1.Is democracy inimical with 'Asian values' or 2. 'China's interests Essay

1.Is democracy inimical with Asian values or 2. Chinas interests in the Asia-Pacific region are inherently incompatible with those of the United States,an - raise ExampleIn the Asia Pacific, where earlier Japan had been the only democracy, five new democratic states emerged by the mid-1990s. In 1986, the Philippines became a democratic country, the next year southwestern Korea and Taiwan, in 1990 Mongolia, and in 1992, Thailand emerged as a democracy. These changes occurred in the presence of authoritarian rule in China, Vietnam, Burma, Singapore and Malaysia. However, it is stated that the emergence of electoral democracy, has to be devleoped into integrating of democratic rule (Shin & Wells, 2005 88). According to Berger (2004 181), some of the Asian values that authoritarian governments emphasize are obedience to authority, discipline, allegiance to community which has to be given precedence over the individual, unity among ethnic groups, strong kinship with family and mutual economic activities, thrift, hard work, loyalty to the extended family, filial piety, and most importantly, respect for education.The Asia-Pacific region encompasses xviii countries and territories which vary greatly in size and population from China to Singapore. Economically, China still belongs to the third world, whereas Singapore is in the category of a newly change economy. According to Pempel (2005 57-58), on a per capita basis, Japan is far ahead of China both in purchasing parity power GDP and in marketplace GDP. Greater economic disparities are present between Japan and Vietman, and between Japan and Burma. Similarly, there are wide differences in religion, culture, historical associations, social traditions, language, ethnicity and semipolitical systems among the countries of the region (Yahuda, 2004 9).Many of the divisions in the Asia-Pacific cut across state borders, create tensions between regional states, and increase the problems of nation building and consolida ting state power. Further, the colonial bequest has resulted in territorial disputes among the Southeast Asian states, and led to