Geography Final Exam

Japan lost its colonial empire in _______, its territory reduced to the four main islands plus the Ryukyu Archipelago. In general, the Japanese government accepted this loss of land, but a conflict over the four southernmost islands of the Kuril chain, taken by the Soviet Union in 1945 remains to this day

1945

In what year did China become a communist state

1949

The Suzhou Industrial Park is now a hypermodern city of more than a half million people, and the nearby Pudong industrial development zone boasts a new airport and subway system. In 2017, the Chinese government concluded that Shanghai had grown so large that is population would be capped at __________, but few experts believe this plan will work

25 million

A series of steep mountain ranges separate Japan's Pacific coast from the Sea of Japan. Japan is one of the world's most rugged countries, with mountainous terrain much of it heavily forested covering _______% of its terrritory

85

India is also battling corruption by deploying a massive database of all of its residents called __________, which used biometric information and assigns a unique identification number to each person

Aardhaar

The Philippines has also suffered political violence. Its most persistent problem is the Islamic southwest, where rebels have long demanded independence. After successful negotiations with the main separatist group in 1989, the government created the ____________________________

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)

Thailand's Lao speaking northeast (the Khorat Plateau) and Malay-speaking far south remain its poorest regions. Impoverished north easterners are often forced to seek employment in __________. Men typically find work in the construction industry while women not uncommonly make their living as sex workers. In the far south, poverty and unemployment have contributed to the region's brutal insurgency

Bangkok

India's extreme northeast is not historically part of the South Asian cultural sphere, and many of its people want autonomy or independence. Northeastern India is relatively lightly populated and has attracted millions of migrants from _________ and Northern India

Bangladesh

The link between population pressure and environmental degradation is nowhere clearer than in ___________, where the search for fertile land has driven people into hazardous area, putting millions at risk from seasonal flooding and from the powerful tropical cyclones that form over the Bay of Bengal. With continual population growth, people have transformed swamps into highly productive rice fields

Bangladesh

Extending southward from the river lowlands is peninsular India, made up primarily of the __________, which is bordered on each side by narrow coastal plains backed by north-south mountain ranges

Deccan Plateau

Much of the North China Plain is threatened by _________

Desertification

Employees in electronics plants are often exposed to hazardous chemicals are sometimes forced to work overtime under harsh conditions without additional pay. The global labor rights movement has organized major protests against Foxconn and ________________, two Taiwan based firms that manufacture Ipads, Iphones, Kindles and other U.S designed devices in Chinese factories

Catcher Technologies

The population core of Thailand is formed by the valley and delta of the ____________ River, just as Myanmar's is focused on the Irrawaddy River. Vietnam has two distinct cores: the Red River Delta in the far north and the Mekong Delta is the far south

Chao Phraya River

Political and ethnic tensions have turned parts of Karachi into armed camps. In the early decades of Pakistan's independence, Karachi's main conflict was between the Sindis, the region's native inhabitants, and the ___________, Muslim refugees from India who settled in the city after Pakistan's separation from India in 1947

Muhajirs

Pakistan's largest urban area and commercial core, ____________ is one of the world's fastest-growing cities. Its metropolitan population, already over 20 million is expanding at about 5 percent per year. Karachi served as Pakistan's capital until 1963, when the new city of Islamabad was created in the northeast. Despite this loss of capital status, Karachi is still Pakistan's most cosmopolitan and economically vibrant city

Karachi

At one time, the Mon-Khmer language family probably covered virtually all of mainland Southeast Asia. It contains two major languages, Vietnamese and ________ (Cambodia's national language), as well as many minor languages spoken by hill peoples and a few lowland groups

Khmer

In 2018 the Indian state of Karnataka granted separate religious status to the __________ sect, an anti-caste Hindu offshoot that has roughly 35 million followers and runs more than 3000 monasteries

Lingayat

The Huang He's sediment load comes from the eroding soils of the Loess Plateau, located to the west of the North China Plain. ______ is a fine, windblown material that was deposited on this upland area during the last ice age. Here, loess deposits accumulated to depths of up to several hundred feet. Loess forms fertile soil but washes away easily when exposed to running water.

Loess

Formerly called Bombay, _________ is India's financial, industrial, and commercial center. The city itself contains roughly 14 million people, while its metropolitan area is home to as many as 22 million. Mumbai is responsible for much of India's foreign trade, has long been a manufacturing center, and is the focus of India's film industry. This economic vitality draws people from all over India resulting in simmering ethnic tensions

Mumbai

Bangladesh has had to cope with a large influx of Muslim Rohingya refugees violently forced out of neighboring __________ by Buddhist extremists, which have placed a large burden on the country

Myanmar

Many areas of South Asia are highly vulnerable to global climate change. Even a minor rise in sea level will inundate large areas of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta in Bangladesh. If the most severe sea-level forecasts come to pass, the atoll nation of the ________ will vanish beneath the waves

Maldives

As many as 11 million self-identified Manchus live in Manchuria. The Manchu language, however is almost extinct, having been abandoned in favor of ______________. This is an ironic situation, as the Manchus ruled the entire Chinese Empire from 1644 to 1912. Until the 1800's, the Manchus prevented the Han from settling in central and northern Manchuria. Once Han Chinese were allowed to move in, the Manchus soon found themselves vastly outnumbered

Mandarin Chinese

In recent decades, the language of North Korea has begun to differentiate from that of South, largely because the North avoids borrowing words from _________ and other global languages

English

What is South Asia's neutral language

Enlish

Most of the Philippines economic growth has been concentrated in the greater _____ region, which accounts for roughly half of the country's total output. One vibrant local economy lies just outside this region in the former U.S naval base of Subic Bay, which boasts both world class shipping facilities and a highly competent local government. The Philippine government is currently focusing on developing the infrastructure of more remote regions, which it hopes will lead to more balanced growth

Manila

The most important distinction is that separating the ____________ from everyone else. The Han, who form 93% of the country's total population, are those people who have historically been part of the Chinese cultural and political systems and whose languages are expressed in the Chinese writing system. They do not, however all speak the same language

Han Chinese

More recently, hill slopes in the ________ and in the remote lands of eastern India have been heavily logged for commercial purposes

Himalayas

Mandarin speaking Chinese Muslims are called

Hui

The lowlands of the southern part of the peninsula are more extensive than those of the north, giving South Korea an agricultural advantage over ____________. The latter, however has far more abundant natural resources. The uplands of North Korea are heavily deforested, whereas those of South Korea have seen extensive reforestation since the end of World War 2

North Korea

In the 1700 and 1800's the ____________ began to gradually carve out a territorial empire in what is now Indonesia. This realm, the so-called Dutch East Indies, continued to grow into the early 20th century when it defeated its last major enemy, the Islamic state of Aceh in northern Sumatra. Later the Netherlands divided the island of New Guinea with Germany and Britain, rounding out its Indonesian colony

Netherlands

Indonesia, southeast Asia's largest country, has fully two-thirds of the region's forest area. Most of Sumatra's forests have vanished, however, and those on Borneo are receding, leaving the island of ________ as Indonesia's last major forestry frontier

New Guinea

the _________ now only lives in restricted areas of Borneo and northern Sumatra

Orangutan

_______________ is caused by the uplifting and cooling of moist monsoon winds over the Western Ghats and the Himalayan foothills. As a result, some areas receive more than 200 inches of rain during the four month wet season

Orographic rainfall

India signed the 2015 ___________ on climate change, pledging that it would derive 40% of its power from renewables by 2030

Paris Agreement

In the 1950's the __________ was the most highly developed Southeast Asian country, but its economy was derailed by the late 1960s. Through the 1980's and early 1990s, economic expansion failed to outpace population growth, resulting in declining living standards for both the poor and the middle class. Filipinos are still well educated and reasonably healthy by world standards, but even the country's schooling and health system deteriorated during this period

Philippines

Food in East Asia is highly globalized. Foreign dishes are embraced across the region and are often modified by local preferences. _________, for example, is popular in Japan, where it is often topped with seafood. Traditional Japanese dishes, most notably sushi, have likewise spread across much of the world

Pizza

In 1644, the Manchus toppled the Ming Dynasty and replaced it with the _____________. As earlier conquerors did, the Manchus retained the Chinese bureaucracy and made few institutional changes. Their strategy was to adapt themselves to Chinese culture, while at the same time preserving their own identity as an elite military group. This system functioned well until the mid 19th century, when the Chinese Empire began to crumble at the hands of European and later Japanese power

Qing Dynasty

Second longest river is the Irrawaddy, which flows through myanmar's central plain before reaching the Bay of Bengal. Two smaller rivers are equally significant: the __________, which forms a heavily settled delta in northern Vietnam, and the Chao Phraya, which created the fertile, flood-prone alluvial plain of central Thailand

Red River

Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority has been under attack, driving up to 1 million Rohingya out of the country by 2018. In 2017, Myanmar and Bangladesh set up a working group to prepare for the eventual return of many __________ from the grim refugee camps they currently inhabit, but many experts doubt that Myanmar will ever let them back in

Rohingyas

Area facing the ___________ typically receive much more winter snow than those facing the Pacific Ocean

Sea of Japan

Japanese culture is most closely identified with which religious tradition

Shinto

A second wave of South Asian religious influence reached mainland southeast Asia from Sri Lanka in the 13th century in the form of ______________. Nearly everyone in lowland Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia converted to buddhism at that time. Saffron-robed monks are still a common sight here, and buddhist temples abound

Theravada Buddhism

Increased evaporation rates, coupled with the melting of glaciers on the ___________, could intensify local water shortages while the wet zones of southeastern China could see more storms and flooding

Tibetan Plateau

When the Spanish claimed the Philippine Islands in the 1570's the southwestern portion of the archipelago was thoroughly Islamic. This area is still largely Muslim but the rest of the country was converted to Roman Catholicism hundreds of years ago. __________ long a Portuguese colony, is also predominantly Roman Catholic

Timor-Leste

Piracy, especially in the vital shipping lanes in the ____________, is another international security concern. By 2018, almost half of the world's pirate attacks were occurring in the region. These attacks have led Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand to form a joint anti-piracy naval force called the Malacca Straits Patrol. The Indian Navy has also stepped up patrols in the region

Strait of Malacca

The British, preoccupied with India, concentrated their attention on the sea-lanes linking South Asia to China. As a result, they established several fortified outposts along the __________________, the most important of which was Singapore, founded in 1819. To avoid conflict, the British and Dutch agreed that the British would limit their attention to the Malay Peninsula and the northern portion of Borneo. The British allowed local rulers to retain limited powers, much as they had done in India

Strait of Malacca

Although Indonesia contains thousands of islands it is dominated by the four large landmasses of Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and ____________

Sulawesi

The goal of the new Indonesian government was to offer a common language that could overcome ethnic differences throughout the huge country. This policy has been generally successful, with the vast majority of Indonesians now using the language. Yet regionally based languages such as Javanese, Balinese, and ____________ continue to be the primary languages of most Indonesian homes

Sundanese

During the cold war, Pakistan allied with the _______ while India leaned slightly toward the Soviet Union. Since then, Pakistan has moved closer to China, while India has done the same with the United States.

United States

_______ like Hindi, originated on the plains of northern India, with Hindi becoming the language of the Hindu majority and Urdu that of the Muslim minority. Hindi and Urdu are thus written differently. Hindi in the Devanagari script and Urdu in a modified Arabic script

Urdu

From the early 1990s until around 2010, the Chinese economy grew at roughly 10% a year, perhaps the fastest rate of expansion the world has ever seen. Seeking to strengthen its connections with the global economic system in 2001 China joined the _______________, a body designed to facilitate free trade and provide ground rules for international economic exchange

World Trade Organization (WTO)

The greater metropolitan area of the _________ composed of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou (called Canton in the West) is by some measure, China's most populous urban area

Xi Delta

China can be broadly divided into two main areas: the drier zone north of the _________ (Chang Jiang) and the more humid region that includes the _______ and all areas to the south

Yangtze River Valley; Yangtze

Led by B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of India's constitution, it is composed of _______ who reject the caste discrimination viewed as central to Hinduism. this so called Ambedkarite Buddhist movement continues to grow, and now counts more than 8 million followers

Dalits

________ was a lightly populated frontier zone as recently as the mid-1800's. today, with a population of more than 100 million, its central plain is thoroughly settled. The Loess plateau is also relatively crowded, despite its challenging environment

Manchuria

In 2016, _____________, a critic of mainland China, was elected president. Although Tsai does not advocate formal independence, she does not believe that Taiwan and China form a single nation. As a result, China has pressured international organizations to reject Taiwan as a separate member. In early 2018, Beijing threatened to penalize foreign companies operating in China that list Taiwan as a country on their website

Tsai Ing-wen

A major disadvantage of Chinese writing is its _______, to be literate, a person must memorize thousands of characters

difficulty

The _________ that guided U.S foreign policy held that if Vietnam fell to the communists, then so would Laos, Cambodia, and the other Southeast Asian countries. Fearing such an outcome, the United States was drawn ever deeper into the war. By 1965, thousands of U.S troops were fighting to support the government of South Vietnam. but despite superiority in arms and troops, U.S forces gradually lost control over much of their countryside. As casualties mounted and the antiwar movement back home strengthened in the early 1970s, the United States began secret talks toward a negotiated settlement. With the withdrawal of U.S forces, the noncommunist government began to collapse. Saigon fell in 1975, and Vietnam was officially reunited under the government of the north the next year

domino theory

The north China plain has historically suffered from both _____ and _____. Since ancient times, levees and canals have both controlled flooding and allowed irrigation. But no matter how much effort has been put into water control, disastrous flooding has never been completely prevented. New anti-flooding measures, however, continue to be developed

drought and flooding

Jati refers to the hundreds of local endogamous (marrying within) groups that exist at each varna level. Different jati groups are often called _________

subcastes

Long burdened by war and corruption, Cambodia was one of Asia's poorest countries, its economy focused on _____________. The discovery of oil and other mineral resources in 2005, however, combined with a thriving tourist economy and large scale Chinese investments to generate an economic boom. The garment industry did especially well and now accounts for more than half of Cambodia's total exports

subsistence agriculture

The traditional Chinese conception of geopolitics was based on the idea of a universal empire: All territories were either part of the Chinese Empire, or paid tribute to it and acknowledging its _________ or remained outside they system altogether

supremacy

In much of Southern China , _________, ________, and other crops have been grown on steep and easily eroded hillsides for several hundred years. After centuries of exploitation, many upland areas have lost so much soil that they cannot easily support forests

sweet potatoes, maize

Indonesia is determined to maintain control of western New Guinea, in part because it contains the country's largest source of ___________, the highly polluting Grasberg mine, run by Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan Corporation. controversies surrounding this issue became so intense that the company decided to sell a controlling interest in the mine to the Indonesian government in 2018

tax revenue

From its height in the 1700s, the Chinese Empire declined rapidly in the 1800s, as it failed to keep pace with the ___________ of Europe

technological progress

Most of Japan has a _______ climate with pronounced seasonality, much like that of the eastern United States. Tokyo's climate, for example is like that of Washington DC, although Tokyo receives significantly more rainfail

temperate

For several decades after independence Pakistan maintained a more productive economy than did India, due to a strong ________ sector and a large textile industry, based on its huge cotton crop

agricultural

Hong Kong's action films are popular around the world and now influence filmmaking techniques in Hollywood. japan remains strong in video games and its _______ style of graphic novels and animated film and TV programming has followed Karaoke bars in their overseas movement. The films of Hayao Miyazaki have been popular and influential across the world. Employment in Japan's anime industry peaked around 2005 in part due to competition from South Korea

anime

Although lacking any major insurgencies, Cambodia has increasingly returned to ____________

authoritarianism

Forest clearing is contributing to climate change because after loggers clear an area the unusable logs are burned and then oil palms, rubber trees, and other export oriented crops are often planted. In the process, much of the _______ stored in the natural vegetation is released to the atmosphere. This problem is especially sever in wetland areas

carbon

Because of the historical Chinese influence in Vietnam, the Vietnamese language was written with _________ characters until the French colonial government imposed the Roman alphabet, still in use today. Khmer, on the other hand, is like Lao, Thai, and Burmese, written in its own Indian derived script

chinese

The lowland basins of mainland Southeast Asia are largely devoted to intensive ________ cultivation. Through most of the region ______ is the preferred staple food. Three delta areas have long been the focus for commercial rice cultivation: The Irrawaddy in Myanmar, the Chao Phraya in Thailand, and the Mekong in Vietnam

rice

South Asia can be divided into several distinct agricultural regions, all with different problems and potentials, based on three subsistence crops.......

