Chinese Border Research Articles

Migration Crisis on the Russian-Chinese Border in the Early 1917-1920s: Regional Aspect of the Global Migration Processes of the XX Century

The publication analyzes the reasons and particular qualities of the migration crisis on the Russian-Chinese border in 1917–1922. This crisis was caused by the revolution and the Civil War in Russia. A huge mass of former subjects of the Russian Empire, who disagreed with the new system, were forced to leave their homeland and in the early 1920s formed one of the largest emigrant diasporas in the world in China. The bulk of the White Army’s remnants the civilian population crossed the Russian-Chinese border in the Far East, forming Russian refugee camps in the Chinese border area. A significant number of Russians crossed the border in western China, in the region of Xinjiang province, where several refugee camps also emerged. The composition of Russian refugees has raised serious concerns in both the central and border authorities of China: the bulk of the refugees were well-armed experienced military men who had gone through not only the Russian Civil War, but also the First World War and refused to surrender their weapons, the Cossacks and their chieftains, peasants and merchants from the border regions who did not want to obey anyone, who needed help. A small part of the Russians who left for China were nobles and intellectuals, who settled mainly in Harbin and Shanghai. The peculiarity of the migration situation in the Far East, as well as on the Russian-Chinese border in Central Asia, was not only in the huge number of Russians who arrived in China, but also in the fact that a severe internal political crisis had been developing in China itself for several years. The Chinese authorities were unable to control the situation in the country, and Russian refugees aggravated the situation. In addition, the Chinese authorities did not want to aggravate relations with Soviet Russia, which repeatedly threatened to send troops to eliminate the remnants of the White Army, which had settled in the Chinese border area. This could seriously aggravate the political situation in the Far East and Central Asia. Therefore, the Chinese authorities actively took measures to regulate the flow of Russian refugees and prevent a possible crisis: they blocked the border with Russia in some areas, expelled refugees back, did not issue permits to cross the border, etc.

Образы Китая в творческом сознании Г. Р. Державина и А. С. Пушкина

The article reveals the genesis and structure of the «Chinese Text» of Russian literature in the 18th–19th centuries. Its subsequent evolution is shown — how, stepping into the parks, Catherine’s Chinese became more consistent and philosophical. For encyclopedic educators, Chinese philosophy came to be perceived as one of the ideals of thought. At the same time, the image of China in Russia began to be used both in critical literature and in ideological struggle. The spread of the Chinese style in popular culture became the basis of glamour. The Chinese topic in the correspondence of Catherine II and Voltaire is interpreted as «mutual enlightenment», which is partially replicated in the further interactions of the Empress and Derzhavin in their efforts to resolve the Chinese border problems. The formation of Pushkin as a poet took place in the conventional Tsarskoye Selo China. His subsequent in-depth involvement in the topic is associated with the emergence of realistic trends in his work and with his interest in history, which made it possible to anticipate future events and topics in this direction.

Research on the Emergence, Evolution and Identification of the Concept of “Zhonghua Minzu” (Chinese nation)

In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the concept of “Zhonghua minzu” (Chinese nation) was formally put forward under the historical background of the simultaneous outbreak of Chinese national crisis and border crisis. And this term has gone through a long historical process from the initial nickname of the Han nationality to the final development of the concept of “national race”. With the emergence of Fei Xiaotong’s theory of unity of pluralistic society of Chinese nation, people have a better understanding and deeper interpretation of the concept of “Zhonghua minzu” (Chinese nation).

