on the move migrations seminar - chinese diaspora in southeast asia: the politics of identity and...
TRANSCRIPT
Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia: the politics of identity and hybridity
Jan Robert R GoAssistant Professor of Political ScienceUniversity of the Philippines, Diliman
On the Move – Global Migrations, Challenges and ResponsesOslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway
26 October 2016
Chinese diaspora in SEA
• Began with Chinese trade in neighboring countries, 16th century
• Mass immigration of Chinese until the 1950s, intermarriage among ethnic Chinese and natives
• Rise of Chinese patriotism and Southeast Asian nationalism
• Anti-Sinitic sentiments from Southeast Asians
Chinese diaspora in SEA: Issues
• Economic role of overseas Chinese (who dominated economic activities in SEA)
• Education of local-born Chinese children (vis-à-vis an alien curriculum)
• Determination of citizenship and dual nationality (coming from claims made by China)
• Political integration of overseas Chinese in SEA
Chinese diaspora (by continent, in thousands)
0,00
5 000,00
10 000,00
15 000,00
20 000,00
25 000,00
30 000,00
35 000,00
Asia (35) Americas(40)
Europe (29) Oceania (18) Africa (27)
2001
2011
Source:Poston and Wong (2016)
Chinese diaspora in SEA(in thousands)
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
2001
2011
Source:Poston and Wong (2016)
Patterns of Chinese diaspora
• Four patterns (Wang 1991):– Huashang (华商) or Chinese trader: primarily through
economic activity; basic
– Huagong (华工) or Chinese coolie: through unskilled labor
– Huaqiao (华侨) or Chinese sojourner: professionals and educated
– Huayi (华裔) or Chinese descent: children of ethnic Chinese and natives
Questions
• The place of the Chinese migrants, as they territorialize and re-territorialize
• The recognition or non-recognition of diverse culture, particularly of the Chinese, by states
• The Chinese integration, assimilation, and/or hybridization
• Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia
Chinese diaspora in three countries (Chinese/Non-Chinese; 2011)
0 %
10 %
20 %
30 %
40 %
50 %
60 %
70 %
80 %
90 %
100 %
Indonesia Malaysia Philippines
Non-Chinese
Chinese
Source:Poston and Wong (2016)
Politics of identity and hybridity
• Social and political identity as social constructions
• Two arguments:– Individual identity as socially determined (communal
self)
– Individual identity as personally defined (private self)
• Identity as a product of negotiation and renegotiation between the individual and the society (environment)
Diaspora and identity
• Diaspora as non-static, but multilayered and decentered
• Identity in diasporic communities: fluid and mobile
• State may form policies related to, but cannot exactly contain diasporic behaviors
– Negotiation of identities at the state level
Territorialisation and reterritorialisation
• Configuration of the Chinese ‘territory’ in their host communities: not necessarily physical; focuses on fluidity and fixity
• The perception of Chinese domination or involvement in commerce in three countries
• The influence of mainland China among the local Chinese as an issue
• Education, language, and culture as other areas of concern
State interventions in Chinese integration
• The exercise of state’s power in enabling/disabling Chinese integration
• The issue of citizenship; their exercise of rights
• Discrimination despite state recognition
• State-imposed limitations (e.g. economic activities, ownership)
• Ban in politically-related activities for ethnic Chinese (e.g. parties); closing of Chinese schools
Hybridization of newer generations
• The extent of integration of the Chinese in their host communities
• The ‘peranakan’ (Malaysia and Indonesia) and the ‘intsik’(Philippines)
• Sinification, de-sinification, and re-sinification
• Chinese and Chineseness: integration, assimilation, hybridization– Cultural and social; politico-legal; economic
Concluding notes
• Chinese question
– important to visit and revisit
– the context of a rising China,
– economic and political dominance: SEA
• Role of the state, society, and culture
– Open/free or limited/restricted
