Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.1353/apr.2023.a913823
Eli Friedman
{"title":"Response from the Author","authors":"Eli Friedman","doi":"10.1353/apr.2023.a913823","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/apr.2023.a913823","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45424,"journal":{"name":"Asian Perspective","volume":"91 1","pages":"737 - 741"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139344061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.1353/apr.2023.a913613
Elaine Sio-ieng Hui
{"title":"The Political and Economic Logic of the Population Management Regime in China","authors":"Elaine Sio-ieng Hui","doi":"10.1353/apr.2023.a913613","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/apr.2023.a913613","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45424,"journal":{"name":"Asian Perspective","volume":"26 1","pages":"732 - 737"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139345671","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.1353/apr.2023.a912750
Weiqing Song, Yinyan Ruan, Sibei Sun
Abstract:This article examines Chinese diplomats' use of Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Although Twitter is blocked in China, Chinese officials use the platform to experiment with new public diplomacy channels and directly communicate with foreign audiences. We argue that China's utilization of Twitter in 2020 functioned as a crisis management and public relations tool and as a mechanism for disseminating a strategic narrative (SN) that articulated foreign policy priorities. To illustrate this, we apply a qualitative content analysis to a selection of tweets from two China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokespersons and divided into three stages. In each stage, distinct narrative themes emerge and construct a cohesive SN across three dimensions: issues, role identity, and the international system. This study reveals that China's public diplomacy apparatus effectively reaches global audiences with well-structured narratives but also that this effectiveness remains very limited.
{"title":"Twitter Diplomacy and China's Strategic Narrative during the Early COVID-19 Crisis","authors":"Weiqing Song, Yinyan Ruan, Sibei Sun","doi":"10.1353/apr.2023.a912750","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/apr.2023.a912750","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:This article examines Chinese diplomats' use of Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Although Twitter is blocked in China, Chinese officials use the platform to experiment with new public diplomacy channels and directly communicate with foreign audiences. We argue that China's utilization of Twitter in 2020 functioned as a crisis management and public relations tool and as a mechanism for disseminating a strategic narrative (SN) that articulated foreign policy priorities. To illustrate this, we apply a qualitative content analysis to a selection of tweets from two China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokespersons and divided into three stages. In each stage, distinct narrative themes emerge and construct a cohesive SN across three dimensions: issues, role identity, and the international system. This study reveals that China's public diplomacy apparatus effectively reaches global audiences with well-structured narratives but also that this effectiveness remains very limited.","PeriodicalId":45424,"journal":{"name":"Asian Perspective","volume":"124 1","pages":"683 - 705"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139346325","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.1353/apr.2023.a912748
Miao Zhang, Guanie Lim
Abstract:This article aims to contribute to the exploration of the ways through which Malaysia—the fourth largest economy in Southeast Asia—has engaged Chinese investment to pursue industrialization. It does so by comparing and contrasting the different approaches by which two of the most important Chinese-financed automobile projects, Chery Automobile's assembly operations in 2008 and Zhejiang Geely's partial acquisition of local producer Proton in 2017, have been embedded into the Malaysian political economy. While Chery Automobile ended up with a conundrum of extremely low local sales, Zhejiang Geely has fostered mutually beneficial partnerships with Proton and its cohort of suppliers that are shaped by the industry's ethnopolitical directives. More recently, Zhejiang Geely has exported an increasingly larger proportion of vehicles from its Malaysian operations. The contrasting fate of these projects illustrates that while they are driven by Chinese money and technological know-how, they are not necessarily Chinese-dominated. It is domestic politics—the establishment of a functional politico-commercial coalition in particular—that matters in shaping the outcome and impact of Chinese investment in Malaysia. More importantly, the paper highlights how foreign direct investment and the supposed (positive and negative) externalities are intimately tied to local factors such as political institutions and ethnocentric directives.
