The Long March: Driving Deep into the Hakka and

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 013384 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EB, R, EAP/CM, EAP/PD, DRL STATE PASS USTR USDOC FOR 4420/ITA/MAC/MCQUEEN, CELICO, DAS LEVINE USPACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON KIPR EINV PHUM KPAO PINR AMGT CMGT CH SUBJECT: The Long March: Driving Deep into the Hakka and Minnan People's Heartland in Guangdong and Fujian Provinces REF: A) Guangzhou 11568 and previous, B) Guangzhou 10337 -- C) Guangzhou 5995 and previous, D) Guangzhou 3992 (U) This document is sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. Not for release outside U.S. Government Channels. Not for internet publication. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Continuing its efforts to get especially its Entry Level Officers (ELOs) on full two-year consular tours out of the office and onto the roads, cities, and villages of south China to do policy advocacy and public diplomacy work, Consulate Guangzhou embarked on its "long march" through the watershed and Hakka heartland areas (Heyuan and Meizhou) of northeastern Guangdong, then into the Hakka heartland areas (Yongding and Longyan) of western Fujian before decamping into the coastal prefecture cities of Zhangzhou, Xiamen, and Quanzhou -- the "original home town" of the Minnan dialect speakers in Taiwan and many parts of Southeast Asia. Although natural resource- constricted, these are heavily human resources rich places, with considerable talent and drive. The "long march" ends the Consulate's current cycle of "circuit trips" in our district, but it is clear that the transportation infrastructure now makes it feasible to enlarge outreach in an easier fashion, especially if hubbed out of provincial capitals such as Nanning and Fuzhou or major metropolises such as Xiamen. End Summary. "Journey to the West" Journeys Completed by Long March East -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In line with the same operational and management philosophy behind Consulate Guangzhou's January 2006 "Journey to the West" to Guangxi and early March "short march" to the so-called "Chao-Shan" areas of eastern Guangdong (reftels),we embarked in the latter part of March and the first days of April on the "long march" to eastern Guangdong by Consulate van. On the "march," the Consulate party rotated in and out three ELOs all on full two-year consular tours. As in the "Journey to the West" and the "short march," the ELO leadership development aim is to provide opportunities for the consular ELOs to get literally ground's eye and face-to-face views of places and people within the consular district to improve the officers' visa adjudication capabilities, provide them policy advocacy and public speaking opportunities, and to allow for direct mentoring from the Consul General and the Economic/Political Section chief on interviewing and interaction techniques, policy advocacy, and public speaking presence. Hakka and Minnan Heartlands -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The areas we traveled to are famous in their own right. Heyuan, meaning "river origin" is precisely that, an area of scenic beauty that is literally the main source of the East River (the Dongjiang) which provides the drinking water for Hong Kong, Dongguan, and Shenzhen (septel). Dominated by the Hakka -- the tough hill people who migrated "late" to southern China from the central plains a millennium ago, Heyuan is largely undeveloped industrially and is very definitely dwarfed in importance by its eastern neighbor, Meizhou. Meizhou is the home of Marshal Ye Jianying, and many of Guangdong's most prominent officials come from there, including current Governor Huang Huahua. It is the "heartland of the Hakka" -- until one crosses the border to Longyan in Fujian Province which proclaims itself the "heartland of the Hakka." Yongding in Longyan has perhaps the greatest concentration of well- preserved Hakka "pounded earth buildings" (tulou),and this tourist potential coupled with the high educational and skill levels of the Hakka themselves constitute some of the leading factors for economic growth and potential. Zhangzhou, to the south of Longyan, is mixed Hakka and Minnan dialect speaking and one of the fastest growing places in Fujian, drawing from Xiamen and Taiwan businessmen. Xiamen is the most important economic, educational, and social center of Fujian even though it is not the provincial capital. Quanzhou, once the most important Chinese port in the Maritime Silk Road, is one of GUANGZHOU 00013384 002 OF 002 the great athletic gear manufacturing centers in the world, and one of the great intellectual property rights (IPR) problem areas to as well. The Mainland Mirror of Taiwan -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Of great significance is the fact that these are the "original home areas" to the vast majority of Taiwanese, of which the plurality are Minnan dialect speakers, a sizeable minority Hakka speakers, and, of course, a diverse "mainlander" population segment. Consequently, this is also the area where the "unification with the homeland" appeal has its greatest efficacy. Zhangzhou, for example, has the third largest (after Dongguan and Suzhou) concentration of Taiwan businessmen and their families essentially permanently residing on the mainland. On the ground, however, the main local governmental interest is still economic growth, and the Taiwan factor is more one of getting more investments than winning hearts and minds. Circuits and Hubs -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The "long march" and the "short march" and "Journey to the West" excursions that preceded them constitute the most easily executed circuit road trips in Guangzhou's Consular District. Any other long distance trips by vehicle would require considerable backtracking essentially because of the mountainous terrain to be found in various parts of Guangdong, Fujian, and Guangxi. While upgrades to the existing expressway system will make these trips more feasible, with fewer stretches of expressways that do not yet connect especially across provincial lines, the Consulate is well aware that we are getting only a fairly superficial view of the destinations visited in these and other trips to cities in South China. ¶6. (SBU) By the Consulate's reckoning, there are 35 prefectural level cities of over a million people in the Consular District (which is composed of Guangdong, Fujian, and Hainan Provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region which together have a population of 200 million). These do not include cities of over a million within a prefecture, such as Panyu in Guangzhou or Shunde in Foshan, albeit the Consulate regularly visits these places. In the last year and a half, the Consulate has had some significant official contact with or business in all but three of the 35, including one of the closest prefectures to Guangzhou (the reputedly beautiful Guilin-like city of Zhaoqing). ¶7. (SBU) The expressway system has focal points from which it would be feasible to sustain greater contacts. Because it is Guangxi's capital, Nanning is the focal point of the highway system there, and during our "Journey to the West," we had to constantly travel back through Nanning to get to other destinations. Fujian's capital of Fuzhou is similarly the focal point of the expressway system in that province, albeit the hinterland prefectures to the north and west of Fuzhou do not need to be visited fairly frequently in pursuing USG interests. Even though it is not a capital, Xiamen is well connected to the Hakka and Minnan heartlands, and the Shantou and Chaozhou areas to the west in Guangdong are within relatively close reach as well. Hainan is an island province with a small population as well; it already draws an appropriate number of visits from the Consulate. Meanwhile the intensive transportation infrastructure development within the core Pearl River Delta makes this "industrial workshop of the world" easily covered, although the boom in private automobile ownership also makes these roads increasingly more crowded. Dong