Dynamics Vs Tradition In Chinese Foreign Policy Motivation

This book presents original evidence of a previously undisclosed dark side to China's Hong Kong policy after 1982. It documents a covert program of immigration from the mainland to Hong Kong which was designed to put in place a classic fifth column of Communist loyalists to be used if all other institution-based arrangements for the power transfer of the British colony to Chinese rule failed. This finding is revealing and important in its own right as a contribution to study of the Hong Kong transition. But the book focuses more on the broader significance of the motivation of such a fifth column policy for both the study of Chinese foreign policy and international relations theory. Studies of international affairs regularly impute motives to states or their leaders. Yet, when it comes to analysis of the imputed motives, most scholars see that as nearly impossible given the difficulty of penetrating the minds of the individual leaders concerned. However, a small number of scholars have taken up the challenge. They believe that foreign policy motivation can be studied despite its apparent complexity and elusiveness. They see the study of motivation of a given foreign policy as the only way of grasping its essence and, therefore, of ascertaining clues about its future development. This book argues that motivation study advances our understanding of Chinese foreign policy. Drawing on an investigation of existing theoretical studies of motivation, it identifies and synthesises three approaches to the study of motivation that seem particularly relevant to the Chinese case: perception; personality; and structural/situational constraining factors. It also analyses the historical, political culture, ideological and structural sources of Chinese policymaking to illustrate how these three elements can elucidate Chinese foreign policy motivation. Its conclusion is then tested against the case of China's fifth column policy in Hong Kong. The findings from the Hong Kong case study reflect two parallel but contradictory lines of motivation in the reform era of Deng Xiaoping: a dynamic adjusting and learning process on the one hand, and a strenuous effort to retain its traditional practice on the other. The book concludes that, despite increasing pressures for adaptation from constant and tremendous changes in global and national settings, Chinese foreign policy motivation could not in the final analysis overcome the constraints imposed by its underlying doctrines and practices, which had been so firmly embedded in the minds of the Communist leaders that it became a traditional mode of responding to the unknown and uncertain culture of Chinese foreign policy.

This book presents original evidence of a previously undisclosed dark side to China's Hong Kong policy after 1982. It documents a covert program of immigration from the mainland to Hong Kong which was designed to put in place a classic fifth column of Communist loyalists to be used if all other institution-based arrangements for the power transfer of the British colony to Chinese rule failed. This finding is revealing and important in its own right as a contribution to study of the Hong Kong transition. But the book focuses more on the broader significance of the motivation of such a fifth column policy for both the study of Chinese foreign policy and international relations theory. Studies of international affairs regularly impute motives to states or their leaders. Yet, when it comes to analysis of the imputed motives, most scholars see that as nearly impossible given the difficulty of penetrating the minds of the individual leaders concerned. However, a small number of scholars have taken up the challenge. They believe that foreign policy motivation can be studied despite its apparent complexity and elusiveness. They see the study of motivation of a given foreign policy as the only way of grasping its essence and, therefore, of ascertaining clues about its future development. This book argues that motivation study advances our understanding of Chinese foreign policy. Drawing on an investigation of existing theoretical studies of motivation, it identifies and synthesises three approaches to the study of motivation that seem particularly relevant to the Chinese case: perception; personality; and structural/situational constraining factors. It also analyses the historical, political culture, ideological and structural sources of Chinese policymaking to illustrate how these three elements can elucidate Chinese foreign policy motivation. Its conclusion is then tested against the case of China's fifth column policy in Hong Kong. The findings from the Hong Kong case study reflect two parallel but contradictory lines of motivation in the reform era of Deng Xiaoping: a dynamic adjusting and learning process on the one hand, and a strenuous effort to retain its traditional practice on the other. The book concludes that, despite increasing pressures for adaptation from constant and tremendous changes in global and national settings, Chinese foreign policy motivation could not in the final analysis overcome the constraints imposed by its underlying doctrines and practices, which had been so firmly embedded in the minds of the Communist leaders that it became a traditional mode of responding to the unknown and uncertain culture of Chinese foreign policy.

Despite its increasingly secure place in the world, the People's Republic of China remains dissatisfied with its global status. Its growing material power has simultaneously led to both greater influence and unsettling questions about its international intentions. China also has found itself in a constant struggle to balance its aspirations abroad with a daunting domestic agenda. This authoritative book provides a unique exploration of the complex and dynamic motivations behind Beijing's foreign policy. The authors focus on China's choices and calculations on issues such as the ruling Communist party-regime's interests, international status and image, nationalism, Taiwan, human rights, globalization, U.S. hegemony, international institutions, and the war on terrorism. Taken together, the chapters offer a comprehensive diagnosis of the emerging paradigms in Chinese foreign policy, illuminating especially China's struggle to engineer and manage its rise in light of the opportunities and perils inherent in the post-cold war and post-9/11 world.

Lu Ning, former assistant to a vice-foreign minister of China, draws on archival materials, interviews, and personal experiences, to provide unique insights into the formal and informal structures, processes, mechanisms, and dynamics of--and key players in--foreign-policy decisionmaking in Beijing. Lu Ning sheds light on controversial decisions that were made, such as China's entering the Korean War, selling DF-3 missiles to Saudi Arabia in 1986, and cooperating with the Israeli defense establishment.Lu Ning divulges the inner workings of Beijing's foreign ministry, introduces new Chinese language sources, and presents a series of case studies that challenge existing Western theoretical analysis of Chinese policymaking. Based on his examination of the past forty years, Lu Ning makes predictions about likely changes in Beijing's leadership and in its foreign-policy decisionmaking process. This accessibly written, incisive book will be invaluable to anyone interested in Sinology, Chinese foreign policy, comparative foreign policy, and contemporary international relations of East Asia.This second edition contains a fully revised Introduction, and it has been updated through President Clinton's recent visit to China. The new edition also contains new material on the Clinton Administration's varying policy positions toward China.

A descriptively annotated, multidisciplinary, cross-referenced and extensively indexed guide to 2,395 dissertations that are concerned either in whole or in part with Hong Kong and with Hong Kong Chinese students and emigres throughout the world.

This book examines Chinese Communist activities in Hong Kong from the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 to the handover in 1997. It reveals a peculiar part of Chinese Communist history, and traces six decades of astounding united front between the Chinese Communists and the Hong Kong tycoons and upper-class business elite.

Hong Kong in Focus - Political & Economic Issues

Examining the major academic and policy debates over China’s rise and related policy issues, this book looks into the motivations and intentions of a rising China. Most of the scholarly works on China’s rise approach the question at a structural level by looking at the international system and the systemic impact on China’s foreign policy. Traditional Realist theorists define China as a revisionist power eager to address wrongs done to them in history, whilst some cultural and historical analyses attest that China’s strategic culture has been offensive despite its weak material capability. Huiyun Feng’s path-breaking contribution to the debate tests these rival hypotheses by examining systematically the beliefs of contemporary Chinese leaders and their strategic interactions with other states since 1949 when the communist regime came to power. The focus is on tracing the historical roots of Chinese strategic culture and its links to the decision-making of six key Chinese leaders via their belief systems. Chinese Strategic Culture will be of interest to students of Chinese politics, foreign policy, strategic theory and international relations in general.