rice, millet, and wheat

China still has a vast rural population, with almost half its population living in the __________. Although rural China is characterized by significant diversity, a line drawn just to the north of the Yangtze River Valley divides the vast country into two main agricultural regions. To the south, rice dominates, while wheat, millet, and sorghum are the most common crops in the north

countryside

The Yellow River (Huang He) is sometimes called the

cradle of civilization

Dictator Ferdinand Marcos wasted and perhaps stole billions of dollars, while failing to create conditions that would lead to genuine development. the Marcos regime instituted a kind of _____________, in which the president's friends were given huge economic favors, while those believed to be enemies had their properties taken

crony capitalism

Maintaining tiger habitat, however, is never easy, as growing human populations seek to convert remaining wild lands to farmlands. Moreover, wild animals particularly tiger and elephants, often threaten _______, livestock and even people living near the reserves.

crops

One response to the limitations faced by Japanese women is a _____________. In 2017, the Japan Times reported that 60% of unmarried Japanese women say they feel too tired and stressed out to pursue romantic relationships. The same article noted that 60% of single Japanese men also say they have no interest in marriage. Such attitudes are troubling for those concerned about Japan's shrinking population

declining marriage rate

Traditional Chinese cities were clearly separated from the countryside by ___________. Most were planned in accordance with strict geometric principles, with straight streets meeting at right angles. The old-style Chinese city was dominated by low buildings. Houses were typically built around courtyards, and narrow alleyways served both commercial and residential functions

defensive walls

Several million Koreans reside just across the border in northern China. Desperately poor North Koreans often sneak across the border to join these Korean-speaking Chinese communities. A more recent Korean __________ (scattering of an ethnic group over a vast geographical area) has established large communities in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and other countries

diaspora

Finally the Brahmaputra River, which rises on the Tibetan Plateau, joins the Ganges in central Bangladesh before spreading out over the world's largest _________

river delta

Myanmar is a land of great potential, with abundant natural resources (including oil and other minerals, water, and timber) as well as a large expanse of _________________. Its population density is moderate, and its people are reasonably well educated. But despite these advantages, Myanmar's economy remained relatively stagnant for the first 60 years after independence in 1948

fertile farmland

Southern and central China's population crowds into the broad lowlands, which are famous for their ______ and __________. Planting and harvesting occurs year round in most of southern and central china; summer rice alternates with winter barley or vegetables, and in many areas two rice crops, as well as one winter crop, are grown

fertile soil, and intensive agriculture

Most of insular Southeast Asia has relatively infertile soil, which cannot easily support intensive agriculture and high rural population densities. Although island forests are lush and biologically rich, plant nutrients are locked up in the vegetation itself, rather than being stored in the soil where it could benefit agriculture. Furthermore, the constant rain of the equatorial zone tends to wash nutrients away. Farmers must thus rely on constant __________ or the application of large amounts of fertilizer

field rotation

Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea are major ________ and China has recently moved in the same direction

food importers

Orographic rainfall is most common in the

foothills of the Himalayas and the Ghats

Southeast Asia's islands are less geologically stable than the mainland, as _________ of Earth's tectonic plates converge here: the Pacific, the Philippine, the Indo-Australian, and the Eurasian

four

As a result of deforestation, most villages of South Asia suffer from a shortage of _______ for household cooking, forcing people to burn dung cakes. This low-grade fuel provides adequate heat but diverts nutrients that could be used as fertilizers, and produces high levels of air pollution, both indoors and outside. Where wood is available, collecting it involves many hours of female labor as the remaining wood is often far from the villages

fuelwood

One result has been illegal ______________; if the ultrasound reveals a female fetus, the pregnancy is sometimes terminated. Poor couples sometimes abandon baby girls, and young boys are occasionally kidnapped and sold to wealthy couples without a son

gender-selective abortion

Through Chinese cities, global cultural patterns began to penetrate the ret of the country, giving rise to a vibrant, often flashy Chinese popular culture marked by nightclubs, karaoke bars, fast food franchises, and theme parks. China remains wary, however, of some aspects of global culture. It strictly limits foreign film distribution in the country, and in 2016 banned ________, supposedly for promoting superstition

ghostbusters

India has more than doubled its annual ______ production between 1970 and the mid 1990s

grain

East Asia does not have ________

hutments

Hundreds of thousands of less-fortunate immigrants live in __________ crude shelters built on formerly busy sidewalks. The least fortunate sleep on the street or i simple plastic tents, often placed along busy roadways. The Mumbai Metro, an ambitious rapid-transit system scheduled for completion in 2021, promises improved access across the sprawling city

hutments

According to current projections, more than 2/3 of India's new electricity installation will come from a mix of solar and wind generation by 2030. The construction of ___________ in the Himalayan region is also delivering increasing amounts of carbon free power, although this creates other environmental problems

hydroelectric dams

Deforestation of the Ganges and Brahmaputra headwaters magnifies the problem. Forest cover slows runoff to allow rainfall to soak into the ground and replenish groundwater supplies. Thus deforestation in river headwaters ________ flooding in the wet season, as well as lowers water level during the dry season, when groundwater supplements river flow.

increases

Kolkata is a culturally vibrant city noted for its fine educational institutions, theaters, and publishing firms. It is currently trying to nurture an __________________ industry, but the success of this effort remains to be seen

information technology

Despite its relatively small size, Japan extends over a wide range of ________. As a result , japan's extreme south, in southern Kyushu and Ryukyu Archipelago, is subtropical, with northern Hokkaido is almost subarctic

latitude

Tqiwan, with more than 23 million inhabitants, has the highest population density in East Asia. Because mountains cover most of central and eastern Taiwan, virtually the entire population is concentrated in the ______________ in the north and west, where large cities and numerous factories are scattered amid lush farmlands

narrow lowland belt

Japan has one of the world's oldest, and most rapidly aging, populations, due to both its low birth rate and its high life expectancy. The large Japanese population in the __________ places a great burden on the country's economy

over 60 category

Its main benefit is that two literate person do not have to speak the same language to be able to communicate, because the written symbols they use to express their ideas are the same. Hence, speakers of different Chinese dialects may not understand one another's speech but can read the same _____________

papers, books and websites

In far eastern Indonesia, various languages fall into the _______ grouping, which is closely associated with New Guinea. The Malay language overshadows all other in insular Southeast Asia. Malay is native to the Malay Peninsula, eastern Sumatra, and coastal Borneo and was spread historically by merchants and seafarers

papuan

South Asia ranks low in ___________, trailed only by Sub-Saharan Africa, but its emissions are rapidly increasing. India is now the world's third largest carbon emitter, following China and the United States. Rapid industrialization, coupled with its reliance on coal for much of its electricity, means that India's carbon dioxide output will continue to increase for some time

per capita carbon output

Singapore is currently encouraging the __________ and medical technology industries, and economic growth remains strong for such a highly developed economy. Singapore remains, however, only partly democratic, as its ruling party maintains a firm grip on government and restricts free speech

pharmaceutical

with European colonization, Southeast Asia became a focus for ______________, growing high-value specialty crops ranging from coconuts to rubber

plantation agriculture

Southern China also produces a wide variety of tropical and subtropical crops, and moderate slopes throughout the area produce sweet potatoes, corn and other upland crops. In the __________ of Yunnan, tea, coffee, rubber, and other tropical plantation crops are widely cultivated

plateau zone

Several large rivers flow southward out of Tibet and adjacent highlands into mainland Southeast Asia. The valleys and deltas of these rivers are the centers of both __________ and __________. the longest river the Mekong, flows through Laos and Thailand and then across Cambodia before entering the South China Sea through a large delta in southern Vietnam.

population and agriculture

Agricultural practices and settlement forms vary widely across the complex environments of Southeast Asia, but three farming and settlement patterns are apparent: swidden in the uplands, and plantation agriculture and _______ cultivation in the lowlands

rice

The most basic economic division is that between the more prosperous ________ and _________ and the poorer districts in the north and east. In some respects, however, India's biggest divide is between its rural and urban areas, as the countryside lags behind the cities

south and west

The Sikh faith is primarily found in

the Punjab region near the modern day border of India and Pakistan

the primary result of the Vietnam was was

the defeat of the U.S backed South Vietnamese state and the reunification of the country under the leadership of North Vietnam and the Communists

what is the purpose of the Organization of Rice Exporting Countries

to keep high and even prices for rice exports

Indonesia has long had an explicit policy of __________, or relocation of people from one region to another. from crowded Java to less populated outer islands

transmigration

Japan owes its lush forests to its mild, rainy climate, its long history of conservation, and its import of timber and wood pulp from other parts of the world. For hundreds of years, both the Japanese state and its village communities have enforced strict conservation rules, ensuring that logging is balanced by ________

tree growth

Many remote upland districts of China proper are inhabited by various non-Han groups speaking non-Sinitic languages. Such peoples are often classified as _________, implying that they have a traditional social order based on self-governing village communities. This is not entirely accurate, however, because some of these groups once had their own kingdoms

tribal

The coastal areas of mainland southeast Asia and the Philippines are highly vulnerable to tropical cyclones, known as _________. Deforestation and farming on steep hillsides intensify the problem of flooding and landslides

typhoons

Various Chinese dynasties attempted to conquer Korea, but the Koreans resisted. Eventually, China and Korea worked out an arrangement whereby Korea paid token tribute and acknowledged the Chinese Empire's supremacy, receiving trading privileges and its independence in return. When foreign armies invaded Korea as did those of Japan in the late 1500s China sent troops to support its ______________

vassal kingdom

Many south asians receive inadequate protein, and meat consumption is extremely low. Due primarily to religious restrictions, __________ is widespread in India. In the northwest milk and other dairy products provides much of the necessary protein

vegetarianism

Much of the labor in southeast Asia's export oriented companies comes from ___________, who are often paid much less than men doing the same work. In Thailand, impoverished migrant women from Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia form a large but mostly hidden labor force. Women from the Philippines often work under harsh and sexually exploitative conditions in the wealthy countries of the Persian Gulf Region

women

The Maldives, a chain of more than ______ islands off the southern tip of India, has a combined area of only 116 square miles and only 1/4 of the islands are inhabited. Like many South Pacific islands, the Maldives are low coral atolls, with a maximum elevation slightly more than 6 feet above sea level

1200

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan destroyed many towns and killed over ________ people. It also severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which released significant amounts of radiation and forced the evacuation of over 200,000 area residents

15000

Japanese businessmen often work or socialize with coworkers until late every evening and thus contribute little to child care. An estimated _________% of Japanese women leave the workforce for at least a decade after having a child

70

Timor-Leste's fertility rate remains high at more than ____ children per woman

5

India's least developed area has long been _______ a state of 109 million people located in the lower Ganges Valley

Bihar

The philosophy of _________, based on the teachings of Confucius, also helped build cultural linkages throughout East Asia. Indeed, so strong is the heritage of Confucius that some writers refer to East Asia as the "Confucius Realm"

Confucianism

Wealthy East Asia is characterized by _______________, especially in the large cities. Virtually all Japanese study English for 6-10 years and although relatively few are fluent, most can read and understand a good deal. Business meetings among Japanese, Chinese, and Korean firms are often conducted in English

Cultural Internationalism

In 2008, the king stepped down and Nepal became a republic, with the leader of the former _________ rebels stepping in as prime minister

Maoist

what is a dominant climate factor in South Asia

Monsoons

As early as the turn of the 20th century, Rabindranath Tagore gained international acclaim for his poetry and fiction, earning the __________ in 1913

Nobel Prize in Literature

Large valleys and moderate-elevation plateaus are found in humid __________ where the coastal areas tend to be rugged and support limited agriculture

Southern China

Which Southeast Asian country is the most susceptible to typhoons

The Philippines

the easing of China's restrictive policies almost immediately brought about a minor baby boom, resulting in overcrowded maternity wards in some hospitals. This response, however, has largely been limited to ________ and ________, as rearing children in major metropolitan areas is very expensive

smaller cities and rural areas

Despite its association with traditional Vietnamese culture, ______ is actually a fairly recent innovation. Created in northern Vietnam in the early 1900s _____ was a simple breakfast food, widely considered to light to make a main meal. Initially, it was sold by street vendors carrying large bowls of broth on shoulder poles. As pho gained popularity, it spread to central and southern Vietnam. In Saigon, the dish was transformed into something sweeter and spicier, and it became customizable, with customers requesting different sauces and herbs. this version of pho spread to the United States after the end of the Vietnam War, whether it lost its association with breakfast and is instead often eaten for lunch or dinner

pho

Aceh's autonomous government seeks to enforce strict Islamic law, even for its 90,000 non-Muslims. Adultery, sex before marriage, and homosexuality are now severely punished, and even possession of alcohol can result in cane-strokes, imprisonment, and large fines. In early 2018 __________ shuttered beauty shops across the region for employing transgender women

police raids

Since 2011, however, Myanmar has opened its economy while simultaneously reforming its ____________. Trade with the rest of the world has boomed, and foreign investments have poured in. Chinese firms have been building oil and gas pipelines across the country to bring fuel supplies from the Indian Ocean into southwestern China. Myanmar has passed anticorruption measures, and the country has finally created a stable currency. Although such policies have enhanced economic growth, Myanmar remains poor, with only around a third of its population having access to electricity. Continuing political repression and assaults on the Muslim minority threaten its recovery by discouraging investments and tourism and risking the reimposition of economic sanctions

political system

Swidden is a sustainable form of agriculture when ____________________________. Today, however, with higher population densities, the rotation period must be shortened damaging the soil. Swidden farming is also harmed by commercial logging, which both displaces farmers and removes soil nutrients from the ecosystem

population densities remain relatively low

China's government is trying to control the Yangtze for two main reasons: ________ and __________. To do so, it built a series of large dams. the largest of which is a massive structure in the Three Gorges area, completed in 2006. This $39 billion structure is the world's largest hydroelectric dam, forming a reservoir 350 miles long. it has jeopardized several endangered species ( including the Yangtze River Dolphin), flooded a major scenic attraction and displaced more than 1 million people

prevent flooding and generate electricity

Many southeast Asian countries have __________, single, large urban settlements that overshadow all others

primate city

Urban migrants are often forced to leave their children in their home village to be cared for by relatives. Studies show that such children often suffer _______ as a result. In 2016 the plight of these children prompted the Chinese government to reform the hukou system, promising to give residency permits to an additional 100 million urban migrants by 2020

psychological harm

Less than ______% of the people of Pakistan are Hindu; and in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Hinduism is a minority religion. However, in India and Nepal, Hinduism is clearly the majority faith

1%

By 2010, however, the Philippines economy finally began to recover, expanding by almost 7 percent a year from 2012 to 2017. As a result, extreme poverty has dropped by more than half since 1990. A particularly bright spot has been the growth of business outsourcing operations, attracted by the Philippines education English speaking population. In 2017, an estimated _______ million Filipinos worked in international call centers, handling telephone inquiries from customers in the United States and other wealthy countries. Familiarity with American culture gives Filipinos an advantage in this growing industry

1.3

The Three Gorges Dam generates large amounts of relatively clean electricity, supplying roughly ______% of China's huge demand. According to China's government, the Three Gorges Dam prevents the release of roughly 100 million tons of carbon into the air annually. Most environmentalists, however think that the costs exceed the benefits. Government officials disagree, arguing that the dam prevented flooding during a period of drenching rain in July 2016. However retaining these floodwaters, reduced power generation, thus requiring more coal burning

1.7%

China has a more balanced demographic profile, but it also has a low birth rate, which could lead to similar problems in another _____ to _____ years

10 to 20

South Asia's major international geopolitical problem is the continuing cold war between India and Pakistan. The stakes are extremely high, as both have around _____ nuclear weapons

100

In many areas, only the more prosperous farmers can afford the new seed strains, irrigation equipment, farm machinery, fertilizers, and pesticides. Poorer farmers have often been forced to serve as wage laborers for their more successful neighbors or to migrate to crowded cities. To purchase the necessary inputs moreover, most farmers have had to borrow large sums of money. As fluctuating crop prices often prevent them from repaying their debts, many farmers feel trapped. Approximately __________ Indian farmers kill themselves every year representing one of the largest waves of suicides in world history

12,000

To many, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) symbolizes the problems faced by rapidly growing cities in developing countries. About 1 million people here sleep on the streets every night. And with approximately ______ million people in its metropolitan area, Kolkata falls far short of supplying the rest of its residents with water, electricity, and sewage treatment. Power is woefully inadequate, and during the wet season many streets are routinely flooded

15

In an average year around _______% of Bangladesh floods, killing several thousand people and destroying many homes. A particularly intense flood, like that of September 1998, can inundate as much as 2/3 of the country. Bangladesh's water problems are further magnified by the fact that many aquifers are contaminated with arsenic from natural sources, threatening the health of as many as 80 million people

18

Resistance by the Tibetans compelled China to launch a full-scale invasion in _______. The Tibetans, however, continue to struggle for real autonomy, as they fear that the Han Chinese now moving to Tibet will eventually outnumber them and undermine their culture.

