yang, Guobin. 2000. China's Red Guard Generation: The Ritual Process of Identity Transformation, 1966-1999. Ph.D. diss., New York University.

See also


- The Hundred Flowers Movement
- Maoism
- Great Leap Forward
- List of CCP Campaigns
- History of the People's Republic of China
- Hong Kong 1967 riots
- Li Zhensheng Chinese photojournalist who captured images from the Cultural Revolution.

External links


- [http://chinadigitaltimes.net China Digital Times]
- [http://www.orientalabels.com/ Labels with Cultural Revolution Posters, Badges, and History]
- [http://www.morningsun.org/ Morning Sun - A Film and Website about Cultural Revolution]
- [http://members.fortunecity.com/stalinmao/China/Cultural/Cultural.html Another website about the Cultural Revolution]
- [http://www.chinese-memorial.org/ Attempts to document using eyewitness accounts events during the Cultural Revolution]
- [http://debrisson.free.fr/maoism.html Chinese propaganda posters, Cultural Revolution statuettes, maoist stuff and revolutionary songs]
- [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,173-1693116,00.html Exhibition causes stir with candid views of 'great' Mao] The Times, July 14, 2005
- [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/02/AR2005060201916.html Chinese Museum Looks Back in Candor: Groundbreaking New Exhibit on Cultural Revolution Sparks Official Displeasure but Visitors' Pra

Wuhan

Wuhan () is the capital of Hubei province, and is the most populous city in central China. It lies at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han River. It has a population of approximately 8,310,000 people. In the 1920s, Wuhan was the capital of a leftist Chinese Nationalist government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek.

Geography

The metropolitan area consists of three parts - Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, commonly called the "Three Towns of Wuhan" (hence the name "Wuhan", combining "Wu" from the first city and "Han" from the other two). These three parts face each other across the rivers and are linked by bridges, including one of the first modern bridges in China, known as the First Bridge. It is simple in geographical structure - low and flat in the middle and hilly in the south, with the Yangtze and Han rivers winding through the city.

History

Hanyang The area was first settled more than 3,000 years ago. During the Han Dynasty, Hanyang became a fairly busy port. In the 3rd century AD, walls were built to protect Hanyang (AD 206) and Wuchang (AD 223). The latter event marks the foundation of Wuhan. In AD 223, the Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼) was constructed on the Wuchang side of the Yangtze River. Cui Hao, a celebrated poet of Tang Dynasty, visited the building in the early 8th Century; his poem made the building the most celebrated building in southern China. The city has long been renowned as a center for the arts (especially poetry) and for intellectual studies. Under the Mongol ruler (Yuan Dynasty), Wuchang was promoted to the status of provincial capital. By approximately 300 years ago, Hankou had become one of the country's top four trading towns. Yuan Dynasty] In the late 1800s railroads were extended on a north-south axis through this city, which then became an important transhipment point between rail and river traffic. At this time foreign powers extracted mercantile concessions, with the riverfront of Hankou being divided up into various foreign controlled merchant districts. These districts contained trading firm offices, warehouses, and docking facilities. In 1911, Sun Yat-sen's followers launched the Wuchang Uprising that led to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China. Wuhan was the capital of a leftist Kuomintang government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek during the 1920s. The city has been subject to numerous devastating floods, which are supposed to be controlled by the ambitious Three Gorges Dam. That project is set to be completed in 2009, but is plagued by environmental, technical, and social issues.

Major bridges

First bridge

The First Chang River Bridge at Wuhan was built over the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) in 1957, carrying the railroad directly across the river between Snake Hill (on the left in the picture below) and Turtle Hill. Before this bridge was built it could take up to an entire day to barge railcars across. Including its approaches, it is 5,511 feet (1680 m) long, and it accommodates both a double-track railway on a lower deck and a four lane roadway above.
railroad]]

The second bridge

The second bridge, a cable-stayed bridge, built of pre-stressed concrete, has a central span of 400 meters The Wuhan Second Changjiang River Bridge is 4,678 meters in length (including 1,877 meters of the main bridge) and 26.5 to 33.5 meters in width. Its main bridgeheads are 90 meters high each, pulling 392 thick slanting cables together in the shape of double fans, so that the central span of the bridge is well poised on the piers and the bridge's stability and vibration resistance are ensured. With six lanes on the deck, the bridge is designed to handle 50,009, motor vehicles passing every day.

The third bridge

The Third Wuhan Chang River Bridge was completed in September 2000. Construction on the Wuhan Baishazhou Bridge, which is located 8.6 kilometers north of the first Yangtze Bridge in Wuhan, started in 1997. With an investment of over 1.4 billion yuan (about 170 million U.S. dollars), the bridge, which is 3,586 meters long and 26.5 meters wide, has six lanes and has a capacity of 50,000 vehicles a day. The bridge is expected to serve as a major traffic hub for the future Wuhan Ring Road, greatly easing the city's traffic and aiding local economic development.

Tourist sites

cable-stayed


- The Hubei Provincial Museum includes many artifacts excavated from ancient tombs, including a magnificent and unique concert bell set. A dance and orchestral show is given here, using reproductions of the original instruments. cable-stayed
- The Rock and Bonsai Museum includes a magnificent mounted platybelodon skeleton, many unique and finely figured rocks, a giant quartz crystal (as large as an automobile) and an outdoor garden with miniature trees in the penjing ("Chinese Bonsai ") style.
- Some luxury Riverboat tours begin here after a flight from Beijing or Shanghai, with several days of flatland cruising and then climbing through the Three Gorges with passage upstream past the Gezhouba and Three Gorges dams to the city of Chongqing. With the completion of the dam a number of cruises now start from the upstream side and continue east, with tourists traveling by motor coach from Wuhan. Although there is no longer the excitement of fast water cruising through the three gorges, and some of the historic wall carvings will soon be underwater, much of the drama of the high cliffs and narrow passages remains. Chongqing
- The Yellow Crane Tower (aka. Huanghelou), modern in structure, ancient in lore and legend. This tower has been destroyed and reconstructed numerous times, was burned last in 1884. Reconstruction took place in 1981. The reconstruction utilized modern materials and even includes an elevator, yet in outward appearance and detail is true in spirit to the traditional design of the tower through the centuries.
- Jiqing Street(吉庆街), a street full of road side restaurants and street performers during the evening, well-known by Chinese due to a novel Live Show (生活秀) with stories of events on this street by Chi Li. It's a great place to know how locals live, eat, and to enjoy some local performance. Each song costs around 10 RMB, and you can order 3 songs with 20 RMB, provided you know those song names in Chinese. Performances include pop music, folk songs, rock'n'roll, stand-up comedy, and so on, mostly in Chinese or local dialect.

Economy

Wuhan is a sub-provincial city. The GDP per capita was approximately RMB23,500 (US$12,200 on Purchasing power parity basis) in 2004.

Colleges and Universities

[National] [Public] Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

Popular foods


- Re Gan Mian is a kind of noodle which is very popular in this city.
- Ya Bo Zi (鸭脖子) is a local version of this popular Chinese dish, made of duck necks and spices.

Famous people


- Dong Bi Wu is the first Mayor of Wuhan after the founding of People's Republic of China.
- Modern Writer Chi Li is from Wuhan.
- Tennis Players Li Na and Li Ting are from Wuhan and reside in Hankou.
- Famous Diving Players Fu Mingxia is from Wuhan and resided in Hankou.
- Famous table tennis player Qiao Hong is from Wuhan.

Astronomical phenomena


- The next total solar eclipse fully visible at Wuhan will be the Solar eclipse of 2009-Jul-22 to occur on July 22, 2009
- The last total solar eclipse fully visible at Wuhan was on September 21, 1941

See also


- List of capitals of subnational entities

External links


- [http://www3.wuhan.gov.cn/portal/english/index.htm Official site, in English]
- [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=wuhan,+china&ll=30.545704,114.285278&spn=.217412,.271036&t=k&hl=en Google map centered on First Bridgel] Category:Cities in Hubei Category:Subprovincial cities ja:武漢

Intercontinental ballistic missile

An intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, is a very-long-range (greater than 5500 km) ballistic missile typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery, i.e., delivering one or more nuclear warheads. It uses a ballistic trajectory involving a significant ascent and descent, including sub-orbital flight. ICBMs are differentiated by maximum range from other ballistic missiles: intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs), short-range ballistic missiles, and the newly named theater ballistic missiles. One particular weapon developed by the Soviet Union (FOBS) had a partial orbital trajectory, and unlike most ICBMs its target could not be deduced from its orbital flight path. It was decommissioned in compliance with arms control agreements, which address the maximum range of ICBMs and prohibit orbital or fractional-orbital weapons. The following nations currently have operational ICBM systems: Russia, the United States, France [http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/nudb/datab16.asp], the UK, and China. India has IRBMs but is developing ICBMs, see ballistic missiles of India. (Pakistan's ballistic missiles are IRBMs.) In 2002, the United States and Russia agreed in the SORT treaty to reduce their deployed stockpiles to not more than 2,200 warheads each.

Flight phases

The following flight phases can be distinguished:
- boost phase - 3 to 4 minutes (for a solid rocket shorter than for a liquid-propellant rocket); altitude at the end of this phase is 150 -200 km, typical burn-out speed is 7 km/s
- midcourse phase - ca. 25 minutes - suborbital flight in an elliptic orbit, i.e. the orbit is part of an ellipse with vertical major axis; the apogee (halfway the midcourse phase) is at an altitude of typically ca. 1200 km; the semi-major axis is between one half of the radius of the Earth and the radius; the projection of the orbit on the Earth's surface is a great circle - the missile may release several independent warheads, a large number of decoys, and chaff
- reentry phase (starting at an altitude of 100 km) - 2 minutes See also Missile Defense Agency.

History

The progenitor of the ICBM was the German A9/10, which was never developed but only proposed by Wernher von Braun. The progenitor of the IRBM was the German V2 (Vergeltung, or "vengeance") rocket designed by von Braun that used liquid propellant and an inertial guidance system. It was launched from a mobile launcher in order to make it less susceptible to Allied air attacks. Following World War 2 von Braun and his lead scientist went to work directly for the US Army through Operation Paperclip developing the V2 into the Redstone IRBM and Jupiter IRBM. Due to treaty agreements the US was able to base these IRBMs in countries close to the USSR within strategic range. The USSR had no similar territory in the 1950s so under the direction of Sergei Korolev a crash programme to develop an ICBM began which at one stage consumed 5% of the entire Soviet military budget. Korolev was given access to captured V2 materials but evolved a distinct design, the R-7, that was declared 'operational' in 1957. Competition between the US armed services meant that each force developed its own ICBM programme slowing progress. The US's first ICBM was the Atlas operational in 1959. Both the R7 and Atlas required a large launch facility making them vulnerable to attack and could not be kept in a ready state. Early ICBMs formed the basis of many space launch systems. Examples include: Atlas, Redstone rocket, Titan, R-7, and Proton, derived from the earlier ICBMS, but never deployed as an ICBM. The UK built its own ICBM Black Knight but it was never made operational due to the difficulty of finding a launch site away from population centres. Under the direction of Robert McNamara the US initiated the LGM-30 Minuteman, Polaris and Skybolt solid fuel ICBMs. Modern ICBMs tend to be smaller than their ancestors (due to increased accuracy and smaller and lighter warheads) and use solid fuels, making them less useful as orbital launch vehicles. Deployment of these systems was governed by the strategic theory of Mutually Assured Destruction. In the 1970s development began of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems by both the US and USSR but these were restricted by treaty in order to preserve the value of the existing ICBM systems. President Ronald Reagan launched the Strategic Defense Initiative as well as the MX and Midgetman ICBM programmes. This led to the agreement of a series of Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty negotiations. Countries in the early stages of developing ICBMs have all used liquid propellants for simplicity's sake.

