Practices of place‐making: Globalisation and locality in the Philippines

Abstract: Global flows of people and information in the Asia–Pacific region are creating new forms of place that stretch across national boundaries and rural–urban distinctions. These new mobile forms of place link long‐inhabited rural areas to cities, national centres, and to rural frontiers within the nation. Here, we describe new forms of place that are being produced by contemporary migration and economic change, using data from the Philippines and applying Appadurai's theorisation of translocality. Our analysis links these flows of overseas migrants to concomitant processes of economic change, migration and new rural livelihoods. We outline changing practices of place within the Philippines, exploring ways that transnational migration can articulate with apparently ‘local’ development and the flow‐on effects from migration on the spatial patterns of rural livelihoods.     

Place,memory and identity: Imagining ‘New Asia’

Abstract: The rapid transformation of Asian societies and landscapes, especially since the mid‐1990s, has engendered much conjecture of the ‘Asian renaissance’ and the rise of a ‘New Asia’. This Special Edition of Asia Pacific Viewpoint explores the intersecting themes of ‘urban place’, ‘social memory’ and ‘cultural identity’ in the articulation of and contestation towards New Asia. Specifically, the six articles here offer various interpretations of New Asia – as tourism marketing tool, political vision and social identity – and the politics involved in urban, tourism and cultural development. From colonial hotels in key South‐East Asian cities to the historic waterfront of Singapore; from festivals and rituals in Hong Kong, Hoi An (Vietnam) and Penang (Malaysia) to the clash of cultural values in Manggarai (Indonesia), ‘selective remembering’ and ‘ideological forgetting’ are central to the construction of New Asian identities. Ultimately, this Special Edition hopes to provoke continuing discussions on the rhetoric of New Asia and its imaginative and contested geographies, sociologies and histories.     

Negotiating Routes and/or Roots: Heritagisation of nanyin in China and Singapore, 1970s to 2010s

Originated in southern China, nanyin (南音) is regarded as ‘the sound of motherland’ (乡音) performed and loved by the Hokkien dialect speakers in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and diasporic populations living in Southeast Asia. Having thrived in transnational spaces, nanyin is now celebrated as a shared heritage in China and Southeast Asian countries, such as Singapore. This paper explores the process of heritage-making, that is, the ways in which the art form and cultural practice of nanyin have been re-shaped and re-appropriated by the diasporic communities and the native place to articulate different understandings of the Chinese identity in their distinct nation-state frameworks. In this ambivalent entanglement, China has re-appropriated the diasporic history of nanyin to gain international recognition and build soft power through United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. In Singapore, the Siong Leng Music Association has actively engaged in the heritage-making of nanyin, leading to the creation of a unique Singapore brand that speaks to hybridity and cosmopolitanism, in the same way as the re-construction of their Chinese identity. Examining the two processes of heritagisation of nanyin along the China-Singapore ‘heritage corridors’, the paper argues that the two ends are connected in important ways but always seek to maintain distance to articulate their own cultural representations at international stages. Thus, nanyin through a comparative perspective enables a critical examination of issues of centre versus periphery, authenticity, and hybridity in the Sinophone world.     

Transnationalism through the life course: Hong Kong immigrants in Canada

Abstract: Transnationalism needs to be understood as a set of practices fashioned through the life course as well as in relation to contextual factors that include state policy and experiences of discrimination that affect entry to the labour force. The paradox of transnationalism is that families make strategic decisions to separate in order to maintain family unity and to advance the welfare of children. Emigrants from Hong Kong to Canada in the latter decades of the twentieth century were motivated by concern for family welfare and the quality of education in Canada. Yet economic livelihood prospects remained greater in Hong Kong than in Canada, prompting many families to become transnational ‘astronaut’ families with one or more members working in Hong Kong. Migration decisions tend to occur around key points of life‐course transition involving entry to and graduation from education, and entry to and exit from the labour force. Transnational practices are complex and multigenerational, involving different patterns for young adults, those in their middle years and the elderly.     