1959

Bangladesh has been much successful in reducing its birth rate. As recently as 1975 its TFR was 6.3 but it has now dropped to _______. The success of family planning can be partly attributed to strong government support, advertised through radio, billboards and even postage stamps

2.1

India's total fertility rate has dropped rapidly from 6 to _________. In western and southern India, fertility rates are now generally at or below replacement level. In much of northern India, however, birth rates remain high; the average woman in the poor state of Bihar gives birth to 3.3 children. A distinct cultural preference for male children is found in most of south Asia, a tradition that further complicated family planning

2.3

Communist Party officials forced these inefficient workshops to meet unreasonably high quotas. The result was a horrific famine that may have killed _________ people. The early 1960s saw a return to more practical policies, but soon a new wave of radicalism swept through China

20 million

Some wind farms built in remote areas have not yet been connected to the energy grid, and Greenpeace estimated that almost _____% of China's wind power was wasted in 2016

20%

Japan did not emerge as a state until the 7th century, some ______ years later than China. From its earliest days, Japan looked to China for intellectual and political models. Its offshore location, however, insulted Japan from Chinese rule. Between 1000 and 1580, Japan had no real unity, being divided into small warring states

2000

After international talks on its nuclear program collapsed in _______, North Korea accelerated its armaments program and increasingly leveled threats against South Korea, Japan and the United States

2012

Despite Hong Kong's autonomy, China's government continues to intervene in its affairs, angering many of its people. Beijing's interference in Hong Kong's local elections in ______ generated a massive student led protest movement. Hong Kongers are also concerned about the lack of affordable housing and the high cost of living, with many blaming such problems on Beijing

2014

Tensions mounted in ______ when the Chinese government announced plans to build a high speed rail line into Hong Kong that would feature an immigration checkpoint not on the border, but in the heart of the city. The young people of Hong Kong are evidently losing faith in the "one country two systems model" and some have engaged in heated protests and even riots

2017

Yet North Korea remained hostile, resulting in the periodic shutdown of North-South relations. An opening occurred in early _______, however, when the two countries allowed their athletes to march together under a unified Korean flag at the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea

2018

Beginning in the 1970s, India embarked on several reforestation projects. The central government claims that India's forest coverage actually increased by ________ square miles in the early 2000s, but most Indian environmentalists are skeptical, pointing out that many existing forests are being degraded. Reforested areas in India, moreover, are often covered by nonnative trees like eucalyptus that support little wildlife

2266

China is, however, making progress in addressing pollution. A national action plan introduced in 2013 placed a cap on coal use and prohibited new coal-burning facilities. China's economy is also slowly moving away from heavy industry toward services and high tech. As a result the concentration of potentially deadly micro-particulate pollutants in Beijing fell more than ________% from 2012 to 2016

25

Pakistan's TFR is at 3.1 lower than previous years but still above replacement rate. At a result, by 2050 Pakistan's population will probably top _________ million, a worryingly high number considering the country's arid environment, underdeveloped economy, and political instability

250

In the period of recorded history, the Huang He has changed course _____ times. The resulting floods have been known to kill several million people in a single episode

26

China has invested heavily in renewable energy, installing 32.5 gigawatts of wind power and 18.3 gigawatts of solar power in 2016 alone setting world records in both fields. In the same year, its coal consumption fell by ______% while its generation of nuclear power grew by _______%. The country's carbon emissions may have already peaked due to these investments

3.7%; 30%

Christianity has spread extensively in South Korea, and some ________% of the population are adherents. South Korea sends more Christian missionaries abroad than any other country except the United States. Christianity is also spreading rapidly in China, causing Beijing's communist leadership some concern. A 2012 Chinese survey estimated the Christian population at 30-40 million, but it might be much higher. Some scholars believe China could have the world's largest Christian population by 2030 with more than 200 million believers

30

The national capital, New Delhi was born as a planned city when the British moved the colonial capital from Kolkata in 1911. Located here are embassies, luxury hotels, government office buildings, and airline offices necessary for a vibrant political capital. According to a 2018 UN report, greater Delphi could be the world's largest metropolitan area by 2028 with a population of ______ million

37

Kyoto, the former imperial capital and traditional center of elite culture, is also located near Osaka. As Japan's economy boomed in the 1960's through the 1980's, however, so did Tokyo, outpacing all other urban areas in almost every urban function. the greater Tokyo metropolitan area today is home to __________ persons, depending on how its boundaries are defined

38 million

Toward the end of World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed to divide Korea, with Soviet forces occupying the area north of the _____________ and U.S troops occupying the south. Two separate governments soon emerged

38th parallel

According to a 2015 report _____% of India's children suffer from stunted growth due mainly to poor diets. More than half of the people of India live on less than $3.10 a day, and Bangladesh is poorer still

39

As many as 5 million people from other Southeast Asian countries currently work in Thailand, many under exploitative conditions. Singapore's workforce is almost ______% foreign, but this figure includes both well paid professionals and poorly paid domestic servants and construction workers

40

Seoul, the capital, is by far the largest city in South Korea, home to more than 10 million people. Its greater metropolitan area contain some ________ of South Korea's total population and the country's major government, economic, and cultural institutions are concentrated there. However, Seoul's explosive and generally unplanned growth has led to serious congestion

40%

More recently, clashes between Sunni and Shiite Muslims have intensified, as have those between Pashtun migrants from northwestern Pakistan and other residents. Although its rate of violence declined by _______% between 2016 and 2017, Karachi is still Pakistan's most violent city

45

Many scholars think that the roots of South Asian culture extend back to the Indus Valley civilization, which flourished _____ years ago in what is now Pakistan. This remarkable urban-oriented society vanished almost entirely around 1800 BCE, probably due to environmental change. By 800 BCE, however, a new focus of civilization had emerged in the middle Ganges Valley

4500

Though a minority religion for South Asia as a whole, Islam is still widespread, counting more than ______ million followers. Bangladesh and especially Pakistan are overwhelmingly Muslim. India's Muslim community, constituting only some 15% of the country's population, is still roughly 175 million strong. It is also growing faster than India's Hindu population, due to its somewhat higher fertility rate

500

India alone has more than ________ metropolitan areas with over 1 million inhabitants. Because of this rapid growth, South Asian cities have serious problems with homelessness, poverty, congestion, water shortages, air pollution, and sewage disposal. Throughout the region, sprawling squatter settlements, or bustees, are rapidly expanding providing meager shelter for many migrants

53

India's Project Tiger, which currently operates more than _______ preserves, is credited with saving the country's tiger population. India is now estimated to be home to more than 2200 wild tiger, representing some 60% of the global population

53

In Bangladesh, a 2015 report claimed that the country's slum dwellers, those living without piped water or other basic amenities, had increased by ________ percent in the previous 17 years. Urban air pollution is another huge problem, resulting in an estimate 1.1 million early deaths in 2016 alone. yet progress is being made; between 2000 and 2018, over 300 million Indians gained access to clean water

60

At present, the Indian state of Punjab is approximately ________% Sikh. Small but often influential groups of Sikhs are scattered across the rest of India. Devout Sikh men are immediately visible because they do not cut their hair or beards, but instead wrap their hair in turbans and sometimes tie their beards close to their faces

60%

In 2009-2015 Cambodia experienced a GDP growth rate of approximately

7%

As of 2015 an estimated ______% of rural Indians had no access to toilets or even latrines and thus relieve themselves in open fields, a practice that spreads disease

70

Almost _________ people died in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in central China, which left over 4 million people homeless. A much smaller quake in the same general area in 2017 damaged more than 100,000 homes

70,000

The states of Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram now have Christian majorities, with more than _______% of the people of Nagaland belonging to the Baptist Church

75%

In 2017 India's middle class expanded by almost ____%, the third highest rate in the world

8

Religious persecution has recently become a serious issue in parts of the region. Vietnam's communist government is struggling against a revival of faith among the country's Buddhist majority and its ____ million Christians. Myanmar's government has generally supported Buddhism, but when Buddhist monks led massive demonstrations against the government in 2007, it cracked down, killing 30 to 40 monks.

8

The former French colonial zone was long one of the poorest and least globalized parts of Southeast Asia. During the Vietnam War and through the early 1990s, Vietnam experienced relatively little economic development. In response, Vietnam's leaders began to follow China by embracing market economics while retaining the political forms of a communist state. The Vietnamese economy subsequently began to expand quickly experiencing annual rates of growth of up to _________% in the early 2000's

8

Discrimination and violence against Muslims has become a major problem in South Asia's non-Muslim countries. In 2018, deadly anti-Muslim rioting broke out in Sri Lanka, triggered by a road-rage incident. In India, the horrific rape and murder of an ___________ girl in the same year was widely interpreted as part of an attempt to force a muslim community out of a primarily Hindu area

8 year old

The gender ratio in India is extremely unbalanced with an excess of some 37 million men. Some of this imbalance stems from the practice of poor families providing boys with better nutrition and medical care than girls (more prevalent in the middle and lower Ganges valley) and also have sex-selective abortions. The number of Indian girls born per 100 boys dropped from a low figure of 906 to under 900 by 2016. In parts of northern India, the number is as low as ______

824

Some ____% of Indonesia's inhabitants follow Islam, making it the world's most populous Muslim country. This figure, however, hides significant internal religious diversity. In some parts of Indonesia, such as northern Sumatra, highly orthodox forms of Islam took root. In central and eastern Java, a more relaxed form of worship emerged that included certain Hindu and even animistic beliefs. Islamic reformers, however, have long sought to instill more mainstream forms of the faith among the Javanese, with increasing success in recent years

88

Despite changes, caste remains an important feature of Indian social organization, and an estimated _____ to _______ percent of marriages still occur within caste groups. Dalits continue to suffer from many forms of oppression particularly in the poor, rural areas of north-central India. Radical Hindue activists also pressure Dalit communities by trying to coerce Christians and Muslims of Dalit backgrounds to reconvert to Hinduism

90 - 95

In most of central India more than ________ percent of the population is Hindu. But Hinduism is itself a geographically complicated religion with different aspects of faith varying across India. Members of some sects claim that their faith constitute separate religions, generating controversies with other Hindu groups.

90%

Still East Asia was overwhelmingly rural at the end of World War II. Some ____% of China's people then lived in the countryside, and even Japan was only about 50% urbanized. But as the region's economy grew after the war, so did its cities. Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea are now between 78 and 92 percent urban, which is typical for advanced industrial countries. A little more than half of the people of China now live in cities, an increase from just 26 percent in 1990

90%

These mountain ranges are a result of the dramatic collision of northward-moving peninsular India with the Asian landmass. The entire region is geologically active, putting northern South Asia in serious earthquake danger. Nepal's April 2015 earthquake took more than _________ lives and resulted in economic losses roughly equal to 25% of the country's gross domestic product. It also caused a series of avalanches on Mount Everest that killed at least 19 climbers

9000

According to a 2017 poll, ________% of local residents between the ages of 18 and 29 primarily identify as "Hong Konger" whereas only 3% think of themselves mainly as "Chinese"

94%

Southeast Asia is sometimes defined as the 10 countries that have joined __________. Although not a member, Timor Leste has applied to join and will probably be accepted. ASEA has significantly reduced geopolitical problems among its member states while giving Southeast Asia as a whole more regional coherence. But despite ASEAN's successes, several Southeast Asian countries still experience internal ethnic conflicts as well as tensions with their neighbors

ASEAN

Although the Japanese form one of the world's most homogeneous peoples, the country was once divided between the Japanese living to the south and the physically and linguistically distinct ______ inhabiting the north. By the 10th century CE, the Ainu were driven to the northern island of Hokkaido, and today only about 25000 Ainu remain. Approximately 600,000 people of Korean descent also live in Japan; most were born there and speak only Japanese, but few are accorded citizenship and otherwise suffer discrimination. This has led many Japanese Koreans to hold radical political views and support North Korea, angering many of their neighbors

Ainu

To the east are the lower ________ Mountains, forming the border between India and Myanmar and separating South Asia from Southeast Asia

Arakan Yoma

The region has managed to retain a diverse assemblage of wildlife despite population pressure and intense poverty. The only remaining _______________, for example live in India's Gujarat state; and even Bangladesh retains a viable population of tigers in the Sundarbans, the mangrove forests of the southern Ganges Delta

Asiatic Lions

_____________, one of the world's most widespread language families, extends from Madagascar across most of the Pacific. Almost all insular Southeast Asian languages belong to this family. but despite this common linguistic grouping, more than 50 individual languages are spoken in Indonesia alone

Austronesian

From an initial core established around 1200 CE in northern Sumatra, Islam spread through much of insular Southeast Asia. By 1650, it had largely replaced Hinduism and Buddhism throughout Malaysia and Indonesia, with the exception of ______

Bali

In Thailand most of the industrial development takes place in the core region near ___________. The vulnerability of such industrial concentration was demonstrated in the summer of 2011, when extensive flooding in central Thailand disrupted not only the Thai national economy, but also global supply chains in the automobile and consumer electronics sectors

Bangkok

In recent decades, several Southeast Asian cities have built rail based public transportation systems to reduce traffic and vehicular emissions. _________ in particular has made great strides, substantially reducing its levels of ozone and sulfur dioxide. The region is making efforts to reduce forest fires and the resulting smoke crises. Particularly important is the 2002 ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution which was finally ratified by Indonesia in 2014

Bangkok

The more radical groups however rejected the deal and have continued to fight, setting off bombs, attacking military patrols, and kidnapping civilians. Governmental officials and Islamist rebels signed a new peace treaty in 2014 based on an expanded autonomous region to be called _____________. The agreement has not yet been ratified, however and fighting continues. In 2017, radical Islamists seized the important southern city of Marawi and held it for five months until they were uprooted by the Philippine military in bloody and devastating assault

Bangsamoro

Drenching monsoon rains have eroded and transported huge quantities of sediment from the Himalayas to the ___________, gradually building this low-lying, fertile delta environment

Bay of Bengal

A 2016 study found that air pollution led to 1.6 million deaths in China in 2013 alone. A smog crisis in _______ that January forced the government to restrict outdoor activities and suspend some forms of industrial production. Pollutants from China regularly reach not only Japan and the Koreas, but also the U.S West Coast. Water pollution, another huge problem, reportedly causes some 60,000 deaths a year