Modern ICBMs

Modern ICBMs typically carry multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a separate nuclear warhead, allowing a single missile to hit multiple targets. MIRV was an outgrowth of the rapidly shrinking size and weight of modern warheads and the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties which imposed limitations on the number of launch vehicles(SALT I and SALT II). It has also proved to be an "easy answer" to proposed deployments of ABM systems – it is far less expensive to add more warheads to an existing missile system than to build an ABM system capable of shooting down the additional warheads; hence, most ABM system proposals have been judged to be impractical. The only operational ABM systems were deployed in the 1970s, the US Safeguard ABM facility was located in North Dakota and was operational from 1975-1976. The USSR deployed its Galosh ABM system around Moscow in the 1970s, which remains in service. ICBMs are based:
- in missile silos, which offer some protection from military attack (including, the designers hope, some protection from a nuclear first strike)
- on submarines: submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs); most or all SLBMs have the long range of ICBMs (as opposed to IRBMs)
- on heavy trucks; this applies to one version of the RT-2UTTH Topol M which may be deployed from a self-propelled mobile launcher, capable of moving through roadless terrain, and launching a missile from any point along its route
- mobile launchers on rails; this applies, for example, to РТ-23УТТХ "Молодец" (RT-23UTTH "Molodets" -- SS-24 "Sсаlреl") The last three kinds are mobile and therefore hard to find. During storage, one of the most important features of the missile is its serviceability. One of the key features of the first computer-controlled ICBM, the Minuteman missile was that it could quickly and easily use its computer to test itself. In flight, a booster pushes the warhead, and then falls away. Most modern boosters are solid-fueled rocket motors, which can be stored easily for long periods of time. Early missiles used liquid-fueled rocket motors. Liquid-fueled ICBMs were generally not kept fueled all the time, and therefore fueling the rocket was necessary before a launch. This annoying procedure was a source of significant operational delay, and therefore might cause the rockets to be destroyed before they could be used. It also provided opponents with intelligence because it was a definite observable event that indicated the start of an attack. Once the booster falls away, the warhead falls on an unpowered path, much like an orbit, except that it hits the earth at some point. Moving in this way is stealthy. No rocket gases or other emissions occur to indicate the missile's position to defenders. Also, it is the fastest way to get from one part of the Earth to another. This increases the element of surprise. The high speeds of a ballistic warhead (near 5 miles per second) also make it difficult to intercept. Many authorities say that missiles also release aluminized balloons, electronic noisemakers, and other items intended to confuse interception devices and radars. The high speed can cause the missile to get very hot as it reenters the atmosphere. Ballistic warheads are protected by heatshields constructed of materials such as pyrolytic graphite, and in early missiles, thick plywood. Plywood approaches the strength per weight of carbon fiber/epoxy composites, and chars slowly, protecting the missile. Accuracy is crucial, because doubling the accuracy decreases the needed warhead energy by a factor of four. Accuracy is limited by the accuracy of the navigation system, and the available geophysical information. Many authorities believe that most government-supported geophysical mapping initiatives, such as GPS, and ocean satellite altitude systems such as Seasat, probably have a covert purpose to map mass concentrations and determine local gravitic anomalies, in order to improve accuracies of ballistic missiles. Strategic missile systems are thought to use custom integrated circuits designed to calculate navigational differential equations thousands to millions of times per second in order to reduce navigational errors caused by calculation alone. These circuits are usually a network of binary addition circuits that continually recalculate the missile's position. The inputs to the navigation circuit are set by a general purpose computer according to a navigational input schedule loaded into the missile before launch. The low flying, guided cruise missile is an alternative to ballistic missiles.

Specific missiles

Land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and cruise missiles

The US Air Force currently operates just over 500 ICBMs at around 15 missile complexes located primarily in the northern Rocky Mountain states and the Dakotas. These are of the LGM-30 Minuteman III and Peacekeeper ICBM variants. Peacekeeper missiles are being phased out by 2005. All USAF Minuteman II missiles have been destroyed in accordance to START, and their launch silos sealed or sold to the public. To comply with the START II most US multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles, or MIRVs, have been eliminated and replaced with single warhead missiles. However, since the abandonment of the START II treaty, the U.S. is said to be considering retaining 800 warheads on 500 missiles.[http://www.thebulletin.org/issues/nukenotes/mj04nukenote.html] The United States Air Force awards two badges for performing duty in a nuclear missile silo. The Missile Badge is presented to commissioned officers while the Space and Missile Pin is awarded to silo ground and support personnel.

Sea-based ICBMs


- The US Navy currently has 14 Ohio-class SSBNs deployed. Each submarine is equipped with a complement of 24 Trident missiles, eight with Trident I missiles, and ten with Trident II missiles.
- The French Navy constantly maintains at least four active units, relying on two classes of nuclear-powered ballistic submarines (SSBN): the older Redoutable class, which are being progressively decommissioned, and the newer Triomphant class. These carry 16 M45 missiles with TN75 warheads, and are scheduled to be upgraded to M51 nuclear missile around 2010.
- The UK's Royal Navy has four Vanguard class submarines, each armed with 16 Trident II SLBMs.
- China's People's Liberation Army Navy has one Xia class submarine with 12 single-warhead JL-1 SLBMs. The PLAN is also developing the new Type 094 SSBN that will have up to 16 JL-2 SLBMs (possibly MIRV), which are also in development.

Current and former US ballistic missiles


- Atlas (SM-65, CGM-16) former ICBM launched from silo, now the rocket is used for other purposes
- Titan I (SM-68, HGM-25A)
- Titan II (SM-68B, LGM-25C) - former ICBM launched from silo, now the rocket is used for other purposes
- Minuteman I (SM-80, LGM-30A/B, HSM-80)
- Minuteman II (LGM-30F)
- Minuteman III (LGM-30G) - launched from silo - as of June 28, 2004, there are 517 Minuteman III missiles in active inventory
- LG-118A Peacekeeper / MX (LG-118A, MX) - silo-based; 29 missiles were on alert at the beginning of 2004; all are to be removed from service by 2005.
- Midgetman - has never been operational - launched from mobile launcher
- Polaris A1, A2, A3 - (UGM-27/A/B/C) former SLBM
- Poseidon C3 - (UGM-73) former SLBM
- Trident - (UGM-93A/B) SLBM - Trident II (D5) was first deployed in 1990 and is planned to be deployed past 2020.

Soviet/Russian

Specific types of Soviet/Russian ICBMs include:
- SS-6 SAPWOOD / R-7 / 8K71
- SS-7 SADDLER / R-16
- SS-8 SASIN / R9
- SS-9 SCARP
- SS-11 SEGO
- SS-17 SPANKER
- SS-18 SATAN / R-36M2 / Voivode
- SS-19 STILLETO
- SS-24 SCALPEL / RT-23
- SS-25 SICKLE / Topol
- SS-27 / Topol-M

People's Republic of China

Specific types of Chinese ICBMs called Dong Feng ("East Wind").
- DF-3 - cancelled. Program name transferred to a MRBM.
- DF-4 (CSS-3) - silo, 7,000km range
- DF-5 CSS-4 - silo, 12,000km range (replaced now with DF-5A 13,000km)
- DF-6 - cancelled
- DF-22 - cancelled by 1995.
- DF-31 CSS-9 - silo and road mobile, 8,000km range (DF-31A 10,000km)
- DF-41 CSS-X-10 - in development.

Ballistic missile submarines

Specific types of ballistic missile submarines include:
- George Washington class
- Ethan Allen class
- Lafayette class
- Benjamin Franklin class
- Ohio class
- Resolution class
- Vanguard class
- Typhoon class
- Delta IV class
- Redoutable class
- Triomphant class
- Xia class
- Additional Soviet/Russian ballistic missile submarines

See also


- The United States and weapons of mass destruction
- Russia and weapons of mass destruction
- China and weapons of mass destruction
- France and weapons of mass destruction
- SLBM
- Anti-ballistic missile
- Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
- nuclear disarmament
- nuclear navy
- nuclear warfare
- Force de frappe
- submarine
- Fractional Orbital Bombardment System
- Strategic triad
- Air Force Space Command
- ICBM address

External links


- [http://es.rice.edu/projects/Poli378/Nuclear/f04.stratg_invent.html Estimated Strategic Nuclear Weapons Inventories (September 2004)]
- [http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/icbm/index.html Intercontinental Ballistic and Cruise Missiles] Category:Intercontinental ballistic missiles ms:Peluru berpandu balistik jarak benua ja:大陸間弾道ミサイル



Taiwan

Taiwan (; Taiwanese: Tâi-oân) is an island in East Asia located off the coast of mainland China, south of Japan and north of the Philippines. "Taiwan" is commonly used to refer to the territories currently governed by the Republic of China (ROC), which include the Taiwan island group (including Lanyu (Orchid Island) and Green Island), the Pescadores in the Taiwan Strait, Quemoy and Matsu off the coast of mainland Fujian, and Taiping and the Pratas in the South China Sea. The current political status of Taiwan in contested by the People's Republic of China, which claims it as one of its provinces. The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa (Portuguese sailors called it Ilha Formosa, which means "beautiful island"), is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean, to the south by the South China Sea and the Luzon Strait, to the west by the Taiwan Strait and to the north by the East China Sea. The island is 394 kilometers (245 miles) long and 144 kilometers (89 miles) wide and consists of steep mountains covered by tropical and subtropical vegetation.

Political status

Main article: Political status of Taiwan In 1895, Taiwan, including the Pescadores, became a Japanese colony, a concession by the Qing Empire after it lost the First Sino-Japanese War. After Japan's defeat at the end of World War II in 1945, Allied Command ordered Japanese troops in Taiwan to surrender to the Republic of China (ROC) and ROC became the de facto ruler of Taiwan ever since. In 1949, upon losing the Chinese Civil War to the Communist Party of China, the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) of the Republic of China retreated from mainland China and moved the ROC government to Taipei, Taiwan's largest city, while continuing to claim sovereignty over all of China and Mongolia. On the mainland, the Communists established the People's Republic of China (PRC), claiming to be the sole representative of China including Taiwan and portraying the ROC government on Taiwan as an illegitimate entity. Taiwan has been transformed into a major industrialized economy and is touted as one of the East Asian Tigers. Meanwhile, political reforms beginning in the late 1970s and continuing through the early 1990s liberalized the Republic of China from an authoritarian one-party state into a multiparty democracy. In 2000, the KMT's monopoly on power ended after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the ROC presidency. Besides groups seeking the reunification of Taiwan with the mainland, there is a Taiwan independence movement that seeks to establish a Taiwanese republic. The competing claims over the future of Taiwan have made and continue to make Taiwan's political status a contentious issue. The numbers who answer favorably toward any particular resolution often changes depending on the particular wording of the question, illustrating the complexity of public opinion on the topic. The political environment is complicated by the potential for military conflict to result should overt actions toward independence be taken. It is the policy of the PRC to reserve the right to "use force to ensure reunification" if peaceful reunification fails, and there are substantial military installations on the Fujian coast. In return, the US has provided military training and arms sales to the ROC. However, the United States has repeatedly stated that it does not condone the Taiwan independence movement, and furthermore that it does not support unilateral changes in the current status quo by either the ROC or PRC leadership. The KMT supports the status quo for the indefinite future with the ultimate goal of reunificaiton because unification under the current political climate in PRC is unacceptable to its members and the public. The DPP, which supports an independent Taiwan, supports the status quo because the risk of declaring independence and provoking mainland China is unacceptable to its members. However, both parties support taking active steps to advocate ROC's participation in international organizations. Currently there are 25 states -- mostly small, developing nations in Africa and Central America -- that have diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, although many countries such as the United States and United Kingdom have de-facto embassies in the ROC. The United States, for example, maintains unofficial diplomatic relations through the American Institute in Taiwan. ROC's de facto embassies are referred to as "Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices" (TECRO), with branch offices, the equivalent of consulates, called "Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices" (TECO). Each year since 1992, the government of the Republic of China petitions the UN for entry but has so far been unsuccessful because most countries, including the United States, do not wish to engage in the issue of ROC's political status for fears of souring diplomatic ties with PRC, although both the US and Japan publicly support ROC's bid into the World Health Organization as an observer. Without official support from the international community, it is unclear how the pro-independence contingent's vision of Taiwanese independence can be achieved. Facing tremendous pressure from PRC, the ROC uses the name Chinese Taipei in the Olympics and other international events, usually of which PRC is also a party.

