ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Chinese government uses overseas Chinese in Timor-Leste as its public diplomacy agents for reviving and promoting China’s cultural values as well as advocating its political diplomacy in relation to Taiwan’s unification with Mainland China. It highlights a series of issues and concerns that are creating cultural and racial tensions in Timor-Leste over the rising presence of Chinese migrants and business interests. The chapter focuses on the new Chinese migrants or Xinyimin from the Chinese Mainland and Chinese-Timorese for their historical presence and their dynamic interaction in social and economic activities in Timor-Leste. The Chinese government considers its overseas community as an important asset in promoting and strengthening China’s presence and relationship to countries with which it engages. In China, as political turmoil increased between nationalists under the Kuomintang and the communists under Mao Zedong, more people left the Mainland for Southeast Asian countries including Portuguese Timor.
