Progress report
Qiaoxiang Ties Programme
An international joint research project has been launched by Dr. Cen Huang, a research fellow of the IIAS Qiaoxiang Ties Program and Professor Zhuang Guotu, the deputy director of the Research School of Southeast Asian Studies of Xiamen University, China, in December 1997. It is entitled 'The Roles of Qiaoxiang and Overseas Chinese Invested Enterprises in South China: The Jinjiang Case'By Leo Douw and Cen Huang
The purposes of the project are (1) to establish international research co-operation on the topic of qiaoxiang studies; (2) to conduct joint research activities into the research topic and to exchange research data and archive materials that have been collected by both research parties; (3) to produce a series of quality academic publications in Chinese and English on the research topic; and (4) to establish an international network of field work studies among scholars interested in conducting field research on qiaoxiang issues. This joint project is intended to play a bridging role between the IIAS initiatives and Chinese research counterparts.The IIAS Qiaoxiang Ties Programme was launched in 1995. The programme is concerned with international social organization in East and Southeast Asia with a focus on how qiaoxiang ties (overseas Chinese hometown connections) work and influence the process of social and economic development in both south China and Southeast Asia. The programme places an emphasis on empirical studies and comparative analysis of the research data. Dr Leo Douw, the director of the programme, and Dr Cen Huang, a programme fellow, undertook a preliminary field trip in the Pearl River Delta areas of Guangdong and south Fujian in April 1997. They interviewed overseas Chinese investors, workers, and local government officials. The field investigation further strengthened the IIAS agenda that is 'to bring the Chinese researchers into the programme'. As a result, international research co-operation was sought to carry out joint field research and data analysis on the topic of qiaoxiang studies.
The Jinjiang Project led by professor Zhuang Guotu, Research School of Southeast Asian Studies, Xiamen University, is one of the most comprehensive and one of the largest in scope of qiaoxiang studies in contemporary China. The research team of the project conducted a series of comprehensive field investigations in areas of social and family change, new immigration trends, overseas remittances, and overseas Chinese invested enterprises in Jinjiang county, a famous qiaoxiang in China. Their investigations covered more than 400 families and 100 enterprises in the region by the end of 1997. In February 1998, the Jinjiang Project carried out further field surveys with 40 more enterprises and 200 migrant workers in Jinjiang. With the numerous data that have been collected, the Jinjiang Project has been looking for partnership for further analysis.
The IIAS Qiaoxiang Ties Programme shares many common interests and research intentions with the Xiamen Jinjiang Project. However, there are different focuses on research questions and methodologies among their research plans. The joint project will help both research parties to gain a better understanding on the topic in general and on each other's research intention in particular. It is believed that joint research activities between the IIAS Qiaoxiang Ties Programme and Jinjiang Project will set an example of international co-operation on the topic, and the outcome of the project will make a major contribution to the studies of overseas Chinese, qiaoxiang ties, and transformation of transnational economy in East and Southeast Asia during the twentieth century.
The new project is divided into two phases. In Phase I (December 1997-June 1998), oint efforts will be concentrated on analyzing data and materials collected by the Xiamen research team in the past years, and on writing papers on the research topic. An analytical data file on "the Roles of Overseas Chinese in China: the Jinjiang Case" will be compiled and edited. In Phase II (July 1998-June 1999), the Jinjiang database will be expanded by collecting case studies in Fujian and Guangdong with a focus on a comparative study of the structure and social organization of overseas Chinese and local Chinese invested enterprises. A monograph on the research topic is expected to be completed. Since the project is based on first-hand data and careful analysis by international joint effort, the monographs and draft papers should make a major contribution to the field.
Other news:
Dr Gong Xiaoxia has withdrawn her employment position from the IIAS Qiaoxiang Ties Programme.
The second international research initiative of the IIAS Qiaoxiang Ties Programme will be launched soon by Dr. Leo Douw and Professor Dai Yifeng of Xiamen University. The new project will concentrate on Labour Markets and Politics in South China.
Professor Dai Yifeng has been selected as a senior visiting fellowship under the Qiaoxiang Programme from 15 June to 15 September 1998. He will work on the research topic of 'Business Networks and Labor Markets in South China'.
Dr Cen Huang presented a research paper titled 'Management and Education of Migrant Labour in Overseas Chinese Invested Enterprises in South China', at the international conference of 'Labour Mobility and Migration in China and Asia', 17-18 April, Beijing. She also presented a paper on 'Transnationalism and Labour in China' at an IIAS one-day seminar of 'Changing Labour Relations in Asia' in Amsterdam on 24 April, 1998.
The Programme panel: 'Chinese Transnationalism: Cultural and Economic Dimensions' will be held on 25-26 June 1998 in Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands. Twelve papers were selected to be presented (see IIAS Newsletter #15 for detail). Dr Leo Douw and Dr Cen Huang have been working on the panel organization and publication plans.