how I’m planning to democratize China

With KMT and the new president, Ma Yingjiu, in place, we are all looking forward to more cordial relations between Taiwan and the mainland.  One of the exciting opportunities is for more student exchanges.  We need mainland students very badly.  There are some 350,000 university places in Taiwan but only 200,000 children were born last year.  Where is the short-fall going to come from?  The mainland of course!

I have a super idea for a Master’s degree: let’s set up a program called “Democratization in China.”*  It would teach mainland students everything they need to know about democracy, liberalism, and, of course, China’s history under the Communists.  We would, for example, teach a course about the Cultural Revolution.  Or what about a course on “national self-determination” with Tibet as an interesting case study?  I could even dust off my old course on “The Politics of Resistance” which I taught at the LSE for a number of years.

Democratization in China is a long slog, but this would be my contribution.

* My friend from the mainland suggests that a better title might be “Political Development in a Comparative Perspective.”  He is no doubt right.

June 12 update: Here is a proposal for the program I just put together: MA Program, “Political Development in a Comparative Perspective”