From control to elimination: a spatial-temporal analysis of malaria along the China-Myanmar border

BackgroundMalaria cases have declined significantly along the China-Myanmar border in the past 10 years and this region is going through a process from control to elimination. The aim of this study is to investigate the epidemiology of malaria along the border, will identify challenges in the progress from control to elimination.MethodsNational reported malaria cases from China and Myanmar, along with the data of 18 Chinese border counties and 23 townships in Myanmar were obtained from a web-based diseases information reporting system in China and the national malaria control program of Myanmar, respectively. Epidemiological data was analyzed, including the number of reported cases, annual parasite index and proportion of vivax infection. Spatial mapping of the annual parasite index (API) at county or township level in 2014 and 2018 was performed by ArcGIS. The relationship of malaria endemicity on both sides of the border was evaluated by regression analysis.ResultsThe number of reported malaria cases and API declined in the border counties or townships. In 2014, 392 malaria cases were reported from 18 Chinese border counties, including 8.4% indigenous cases and 91.6% imported cases, while the highest API (0.11) was occurred in Yingjiang County. There have been no indigenous cases reported since 2017, but 164 imported cases were reported in 2018 and 97.6% were imported from Myanmar. The average API in 2014 in 23 Myanmar townships was significantly greater than that of 18 Chinese counties (P < 0.01). However, the API decreased significantly in Myanmar side from 2014 to 2018 (P < 0.01). The number of townships with an API between 0 and 1 increased to 15 in 2018, compared to only five in 2014, while still four townships had API > 10. Plasmodium vivax was the predominant species along the border. The number of reported malaria cases and the proportion of vivax infection in the 18 Chinese counties were strongly correlated with those of the 23 Myanmar townships (P < 0.05).ConclusionsMalaria elimination is approaching along the China-Myanmar border. However, in order to achieve the malaria elimination in this region and prevent the re-establishment of malaria in China after elimination, continued political, financial and scientific commitment is required.

Discourse Analysis of International Reporting on Human Trafficking of North Koreans at the Border with China

ABSTRACT This study reviews the monitoring reports of the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and the U.S. Department of State and analyzes the terminology and context in which human trafficking at the North Korea-China border was reported. The study’s purpose is to assess whether the coverage of these international entities is sufficient to create awareness of human trafficking at the Chinese border. The study’s findings raise questions whether the lack of evidence and focus on human trafficking, framing of information, deflection of blame, and the use of same or similar information and euphemisms found in all reports have hindered progress in combating human trafficking. And since there are also political considerations to reporting human trafficking and shaming the North Korean government, involving nuclear disarmament and deterring the potential use of nuclear missiles, human rights violations at the North Korea-China border are not prioritized. By exposing the flaws in the reporting practices of human rights monitoring organizations, this article contributes to developing effective, accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.

Retrospective study on a CoViD-19 outbreak that developed in February during a dinner in the municipality of Capannori (Lucca).

The first cases of SARS-CoV-2 were reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. In January the disease spread rapidly to other regions and beyond Chinese borders until it reached Italy where, on February 21, the first case of non-imported contagion was found. On the same date, as the commercial activities were still regularly open, the dinner, which saw as protagonists the participants of this retrospective study, took place. Of the 49 people attending the event, 47 joined the study. The participants of this study were all males, with an average age of 57 years old, all asymptomatic during the dinner. The participants voluntarily underwent serological or swab tests for SARS-CoV-2 and answered questions from our telephone interview. From the data obtained it emerges that 26 people (55.3%), after the dinner, developed one or more symptoms. The most frequently encountered symptom was fever, present in 76.9% of the symptomatic. 26 people were positive on the diagnostic tests (55.3% of the total examined), 24 of them were symptomatic. The conceivable R0 (the basic reproduction number) is higher than the one present in the literature (7.7 vs 3.8), this is probably due to the conditions in which the dinner took place (not ventilated environment, absence of safety distances, absence of personal protective equipment).

Characteristics of Chest CT Images in Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia in London, UK.

Background and objectiveNovel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was first reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province in China in December 2019; it has then spread quickly and exponentially beyond the Chinese borders and is now regarded as a global pandemic. We aimed to evaluate the chest CT radiological characteristics and lesion distribution patterns in patients of COVID-19 pneumonia in London, UK.MethodsWe performed a retrospective study and reviewed data of patients with clinically suspected COVID-19 who underwent chest CT between February 1 and May 5, 2020. All patients underwent the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. Lung lesion characteristics and distribution patterns were evaluated by two radiologists. Fisher’s exact test was used for statistical analysis, and a p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsA total of 18 patients (nine men and nine women) were analyzed. All of them had bilateral patchy lesions in the chest CT images. There was no correlation between the severity score and mortality (p=0.790). The distinctive CT features included ground-glass opacity (GGO) and consolidative patchy amorphous lesions, bilateral posterior and peripheral multi-lobar lung involvement, pleural effusions, subpleural fibrotic lines, subpleural sparing, vascular engorgement, occasional crazy paving, occasional mediastinal lymphadenopathy, pleural thickening, lack of cavitation, and absence of reverse halo (atoll) signs.ConclusionCT can facilitate the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia. Our UK cohort showed slight variations compared with previously reported Asian and continental European cases with respect to chest CT images.

