The Treatment of a Major Issue Since the Beginning of 2014 in China - Research Paper Example

Comparing the treatment of a major issue since the beginning of in one Asian country (China) The recent demonstrations bythousands of people in the streets of Beijing China to call for a democratic process has left a lot of tongues wagging from every quarter of the press both in the international and local arena. Only certain media channels have been able to conduct an analysis on the happenings from an in-depth point of view. A comparison between press releases both locally and internationally has provided different views and opinions on the circumstances that have led to such actions (Brady, 2013). It has been reported that Taiwan after splitting from the mainland has developed a system of governance that is democratic. While at the same time another local press release in China potent that such democratic process being referred to in Taiwan is a (flawed) democracy. Simple comparison between China and Taiwan from the media has shown that these differences have been there. As a result that exists in terms of geographical and demographical differences between the two countries. Times Magazine has reported that there are other factors which may promote the adoption of a democratic governance system in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as that of Taiwan due to the presence of similarities between the two countries which include; shared history and similar cultural orientations of the Taiwanese and Chinese people. Apart from the favorable characteristics, other hindering factors according to the local media reports include the presence of huge foreign investors in Taiwan, which is absent in China (Breslin, 2013). As a result of these, it has been put clear by both the local and international media that such comparison does not portray similarity even though they are beneficial. The International media have provided three general sets of indicators for comparison of these countries. These indicators include; support for democratic values among the population, economic development (GDP per capita) and the political participation levels among the population. As such, the media have strived to provide an understanding of a political transition of the countries with the aim of putting forward a better understanding. Research findings have both from press reports and scholastic evidences have shown that both PRC and Taiwan were originally ruled by undemocratic regimes for a long period. As a result, there have been considerably significant qualitative political and economic transitions in both countries. Today, both the local and international media reports, as well as independent research studies, have shown that Taiwan when rated under the Democratic Index, it is a "flawed democracy according to the Times report. It is reported in the Time Magazine that in Taiwan, a quasi-Leninist party took advantage of the authoritarian wave of transition through the acceptance of two party system in the political scene which still left the original party in power. In the PRC, it has been not easy for the local and the international media to classify transition systems as they have shifted from the pure totalitarian to the authoritarian regime in the era of opening as was introduced by Deng Xiaoping during the late seventies transition times. This therefore portrays the kind of governance that a nation should adopt especially in the Asian continent as it has been seen that those that do not embrace pure democracy as is advocated for by the United States seem to be prospering than those that have embraced it in some way (Lee, 2014). Currently, both the local and international media reports that China has become an economic superpower with the ability to sustain its economy sufficient from the domestic market approach without engaging in international borrowings with its political system which is considered by the US media outlets as undemocratic. The Chinese economy is currently the largest in the world according to the recent economic survey of nations by Times Magazine. It has grown so big that even the US government is indebted to China. This, therefore, brings confusion to the citizenry as to whether it is political freedom or economic freedom that is important for the creation of better living standards in the nation (Morrow, 2014). The growth and development of the nation have been found to be a function of peaceful coexistence, harmonious relationship and hard work among the citizens of a nation. As such, the reports that have put forward to United states citizens by the media on the eco-political situation of China may not have so clear in dealing with the underlying facts of Chinese prosperity despite their economic prosperity under such political systems. Times Magazine reports on the affairs of Chinese political structure and transitions have not been clear in stipulating the advantages of such political systems about economic growth and development for the entire citizenry. In retrospect, research findings on the need for democracy has found that majority of the citizenry in PRC are craving for democracy so that they may be able to participate in the political systems of their country just as in economic endeavors. A statistical survey on the need for democracy has shown that traditional values have continued to weaken in both countries as the democratic values strengthens from time to time. This shows that the international media reports on the need for political systems reforms in China has been growing among the citizenry to the point that led to recent mass demonstrations that were witnessed in Beijing. The hypothesis that international media reports have been right is further supported by the statistical analysis that has been conducted by the Asian barometer on the question of democracy in China and Taiwan. Such reports have always shown that higher results from the Chinese population who are calling for the democratization of their political systems as compared to those of Taiwan. To some extent the local media reports that are done from an environment where freedom of information is not fully accessible may not be reliable since they bound to manipulation by the government to suit its agenda. In conclusion, it is, therefore, prudent to conclude that the international media reports on the affairs of China are more reliable than the local media reports. This is because the international reports are done from a free environment where every opinion counts, and freedom of expression is upheld. Therefore on matters of information reliability, Times magazine news are more credible than the local Chinese media .outlet news (Morrow, 2014). Works Cited Brady, Anne-Marie. 2013. Mass Persuasion as a Means of Legitimation and Chinas Popular Authoritarianism. American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 53, no. 3. Breslin, Shaun. 2013. Democratizing One-Party Rule in China. In: Burnell, Peter a Youngs, Richard. Eds.2013. New Challenges to Democratization. London: Routledge. Lee, Julian. 2014. A Different Chinese Democracy: Alternatives to Regime “Misperception." CSD Graduate Student Conference. (http://www.democracy.uci.edu/files/democracy/docs/conferences/2014/csd) Morrow, Will. 2014. Chinese government imposes new Internet censorship law. (https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/01/07/chin-j07.html). Read More