The State Council Information Office released the document ＂Sixty Years Since Tibet＇s Peaceful Liberation＂ on July11, 2011 to mark the event. It is the ninth white paper on Tibet the Chinese government has issued. ...The State Council Information Office released the document ＂Sixty Years Since Tibet＇s Peaceful Liberation＂ on July11, 2011 to mark the event. It is the ninth white paper on Tibet the Chinese government has issued. The white pa- per reviews the 60 years of history since Tibet was peacefully liberated in 1951, highlighting the extraordinary achieve- ments that Tibet has scored thanks to democratic reform, establishment of the autonomous region, socialist devel- opment and the economic reform and opening-up policies.展开更多
Out of the plethora of peace theories,two stand out in particular:(a)the Kantian democratic theory of peace,which argues that peace depends on a league of democracies,and(b)the liberal economic theory of peace,that a ...Out of the plethora of peace theories,two stand out in particular:(a)the Kantian democratic theory of peace,which argues that peace depends on a league of democracies,and(b)the liberal economic theory of peace,that a free,open world market conduces to peace.In this essay,concrete examples are cited that would raise doubt on the validity of these theories.It then proceeds to examine whether culture would make a difference on the incidence of war.In this light,the Westphalian system of states is compared with the historical Chinese“tribute system”qua an inherent system of international relations.One distinct difference is found in the much lower incidence of wars in the latter system,as David Kang’s study identified that in 5 centuries(1368-1841)the Chinese tribute system had only two interstate wars within its circle of members,not counting the wars initiated by external,ex-regional Western powers.And,the religious wars that plagued the West were never found in the Chinese tribute system.In search of an answer to this almost incredible record of low incidence of war,this essay finds that the Confucian culture,with its emphasis on harmony and harmonization of opposites,in contradistinction to the teachings on conflict in Abrahamic cultures,seems to hold the key to an answer.If so,culture,rather than institutions(such as democracies,open world market,etc.)deserves to be seriously considered as a relevant factor contributing to peace.Most importantly,culture as such can be taught and disseminated,including through the classroom.展开更多
On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet, Zhu Weiqun, Executive Vice Minister of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, elaborated on t...On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet, Zhu Weiqun, Executive Vice Minister of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, elaborated on the historic importance of the event in an exclusive interview with China Tibet magazine. Excerpts follow:展开更多
文摘The State Council Information Office released the document ＂Sixty Years Since Tibet＇s Peaceful Liberation＂ on July11, 2011 to mark the event. It is the ninth white paper on Tibet the Chinese government has issued. The white pa- per reviews the 60 years of history since Tibet was peacefully liberated in 1951, highlighting the extraordinary achieve- ments that Tibet has scored thanks to democratic reform, establishment of the autonomous region, socialist devel- opment and the economic reform and opening-up policies.
文摘Out of the plethora of peace theories,two stand out in particular:(a)the Kantian democratic theory of peace,which argues that peace depends on a league of democracies,and(b)the liberal economic theory of peace,that a free,open world market conduces to peace.In this essay,concrete examples are cited that would raise doubt on the validity of these theories.It then proceeds to examine whether culture would make a difference on the incidence of war.In this light,the Westphalian system of states is compared with the historical Chinese“tribute system”qua an inherent system of international relations.One distinct difference is found in the much lower incidence of wars in the latter system,as David Kang’s study identified that in 5 centuries(1368-1841)the Chinese tribute system had only two interstate wars within its circle of members,not counting the wars initiated by external,ex-regional Western powers.And,the religious wars that plagued the West were never found in the Chinese tribute system.In search of an answer to this almost incredible record of low incidence of war,this essay finds that the Confucian culture,with its emphasis on harmony and harmonization of opposites,in contradistinction to the teachings on conflict in Abrahamic cultures,seems to hold the key to an answer.If so,culture,rather than institutions(such as democracies,open world market,etc.)deserves to be seriously considered as a relevant factor contributing to peace.Most importantly,culture as such can be taught and disseminated,including through the classroom.
文摘On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet, Zhu Weiqun, Executive Vice Minister of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, elaborated on the historic importance of the event in an exclusive interview with China Tibet magazine. Excerpts follow:
