ChinainAfrica on ‘examination leave’

Dearest Readers:

I have arrived at that point in the academic year in which life becomes a monotonous routine of living in libraries, consuming amounts of coffee that likely exceed those recommended by the Surgeon General, and falling asleep in random places; this, to compensate for not sleeping proper amounts in an actual bed. Yes, dearest Readers, examination season is upon us.

In preparation for my final examinations - at the end of which I hope to officially claim my MPhil - ChinainAfrica will be on ‘academic leave’ until after 11 June. Please excuse my absence and do join me again on the other side of things. 

Until then,

 

Reflections on the state of the world today….

Several days ago I received the following letter from a friend of mine - a South African presently residing in Beijing. I cannot help but share it with you as it beautifully expresses much of my sentiments towards the present state of our world. Please, do read on…. 

Dear Friends,

I hope you’re all well.

Wow, isn’t this a crazy world! First the cyclone in Myanmar, and now the earthquake in China. I will be totally honest that when I first heard about the disaster in Myanmar, it felt like just another disaster in another far off country. Sitting here in Beijing, I just couldn’t relate. Even when the numbers of dead started rising, it was the stubborn political games of the military junta that got my bloody boiling more than the human catastrophe and countless individual tragedies. It seems like these major disasters only really affect us when they happen close to home, when people that we know are amongst the dead.

And then came the earthquake.

I felt a little wobble here in Beijing and was thrilled at the excitement of people evacuating buildings and waiting outside in the streets for aftershocks. My first earthquake! And then the reports started coming in. The first we heard was that 100 people had died in a village somewhere in South China - sorry but that happens almost every day around here. And so I went on with my daily chores like nothing had happened. Then slowly it dawned on us that this was a big one. Almost everyone in China seems to have family living in Sichuan province, where the quake struck. On campus, my fellow students were frantically trying to hear news from loved ones, but the lines were all down. A fellow South African student, David Daw, is living down there and is now sleeping outside in the rain as no-one is allowed back into the buildings.

Its also strange how we can let political anger or simple prejudice dominate the human catastrophe. Like my not feeling the Myanmar disaster, but fuming at the stubborn Myanmar leaders. And I suppose out there are many people in the world who are very pissed off at all things Chinese right now, considering all the emotions around China’s involvement in Sudan and Tibet, and the arrogance of China’s leaders in their reaction to recent criticisms and the Olympic Flame demonstrations. In South Africa, people are angry about what China is not doing to stop Mugabe. I am also very angry about these issues and looking for someone to blame. And I am angry about the South African government’s apparent lack of influence on Zimbabwe and Myanmar. But this earthquake reminds us that we cant be angry at others just because we disagree with their government’s policy decisions. I know a number of my friends who were getting very angry with me about just being in Beijing, as if me and all the billions of other Chinese support everything that the Chinese Government does. As if you in South Africa support everything our Government doesn’t do. We have to be careful who we lay the blame on.

Last week, I wanted to write a short note to ask you to support a fund-raising initiative for a NGO that helps educate poor Chinese migrant children about HIV/AIDS. But I didn’t get around to it because I made ‘other very important things’ to do first. I was hesitant to ask my friends to support me again, considering your more pressing concerns: inflation, interest rates, petrol price, economy not looking so good, share portfolio taking a dive, food prices, plenty better causes closer to home, people with HIV/AIDS in SA needing more help then the Chinese patients, China causing trouble in Sudan/Zimbabwe/Tibet etc., if China can host the Olympics in such extravagance then it doesn’t need my help in looking after its own people,
too many Chinese anyway, they eat dogs, Chinese goods are crap quality. And some of your probably have more radical issues with supporting anything Chinese right now. I understand all these concerns 100% and so I also totally understand if you think this is a great cause but you are not in a position to help out this time. But now after the earthquake, I just felt so crippled by helplessness and ashamed at by blasé first impressions of another random disaster in South China that I feel that I need to write this long letter.

We are trying to raise some support and awareness by running the Great Wall Marathon on Saturday, 17 May. All 42.2km, 3700 odd steps, and SEVEN hours (the time it took for last year’s battle with the wall). The NGO is called Prevention Through Education (PTE). PTE is a nonprofit organisation working on the development of HIV/AIDS education programs for Chinese migrant schools. As China causes go, it’s a great one - you would be surprised by the disaster facing the world if the authorities here continue denying the coming HIV/AIDS crisis in China. For more info on HIV/AIDS in China and how to support us, please visit: www.pte-china.org/marathon/. Thanks.