Beijing

Most of the benefits from China's economic transformation initially flowed to the coastal region and to __________. the southern provinces of Guangdong and Fujian were the first to benefit, profiting from their close connections with the overseas Chinese communities of Southeast Asia and North America. (The vast majority of overseas Chinese emigrants came from Guangdong and Fujian) Their proximity to Taiwan and especially Hong Kong also proved helpful

Beijing

_______ was China's capital during the Manchu Period, a status it regained in 1949. Under Communist rule, Beijing was radically transformed; old building were razed, and broad avenues plowed through old neighborhoods. Crowded residential districts gave way to large blocks of apartment building and massive government offices. Some historically significant buildings were saved; those of the Forbidden City, for example, where the Manchu rulers once lived, survive as a complex of museums

Beijing

recent reform efforts, have boosted Pakistan's economy, which is now growing at a respectable pace. ___________ is currently investing $60 billion in the country through its China Pakistan Economic Corridor project, focusing on ports, roads, railroads, and gas pipelines. Much of this investment targets Pakistan's impoverished Balochistan province

Beijing

__________, the official language of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, is spoken by roughly 200 million people. it also has an extensive literature, as West Bengal has long been one of South Asia's leading literary intellectual centers

Bengali

Foreign observers usually equate Indian cinema with ________, the Hindi-language film business centered in Mumbai

Bollywood

What is the island portion of Malaysia

Borneo

_______ a religion that stresses that quest to escape an endless cycle of rebirths and reach union with the cosmos (a state of nirvana) originated in India in the 6th century BCE. It reached China by the 2nd century CE and within a few hundred years had spread throughout East Asia. Today Buddhism remains widespread throughout the region, although it is far less significant here than in mainland Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, and Tibet

Buddhism

The income gap between majority populations and local Chinese communities is a feature of most southeast Asian countries. the problem is particularly acute in Malaysia, however because its Chinese minority is so large. The government's response has been one of aggressive affirmative action in which economic power is transferred to the dominant Malay, or ______________ (sons of the soil) community

Bumiputra

An example of a linguistic challenge is Myanmar. Its national language ________, is related to Tibetan. Myanmar's government has sought to linguistically unify the population, but a major split developed with non-Burman peoples who primarily live in the uplands. Although most of these tribal groups speak a language in the Tibeto Burman family, they are quite distinct from Burmese

Burmese

In southeastern China, from the Yangtze Delta to China's border with Vietnam, several separate but related languages are spoken. Traveling from south to north, we hear _________ (Yue) spoken in Guangdong, Fujianese (alternatively Hokkienese, or Min) spoken in Fujian, and Shanghaiese (Wu) spoken in and around Shanghai. Linguistically speaking these are true languages because they are not mutually intelligible. They are usually called dialects, however, because they share the Chinese written form and are closely related to Mandarin

Cantonese

One of Hindus hallmarks is a belief in the transmigration of souls from being to being through reincarnation. Hinduism is also associated with India's ___________, the division of society into hereditary groups that are ranked as ritually superior or inferior to one another

Caste system

___________ in northeastern India, is one of the world's wettest places, with rainfall averaging 450 inches

Cherrapunji

Bangladesh is now the world's second largest exporter of apparel, trailing only ________. Its garment industry has blossomed in part because its wage rate is extremely low, but wages are gradually rising

China

Dams, largely financed and built by ________, have been especially controversial in Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Laos plans to quadruple its hydroelectric output by 2030, which will require 30 new dams. Environmental groups warn that such dams will reduce biological diversity and threaten the livelihoods of local people

China

South Asia has recently surpassed East Asia to become the world's most populous region and India will probably overtake _________ to become the world's most populous country in 2022

China

The regions most serious environmental issues are found in ____, owing to its large population, its rapid industrial development, and its unique physical geography. _________ suffers from some of the most severe air and water pollution, while legislation in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have resulted in environmental improvements

China

When a nationalist was elected president of Taiwan in 2000, ________ threatened to invade if the island declared formal independence. Tensions later subsided as economic ties between Taiwan and mainland China boomed, but Beijing's growing military reach is seen as a major threat

China

_________ has invested heavily in infrastructural projects, most notably in Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Dams, highways, railroads, and ports in the region have all received large infusions of Chinese money. Southeast Asian leaders are generally pleased with these investments, but local residents are often angered over environmental degradation and the loss of land

China

the main cause of deforestation is the clearing for wood products to be exported to other parts of the world. Initially, Japan, Europe, and the United States were the main importers, but as _________ industrializes, its demand has grown

China

The Chinese government has engaged in large-scale reforestation programs, some fo which have been successful. Still, large forests today are most confined to ___________, where a cool climate prevents fast growth, and along the eastern slopes of the Tibetan Plateau, where rugged terrain restricts commercial forestry. As a result, China suffers a shortage of wood resources

China's far north

Written languages may have helped unify East Asia, but the same cannot be said for spoken languages. Japanese and Mandarin Chinese partially share a system of writing, but the two spoken languages have no direct relationship. Like Korean, however, Japanese has adopted many words of __________ origin

Chinese

Indonesian Christians, many of whom are ethnic Chinese, are also facing increasing pressure from Islamist hardliners and some political leaders. In 2017, the Chinese Christian former governor of Jakarta, Ahok, was sentenced to 2 years in prison for allegedly committing blasphemy against Islam, an action that shocked global opinion and infuriated many Indonesians. A year later, several suicide bomb attacks targeted _______________

Christian Churches

When China could no longer maintain its power in the face of European aggression, the East Asian political system began to collapse. After WWII, East Asia was split by larger ____________ rivalries

Cold War

The town of Sharamsala in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh is the seat of tibet's government-in-exile and of its spiritual leader, the ____________, who fled Tibet in 1959 after an unsuccessful revolt. In the 1950s, a new Buddhist community emerged in central India.

Dalai Lama

China's premier philosopher, _________ (Kung Fu Zi, in mandarin Chinese) was born in 551 BCE, a period of political instability. His goal was the create a philosophy that could generate social stability. While Confucianism is sometimes considered a religion, Confucius himself was more interested in how to lead a correct life and organize a proper society. he stressed obedience to authority, but he though that those in power must act in a caring manner. Confucian philosophy also emphasizes education. The most basic level of the traditional Confucian moral order is the family unit, considered the bedrock of society

Confucius

This "_____________" aimed at mobilizing young people to rid the country of traditional social values and replace them with communist ideology. Thousands of experienced industrial managers were expelled from their positions. Many were sent to villages to be reeducated through hard physical labor; others were simply killed. The economic consequences again proved devastating

Cultural Revolution

The caste system combines two distinct concepts: varna and jati. Varna refers to the ancient fourfold social hierarchy, which distingusihes the Brahmins (priets) Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (merchants) and Sundras (farmers and craftspeople) in declining order of ritual purity. Standing outside this traditional order are the so-called untouchables now called _________, whose ancestors held "impure" jobs such as leather working or trash collection

Dalits

The languages of southern India, belong to the ______________, which is found only in South Asia. Along the region's mountainous northern rim, a third linguistic family, Tibeto-Burman dominates. Within these broad divisions are many different languages, each associated with a distinct culture. In many parts of South Asia, several languages are spoken within the same area, and the ability to speak several languages is common everywhere

Dravidian language family

Although most of China's new city dwellers live in large apartment complexes, urban sprawl is occurring. Affluent Chinese often prefer to live in single family houses and pursue an automobile dependent life style. Critics contend, however that China is too crowded and polluted to support such an urban pattern. Western themed housing development are also popular; a French-style town in Zhejiang province even features a replica of the __________

Eiffel Tower

It eventually decided that both Hindi and _____ would serve as official languages of India as a whole

English

Many of these cutover lands have been reforested with fast growing Australian __________, which do not support local wildlife.

Eucalyptus trees

South Asia's northern rim is dominated by the great Himalayan range, forming the northern borders of India, Nepal, and Bhutan. More than two dozen peaks exceed 25,000 feet, including the world's highest mountain ____________, on the Nepal-China (Tibet) border

Everest

Historically, China's most severe environmental problems are related to _______ and ________. Its government is now trying hard to address these issues, with mixed success. One of its most controversial responses has been the construction of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River

Flooding and soil erosion

China's leaders have responded by trying to increase domestic consumption and by engaging in a massive drive against corruption. Another strategy is the creation of ________, which are similar to the SEZs but characterized by more extensive deregulation and global access. Some evidence suggests that such policies have been successful. China is now developing a strong consumer led economy, increasingly purchasing goods from across the world. In early 2018 it posed its fastest economic growth rate since 2011

Free Trade Zones

The higher Western Ghats are generally about 5000 feet in elevation, while the Eastern Ghats are lower and less continuous. On both coastal plains, fertile soils and adequate rainfall support population densities comparable to those of the __________ lowland to the North

Ganges

Rice is the main crop and foodstuff in the lower ________, along India's coastal lowlands, in the delta lands of Bangladesh, along Pakistan's lower Indus Valley and in Sri Lanka. Large amount of irrigation for this crop India ranks only behind China Bangladesh is the fourth largest producer

Ganges Valley

Indian Christians are more numerous than either Parsis or Jains. Their religion arrived some 1700 years ago as missionaries from Southwest Asia brought Christianity to India's southwestern coast. Today roughly 20% of the people of Kerala follow Christianity. Several Christian sects are represented, with the largest affiliated with the Syrian Christian Church of Southwest Asia. another Christian stronghold is the small Indian state of ______, a former Portuguese colony, where Roman Catholics make up roughly half of the population

Goa

In the mountains of northern Southeast Asia, also called the _________, one of the main cash crops is opium, grown by local farmers for the global drug trade

Golden Triangle

Low-interest credit provided by the internationally acclaimed _________, for example, has allowed many rural Bangladeshi women to establish small-scale enterprises. Political tensions and environmental degradation, however cloud the country's economic future

Grameen Bank

In the 1950s and 1960s, however, China experienced two economic disasters. The first, ironically called the ______________ hinged on the idea that small scale village workshops could produce the large quantities of iron needed fur sustained industrial growth

Great Leap Forward

To counter such regional differences, China began building roads and railway lines and other huge projects through its so called ___________________. From 2008-2014, the interior provinces grew more rapidly than China's coastal regions, reducing both economic disparities and the flow of migrants. In 2016, several of China's fastest growing economies were located deep in the interior, with impoverished Guizhou in the south-center posting a 10.5% growth figure and Chongqing leading the pack at 10.7%

Great Western Development Strategy

The main reason south Asian agriculture has kept up with population growth is the ____________, which originated during the 1960's in agricultural research stations established by international development agencies. By the 1970's efforts to breed high yield varieties of rice and wheat had reached initial goals, transforming South Asia from a region of chronic food deficiency to one of more self-sufficiency

Green Revolution

Such reforms have been carried out most extensively in ________ province, where export-oriented companies facing labor shortages hope to attract more migrants from interior China with child friendly policies

Guangdong

South Asia is separated from the rest of the Eurasian continent by a series of sweeping mountain ranges including the ___________

Himalayas

The loss of glaciers in the ___________ would severely imperil the water supplies of northern South Asia. Arid Pakistan is particularly exposed to this threat. One recent study found that the lower elevation glaciers in this region lost as much as 67% of their volume between 1984 and 2012. Another problem is warming water temperatures in the Arabian Sea, which could intensify tropical storms. In December 2017, a damaging typhoon hit the southwestern Indian state of Kerala, the first such storm to strike the region since 1941

Himalayas

The most widely spoken language of South Asia is _______. With more than 500 million native speakers, _____ is by some measurements the world's second most widely spoken language. It is the official language in 10 Indian states and is widely used throughout the country

Hindi

The first major external religious influence arrived from South Asia some 2000 years ago when small numbers of high-status migrants from whiat is now India helped local leaders establish _______ kingdoms, with Buddhist influences, in the lowlands of Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and western Indonesia. Although Hinduism later faded away in most location, it is still the dominant religion on the Indonesian island of Bali

Hindu

India has been a secular state since its creation, but since the 1980s, this political tradition has come under pressure from the growth of ________, which promotes Hindu values as the foundation of Indian society. In several high-profile cases, Hindu mobs demolished Muslim mosques that had allegedly been built on the sites of ancient Hindu temples

Hindu Nationalism

Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka stems from both religious and linguistic differences. Northern Sri Lanka is dominated by _____________, whereas the island's majority group is Buddhist in religion and Sinhalese in language. After Independence Sinhalese favored a centralized government Most Tamils want political and cultural autonomy

Hindu Tamils

With rapid growth as migrants pour in from the countryside, a mixed _____________ population that generates ethnic tension, a decayed economic base, and an overloaded infrastructure, Kolkata faces a troubled future

Hindu-Muslim

This early Ganges Valley civilization gave birth to __________, a complex faith that lacks a single system of belief. Certain deities are recognized, however, by all believers, as is the notion that these various gods are all expressions of a single divine essence

Hinduism

The Ganges provides the fertile alluvial soil that has made northern India one of the world's most densely settled areas. Given the central role of this river throughout Indian history, it is understandable why _________ consider the Ganges sacred.

Hindus

China's Muslim community is much more deeply rooted than its christian population. In addition to the Uighurs of Xinjiang roughly 10 million Chinese-speaking Muslims, called ______, are concentrated in Gansu and Ningxia in the northwest and in Yunnan Province in the south. Smaller clusters of Hui, often separated in their own villages, live in almost every province of China

Hui

China's government wants such urban expansion to proceed in a regionally balanced manner and has been frustrated that the most rapid growth has occurred in a handful of cities. Its response has been a harsh system of urban residence registration or _______, which denies unregistered urban migrants and their children access to education and other social services

Hukou

Most recent energy investment goes toward fossil-fuel power plants. ________ mines more coal than any other country except China, yet it still imports large quantities from Indonesia.

India

the leaders of the rising nationalist movement faced a dilemma in imagining independence. Many leaders, including Mohandas Gandhi, favored a unified state that would include all British mainland territories. Most Muslim leaders, however, argued for dividing British South Asia into a Hindu Majority ________ and a Muslim Majority ________

India; Pakistan

Eventually, the buildup of heat over South Asia and Southwest Asia produces a large low pressure cell. By early June, this low pressure center is strong enough to cause a shift in wind direction, bringing in moist air from the _____________. This event signals the onset of the warm and rainy season of the southwest monsoon that lasts from June from October

Indian Ocean

By some estimates, __________ is the world's third largest contributor to the problem, after China and the United States.

Indonesia

The ___________, which flows from the Himalayas through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea, provides much needed irrigation for Pakistan's southern deserts. More famous however is the Ganges, which flows southeasterly before emptying into the Bay of Bengal

Indus River

Wheat is the principal crop in the northern ___________ and in the western half of India's Ganges Valley. South Asia's breadbasket includes the northwestern Indian states of Haryana and Punjab and adjacent area in Pakistan. Here the so called Green Revolution has been particularly successful in increasing grain yields. In less fertile areas of central India millet and sorghum are the main crops, along with root crops such as manioc. Wheat and rice are the preferred staples throughout South Asia, but poorer people must often subsist on rougher crops

Indus Valley

small alluvial plains line parts of Japan's coastline and are interspersed among its mountains. These areas have long been cleared for __________. Japan's largest lowland is the Kanto Plain north of Tokyo but even it is only some 80 miles wide and 100 miles long. other major lowland basins are in the Kansai, located around Osaka, and the Nobi, centered on Nagoya

Intensive agriculture

In the explicitly Muslim country of Pakistan, ___________________ has emerged as a highly divisive issue

Islamic fundamentalism

Malaysia's government, for example, has been especially critical of American films and satellite television. _________ radicals in both Malaysia and Indonesia have attacked several nightclubs and other tourist destinations. Risque musicians like Lady Gaga have had to cancel performances. Yet several wildly popular Indonesian performers most notably Jupe, have been equally suggestive. It is also significant that Indonesia's popular president Joko Widodo is a huge fan of heavy metal music

Islamist

At roughly the same time as the birth of Buddhism another religion emerged in northern India: __________. This religion took the creed of nonviolence to its ultimate extreme. Jains are forbidden to kill any living creatures, and the most devout wear gauze masks to prevent them from inhaling small insects. Jainism forbids agriculture because plowing can kill small creatures. As a result, most Jains looked to trade for their livelihoods and today form a relatively prosperous community concentrated in northwestern India

Jainism

A successful rebellion in 1911 finally toppled the Manchus and destroyed the empire, but subsequent efforts to establish a unified China was not successful. In many parts of the country local military leaders (warlords) grabbed power for themselves. by the 1920's it appeared that China might be completely torn apart. The Tibetans had gained autonomy; Xinjiang was under Russian influence; and in China proper, Europeans and local warlords vied with the weak Chinese Republic for power. _________ was also increasing its demands and seeking to expand its territory

Japan

Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have all made significant progress in controlling pollution, with relatively clean environments considering their high levels of population density and industrialization. In the 1950's and 1960's _______ most intensive period of industrial growth, the country suffered from some of the world's worst water and air pollution.