China-India relations: a petrifying impasse?

It is now over three months since the deadly, high-altitude brawl between Chinese and Indian border soldiers in the Galwan Valley area of Ladakh took place on 15–16 June 2020. Despite talks aimed a...

Phototherapeutic approach to dermatology patients during the 2019 coronavirus pandemic: real-life data from the Italian red zone.

Since the novel Coronavirus 2019, also known as COVID‐19 or SARS CoV‐2, crossed the Chinese borders and became pandemic, Italy has rapidly become the country with the highest number of patient deaths as well as confirmed and/or hospitalized patients, after China [1‐2]. On March 12th Italy was declared a red‐zone and special protocols were enacted to limit the spread of the virus. Although COVID‐19 does not have epidermotropism, cutaneous manifestations in Cov‐19 positive patients have been reported [3] and departments of dermatology are considered at high risk [4] and were ordered to admit only patients needing urgent treatments or undergoing chronic immunosuppressive therapy in order to minimize nosocomial virus spread.

Diet for war: military nutrition in Republican China

ABSTRACT China’s earliest modern nutritional studies were undertaken in Republican era during the second decade of the twentieth century. They aimed to improve workers’ health, reaching their peak in the 1930s. In the 1940s the demand to apply nutritional knowledge to aid military personnel arose during the Second Sino-Japanese War, when American medical aid poured into the remote southwest Chinese border. Later, the Civil War (1946–1949) prolonged the demand for proper military nutrition. This article discusses how biomedical nutritional studies were promoted in Republican China for military demands both as a tool to improve soldiers’ bodies and as a symbol of the American alliance. Actions concerning military nutrition in the Republican era were built on a certain complexity due to convoluted military and diplomatic reasons. Moreover, both reasons were intertwined with a controversy about the appropriateness of the Western nutritional diet for the Chinese body.

Russia–China Economic Relations in the 21st Century: Unrealized Potential or Predetermined Outcome?

In the first decade of the 21st century, Moscow and Beijing made two strategic decisions to expand and deepen bilateral economic relations. The first one was to endorse diversified energy partnership. The second was centered on cross-border area and has been offered in the program of regional cooperation between Russian and Chinese border regions. However, basic methodological illogicality between estimations and expectations in Russia–China economic relations has smashed the good intentions of both sides. Recommendations for the governments to develop economic relations were theoretically correct, but mostly generalized and abstract in nature. Subsequently, these relations had not found a stable ground and were undermined by numerous internal and outside factors, positive and negative. A narrow range of trade articles made Russian–Chinese exchange dependent on the demand and prices for these goods, and small mutual investments slightly influenced an economic exchange between two countries. In spite of a number of decisions related to cross-border and inter-regional relations accepted at the top level, these relations are still the weakest link in bilateral ties. Mutual investments and modern forms of economic cooperation did not flourish along the border also. Moreover, economic troubles in Russia of 2014–2016 have hampered the cross-border relations seriously, while Heilongjiang Province being the intermediary between many Chinese territories and Russia has become the biggest loser on the Chinese side. In spite of all problems in economic cooperation between Russia and China, today, China is the no. 1 trade partner of Russia and Russia is the no. 1 supplier of oil to China. Their energy alliance has strengthened both countries’ statuses in their economic interaction: the position of raw material supplier for Russia and the exporter of manufactured goods to Russia for the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Western sanctions amplified the Chinese high-tech goods export to Russia; China’s share in Pacific Russia’s foreign trade increased from 29.2% in 2014 to 33.4% in 2017 and the peoples’ mood in this region moved in favor of China. However, by the end of second decade of the 21st century, Russia’s and China’s favorable “economic complementarities” and geographic proximity happened to remain a virtual product of academic’s intellectual exercises and have not transformed into the genuine economic cooperation. This is because, on the one hand, the philosophy, political and cultural infrastructures of Russia–China economic relations did not change much since 1990s, and, on the other hand, of some domestic and international factors that prevented this transformation.

