Asymmetrical Neighbors: Borderland State Building between China and Southeast Asia

255 Pages·2019·4.919 MB·English

by  Enze Han

Asymmetrical Neighbors

Asymmetrical
Neighbors
Modern Borderland State Building
between China and Southeast Asia
ENZE HAN
1
3
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Contents
Acknowledgments vii
List of Abbreviations xi
Notes on Transliterations and References xiii
1. Introduction 1
2. The Neighborhood Effect of State and Nation Building 20
3. The Historical Pattern of State Formation in Upland
Southeast Asia 36
4. Spillover of the Chinese Civil War and Militarization
of the Borderland 55
5. Communist Revolutions at the Borderland 72
6. Dynamics of Transboundary Economic Flows 92
7. Comparative Nation Building across the Borderland Area 118
8. Continual Contestations at the China-M yanmar Border 137
9. Conclusion 157
Notes 165
Chinese Bibliography 205
Thai Bibliography 209
Burmese Bibliography 211
English Bibliography 213
Index 233

Acknowledgments
This book has been long in the making. After I published my first book on
ethnic politics in China in 2013, which was based on my doctoral dissertation,
I was lost for what to do next. Having worked on the topic of ethnic politics
in China for quite some time, I became captivated by transformations un-
derway in Myanmar, so I started to look at its changing relations with China.
Because of this new interest, I decided to learn Burmese; as a staff member
of The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, I could
easily take language classes, so I signed up for Burmese 1. Thus began my
journey of reconnecting with Southeast Asian Studies. I say “reconnecting”
because I had an earlier encounter with Southeast Asia, when an undergrad-
uate many years ago at Beijing Foreign Studies University. There I studied
Lao and Thai. Later, when I was doing a master’s degree at the University
of British Columbia, I took a year-l ong course on Southeast Asian Politics
from Diane Mauzy. But, during doctoral studies at George Washington
University, my interests diverted to China’s internal politics. So it was great
to reconnect with Southeast Asia once again and revamp myself with a new
language— Burmese.
Taking classes in Burmese is one of the best decisions I have made in the
past few years. The excellent teaching of Saya John Okell and Saya Justin
Watkins, as well as Sayama Tha Zin, made me realize not only how much
I enjoy language study but also how fascinating Myanmar’s domestic politics
and foreign relations can be. Particularly, borderland issues between there
and China intrigued me. Luckily, Mandy Sadan, one of the great experts on
Kachin politics and society, was also at SOAS, and through her kind intro-
duction I made my first trip to Laiza, a border town under the control of
the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). With this began my research on the
politics of state building in these contested borderlands. Around that time,
I also made connections with scholars in Thailand and in the summer of
2013, took up a visiting fellowship at Thammasat University in Bangkok.
Since then, I have become a regular traveler to Thailand. I specifically would
like to thank Sorayut Aiemueayut, Virot Ali, Thanyarat Apiwong, Waraporn
viii Acknowledgments
Ruangsri, Yos Santasombat, and Wasana Wongsurawat for making my trips
to Bangkok and Chiang Mai fruitful.
Conceptualization of the research project presented here benefited from
a research fellowship at the School of Social Science, Institute of Advanced
Study, Princeton. A seminar series there on borders and boundaries, under
Didier Fassin, provided an excellent intellectual setting to formulate this
book’s theoretical framework. I also met three wonderful friends who gave
company and support throughout an isolated life in the woods, namely Alice
Goffman, Monica Kim, and Rhacel Salazer Parreñas. Their encouragement
was crucial, and without our writing and reunion retreats in South Carolina,
California, and Bangkok this book will not be what it has become. Also, Ben,
Gugma, and Pangga have been indispensable companions. At Princeton, Yan
Bennett opened her home to me, and I recall fondly her driving me to do gro-
cery shopping, together with Macaela and Zoe.
