The flow of China’s new migrants into Southeast Asia and Beijing’s policy towards the Chinese overseas in general and towards Chinese new migrants, in particular, were discussed in this webinar.
REGIONAL SOCIAL AND CULTURAL STUDIES PROGRAMME
Online Workshop on Rising China and New Chinese Migrants in Southeast Asia
Monday, 7 December 2020 – The ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute held a webinar titled “Understanding China’s New Migrants and the Politics of Chinese Language in Southeast Asia.” The webinar was the opening session of a four-part series on “Rising China and New Chinese Migrants in Southeast Asia” supported by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
Moderated by Senior Fellow and Coordinator of Regional Social and Cultural Studies Programme at ISEAS, Dr Benjamin Loh, the webinar featured the insights of Professor Leo Suryadinata (ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute) and Dr Neo Peng Fu (Confucius Institute, Nanyang Technological University). The panellists presented their views on new Chinese migrants in the region, and analysed the differences between them and older generations of migrants. They also examined the challenges of associated with the influx of these migrants on the nation-building process in Southeast Asia, and also the issues surrounding the establishment of Confucius Institutes (CI) in the region.
The webinar began with welcoming remarks from Mr Christian Echle, Director of Regional Programme Political Dialogue at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS). Mr Echle noted that there are four areas that have felt the impact of arrival of new Chinese migrants: language and culture, economic investment and opportunities, question of Chinese nationalism, and Chinese soft power in the region. He said that KAS is currently conducting studies on Chinese soft power in Indochina, and he said the issues touched upon in the workshop can lend policy support in building a framework for new Chinese migrants and their host countries.
Professor Leo Suryadinata spoke on “Rising China and Xinyimin in Southeast Asia.” In contrast to the overseas Chinese who have established themselves across Southeast Asia, Professor Leo raised four points of difference between new Chinese migrants and their predecessors: destination, place of origin, educational background, and mobility. He highlighted two distinct periods of China’s policies towards xinyimin – the Zhou Enlai period (1955-1966) and Deng Xiaoping period (1978-1993) – whereby China differentiated between huaqiao (Chinese citizens staying overseas) and huaren (foreign citizens of Chinese descent), and largely encouraged huaqiao to assimilate into host countries. He then elucidated on China’s new policy towards such overseas Chinese since the 2000s, noting its attempts to blur the lines between huaqiao and huaren, and discussed instances where such policies were played out.
Professor Leo said that the establishment of Confucius Institutes in Southeast Asia and the Belt and Road initiative have been integral to Xi Jinping’s “China Dream” plans. Attitudes to xinyimin – businessmen, teachers, students, labourers, and illegal migrants – have so far been varied across Southeast Asia, and many of its countries have strengthened their nation building process in response to their influx. Professor Leo cautioned that the rise of China would pose a challenge to the overseas Chinese and xinyimin in particular, especially with the looming issue of the South China Sea.
Dr Neo Peng Fu spoke on the topic of “Confucius Institutes in Southeast Asia”. Dr Neo said that CIs have been partnerships undertaken between local and Chinese universities, overseen by the CI headquarters in China, with the aim to teach the Chinese language outside of China. He notied their steady increase and even geographical spread amongst Indochina and maritime Southeast Asia, and he reported that there have been general support for the CI initiative despite some negative attention from several countries.
He said that the Cis have been providing language training, teachers’ training and vocational training. Dr Neo provide insights into the CI activities which included Mandarin classes for students, professionals, and even government officials. He said that the CI in the University of Philippines have been organising Mandarin classes for officers from the Presidential Office, Immigration Department and other government agencies. Moving on to teachers’ training, he also reported on the contributions of the CIs in growing a core group of native teachers through a mixture of in-service and degree programmes. According to him, these teachers help to fulfil the growing demand for Chinese language classes in various Southeast Asian countries. Finally, he discussed the recent introduction of vocational training in Cis. For example, the CI at the National University of Laos has been collaborating with the Kunming Railway Authority to provide a Chinese programme on railway management.
Dr Neo reported that attendees of CIs have benefited from gaining Mandarin competency, especially since China is fast becoming one of the largest trading partners of ASEAN. At the same time, he noted the view that CIs enhance China’s pre-dominance in Southeast Asia by nurturing a pool of Mandarin speakers who facilitate China’s entry into the region. He also highlighted the positive contributions of these Cis in offering scholarships as an opportunity to pursue further studies overseas, a privilege still beyond the reach of many in the region.
In the Question and Answer segment, the moderator and audience engaged the panellists with a series of questions. Many questions explored the effects of increasing numbers of xinyimin on nation-building, social fabric and ethnic tensions across the region. Other questions explored the impact and perception of Confucius Institutes in Southeast Asia, unpacking the negative portrayal of CIs in some countries.