Qiaowu

For over 150 years, China’s interactions with its diaspora have evolved according to the domestic and international geopolitical environment. This relationship (broadly described as qiaowu) is most visible in the form of cultural and economic activities; however, its main purpose is to cultivate, influence, and manage ethnic Chinese as part of a global transnational project to rally support for its proponents.

Qiaowu: Extra-Territorial Policies for the Overseas Chinese compares the rival policies and practices of the Chinese Communist Party with the Nationalist Kuomintang and Democratic Progressive Party governments of Taiwan. Political scientist James Jiann Hua To analyzes the role that qiaowu plays in harnessing the power of strategic overseas communities, and highlights the implications for China’s foreign relations.

James Jiann Hua To, Ph.D. (2010) Canterbury University, New Zealand, is a lecturer at International Pacific College, Palmerston North. His most recent publication is “Beijing’s Policies for Managing Han and Ethnic-Minority Chinese Communities Abroad” in Journal of Current Chinese Affairs (4/2012).

"The author’s genuine enthusiasm for his chosen topic is evident throughout the work in the nuanced in-depth investigations he has carried out. The wealth of primary source materials cited in the bibliography is highly valuable. This monograph will become a frequently consulted resource for scholars examining China’s overseas Chinese policies."
– Manying Ip, University of Auckland, in New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 17.1 (2015).