The influence of Western political values ​​on the development of societies in East Asia – the case of China

Article by Dr. Luong Van Ke, lecturer of the Faculty of International Studies - University of Social Sciences and Humanities, published in the Journal of Chinese Studies, No. 3(91)/2009, pp. 69-74.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The socio-economic reform in China as well as Vietnam is essentially a comprehensive, systematic and fundamentally Western value-based transformation. This reform process has been quite successful so far. This is a great contribution to the national development of these two neighboring socialist countries. The entire life of a nation-state like China or Vietnam is always greatly influenced by politics or state policy. Therefore, the study of the Western political value system and its impact on the development of East Asian societies like China and Vietnam is necessary and will bring many benefits in international research as well as contribute to policy recommendations for high-ranking politicians in Vietnam.

The scope of the article covers three basic aspects:

• What is the content of the Western political value system?
• What are the characteristics of the process of absorbing Western values ​​in China today?
• What lessons can be drawn from China's adoption process?

I. What are Western political values?

The political value system is the deepest layer of the entire political system. One can visualize its position as follows:

• Superficial Structure: The Results of Political Behavior
• Middle Layer Structure: Political Organization and Institutions
• Deep structure: Political value system

When talking about the values ​​of Western politics, people often refer to the following core aspects:1

1. Justice
2. rights
3. equality
4. liberty/freedom
5. tolerance
6. Autonomy
7. democracy

The entire system of values ​​mentioned above is not only permeated into politics, but in fact they are the standards of the entire democratic society that the history of development of many centuries soaked in blood and tears of European and American peoples has achieved. In fact, those values ​​permeate every behavior and way of thinking of each individual, even the political, economic and magnificent cultural castles of European and American countries. But that is absolutely not a system of values ​​that only exists in the West and is only suitable for Western society, but as Nobel Prize-winning economist Amatya Sen has pointed out, it is the result of objective historical movement, universal to all humanity, and is the goal that all peoples should strive for. “The leaders of East Asian history not only stressed the importance of freedom and tolerance, but they also had clear theories why it was appropriate to do so,” he writes.2 That great system of values ​​has, in one way or another, through peace and war, trade and propaganda, sometimes even by gunboats and atomic bombs, of the Western imperialist colonial powers, reached and continues to reach other peoples around the world, especially East Asian peoples. And East Asians have responded very differently to this spread.

II. Some characteristics in the reception of Western values ​​in East Asia

Here the article wants to analyze the case of Taiwan and mainland China. This choice is useful for us because these are two different territories, with different developments, but have a homogeneous background in race and culture throughout the 5000-year history of the Chinese nation.

Amatya Sen, in a recent article, recalled that, At the 1997 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, government delegations emphasized the cultural and value differences between East Asia and the West. The Singaporean Foreign Minister considered that “universal acceptance of the ideal of human rights could be harmful.” The Chinese delegation specifically emphasized the different characteristics of the regions. The Chinese Foreign Minister also wrote in the document that “Individuals must put the interests of the nation before their own.”3 Sen argues that “the justification for authoritarianism in East Asia based on the unique nature of Asian values ​​needs to be examined in a historical manner.”4 Regarding the methodological issues in studying the relationship between democracy and development, Sen calls for not only attention to statistical relationships but also an analysis of the causes of growth and development. Studies largely agree on a list of “policies that are conducive to economic growth.” These policies are all associated with greater democratic openness.

In the case of successful adoption of Western democratic values ​​in Taiwan, the following characteristics are seen:

1. First of all, this is not a revolution, but only a transformation within the existing legal framework, peaceful and normal.
2. Taiwan has had some experience with political democracy. The concepts of democracy have been put forward in Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People (nation - democracy - people's livelihood) for more than a century.
3. Chiang Kai-shek's regime paid attention to education as soon as it arrived in Taiwan. They built a quality basic education system, and were selective in sending students to study abroad (mainly in North America). These people always kept in touch with the outside world and were exposed to new things.
4. Taiwan has long had a legal basis for a democratic system. The Constitution, promulgated on January 1, 1947, and effective from December 25, 1947, is essentially a progressive constitution. The most important thing here is the democratic, free and fair election law, with proper campaigning.
5. Pressure from the Western world also had an impact on Taiwan's democratic transition.
6. The formation of several opposition parties as a force to monitor and criticize the government. The birth of the Democratic Progressive Party in 1986 was inevitable and guaranteed to maintain democracy in Taiwan, breaking the monopoly of the Kuomintang.5

China case:

The influence of the European-American civilizational value system on China has gradually changed from one-way coercion and force to exchange, integration and transformation. The influence of the Western value system has brought about positive results in some aspects, but negative results in others, but in general it is positive. The negative side is reflected in certain disturbances and instability from the population who are either disadvantaged or too radical in the process of building a new China, especially in the period of reform and opening up from 1979 to the present. The value of the Western value system can be viewed by China from many different perspectives, the most basic of which are from two perspectives: from the ruling party (the Communist Party and the State they control) and from the people. Here, the article focuses on analyzing the behavior of accepting the Western value system by Chinese leaders and elites in the period of reform and opening up.