History

Main article: History of Taiwan History of Taiwan

Prehistory and early settlement

Evidence of human settlement in Taiwan dates back 30,000 years, although the first inhabitants of Taiwan may have been genetically distinct from any groups currently on the island. About 4,000 years ago, ancestors of current Taiwanese aborigines settled Taiwan. These aborigines are genetically related to Malay and Polynesians, and linguists classify their language as Austronesian. Records indicate that Han Chinese settled in Penghu since the 1100s, but it was not until later that people other than aborigines permanently settled in the main island of Taiwan. Records from ancient China indicate that Han Chinese might have known of the existence of the main island of Taiwan since the Three Kingdoms period (third century), having assigned offshore islands in the vicinity names like Greater and Minor Liuqiu (Ryukyu), though none of these names have been definitively matched to the main island of Taiwan. It has been claimed but not verified that the Ming Dynasty admiral Zheng He visited Taiwan between 1403 and 1424. In the 15th century, a Portuguese ship sighted the main island of Taiwan and dubbed it "Ilha Formosa", which means "Beautiful Island." The Portuguese made no attempt to colonize Taiwan. In 1624, the Dutch established a commercial base on Taiwan and began to import workers from Fujian and Penghu as laborers, many of whom settled. The Dutch made Taiwan a colony with its colonial capital at Tainan.

Koxinga and imperial Chinese rule

Ming naval and troop forces defeated the Dutch from the island in 1662, subsequently expelling the Dutch government and military. They were led by Lord Cheng Cheng-Kung (also known as Lord Koxinga), a pirate turned Ming navy commander. Following the fall of the Ming dynasty, Cheng retreated to Taiwan as a self-styled Ming loyalist, and established the Kingdom of Tungning (1662–1683). Cheng establishing his capital at Tainan and he and his heirs continued to launch raids on the east coast of mainland China well into the Qing dynasty, in an attempt to recover the mainland. In 1683, the Qing dynasty defeated the Cheng holdout, and formally annexed Taiwan, placing it under the jurisdiction of Fujian province. Following the defeat of Cheng's grandson to an armada led by Admiral Shi Lang, Cheng's followers were expatriated to the farthest reaches of the Qing empire, leaving approximately 7,000 Han on Taiwan. The Qing government wrestled with its Taiwan policy to reduce piracy and vagrancy in the area, which led to a series of edicts to manage immigration and respect aboriginal land rights. Illegal immigrants from Fujian continued to enter Taiwan as renters of the large plots of aboriginal lands under contracts that usually involved marriage, while the border between taxpaying lands and "savage" lands migrated east, with some aborigines 'Sinicizing' while others retreated into the mountains. During this time, there were a number of conflicts involving Han Chinese from different regions of China, and between Han Chinese and aborigines. The bulk of Taiwan's population today, the "native" Taiwanese, claim descent from these migrants. In 1887, the Qing government of China made Taiwan a province by itself, the 20th in the country, with capital at Taipei. The move was accompanied by a modernization drive that included the building of the first railroad and the beginning of a postal service in Taiwan.

Japanese colonial rule

Taiwanese Following its defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), Qing China ceded Taiwan and Penghu (the Pescadores) to Japan in perpetuity, on terms dictated by the latter. Inhabitants wishing to remain Qing subjects were given a 2-year grace period to sell their property and move to the mainland. On May 25, 1895, the Republic of Taiwan was formed with a dynastic name of "Forever Qing" and with capital at Tainan, to resist impending Japanese rule. Japanese forces entered the capital and quelled this resistance on October 21, 1895. As opposed to elsewhere in Asia, Japan attempted to use Taiwan as a model colony and was instrumental in the industrialization of the island; they extended the railroads that had just sprung up in late Qing rule, built a sanitation system and a public school system, among other things. Still, the Chinese-speaking residents and aborigines were classified as second and third class citizens. Large scale violence continued in the first decade of rule. Around 1935, the Japanese began an island-wide assimilation project to bind the island more firmly to the Japanese Empire. By 1945, just before Japan lost World War II, desperate plans were in place to incorporate popular representation of Taiwan into the Japanese Diet to make Taiwan an integral part of Japan proper. Japan's rule of Taiwan came to an end with its defeat in World War II. Its signing of the Instrument of Surrender on August 15, 1945, signaled that Taiwan was to be returned to China, one of the Allied objectives from the wartime declarations. On October 25, 1945, ROC troops, representing the Allied Command, accepted the formal surrender of Japanese military forces in Taihoku (today: Taipei). However, due to the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communists, the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty between Japan and the Allies failed to name the recipient of Taiwan's sovereignty.

Republic of China era

San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1946. There is little evidence that the people of Taiwan actually elected these delegates.]] San Francisco Peace Treaty The ROC administration announced October 25, 1945, as "Taiwan Retrocession Day." Reportedly, they were greeted as liberators by the island residents. However, the ROC military administration on Taiwan under Chen Yi, was extremely corrupt. This corruption, compounded with a period of hyperinflation, unrest due to the Chinese Civil War, and distrust due to political, cultural and lingual differences that had developed between the Taiwanese and the newcomers, quickly led to the loss of popular support for the new administration. This culminated in a series of severe clashes between the ROC administration and "native" Taiwanese, in turn leading to the bloody 228 incident and the reign of white terror. At the same time, the Chinese Civil War was in progress. In 1949, the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party or KMT), which at the time controlled the government of the ROC, retreated to Taiwan after continued military defeats at the hands of the Communist Party of China drove it from most parts of the mainland. Some 1.3 million refugees from mainland China arrived in Taiwan around that time. Initially, the United States abandoned the KMT and expected that Taiwan would fall to the Communists. However, in 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, and in the context of the Cold War, US President Harry S. Truman intervened again and dispatched the 7th Fleet into the Taiwan Straits to "neutralize" the Straits. In the San Francisco Peace Treaty, which came into force on April 28, 1952, and the Treaty of Taipei, concluded hours before that date, Japan formally renounced all right, claim and title to Formosa (Taiwan) and the Pescadores (Peng-hu), and renounced all treaties signed with China before 1942. Both treaties remained silent about who would take control of the island, in part to avoid taking sides in the ongoing Chinese Civil War. Advocates of Taiwan independence have used this omission to justify self-determination. During the 1960s and 1970s, Taiwan began to develop into a prosperous and dynamic economy, becoming one of the East Asian Tigers while maintaining an authoritarian, one-party government. Because of the Cold War, most Western nations and the United Nations regarded the Republic of China government on Taiwan as the sole legitimate government of China until the 1970s, when most nations began switching recognition to the People's Republic of China. After Chiang Kai-Shek died in 1975 his Vice-President, Yen Chia-kan, briefly took over from 1975 to 1978. During the presidency of Chiang Ching-kuo, from 1978 to 1987, Taiwan's political system began a gradual liberalization. Martial law, which had been in effect since 1948, was lifted in 1987. Upon Chiang's death, Vice President Lee Teng-hui succeeded him as president of the ROC and chairman of the KMT, and effective one-party rule was ended in 1991. Lee became the first Taiwanese to become the president during KMT rule. In 2000, President Chen Shui-bian of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party was elected, creating the first peaceful democratic transition in power. After surviving a politically controversial assassination attempt which the opposition claimed as staged to win sympathy votes the night before the 2004 election, Chen was re-elected by a slim margin. Medical and police investigation have verified that the wounds sustained by President Chen and Vice President Annette Lu are real, and no evidence has been found suggesting that the assassination was staged. See also
- Timeline of Taiwanese history
- History of the Republic of China
- History of China

Political divisions

Main article: Political divisions of the Republic of China Taiwan Island contains all but one county of Taiwan Province: 15 counties and all five province-administered cities. Penghu (the Pescadores) is the only county in Taiwan Province which is not on Taiwan. Taiwan's two largest cities, Taipei City and Kaohsiung City, although on the island of Taiwan, are not part of Taiwan Province but are centrally-administered municipalities, with the same level as provinces. Since 1998, the provincial tier of government has been largely eliminated, leaving the county the main division under the central government. Currently, in addition to the main island of Taiwan, the Republic of China also controls the Pescadores, Kinmen (Quemoy), and Matsu islands situated in the Taiwan Strait off the coast of mainland Fujian (Fuchien), plus some Pacific Coast islands (notably the Green and Orchid islands). Furthermore, the ROC also claims some islands in the South China Sea. Some of these outer islands, notably the Spratly (Nansha) islands -- claimed by PRC, ROC and some southeastern Asian countries simultaneously --in the South China Sea and the Senkaku (Diaoyutai) islands -- occupied by Japan now but disputed by both PRC and ROC --in the Pacific Coast.

Geography

Senkaku Main article: Geography of Taiwan The island of Taiwan lies some 200 kilometers off the southeastern coast of China, across the Taiwan Strait, and has an area of 35,801 square kilometers (13,823 square miles), with the East China Sea to the north, the Philippine Sea to the east, the Luzon Strait directly to the south and the South China Sea to the southwest. The island is characterised by the contrast between the eastern two-thirds, consisting mostly of rugged mountains running in five ranges from the northern to the southern tip of the island, and the flat to gently rolling plains in the west that are also home to most of Taiwan's population. Taiwan's highest point is the Yu Shan at 3,952 meters. Taiwan's climate is marine tropical. The rainy season lasts from June to August during the southwest monsoon, though cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year. Natural hazards include typhoons and earthquakes. Taiwan is a center of bird endemism. See Endemic Birds of Taiwan for further information. With its high population density and many factories, Taiwan suffers from heavy pollution. According to one report, Taiwan ranks 119 out of 143 countries examined by [http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/taiwanenv.html Energy Information Administration]. Taipei City suffers from heavy air pollution as a result of the ring of mountains that surrounds it, effectively trapping soot and smog in the city.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Taiwan ROC's population was estimated in 2005 as being 22.9 million, most of which are on Taiwan. About 98 percent of the population is of Han Chinese ethnicity. Of these people, 84 percent are descendants of early Han immigrants known as native Taiwanese (c: 本省人; p: Bensheng ren; lit. "home-province person"). This group contains two subgroups. The first subgroup is the Southern Fujianese (70 percent of the total population), who migrated from the coastal Southern Fujian region in the southeast of mainland China. The second subgroup is the Hakka (15 percent of the total population), who originally migrated south to Guangdong, its surrounding areas and Taiwan, intermarrying extensively with Taiwanese aborigines. The remaining 14 percent of Han Chinese are known as Mainlanders (外省人; Waisheng ren; lit. "external-province person") and are composed of and descend from immigrants who arrived after the Second World War. This group fled mainland China in 1949 following the Nationalist defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Dalu ren (大陸人) refers to residents of Mainland China. This group excludes almost all Taiwanese, including the Mainlanders, except recent immigrants from mainland China, such as those made Republic of China citizens through marriage. The other 2 percent of Taiwan's population, numbering about 440,000, are the Taiwanese aborigines (原住民; yuánzhùmín; lit. "original inhabitants"), divided into 12 major groups: Ami, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Puyuma, Rukai, Tsou, Saisiyat, Yami, Thao, Kavalan and Taroko.

Languages

Almost everyone on Taiwan born after the early 1950s can speak Mandarin, which was forced on the mainly Taiwanese/Japanese speaking population in a heavy-handed way, when the KMT came to Taiwan. It became the official language of Taiwan, via the Republic of China, and has been the medium of instruction in the schools for more than four decades. Under KMT rule, Taiwanese was forbidden from the airwaves and in official situations, and students received corporal punishment, as they did for many other infractions, for speaking Taiwanese, Hakka, or Aboriginal languages in school. Today, non-Mandarin native languages have undergone a revival in Taiwan. A large fraction of people speak Taiwanese, a variant of Min-nan, and a majority understand it. A large proportion speak Hakka, which has a distinct Hakka language/dialect. Between 1900 and 1945, Japanese was the medium of instruction, and many Taiwanese educated during that period can speak fluent Japanese. All Taiwanese schools today teach English, resulting in a trilingual population, many of whom speak even more languages, though the average student rarely reaches fluency. Chinese romanization on Taiwan uses both Tongyong pinyin, which the national government officially has adopted, and Hanyu pinyin, which some localities use. Wade-Giles, used traditionally, also is found. Mayor Ma Ying-jeou recently changed all Taipei street names to the Hanyu form, although most romanizations in other cities still are in Tongyong and addresses are generally written in Tongyong. Most aboriginal groups in Taiwan have their own languages, and unlike Taiwanese or Hakka, do not belong to the Chinese language family, but rather belong to the Austronesian language family. Mandarin is still the languge of instruction in schools and predominate television and airwaves.

