China Review 1999

The year 1998 was another challenging year for the Jiang Zemin regime. Zhu Rongji, who came to the job in March, began his career as premier by reorganizing the government and the related state-owned enterprises, which created massive number of unemployed workers. The Asian financial crisis at last affected China's import and export trade, as well as the flow of incoming investments in view of a rumoured pending currency depreciation. China's policymakers had to face the difficult tasks of carrying out administrative and economic reforms while boosting the economy to an allegedly 8% GNP annual growth rate. The scene seems brighter in the international arena. Bill Clinton's visit in September again brought Sino-US relations into the limelight. Disagreements on human rights and the issues of Taiwan and Tibet seemed shelved for the time being, so much so that Jiang took a bold stance during his year-end visit to Tokyo. Prominent scholars in the China field continued to explore the political and economic issues facing China during the year. On the local level, the China Review 1999 examines issues of recent legal developments, peasant discontent and protests, reorientation of social units, occupational structure and labour relations, literary tastes and cross-border media relations, all issues that relate to a fast moving socio-economic entity. It continues to be a comprehensive and timely volume for China watchers as well as readers interested in the developments in contemporary China.