Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06GUANGZHOU13384
2006-04-27 09:43:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Guangzhou
Cable title:  

The Long March: Driving Deep into the Hakka and

Tags:  ECON KIPR EINV PHUM KPAO PINR AMGT CMGT CH 
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RR RUEHAG RUEHCN RUEHDF RUEHGH RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHGZ #3384/01 1170943
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 270943Z APR 06
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6661
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
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.

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