Cross‐border ‘Traffic’: Stories of dangerous victims,pure whores and HIV/AIDS in the experiences of mainland female sex workers in Hong Kong

Abstract: In recent years, dramatically increasing numbers of mainland Chinese women have entered Hong Kong to engage in sexual labour. Public discourses on the threat of HIV/AIDS increasingly locate these women's bodies as sites of danger, colluding with pre‐existing imaginations of mainland rural women as ignorant, desperate and deceptive in representing these women's penetration of Hong Kong's border as a primary means of infection of the Hong Kong body. Drawing on state, media and popular representations, and the narratives of female sex workers themselves, this paper examines the interwoven bio‐medical, gendered, sexual and cross‐border relationships that intersect in the experiences of mainland Chinese sex workers in Hong Kong. I argue that while images of disease and danger have been used to regulate these women's bodies, mainland female sex workers challenge these images by drawing on other popular stereotypes of mainland women as pure, feminine and traditional. Although images of the related but still ‘other’ figure of the mainland Chinese woman are powerful mechanisms for the regulation of these women's bodies, mainland female sex workers skilfully use inherent tensions in those images in resisting that control and in struggling to achieve their own personal and economic goals.     

Place,identity and immigrant communities: The organisation of the Yulan Festival in post‐war Hong Kong

Abstract: In the process of migration, some traditions persist while others do not. The Yulan Festival, also known as the Ghost Festival, continues to be observed by different subethnic Chinese migrant groups in Hong Kong for a variety of reasons. Although the festival organisation accentuates subethnic distinctions, paradoxically it also enables different groups to integrate into the larger community. The activities articulate various meanings of ‘place’– as ‘ancestral place’ on the mainland where
the rituals are believed to originate, as the specific locality/neighbourhood in Hong Kong where the festival is held, and Hong Kong as a whole. This article, based on interviews with Chiu Chow and Hoklo participants, shows how they think of the different meanings of ‘place’, which in turn reflects the way they make sense of the process of migration.     

The borders within: Mobility and enclosure in the Riau Islands1

Abstract: The border studies literature makes a strong case against claims for unfettered transnationalism and ‘borderlessness’ in our ‘globalising world’. However, its focus on movement across borders means that it fails to address bordering practices that occur within the nation‐state as a result of transnational activity. In this paper, we extend Cunningham and Heyman’s concepts ‘enclosure’ and ‘mobility’ to confront the different layers of bordering (both physical and non‐physical) that have occurred in Indonesia’s Riau Islands since they became part of the Indonesia–Malaysia–Singapore Growth Triangle.     

Performing ‘Chinese‐ness’ in Singkawang: Diasporic moorings,festivals and tourism

Through an examination of two festivals – Qing Ming and Cap Go Meh – in the town of Singkawang in Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan), we show how Singkawang‐bound Chinese Indonesian tourists and their Singkawang‐based relatives produce a diasporic heritage network through ‘moorings’ generated by both transnational and internal migration. Instead of returning to a singular ‘homeland’ in distant China, these tourists return to Chinese‐majority Singkawang as a result of their personal genealogical roots and of their broader cultural allegiance with a kind of Chinese‐ness that Singkawang has come to represent within a post‐Suharto Indonesia. Through these two festivals, we demonstrate how personal heritage practices like ‘roots tourism’ and visiting friends and relatives are intimately bound up with identity and developmental politics at local, national and international scales. In so doing, we identify a range of ways in which migratory and tourism flows by Chinese Indonesian internal migrants shape relations to their ancestral hometowns and cultural ‘homelands’ in Indonesia within the context of membership to and participation in a broader transnational diaspora.     