The reform and opening up in China is a creative absorption of progressive political ideas in the early 20th century with the "New Books", the "Reform of Mau Tuat" movement, and the "Three Principles of the People". The experiences of accepting and transforming Western ideas, forms, and values ​​into the reform and opening up of the country to build China today are worth our reference.

First of all, to succeed in the reform and opening up process, it is necessary to have a theory of reform and opening up. That is the system of Western political economic theories, drawn from the successful lessons of Western economists. In the treasure trove of Western economic reform theoretical bases, there are many theories and theories, but China has chosen reform theories that are both advanced and suitable to the country's characteristics. According to some researchers, that is the development economics theory of the "Neoclassical" school of John Maynard Keynes (British economist, 1889-1946). At the same time, China also adopted the view of the 5 development cycles of the American economist Rostow. The 5-stage theory of the development process has presented the history of economic development from traditional society (feudal, semi-feudal) to a consumer society of the masses at a high level. Those modern ideas have been absorbed, transformed and creatively applied by China in the current reform and opening up process in China, and have been effective, bringing about great achievements, recognized and highly appreciated by the world. Specifically, we see:

- China builds an economic reform model: both reforming to revitalize the domestic economy and strongly opening up to actively integrate with the world economy. Domestic reform, prioritizing agricultural, rural, and farmer reform first; then urban reform with product contracting, equitization of state-owned enterprises, building a modern enterprise system, reforming the market system: production market, labor market, financial market; reforming the price system: state prices, market prices, regulated prices; reforming the wage system; reforming the employment system; administrative reform, etc.

- Regarding foreign economy: building special economic zones, opening up and building a strategy for coastal areas, opening up the economy of riverside areas, opening up the economy of border areas, opening up the economy and building the economy of the western region. Reforming and building a socialist market economy, both following the laws of market development and having strict state regulation, maintaining a stable growth rhythm, ensuring the ultimate improvement of people's lives... Absorbing Western reform theories, selectively applying them, and modifying them to achieve the highest efficiency for the country, that is China's ultimate goal in handling well the dialectical relationship between the outside and the inside.

- The reform method has changed, from the initial period of economic growth at all costs to the requirement of harmonious and scientific development. This is a big issue, of significance not only for China, but also for other countries in promoting sustainable national development.

- Absorbing and creatively applying Marxist-Leninist doctrine: The theory of "socialism with Chinese characteristics", the theory of "three representatives" (the Communist Party of China represents the most advanced productive forces, represents the most advanced culture, represents the broad masses of the people), or the theory of building a harmonious and scientific socialism...

III. China's experience in absorbing Western political values

First experience: In receiving and exchanging with European and American cultures, Chinese culture only absorbs certain values ​​or transforms them to suit its own cultural traditions.

Second experience: In dealing with European and American culture, China sometimes accepts the whole system, but China rearranges it according to different value scales. For example, China accepts Marxism-Leninism, but not dogmatically, just absorbs the spirit, rearranging it to suit Chinese conditions.

Third experience: China absorbs and transforms the form of Western political institutions to express the content of the unique values ​​of Chinese culture. Here, people see the phenomenon of homonymy and different meanings. For example, it is also a National Assembly, but the Chinese National Assembly is elected by the Party and meets only once a year to approve the Party's policies. It is also a direct election but there is no contest. It is also a multi-party system but all parties acknowledge (by constitution) the exclusive leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and are their allies...

In short, it can be said that the Western political value system has had a strong and profound impact on East Asian societies, including China and Vietnam. The experiences of absorbing and applying them in China are worth our reference in the process of policy making and organizing the political apparatus as well as implementing policies. The basic principle that needs to be prioritized in today's politics when applying this value system is to respect democratic values, protect and bring freedom to people as individuals. Only then can we achieve the goal of a rich people, a strong country, a fair, democratic and civilized society in a not too long time.

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