Chinese Dissonance

Chinese Dissonance juxtaposes ten stories about a homeless internet celebrity, a suicidal bride, an immigrant flower salesman, a world famous artist, a horrifying viral video and a former Communist soldier, all the while giving a glimpse into Chinese internet culture and its bizarre fascinations. Guy Gunaratne adapts real world commentary from Chinese internet social network streams and message boards and weaves them into ten unforgettable short stories.

This study examines the process of democratization in China, taking as a focal point the recent crisis of 1989 in Tiananmen Square, but providing broader historical perspectives from both Chinese and American scholars. The authors evaluate China's political heritage, from theories of despotism in Chinese civilization to evidence for China's own democratic traditions. They also analyze the more recent political and social crises of the 1980s leading to the massive urban demonstrations in the spring of 1989, with the conflicts that have divided the rural masses, the state, the army, the cultural elite, and the media in China; and they discuss what these events tell us about China's cultural and political future.

Banking Regulation in China provides an in-depth analysis of the country's contemporary banking regulatory system, focusing on regulation in practice. By drawing on public and private interest theories relating to bank regulation, He argues that controlled development of the banking sector transformed China's banks into more market-oriented institutions and increased public sector growth. This work proves that bank regulation is the primary means through which the Chinese government achieves its political and economic objectives rather than using it as a vehicle for maintaining efficient financial markets.

Virtually every major media, information and telecommunications enterprise in the world is significantly tied to China. This volume provides the most expert, up-to-date and multidisciplinary analyses on how the contemporary media function in what has rapidly become the world's biggest market. As the West, particularly the United States, tries to integrate China into the global market economy, the book examines how globalizing forces clash with Chinese nationalism to shape China's media discourses and ideology. It also analyses the role of the media as a site of resistance within China to the ruling elite.

Written by a hugely experienced team of international contributors from China, Europe and the US, this book takes an innovative and insightful look at one of the most important bilateral relationships in international relations this century.

This book selects the most outstanding journal articles from the Chinese version of Foreign Affairs Review written by prestigious Chinese scholars in recent years. The articles focus on analysis of foreign affairs issues which are of relevance to China, and provide insightful perspectives on China's diplomacy and international system. The scope of the book is broad, including both theoretical insights and solid case studies. It covers recent hotspots in practice, like public participation in China's diplomacy, safety issues of overseas Chinese, and concepts of Chinese diplomacy like "People First," as well as case studies on historical events or long-term practices like analysis of China's crisis diplomacy decision-making in the post-Cold War era, China's cooperation with UNESCO, etc. The book provides fresh and insightful articles from Chinese perspectives, which will benefit international readers who are interested in China's diplomacy, foreign affairs and international relations.

The paper represents an attempt to provide empirical answers to the questions posed by two mutually contradictory theories pertinent to Chinese reactions in a forced compliance situation, viz. the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance and a Characterological Theory about Chinese behavior. The former is about the tendency of people to maintain consistency between their cognitions, evaluations, and behaviors and how people react once this consistency is disrupted. The latter is about the behavior characteristics of Chinese resulting from their culture of Confucianism. It was found that the experiment supports the Characterological Theory in general, but only part of the Dissonance Theory is supported. For example, for the Chinese and American subjects alike, increased inducement produces increased compliance. But unlike that of the American subjects, the internalized attitudes of the Chinese were affected neither by increased inducement nor by consequent increased compliance. However it was not concluded that this experiment has large implications for dissonance theory as a whole but it was contended that the experiment has direct implications for the cross-cultural applicability of dissonance due to forced compliance. (Author).

A ground-breaking exploration of the Chinese elite's consumption of luxury products and their attitudes toward luxury goods. Elite China identifies the Chinese luxury product consumers and the characteristics of their luxury consumption, explains the implications for luxury firms and marketers and most importantly, spells out strategies for international luxury brands and Chinese luxury brands to succeed in Chinese market.