Negotiating ‘home’ and ‘national identity’: Chinese‐Malaysian transmigrants in Singapore

Abstract: Part of the globalisation phenomenon involves an increasing number of elite transmigrants traversing national boundaries in response to the global demand for skilled labour while maintaining multifaceted social ties astride political, geographic and cultural borders, linking home and host countries together. As transmigrants ‘live’ in several communities simultaneously, their identities, behaviour and values are often not limited by location. Thus, notions of ‘home’ and ‘national identity’ are also being reviewed given the discrepancies between these concepts and locality. In this context, this paper explores questions of ‘home’ and ‘national identity’ among skilled Chinese‐Malaysians working and residing in Singapore, portraying them as active participants of two (or more) countries. It focuses on their strategies and struggles in negotiating ideologies of ‘home’ and ‘national identities’ across borders in a setting of two neighbouring countries umbilically linked in a volatile political relationship. It further examines their degree of concern in the political affairs of both countries. Between ‘home’ and ‘host’, Chinese‐Malaysians redefine their practices of home(‐making) in relation to their national identity, drawing on the resources and resilience of familial ties, nostalgic memories and other practical lifecourse needs.     

Multifunctionality and agrarian transition in alternative agro‐food production in the global South: The case of organic shrimp certification in the Mekong Delta,Vietnam

Processes of globalisation in the conventional food provision system have had widespread negative impacts on small‐scale farmers. Yet, alternative food networks, which are characterised by more sustainable production/consumption practices and fairer trade relations, have increasingly been ‘going global’ and, in the process, have been integrating small‐scale farms in the South. One such high‐value export‐led commodity is certified organic shrimp. International third‐party certification schemes are becoming popular as a tool to verify the intangible attributes of such commodities. Using concepts of multifunctionality and agrarian change, this paper examines the implications of introducing an international environmental certification programme to a site where the ‘peasantry’ has been preserved and has limited integration in the global agro‐food system. Drawing on a case study that examines the first certified organic shrimp production project in Vietnam, this paper concludes that the current movement towards post‐productivism in the global North has potential to keep local farming practices in the global South by justifying the value of peasant‐like production methods through international certification. As a result, the development path of agrarian transition might be reshaped into a form not necessarily pursuing industrialisation. This leads to the new interpretation of pre‐ and post‐productivism beyond the North and South divide.     

Roasted pigs and bao dumplings: Festive food and imagined transnational identity in Chinese–Vietnamese festivals

Abstract: This article explores the ways by which special dishes prepared for the Chinese community festivals in the Vietnamese town of Hoi An negotiate and expand the notions of ethnic identity and place of origin of migrant groups. Although the festivals stress specific regional identities in (Imperial) China, the food consumed in the communal feasts defines much wider scopes of ethnicity and territory. By discussing these alternative scopes and comparing the feasts in two festivals, the article suggests that a new transnational ‘greater‐Chinese’ identity is celebrated in contemporary Chinese‐Vietnamese community festivals. The scope and importance of this new identity is analysed in relation to an imagined ‘greater‐China’ as a dominant player in the forthcoming ‘Pacific Century’. The position of the culinary sphere as a privileged arena for sociocultural negotiation, especially in post‐socialist authoritarian regimes, is also discussed.     

The Spatial Impact of Language Policies on the Marginal Bids for English Education in Hong Kong

In 1997 the government of Hong Kong reformed its policy on the language medium for teaching at the secondary‐school level and removed schools' right to choose their own medium. Among the 404 public and “aided” secondary schools in Hong Kong, the government allowed only 100 to use English as the medium for teaching and required the remaining 304 to use the native language, Chinese. The authors assess the spatial impact of the policy reform and estimate the bid function for English‐language schools. The results show that the 1997 policy reform shifted parental preferences from public to private education and increased the marginal bid for proximity to private English schools by 2 percent. Following the reform, homeowners were willing to pay, on average, HK $8,400 for each additional 100 metres closer to a private English school.     