Genesis of the Tuokesai Zn-Pb deposit in the Sayram Massif, Xinjiang, NW China: Constraints from geology, jasperite geochemistry and Si-S-Pb isotopes

The Zn-Pb potential of the Sayram Massif has drawn significant attention since the discovery of the large Tekeli SEDEX Zn-Pb deposit, which is located 15 km from the Kazakhstan and Chinese border in Xinjiang. The Tuokesai Zn-Pb deposit was discovered in 2009 in the northern margin of the Sayram Massif, a major Precambrian terrane of the Kazakhstan-Yili Block. The geological characteristics of the ore-bearing strata at Tuokesai are similar to those of the nearby large Tekeli SEDEX mineral system. Tuokesai’s lens-shaped Zn-Pb orebodies are stratiform and conformable with marble of the Neoproterozoic Wenquan Group. The ore-bearing marbles are commonly interbedded with jasperite that is mainly composed of fine-microcrystalline quartz. The ore minerals include sphalerite, galena and pyrite with minor pyrrhotite, and they are mainly fine-grained with a laminate texture. The gangue minerals are mainly calcite and quartz. Both the jasperite’s relatively high δ30SiV-NBS-28 values (1.3 ~ 2.2‰) and it’s REE patterns show a seawater signature, whereas both its Y/Ho ratios (concentrated at 30.48 ~ 48.57) and its weakly positive Eu anomalies imply a minor hydrothermal influx. The jasperite’s Fe-Al-Ti compositions and La/Ce ratios, combined with the lithology of the host Wenquan Group, suggest that the ore-bearing strata were formed in a passive margin basin. The S isotopic compositions of Tuokesai’s Zn-Pb ores (8.1 ~ 20.4‰) suggest that the sulfur was derived from contemporaneous seawater sulfate. The Pb isotopic compositions of the metallic ore minerals (206Pb/204Pb = 17.227 ~ 17.549, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.447 ~ 15.547, 208Pb/204Pb = 36.912 ~ 37.097) indicate that they came from a mixed crustal-mantle source. In summary, Tuokesai is a SEDEX-type Zn-Pb deposit that was formed in a passive margin basin during Neoproterozoic. The Tuokesai deposit’s discovery suggests that the Sayram Massif may represent the eastern extension of the Tekeli metallogenic belt and has a high potential for successful Zn-Pb prospecting.

Duration of quarantine in hospitalized patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection: a question needing an answer

In December 2019, a new form of pneumonia was observed in Hubei Province, China [1]. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) was subsequently found to be responsible for this condition, defined as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) [2]. The virus has now spread outside Chinese borders with 82,297 cases and 2804 deaths worldwide as of 26th February 2020 [3]. After infection, symptoms appear after an incubation time of 3–5 days, with 80% of those infected developing mild disease, 15% developing severe disease, and 5% requiring support in an intensive care unit (ICU) [4].

COVID‐19: Lessons from SARS and MERS

COVID‐19: Lessons from SARS and MERS

An Empirical Study on the Relationship between Language Proficiency and Economic Income of Chinese and Vietnamese Border Residents: A Case Study of Dongxing City, Guangxi Province

Based on the full sample survey of border residents in Dongxing City, Guangxi, this paper uses language economics theory and data analysis methods to analyze the relationship between language proficiency and income of border residents in Dongxing City, Guangxi. The conclusions of the study include: multilingual ability can enhance residents' self-employment ability, obtain more employment opportunities and stable income sources, and have a positive correlation with their annual income. Putonghua popularization is an effective measure to promote poverty alleviation in border areas; Government departments should optimize and improve local industrial policies and promote the promotion and protection of traditional cultures of ethnic minorities while giving full play to the positive economic and social benefits of Putonghua popularization and cultivating new economic drivers.