 

As a friend said yesterday: we can’t do much about preventing earthquakes, but perhaps we can do something about preventing HIV/AIDS deaths by teaching children about the issues when their government is proudly in denial about the problem. This probably rings bells in South Africa as well. 

Please don’t feel obliged to donate anything to PTE. While it’s a great cause, if this letter spurs you to get involved in raising support for Myanmar or China’s earthquake victims or a worthy cause closer to home, then that is great as well. After this earthquake hit home, I realized that I was originally going to run this marathon for my own selfish ego - so that I could later show-off that I finished a really tough marathon on the Great Wall of China. This earthquake disaster has now reminded me that, even though I am not in South China helping to save people from the rubble, perhaps I can indirectly help to prevent another disaster.

And just for the record, we ran the Great Wall Marathon last year with a big South African flag so that everyone who raced and watched on TV now knows what a beautiful flag South Africa has. PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICA! See the pic attached. www.great-wall-marathon.com/

Let’s hope they can save more people from the rubble, and that the survivors in Myanmar get help soon. And. And. And. Sometimes this world is great and sometimes its pretty awful.

Crazy English comes to China

“Conquer English to make China stronger!!” is the slogan of Li Yang’s Crazy English course in Beijing, part of the country’s program to teach itself as much English as possible before the start of the Olympics this August. 

Li’s classes - held often in large arenas and auditoriums in a way analogous to American megachurches - attract large followings, making him a sort of “Elvis of English” for many Chinese. Some followers even go so far as to donate blood just to be able to attend his lectures, while others faint in the crowds as if at a Beatles concert. Whether these ardent fans are actually learning English remains unclear.

What is clear, however, is that this “crazy English” program is one of the few instances of visible populism in China since the Cultural Revolution. Having taught himself English - and in China, no less -  Li exemplifies the possibilities available to common Chinese citizens and, perhaps even more the the CCP itself, is a mobilizing agent for the country’s move towards modernization.

Whether Li’s courses have anything to do with the CCP is unknown (at least to this writer), though I’d be surprised if some links didn’t exist. Li does not claim to love the West, and instead describes it as an imperialist power set on infiltrating China with its customs and culture. His insistence on English is thus derived from a recognized need to close the gap between English-speaking and non-English speaking countries, rather than from any particular affinity towards all things Western.

More than an English course, Crazy English appears to be a way of liberating millions of Chinese from centuries of cultural indoctrination and making available to them a world beyond their own. As noted in a post on Ampontan: 

“Calling the program Crazy English is a stroke of genius. It provides the students with the justification for liberating themselves from centuries of cultural conditioning that expected people to be reserved and act within a group context instead of being openly assertive as individuals. Crazy people get to do anything they want.”

And what many Chinese want, it seems, is to be modern citizens in a modern-day world. Luckily for the CCP, this is what it wants of its citizens, too.

 

China’s policy and its effects in Africa, EU report

A link to a report which was adopted by the European Parliament on 23 April 2008, China’s policy and its effects in Africa. Note especially the sections on ’sustainable development’ and ‘trade, investment and infrastructures.’ 

China and…Egypt?

A colleague recently forwarded me an interesting post appearing on Global Voices on the Chinese presence in Egypt:

“Knocks on the door. She told me in broken Arabic: “Wanna buy something Chinese?”

I would normally say: “No, thanks” to them and close the door … But this time my house was full of people so I asked her to come in.

She put the bag she was carrying with her on the floor and started to show me the goods she had. Tablecloths, cloths and cosmetics. I was looking at her, with a lot of questions inside me. Not about what she sold as it’s known since they started to invade the country by themselves rather than exporting their goods to us only. But what forced her to do such hard job, and travel away from her homeland with a backpack like a camel hump…”

The post goes on to observe that the Chinese are the only people who will go door to door, arriving in poor countries and selling poor goods. With an estimated 300 million poor in China, however, such desperate manifestations of capitalism are anything but surprising.

 

 

The proof is in the pudding: China & Zimbabwe

 

Hello all! First, I am most pleased to announce that I have finally emerged from the depths of dissertation writing and, as of yesterday afternoon, am more or less a free woman. This, I hope will translate to more consistent and frequent blog updates. Indeed, many developments have taken place during my absence. I surely cannot even so much as begin to do them all justice in this one entry, so I’ll begin with my personal favorite: the Chinese arms shipment to Zimbabwe.