Japan

Most of East Asia is geologically active with frequent earthquakes. Such hazards are most common in _______, but are usually more destructive in China due to lax construction standards

Japan

Which two countries in East Asia are sparring over the rights to control the Senkaku and Diaoyu Islands

Japan and China

One of the biggest problems faced by ASEAN leaders has been the establishment of radical Islamist networks in the region most notably that of _____________. Seeking to establish an Islamic state across insular Southeast Asia, JI agents detonated several deadly bombs in Java and Bali in the early 2000s. Indonesia responded by creating an elite counter terrorism squad and by establishing a "deradicalization prorgram

Jemaah Islamiyah

The 2017 suicide of K-pop idol and social activist________ led to widespread mourning from Seoul to New York City to Buenos Aires

Jonghyun

Additional SEZs were soon opened, mostly in the coastal region. The basic strategy was to attract foreign investment that could generate exports, producing income to supply China with capital to build its infrastructure. China has more recently used the SEZ model to bring economic development to the interior, declaring the entire city of _________ in western Xinjiang an SEZ in 2010

Kashgar

muslims live in almost every part of India but are concentrated in four main areas: most large cities; in ________ particularly in the densely populated Valley Kashmir; in the central Ganges Plain where Muslims constitute 15-20% of the population; and in the south western state of Kerala, which is approximately 25% Muslim

Kashmir

Although most of South Asia's northern mountains are too rugged and high to support dense human settlement, major population clusters are found in the ______________ of Nepal, situated at 4400 feet and the Valley or Vale or Kashmir in Northern India, at 5200 feet

Kathmandu Valley

Communist guerrillas in South Vietnam fought to overthrow the new goverment and unite it with the north. North Vietnam sent troops and materials across the border to aid the rebels. Most of these supplies reached the south over the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a confusing network of forest passages through Laos and Cambodia, thus steadily drawing these two cuntries inot the conflict. In Laos, the communist Pathet Lao forces challenged the government, while in Cambodia the _____________ guerrillas gained considerable power

Khmer Roughe

The centermost area of mainland Southeast Asia is Thailand's _______________. This low sandstone plateau averages about 500 feet in height and is noted for its thin poor soils. water shortages and periodic droughts pose challenges throughout this extensive area

Khorat Plateau

Which two Southeast Asian cities have stayed remarkably free of slums

Kuala Lumpur and Singapore

China has been rapidly expanding its military, seeking to create a navy that can project force across much of the world. The aircraft carrier _________, declared combat ready in 2016 is cruising near Hong Kong

Liaoning

Northeast China, known as ______ to English speakers, is dominated by a broad, fertile lowland sandwiched between mountains and uplands stretching along China's borders with North Korea, Russia, and Mongolia

Manchuria

Malay became a common trade language, or ____________, throughout the insular realm. When Indonesia gained independence in 1949, its leaders decided to use the lingua franca version of Malay as the basis for a new national language called bahasa Indonesia

Lingua franca

The original core of Chinese civilization was the North China Plain and ____________. For many centuries, periods of unification alternated with times of division into competing states. The most important episode of unification occurred in the 3rd century BCE and lasted until the 3rd century CE. During this period, China expanded vigorously to the south of the Yangtze River Valley. Subsequently, the ideal of a united China triumphed, helping to join Han Chinese into a single people. Although periods of disunity followed the collapse of China's various dynasties, reunification always followed

Loess Plateau

The largest betting center in the world, _________ derives 40% of its gross domestic product from gambling. When China began to crack down on corruption in 2015, Macau experienced a sharp recession. New casinos continue to be constructed however as many hope that the construction of a bridge linking Macau to the mainland will boost the local economy

Macau

Soil quality ranges from fair to poor over much of the Deccan Plateau; but in the state of __________, lava flows have produced particularly fertile black soils. Unfortunately, the semiarid western portion of the plateau does not provide reliable rainfall for agriculture

Maharashtra

Certain religious beliefs have worked alongside Confucianism to unite the region. The most important of these are associated with ____________ though other religious practices challenge this cultural unity

Mahayana Buddhism

The situation is more complex in Singapore where Mandarin Chinese, English, Malay, and Tamil are all official languages, and the tongues of southern China are commonly spoken at home. Singapore's Chinese dialects in recent years and launched a campaign against "Singlish" a local dialect based on English but employing many ________ and Chinese words

Malay

What is the common Lingua Franca throughout insular Southeast Asia

Malay

__________ has long been a leading exporter of tropical hardwoods. Mainland _________ was mostly deforested by 1985, when a cutting ban was imposed. Since then, logging has been concentrated in the states of Sarawak and Sabah on the island of Borneo

Malaysia

The _________ is the most prosperous South Asian country based on per capita economic output. Most of its revenue comes from fishig and international tourism. Most tourism money goes to a small segment of the population Tourism is vulnerable to sea-level rise and political tensions

Maldives

Northern, Central, and southwestern China, a vast area extending from Manchuria through the middle and upper Yangtze River Valley to the valleys of Yunnan in the far south, constitute a single linguistic zone. The spoken language here is called ___________ in English. Throughout the rest of China, Mandarin (Putonghua or common language) is the national tongue, learned by almost everyone in school

Mandarin Chinese

Poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation i east-central India, for example, have fueled a revolutionary movement inspired by former Chinese leader ____________. Mao unlike most communist leaders, thought that peasant farmers and not just industrial workers could constitute an revolutionary force

Mao Zedong

more than a century of war, invasion, and near chaos in China ended in 1949, when the communist forces led by __________ seized power. The new government, inheriting a weak economy, set about nationalizing private firms and building heavy industries. These plans were most successful in Manchuria, where a large amount of heavy industrial equipment had been left by the Japanese

Mao Zedong

__________ has been an even greater challenge to the government of Nepal. Nepalese Maoists, infuriated by the lack of development in rural areas, emerged as a significant force in the 1990s. By 2005, they controlled over 70% of the country

Maoism

After the communist regime took power in China in 1949, all forms of religion and traditional philosophy including Confucianism were severely discouraged. Under the new regime, based on a specific version of _________, atheism became the official belief system. The easing of Communism during the 1980's and 1990's however revived many forms of religious expression. In North Korea, communist beliefs gradually gave way to an official ideology of juche, or self reliance. Ironically, juche demands absolute loyalty to the country's repressive political leaders

Marxism

Intellectual freedom in Chinese universities has been curtailed in recent years as the government reemphasizes _________. In 2017, Chinese censors went so far as to ban images of Winnie the Pooh after local bloggers started to use the fictional bear to poke fun at president Xi

Marxism

Fresh water fisheries are particularly threatened by damming the massive ___________.. Scientists believe that as many as 20 fish species could be wiped out by the project, including the Mekong giant catfish, which can reach 660 pounds

Mekong River

In the Philippines, the two largest and most important islands are the Luzon (size of Ohio) in the north and ____________ (the size of South Carolina) in the south, with roughly a dozen Visayan Islands sandwiched between them

Mindanao

When Europeans first arrived in the 1500's most of northern South Asia was ruled by the Muslim _______ Empire while southern India remained under the control of the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagara

Mughal

Turkic-speakig Muslims began to enter the region from Central Asia around 1000; and by the 1300s most of south Asia lay under muslim power although Hindu kingdoms persisted in Southern India. During the 16th and 17th centuries the _____________, the most powerful of the Muslim states, dominated much of the region from its power center in the Indus-Ganges Basin

Mughal/Mogul Empire

Of all the countries of Southeast Asia, ________ has experienced the most extreme ethnic conflicts. Its simultaneous wars have pitted the central government, dominated by Burmese-speaking ethnic group, against the country's varied non-Burman societies. Fighting intensified gradually after independence in 1948 and by the 1980's almost half of the country had become a combat zone

Myanmar

Two types of tropical climates dominate mainland southeast Asia 1. along the coasts and in the highlands, the tropical monsoon climate dominates. Rainfall totals for usually average more than 100 inches each year. 2. The greater portion of the mainland is classified as tropical savanna with half the annual rainfall In the so called dry zone of central _________ rainfall is even lower and droughts are common

Myanmar

Indonesia's independence in 1949 brought together all former Dutch possessions in the region except western ___________. In 1962, the Netherlands organized an election to see whether the people of Papua wished to join Indonesia. The vote went for union, but many observers believed that Indonesia's government rigged the election, and many of the local people began to rebel

New Guinea (Papua)

The Philippines also experiences a revolutionary communist group, the _____________, operates throughout the country and controls many rural districts. The national government, although democratic, is far from stable, suffering from periodic coup threats, corruption scandals, mass protests, and impeachment efforts. In 2016, hardline candidate Rodrigo Duterte was elected president. Duterte immediately launched brutal antidrug campaign that resulted in thousands of killings at the hand of police death squads. Highly critical of the human-rights establishment, Duterte has sought closer relations with both Russia and China

New People's army

Threats to the empire had always come from the ________, and imperial officials saw little danger from European merchants operating along their coast. But the Europeans were distressed by the amount of silver needed to obtain Chinese silk, tea, and other products. In response, the British began to trade in opium, which Chinese authorities rightfully viewed as a threat. When the imperial government tried to suppress the opium trade in the 1840s Britain attacked and quickly prevailed

North

The 1930s brought a global depression, reducing world trade and putting resource-dependent Japan in a bind. Its leaders sought a military solution, conquering Manchuria in 1931. Six years later, Japanese armies occupied the ___________ and the coastal cities of southern China, infuriating the United States. When the United States cut off the export of scrap iron, Japan suffered a resource crunch. In 1941, the county's leaders decided to destroy the U.S Pacific fleet in order to clear the way for the conquest of resource rich Southeast Asia

North China Plain

The _________, a large flat area of fertile soil crossed by the Huang He (Yellow River), is cold and dry in winter but hot and humid in the summer

North China Plain

Bus despite such progress, the region still contains vast disparities in economic well-being. Although China has achieved the most rapid reduction of poverty in world history, many of its rural, interior districts remain poor. ____________ in contrast to the rest of the region, has prioritized self-sufficiency, a policy that resulted in rampant poverty

North Korea

By the late 1990s , South Korea's government came to favor a softer approach to ___________. South Korean firms invested substantial funds in joint economic endeavors, and South Koreans were allowed to cross the border for closely monitored visits

North Korea

The fertility rates of all East Asian countries are below the replacement level, with all but _______ falling far below that level. As Japan's birthrate dropped much earlier than those of its neighbors, it now faces population loss. As its population ages, fewer workers are available to support retirees, thus generating economic imbalances. Government projections released in 2015 estimated that the number of workers in Japan with probably fall by 7.9 million by 2030 and that the total population will likely decline to 86 million by 2060

North Korea

Until the mid 1800's all East Asian countries attempted to insulate themselves from Western culture. Japan subsequently opened its ports to global trade but remained uncertain about foreign ideas. But after its defeat in 1945, it decided to make globalization a priority. South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong (then a British Colony) took the same path. During the Cold War, China and North Korea tried to remain separate from global culture. This stance is still maintained in ___________

North Korea

Japan's military power was limited by the constitution imposed on it by the United States, forcing Japan to rely in part of the U.S. military defense. Many Japanese citizens, however, believe that their country should defend itself. Slowly but steadily, Japan's military has emerged as a strong regional force, despite the limits imposed on it. ____________ nuclear bomb making and missile testing have raised security concerns, as has China's growing power. In early 2018, Japan initiated a major upgrade of its naval and air forces, and even began discussing the construction of aircraft carriers

North Korean

Opponents of the government still face imprisonment, and freedom of the press is highly limited. ______________ a global organization that advocates freedom of the press, rates China as one of the world's 12 enemies of the internet. Such sites as Google, Facebook, Youtube, and the New York Times are banned, although savvy Chinese Internet users know how to get around the so-called Great Firewall of China

Reporters without borders

Infrastructure investment is often favored because it facilitates both exports and imports. Prominent here is the so called New silk Road project, part of China's ________________ initiative. the road part of this project is actually maritime, based on port development and transportation linkages across the Indian Ocean. China is also planning ambitious investments in Latin America roads and railroads. Such projects however, face local political and environmental opposition, and if China's economic growth slips, it is uncertain whether adequate funds will be available

One Belt, One Road

In 2018, reduced tariffs among a group of ____________ countries promised further expansion of the country's textile, footwear, and beverage industries

Pacific Rim

Migrants have been forced out of their homelands by war; a large number of both Hindus and Muslims from Kashmir, for example, have sought security away from their battle scarred homeland. According to a 2018 UN report, _________ has the worlds largest refugee population, at 1.45 million. Most of these people fled from conflicts in neighboring Afghanistan, but many been displaced by Pakistan's own insurgencies

Pakistan

The governments of India and _______ have been building large dams both to generate electricity and supply additional water. these dams are controversial, mostly because they displace hundreds of thousands of rural residents

Pakistan

When the British finally withdrew in 1947, South Asia was indeed divided into India and Pakistan. Partition was a horrific event. Not only were some 14 million people displaced but also roughly 1 million were killed. Hindus and Sikhs fled from __________, to be replaced by Muslims fleeing India

Pakistan

At first, Muslims formed a small ruling elite, but over time increasing numbers of Hindus converted to the new faith, particularly in the northwest and northeast where the areas now know as ________ and __________ became predominantly Muslim

Pakistan and Bangladesh

Indonesia has also experienced increasing religious tensions and persecution, despite its official national ideology of _________, which emphasizes tolerance and pluralism.

Pancasila

Why do geographers often classify Singapore as the entrepot to Southeast Asia

Place where goods are imported, stored, and then transshipped to other countries and other parts of the world

Japan's environmental cleanup was aided by its location, as winds usually carry smog-forming chemicals out to sea. Equally important has been the phenomenon of _____________. Japan's high cost of production and strict environmental laws have led many Japanese companies to relocate their dirtiest factories to other areas, especially China and Southeast Asia. This practice, which has also been adopted by U.S and European firms, means that Japan's pollution is partially displaced to poorer countriest

Pollution Exporting

Macau, the last colonial territory in East Asia, was regained by China in 1999, becoming the country's second special administrative region. This small former __________ enclave, located across the estuary from Hong Kong, has functioned largely as a gambling haven

Portugese

The _________ were the first Europeans to arrive around 1500 lured mainly by the spices of the Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia. In the late 1500s, the Spanish conquered most of the lowland Philippines, which they used as a base for their silver trade between China and the Americas. By the 1600s, the Dutch East Indies Company began to establish trading bases, followed by the British. With superior naval weapons, the Europeans were able to conquer key ports and control strategic waterways. Yet for the first 200 years of colonialism, except in the Philippines, the Europeans made no major territorial gains

Portuguese

One persistent conflict between Thailand and Cambodia over the area around the 11th century _____________. In January 2015, Thailand sent 200 troops to the border to protest Cambodian construction activities in the disputed area.

Preah Vihear Temple

Japan is the most self sufficient in _______, but remains one of the world's largest food importers, buying much of its meat and the feed used in its domestic livestock industry from the United States, Brazil, Canada, and Australia. These same countries supply soybeans and wheat.

