Video #9 - Who's Hu?
Monday, January 09, 2006BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The man designated to succeed Chinese President Jiang Zemin next year is Vice President Hu Jintao. The 59-year-old has a reputation as a technocrat. He is an engineering graduate from Tsinghua University, known as the country's best science academy. The West knows him for his "heavy-handed" rule of Tibet, where he allegedly cracked down on pro-independence activists while serving as party secretary in the late 1980's and early 1990's. His latest assignment has been as China's Vice-President in charge of the Communist Party's Central Party School.
ChinaOnline lists his titles as follows:
Vice President, People's Republic of China Vice Chairman, PRC Central Military Commission Member, Standing Committee of the CCP Central Committee Politburo Member, Secretariat of the CCP Central Committee President, Party School of the CCP Central Committee
The same source adds: "No Chinese communist since the earliest days of the Party has risen so far, so fast, and stayed there despite the lack of a strong power base. Hu's impressive string of promotions have moved him from local communist functionary in 1980 to the pinnacle of power in Beijing in 1998. He was viewed by party elders as intelligent, dynamic, articulate, genial, loyal and above all, politically correct."
Dexter Roberts, reporting for Business Week, describes him as a force for reform: "A consensus-builder, he has overseen an academy that is pushing for better training for cadres, a stepped-up fight against corruption, and an open-door policy for entrepreneurs seeking to join the Communist Party. Indeed, Hu has shown strong interest in the experience of Europe's social democratic parties, meeting with party officials on his tour in Europe and commissioning studies on the topic."
Additionally, Vice President Jintao's experience with the more impoverished provinces on China, Giangsu, Gansu and Guizhou, is seen as an asset given the economic gap growing between city and countryside in his country. However, experts note Hu's apparent lack of knowledge of economic affairs. The U.S. Governnment is also said to be concerned that Hu rarely deals with American issues and is reportedly suspicious of American power. ChinaOnline quotes.a Hong Kong journal report in 1994 that Hu told a secret party meeting that "strangling China's development" was " a strategic principle pursued by the United States." Hu also endorsed anti-NATO demonstrations in a nationally televised speech in May 1999. Conversely, he has taken part in high-profile trips to Japan and Southeast Asia, central Asia, Latin America and Europe; he learned Russian as a student and has met with Russian leaders; and is one of China's top decision-makers on Korea and Japan.
Hu has rarely spoken out on major policy debates, but his actions in Tibet years ago show that he opposes rapid political liberalization. Furthermore, he is reportedly most noted for his support of the Party's right to unopposed rule.
President Jiang Zemin has pledged China's support the in the international war against terrorism, mainly to gain entrance into the World Trade Organization. (China was admitted into the WTO in December). Hu has reiterated his country's pledge to take part in this global fight.
SOURCES:
"Hu Jintao: Chinese Communist Party 'golden boy'," World Tibet Network News, September 26, 1999. http://www.tibet.ca/wtnarchive/1999/9/26_2.htm "Hu Jintao: China's vice president," China Online. http://www:chinaonline.com/refer/biographies/secure/c00122733.asp "Hu Jintao stresses implementing "Three Represent's," Chinadaily.com.cn, March 2, 2002. http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/news/2002-03-02/58962.html "Hu Jintao, Vice-President of China," BusinessWeek Online. February 11, 2002. http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/02_06/bb3769610.htm
LESSON PLAN
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:
10-12/Economics, International Relations, World History, International Baccalaureate Programs (IB), Current Events, Geography
PURPOSE:
To present activities to be used in a variety of classroom situations in order to enhance student understanding of the Japanese economy and its significance globally.
OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able to:
- Describe the duties of the President of the People's Republic of China.
- Compare and contrast the office of president in China and in the United States.
- Research the life of Hu Jintao.
- Forecast policy changes in China under Hu Jintao.
MATERIALS:
- Background information provided.
- Resources on Japan available at your school's Media Center and the Public Library System in your area.
- Background information available through Internet "search engines."
ACTIVITIES:
May be assigned as group activities or as individual tasks. They may also be designed as preparation for related presentations either by individuals or groups.
- Prepare a biographical profile of Hu Jintao. (A time line format may be good as a classroom illustration)
- Prepare a Venn diagram comparing the duties of the president in China and in the U.S..
- Use the information gathered in 1 and 2 to role-play Vice-President Jintao introducing himself to the American people.
- Prepare a Venn diagram comparing Mr. Jintao's life experiences with that of President George W. Bush.
EVALUATION:
Individual assignments should be graded by the teacher using established criteria.
Group activities, presentations and projects may be evaluated by teachers and students using the following criteria and scale:
Content Creativity Clarity
1 = Superior (A) 2 = Excellent (B) 3 = Good (C) 4 = Fair (D) 5 = Poor (F)
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