ABSTRACT
The nations of East Asia are often grouped together as Confucian cultures or Chopstick cultures. Political entities in this part of the world, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Singapore, are believed to share similar value systems that are different from both the civilization of Western Christianity or Islamic cultures. What differentiates the Confucian Sino-centric cultural system from others is the emphasis it puts on “personalism,” rather than on the concept of “the true god.” In this society, more than in the West, individual Asian leaders play disproportionately important roles in determining the direction of their societies. According to Confucian values, the ethical order and moral precepts emerging from kinship have a tendency to outweigh the legalistic rule of law. (Huang 1999; Fe 1991; Hsu 1975; Du 2005; Liu 1999) In this chapter we ask, “How exactly has the alleged Confucian culture system affected the development of the effectiveness of local governance in East-Asian region?”