Religion

About half of the ROC population is religious, and most of these people identify themselves as Buddhists or Taoists. Belief in folk religion also is prevalent, and many people practice some combination of these three faiths. Confucianism is also an honored school of thought and ethical code. Christian churches have been active on Taiwan for many years; a majority of these churches are Protestant, with Presbyterians playing a particularly significant role.

Economy

Presbyterian Main article: Economy of Taiwan Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing state involvement in investment and foreign trade. In keeping with this trend, the government is privatizing some large banks and industrial firms. Real growth in gross domestic product has averaged about 8 percent during the past three decades. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest. The ROC has its own currency: the New Taiwan Dollar. Agriculture constitutes only 2 percent of GDP, down from 35 percent in 1952. Traditional labor-intensive industries are moving steadily offshore, with more capital- and technology-intensive industries replacing them. Taiwan has become a major investor in mainland China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam; around 50,000 Taiwanese businesses are established in mainland China. Taiwan is one of the largest foreign investors in mainland China. Because of its conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths, Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbors from the Asian financial crisis in 1998–1999. The global economic downturn, however, combined with poor policy coordination by the new administration and increasing bad debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into recession in 2001, the first whole year of negative growth since 1947. Due to the relocation of many manufacturing and labor-intensive industries to mainland China, unemployment also peaked at a level last seen during the 1970s oil crisis. This problem became one of the major issues in the presidential election of 2004. The unemployment rate eventually declined after the government adopted a few economy-stimulating measures. The ROC has entered international governmental trade organizations such as the World Trade Organization and APEC under the name Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (台灣、澎湖、金門及馬祖個別關稅領域) in WTO and under the name Chinese Taipei in APEC. Although the PRC objects to having other countries maintain diplomatic or official relations with the ROC, it made no objection to having the ROC maintain economic relations. However, under PRC pressure, the ROC joined governmental organizations under different names. The opening of the Taipei Financial Center, also know as Taipei 101 due to its number of floors, on December 31, 2004, brought more world recognition to Taiwan and Taipei. Taipei 101, equipped with the world's fastest elevators, is the world's tallest building. The surrounding financial district is steadily becoming more recognized in the world market, and a trendy shopping district is rapidly growing around it as well. Along with Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong, Taiwan is known as one of the East Asian Tigers. [http://www.eh.net/encyclopedia/?article=olds.taiwan.economic.history]

References

See also


- List of Taiwan-related topics (by category)
- Cinema of Taiwan
- Communications in the Republic of China
- Demographics of Taiwan
- Economy of Taiwan
- Holidays in the Republic of China
- Literature of Taiwan
- Music of Taiwan
- Military of Taiwan
- Taiwanese aborigine
- Taiwanese cuisine
- Taiwanese language
- Taiwanese photography
- Timeline of Taiwanese history
- Transportation in the Republic of China

External links

Government


- [http://www.gio.gov.tw Government Information Office] - government information portal
- [http://www.cwb.gov.tw/V4e/index.htm Central Weather Bureau] - local weather and earthquake reports
- [http://english.www.gov.tw/e-Gov/index.jsp Electronic Government] - e-government, entry point of Taiwan

Tourism


- [http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/north_east_asia/taiwan/ Lonely Planet Destination Taiwan] - travel guide
- [http://wikitravel.org/en/article/Taiwan Taiwan travel guide at Wikitravel]
- [http://www.tbroc.gov.tw/lan/cht/index/ Taiwan Tourism Bureau] - local travel news
- [http://site.voila.fr/taiwan/index.html Taiwan from inside] - Pictures of the daily life in Taiwan

Taiwan news in English


- [http://www.taiwanheadlines.com/ Taiwan Headlines -- news via Taiwan's Government Information Office]
- [http://en.pots.com.tw/ "POTS EXTRA, Taipei's Free Weekly"]
- [http://www.cbs.org.tw/ Radio Taiwan International]
- [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/ Taipei Times]
- [http://www.cna.com.tw/eng/ Taiwan Central News Agency]
- [http://news.cens.com/ Taiwan Economic News]
- [http://www.etaiwannews.com/ Taiwan News]
- [http://www.chinapost.com.tw/ The China Post]

Misc.


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1285915.stm Country Profile on BBC]
- [http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/ China History Forums]
- [http://www.taiwannation.com.tw History of Taiwan from a TI perspective]
- [http://wufi.org/english.html WUFI - World United Formosans for Independence] Category:Disputed territories Category:Republic of China
- ja:台湾 ko:중화민국 ms:Taiwan simple:Taiwan th:ไต้หวัน zh-min-nan:Tâi-oân

Blue water navy

Few navies of the world can be considered to be blue water navies. The term principally describes a navy that has a credible and balanced (deep ocean) power projection capability ie they can operate effectively beyond their national shores. A navy which is not a blue water navy is called a Brown Water Navy. A clear way of distinguising this power is through their ability to deploy a credible force overseas, aka a Task Force, or any other deployment. Naval Powers that are at present considered to fall into this category are:
- France (Marine Nationale)
- United Kingdom (Royal Navy)
- USA (United States Navy )
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Soviet aircraft carrier Kuznetsov

The Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov (originally named Tbilisi) was intended to be the lead ship of the Kuznetsov-class of aircraft carriers (also known as Project 1143.5, the Brezhnev class, or the Kreml class) but the only other ship of her class, the Varyag, has never been commissioned and was sold to the People's Republic of China by Ukraine under the condition she would never be refitted for combat. She was named after the Soviet admiral Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov. Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov

Design of the class

Intended missions

While designated an aircraft carrier, Kuznetsovs design implies a mission different from that of either the United States Navy's carriers or those of the Royal Navy's. The Russian ship is termed by her builders to be a tyazholiy avionosnyy kreyser - a "heavy aviation cruiser" - intended to support and defend strategic missile-carrying submarines, surface ships, and maritime missile-carrying aircraft of the Russian fleet. This designation is used deliberately by the Soviet/Russian navy to circumvent the refusal by Turkey to let aircraft carriers pass the Dardanelles between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The aircraft of the Kuznetsov are essentially constrained to air superiority operations. The lack of catapults on the Kuznetsov precludes launching strike aircraft with heavy loads, which makes it essentially impossible for aircraft to attack land or naval targets. The carrier can carry helicopters for anti-submarine operations, however, and she also carries anti-shipping missiles.

Hull and Flight Deck

The hull design is based on the earlier Admiral Gorshkov, launched in 1982, but is larger. The flight deck area is 14,700 m² and aircraft take-off is assisted by a bow ski-jump angled at 12º. The Kuznetsov has a STOBAR configuration; the flight deck is equipped with arrester wires but has no catapults. Two starboard lifts carry aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck.

Airwing

The ship has the capacity to support 16 Yakovlev Yak-41M (NATO reporting name "Freestyle"), twelve Sukhoi Su-33, 5 Sukhoi Su-25UTG fixed-wing aircraft and a range of helicopters including four Kamov Ka-27-LD (NATO reporting name "Helix"), 18 Ka-27 PLO, and two Ka-27-S.

Armament

Unlike more conventional aircraft carriers, which carry virtually no organic armament, Kuznetsov has a Granit (NATO reporting name SS-N-19 "Shipwreck") anti-ship missile system equipped with twelve surface-to-surface missile launchers. The Klinok air defence missile system, with 24 vertical launchers and 192 missiles, defends the ship against anti-ship missiles, aircraft and surface ships. The heavy surface to surface armament is necessitated by the ship's lack of catapults, which makes launching fully loaded strike craft an impossibility. The Kashstan Air Defence Gun and Missile System, supplied by the Instrument Design Bureau and Tulamashzavod JSC in Tula, provides defence against precision weapons including anti-ship and anti-radar missiles, aircraft and small sea targets. Eight systems are fitted, combining missile launcher, 30 mm twin guns and radar/optronic director. The range of the laser beam-riding missiles is from 1.5 to 8 km. The guns can fire up to 10,000 rounds per minute at a range of 0.5 to 1.5 km. Six AK630 30 mm air defence guns are also fitted. The ship is equipped with an Udav-1 anti-submarine system with 60 anti-submarine rockets. Udav-1, supplied by the Splav Research and Production Association in Moscow, protects surface ships by diverting and destroying incoming torpedoes. The system also provides defence against submarines and saboteur systems such as underwater vehicles. The system has ten barrels and is capable of firing 111SG depth charge projectiles, 111SZ mine laying projectiles and 111SO diverting projectiles. The range of the system is 3000 m and the submarine engagement depth is to 600 m.

Electronics

The ship's radars include a D/E band air and surface target acquisition radar, an F band surface search radar, G/H band flight control radar, I band navigation radar, and four K band fire control radars for the Kashtan Air Defence System. The ship's hull-mounted search and attack sonar, operating in the medium- and low-frequency bands, is capable of detecting torpedoes and submarines. The anti-submarine warfare aircraft are equipped with surface search radar, dipping sonar, sonobuoys and magnetic anomaly detectors.

Propulsion and performance

Initially Western analysts anticipated that Kuznetsov would have a Combined Nuclear And Steam (CONAS) propulsion plant similar to the battlecruiser Kirov and the SSV-33 command ship. However, Kuznetsov is conventionally powered by eight boilers and four steam turbines, each producing 50,000 hp (37 MW), driving four shafts with fixed-pitch propellers. The maximum speed is 29 knots (54 km/h), and the range at maximum speed is 3,800 miles (6,100 km). At 18 knots (33 km/h), the maximum range is 8,500 miles (13,700 km).

Unit histories and current status

Admiral Kuznetsov

The Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov, which was also constructed at Nikolayev South Shipyard in Mykolaiv, was launched in 1985, and the ship became fully operational in 1995. The Kuznetsov made a brief Mediterranean training cruise early in 1996. At the end of 1997 she remained immobilized in a Northern Fleet shipyard, awaiting funding for major repairs that were halted when only 20% complete. The overhaul was finally completed in July 1998, and the ship was formally returned to active service in the Northern fleet on November 3, 1998. Apparently, the ship remained in port for about two years. In the fall of 2000, the Kuznetsov went to sea for operations related to the rescue and salvage operations of the Kursk submarine. Plans for further operations were postponed or cancelled. In late 2003 and early 2004, the Kuznetsov went to sea for inspection and trials. In late October 2004, the ship participated in a fleet exercise of the Russian navy in the Atlantic Ocean. The Kuznetsov participated in September 2005 in a fleet exercise of the Russian navy in the Atlantic Ocean. During the exercise one of its Sukhoi Su-33 "Flanker" aircrafts had an accident, and fell from the carrier into the Atlantic Ocean. The Sukhoi is currently on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean (1117 meters below sea level). Although cash shortages and technical problems have resulted in limited operations, it is expected that the Admiral Kuznetsov will remain in active duty until at least 2025-2035.

Varyag

:Main article: Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag The Varyag was constructed at Nikolayev South Shipyard on the Black Sea in Ukraine. The vessel was launched in 1988, but was never commissioned into the Soviet navy. She was given to Ukraine, and eventually sold to China.