Throughout the years, I benefited tremendously from excellent colleagues
at SOAS. From the Department of Politics and International Studies,
I would like to thank Reem Abou-E l- Fadl, Fiona Adamson, Ashin Adib-
Moghaddam, Rochana Bajpai, Felix Berenskoetter, Carlo Bonura, Michael
Buehler, Stephen Chan, Phil Clark, Bhavna Dave, Matthew Eagleton-
Pierce, Dafydd Fell, Alastair Fraser, Stephen Hopgood, Salwa Islamil, Laleh
Khalili, Tat Yan Kong, Hagar Kotef, Mark Laffey, Matthew Nelson, Kerem
Nisancioglu, Manjeet Ramgotra, Rahul Rao, Meera Sabaratnam, Julia
Strauss, Kristin Surak, Charles Trip, Leslie Vinjamuri, and Simona Vittorini
for providing me with a collegial environment. Lawrence Saez, who has sadly
passed away, will also be remembered fondly. I would like to thank the fol-
lowing SOAS colleagues: Ernest Caldwell, Bi-y u Chang, Michael Charney,
Angela Chiu, Roy Fischel, Fabio Gygi, Rachel Harrison, Zoe Marriage,
and Tim Pringle. Specifically, I really treasure Timon Screech for his warm
friendship and constant support throughout the years.
While doing research and writing, I have been supported by a Leverhulme
Research Fellowship and the British Council Newton Fund. Both released
me from teaching and gave me time and resources to undertake field re-
search and concentrate on writing. I also would like to thank the SOAS Staff
Development Office for funding two years of Burmese summer school in
Yangon. I also benefited from an East Asia Institute fellowship to deliver
a series of talks on my ongoing research at the East Asia Institute in Seoul,
Fudan University in Shanghai, Keio University in Tokyo, and National
Taiwan University in Taipei. Thanks also go to Todd Hall who arranged a
Acknowledgments ix
visiting fellowship at St. Anne’s College, Oxford, in the 2016 Michaelmas
term. The final chapters of this book were written after I took up a position
at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). At HKU, I would like to thank John
Burns, Wildred Chow, Courtney Fung, Ian Holliday, Richard Hu, Kai Quek,
Xiaojun Yan, and Jiangnan Zhu for their help and support in easing the tran-
sition to a new life in Hong Kong. Furthermore, Bruce Dickson and Harris
Mylonas continue to support me whenever I need career advice or recom-
mendation letters.
Of course, I must also thank all the informants and interviewees in
Mainland China, Myanmar, Taiwan, and Thailand. It was they who pro-
vided me stories for the ethnographical component of this book. Their
identities have been anonymized, so I can not name them individually. My
thanks to James Brown, Sirada Khemanitthathai, Wai Phyo Maung, Ric
Neo, Tinnaphop Sinsomboonthong, Tinakrit Sireerat, and Zinn Ne Win,
who provided excellent research assistance. I also thank Alaric DeArment
for his proofreading support. Angela Chnapko at Oxford University Press
has been the best editor I can imagine. Parts of the book were presented at
the Academic Sinica, Chiang Mai University, Chulalongkorn University,
George Washington University, Jinan University, Kyoto University, Mahidol
University, Princeton University, Torino World Affairs Institute, University of
British Columbia, University of California, Berkeley, and Yunnan University.
I appreciate all the comments and feedback from these talks.
There are many friends who have given companionship over the years,
I would like to thank Xiaojun Li, Joseph O’Mahoney, and Christopher Paik for
many discussions about our academic lives, even though we live continents
apart. I also thank the following friends, no matter where you are: Wen-
chin Chang, Sayaka Chatani, Dong Jie, Ben Essex, Dario Adail Ferrer, Colm
Fox, Gao Jing, Guo Jiahui, Jean Hong, Huang Lei, Huang Qiongyu, Jiang
Anmin, Darren Johnson, Greg Leon, Li E, Lin Shijian, Liu Bo, Liu Minhong,
Liu Peng, Liu Xiaohua, Liu Zuohuang, Lju Jiayu, Jin Ou, Mu Yingying Ni
Hongwei, Andreas Rufer, Fang-l ong Shih, Sun Xin, Tao Wenjuan, Seinenu
Thein- Lemelson, Wang Dian, Xu Shaojing, Yao Xin, Yao Ying, Zeng Jinghan,
Zheng Pingfu, and Zhu Mengping.
Finally, my family has always been there for me. Over the years, my parents
and sister have been the most important components of my life. I dedicate
this book to my niece, Xu Yilin, and nephew, Xu Yikai, for making me a
proud uncle.