Domesticating the Belt and Road: rural development, spatial politics, and animal geographies in Inner Mongolia

ABSTRACTChina’s Belt and Road Initiative has led to an efflorescence of interest in the heritage of the “Silk Road,” both in China and abroad. In this article, I approach the BRI and its associated “Silk Road fever” ethnographically, discussing its effects on a particular region of China. What was once characterized in official discourse as a “remote border region” is now recovering its history of camel-based connectivity, and using this to imagine its future development. I situate this Silk Road discourse within the context of the politics of land, ethnicity, and the environment in a Chinese border region. Drawing on 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork in this region, and analysis of local publications, the article shows how this discourse provides ethnic Mongol elites in the west of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region with resources to defend pastoralist livelihoods threatened by the state’s recent grassland conservation policies. I thus show how the BRI’s spatial imaginary is “domesticated” in a particular part of China, and shine a light on the spatial politics which this imaginary – and the nonhumans involved in it – affords.

Covid-19: Critical Lessons for the Survival of Mankind from the Present and Future Pneumonic Viral Infections

Covid-19, the short for Coronavirus Disease (occurring in) 2019, hit the world with a bang, beginning from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in China. Tracing the history, the first case (P-zero) was detected on December 8, 2019 (now recognized to be a woman of 57 years, who sold shrimps in the Huanan market admitted in the Wuhan Union Hospital on December 10 and diagnosed on December 31 with Covid-19) before several workers from the Huanan seafood market started to fall sick with fever and respiratory symptoms of shortness of breath, sneezing and cough, and some with dyspnea and signs of pneumonitis.[1] [2] Three weeks later on December 31, Wuhan Health Authorities announced a series of 21 cases of suspected pneumonia of unknown origin, all linked to seafood market, and notified to the World Health Organization (WHO) country office in China.[2] [3] The disease appeared to be highly infectious, causing considerable anxiety among physicians. Within a month, 41 patients were getting treatment for this unique infection in the Wuhan Union Hospital, where one of them died in the meantime (but the P-zero is still surviving). Due to fast-spreading transmission events, Covid-19 cases were widespread not only across mainland China but also beyond Chinese borders by January 21, 2020, as a result of symptomatic/asymptomatic international or national travelers returning to their native countries or other states of China, respectively. On January 30, 2020, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee (IHREC) of WHO declared the disease epidemic as Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), because as of January 27, more than 2000 cases had been diagnosed in several other countries, besides China and Hongkong: Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, Nepal, Macao, Australia, France, Canada, and US. Most of these patients were living in, visited Wuhan, or were their contacts.[1] [2] [3] Human-to-human transmission was confirmed.[4]

Muslims across the Chinese border: policy, dynamics, and ethnicity

ABSTRACTChina is a multi-ethnic political entity with diverse historical legacies and the modern capabilities to potentially change the current world order. The essence and prospects of China’s policy towards the Muslims may provide important clues about future relations between the world and China. Therefore, more serious studies into how the Chinese regime has dealt with Muslim issues and how Chinese ethnicity has been changed are required. This special issue of ‘Muslims across the Chinese border’ enlists six in-depth papers on this critical topic with multidisciplinary and multidimensional analyses. Up-to-date issues like the mechanisms of internationalization of ethnic grievances, effects of China’s religious policy in the Han-Chinese area and Central Asia, and the evolution of satisfactory feeling of overseas Chinese Muslims are addressed. Insights provided by these cutting-edge studies will encourage more innovative ideas on the studies of Chinese Muslims, and global Muslims as a whole.