Specifications


- Designer: Nevskoye Planning and Design Bureau
- Builder: Nikolayev South
- Displacement: 43 000 t light, 53 000-55 000 t standard, 66 600-67 500 t full load
- Length: 300 m (1000 ft) overall, 270 m (900 ft) at waterline
- Beam: 73 m (240 ft) overall, 38 m (125 ft) waterline
- Draft: 11 m (36 ft)
- Armament:
  - 16 Granit SS-N-19 "Shipwreck" SSM
  - 18 x 8-cell SA-N-9 Gauntlet SAM VLS
  - 8 CADS-1 CIWS (each 2 x 30 mm gatling AA plus 16 SA-N-11 SAM)
  - 8 AK-630 antiaircraft guns (6 x 30 mm, 6,000 round/min/mount, 24,000 rounds)
  - 2 RBU-12000 UDAV-1 antisubmarine rocket launchers (60 rockets)
  - Klinok air defence missile system (24 launchers, 192 vertical launch missiles; rate of fire: 1 missile per 3 s)
  - Kashtan air defence gun and missile system (256 missiles, 48,000 rounds; range: 0.5 to 1.5 km)
- Aircraft:
  - 16 Yak-41
  - 12 SU-27k or MIG-29k
  - 4 KA-27LD32
  - 18 KA-27PLO
  - 2 KA-27S
- Propulsion: Steam turbines, 8 boilers, 4 shafts, 200,000 hp (149 MW)
  - 2 x 50,000 hp (37 MW) turbines
  - 8 boilers
  - 4 fixed pitch props
  - 9 x 1500 kW turbogenerators
  - 6 x 1500 kW diesel generators
- Range: 3850 nautical miles (7 100 km) at 32 knot (59 km/h); endurance: 45 days
- Speed: 32 knots (59 km/h)
- Complement: 1960 + 626 air group + 40 flag, 3857 rooms
- Armor: uncertain; probably little or none

Notes

#Ten production aircraft were built, with five each going to the Russian Republic and the Ukraine after the fall of the USSR. The Russian Navy then requested ten more trainers from Sukhoi, but it is unclear if any Su-25UBPs were ever actually delivered.

External links


- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/1143_5.htm Article on GlobalSecurity.org about the Kreml class aircraft carrier].
- [http://www.cdi.org/russia/329-9.cfm A Foolhardy Naval Exercise] - Critical article about the Fall 2004 exercise in which the Kuznetsov participated.
- [http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/kuznetsov/index.html#kuznetsov5 General information and images on www.naval-technology.com]
- [http://www.faqs.org/docs/air/avsu25.html#m4] Kuznetsov Kuznetsov ja:アドミラル・クズネツォフ

Dalian

(大連 or 大连) Dalian, Liaoning Dalian (), or Dalny (during Russian controlled periods, aka Dairen during Japanese periods, or from Mid-century (Jointly administered by both USSR/PRC) formerly also Lüda or Luta), is the second of two strategic ice-free seaports on the Liaodong Peninsula. Today's Dalian is the governing sub-provincial city in the eastern Liaoning Province of the Northeastern People's Republic of China near the southernmost part of historic Manchuria, and serves as the administrative capital for the whole Liadong peninsula (Literally: Eastern Liaoning). The port was situated on the Southern Manchurian Railway about 525 miles (845 km) from Harbin. Port Arthur was initially developed as a commercial, industrial, and shipping center by the Russians starting in 1897-1898, after the Triple Intervention when Russia replaced Japan to lease the Guandong area. In 1905, the Japanese defeated the Russians in Russo-Japanese War, as a result, the area again came under Japanese control until 1945, when the Soviet Red Army attacked Manchuria and occupied Dalian and Lüshun. In 1955 the Soviet Union handed over the area to the People's Republic of China.

Geography

One of the most heavily developed industrial areas of China, the Dalian administrative district today consists of Dalian proper and the smaller Lüshunkou, formerly Lüshun city known in western and Russian historic references as Port Arthur, about forty nautical miles farther along the Liaotung/Liaodong Peninsula. Historical references note that the Russian designed city of Dalny (Alt. Dalney), on the south side of Talien Bay was 40 rail kilometers from Port Arthur/Lüshun (known today as Lüshunkou or literally Lüshun Port). Talien Bay Dalian is located west of the Yellow Sea (Korea Bay) and east of Bohai Sea roughly in the middle of the Liaodong/Liaotung peninsula at its narrowest neck or isthmus. With a coastline of 1 906 km, it governs the entire Liaodong Peninsula and about 260 surrounding islands and reefs. It is south-south-west of the Yalu River, and its harbor entrance forms a sub-Bay known as Dalian Bay.

History

Part of the State of Yan in the Spring and Autumn Period, a minor fishing village Ch'ing-ni-wa became a small town in the 1880s, when the Qing Dynasty established bridges, cannon platforms and camps there. The settlement was occupied by the British in 1858, returned to the Chinese in the 1880s, and then occupied by Japan in 1895 during the first Sino-Japanese War. first Sino-Japanese War In 1898, the Russians took the lease of the peninsular and established Port Arthur as ice-free headquarters of their Pacific Fleet and Dalnyi as a major commercial port. The city's name is derived from the Russian word "dalnyi", which means "distant (port)". Recently, some Chinese scholars pointed out that the Chinese form of the name, Dalian, had been used as early as October 1879, in a document by Li Hongzhang. Both Dalny (Qingniwaqiao 青泥洼桥 of Zhongshan District, Dalian) and Port Arthur (Lüshunkou) were developed and heavily fortified by the Russians in the period prior to 1904. Consequently, some historians blame the fall of Port Arthur on 2 January 1905 for the failure by Admiral Eugen Alexeiev, to concentrate on the naval base and its fortifications. Instead, he split precious resources shipped 8000 kilometers across the single tracked Trans-Siberian Railway and Manchurian railways. After the Russo-Japanese War Port Arthur was conceded to Japan (Treaty of Portsmouth), who set up the Kwantung Leased Territory or Guandongzhou. Since the foundation of Manchukuo in 1932, the sovereignty of the territory moved from China to Manchukuo. Japan still leased it from Manchukuo. In 1937, the modern Dalian City was enlarged and modernized by the Japanese as two cities: the northern Dairen (Dalian) and the southern Ryojun (Lushun). Manchukuo After World War II, Dalian was not returned to China, but taken over by Soviets with theoretical Chinese overlordship (see Yalta Conference), and was returned to full Chinese control in 1955, although the first communist Chinese mayor of the new Lüda Administrative Office (旅大行政公署) was appointed in 1945. The name Lüda was formed by combining the first characters of Lüshunkou and Dalian. Because of the sudden closure of many Japanese businesses, many Dalian residents were out of work for an extended period. On 1 December 1950, Lüda was made into a city again. From 12 March 1953 to 1 August 1954 it became a municipality. The city's name was changed back from Lüda to Dalian on 5 March 1981, after the State Council approved it on 9 February. It was upgraded from a prefecture-level city to a sub-provincial city in 1994, with no change in its administrative subdivisions.

Subdivisions

The city administrates 6 districts, 3 county-level cities, and 1 county. Ganjingzi, Zhongshan, Xigang, Shahekou make up the urban centre. Changhai County is made up entirely of islands east of the peninsula. There are 74 sub-districts and 127 town/townships (11 of which are ethnic). (see Political divisions of China#Levels) There are, in addition, 4 national leading open zones (对外开放先导区): - The Development Zone (开发区) - The Free Trade Zone (保税区) - The Hi-Tech Industrial Zone (高新技术产业园区) - The Golden Pebble Beach National Holiday Resort (金石滩国家旅游度假区) Political divisions of China#Levels

Economy

A new harbor for oil tankers, at the terminus of an oil pipeline from the Daqing oilfields, was completed in 1976. Dalian is the largest petroleum port in China, and also the 3rd largest port overall. Accordingly, Dalian is a major center for oil refineries, diesel engineering, and chemical production. Dalian has been given many benefits by the Chinese government, including the title of "open-city," (1984) which allows it considerable foreign investment (see Special Economic Zone). In recent years, the city has become a major base for the outsourcing of Japanese-language businesses, such as call-centers. Japanese is widely spoken in the area, and many local people are familiar with Japanese customs and culture.

Transportation

Dalian is served by Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport. While you can fly to Dalian from most of the major cities in China, you can always get there by train, as well as buses. From other coastal cities, such as Tianjin and Yantai, you can also get to Dalian by oceanliners.

Cultural Life

Yantai Every September Dalian hosts the Dalian International Fashion Festival. This festival is a chance for many major foreign companies to showcase their new products and sign up buyers. Before the festival, the city holds an opening ceremony attended by government officials as well as famous stars of the entertainment world. Dalian is the home of three zoological parks: Dalian Forest Zoo, Shengya Ocean World, and Polar World. The Forest Zoo has a free-range animal section as well as a more traditional zoo. Shengya Ocean World includes an underwater conveyor through a transparent tunnel. Polar World is the only park devoted to polar animals in China. Sports play a big role in the local culture. The city's soccer team has dominated the sport in China and Asia by winning 7 titles out of the past 9 years of Chinese professional soccer league. The city is also a powerhouse producing numerous track and field champions. The local cuisine heavily depends on variety of fresh seafood and fruits, both abundant in the area.

Beaches

Beaches are an important part of cultural life in the coastal city. The beaches in Dalian are not only indispensable for sightseers, they are a mecca for swimmers, sunbathers and other types of aquatic sports. Here is only a partial list of beaches of Dalian:
- Bangchui Island (Wooden Club Island)
- Fujiazhuang Beach
- Heishijiao Beach (Black Reef Beach)
- Huangjin Beach (Golden Beach)
- Laohutan Beach (Tiger Beach)
- Xinghai Bay Beach
- Xinghai Park

Miscellaneous

Dalian is considered a "model city" from which other urban planning in China is to be inspired. Dalian is a sister city of Kitakyūshū (Japan), Le Havre (France), Glasgow (Scotland), Vancouver (Canada), Bremen (Germany), Incheon (South Korea), Oakland (USA), Rostock (Germany), Houston (USA), Maizuru (Japan), Vladivostok (Russia), Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo). The Dalian's soccer club is Dalian Shide, one of twelve teams in the Chinese Super League. Prior to 2000 they were known as Dalian Wanda. Many regard Dalian Shide as China's premier soccer club having achieved success as: Jia A Champions 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 Asian Club Championship Runners-up 1997 Asian Cup Winners' Cup Runners-up 2001 Chinese Super Cup Winners 1997, 2001, 2003 China FA Cup Winners 2001 The German anatomist Gunther von Hagens runs a plastination center in Dalian.

Colleges and universities


- Dalian University of Technology
- Dalian Fisheries University
- Liaoning Normal University

See also


- Liaoning
- Shenyang
- Dandong
- Harbin
- Changchun

External links


- [http://www.dl.gov.cn Official site]
- [http://www.xzqh.org/quhua/21ln/02dalian.htm Subdivision maps]
  - [http://www.xzqh.org/ditu/21ln/210200.gif Detailed]
- [http://encarta.msn.com/map_701511958/Dalian.html Map of Location in China]
- [http://www.serasphere.net/dalian Letters and photos from an English teacher living and working in Dalian 2005-2006]

References


- Tom McKnight,PhD, et al; Geographica (ATLAS), Barnes and Noble Books AND Random House, New York, 1999-2004, 3rd revision, ISBN 0-7607-5974-X, 618 pp.
- Frank Theiss, The Voyage of Forgotten Men, 1937, Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1st Ed., Indianapolis & New York, 415 pp. Category:Cities in Liaoning Category:Subprovincial cities Dalian, P.R.C. Category:Coastal cities Category:History of China Category:Empire of Japan Category:History of Russia ja:大連

Shanghai

: Alternate meanings: See Shanghai (disambiguation) Shanghai (; Shanghainese IPA: ; Lumazi: Zanhe) , situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta, is China's largest city. The city's development in the past few decades has made it one of the most important economic, commercial, financial and communications centers of China. Administratively, Shanghai is one of four municipalities of the People's Republic of China that have provincial-level status. Shanghai is also home to the world's busiest port, followed by Singapore and Rotterdam. The two characters in the name "Shanghai" literally mean "up/above" and "sea". The earliest occurrence of this name dates from the Song Dynasty, at which time there was already a river confluence and a town called "Shanghai" in the area. It is unclear how the name originated or how its meaning should be interpreted, though a literal reading suggests the sense "onto the sea". In Chinese, Shanghai's abbreviations are Hù (滬 or 沪) and Shēn (申). The city has had various nicknames in English, including "Paris of the East", "Queen of the Orient" (or "Pearl of the Orient"), and even "The Whore of Asia" (a reference to corruption in the 1920s and 1930s, including vice, drugs and prostitution.)