Local geographies of globalisation: rural agglomeration in the Chinese countryside

China’s rural enterprises were responsible for 48 per cent of the $US 151 billion in exports and absorbed nearly 20 per cent of total foreign direct investment in 1996. Clearly, the significant and increasing role of rural enterprises in China’s integration with the world economy demands attention. The penetration of global capital into the rural enterprise sector and the desire of such enterprises to benefit from expansion into international markets have important implications at the local level. The impact of international, domestic and local forces on institutional and structural reforms is reflected in particular spatial outcomes in rapidly developing non‐urban regions. Local authorities have responded to external forces in ways which do not conform to the conventional expectations. Evidence from the lower Yangtze (Yangzi) delta reveals how the supposedly universalising pressures of globalisation have been mediated and adapted at the local level, particularly in terms of enterprise location and the proliferation of special zones. Expanding on the desakota hypothesis, the notion of rural agglomeration is introduced to capture the paradox of spatial economic transformation as it was linked to local circumstances, and localised responses to external pressures of globalisation.     

Pan‐national identities: representations of the Philippine diaspora on the world wide web

This paper shows how the world wide web can facilitate the transformation of a trans‐national identity into a global, or pan‐national identity. Specific to the Philippines diaspora is the concept of tahanang, or home as a metaphor for a pan‐national Philippine identity. Not only does the web facilitate the spatial interactions of diasporic communities but it also fosters the representation of national identity. In the case of the Philippine diaspora we find that social networking, via the web, operates at and through a variety of spatial scales, including intra‐diasporic, inter‐diasporic, diaspora‐host, and diaspora‐homeland.     

Spatial (Im)mobility and Accessibility in Ireland: Implications for Transport Policy

Recent social research that links people's position in society to their ability to access employment has shown the centrality of spatial mobility in the (re)production of patterns of inequality. This is particularly evident in regions where economic activity is unevenly distributed and concentrated in an urban centre and where daily travel patterns reflect a spatial segregation between places of work and residential areas. This paper presents a spatial analysis of accessibility to employment for Galway City and its environs, a predominantly rural region in the West of Ireland dominated by its urban centre. Travel‐to‐work data from the 2006 Census of Population of Ireland were used to present a comparison of district‐specific accessibility levels across three socio‐economic groups. Network analysis and Geographic Information System visualisation tools are used to map existing socio‐spatial topographies of (in)accessibility. This is done to test two contrasting sets of theoretical proposals in the social science literature regarding the relationship between spatial mobility and social status. Advocates of the first position conceptualise spatial mobility as a form of capital that helps to maintain many existing social hierarchies. This contrasts with the views of those who anticipate the dissolution of established social boundaries (“fluidification”) as a result of increased spatial mobility of people, goods, and ideas. It is argued that these contrasting positions are highly relevant to current transport policy debates, including discussions around the impacts of recession‐related cuts in transport infrastructure investment on patterns of accessibility. In addition, they encourage reflection on the impacts of sustainable transport initiatives on different social groups that are more or less mobility disadvantaged, a fact that has hitherto received little attention in policy research and practice.     

Recreating place,replacing memory: Creative destruction at the Singapore River

Abstract: The transformation of urban landscapes is as much a physical process as it is a symbolic one. Material changes in the form of demolition and redevelopment are often accompanied by changes in the image and identity of places, as well as the personal and collective memories associated with these places. Focusing on the Singapore River, we explore how waterfront redevelopment has rendered certain activities, people and place memories invisible, to be replaced by other landscape elements and their associative identities. Through ‘creative destruction’ and ‘destructive creation,’ the waterfront's transformation is evident in three areas: its built environment (‘builtscapes’), activities and events (‘eventscapes’) and displays of public art (‘artscapes’). We contend that landscapes reflect the tensions between ‘remembering to forget’ and ‘forgetting to remember’ in ‘New Asia‐Singapore,’ a city attempting to blend modern Asian dynamism with tradition and heritage.     

