ABSTRACT
This book explores the claims, asserted by politicians in China and Southeast Asia, that cultural affinity facilitates business ventures into Mainland China launched by residents of Chinese descent in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The economic boom which has occurred in South China over the past two decades seems to validate these claims in a highly conspicuous manner: the bulk of the foreign trade and investment in the coastal provinces of Guangdong and Fujian has come from ethnic Chinese residing abroad who have their roots in the area. The ethnic affinity required in Lee Kwan Yew’s statement quoted above is obviously present, and in most cases linguistic affinity exists as well. But where does this leave the sharing of culture? At first glance the claim that cultural affinity does exist seems plausible. The business ventures of South Chinese descendants back into China can easily be represented as a return to their Qiaoxiang, a term understood to be translated as ‘sojourner’s village or hometown’. The cultivation of hometown ties is part and parcel of the Chinese culture of establishing guanxi, or relationships of mutual obligation between individuals, and is therefore also an inherent part of the social structure in which doing business in China is embedded at present. Moreover, ethnic Chinese communities abroad have usually preserved a distinctly Chinese cultural identity which is centred on the sharing of roots in the hometown. In looking at how the cultivation of qiaoxiang ties works in actual practice, our book, however, questions the plausibility of this apparent cultural
affinity, even more so when the sharing of certain cultural traits is used as an explanation for business success and economic development. It is relevant to investigate from where these claims of cultural affinity originate, and to scrutinize their effects on society and politics. A few examples will be given to make these points clear to the reader.
