Today

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Todays Issues in East Asia
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The Ring of Fire

• Many Japanese cities are threatened by
  earthquakes because Japan is located in the Ring
  of Fire.
• The Pacific oceanic plate is forced under the
  Eurasian continental plate.
• As it crumples it adds to mountain ranges and
  volcanoes.

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Stress Builds

• At the same time the Pacific plate is forced
  beneath the Eurasian plate, stresses build up and
  eventually the plates move suddenly and violently
  causing an earthquake.

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The Geology of Japan

• The Japanese islands resulted from subduction.
• The islands were formed by volcanoes as the
  Pacific plate slid under the Eurasian Plate.
• The same forces that created them can also
  destroy them.

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Volcanoes

• There are 60 active volcanoes in the Japanese
  Islands.
• Mt. Fuji is the best known volcanoes in the
  islands.

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Earthquakes and Tsunamis

• An average of 1,000 earthquakes occur each year
  in Japan. Many are small but there have been
  some catastrophic quakes that have leveled entire
  cities.
• When the earthquake occurs under the ocean floor,
  the tectonic shift can cause a tsunami. Some
  tsunami waves have been recorded to as high as
  100 ft.

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Preparing for Disasters

• Problems Many of the older buildings in Japan
  are not as likely to withstand earthquakes as
  newer buildings
• Also, many newer building have been constructed
  on landfill and the ground is not very stable

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Solutions

• Japan has established strict building codes to
  make sure that new building are safer than the
  older ones.
• School children participate in earthquake drills
  with local fire fighters.

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Trade and Prosperity

• Child labor in China is huge problem. In 1995,
  UNICEF reported over 500,000 children were
  working in factories or begging on the street.

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Opening Doors

• In the 1800s, the nations of Europe signed
  treaties that gave them distinct spheres of
  influence in the east.
• In 1853, Commodore Perry sailed from the United
  States to persuade the Japanese to open trade
  with the United States.

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Intimidation

• The U.S. naval warships that accompanied Perry
  intimidated Japan into opening its doors to the
  United States and the West.

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Industrialization and Globalization

• After WWII, the nations of East Asia began to
  industrialize by using their large populations as
  cheap labor.
• Regional economies began to evolve into national
  economies, and soon a global economy developed in
  which the nations became dependent on each other
  for goods and services.

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Powerful Economies of East Asia

• In the 1980s and early 1990s, Japan, Taiwan and
  South Korea enjoyed prosperity. Unfortunately by
  the mid 1990s they were all experiencing economic
  problems.
• These three countries are a part of the Jakota
  Triangle. Ja (japan), ko (korea), ta (Taiwan).

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Economic Problems Arise

• The economies of East Asia were burdened by debt
  and mismanagement.
• Much of their initial economic success was built
  on cheap labor. The workers began to demand
  higher wages.

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Recession

• By the 1990, a series of banks and other
  companies went bankrupt.
• This sparked panic among foreign investors who
  began selling their Asian stocks and currency

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Economic Indicators
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A Global Ripple Effect

• The economies all over the world began to feel
  the effects of the economic downturn in Japan.
• The World Bank and International Monetary Fund
  stepped in and offered loans to East Asia to
  quiet the economic freefall.

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A Promise of Reform

• Japan and other East Asian countries had to agree
  to stop the use of sweatshops in exchange for
  help from the IMF and World Bank.

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The Slow Crawl Toward Capitalism and Democracy

• On May 4 approximately 100,000 students and
  workers peacefully marched in Beijing demanding
  democratic reforms.
• On May 20 the government declared martial law.
  However, the demonstrations continued.
• After deliberation among the Communist leaders, a
  hard-line approach was chosen and the government
  ordered troops and tanks into Tiananmen Square.

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Human Toll of Freedom

• On June 3 and 4, the People's Liberation Army
  brutally crushed the pro-democracy supporters.
  Estimates of civilian deaths vary 400-800
• Injuries are generally held to have numbered from
  7,000 to 10,000.

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International Response

• Following the violence, the government conducted
  widespread arrests to suppress the remaining
  supporters of the movement, banned the foreign
  press and strictly controlled coverage of the
  events in the Chinese press.
• The violent suppression of the Tiananmen Square
  protest caused widespread international
  condemnation of the Chinese government.

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Hong Kong

• Hong Kong was under control of Great Britain
  until 1997.
• During the time it had been under British
  control, Hong Kong had become an Economic
  Tiger.
• In 1997, Hong Kong was returned to China with the
  promise that Hong Kong would be allowed to
  continue operating under its capitalistic system.

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Slow, Slow Progress

• For more than 40 years, China has known
  authoritarianism of both brutal and benevolent
  leaders.
• In the mid-1980s, China began to allow the
  consumers and demand market participate in
  economic decisions.
• Slowly China is adopting democratic and
  capitalistic ideals.

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Why Should This Matter to Us?

• Chinas population 1.3 Billion This huge
  population means very cheap labor. Cheap labor
  means that they can produce marketable goods at a
  much lower cost than U.S. factories.
• Shift from agricultural to industrial economy.
  This means that they will require more industrial
  resources such as steel and petroleum products
• Slow evolution to capitalistic economy and
  emergence into global marketplace. This means
  that they will become a direct competitor with
  the U.S. in global trade.
• Demand economy means that China will become a
  consumption nation which will put them in direct
  competition with the United States for resources.