Potential futures for road transportation CO2 emissions in the Asia Pacific

Abstract: Will future transportation carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions per capita in Asia Pacific economies follow historical trends of the now developed world? Evidence to date is inconclusive. A comparison at similar income levels (purchasing power parity) between recent emissions in Asia Pacific countries and historical emissions in developed countries suggests diverging patterns. (A) High‐income Asia economies (Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore –‘low emitters’) exhibit lower emissions than a selected sample of seven developed countries (United States, Australia, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden and United Kingdom). (B) Another set of Asian countries (South Korea and Taiwan –‘medium emitters’) follow the emissions trends of European countries, which are lower than those of Australia and the United States. (C) A third Asian group (Malaysia and Thailand –‘high emitters’) exhibit emission trends comparable to that of Australia. We describe these trends, examine their causes and extrapolate likely futures for emissions in low‐income Asia Pacific economies (China, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam). Although such predictions are speculative, the available evidence suggests that road CO₂ emissions for Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam will follow those of the third group (high emitters), while those for China may follow either Group B or Group C.     

Frontline reporting,ethos and perception: Media challenges in the South Pacific

Abstract: The Melanesian sub‐region of the South Pacific, in particular, has been branded by some political analysts as an ‘arc of instability’ because of upheavals such as coups (Fiji), ethnic conflict (Solomon Islands), paramilitary revolts (Vanuatu), and secessionist rebellion and civil war (Bougainville‐Papua New Guinea and the Southern Highlands). Simplistic notions and prejudices about the region pose challenges for journalists attempting to report with depth, context and analytical skill. Pressures and dilemmas for the news media continue to gain momentum in the South Pacific, often from a cultural as well as socio‐political dimension. While the media in some countries is refreshingly outspoken and courageous, in others it has a trend towards self‐censorship. This article critiques coverage in the region and some of the problems in an age of globalisation and preoccupation with security. It also sketches the challenges for media education designed to contest images of the region beyond ‘coups, conflicts and contraband’.     

Consuming colonial nostalgia: The monumentalisation of historic hotels in urban South‐East Asia

Abstract: This article examines the renovation and commercial re‐launch in the 1990s of some of the grand hotels built in South‐East Asia during the high colonial era (1880s–1910s) and their social construction as historic monuments. The analysis focuses on architectural enhancement and discursive authentication as the key practices whereby the semblance of historic authenticity is bestowed on these hotels and made available as nostalgia to consumers. The article also considers whether renovated colonial hotels should be regarded as sites of consumption or as emerging ‘mnemonic sites’, filling in the vacuum caused by the progressive obliteration of ‘mnemonic environments’ in South‐East Asia's urban landscape.     

Overview: Restructuring Chinese space in the new millennium

This collection is concerned with understanding the nature of China’s spatial development during the transition to a socialist market economy. It does so primarily by questioning the applicability of the ‘desakota’ model and extended metropolitan region (EMR) concept to the contemporary Chinese space economy. Yu Zhu’s contribution extends the ‘desakota’ model by applying it to rural areas without the attraction of large cities. Wing‐Shing Tang and Him Chung’s contribution discusses illegal land use and construction to highlight the rural‐urban transition’s negative and disintegrative aspects glossed over by the ‘desakota’ model, which stem from the extension of urban administration to former rural areas and the redistributive effects of land use reform. Andrew Marton sees the original ‘desakota’ model being rejuvenated by introducing the notion of rural agglomeration, a clearer recognition of local administrative structures and an appreciation that development issues now take place within a global‐local framework. George Lin explores the lingering effects of rural origins on Chinese identity and how this affects subsequent social and commercial groups within the Chinese diaspora. Peter Rimmer and Claude Comtois show how changes in China’s transport and telecommunications industry underlie, to a significant degree, the restructuring of China’s space economy and the country’s links to the rest of the world. Overall the contributions highlight that a new consensus will be required for any revised model of the Chinese space economy if this is to provide guidance for planners engaged in restructuring Chinese space in the new millennium.