Chinese Politics and Society

One of the most significant world events in the 21st century is the rise of China. Today, China’s economic and political influence can be felt in almost every corner of the world. Yet the interaction between China and the rest of the world, particularly the Western world, is often challenged by misperceptions, stereotypes, biases, fear and even ignorance on both sides. The goal of this course is to provide a comprehensive understanding of how China has achieved its fast growth, the problems that are troubling its further development and interaction with the outside world, and its future role in international politics. This course reviews the historical development of Chinese society and how the historical and culture legacies continue to affect the current political system, political culture, and relationship between the state and the public. The course also covers a variety of political, social and economic issues, including foreign policy, economic inequality, ethnic relations, gender and women's rights, media censorship and contentious politics. The course syllabus is available upon request.

The China-Hong Kong Relationship: Interviews

Since its return to China, the relationship between Hong Kong and Mainland China has been marked by struggles. A great cleavage emerged as a result of clashing political and economic systems. The people of Hong Kong held a massive and long-term protest for a political reform in 2014. To investigate the protest and understand the issue, I traveled to Hong Kong and conducted several interviews with the local journalists and legislators in January 2015.

Feature Interview Ms.Zhang Jieping is an experienced journalist who covers stories on Hong Kong for the New York Times and many other newspapers and magazines. She is the founder and editor-in-cheif (2014-2017) of the Initium (端传媒）, an independent Internet media corp. In this interview, she shares her opinions on Mainland China-Hong Kong relations and analyzes how the media in China and Hong Kong contributes to the current distrust and misunderstanding.

The Path to the Chinese Powerhouse

This game illustrates the hierarhcy of the Chinese political system, and the selection and promotion of government officials. In this online interactive game, students will play as a young Chinese citizen who aims to become the most powerful politician in China. Students will face different life and career choices. The consequences of these choices determine the final position they reach.

An updated flash version of the game is under construction. Please access the survey-based version of the game HERE.

Citizen-Government Interaction: A Game

This is a two-section class activity of a role-playing game designed to introduce the Political Agent Models. In a fictional governance crisis， such as a local pollution incident, students are assigned to represent different roles and negotiate with various groups. Students' decision of cooperation or opposition determines the outcome: a peaceful solution between the government, interest groups, and the ordinary citizens, a status quo, or a clash driven by the increasing tension? Students learn from interaction and gain a deeper understanding of an analytic method and related theories, which helps them apply such a method in studying other topics (such as regime transition, political party, and policymaking) in different contexts. The plan and instruction of this class activity are available upon request.

Examples of Student Feedback

"I never thought this course could be so facsinating. Erico's lecture were full of interesting stories, such as his personal experience and first-hand information. I learned a lot about China, such as its political culture, social equality, and the protest in Hong Kong. Also the games Erico designed were fun to play. I really enjoy playing these games and interacting with others in the class. "

"Erico was an excellent teacher. He is very knowledgeable about politics and he effectively shared his knowledge with us. His lectures were backed up by experience and scientific research. His lesson plans encouraged us to think critically about the issues and topics covered. He provided us with engaging class activities and projects. For example, he provided us with opportunities to ask individuals, with current careers related to politics, questions related to our course."

"As a Chinese, I know little about Chinese politics before taking this class. I really appreaciate I had such a chance to take this course. I was so sad when I read some of the readings on the Great Famine in 1950s, and I was also shocked by some of the things the government has done. It was also interesting to discuss these topics with American students, although we usually had very different opinoins. "