Earlier this month, a shipment of ammunition, rockets and mortar bombs was denied access through South Africa. The weapons were en route to Zimbabwe, and it is believed that they would be used to crush the Zimbabwean opposition following the 29 March 2008 election. On 22 April Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu noted that the shipment is “normal” and that it is common in international trade to transport goods inland to African countries through the port in Durban, South Africa. 

So many questions can be asked of this one comment that it’s actually quite phenomenal. The first that comes to mind is: who in the Chinese government allows for such statements to be made? Anyone who has been tracking African politics in the past month or so can very quickly gauge that the uproar has little to do with the shipment’s entry point. It has to do with the shipment itself, and the political situation in its destination state. If nothing else, China’s position on the matter is indicative of a seeming ignorance of foreign affairs, which is quickly damaging China’s international standing.

But, of course, the Chinese are not ignorant and are well aware of the Zimbabwean plight. By continuing with business as usual they are likely trying to live up to their ‘non-interference’ policy, which has long fallen by the wayside. As Christopher Clapman observes in his new book (written together with Chris Alden and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira), “In the longer term, no external power with long-term interests in Africa can escape the issue of ‘governance’, because this is the essential precondition for maintaining stable economic relationships.” In case the Chinese haven’t yet reconciled themselves to this reality, it’s high time they do so - and fast. 

Indeed, there is much speculation over China’s motives behind such a shipment, at such a time. Some blame political alliances, enmeshed as they are in unthinkable levels of corruption. Others point to economics and international trade between the two countries. Yet no one, it seems, has the gall to suggest another, more likely, alternative: the Chinese simply don’t care. 

Despite their claims of foreign aid assistance, concern for human rights, etc., etc. there is very little proving that the Chinese actually have any interest in such matters. As in Darfur before, the Chinese are little concerned with assisting the people of Zimbabwe or helping to alleviate the situation. To the extent that any assistance will be given, it will be nothing more than a token gesture that will have little to no tangible impact. The arms deal with Zimbabwe is, above all else, profitable for the Chinese. Profit aside, little else matters. China isn’t going to be a hero for the African people. Not now, not ever. And with this recent arms shipment the proof, it seems, is in the pudding.

 

Dissertation-induced absence.

Dear All:

A quick word of apology for my absence. I have been - and continue to be - in the thick of writing up my MPhil dissertation. It will be complete and submitted on 21 April and I look forward to resuming correspondence then. Writing up has been quite a journey, and has brought many new insights. I look forward to sharing them with you soon.

Cheers, Aleksandra (Alex) :) 

Chinatown, Paris.

I have entered that phase enjoyed by every grad student where there is suddenly a light at the end of the tunnel. Albeit quite dim, I am beginning to see the end to my dissertation writing. Thank goodness! To be fair, I’m greatly enjoying this project of thesis writing, as it’s allowed me to immerse myself into the cultural and entrepreneurial practices of the overseas Chinese, and come to a greater understanding of issues of migration, identity, and small-scale entrepreneurism, among many others.

The chapter I’m currently working on is the framing chapter, attempting to situate Chinese migration to Africa in comparative perspective. It should come as no surprise that the Chinese are a widely dispersed group, with Chinatowns and ethnic enclaves all over the globe. This reality makes writing both easy and incredibly difficult. Writer’s block aside, I am coming to grasp the pervasiveness of Chinese migrant communities. Even where no Chinatowns analogous to those in San Francisco or NYC exist, the Chinese presence cannot - and has not - been ignored.

Such is the case in Paris, where the first French-Chinese man is running for mayor of Paris’ 13th district. About 20% of residents in the 13th arrondissement are of Asian origin, representing some 30, 000 people. Nationwide, there are an estimated half-million people of Asian decent. Paris’ Chinatown is the biggest in all of Europe.

The 37 year-old Wu is seemingly running on a platform of “let the Asians be seen,” calling in part for the building of Chinese gates similar to those that adorn Chinatown in San Francisco, such that “a visitor should know he is in Chinatown.” Charming though this concern may be, my hunch is that delimiting Chinatown for Parisian tourists is about as far down the list of concerns as one can get. In a country of increasing multiculturalism the primary concern is with the persistence of the Asian identity and the maintenance of closely formed networked communities.

While fancy gates and overt signs of “Chineseness” aren’t particularly necessary to accomplish such ends, they surely never hurt. Like many immigrant communities, the Chinese carry with them a strong sense of identity. Many continue to reside among their own people, with only minimal contact with the host society. They partake in cultural associations - recreational, political and/or cultural - which are often linked to organizations in Mainland China, and maintain close ties with family and friends in China. Such activities are typical of many overseas migrants, but are particularly unique among the Chinese in that they persist beyond the initial stages of migration.

