East Asia

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East Asia
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• The most populous region in the world 1.2
  billion people
• Divided ideologically between Communist countries
  (North Korea China) and Capitalist countries
  (S. Korea, Taiwan, Japan
• Home to one of the worlds largest economies
  (Japan) as well as some of the worlds poorest
  people (China)

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Setting the Boundaries

• Inclusion of 5 countries (North Korea, South
  Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China) is good
• Questions arise with regard to the inclusion of
  western Chinese provinces
• Vietnam?

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Physical Landscape

• Located at approximately the same latitude as the
  United States but more extreme in some locations
• Japan is located at the intersection of three
  tectonic plates (Philippine, Eurasian, Pacific)
  creating earthquakes and Volcanoes

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Islands

• Japan
• Consists of 4 main islands Hokkaido, Honshu,
  Shikoku, and Kyushu.

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Islands

• Japan
• Consists of 4 main islands Hokkaido, Honshu,
  Shikoku, and Kyushu.
• Elongated shape results in varied climate
• Variation in the climate from east (drier but
  threatened by typhoons) to west (more snowfall)
  that is divided by the Japanese Alps
• Heavily forested landscape as a result of
  centuries of conservation
• Home to limited areas of alluvial plains

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The Islands

• Taiwan
• Located on the island of Formosa approx. 100
  miles from mainland China
• Central western regions are rugged while the
  west is dominated by an alluvial plain
• Relatively mild climate

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Mainland

• China Proper land occupied by Chinese speaking
  Han People
• Northern China -North of the Yangtze River Valley

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Mainland

• China Proper land occupied by Chinese speaking
  Han People
• Northern China -North of the Yangtze River Valley
• Drier and colder climate
• North China Plain origin of Chinese
  civilization in the Huang He River Valley
• Loess Plateau home to fertile loess soil that
  is subject to erosion
• Manchuria known for brutal winters and mild
  summers

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Mainland

• Southern China the Yangtze River Valley and
  south
• Land of rugged river valleys and lowland basins
• Largest basins are along the Yangtze River
• South of the Yangtze are mountainous regions (up
  up 7,000)
• Far southern China is tropical
• Korea
• North and South Korea occupy Korean Peninsula

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Environmental Issues

• Forests and deforestation
• A serious problem, especially in the south where
  land has been cultivated for agricultural
  purposes
• Government attempts at change have been largely
  unsuccessful
• Lack of forest products will lead to the
  importation of wood products
• Flooding in North China
• The North China Plain has historically be plagued
  by seasonal flooding
• The worst floods have occurred on the Huang He
  River
• The river has a huge sediment load that is
  deposited in the riverbed when the river velocity
  slows, causing the river to overflow its banks
  and shift its course (26 times in recorded
  history)
• Floods have a detrimental effect upon a large
  population (300 million)

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• Flooding in North China
• Huang He River
• Chinese have attempted to control the river
  through the use of Dikes but they have been
  unsuccessful
• Erosion on the Loess Plateau
• Source of the sediment that is in the Huang He
  River
• Plateau formed by the deposition of Alluvium
  during the last ice age
• Cultivation of the fertile soil led to high
  amounts of erosion
• Governmental attempts at slowing erosion
  (planting seedlings, check dams, major dams) have
  largely been unsuccessful

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• Flooding in Southern China
• Yangtze River drains 700,000 square miles 3rd
  largest river in volume
• Chang Jiang Water Transfer Project (Three Gorges
  Dam)
• Why Build it?
• It is meant to control flooding downstream of the
  gorges
• Area downriver from the gorge is heavily
  populated and prone to seasonal flooding
• It is meant to create hydroelectric power
• When completed, the dam should provide almost 10
  of Chinas energy output
• Dam will also bring power to millions of rural
  Chinese and open up the region to industry
• Increased water level downstream will allow
  oceangoing vessels to travel further upstream

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• Three Gorges Dam
• The Dam is an impressive engineering feat 610
  feet high, 1.3 miles long, with a 385 mile
  reservoir behind it, project employs 18,000
  laborers.
• Criticism of the dam
• Chinese have had difficulty in getting
  international economic aide for the project
• Construction of the dam has been beset by
  problems of corruption
• Construction is occurring on an active fault line
• High silt levels in the river could cause
  problems
• Dam will threaten the regions ecosystem
• Threatening of endangered species
• Dam will displace millions of people and destroy
  archeological sites

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• Pollution in China
• Much of Chinas electricity comes from the
  burning of fossil fuels (low quality fuel)
• A result of this is that China is beset by air
  and water pollution problems
• The Chinese government hopes to alleviate the
  problem through the use of hydroelectricity
• Environmental Issues in Japan
• Despite its high population density, Japan has a
  relatively clean environment
• During the era of rapid industrial development,
  there were some environmental problems but
  stringent laws have reversed the trend
• In recent years, Japan has begun to export their
  pollution by exporting their industry to lesser
  developed countries