Springy bamboo poles help villagers carry more than their own body weight

Southeast Asia is a riot of colour and biodiversity. Boasting luxuriant rainforest and thousands of insects and mammals, the region is ripe for a biologist in search of inspiration. But when James Croft, then at Edith Cowan University, Australia, went travelling, it wasn't the flora and fauna that caught his eye: it was the villagers carrying massive loads, sometimes more than their own body weight, on a bouncy bamboo pole slung across a shoulder. ‘I was curious how that evolved’, says Croft, adding, ‘I wondered if the springiness of the poles allowed them to transport the load more efficiently’. However, he also knew that the benefits of carrying loads on flexible poles was a bone of contention; some studies suggested the poles are beneficial, while others did not. Croft realised that many of the previous investigations had been carried out with pole-carrying novices, whereas the villagers that he had observed were true professionals, sometimes with decades of experience. After discussing the problem with John Bertram from the University of Calgary, Canada, Croft decided to return to Vietnam to find out whether experienced flexible pole carriers adapt the way they walk to help them carry heavy loads.‘The travel to Vietnam was both exciting and challenging’, says Ryan Schroeder, also from Calgary, describing how the trio drove near to the southern Chinese border after flying to Hanoi. ‘We made contact with the Thái Nguyên University of Medicine and Pharmacy and met Van Son Nguyen and Van Vinh Hac. Then we hired a translator who put us in touch with individuals who had experience using bamboo poles’, says Schroeder. Having recruited 14 volunteers, ranging in age from 18 to 80 years, the team asked them to walk along a 20 m path carrying loads ranging from 0% to 50% of their body weight on their own personal bamboo pole and a rigid version. The researchers then measured the volunteers’ movements with accelerometers placed on their ankles, lower back and the poles. ‘One participant, who happened to be the oldest, was slightly offended when we only asked him to carry half of his body weight of approximately 23 kg’, smiles Schroeder.Back in Calgary, Schroeder analysed the volunteers’ motions and realised that the villagers were subtly adjusting their stride by 3.3% (0.067 steps s−1) when carrying half of their body weight on a flexible bamboo pole: ‘It doesn't sound like much, but it's significant’, says Schroeder. And when he built a computer simulation of the walkers and calculated the contribution of the poles’ flexibility to their walking efficiency, he realised that the walkers moved with less effort when slightly offsetting their stride from the natural bounce of their individual bendy bamboo poles. The simulation also predicted that walkers carrying their own body weight on a flexible pole would save almost 20% of their energy compared with using a rigid pole. In addition, the bendy bamboo pole saved their shoulders more, by reducing the forces exerted on them by 18% when transporting half of their body weight, allowing them to carry incredibly heavy loads for kilometres at a time.It seems that we could learn a lot from Asian villagers who have been using bamboo poles to carry heavy burdens for hundreds, if not thousands of years. ‘These remarkable yet simple tools can potentially reduce energetic exertion and lessen sharp forces on the carrier’, says Schroeder, who is trying to implement some of the lessons in novel backpack design. ‘Westerners are only just beginning to catch on to this innovation’, he smiles.

Space of Compromise: Border Control and the Limited Inclusion of Burmese Migrants in China

Enforcement of border control has become a global trend as nation-states endeavor to regulate cross-border flows and handle security risks posed by migrants. This article analyzes the China–Myanmar border, which is hitherto neglected in the literature but undergoes innovative experimentation in border control, to complement the well-established literature on border enforcement. We draw on a theoretical framework based on the work of Gramsci in relation to hegemony and compromise. An analysis of compromise in border politics can unpack the complexity of borders and demonstrate that border control can be accomplished through means other than walls and militarization. It is found that Burmese migrant workers are economically included in and spatially limited by Chinese border cities, giving rise to a mode of limited inclusion for border control. This mode turns border cities into spaces of compromise where Burmese migrants can live and work but must endure economic exploitation, spatial confinement, and social discrimination. We argue that China’s compromise-oriented border control toward Burmese migrants offers evidence of how border can become flexible and prohibitive and be enforced through intense surveillance, policing, and fear in the border cities, instead of only at the borderline. With militarized border control remaining highly capricious and controversial, compromise-driven institutional arrangement (through the armor of coercion) to handle the tension among national security, capital accumulation, and labor supply does arguably offer an alternative but has its flaws. Key Words: border control, China–Myanmar border, compromise, hegemony, limited inclusion.