Rice

_______ is the major crop, and Japanese rice farming has long been one of the world's most productive forms of agriculture. Although rice is grown in all lowland areas, the premier rice-growing districts lie along the Sea of Japan in central and Northern Honshu.

Rice

Hindus also share a common set of epic stories, usually written in ______, the sacred language of their religion. Hinduism is noted for its mystical tendencies, which have long inspired many to seek an ascetic lifestyle, renouncing property and sometimes all regular human relations

Sanskrit

The ________________ Dam on the Narmada River in the state of Gujarat has been particularly contentious. India's government has recently increased the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam from its original 260 feet to 535 feet, enabling the irrigation of additional 6900 square miles in drought-prone western Gujarat. In 2018, India's National Green Tribunal petitioned the government to allow more water to flow out of the dam and into the river rather than into irrigation canals, arguing that the lower course of the Narmada has been reduced to a small stream

Sardar Sarovar

Languages in the _______ family are found throughout most of Thailand and Laos, in the uplands of northern Vietnam, and in Myanmar's Shan Plateau. Most Tai languages are spoken by members of small tribal groups but Thai and Lao are important national languages

Tai-Kadai

Despite its varied forms of religious expression, East Asia is one of the world's most ___________ regions. A small portion of Japan's population is highly religious, but most people only occasionally observe Shinto or Buddhist rituals. Japan also have several "new religions" a few of which are noted for their strong beliefs. But for Japanese society as a whole, religion, is not particularly important.

Secular

The worst floods in northern China are caused by the Huang He River, which cuts across the North China Plain. As a result of upstream erosion, the river carries a huge ________ (the amount of suspended clay, silt, and sand in the water) making it the muddiest major river in the world. When the river enters the low-lying plain, its velocity slows, and its sediments begin to settle and accumulate in the riverbed. This gradually raises the level fo the river above that of the surrounding lands, and the river must eventually break free of its course to find a new route to the sea

Sediment load

Tensions between China and Japan have grown over the ___________ northeast of Taiwan. Japan controls these small, uninhabited islands, but China claims them as well as the surrounding waters which may contain substantial oil resources.

Senkaku Islands

These rugged uninhabited islands in the East China Sea are administered by Japan but claimed by both China and Taiwan. China has increasingly emphasized its claims to these rocky islands, heightening tensions with Japan

Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands

The _______ religion is so closely bound to the idea of Japanese nationality that it is questionable whether a non-Japanese person can follow it. Shinto began as the worship of nature spirits, but was gradually refined into a set of beliefs about the harmony of nature and its connections with human existence. Shinto is still a place and nature centered religion. Certain mountains, particularly Mount Fuji, are considered sacred. Major Shinto shrines, often located in scenic places, attract numerous religious pilgrims

Shinto

The variety of Buddhism practiced in East Asia (Mahayana or Great Vehicle) is distinct from the Theravada Buddhism of Southeast Asia. Most important, Mahayana Buddhism simplifies the quest for nirvana, in part by incorporating the existence of beings who refuse divine union for themselves in order to help others spiritually. Mahayana Buddhism also permits its followers to practice other religions. Thus, many Japanese are both Buddhists and ________, while many Chinese consider themselves both Buddhists and Taoists (as well as Confucianists)

Shintoists

Of China's many highly developed regional cuisines, that of __________ is probably best known. The people of Sichuan are noted for their dedication to the art of cooking and their love of restaurants. For these reasons, UNESCO declared Chengdu, the provincial capital, an official "city of gastronomy" in 2011. Spiciness is the hallmark of Sichuan food; chili peppers and garlic are heavily used, but what really stands out is the mouth numbing Sichuan pepper

Sichuan

The tension between Hinduism and Islam in northern South Asia gave rise to a new religion, _________, which originated in the 1400s in the Punjab near the modern boundary between India and Pakistan. The new faith combined elements of both Islam and Hinduism. Many orthodox Muslims viewed Sikhism as unacceptable because it incorporated elements of their own religion in a manner contrary to accepted beliefs. Periodic persecution led the Sikhs to adopt a militantly defensive stance. Even today, many Sikh men work as soldiers and bodyguards, both in India and abroad

Sikhism

Bengaluru is labeled the ______________. India's fast growing high technology sector lies farther to the souther. The Indian government selected the upland Bengaluru area for technological investments in the 1950's

Silicon Plateau

Both Taiwan and Hong Kong have close overseas economic connections, particularly with Chinese owned firms located in Southeast Asia and North America. Taiwan's high tech businesses are intertwined with those of ___________ in the United States. Hong Kong's economy is also tightly bound with U.S firms (as well as Canada and Britain) but its closes connections are with the rest of China. Taiwan's high-tech exports surged in 2017 as the global economy kicked into a higher gear, but worries mounted as China began put economic pressure on the island

Silicon Valley

Which country in the region actively promotes childbearing

Singapore

___________ has the world's lowest fertility rate. Its concerned government is actively promoting childbearing, particularly among the most highly educated people. Middle-income Singaporean couples receive various incentives world tens of thousands of dollars if they have two children. The government has also sponsored pro-fertility advertisement and video campaigns on Youtube and other social media that appealed to young Singaporeans' sense of national pride by starting families

Singapore

As China's industrial base expanded, urban environmental problems considerably worsened. The burning of high-sulfur coal causes serious air pollution, as does the growing number of automobiles. Most Chinese cities are shrouded in _______, especially in winter when the air often become stagnant.

Smog

After Independence, Philippine nationalists selected _________, the language of the Manila area, to replace English and help unify the new country. After Tagalog was standardized, modernized, and renamed Filipino, it gradually became the national language

Tagalog

Open warfare between French soldiers and the communist forces continued until 1954, when France withdrew after a major military defeat. An international peace council then divided Vietnam into a communist North Vietnam, allied with the _________, and a capitalism oriented South Vietnam, with close ties to the United States

Soviet

With Japan's defeat at the end of WWII, East Asia became dominated by the rivalry between the United States and the _____________. American interests initially prevailed in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, while Soviet interests advanced on the mainland

Soviet Union

An important early industrial reform involving opening _____________, in which foreign investment was welcome and state interference was minimal. The Shenzhen SEZ, adjacent to Hong Kong, proved particularly successful

Special Economic Zones

Although Buddhism virtually disappeared from India, it persisted in __________. Among the island's dominant Sinhalese people, Theravada Buddhism developed into a national religion. Meanwhile, in the high valleys of the Himalayas, the Tibetan form of Buddhism emerged as the majority faith

Sri Lanka

Interestingly, Kerala was one of the few parts of India that never experienced prolonged Muslim rule. Islam in Kerala was historically connected to trade across the Arabian Sea. Kerala's Malabar Coast supplied spices and other luxury products to Southwest Asia, encouraging many Arab traders to settle there; and gradually, many native residents converted to the new religion. The same trade routes brought Islam to _________ which is approximately 9% Muslim and the Maldives, which is almost entirely Muslim

Sri Lanka

The four main Dravidian languages are confined to southern India and northern ________. As in the north, each language is closely associated with one or more Indian states. Tamil is often considered the most important member of the family because it has the longest history and the largest literature. Tamil poetry dates back to the 1st century CE making it one of the world's oldest written language

Sri Lanka

_________ is a social development success, with an average lifespan of 77 years and nearly universal literacy. The government achieved these results through universal primary education and inexpensive medical clinics

Sri Lanka

Tamil militants waged war against the _________ government for several decades, hoping to create an independent country in their northern and eastern homeland. they were decisively defeated by the Sri Lanka military, however, in 2009

Sri Lankan

Japan's new rulers concluded that only way to meet the European challenge was to expand their own territory. Japan soon took over Hokkaido and began to move farther north. In 1895, it tested its newly modernized army against China, winning a quick victory that gave Japan control of ___________. Tensions then mounted with Russia as the two countries competed for power in Manchuria and Korea. the Japanese defeated the Russians in 1905, giving Japan considerable influence in northern China. With no strong rival in the area, Japan annexed Korea in 1910

Taiwan

When Mao Zedong, who had been revered as an almost superhuman being, died in 1976, China faced a crucial turning point. Its economy was nearly stagnant and its people desperately poor, while the economy of _______, its rival, was booming. This led to a political struggle between dedicated communists and pragmatists hoping for change. The pragmatists emerged victorious, and by the late 1970s it was clear that China would embark on a path of export-oriented and market based development

Taiwan

World War II brought tremendous destruction and loss of life to China. After Japan invaded China proper in 1937, competing Chinese communist and nationalist forces agreed to cooperate, but once Japan was defeated, China's civil war began in earnest. The communists proved victorious in 1949, forcing the nationalists to retreat to ______

Taiwan

_______ is a small mountainous, and mostly forested country. An island about the size of Maryland it sits at the edge of the continental landmass

Taiwan

_________ is noted for its linguistic and ethnic complexity. In the island's mountainous eastern region, a few small groups of "tribal" peoples speak Austronesian languages related to those of Indonesia. These peoples resided throughout Taiwan before the 16th century, when Han migrants began to arrive in large numbers. Most of the newcomers spoke Fujianese dialects, which evolved into the distinctive language called Taiwanese

Taiwan

__________ was the only legitimate government of China, but its policy changed after U.S leaders decided that it would be more useful to recognize mainland China. Soon, China entered the United Nations, and Taiwan found itself diplomatically isolated. Taiwan continues to be recognized, however, as the legitimate government of China by a few small countries, most of which receive Taiwanese economic aid in return

Taiwan

Taiwan was transformed almost overnight in 1949, when China's nationalist forces, defeated by the communists, sought refuge on the island. The nationalists made Mandarin the official language while discouraging Taiwanese, leading to tensions between the two language communities. Only in the 1990s did ___________ speakers begin to reassert their language rights. Today most island residents are fluent in both tongues. Dramas and variety shows on television tend to be in Taiwanese, whereas game shows and documentaries are more often filmed in Mandarin

Taiwanese

Rapid infrastructural development in Laos has generated a huge and perhaps unsustainable debt burden. Some observers fear that a slowdown in the economies of __________ and China could prove disastrous from Laos

Thailand

The Philippines is the top producer of rice with _________ in second, Vietnam in third, and Myanmar being fifth

Thailand

Pakistan is jut now beginning to tap into its massive coal deposits in the ________. Renewable energy, however, is now gaining ground. India is now the world's fourth largest producer of wind power and the seventh largest producer of solar power.

Thar Desert

North Korea tries to insulate its people as much as possible from global culture. But foreign films and television shows, especially those from South Korea, are increasingly popular. DVDs are smuggled into the country in large numbers, even though smugglers can face public execution if caught. North Korea also uses intimidation to try to control how the country is depicted in the foreign media. In 2014, it threatened "merciless action" against the United States due to the release of ___________, a Sony Pictures comedy that depicts the fictional assassination of its leader. Sony Pictures was later hacked, probably by North Korea, and a huge trove of sensitive material was released to the public

The Interview

South Korea has larger lowland areas which gives an ______________ over North Korea

agricultural advantage

Despite its inability to regain Taiwan, China has successfully retained most of the territories that the Manchus controlled. In the case of __________, this has required considerable force

Tibet

The island of ________ has also experienced intensive political violence. The eastern half of this poor and rather dry Portuguese colony had evolved into a largely Christian society. The eastern Timorese expected independence when Portugal finally withdrew in 1975, but Indonesia viewed the area as its own and immediately invaded. A brutal war followed, won by Indonesia after its army blocked food from reaching the area

Timor

Australia and _____________ finally reached an agreement to share a huge offshore natural gas field, which could provide revenue for years. But the two countries still disagree about where the gas should be processed delaying the project. Timor Leste is also burdened by economic domination by a group of around forty families while most of its population remaining impoverished

Timor Leste

Japan is a highly urbanized country. In 2014, the United Nations reported that ______ with almost certainly remain the world's largest metropolitan area until at least 2030. But Japan is also noted for its mountainous terrain and lightly populated uplands

Tokyo

Central and Eastern Taiwan are rugged, while the west is dominated by a narrow but fertile alluvial plain. Bisected by the ________, Taiwan has mild winters, but it is often hit by typhoons

Tropic of Cancer

Southeast Asia is an almost entirely tropical region, with only the northern Myanmar extending north of the _________________. most of insular Southeast Asia lies in the equatorial zone and experiences heavy rainfall almost all year.

Tropic of Cancer

Despite high levels of economic development, Japanese living standards remain somewhat lower than those of the United States. Housing, food, transportation, and services are particularly expensive. But the Japanese enjoy many social benefits. ___________ remains low, health care is provided by the government and crime is rare

Unemployment

In 1950, the North invaded the South, seeking to reunify the country. The United States, backed by the _____________, supported South Korea, while China aided North Korea. the war ended in a stalemate, and the peninsula remains divided its two governments still technically at war

United Nations

East Asia is situated in the same general latitudinal range as the _________ although it extends farther north and south

United States

Japan remained largely closed to foreign commerce and influence until ________ gunboats sailed into Tokyo Bay in 1853 to demand trade access. Aware that China was losing power, Japanese leaders set about modernizing their economic, administrative, and military systems. This effort accelerated when the Tokugawa shogunate was toppled in 1868 by the Meiji Restoration

United States

Reunification was a traumatic event in southern Vietnam. Hundreds of thousands of people fled from the new regime, with many settling in the ________________

United States

Thailand was the only country to avoid colonial rule, although it did lose territories to the British and French. The final colonial power to enter the region was the ____________, which took the Philippines first from Spain and then from Filipino nationalists between 1898 and 1902

United States

The least fortunate Chinese citizens were sometimes left with little work, and many millions had to move from rural villages to seek employment in the booming coastal cities. China now has more unequal distribution of wealth than its officially capitalist neighbors Japan and South Korea. According to some statistical measures, income disparities are greater in China than in the __________

United States

China's cities began to change as Europeans gained power in the region in the 1800's. Several port cities were taken over by European interests, which proceeded to build ____________ and modern business districts. By far the most important of the semi-colonial cities was Shanghai, built near the mouth of the Yangtze River, the main gateway to interior China. Although Shanghai declined after the Communist Party came to power in 1949, it has experienced a major revival. By the 1990's migrants were pouring into Shanghai, and building cranes crowded its skyline. Official statistics now put the population of the metropolitan area at 24 million

Western style buildings

The postwar Chinese government also retained control over _________ in the northwest as well as Inner Mongolia (Nei Mongol), a vast territory stretching along the Mongolian border. Like Tibet, Nei Mongol and Xinjiang are classified as autonomous regions. The native peoples of Xinjiang are asserting their religious and ethnic identities, and separatist attitudes are common. Most Han Chinese, however, see Nei Mongol and Xinjiang as integral parts of their country and regard any talk of independence as treasonous

Xinjiang

The ________ River is one of the most important physical features of East Asia. This river, the world's third largest (by volume), emerges from the Tibetan highlands onto the rolling lands of the Sichuan Basin, passes through a magnificent canyon in the Three Gorges area, and then meanders across the lowlands of central China before entering the sea in a large delta near Shanghai. The Yangtze has been the main transportation corridor into the interior of China for millennia and has long been famous in Chinese literature for its beauty and power

Yangtze

Anti-Japanese feelings in China are occasionally reinforced by Japanese prime ministers visiting ______________, which houses the remains of several war criminals from World War II, and by some Japanese textbooks that downplay the country's atrocities during WWII

Yasukuni Shrine

The Parsis, concentrated in Mumbai, form a tiny but influential religious group. Followers of _____________, the ancient faith of Iran, Parsi refugees fled to India in the 7th century. The Parsis prospered under British rule, forming some of India's first modern industrial companies, such as the Tata Group. Intermarriage and low fertility, however, now threatened the survival of this small community