In the Bay Area in California, for instance, many signs over banks, restaurants and other public services are now in Mandarin and English - this, in areas outside of San Francisco’s Chinatown. The Chinese initially arrived in California in the 1850s and have held on to their identity since. Similar patterns can be observed across much of North America and Europe. France is the latest case in point.

Why do I bring this up? While it’s far too early to speak of such developments in the African context, the Parisian case suggests that the Chinese presence in Africa may in the long-term alter the continent’s identity and politics. The establishment of China City in Joburg, South Africa, is perhaps the first step en route to this reality. I am not here laying any normative claims on such developments, but am merely bringing them to the attention of those to whom this is of interest. The possibility of ‘Chinatown, Africa’ is yet another among many considerations in the puzzle that is China-in-Africa.

Second China-Africa Research Network event, 27 Feb 2008 (!)

The China-Africa Research Network cordially invites you to a lecture by Dr. Ricardo Soares de Oliveira:

‘Making Sense of Chinese Oil Investment in Africa’

5.00pm, Wednesday, 27 February Seminar Rm. 2, Queen Elizabeth House, 3 Mansfield Road

Ricardo Soares de Oliveira is a University Lecturer in Comparative Politics (African Politics) at the Department of Politics and International Relations, Oxford University and a Fellow with the Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin. Prior to assuming his post in Oxford in September 2007, he was the Austin Robinson Research Fellow at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and an Associate of the Centre of International Studies, University of Cambridge. He has also held research positions at the Sciences-Po in Paris and at the Centre of International and Area Studies at Yale.

Dr. Soares de Oliveira has worked in the field of governance and the energy sector for the World Bank, the European Commission and the French Ministry of Defense, among others. His recent work focuses on the issue of oil and governance in the Gulf of Guinea, where he has conducted extensive research. He is the author of Oil and Politics in the Gulf of Guinea, co-editor of China Returns to Africa: A Rising Power and a Continent Embrace and a contributing author to Bottom of the Barrel: Africa’s Oil Boom and the Poor.

 *********************

Please send any queries to: aleksandra.gadzala@merton.ox.ac.uk

 

The “Genocide Olympics:” Not China’s Alone?

Today’s online issue of The Guardian had a rather interesting article on China’s role in Darfur. In it, Patrick Smith argues that if we are to point fingers at the Chinese for their failings in Darfur, we should equally point fingers at Russia and the West. 

While the argument itself lacks any sort of novelty, it touches on a point that is worth recalling. I certainly do not care to condone China’s Africa policy, as I find in it many faults, but I do think it behooves us to remember that the Chinese are not the only ones entangled with the Sudanese government. One need not look any further than France, Malaysia, Russia, and even the United States, to discover similar instances of government relations. Of course the nature of engagement of each state varies, but the point remains the same: they are all there. 

Last week Steven Spielberg withdrew as the artistic adviser to the upcoming Beijing Olympics on the grounds that he could not reconcile himself to aiding perpetrators of gross crimes against humanity (i.e. Darfur). According to Peter Apps, Spielberg’s snub is a sign of things to come. Spielberg’s decision is certainly noteworthy and a brilliant exercise of the kind of soft power that may ultimately impact on China’s Darfur policy, but to expect this to bring about such profound changes as many hope is to engage in nothing but wishful thinking. 

So long as other states continue to maintain relations with Khartoum - in whatever capacity - it is highly unlikely that the Chinese will make any significant changes to their Darfur - and indeed African - policy. In discussions with my Chinese colleagues, I continuously encounter two comments on the Darfur issue: (1) China is not doing anything that is not being done by other international actors; (2) There is a difference between business and government. The businessmen in Sudan do business, they do not engage in government activity. Whether or not they believe the latter is open to debate, but it is the former comment that is most salient.

The Olympics will go on without Spielberg, even without the assistance of others should they withdraw. Moreover, the Olympics will be the most fantastic spectacle of “East meets West” and “East doesn’t need/need to be like the West” propaganda the world has seen in some time. My brief visit to Beijing this past September convinced me of the fact.  If we follow Smith’s argument to it’s logical conclusion, however, it appears that the “Genocide Olympics” don’t belong to China alone. If we accept the international doctrine of responsibility, then to some extent the burden of the “Genocide Olympics” falls on all of us. In our failure to effectively aid the people of Darfur we are all in some measure responsible. Some, of course, more than others.