China has turned from a "low risk" to a "high risk" society since the start of the market reforms in the late 1970s. Market, while bringing diverse livelihood opportunities to rural people, has simultaneously distributed risks, and the exposure and vulnerability to them unequally among different...

Der Beitrag ist ein Erfahrungsbericht aus der universitären Unterrichtspraxis der vergangenen 5 Jahre. In dem deutsch-japanischen Seminarprojekt 'DJ 50' wird mit wechselnden technischen und personellen Konstellationen versucht, eine optimale Lernplattform für eine internet-gestützte...

Der vorliegende Task Force-Band beschäftigt sich mit drei aktuellen gesellschafts- und wirtschaftspolitischen Themen aus Ostasien: Arbeitsmarkt- und Beschäftigungspolitik in Japan vor dem Hintergrund einer alternden Gesellschaft; private Altersvorsorge in Singapur; und Sozialstandards in der...

Local governments in Japan account for about 80 per cent of general government spending when excluding social security expenditures. Therefore, for the implementation of fiscal policy it is important how local governments will behave. On the basis of the economic theories on fiscal federalism it...

China is a country that has a large number of minorities, who live in specific regions which are mainly located in Middle and West China. They are abundant in natural resources and are of general importance for China in strategic and ecological terms. Minorities live in relatively compact...

Die Beiträge der Studie stellen ein Gutachten zu den politischen und wirtschaftlichen Beziehungen zwischen dem Bundesland Nordrhein-Westfalen (NRW) und den asiatischen Ländern VR China, Japan und Vietnam dar. Das Gutachten wurde im Sommer 2000 für die Staatskanzlei NRW von Studierenden der...

From the old Chinese songs, we know that '56 Chinese brothers and sisters' live together in a big family. This expression refers to the number of nationalities living in P.R. China. However, many Han Chinese live far away from the National Minorities and they get to know their brothers and...

This paper discusses the ideological contents, and the social background of Falungong, a sect suppressed and persecuted by the Chinese state since several years. It focuses not on violations of human rights and torture of sect members, but tries to identify the character and features of...

This report approaches current domains of development and tension within China. It was elaborated by students in the frame of a 'Task Force Seminar' in cooperation with the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). It addresses the issues of...

The paper examines some of the main political economy dynamics of the policy initiatives on rural development that have been taken since 2003, and provides an overview of the main issues that they are addressing. The paper first outlines the major agrarian problems that have emerged over the...