History

Before the forming of Shanghai city, Shanghai was part of Songjiang county, governed by Suzhou prefecture. The county was formed around 1000 years ago. From the time of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Shanghai gradually became a busy seaport. A city wall was built in AD 1553, which is generally regarded as the beginning of Shanghai City. However, before the 19th century, Shanghai was not a major city, and in contrast to other major Chinese cities, there are few ancient Chinese landmarks there. Before 1927 Shanghai belonged to Jiangsu province with the capital of Nanjing. Since Shanghai became a Special Administration City in 1927, its official position has been equal to a Chinese province. The role of Shanghai changed radically in the 19th century, as the city's strategic position at the mouth of the Yangtze River made it an ideal location for trade with the West. During the First Opium War in the early-19th century, British forces temporarily held Shanghai. The war ended with the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing, which saw the treaty ports, Shanghai included, opened for international trade. The Treaty of the Bogue signed in 1843, and the Sino-American Treaty of Wangsia signed in 1844 together saw foreign nations achieve extraterritoriality on Chinese soil. 1844 The Taiping Rebellion broke out in 1850, and in 1853 Shanghai was occupied by a triad offshoot of the rebels, called the Small Swords Society. The fighting destroyed the countryside but left the foreigners' settlements untouched, and Chinese arrived seeking refuge. Although previously Chinese were forbidden to live in foreign settlements, 1854 saw new regulations drawn up making land available to Chinese. Land prices rose substantially. The year also saw the first annual meeting of the Shanghai Municipal Council, substantiated in order to manage the foreign settlements. In 1863, the British and American settlements joined in order to form the [http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/5047/SHANGFLG.html International Settlement]. The Sino-Japanese War fought 1894-95 over control of Korea concluded with the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which saw Japan emerge as an additional foreign power in Shanghai. Japan built the first factories in Shanghai, which were soon copied by other foreign powers to effect the emergence of Shanghai industry. Japan Shanghai was then the biggest financial city in the Far East. Under the Republic of China, Shanghai was made a special city in 1927, and a municipality in May 1930. The Japanese Navy bombed Shanghai on January 28, 1932, in an effort to crush down Chinese student protests of the Manchurian Incident and the subsequent Japanese occupation. Shanghai was lost to Japan in the Battle of Shanghai in 1937 until its surrender in 1945. During World War II, Shanghai was a centre for refugees from Europe. It was the only city in the world that was open unconditionally to the Jews at the time. However, under pressure from their allies, the Nazis, the Japanese ghettoised the Jewish immigrants in late 1941, and diseases such as amoebic dysentery became rife. On May 27, 1949, Shanghai came under communist control and was one of the only two former ROC municipalities not immediately merged into neighbouring provinces (the other being Beijing). It then underwent a series of changes in the boundaries of its subdivisions, especially in the next decade. After 1949, however, most foreign firms moved their offices from Shanghai to Hong Kong. During the 1950s and 1960s, Shanghai became an industrial center and center for revolutionary leftism. Yet, even during the most tumultuous times of the Cultural Revolution, Shanghai was able to maintain high economic productivity and relative social stability. In most of the history of the PRC, Shanghai has been the largest contributor of tax revenue to the central government compared with other Chinese provinces and municipalities. This came at the cost of severely crippling Shanghai's infrastructure and capital development. Its importance to China's fiscal well-being also denied it economic liberalizations that were started in the far southern provinces such as Guangdong during the mid-1980s. At that time Guangdong province paid nearly no taxes to the central government, and thus was perceived as fiscally expendable for experimental economic reforms. Shanghai was not permitted to initiate economic reforms until 1991. 1991 Political power in Shanghai has traditionally been seen as a stepping stone to higher positions within the PRC central government. In the 1990s, there was what was often described as the "Shanghai clique," which included the president of the PRC Jiang Zemin and the premier of the PRC Zhu Rongji. Starting in 1992, the central government under Jiang Zemin, a former Mayor of Shanghai, began reducing the tax burden on Shanghai and encouraging both foreign and domestic investment in order to promote it as the economic hub of east Asia and to encourage its role as gateway of investment to the Chinese interior. Since then it has experienced continuous economic growth of between 9-15% annually, arguably at the expense of growth in Hong Kong, leading China's overall development.

Administrative divisions

Shanghai is divided into 19 county-level divisions: 18 districts and 1 county. county.]] Nine of the districts govern "Puxi", or the older part of urban and suburban Shanghai on the west bank of the Huangpu River:
- Huangpu District (Simplified Chinese: 黄浦区; Hanyu Pinyin: Huángpǔ Qū)
- Luwan District (卢湾区 Lúwān Qū)
- Xuhui District (徐汇区 Xúhuì Qū)
- Changning District (长宁区 Chángníng Qū)
- Jing'an District (静安区 Jìng'ān Qū)
- Putuo District (普陀区 Pǔtuó Qū)
- Zhabei District (闸北区 Zháběi Qū)
- Hongkou District (虹口区 Hóngkǒu Qū)
- Yangpu District (杨浦区 Yángpǔ Qū) "Pudong", or the newer part of urban and suburban Shanghai on the east bank of the Huangpu River, is governed by:
- Pudong New District (浦东新区 Pǔdōng Xīn Qū) — Chuansha County until 1992 1992 Eight of the districts govern suburbs, satellite towns, and rural areas further away from the urban core:
- Baoshan District (宝山区 Bǎoshān Qū) — Baoshan County until 1988
- Minhang District (闵行区 Mǐnháng Qū) — Shanghai County until 1992
- Jiading District (嘉定区 Jiādìng Qū) — Jiading County until 1992
- Jinshan District (金山区 Jīnshān Qū) — Jinshan County until 1997
- Songjiang District (松江区 Sōngjiāng Qū) — Songjiang County until 1998
- Qingpu District (青浦区 Qīngpǔ Qū) — Qingpu County until 1999
- Nanhui District (南汇区 Nánhuì Qū) — Nanhui County until 2001
- Fengxian District (奉贤区 Fèngxián Qū) — Fengxian County until 2001 Chongming Island, an island at the mouth of the Yangtze, is governed by:
- Chongming County (崇明县 Chóngmíng Xiàn) As of 2003, these county-level divisions are further divided into the following 220 township-level divisions: 114 towns, 3 townships, 103 subdistricts. Those are in turn divided into the following village-level divisions: 3,393 neighborhood committees and 2,037 village committees. List of towns:
- Anting, Jiading District
- Huamu, Pudong New District
- Pengpu, Zhabei District
- Beicai, Pudong New District
- Qibao, Minhang District

Economy and demographics

Qibao Shanghai is the financial and trade center of China. It began economic reforms in 1992, a decade later than many of the Southern Chinese provinces. Prior to then, much of the city revenue went directly to the capital, Beijing, with little return. Even with a decreased tax burden after 1992, Shanghai's tax contribution to the central government is around 20-25% of the national total (Shanghai's annual tax burden pre-1990s was on average 70% of the national). Shanghai today is the biggest and most developed city in mainland China. The 2000 census put the population of Shanghai Municipality to 16.738 million, including the floating population, which made up 3.871 million. Since the 1990 census the total population has increased by 3.396 million, or 25.5%. Males accounted for 51.4%, females for 48.6% of the population. 12.2% were in the age group of 0-14, 76.3% between 15 and 64 and 11.5% were older than 65. 5.4% of the inhabitants were illiterate. As of 2003, the official registered population is 13.42 million; however, more than 5 million more people work and live in Shanghai undocumented, and of the 5 million, some 4 million belong to the floating population of temporary migrant workers. The average life expectancy in 2003 was 79.80 years, 77.78 for men and 81.81 for women. 2000] 2000] Shanghai and Hong Kong have had a recent rivalry over which city is to be the economic center of China. The city had a GDP of ¥46,586 (ca. US$ 5,620) per capita in 2003, ranked no. 13 among all 659 Chinese cities. Hong Kong has the advantage of a stronger legal system and greater banking and service expertise. Shanghai has stronger links to both the Chinese interior and the central government, in addition to a stronger base in manufacturing and technology. Since the handover of Hong Kong to the PRC in 1997, Shanghai has increased its role in finance, banking, and as a major destination for corporate headquarters, fueling demand for a highly educated and modernized workforce. Shanghai's economy is steadily growing at 11% and for 2004 the forecast is 14%. Shanghai is increasingly a critical center of communication with the western world, examples include the opening of the Pac-Med Medical Exchange in June of 2004. Pac-Med is a clearinghouse of medical data and a link between the Chinese and westernized medical infrastructures. In medicine and other humanitarian fields, China is actively seeking input of first world nations to improve statistical living conditions and trade status. Arguments for and against modern Chinese leadership question the genuine influence the influx of western culture and medicine will have on the internal Chinese populus outside the densely populated, oft visited financial and cultural urban centers. The Pudong district of Shanghai contains purposefully westernized streets (European/American 'feeling' districts) in close proximity to major international trade and hospitality zones. Western visitors to Shanghai are greeted with free public parks, manicured to startling perfection in distinct contrast to the massive industrial installations which reveal China's emerging environmental concerns. For a densely populated urban center and international point of trade, Shanghai is generally noticeably free of crime against its visitors; Shanghai's international diversity is perhaps the world's foremost window into the rich, historic and complex society of today's China.

Architecture

As in many other areas in China, Shanghai is undergoing a building boom. In Shanghai the modern architecture is notable for its unique style, especially in the highest floors, with several top floor restaurants which resemble flying saucers. For a larger view of this gallery see Shanghai (architecture images). Image:ShanghaiWrappedBldg.jpg|A skyscraper being renovated Image:ShanghaiBldgs.jpg|An example of novel architecture Image:ShanghaiBldg3.jpg|A much more formal approach: Tomorrow Square Image:ShanghaiCrownTop.jpg|Bund Center with a unique lotus-shaped roof Image:ShanghaiPlanNine.jpg|An example of retro-futuristic designs: Shanghai Radisson New World Hotel Image:ShanghaiMixedClassic.jpg|A dissonant stack of different styles Image:Shanghaimuseumexterior.jpg|The Shanghai Museum

Geography and climate

retro-futuristic Shanghai faces the East China Sea (part of the Pacific Ocean), and is bisected by the Huangpu River. Puxi contains the city proper on the western side of Huangpu River, while an entirely new financial district has been erected on the eastern bank of the Huangpu in Pudong. :Geographical coordinates: Shanghai experiences all four seasons, with freezing temperatures during the winter season and a 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) average high during the hottest months of July and August. Temperatures extremes of -10C (14F) and +41C (105F) have been recorded. Heavy rain is frequent in early summer. Spring starts in March, summer in June, autumn in September and winter in December. The weather in spring, although considered the most beautiful season, is highly variable, with frequent rain and alternating spells of warmth and cold. Summer is the peak tourist season, but is hot and oppressive. Autumn is generally sunny and dry, and the foliage season is in November. Winters are typically grey and dreary, with a couple of snowfalls a year.