Zoroastrianism

Since the 1970's ________ production has grown rapidly. Unfortunately many South Asian farmers have gone deeply into debt, threatening future agricultural gains

agricultural

East Asia is densely population region. The lowlands of Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and the eastern half of China are among the most intensely used portions of Earth, containing not only the major cities, but also most of the _____________ of these countries. In the mid 1900's many observers were concerned about overpopulation here, leading to policies designed to reduce birth rates. But by the end of the century, the region's fertility rate had plummeted, leading to population stabilization and indicating future decline. Today many East Asians now hope for an increase in childbearing

agricultural lands

The west central states of Gujarat and Maharashtra are noted for their industrial and financial power as well as ___________________. Gujarat was one of the first parts of South Asia to industrialize and its textile mills are still among the regions most productive. Gujaratis are well known as merchants and overseas traders and are heavily represented in the Indian diaspora. Unfortunately, Gujarat also has some of the worst Hindu Muslim relations in India and lags behind southern India in terms of social development

agricultural productivity

In the northwestern states of Punjab and Haryana, showcases of the Green Revolution, economic output per capita is also relatively high. Their economies depend largely on _________, but food processing and other industries are showing strong growth. On Haryana's eastern border lies the National Capital Territory of Delhi, where much of India's political power and wealth is concentrated

agriculture

The potential effects of climate change in China have serious implications. A 2016 world Bank report concluded that the region could see its economic growth rate severely decline by 2050 due to the impacts of climate change on _______________. According to China's 2015 National Climate Change Assessment, the country's average temperatures have increased faster than the global average

agriculture, health, and income

South of the mountain rim lie large lowlands created by three major river systems, which have deposited sediments to build huge ______________ of fertile and easily farmed soils. these densely settled lowlands constitute the core population areas of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh

alluvial plains

The Korean Peninsula is also densely populated, containing some 76 million people (25 in North Korea, 71 in South Korea) in an area smaller than Minnesota. South Korea's population density is significantly higher than that of Japan. Most Koreans crowd into the _________ and ______ of the west and south. The highland spine, extending from the far north to northeastern South Korea agriculture is dominated by rice. North Korea in contrast relies heavily on corn and other upland crops that do not require irrigation

alluvial plains and basins

Although French priests converted many Vietnamese to Catholicism, missionaries had little influence in other lowland areas. They were more successful in highlands inhabited by tribal peoples practicing ________, worshiping nature spirits and their ancestors

animism

In northern China, population distribution is more variable. the North China Plain has long been one of the world's most thoroughly _____________ (a landscape heavily transformed by human activities) Virtually its entire extent is either cultivated or occupied by houses, factories, and other structures of human society

anthropogenic landscapes

Much larger communities of non-Han peoples live in south central China, especially in Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan, and in the country's Central Asian lands to the west. Although most residents of Yunnan are Han, more remote areas of the province are inhabited by a wide array of indigenous peoples. Neighboring Guangxi has been designated an ___________ with more legislative rights for its minority populations, many of whom speak languages of the Tai family

autonomous region

Japan has traditionally been characterized by urban "__________" rather than urban primacy. Until the 1960's, Tokyo, the capital and main business and educational center, together with the neighboring port of Yokohama, was balanced by the trading center of Osaka and its port Kobe.

bipolarity

Malaysia has experienced a _____________ as many highly educated people of Chinese and Indian ancestry move abroad in search of better opportunities

brain drain

In the late 1990's Southeast Asia suffered from two consecutive years of disastrous air pollution caused by _________. Although the situation has improved since then, damaging blankets of haze continue to descent on the region. In 2013, fires in northern Sumatra generated smoke plumes that extended to Borneo, causing record high levels of air pollution in Singapore and across much of Malaysia

burning forests

East Asia occupies a central position in climate change debates, largely because of China's extremely rapid increase in _________. From levels only about half those of the United States in 2000, China's total greenhouse gas emissions became the largest in the world in 2007. This staggering rise stems from both China's explosive economic growth and its reliance on coal to generate most of its electricity

carbon emissions

The bulk of China's energy needs come from

coal

Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) prefers negotiation to confrontation. Meeting in early 2018, ASEAN leaders hammered out a _________ for the South China Sea, emphasizing freedom of navigation and calling for a nonmilitary approach, but avoiding any direct criticism of China

code of conduct

North of the Yangtze River Valley, the climate is ____ and ______, summer rainfall is generally abundant, but the other seasons tend to be dry

colder and drier

What is the min driving force of deforestation in Malaysia

commercial logging for export

Most South Asians live in

compact rural villages

South Asia is one of the least urbanized world regions, with around one third of its people living in cities. Most South Asians reside in _____________, but increased mechanization of agriculture, along with the expansion of large farms at the expense of subsistence cultivation, pushes as many people to the region's rapidly growing urban areas as are drawn by employment opportunities in the city

compact rural villages

At the southern tip of peninsular India lies Sri Lanka. This island is ringed by extensive coastal plains and low hills, but mountains reaching more than 8000 feet occupy the southern interior, proving a _______________ climate. Because the main monsoon winds arrive from the southwest that portion of the island is much wetter than the rain shadow areas of the north and east

cool moist

East Asia is one of the world's most _____ regions. Although different areas have their distinct cultures, the entire region shares certain historically rooted ways of life and systems of ideas that trace back to ancient Chinese civilization. Chinese culture emerged roughly 4000 years ago, largely isolated from the Eastern Hemisphere's other early centers of civilization in the valleys of the Indus, Tigris Euphrates and Nile Rivers

culturally unified

Pakistan and much of northwestern and central India often experience a lack of water. In many areas, farmers have traditionally stored runoff water from the monsoon rains in small reservoirs for use during the dry months. As these storage facilities have proved inadequate to meet the demands of a growing population, villagers have turned to _______ and powerful pumps to provide groundwater for their crops. Water tables are falling in many areas as a result, requiring ever deeper wells and electricity expenditures

deep wells

As is true in other poor and densely settled world regions, serious ecological issues plague South Asia, including the usual environmental problems of water and air pollution that accompany ______________.

early industrialization

by the 1990s, the Yangtze Delta, centered on Shanghai, reemerged as China's ___________. In the early 2000s, China's government encouraged the development of huge industrial, commercial, and residential complexes, hoping to take advantage of the region's vitality.

economic core

Malaysia has also experienced rapid ________________. Development was initially concentrated in agriculture and natural resources, focusing on tropical hardwoods, plantation products, and tin mining. More recently, manufacturing, especially in labor-intensive high-tech sectors has become the main engine of growth

economic growth

Although Japan's heavy industrialization began in the late 1800s, most of its people remained poor. The 1950s, however, saw the beginnings of the Japanese ____________. With its empire gone, Japan was forced to export manufactured products. Beginning with inexpensive consumer goods, Japanese industry moved to more sophisticated products, including automobiles, camera, electronics, machine tools, and computer equipment. By the 1980s Japan was the leader in many segments of the global economy

economic miracle

Pakistan tends to under perform particularly in regard to _________. Most Pakistani students drop out of school at age 9 and only 3% of its public school students complete 12th grade

education

The significance of Confucianism in East Asian development has long been debated. In the early 1900's many observers believed that Confucian respect for tradition and authority was responsible for the economically backward position of China and Korea. But because East Asia has since enjoyed the world's fasters rates of economic growth, this no longer hold true, and newer arguments claim that Confucianism respect for _____ and __________ gave East Asia an Advantage. It must be noted however, that Confucianism has lost much of the hold it once had on public morality throughout East Asia

education and social stability

Wild __________ still roam several large reserves in India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal

elephants

Singapore is Southeast Asia's biggest developmental success. This small island has transformed itself from an __________, a place where goods are imported, stored, and then transshipped, to one of the world's wealthiest and most modern states. Singapore is the communications and financial hub of Southeast Asia as well as a thriving high-tech manufacturing center. Its government has played an active role in the development process, encouraging investment by multinational companies and itself investing in housing, education, and some social services

entrepot

Climate change will likely hit southeast Asian cities and agricultural areas hard. The region is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise, as most of its people live along the coast. Changes in precipitation could cause an intensification of the monsoon pattern, which could bring increased rainfall to much of the mainland but reduce it in the _____________

equatorial zone

Unlike the insular zone, most of mainland Southeast Asia lies outside of the _____________, where a long dry season prevents the establishment of rainforest vegetation; contain teak and other tree species highly valued by loggers

equatorial zone

Why has Burma remained one of the least developed Southeast Asian countries

ethnic and political conflict

Effective family planning in the Philippines has been difficult. When a popular democratic government replaced a dictatorship in the 1980's the Philippine Roman Catholic Church pressured the new government to cut funding for ________________-

family planning programs

North Korea relies on its own farmland for most of its food production. North Korea's inefficient, state-run agricultural system, however, cannot supply adequate food resulting in periodically devastating _______. In recent years, however, North Korean leaders have allowed farmers to cultivate their own small plots and sell surplus goods in open markets increasing the food supply

famines

Similar to Shinto, the Chinese religion Taoism (or Daoism) is rooted in nature worship. Also like Shinto, it stresses spiritual harmony. Taoism is indirectly associated with ________, the Chinese and Korean practice of designing buildings in accordance with the spiritual powers that supposedly flow through the local topography. Even in hypermodern Hong Kong, skyscrapers worth millions of dollars have occasionally gone unoccupied because their construction failed to follow _______ principle

feng shui

The interior and northern provinces, in contrast, have seen less economic growth that the ret of the country. Manchuria remains reasonably well off due to its __________ and early industrialization, but has not participated much in the recent boom. Many of the state-owned heavy industries of the Manchurian rust belt, or zone of decaying factories, are relatively inefficient, leading to slower economic growth

fertile soil

the most densely settled areas in South Asia are those with ________ and dependable water supplies. The highest rural population densities are found in the core area of the Ganges and Indus river valleys and on India's coastal plains. Settlement is less dense on the Deccan Plateau and is relatively sparse in the highlands of the far north and the arid lands of the northwest

fertile soils

Although the Green Revolution was an agricultural success, many experts highlight its ecological and social costs. Serious environmental problems result from the chemical dependency of the new crop strains. These crops typically need large quantities of industrial ________, which is both expensive and polluting, as well as frequent pesticide applications because they lack natural resistance to plant diseases and insects

fertilizer

In 2014, Indonesia banned the export of unrefined metal ores in hopes of bolstering domestic refining, but the main result was a decline of the mining sector. three years later, the ban was significantly relaxed. In 2018, Indonesia turned to a new strategy, encouraging culturally focused industries such as ______ and ________. It is also investing heavily in infrastructure, particularly in electricity generation and transmission

films and fashion

Japan has one of the highest rates of _____ in the world, and Japanese fishing fleets must scour the world's oceans to meet demand. Japan also depends on imports of wood resources. Although its own forests produce high quality cedar and cypress logs, Japan buys most of its construction lumber and pulp (for paper-making) from western North America and Southeast Asia

fish consumption

The tai forestry ban, moreover, has resulted in increased logging much of it illegal in remote areas of Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Major efforts are underway however to preserve both ______ and _______ in these poorer countries

forests and wildlife

Manchuria's uplands are home to some of China's best preserved _____ and _______

forests and wildlife refugees

A dormant state of war between China and Taiwan persisted for decades after 1949. The Beijing government still claims Taiwan as an integral part of China and vows that it will eventually reclaim it. Nationalists in Taiwan long insisted that they represented the true government of a temporarily divided country. By the end of the 20th century, however, almost all Taiwanese had given up on the idea of taking over China itself, and many began to call openly for Taiwan's _____________

formal independence

Islamabad is a _________, one that signals, both symbolically and geographically, a country's intentions. By building its new capital in the north, Pakistan sent a message that it would not abandon its claims to the portion of Kashmir controlled by India. To avoid congestion, planners designed Islamabad around self-sufficient sectors, each with its own government buildings, residences, and shops

forward capital

With 34 million more men than women now in China, one pressing social issue is the ____________. This gap reflects the cultural practice of honoring ancestors; because family lines are traced through male offspring, only a male heir can maintain the family's lineage

gender imbalance

Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are major ___________, but they also have highly energy-efficient economies. Japanese and South Korean companies, moreover, are world leaders in environmentally responsible technology. Japan's carbon emissions, however, spiked upward in 2011 after its nuclear reactors were shut down following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent Fukushima power plan disaster. By 2016, several nuclear facilities had reopened, but public resistance led the government to promise that it would generate no more than 15% of its electricity from nuclear plants

green house gas emitters

China alone counts for almost ____ of the world's coal consumption

half

Clean water and sanitation are major problems in urban slums throughout South Asia. Roughly ________ of India's city dwellers still do not have access to sewers or other modern sanitation facilities.

half

South Korea's pop culture industry continues to thrive, as Korean music, movies, and television shows have gone global, a phenomenon known as _________ or Korean wave) South Korean consumer products have followed in its wake. K-pop a South Korean musical genre based on rock, hip-hop, and electro pop styles, has been especially popular, its global reach enhanced by its fans use of facebook, twitter, and youtube.

hallyu

Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim sect, often regarded as __________ by mainstream Muslims, have suffered intense persecution by extremist mobs.

heretical

Due to its huge size, China's economic takeoff is reshaping the economy of the entire world. but despite its recent growth, China's economy has several weaknesses. Much of the vast interior remains relatively poor, some of its heavy industries are not globally competitive, and debt burdens are ________. the future of China's economy is one of the biggest uncertainties facing both East Asia and the world as a whole

high

By such social measures as literacy, infant mortality, and average life expectancy, Japan ranks among the world's top countries. Critics contend, however that it suffers from a certain degree of hidden poverty, outside of public view. Another problem is the growing numbers of young men who opt out of social and economic interactions and essentially live on the Internet, refusing to leave their homes. A 2016 survey found that more than half a million people between 15 and 39 years of age, the so-called __________, lead such reclusive lives

hikikomori

More than half a million young Japanese, mostly male, live socially reclusive lives, rarely leaving their homes and essentially living online. The expanding number of the ___________ and other social groups that avoid work and social responsibility has become a major cause for concern in Japan. The plight of such young men is often dramatized in Japanese style manga illustrations

hikikomori

Over the past few decades, several hundred million people have moved from the countryside to China's major cities. China has been engaged in a massive _______ and ___________ building project to accommodate this growth and avoid the emergence of slums. According to official plans, every city with more than 200,000 people will soon be connected to the rest of the country by railroads and expressways

housing and infrastructure

In Thailand a series of logging bans virtually eliminated commercial forestry by 1995. Damage to the landscape, however, was severe; flooding increased in lowland areas, and hill slope erosion led to silt accumulation in irrigation works and __________ facilities

hydroelectric

Like Cambodia, Laos has long been dominated by subsistence agriculture, which still employs more than two-thirds of its workforce. Laos faces particular difficulties owing to its rough terrain and relative isolation; outside of its few cities, paved roads and reliable electricity are rare. In recent years, however, the Laotian economy has begun to grow rapidly, based largely on ____________, mining, and investment from Thailand, Vietnam and China

hydropower development

The clearest distinction between East Asia and the world's other cultural regions is found in written language. Writing systems elsewhere in the modern world are based on the alphabetic principle, in which each symbol represents a distinct sound. East Asia evolved an entirely different system of __________, in which each symbol (or ideograph often called a character) usually represents an idea

ideographic writing

China's current demands for agricultural and mineral products are reordering patterns of global trade. Many Latin American, African, and Asian countries now greatly depend on the Chinese market. China continues to invest heavily in ________, farming, and mining projects in developing countries

infrastructure

India currently boasts more than 900 million wireless connection thanks to heavy investment in mobile phone services. India has proved especially competitive in software because software development does not require a sophisticated _____________

infrastructure

Agriculture must therefore share the limited lowlands with cities and suburbs, resulting in extremely __________ and densely packed cities

intensive farming practices

Missile tests in late 2017 indicated that North Korea could strike the mainland United States, prompting an _________. The United Nations stiffened its sanctions against North Korea, while the United States pressured China to reduce its exports of oil and other strategic goods to the country

international crisis

During British rule, Kashmir was a large princely state with a primarily Muslim core joined to a Hindu district in the south (Jammu) and a Tibetan Buddhist district in the northeast (Ladakh). Kasmir was ruled by a Hindu _______, a local king subject to British advisors. During partition, Kashmir came under severe pressure from both India and Pakistan

jaharaja

Modern written Japanese combines Chinese characters called ________ with two systems representing syllables. In the People's Republic of China, a simplified set of characters was introduced in the 1950's to encourage literacy, while Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau resisted this reform and continue to use the traditional characters

kanji

On the Deccan Plateau, however, rainfall is dramatically reduced by a strong ________ effect. As winds move downslope, the air becomes warmer, and dry conditions usually prevail.

