VIP Class Notes (Whitney) [S]

Speaking exercise

EASY

Q: What do you think of the current political climate in China?
A: The current political climate in China is not very good because the government because provide a lot of restrictions, mainly on freedom of speech. A lot of people criticise that the current situation is more like the Cultural Revolution. It affects me because I worry about the future of my country because of the past few years, we were moving forward, we gave freedom to express their opinions. Now, honestly speaking it doesn’t work and it doesn’t comply with modern society.

MEDIUM

Q: Describe the process of becoming a politician in China:
A: You have to attend a public exam, at first it is a written exam. For different positons, there is different requirements when you fulfil this requirement you can attend the exam. After you pass the exam, you have the opportunity to sit the interview and then you get the opportunity to get into a position. A low-level position person would only be in charge of public issues, if there is a higher position you have more power to decide more important things. To get into a higher level position you would need connections.

HARD

Q: How does China’s political system compare to other Western countries, who would you say are China’s current allies and which countries do you predict will have conflict with China within the next 5-10 years.
A: The biggest system between Western systems is that we only have one party, which also decides that we are more controlled by the party or by the government. For current allies, I always have a feeling that China has no friends, but right now I would say Russia. North Korea is important to China for security reasons but currently North Korea is a bit out of control. The US and China always have conflict because China is developing very fast and becoming more important. US feels that this situation may affect their position in the world. China may also create more horrible environment for the whole world, to try and control Africa and other poorer countries which would affect relationships between the US and China.