Astronomical phenomena

The previous total solar eclipse to be seen from the center of Shanghai () occurred on May 10, 1575. The next total solar eclipse that will be seen from Shanghai will be solar eclipse of 2009-Jul-22. Wikisource has an article about solar eclipses as seen from Shanghai from 2001 to 3000. [http://wikisource.org/wiki/Solar_eclipses_as_seen_from_Shanghai]

Transportation

Shanghai has an excellent public transportation system and in contrast to other major Chinese cities has clean streets and surprisingly little air pollution (ranked 22nd best in the [http://www.zhb.gov.cn/eic/649370467852877824/20040329/1047828.shtml 2003 official report on air quality] among 42 major cities in China, compared to 36th, 35th and 41th for Beijing, Tianjin and Chongqing respectively). The public transportation system in Shanghai is flourishing: Shanghai has more than one thousand bus lines and the Shanghai Metro (subway) has four lines (numbers 1, 2, 3, 5) at present. According to the development schedule of the Government, by the year 2010, another 8 lines will be built in Shanghai. Shanghai has two airports: Hongqiao and Pudong International. Transrapid (a German maglev company, which has a test track in Emsland, Germany), constructed the first operational maglev railway in the world, from Shanghai's Long Yang Road subway station to Pudong International Airport. It was inaugurated in 2002. Commercial exploitation has started in 2003. It takes 7 mins to travel 30km and it reaches a maximum speed of 431 km/h. As of December 2004, Shanghai's port is the largest in the world. Three railways intersect in Shanghai: Jinghu Railway (Beijing-Shanghai) Railway passing through Nanjing (京沪线), Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway (沪杭线 Hu Hang Line), and Xiaoshan-Ningbo (萧甬线 Xiao Yong Line). Shanghai has three passenger railway stations, Shanghai Railway Station, Shanghai West Railway Station and Shanghai South Railway Station. Expressways from Beijing (Jinghu Expressway) and from the region around Shanghai liaise with the city. There are ambitious plans to build expressways to connect Chongming Island. Shanghai's first ring road expressway is now complete. Within Shanghai itself, there are elevated roads, which appear expressway-like in road conditions (direction-separated lanes). Tunnels and bridges are used to link Puxi to Pudong. Jinghu Expressway Jinghu Expressway

People and culture

The vernacular language is Shanghainese, a dialect of Wu Chinese; while the official language is Standard Mandarin. The local dialect is mutually unintelligible with Mandarin, but is an inseparable part of the Shanghainese identity. Nearly all Shanghainese under the age of 50 can speak Mandarin fluently; and those under age of 25, have had contact with English since primary school. Shanghai is seen as the birthplace of everything considered modern in China; and was the cultural and economic center of East Asia for the first half of the twentieth century. It was the intellectual battleground between socialist writers who concentrated on critical realism (pioneered by Lu Xun and Mao Dun) and the more bourgeois, more romantically and aesthetically inclined writers (such as Shi Zhecun, Shao Xunmei, Ye Lingfeng, Eileen Chang). Besides literature, Shanghai was also the birthplace of Chinese cinema. China’s first short film, The Difficult Couple (Nanfu Nanqi, 1913), and the country’s first fictional feature film, Orphan Rescues Grandfather (Gu’er Jiuzu Ji, 1923) were both produced in Shanghai. These two films were very influential, and established Shanghai as the center of Chinese film-making. Shanghai’s film industry went on to blossom during the early Thirties, generating Marilyn Monroe like stars such as Zhou Xuan, who committed suicide in 1957. The talent and passion of Shanghainese filmmakers following World War II and the Communist Revolution contributed enormously to the development of the Hong Kong film industry. Shanghainese people have often been stereotyped by other Chinese (both urban and rural) as being pretentious, arrogant, and xenophobic; and at the same time, however, they are admired for their meticulous attention to detail, faithfulness in contract, and professionalism. Nearly all registered Shanghainese residents are descendants of immigrants from the two small adjacent provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, regions that generally speak the same family of dialects as the Shanghainese, that is Wu Chinese. Much of pre-modern Shanghainese culture is an integration of cultural elements from these two regions. The Shanghainese dialect reflects this as well. Recent migrants into Shanghai, however, come from all over China, do not speak the local dialect and are therefore forced to use Mandarin as a lingua franca. Rising crime rates, littering, harassive panhandling, and an overloading of the basic infrastructure (mainly public transportation, schools) associated with the rise of these migrant populations (over 3 million new migrants in 2003 alone) have been generating some extent of ill will and xenophobia from the Shanghainese. The new migrants are easy to spot by the Shanghainese, and are often targets of both intentional and unintentional discrimination. This further intensifies the misunderstandings and stereotypes between the Shanghainese and the Chinese outside of the Lower Yangtze basin. It is a belief of many Chinese of other provinces of China that Shanghainese men can be very henpecked (nagged or controlled by their wives). Admittedly there is some truth in the opinion: husbands in Shanghai often simultaneously play the roles of a bread-winner, cook, plumber, carpenter, etc. Interestingly, this view, though a somewhat outmoded in the context of the new century, is still one of first things many people think of at the mention of Shanghai. One uniquely Shanghainese cultural element is the Shikumen residencies (longtang), which are characteristic two or three-storey black/gray brick structures cut across with a few decorative dark red stripes. Each residence is connected and arranged in straight alleys, with the entrance to each alley, the gate, wrapped by a stylistic stone arc (the name Shikumen is literally stone gate). The Shikumen residencies is a cultural blend of the elements found in Western architecture with traditional Lower Yangtze Chinese architecture and social behavior. All traditional Chinese dwellings had a courtyard, and the Shikumen was no exception. Yet, to compromise with its urban nature, it was much much smaller, and served mainly as a room without a roof, providing a "interior haven" to the commotions in the streets, allowing for raindrops to fall and vegetation to grow freely within a residence. The courtyard also allowed sunlight and adequate ventilation into the rooms. Before World War II, more than 80% of the population in the city lived in these kinds of dwellings. Other Shanghainese cultural artifacts include the cheongsam, a modernization of the traditional Chinese/Manchurian qipao garment which first appeared in the 1910s in Shanghai. The cheongsam dress was slender with high cut sides, and tight fitting. This contrasts sharply with the traditional qipao which was designed to conceal the figure and be worn regardless of age. The cheongsam went along well with the western overcoat and the scarf, and portrayed an unique East Asian modernity, epitomizing the Shanghainese population in general. As Western fashions changed, the basic cheongsam design changed, too, introducing high-necked sleeveless dresses, bell-like sleeves and, the black lace frothing at the hem of a ball gown. By the 1940s, cheongsams came in transparent black, beaded bodices, matching capes and even velvet. And later, checked fabrics became also quite common. The 1949 Communist Revolution ended the cheongsam and other fashions in Shanghai. However, the Shanghainese styles have seen a recent revival as stylish party dresses. Much of the Shanghainese culture (Shanghainese Pops) were transferred to Hong Kong by the millions of Shanghainese emigrants and refugees after the Communist Revolution. The movie In the Mood for Love (Hua Yang Nian Hua) directed by Wong Kar-wai (a native Shanghainese himself) depicts one slice of the displaced Shanghainese community in Hong Kong and the nostalgia for that era, featuring 1940s music by Zhou Xuan. In the Mood for Love] In the Mood for Love Cultural sites in Shanghai include:
- The Bund
- Shanghai Museum
- Shanghai Grand Theatre
- Longhua temple, largest temple in Shanghai, built during the Three Kingdoms period
- Yuyuan Gardens
- Jade Buddha Temple
- Jing An Temple
- Xujiahui Cathedral, largest Catholic cathedral in Shanghai
- Dongjiadu Cathedral
- She Shan Cathedral
- The Orthodox Eastern Church
- Xiaodaoyuan (Mini-Peach Orchard) Mosque
- Songjiang Mosque
- Ohel Rachel Synagogue
- Lu Xun Memorial
- Shikumen site of the First CPC Congress
- Residence of Sun Yat-sen
- Residence of Chiang Kai-shek
- Shanghai residence of Qing Dynasty Viceroy and General Li Hongzhang
- Ancient rivertowns of Zhujiajiao and Zhoushi on the outskirts of Shanghai
- Wen Miao Market
- Yunnan Road
- Flowers and birds: Jiang yi lu market
- Cheongsam: Chang le lu Cheongsam Street
- Curio Market: Dong Tai Lu Curio Market
- Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe See also: Shanghai cuisine

Sister Cities

Shanghai has city partnerships with the following cities:
- Since 1979: Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Since 1979: Milan, Italy
- Since 1980: Zagreb, Croatia
- Since 1986: Hamburg, Germany
- Since 1990: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Since 2004: Marseille, France (for the cultural year of China in France)
- Since 2005: Cork, Ireland

Colleges and universities

National


- Fudan University (复旦大学) (founded in 1905)
  - Fudan University Shanghai Medical College (formerly Shanghai Medical University, founded 1927) (复旦大学上海医学院, 原上海医科大学医学院）
- Shanghai Jiaotong University (上海交通大学) (founded in 1896)
  - Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University (formerly Shanghai Second Medical School, founded 1896) (上海交通大学医学院, 原上海第二医科大学)
- Tongji University (同济大学) (founded in 1907)
- East China Normal University (华东师范大学)
- East China University of Science and Technology (华东理工大学)
- Donghua University (东华大学)
- Shanghai International Studies University (上海外国语大学)
- Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (上海财经大学)
- China Europe International Business School China Europe International Business School

Public


- Second Military Medical University (第二军医大学)
- Shanghai Teachers University (上海师范大学)
- East China University of Politics and Law (华东政法学院)
- Shanghai Conservatory of Music (上海音乐学院)
- Shanghai Theater Academy (上海戏剧学院)
- Shanghai University (上海大学)
- Shanghai Maritime University (上海海运学院)
- Shanghai University of Electric Power (上海电力学院)
- University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (上海理工大学)
- Shanghai University of Engineering Sciences (上海工程技术大学)
- Shanghai Institute of Technology (上海应用技术学院)
- Shanghai Fisheries University (上海水产大学)
- Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade (上海对外贸易学院)
- Shanghai Institute of Physical Education (上海体育学院)

Private


- Sanda University (上海杉达学院) Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

Shanghai in fiction

Literature


- Han Bangqing (韩邦庆), Shanghai Demi-monde (海上花列传; pinyin: Haishang Hua Liezhuan), also called Flowers of Shanghai, a novel following the lives of Shanghainese flower girls and the timeless decadence surrounding them. First published in 1892 during the last two decades of the Qing Dynasty, with the dialogue completely in vernacular Wu Chinese. The novel set a precedent for all Chinese literature and was highly popular until the standardization of vernacular Standard Mandarin as the national language in the early 1920s. It was later translated into Mandarin by Eileen Chang, a famous Shanghainese writer during World War II. Nearly all her works of bourgeois romanticism are set in Shanghai, and many have been made into arthouse films (see Eighteen Springs). Besides Eileen Chang, other Shanghainese "petit bourgeois" writers in the first half of twentieth century: Shi Zhecun, Liu Na'ou and Mu Shiyang, Shao Xunmei and Ye Lingfeng. Socialist writers include: Mao Dun (famous for his Shanghai-set ZIYE), Ba Jin, and Lu Xun. One of the great Chinese novel of the twentieth century, Zhongshu Qian's Fortress Besieged is partially set in Shanghai. Noel Coward wrote his novel Private Lives while staying at Shanghai's Cathay Hotel.
- André Malraux, La Condition Humaine, 1933 (Man's Fate, 1934), a novel about the defeat of a communist regime in Shanghai and the choices the losers have to face. Malraux won the 1933 Prix Goncourt of literature for the novel. Tom Bradby's 2002 historical detective novel The Master of Rain is set in the Shanghai of 1926. Neal Stephenson's science fiction novel The Diamond Age is set in an ultra-capitalist Shanghai of the future.

