Asian Val-ues

Wei Yan SHI

Kyung LEE

01 What are Asian Values?1.1 Asian Values and its Principles

1.2 Asian Values and Asian Economy

02 Lee Kuan Yew2.1 Lee’s Achievements in Singapore

2.2 Lee’s perspectives on Asian Value

03 Amartya Sen3.1 Who is Amartya Sen

3.2 Human Rights and Asian Values

04 Shanghai Model of Economic growth4.1 East Asian Model

4.2 Chinese Political

System

Table of Contents

Asian values and Asian poli-tics

1-1

Asian Values mainly include…

1) A stress on the community rather than the individual

2) The privileging of order and harmony over personal freedom

3) A particular emphasis on saving and thriftiness4) An insistence on hard work5) A respect for leadership6) An emphasis on family loyalty

What are Asian Values?

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1-2

On the aspect of politics, the main princi-ples of Asian values:

1) Country is important than individual2) Family is the basic of country3) Harmony is more useful than conflicts

to keep order

In all, the core of Asian values is largely around Confucianism.

What are Asian Values?

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1-2Asian Values and Asian Economy

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Can roughly divide it into three periods: First, before 1970, the traditional cul-ture is the big reason to block the de-velopment of Asian economy.

Then, after observing the economic liftoff of “Four Asian Tigers”, many peo-ple pay attention to Asian values and take them as the important factors to the development of economy.

The third period, when going through the financial crisis in Asia, Asian values again are queried, even abandoned by their vocal advocate.

Different perspectives on Asian Values

Lee Kuan Yew

Amartya

Sen

2-1 Lee Kuan Yew

He is a Singapore statesman. He was the Singapore Prime Minister from 1959 to 1990, Senior Minister from 1990 to 2004 and Minister Mentor from 2004 to 2011.

While his period of office, Lee made Singapore develop to one of "Four Asian Tigers". Its average increase rates of GNP and GDP are up to 8% and un-employment rate reduced from 8.9% in 1965 to 1.7% in 1990.

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2-2LEE’s viewpoints and attitudes toAmerica—the model of western countries

Admiring features:

1) Free, easy and open relations be-tween people2) A certain openness in argument about what is good or bad for society, the accountability of public officials

Unacceptable ones: the breakdown of civil society

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2-2Lee’s viewpoints on Asian Val-ues

• In 1986, LEE credited the success of Singapore to Confucianism, whose basic conception is the belief in thrift, hard work, filial piety and loyalty in the extended family and the respect for schol-arship and learning.

• He thought that the individual exists in the con-text of his family; family is part of the extended family, and then friends and the wider society.

• He mentioned a famous Chinese aphorism “X-iushen Qijia Zhiguo Pingtianxia( 修身齐家治国平天下 )” to well explain the above idea.

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Criticisms of the Asian Val-ues Debate

Six Arguments about democ-racy

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1.Democracies have better human rights records

2.Democracies have higher living standards

3.Democracies are more economi-cally productive

4.Democracies do not fight wars against each other

5.Democracies do not experience famines

6.Democracies do not commit de-mocide

•Born : 1933 Bengal, India•Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences•Field & Research - Welfare Economics (Famine)•Bengal Famine of 1943~ social and economic fac-tors•“Policy makers should pay attention to replace the lost income of the poor through..”

3-1Who is Amartya Sen?

3-1 Bengal Famine of 1943

< 1. Asian Values and Economic Develop-ment > - There is nothing whatsoever to indicate that any ‘helpful policies’ are inconsistent with democracy. - No substantial famine has ever occurred in any independent and democratic country with a free press.

< 2. Asia as a Unit >-East Asia itself has much diversity, and there are many variations between Japan and China and Ko-rea and other parts of East Asia.∴ Attempts at generalization about Asian values cannot but be extremely crude.

3-2Human Rights and Asian Values

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< 3. Order and Confucianism >-The diversity of Asian value systems becomes central, incorporating but transcending regional diversity.I. Buddhism, great importance is attached to

freedom and free choiceII. Confucius( 孔子 , B.C 551~ B.C 479) did not

recommend blind allegiance to the stateQ. How to serve a prince?A . Tell him the truth even if it offends him“When the good way prevails in the state, speak boldly and act boldly. When the state has lost the way, act boldly and speak softly.”

3-2Human Rights and Asian Values

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< 4. Freedom and Tolerance >-Indian epic Mahabharata indicates a variety of views on freedom, tolerance and equality.-For example, writings of Emperor Ashoka empha-sized the importance of tolerance.

“A man must not do reverence to his own sect or disparage that of another man without reason. Depreciation should be for specific reason only,

because the sects of other people all deserve rev-erence

for one reason or another.”

3-2Human Rights and Asian Values

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Yahsheng HwangQ. Does democracy hinder or promote economic growth?

4-1 Economic growth in China and India

4-1Shanghai model of eco-nomic growth

Features of promoting economic development ;INFRASTURCTURE

1. Strong Govern-ment- Private property rights (X)2. State ownership- Land assets

4-1 The East Asian Model

Q. So why do economists fall in love with authoritarian governments?A. One reason is the East Asian Model. -Successful economic growth stories -Ruled by authoritarian government

Q. Isn’t it true that the one-party political system has facilitated economic growth in China?

A. It depends! (Statically / Dynamically)

Political Changes- village election- security of proprietors and long term land leases- financial reforms- rural entrepreneurial revolution

4-2What about the Chinese po-litical system?

•Relationship between the state and soci-ety-West : Authority and legitimacy of the state is a function of democracy-Chinese State : enjoys legitimacy and authority-China is embracing both Asian/Western values.

Q. ‘As countries modernize, they also western-ize’?•Modernity = competition + markets + technol-ogy

+ history + culture

Conclusion, the rise of China

Thank you, and yes, Silence is golden( 沈

黙は金 ).

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