{"title":"Industrialization in an Age of China Rising: A Tale of Two Chinese Automobile Companies in Malaysia","authors":"Miao Zhang, Guanie Lim","doi":"10.1353/apr.2023.a912748","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/apr.2023.a912748","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:This article aims to contribute to the exploration of the ways through which Malaysia—the fourth largest economy in Southeast Asia—has engaged Chinese investment to pursue industrialization. It does so by comparing and contrasting the different approaches by which two of the most important Chinese-financed automobile projects, Chery Automobile's assembly operations in 2008 and Zhejiang Geely's partial acquisition of local producer Proton in 2017, have been embedded into the Malaysian political economy. While Chery Automobile ended up with a conundrum of extremely low local sales, Zhejiang Geely has fostered mutually beneficial partnerships with Proton and its cohort of suppliers that are shaped by the industry's ethnopolitical directives. More recently, Zhejiang Geely has exported an increasingly larger proportion of vehicles from its Malaysian operations. The contrasting fate of these projects illustrates that while they are driven by Chinese money and technological know-how, they are not necessarily Chinese-dominated. It is domestic politics—the establishment of a functional politico-commercial coalition in particular—that matters in shaping the outcome and impact of Chinese investment in Malaysia. More importantly, the paper highlights how foreign direct investment and the supposed (positive and negative) externalities are intimately tied to local factors such as political institutions and ethnocentric directives.","PeriodicalId":45424,"journal":{"name":"Asian Perspective","volume":"12 1","pages":"629 - 654"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139344462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.1353/apr.2023.a912745
Xianbai Ji
Abstract:Since China unveiled the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, few Southeast Asian countries have responded as potently as Singapore. Singapore's distinctive approach toward China is marked by carving out institutional niches within the broad blueprint of the BRI. This strategy is largely in line with the city-state's longstanding foreign policy tradition of making itself useful and relevant from the perspective of major powers. After elaborating on the historical evolution of Sino-Singaporean economic cooperation, I focus on three prominent manifestations of Singapore's institutional diplomacy toward the BRI and Chinese capital more generally, i.e., the establishment of "Infrastructure Asia", forging institutionalized legal partnership deputed to resolve disputes arising from BRI projects, and building a structured management approach to advance connectivity projects in Chongqing. Since Singapore opts for a soft and forward engagement strategy, the BRI has not caused organized local opposition.
{"title":"Stay Useful, Stay Relevant: Singapore's Institutional Diplomacy toward China's Belt and Road Initiative","authors":"Xianbai Ji","doi":"10.1353/apr.2023.a912745","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/apr.2023.a912745","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:Since China unveiled the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, few Southeast Asian countries have responded as potently as Singapore. Singapore's distinctive approach toward China is marked by carving out institutional niches within the broad blueprint of the BRI. This strategy is largely in line with the city-state's longstanding foreign policy tradition of making itself useful and relevant from the perspective of major powers. After elaborating on the historical evolution of Sino-Singaporean economic cooperation, I focus on three prominent manifestations of Singapore's institutional diplomacy toward the BRI and Chinese capital more generally, i.e., the establishment of \"Infrastructure Asia\", forging institutionalized legal partnership deputed to resolve disputes arising from BRI projects, and building a structured management approach to advance connectivity projects in Chongqing. Since Singapore opts for a soft and forward engagement strategy, the BRI has not caused organized local opposition.","PeriodicalId":45424,"journal":{"name":"Asian Perspective","volume":"34 1","pages":"553 - 577"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139343704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.1353/apr.2023.a912749
A. Camba, Stefanie Kam
Abstract:How does Chinese capital exacerbate structural violence against ethnic minorities in host countries? While a growing number of works examine the effects of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and non-BRI Chinese projects, these works focus on economic effects, political impacts, or negative socioenvironmental ramifications on communities. However, there has yet to be work on the specific relationship between Chinese capital and ethnic relations in the host country. In the form of major BRI and non-BRI projects, we suggest that Chinese capital acts as an external stimulus that gives ethnic coalitions, which often comprise host country elites who represent the majority ethnic groups, the power to design and finance large-scale ventures. We argue that three mechanisms, particularly externalization, extraction, and reaffirmation, exacerbate structural violence against ethnic minorities. Through field research, analysis of government documents, and literature review, the cases of the Philippines, Pakistan, and Myanmar illustrate our argument. The shadow case of Xinjiang strengthens our argument as well.
