Democracy Was Not Suitable For Burma

George Orwell’s short story, “Shooting an Elephant”, demonstrates the harsh environment, and survivalist mode that the people of Burma are in. The Burmese people had been unjustly seized over, the British Empire was crumbling therefore they invaded the space around them. The narrator starts preparing the essay manifesting his perspective on British Imperialism. He claims that it is evil and he is contradicting the oppressors. Although he is a British officer in Burma, he feels a certain hatred and guilt towards himself, the empire, and the “evil-spirited little beasts,” (Orwell) the Burmese people.

Bob Fu conveys clearly the inexorable control that Communist leaders in China have over their people. For example, after Fu and his friends participated in the Tiananmen Square protests, Fu was coerced, day in day out, to write a confession of his purported misdeeds against China and her people as a “counterrevolutionary” (79-82, 85, 87).

“There is danger0from all men.0The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man0living with power to endanger the0public liberty.” says Ayn Rand. The novel Forbidden City by William Bell tells us a real story about students and civilians democracy in0Beijing, China in 1989. The government no0longer works for people when the movement0becomes violent and a power struggle between the government and people appears. In a word, power0can take over0freedom when a certain0group of people controls it all, but it can’t control people’s0thoughts forever. Firstly, the setting shows the background0which is thousands of students were doing hunger strike in Tian An0Men Square because of freedom. The Character Lao Xu is one of the leaders in the activity of hunger strike Lao Xu sacrificed because saving students. Finally the conflict between China0and citizen shows that government cannot ignore any citizens and controls their thoughts.

Perhaps it is in human nature to turn to violence in turbulent times. We often overlook the violence that goes hand in hand with great historical change. And, as the victors write history, often the violence that acts as the cornerstone of societies are toned down and forgotten. During the Cultural Revolution in China, violence forced its way into the everyday life of the people. Everyday people— peaceful farmers, city folk— became the vehicle for immense violence in both a severe and widespread scope. This violence, while operating within the bounds of human nature, is motivated by a social requirement to prove one’s dedication to the CCP, “soldiers” who become carried away with newfound power and government encouragement, forcing ideology by brute force, retaliation, personal pride or protection, and human instinct to resort to violence; and can occur in any society.

In recent years, China has become a worldwide superpower-seemingly out of nowhere. War-torn and sick of being trampled on by western powers, the Communist Party of China has given the almost 4,000 year old country a new lease on life. But all this newfound power and “prosperity” came at a price paid in sweat and blood. In the memoir Red Scarf Girl, Jiang Ji-Li recalls her experiences growing up during Chairman Mao’s “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution”, during a time where hundreds of thousands were unfairly persecuted and even tortured by their brainwashed friends and family. Although it is clear that my experiences and Jiang Ji-Li’s are very different, there are also some similarities.

This population faced countless atrocities simply for being of that ethnic group. The actions of Myanmar’s government show the how far extent that persecution against those who differ from the majority can

n Moulmein, in Lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people — the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me. I was sub-divisional police officer of the town, and in an aimless, petty kind of way anti-European feeling was very bitter. No one had the guts to raise a riot, but if a European woman went through the bazaars alone somebody would probably spit betel juice over her dress. As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so. When a nimble Burman tripped me up on the football field and the referee (another Burman) looked the other way, the crowd yelled with hideous laughter. This happened more than once. In the end the sneering yellow faces of young

Most Iraqi people accuse those who wasted their votes, in return for a blanket or mobile credit to elect corrupt personalities, as thieves and Unpatriotic. Those corrupt people arrived at the parliament and governorate councils illegally. Ironically, voters had put their electoral votes in the waste basket. Honest people pray for God to clean Iraq from corrupt people. It is now a fact that, by experience regarding elections since 2003, even if all Iraqi people intend to elect genuine and honest persons, their efforts are in vain. As proved, influential parties brought by the occupation control the whole election process through money, power and falsifying electoral votes (even if they are not elected). Therefore,

Democracy was not the global result of World War I. The preceding argument is one many would make based on the fact that World War II occurred, demonstrating that democracy on a global stage could not have been possible. Otherwise, World War II would not have taken place. However, as one examines Woodrow Wilson’s “14 points” speech and assesses the world vision that Wilson put into his talking points, one begins to take a different approach, where the essential wheels were in motion following World War I, but began to sputter as the Axis powers gained momentum in the Second World War. Stability throughout Europe, with the hope of bringing democracy to the global environment was Wilson’s plan, where his mindset was to establish what had already been evident throughout the United States; his vision saw the world sharing this view. Democracy and self-determination were put into place in the United States and globally following the First World War as the majority continued to seek these values despite the barriers presented.