Films


- Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), in which Anguirus attacks the city and destroys the Pearl Tower
- Kung Fu Hustle (Gong Fu, 2004), directed by Stephen Chow
- Code 46 (2003), directed by Michael Winterbottom
- [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/awards/cannes/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1877855 Purple Butterfly] (Zihudie, 2003), directed by Ye Lou
- Suzhou River (Suzhou he, 2000), directed by Ye Lou
- [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156587/ Flowers of Shanghai] (Hai shang hua, 1998), directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien
- A Romance in Shanghai (新上海假期) (1996), starring Fann Wong.
- Shanghai Triad (Yao a yao yao dao waipo qiao, 1995), directed by Zhang Yimou
- [http://www.chinesecinemas.org/eighteen.html Eighteen Springs] (Ban sheng yuan, 1998), directed by Ann Hui On-wah.
- Fist of Legend (Jing wu ying xiong, 1994), action movie starring Jet Li, a remake of Fist of Fury.
- Empire of the Sun (1987), directed by Steven Spielberg
- Le Drame de Shanghaï (1938), directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, filmed in France and in Saigon
- [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023458/ Shanghai Express] (1932), starring Marlene Dietrich

More Photos

Image:Shanghai-NanjingRd01-l.jpg|Nanjing Road by night Image:Xintiandi.jpg|Xin Tian Di District at night Image:Shanghai_panoramic_view.jpeg|Shanghai (Pudong district) - panoramic view Image:Pudong.jpg|Alternate View of Pudong Image:ShanghaiChineseCity.JPG|The old Chinese City in Shanghai still remains very traditional (2005 photo). Image:ShanghaiStreet.JPG|A typical Shanghai street (2005 photo).

Miscellaneous

The tallest structure in China, the distinctive Oriental Pearl Tower, is located in Shanghai. Its lower sphere is now available for living quarters, starting at very high prices. The Jin Mao tower located nearby is mainland China's tallest skyscraper, and ranks fifth in the world. Shanghai will be the host of Expo 2010, a World's Fair. Professional sports teams in Shanghai include:
- Chinese Football Association Super League
  - Shanghai Shenhua
  - Shanghai Zobon
  - Inter Shanghai
- Chinese Football Association Jia League
  - Shanghai Jiucheng
- Chinese Basketball Association
  - Shanghai Sharks The city has hosted the first Formula One Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit on 26 September 2004. The Chinese government, which controls all its citizens' internet acccess, has blocked Wikipedia from use by its citizens.

See also


- Shanghainese
- Shanghai woman
- Thames Town

External links


- [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Shanghai&spn=0.168623,0.234180&t=k&hl=en Interactive satellite view of the area]
- [http://www.info-shanghai.com/ Culture, History and other information to Shanghai]
- [http://www.smartshanghai.com/en/travel/sshamap.php Interactive Map of Shanghai]
- [http://www.muztagh.com/images/map/map-of-shanghai-large.jpg Large map of Shanghai Region]
- [http://www.shanghaidaily.com Shanghai Daily - Newspaper]
- [http://www.zanhei.com/ Project to Introduce and Promote Shanghainese]
- [http://www.shanghaiguide.com/ Shanghai Guide: City Guide and FAQ about Living in Shanghai]
- [http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/ Shanghai Expat: Expats Living and Working in Shanghai]
- [http://www.SmartShanghai.com Nightlife, Dining & Culture in Shanghai]
- [http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/categories/shanghai.htm Daily Life in Shanghai]
- [http://www.chinasnippets.com Shanghai China - Snippets & Views]
- [http://www.shanghai.gov.cn Shanghai Municipality\'s official website]
- [http://www.stats-sh.gov.cn Statistics Shanghai]
- [http://www.expo2010china.com/expo/english/eu/index.html The 2010 Shanghai World Expo]
- [http://www.talesofoldchina.com/shanghai/places/t-plac02.htm Old street names of Shanghai]
- [http://drokov.narod.ru/photos/shanghai200507/index.htm Photos]
- [http://virtualshanghai.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/Image.php Virtual Shanghai, photographs +/- 1850-1950]
- Category:Cities in China Category:Coastal cities Category:Metropolitan areas zh-min-nan:Siōng-hái ko:상하이 ms:Shanghai ja:上海 th:เซี่ยงไฮ้

Sovremenny class destroyer

The Sovremenny Class destroyer is the main anti-surface combatant of the Russian Navy. The Soviet designation is Project 956 Sarych (Buzzard). All the ships were built by Severnaya Verf 190 St.Petersburg These ships have a maximum displacement of 8480t. Dimensions are: Length 156m, Beam 17.3m and draught is 6.5m. They are armed with an anti-submarine helicopter, 48 air defence missiles, eight anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, mines, long-range guns and a sophisticated electronic warfare system. The Sovremenny Class destroyer was commissioned in 1985. A total of 18 have been built for the Russian Navy, of these 18 twelve remain in service; this is due to the Russian Navy’s lack of funds and trained personnel. The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) had two modified Sovremenny destroyers, delivered in December 1999 and November 2000. In 2002, the PLAN ordered two more. The two vessels are due to be launched in 2005 and 2006.

Command and Control

The ship's combat systems can use target designation data from the ship's active and passive sensors, from other ships in the fleet, from surveillance aircraft or via a communications link from the ship's helicopter. The multi-channel defence suite is capable of striking several targets simultaneously.

Missiles

The ship is outfitted with the Raduga Moskit anti-ship missile system with two four-cell launchers installed port and starboard of the forward island and set at an angle about 15°. The ship carries a total of eight Moskit 3M80E missiles, NATO designation SS-N-22 Sunburn. The missile is a sea-skimming missile with velocity Mach 2.5 and armed with a 300kg high-explosive warhead or a nuclear 200kt warhead. The range is from 10 to 120km. The launch weight is 4,000kg. Two Shtil surface-to-air missile systems are installed, each on the raised deck behind the two-barrelled 130mm guns. Shtil is the export name of the SA-N-7, NATO reporting name Gadfly. The system uses the ship's three dimensional circular scan radar for target tracking. Up to three missiles can be aimed simultaneously. The range is up to 25km against targets with speeds up to 830m/s. The ship carries 48 Shtil missiles.

Guns

The ship's 130mm guns are the AK-130-MR-184. The system includes a computer control system with electronic and television sighting. The gun can be operated in fully automatic mode from the radar control system, under autonomous control using the turret mounted Kondensor optical sighting system and can also be laid manually. Rate of fire is between 20 and 35 rounds/min. The ship has four six-barrel 30mm AK-630 artillery systems. The maximum rate of fire is 5,000 rounds/min. Range is up to 4,000m for low flying anti-ship missiles and 5,000m for light surface targets. The gun is outfitted with radar and television detection and tracking.

Anti Submarine Systems

The destroyer has two double 533mm torpedo tubes and two six-barrel RBU-1000 anti-submarine rocket launchers, with 48 rockets. Range is 1,000m The rocket is armed with a 55kg warhead

Helicopter

The ship's helicopter pad accommodates one Kamov Ka-27 anti-submarine warfare helicopter, NATO codename Helix. The helicopter can operate in conditions up to Sea State 5 and up to 200km from the host ship.

Countermeasures

The Project 956 destroyer is fitted with an electronic countermeasures system and carries a store of 200 rockets for the two decoy dispensers, model PK-2.

Sensors

The ship is equipped with three navigation radars, an air target acquisition radar, and fire control radars for the 130mm gun and the 30mm gun. The sonar suite includes active and passive hull mounted search and attack sonar.

Propulsion

The ship's propulsion system is based on two steam turbine engines each producing 50,000hp together with four high-pressure boilers. There are two fixed-pitch propellers. The ship's maximum speed is just under 33 knots. At a fuel-economic speed of 18 knots the range is 3,920 miles.

General Characteristics


- Displacement: 6200 tons standard, 7800 tons full load
- Length: 156m
- Beam: 17.3m
- Draught: 6.5m
- Machinery: 2 shaft steam turbines, 4 boilers, 100,000 hp
- Speed: 32 knots
- Range: 10,500 nm at 14 kts
- Armament: 2x4 SS-N-22 SSM, 2x1 SA-N-7 SAM, 4 (2x2) 130mm guns, 4-30mm AK-630 Gatling guns, 4 (2x2) 553mm Torpedo tubes, 2 x RBU 1000 ASW rockets, 1 Ka-27 Helicopter
- Complement: 350

Ships


  - Sovremenny - Современный -Modern (1980)
  - Otchayanny - Отчаянный - Merciless (1982)
  - Otlichnyy - Отличный - Perfect (or Excellent) (1983)
  - Osmotritelnyy - Осмотрительный - Circumspect (1984)
  - Bezuprechnyy - Безупречный - Irreproachable (1985)
  - Boyevoy - Боевой - Militant (1986)
  - Stoykiy - Стойкий - Steadfast (1986)
  - Okrylennyy - Окрылённый - Inspiring (1987)
  - Burnyy - Бурный - Fiery or Impetuous (1988)
  - Gremyashchiy - Thunderous (originally Vedushchiy Ведущий)(1988)
  - Bystryy - Быстрый -Quick (1989)
  - Rastoropnyy - Расторопный -Prompt (1989)
  - Bezboyaznenny - Безбоязненный -Intrepid (1990)
  - Bezuderzhannyy -Безудержный - Tenacious (1991)
  - Bespokoynyy - Беспокойный -Restless (1992)
  - Nastoychivyy - Настойчивый Reliable (originally Moskovskiy Kosomolets) (1993)
  - Besstrashnyy - Бесстрашный Fearless (1994)
  - Vazhnyy - Eminent (sold to China as the Hangzhou before completion)
  - Vdumchivyy - Thoughtful (sold to China as the Fouzhou before completion) Two more ships are being built for China and another two are planned.

Links


- http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=100188 - page on these ships in Russian language
- http://home19.inet.tele.dk/airwing/ships/sovremen.htm - article in English
- http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/rus/956.htm - article in English from FAS Category:People's Liberation Army Navy ship classes Category:Russian Navy ships Category:Ship classes Category:Soviet Navy ships ja:ソブレメンヌイ級ミサイル駆逐艦

SS-N-22

SS-N-22 Sunburn (Russian designation: Moskit) is the NATO reporting name for two unrelated Soviet anti-ship missiles. Although the missiles were very different, distinguishing is difficult because their ship-mounted launching containers were identical. Confusion was exacerbated by the Soviet practice of mixing the types within a class of ships. It was therefore not confirmed that the "SS-N-22" actually identified two different missiles until after the fall of the Soviet Union. One of the SS-N-22s was the Chelomei's P-80 Zubr. It was rocket-propelled, armed with a 250-kilogram warhead, and was carried by early-model Sovremenny-class destroyers and Tarantul-class corvettes. The submarine-launched version of this missile, also known to NATO as SS-N-22 Sunburn, was designated the P-100 Oniks. The other, unrelated SS-N-22 was the Raduga P-270 Moskit. It was ramjet-propelled (though launched by a small solid-fuel rocket), armed with a 300-kilogram warhead, and was carried by later-model Sovremennyy-class destroyers, Tarantul-class corvettes, and several smaller warships. People's Republic of China has accquired SS-N-22 with the two Sovremenny class destroyers which were being delivered by Russia in 1999 and 2000. It is speculated that People's Liberation Army Navy intend to use it against the carrier battle groups deployed by United States Navy in case of any confrontation with Taiwan. Category:Cold War anti-ship missiles of the Soviet Union Category:Modern anti-ship missiles of Russia

Partido Galeguista (1978)

Este artigo trata do Partido Galeguista fundado en 1978. Para outras organizacións políticas co mesmo nome, visita a páxina Partido Galeguista. ---- O Partido Galeguista foi un partido galego fundado en 1978, reclamándose herdeiro histórico do Partido Galeguista da II República.

Historia

Tralo fracaso electoral da coalición do Partido Popular Galego e o Partido Galego Social Demócrata, deciden refundar o Partido Galeguista convocando unha Asemblea Constituínte en novembro de 1978.
Para as eleccións xerais e autonómicas de 1979 integrouse en Unidade Galega e pediu o voto positivo no referendo do Estatuto de 1980.
No Congreso de xuño de 1981 o PG vira á dereita elixe como presidente a Álvarez Gándara e expulsa ao sector encabezado por Luís Sobrado. Nas eleccións autonómicas de 1981 preséntase en solitario e obtén 32.623 votos (3'23%), e nas municipais de 1983 só obtén 10.752 votos.
No Congreso extrarodinario de febreiro de 1984 a maioría dos militantes liderados polo seu secretario xeral, Xosé Henrique Rodríguez Peña deciden integrarse en Coalición Galega, o que supón a saída do histórico Manuel Beiras que funda o Partido Galeguista (Nacionalista) Category:Partidos políticos

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