{"title":"How Chinese Capital Exacerbates Structural Violence: Externalization, Extraction, and Reaffirmation against Ethnic Minorities in the Global South","authors":"A. Camba, Stefanie Kam","doi":"10.1353/apr.2023.a912749","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/apr.2023.a912749","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:How does Chinese capital exacerbate structural violence against ethnic minorities in host countries? While a growing number of works examine the effects of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and non-BRI Chinese projects, these works focus on economic effects, political impacts, or negative socioenvironmental ramifications on communities. However, there has yet to be work on the specific relationship between Chinese capital and ethnic relations in the host country. In the form of major BRI and non-BRI projects, we suggest that Chinese capital acts as an external stimulus that gives ethnic coalitions, which often comprise host country elites who represent the majority ethnic groups, the power to design and finance large-scale ventures. We argue that three mechanisms, particularly externalization, extraction, and reaffirmation, exacerbate structural violence against ethnic minorities. Through field research, analysis of government documents, and literature review, the cases of the Philippines, Pakistan, and Myanmar illustrate our argument. The shadow case of Xinjiang strengthens our argument as well.","PeriodicalId":45424,"journal":{"name":"Asian Perspective","volume":"141 1","pages":"655 - 681"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139345618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.1353/apr.2023.a913612
Jamie Doucette
{"title":"The Politics of Social Reproduction and the Vicissitudes of 'Surplus Population'","authors":"Jamie Doucette","doi":"10.1353/apr.2023.a913612","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/apr.2023.a913612","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45424,"journal":{"name":"Asian Perspective","volume":"253 1","pages":"727 - 732"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139344327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.1353/apr.2023.a912747
Angela Tritto, Roger Lee Huang
Abstract:Sino-Myanmar relations entail a complex and deep-rooted web of connections linking state and non-state actors with state and private capital. Based on qualitative fieldwork conducted in 2019, this article argues that Chinese investments in Myanmar have exacerbated the precarious state-societal relations. Our argument is based on three interconnected reasons: the lack of engagement and corporate social responsibility in Chinese projects, China's engagement with Myanmar's Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs), and the large presence of Chinese capital in the country's informal and often illicit economy. Such dynamics have increased the anti-China sentiment and heightened frictions in an already fragmented political and economic situation. As a result, contrary to China's "win-win" claims, Belt and Road Inititative projects have not contributed to equitable socioeconomic developments but have exacerbated state-society tensions. We conclude by considering the implications of the 2021 coup d'état, its impact on Sino-Myanmar relations, and the prospects for BRI implementation.
{"title":"China's Belt and Road Initiative in Myanmar: Governance and State-Society Implications","authors":"Angela Tritto, Roger Lee Huang","doi":"10.1353/apr.2023.a912747","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/apr.2023.a912747","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:Sino-Myanmar relations entail a complex and deep-rooted web of connections linking state and non-state actors with state and private capital. Based on qualitative fieldwork conducted in 2019, this article argues that Chinese investments in Myanmar have exacerbated the precarious state-societal relations. Our argument is based on three interconnected reasons: the lack of engagement and corporate social responsibility in Chinese projects, China's engagement with Myanmar's Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs), and the large presence of Chinese capital in the country's informal and often illicit economy. Such dynamics have increased the anti-China sentiment and heightened frictions in an already fragmented political and economic situation. As a result, contrary to China's \"win-win\" claims, Belt and Road Inititative projects have not contributed to equitable socioeconomic developments but have exacerbated state-society tensions. We conclude by considering the implications of the 2021 coup d'état, its impact on Sino-Myanmar relations, and the prospects for BRI implementation.","PeriodicalId":45424,"journal":{"name":"Asian Perspective","volume":"111 1","pages":"603 - 627"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139346354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}