In September 17, 1797 the US constitution was fabricated to establish a democratic government for the recently created countries. One of the bill of rights that was established by the constitution is the First Amendment that allows everyone in the US to have the freedom of speech. A variety of people believe that freedom does not contribute to democracy, but these people should acknowledge that due to the nature of democracy, it can’t stand without freedom of speech. Numerous examples of freedom of expression are able to support why freedom of speech contributes to democracy.

Within the communist regime, fear is the core of its system. Fear for protest, fear of losing the Mandate of Heaven, and fear of other religions such as Falun Gong. This can be one of the greatest fears of the CCP because the government thinks that these practitioners are planning a rebellion. The government, since 1999, has been cracking down on those who practice Falun Gong. The result from the Yellow Turbans to the White Lotus to the Boxers seems to serve notable examples of China’s fear. The record of history has shown that most Chinese individuals are in favor of political stability. The reason for protest most of the time comes from the state and Government repression. The suppression of the Falun Gong campaign has revealed weak spots

Attempting to understand the mass Tibetan anger, this paper will begin by recounting a few of the recent events of Tibetan and Chinese history. In 1950, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), winners of the 1949 Chinese Civil War, launched an invasion of Tibet. From Tibet's perspective, this invasion interrupted centuries of independent nationhood. The Chinese, meanwhile, believed they were simply reestablishing control of part of their sovereign territory, which had been wrested from them during the past century of foreign imperialism and precipitating civil war. Later, a 1959 Tibetan uprising — partly nonviolent, partly violent, and largely inspired and led by the CIA, was violently squashed by the Chinese. Following these events, the Dalai Lama

Due to the new leaders’ reluctance to reform the old political system and to prosecute Rhee’s subordinates, a series of insurgency movements started to flourish. As an international factor that led to a domestic security crisis is the fact that, according to Kim, “the import of American liberal democracy and the relative space for liberalism in politics of the 1950s conditioned, paradoxically, the outbreak of the ‘4.19’ student uprising and successive student movements” (2006, 620). After these uprising, more student-led movements started to develop. The students played a significant role towards democratization. In fact, they have often been referred to as ‘a revolution of a generation’ (2006, 623). The students were highly educated and were

In this paper I shall discuss arguably the two most important democratic events in recent Asian history, Tiananmen Square protests and Kwang-Ju uprisings. Both of these happenings started as student movements but widened their message to appeal to other citizens. In China, the people had witnessed the failed cultural revolution of Mao Zedong and its economic negatives. The people of China were ready for a change which opened the door to professors and students to be the harbingers of the democratic movement. South Korea Government also had its problems. First their leader was assassinated then a military coup took control. Many people in South Korea protested that the military’s Government was illegitimate. With a short time

The Buddhists who have had dominant political and social influence in society have bullied the Muslims and use multiple modes of threat against Muslims. Though some of the causal mechanisms are more evident, they all overlap and intertwine to help give a full explanation of the conflict in Myanmar. In 1982, the government passed the Burmese nationality law that denied Rohingya Muslims from being citizens. This creates an identity conflict within the group of Rohingya Muslims. Checkel’s piece on constructivism helps best understand and implore new social policies ensue conflict. Checkel describes constructivism as “a story of boundedly rational individuals (note – not instrumentally rational) taking cues from their social environment that then lead them to enact certain roles; this is the underlying dynamic in March and Olsen’s (1998) logic of appropriateness”. Checkel’s theory of constructivism helps understand how institutions such as the government and the religion of Buddhism play a large and intertwining role with agents in conflicts. Institutions, such as the government, build social and community environments which could benefit or harm both parties of conflict. The influence of institutions is an indicator that this conflict is best viewed by a “soft” approach, meaning identities are formed by elites, or top-down. In the case of Myanmar, in 2001, The Fear of Losing One's Race, as well as many other anti-Muslim literature pamphlets were passed out and distributed to