Facts on File - Encyclopedia of World History Vol 6 - The Contemporary World - 1950 to the Present
Tiananmen Square massacre
Nội dung
422 Tiananmen Square massacre hybrid seeds to increase agricultural productivity At the beginning of the 20th century, India suffered major famines but by the end of the century it was exporting foodstuffs India and many other poor nations also invested heavily in education In southeast Asia educated workers became the backbone of industrialization and the development of high-tech firms Other nations built huge development projects, − dam in Egypt and the Three Gorges such as the aswan Dam in China Following Western advice in the 1950s and 1960s, many Third World nations concentrated on industrialization, to the detriment of the agricultural sector That, along with ecological changes, droughts along wide bands of Africa, civil wars, political corruption, and instability, contributed to large famines and mass starvation in many African nations In the Middle East oil-producing nations joined a cartel, the organization of petroleum exporting countries (OPEC), to gain increased revenues from their major resource They then used the new revenues to build modern infrastructures Kuwait was able to provide a complete welfare system from cradle to grave for its small population Other countries, such as the “little dragons” in Southeast Asia (Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore), attracted foreign businesses and industries Many nations in South America and Africa also borrowed vast amounts of money from private and public Western banks, such as the World Bank, to bring much-needed capital into their countries Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) also provided assistance in welfare, food, education, and healthcare Brazil used foreign loans to create new industries and provide jobs, but it, along with many other countries, became ensnared in a web of indebtedness that was impossible to repay By the 1990s rich nations promised but often failed to deliver increased foreign aid and to forgive or restructure the debts of these nations, especially the poorest in Africa Other nations had some modest successes in adopting appropriate technology to establish small, inexpensive grassroots projects Population growth also contributed to economic problems In Kenya the population doubled every 18 years and in Egypt every 26 years, compared to every 92 in the United States By 2000 the world’s population had exceeded billion, from billion in 1800 It was expected to reach billion by 2054 In poor countries high infant mortality contributed to the desire to have many children in hopes that at least some would survive to adulthood and be able to care for their parents, especially their mothers, in their old age To limit its population China adopted a draconi- an one-child policy and strictly enforced it through its totalitarian system India adopted numerous approaches in attempts to limit population growth; these were often accepted by urban elites, but peasants continued to value large families In societies where women had low status, having children, especially boys, brought status and the hope of some security The educational status of many improved, and literacy rates improved, although in many countries boys enjoyed higher rates of education than girls While programs to empower women were often successful, they were also resisted by traditional and religious leaders Women’s work continued to be undervalued and underpaid Child labor was yet another problem Globalization and privatization in the late 20th century actually caused some nations to become poorer as prices for agricultural goods and raw materials dropped In some Global South nations, such as India, a few people became millionaires, but most remained desperately poor In the 1990s, incomes in 54 nations actually declined, and in Zimbabwe life expectancy fell from 56 to 331, compared to over 80 in the United States and Japan Disease, especially AIDS, contributed to further economic and social problems, particularly in many southern African countries At the 2000 Millennium Summit, world leaders agreed to institute programs aimed at cutting in half the number of people living on under $1 a day and at halving the number of people suffering from hunger by 2015 Five years later the commitments of the donor nations, especially the United States, had fallen short of the promises made, and it remained uncertain whether the goals would be met Further reading: Adjibolosoo, Senya B.-S K., and Benjamin Ofori-Amoah, eds Addressing Misconceptions About Africa’s Development: Seeing Beyond the Veil New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1998; Dorraj, Manochehr, ed The Changing Political Economy of the Third World Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1995; Harrison, Paul Inside the Third World 3d ed London: Penguin, 1993 Janice J Terry Tiananmen Square massacre Throughout the 20th century, Tiananmen Square in central Beijing, China, has been the center of protest movements, the first being on May 4, 1919, when students and others demonstrated against the Treaty of Versailles,