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Population

• East Asia is the most populous region in the
  world
• The Japanese population growth rate is on the
  verge of sinking into negative numbers

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Population Control in China

• Population growth was encouraged during the reign
  of Mao Zedong
• Every new pair of hands born to China could be a
  productive addition to the countrys economic
  infrastructure
• By 1976, it was clear that population controls
  were needed. The result was the
• One Child Campaign a limit of one child per
  married couple
• Governmental control over population growth
• Free contraceptives, sterilization, medical care,
  education
• Parents who comply with the plan also benefit
• Violators are subject to fines and governmental
  pressure

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Population Control

• Under the One Child policy, the birthrate has
  declined to 1
• Is the policy working?
• It is becoming more difficult to enforce in the
  countryside
• Policy is more readily adopted in urban areas
• More working women, people spend more money on
  material goods
• Little Emperor Syndrome
• A generation of children growing up without
  sibling interaction
• Who will care for the older generation?

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Economic Development

• Japanese Economic Development
• Post WWII boom
• Initially produced inexpensive consumer goods but
  transitioned to more sophisticated products
• 1990s - collapse of real estate market that led
  to economic recession
• Economic problems led to the relocation of some
  factories to South Southeast Asia
• Japanese government attempted to revitalize the
  economy through massive spending
• Japanese Economic System
• Tight bureaucratic control of the economy -
  Ministry of International Trade and Industry
  (MITI)
• Organization of Zaibatsu (Keiretsu) as a form of
  business organization

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Economic Development

• South Korea
• Japanese Occupation
• 1910-1945 Industry concentrated in the north,
  close to raw materials south remained agrarian
• Post-War Development
• Government initiated a program of export led
  economic growth
• Strong governmental control of the economy often
  at the expense of basic political freedom
• Student led protests were brutally repressed by
  the dictatorial government
• 1980s - democracy could no longer be denied and
  free elections were held

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• Taiwan
• Governmental guided economic development
• Taiwanese companies organized around small to
  mid-sized family firms
• This gives the economy more flexibility but . . .
• It does not allow for the development of some
  industries that require large amounts of capital

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Hong Kong

• Hong Kong economy developed with the least amount
  of governmental interference
• Hong Kong has traditionally functioned as a
  trading center
• More recently (1960s 1970s), it emerged as a
  major producer of textiles, toys and low-tech
  consumer goods
• 1980s Industrialists began to move into
  southern China and Hong Kong became more
  specialized in business services, banking
  telecommunications, entertainment

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Chinese Economic Development

• Communist China
• When Communists took control (1959), they
  inherited a weak economy
• They attempted to force change through the
  implementation of the Great Leap Forward
• A Centralized economic plan when small-scale
  workshops would produce iron
• Unreasonably high quotas led to a failure of the
  plan resulting in a famine that is estimated to
  have killed as many as 20 million people
• In the late 1960s, a new wave of radicalism swept
  through the country the Cultural Revolution
• Young people were mobilized in order to stamp out
  any remaining capitalists
• Those who were though to harbor capitalists
  beliefs were re-educated or killed

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The Movement Towards Capitalism

• With the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, there was a
  struggle between those who wanted change and
  those who wanted to remain dedicated communists
• The shift towards capitalism has been very
  gradual
• First changes occurred in agriculture
• Chinese farmers were able to act like
  agricultural entrepreneurs
• Later changes occurred in the Urban/Industrial
  sector
• Special Economic Zones (SEZs) a place where
  foreign investment was welcome and state
  interference was minimal
• First SEZ located in Shenzhen, just outside Hong
  Kong
• Chinese Economy has grown at an unprecedented
  rate (8-15 per year by the early 1990s)
• China has made repeated attempts at joining the
  World trade Organization (WTO)
• Jiang Zemin, the current president recently
  announced his retirement
• The communist party has recently allowed
  entrepreneurs to become members

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Asian Diaspora

• East Asia is distinct because it has few
  immigrant populations within the regions but a
  large diaspora
• Early Chinese migration
• Dates from the 13th century Chinese communities
  formed in Japan, Cambodia, and Vietnam
• Modern Chinese Migration
• After the Opium War (1840-1842) and the opening
  up of China to the west, there was an increase in
  the Chinese diaspora
• 1845-1900 400,000 Chinese emigrated to US,
  Canada, Australia New Zealand
• 1.5 million emigrated to Southeast Asia
• 400,000 emigrated to West Indies and Latin
  America
• In US, Chinese population concentrated on the
  West Coast and large eastern cities

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• Modern Chinese Migration
• Intense discrimination led to years of federal
  restrictions
• Today, the Chinese diaspora is one of the largest
  and most prosperous in the world
• In the past 25 years there has been an increase
  in Chinese migration
• Japanese Diaspora
• Began in the 1880s filled in the Chinese void
• Concentrated in Hawaii and the West Coast of
  North America
• Korean Diaspora
• First major burst of South Koreans began in the
  1970s
• Concentrated in Hawaii and West Coast (Los
  Angeles)