rain shadow

In 2008, as global grain prices jumped, large South Korean companies began to negotiate long-term leases for vast tracts of farmland in poor tropical countries. South Korean firms also invest heavily in natural resource extraction in other parts of the world particularly Central Asia and Africa. South Korean nationalists are distressed that the country even imports most of its national side dish ____ (fermented cabbage) from China

kimchi

Outside of Singapore and Malaysia, however, economic expansion has generally been based on _________________, in which workers are paid low wages and subjected to harsh discipline. Movements in Europe and the United States, however, are putting pressure on both multinational corporations and Southeast Asian governments to improve conditions for laborers in export-oriented industries

labor intensive manufacturing

Although flooding is occasionally devastating along the Huang He, the more common problem is a ___________. As a result, China has been building a huge diversion system, the South-North Water Transfer Project, parts of which are now complete. The system as a whole will eventually channel some 44.8 billion cubic meters of freshwater annually from the Yangtze River to the Yellow River. Diversion canals linking the two rivers are being constructed both in the headwaters area on the Tibetan Plateau and on the North China Plain

lack of water

Hong Kong, unlike its neighbors, has been characterized as one of the world's most ___________ economic systems (little freedom with little government control) Hong Kong traditionally functioned as a trading center, but in the 1960s and 1970s, it became a major producer of textiles, toys, and other consumer goods.

laissez-faire

South Korea's birthrate remained above replacement level through the 1970's but is now among the world's _______. A recent South Korean report concluded that if current trends persist, the population will drop to 10 million by 2136. South Korea has been more willing to accept immigrants than Japan, but it also maintains firm limits. South Korea's government is more interested in increasing the native birth rate. A detailed 2015 report proposes official matchmaking services, state subsidies for fertility treatments, and reserving units in public housing for young familieis

lowest

Vegetables are also grown intensively in every _______, even on tiny patches within urban neighborhoods. The valleys of central and northern Honshu are famous for their temperate-climate fruit, while citrus comes from the milder southwestern districts. Crops that thrive in a cooler climate, such as potatoes, are grown mainly in Hokkaido and norther Honshu

lowland basin

East Asia is a core area of the global economy, a leading center of ___________, finance, and high-tech development. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China have all followed a path of export-led development that ties them closely to global markets

manufacturing

Critics often point out that Japanese women have not fully shared the benefits of their country's success. Advanced career opportunities remain limited, especially for women who _____________. Mothers are expected to devote themselves to their families and to their children's education

marry and have children

In China growing wealth has led to a huge increase in the consumption of ______, which requires imported feed grain. China now consumes five times more pork per person than it did in the late 1970's. Economic growth has also resulted in a loss of farmland to residential, commercial, and industrial development, requiring more food from abroad

meat

Maharashtra is usually viewed as India's economic pacesetter, as huge Mumbai has long been India's financial center and ________ center. Production per capita is roughly 50% greater than that of India as a whole

media

Migrants are often attracted to huge cities such as Mumbai in India and Karachi in Pakistan. Although some experts believe that such cities are growing too rapidly, leading to sprawling, unmanageable slums, others argue that the growth of _________ is economically beneficial

megacities

Recent efforts to reduce the opium crop have been reasonably successful, with Myanmar reporting a 25% drop from 2015 to 2017. Unfortunately during this period, farmers in the area significantly increased the production of synthetic drugs, particularly _________________

methamphetamine

After a severe economic crisis in 1997, Indonesia's power in the region slipped. A new Indonesian government promised an election in 1999 to determine whether the people of Timor-Leste still wanted independence. t the same time, however, the Indonesian army began to organize _________ to intimidate the Timorese into voting to remain with Indonesia. When it was clear that the vote would be for independence, the militias began rioting, looting, and killing civilians. Under international pressure, Indonesia finally withdrew, and the people of Timor-Leste began to build a new country, with independence formalized in 2002

militias

India is the world's largest _______ producer and Pakistan ranks fourth. But dairy consumption is less pronounced in southern South Asia and is relatively rare in the northeast. This difference is partially based on genetics, as many people in the northeast are lactose intolerant. In this area, the need for protein is partly made up by consuming meat, eggs, and fish

milk

Almost all of mainland Southeast Asia is affected by the seasonally shifting winds known as the _______ and is characterized by a distinct warm and rainy season from May to October, followed by dry but generally hot conditions from November to April. Only Vietnam's central highlands and a few coastal areas receive significant rainfall during this period

monsoon

With 1.4 billion people concentrated in less than half of its territory, China is densely populated. in 1979, its government had become so concerned that it instituted a __________. Under this plan, most couples were expected to have only one child and could suffer financial and other penalties for failing to comply. Forced abortions and other human rights abuses occurred as well

one child policy

The dominant climatic factor for most of South Asia is the _______, the seasonal change of wind direction that corresponds to wet and dry periods. During the winter, a large high-pressure system forms over the cold Asian landmass. Cool winds flow outward from this high pressure center across South Asia, generating a dry season that extends from November until February. As these winds diminish, a hot, dry season sets in, extending from March through May

monsoon

Vietnam now welcomes _______________, drawn by its low wages and relatively well-educated workforce. Many Japanese and South Korean companies now favor Vietnam over other Southeast Asian countries. Local businesses, however, complain of harassment by state officials, the financial sector remains weak, and development is geographically uneven. Southern Vietnam is still more entrepreneurial and capitalistic than the north, while poverty remains entrenched in many rural areas, particularly in the tribal highlands

multination corporations

Despite such solid economic growth, many Indonesians remain poor, and the country still depends on the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources. Indonesia's government is working to reduce its dependence on ______________ but has not always been successful

natural resources

Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, was born in 563 BCE in an elite caste. He rejected the life of wealth and power, however, and sought instead to attain enlightenment, or mystical union with the universe. He preached that the path to such enlightenment or _________ was open to all regardless of social position. buddhism essentially disappeared in India by 800CE as its main ideas were reabsorbed back into Hinduism

nirvana

Indonesia's economy finally began to expand in the 1970s, fueled by ________ and the logging of tropical forests. Indonesia continued to grow as its oil reserves were depleted and forests cut back. It is now a new oil importer, although it remains the world's second largest coal exporter. Like Thailand and Malaysia, Indonesia has attracted multinational companies looking for a low wage and relatively well educated workforce

oil exports

South Asian agriculture is likely to suffer from several problems linked to global climate change. Winter temperature increases, along with decreased rainfall, could threaten the vital wheat crop of Pakistan and northwestern India. In some parts of South Asia, however, climate change could lead to more ______ due to an intensified summer monsoon. Unfortunately, the new precipitation regime will likely be characterized by more intense cloudbursts coupled with fewer episodes of gentle, prolonged rain

rainfall

The early 1990s saw the collapse of Japan's inflated ___________, leading to a banking crisis. At the same time, many Japanese companies relocated factories to Southeast Asia and China. As a result, Japan's economy stagnated. Japan's government has repeatedly tried to revive growth through massive state spending, leading to huge deficits. But despite such problems, japan remains a core country of the global economic system, leading the world in a range of high tech fields, including robotics, optics, and machine tools for the semiconductor industry. By 2017, moreover, steady growth seemed to have resumed, leading to hope for an economic recovery

real estate market

An economic boom between 1980 and 1997 was followed by a major ________. The region's economies began to grow quickly another decline. Within a few years, however, the region had fully recovered, and overall, Southeast Asia accounted for some of the world's fastest-growing economies of the new millennium

recession

Japanese, according to most linguists, is not _______________. The Japanese dialect spoken in Okinawa and the other southern Ryukyu Islands is so distinct that most linguists considered it a separate language, and local culture and customs are highly distinctive as well. Many Ryukyu people believe that they are not considered full members of the Japanese nation, and they have historically suffered from some discrimination

related to any other language

The most important unifying cultural characteristics of East Asia are related to ________ and __________ beliefs. Throughout the region, Buddhism and especially Confucianism have shaped both individual beliefs and social and political structures. Although the role of traditional belief systems has been seriously challenged, especially in China, they have by no means disappeared

religious and philosophical

Japan has had some efforts to increase its birth rate, but with little success. An alternative is to import workers from other countries, but Japan has been reluctant to take this path, largely out of fear of reducing its cultural homogeneity. In 2015, however, an opinion poll found that a narrow majority (51%) of the Japanese public had come to support increased immigration. A preferred alternative for many is _________. Japan currently leads the world in personal-assistant robots, many designed to help the elderly

robotization

Most of the world's natural ________ is produced in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Sugarcane has long been a major crop of the Philippines and Thailand, though no longer very profitable and often associated with rural poverty. Indonesia is the region's leading producer of tea, and Vietnam dominates coffee production

rubber

Sri Lanka's economy is by several measures the most highly developed in South Asia, with exports concentrated in textiles and agricultural products such as ______ and ______

rubber; tea

China's expenditure on food imports increased from 6 million in 2005 to over 300 million in 2015. Some Chinese consumers prefer imported food due to _________ about domestic products. But China is also a major exporter of high value crops, including fruits, nuts, and vegetables

safety concerns

In much of Pakistan and northwestern India, where irrigation has been practiced for generations, soil _______________, or the buildup of salt in fields, is a major problem. In addition, groundwater is being depleted, especially in Punjab, India's breadbasket. On the other hand, optimists point out that India's agricultural production continues to grow and that famines, once common, are not a thing of the past

salinization

In Cambodia the Khmer rouge installed one of the most brutal regimes the world has ever seen. Cities were largely evacuated as urban residents were forced into the countryside to become peasants, and most wealthy and educated people were executed. the Khmer Rouge sought to create an agriculturally _____________ society that would eventually provide the foundation for industrialization. After several years of horrific bloodshed, neighboring Vietnam invaded and installed a far less brutal, but still repressive, regime. Fighting continued until 1991, when a comprehensive peace settlement was finally reached

self-sufficient

Also known as __________, swidden is practiced throughout the rugged uplands of Southeast Asia. In the swidden system, small plots of several acres of forest or brush are periodically cut by hand. The fallen vegetation is then burned, and the ash naturally spreads over the ground, transfering nutrients to the soil before subsistence crops are planted. Yields remain high for several years and then drop off as the soil nutrients are exhausted and insect pests and plant diseases multiply. These plots are abandons after a few years and return to woody vegetation. The cycle of cutting, burning, and planting then moves to another small plot nearby

shifting cultivation

By the early 1600s, Japan had been reunited by the armies of the Tokugawa ____________ (a shogun was the military leader who was the true power behind the throne) At this time, Japan isolated itself from the rest of the world. Until the 1850's Japan traded with China mostly through the Ryukyu Islanders and with Russia through Ainu go-betweens. The only Westerners allowed to trade in Japan were the Dutch, and their activities were strictly limited

shogunate

The Chinese economic surge also resulted in growing __________. In other words, certain groups of people and certain areas of the country prospered, while others experienced much less development. Despite its socialist government Beijing encouraged the formation of an economic elite, having concluded that only wealthy individuals can transform the economy

social and regional differentiation

Despite pockets of persistent poverty, China has made significant progress in _________. since coming to power in 1949, the communist government made large investments in medical care and education, and today China has impressive health and longevity figures. The illiteracy rate remains higher than those of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, but because almost all children attend elementary school, full literacy is in sight

social development

Cultivation requires plowing, which leads to _________. As the regions's population gradually increased, woodland and grassland diminished, leading to ever-greater rates of soil loss. Major efforts are under way to stop the degradation of the Loess Plateau. Terrace construction and tree planting have proved crucial in preserving the region's farmlands

soil erosion

steep slopes and heavy rainfall make many areas of East Asia vulnerable to _____ and ________ and the seismically active environment generates earthquake threats

soil erosion and mudslides

In early 2018, U.S president Donald Trump harshly criticized Beijing for violating intellectual property rules and imposed tariffs on Chinese _______ and ________. Such actions generated warnings about a possible trade war. Most experts, however, think that the interdependence of the Chinese and American economies makes such an occurrence unlikely. Many top U.S firms particularly those in the high tech sector, are tightly tied to Chinese manufacturers though long distance commodity chains

solar panels and washing machines

by the 1980's however, such cheap products could no longer be made in such an expensive city. Hong Kong industrialists began to move their plants to ___________, while Hong Kong itself increasingly specialized in business services, banking, telecommunication, and entertainment

southern China

One territorial issue was finally resolved when China reclaimed Hong Kong from Britain. As Chinese relations with the outer world opened in the 1980s, Britain decided to honor its treaty provisions and return Hong Kong to China. China, in turn, promised that Hong Kong would become a ______________, retaining its fully capitalist economic system for at least 50 years under the one country two systems model. Many civil liberties not enjoyed in China itself remain protected in Hong Kong

special administrative region

This first "opium war" sparked a century of political and economic chaos in China. The British demanded trade privileges in selected Chinese ports. As European businesses penetrated China and weakened local economic interests, anti-Manchu rebellions broke out. At first, these uprising were crushed but not before causing tremendous destruction. Meanwhile, European power continued to advance. In 1858, Russia annexed the northernmost reaches of Manchuria, and by 1900 China had been divided into separate _____________ with different colonial powers exerting political and economic authority

spheres of influence

Japan was the pacesetter of the world economy in the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's. in the early 1990s however the Japanese economy experienced a major setback, and growth has remained slow ever since. But despite its recent problems, Japan is still the world's _______ largest economic power

third

China exports far more to the United States than it imports, creating a ________. Foreign critics accuse China of unfairly keeping labor costs low and of enacting numerous barriers to imports.

trade imbalance

Most of the islands lie in the _______________ climate zone resulting in abundant precipitation evenly distributed throughout the year. Southeast Indonesia and Timor-Leste, however, experience a prolonged dry season from June to October. Most of the Philippines experiences dry conditions from November to April

tropical rainy

Northern Sumatra's Aceh region has long been troubled, as local rebels have sought to create an independent Islamic state. Ironically, the devastation of the December 2004 ______ seems to have generated a solid peace, as local needs were so great that the separatist fighters agreed to lay down their weapons whereas the central government agreed to give Aceh "special autonomy"

tsunami

Both its long coastline and its position near the intersection of three tectonic plates make Japan particularly vulnerable to _______, huge sea waves usually produced by underwater earthquakes.

tsunamis

Economic development combined with the one child policy successfully reduced China's fertility rate, which currently stands at only 1.8. in 2012, the country's working-age population started to decline, leading to fears about future labor shortages. China therefore relaxed the policy in 2013, and two year later embraced a ________ for the entire country

two child policy

China has one of the world's oldest __________. In medieval and early modern times, East Asia as a whole had a well-developed system of cities that included some of the largest settlements on the planet. In the early 1700s Tokyo, then called Edo, probably overshadowed all other cities, with a population of more than 1 million

urban foundations

South Korea is noted for its pronounced __________ (the concentration of urban population in a single city), whereas Japan is home to a superconurbation, or megalopolis (a huge zone of merged metropolitan areas)

urban primacy

After the war, the south emerged as a ___________ that eventually turned to democracy while the fortunes of the north declined and its government grew increasingly repressive.

wealthy trading nation

In Malaysia has occurred on the _________ side of the peninsula. More important, however, are differences based on ethnicity. Ethnic Malays remain considerably less prosperous than Chinese Malaysians and somewhat less prosperous than those of South Asian descent

west

Little of Japan's premodern architecture remains intact in its cities; traditional Japanese buildings were made of _____, which survives earthquakes much better than stone or brick, but fires have been a long standing hazard. During WWII, US forces firebombed most Japanese cities. However Kyoto, the old imperial capital was spared devastation and is famed for its beautiful temples

wood