Transcript:
THE INSIDE STORY: Chinatowns Around the World
Episode: 157 – Airdate: August 15, 2024
ELIZABETH LEE, VOA Correspondent:
Welcome to this edition of the Inside Story, I’m Elizabeth Lee in Washington.
For many visitors, historic Chinatowns in California and New York have become tourist destinations.
But there are Chinatowns all over the world. Many of them first started as enclaves, where immigrants gathered from Asia — either by force or by choice — to feel safe in a new home where they often did not feel welcomed.
On this episode of The Inside Story, we’ll take you to some iconic Chinatowns, some new, some old but all of them unique.
We begin in Los Angeles. The Chinatown there has grown into multiple enclaves and expanded into the suburbs. The most recent immigrants from mainland China are joining those from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Mike O’Sullivan reports on the experiences of the newest immigrants to Los Angeles and what surprised them about their new home.
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: CTown Los Angeles (1 of 11)
HEADLINE: Los Angeles’ suburban Chinatown grows with new waves of immigrants
TEASER: Migrants from mainland China add to diversity of LA’s Chinese immigrant communities in both historic Chinatown and suburban San Gabriel Valley
PUBLISHED AT: 5/27/24, 9:12 am
BYLINE: Mike O’Sullivan
CONTRIBUTOR: Mo Yu
DATELINE: Los Angeles
VIDEOGRAPHER: Mike O’Sullivan, Ning Lu, Hai Lun, Victor Hugo Castillo, Oscar Sulbaran
PRODUCER: Mike O’Sullivan
SCRIPT EDITORS: ELee, Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:26
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES: Please put in the Chinatown folder within HFR. This is part of the Chinatown Series. Release Date Monday, 5/27 ))
((INTRODUCTION))
[[Los Angeles’ Chinatown has undergone many changes, as immigrants from mainland China join those from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. As Mike O’Sullivan reports, the growing community has also expanded to the suburbs, where recent arrivals find much that is familiar.]]
((SHOW STREET SCENES OF CHINATOWN, CELEBRATIONS))
((NARRATOR)) ((nat pop))
Although many Chinese Americans still celebrate major festivals, ((nat pop)) live and work in historic Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles,
((SHOW STREET SCENE OF SAN GABRIEL VALLEY))
the most heavily populated Chinese areas of Los Angeles are the eastern suburbs — the San Gabriel Valley.
((SHOW SISTER AND BROTHER PLAYING))
((Mandatory Courtesy: He Family))
((NARRATOR))
Thirteen-year-old Jenny He ((Pr: Huh)) plays with her younger brother here,
((SHOW ASIAN PEOPLE WALKING))
a place that has attracted many…
((END COURTESY))
migrants from mainland China.
((VOA MANDARIN’S CENTRAL AMERICA CLIPS OF FAMILY, OBSCURE MR. HE’S FACE, SHOW HIM POINTING OUT SON’S SPRAINED ANKLE))
Jenny, her brother and father made their way through Central America, and VOA met them at a migrant center in Panama in February. Their father, He, asks that he not be fully identified for fear that Chinese authorities will harass his family in China.
((radio: He says their boat overturned, so they couldn’t go by boat. So instead of a two and a half day walk, they had to walk for four and a half days in the rainforest.))
((He, Asylum Applicant)) ((Male, Speaking Mandarin))
“Our boat overturned, so we couldn’t go by boat. So instead of a two and a half day walk, we had to walk for four and a half days in the rainforest.”
((VOA DRONE FOOTAGE OF MIGRANTS WALKING))
((NARRATOR))
He would later lose sight of the migrant caravan in the depths of the rainforest.
((radio: He says he couldn’t see anyone in front of them or behind them. At that point, it was a test of his own state of mind.))
((He, Asylum Applicant)) ((Male, Speaking Mandarin))
“I couldn’t see anyone in front of us or behind us. At that point, it was a test of my own state of mind.”
((SHOW VOA MANDARIN DRONE FOOTAGE OF MIGRANTS CROSSING RIO GRANDE AND SEATED AT MCALLEN TEXAS CBP CENTER))
((NARRATOR))
They persevered. When the family reached the United States, they asked for political asylum, and their case is pending.
((SHOW JENNY HOLDING PHOTO OF DOG))
Jenny misses her dog back in China, and her mom, who will join them later, but she is happy here.
((radio: She says the America she imagined was a place that was not very safe, but now that she’s here, she feels it’s quiet and they are especially kind to children.))
((Jenny He, Asylum Applicant)) ((Female, Speaking Mandarin))
31:06 The America I had imagined is a place that’s not very safe, but once I got here, I feel it’s quite quiet here and they are especially kind to children. 31:20
((SHOW LI DRIVING CAR))
((NARRATOR))
Another asylum applicant from China, Li Delong, delivers food from a rental car. Two years ago, he faced hardships — and bandits — in Central America.
((SHOW CHINESE PEOPLE IN SAN GABRIEL VALLEY))
Li now lives and works in a neighborhood where not much English is needed to survive.
((radio: He says his understanding is that the U.S. is a country of immigrants. Different ethnicities all live within their communities. For a new immigrant like him who doesn’t really understand English, he mainly lives in the Chinese enclave.))
((Li Delong, Asylum Applicant)) ((Male, Speaking Mandarin))
“My understanding is that the U.S. is a country of immigrants. Different ethnicities all live within their communities. For a new immigrant like me who doesn’t really understand English, I mainly live in the Chinese enclave.”
((SHOW LI LOOKING OUT WINDOW))
((NARRATOR))
Li copes with loneliness, but says life is better here than in China.
((radio: He says in that kind of environment, it’s hard to survive. People are not optimistic about the future, especially since Xi Jinping came to power. The Chinese economy is declining in a straight line.))
((Li Delong, Asylum Applicant)) ((Male, Speaking Mandarin))
“In that kind of environment, it’s hard to survive. We are not optimistic about the future (of China) especially since Xi Jinping came to power. The Chinese economy is declining in a straight line.”
((SHOW VOA MANDARIN MIGRANT VIDEO))
((NARRATOR))
U.S. officials say from October 2023 through April 2024, 27,700 Chinese migrants tried to enter without visas through the southern border, along with hundreds of thousands of migrants from other countries.
((SHOW BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO OF EARLY CHINESE IMMIGRANTS TO LOS ANGELES, CREDIT: Library of Congress))
((Mandatory CG: Library of Congress))
The waves of Chinese immigrants arriving in Los Angeles over the years have received help from benevolent groups — made up of Chinese who had come before them.
((End Courtesy))
((SHOW VOA FOOTAGE OF ENGLISH LESSON IN CHURCH))
More recently, help has come from outside their own communities, including English lessons from this local church,
((SHOW TWO PHOTOS OF PEOPLE RECEIVING BLANKETS))
((Mandatory CG: Lijian Jie))
and household supplies at this neighborhood charity drive.
((End Courtesy))
((SHOW VOA CLIP OF PEOPLE WALKING IN FRONT OF CHINESE BUSINESSES, SHOW VOA CLIPS OF THIEN HAU (TAOIST) TEMPLE, WOMEN BUYING VEGETABLES, MEN GATHERED ON SIDEWALK))
Much of the aid is informal, coming from new friends made at work or at gathering places like shopping centers and temples…
((SHOW IPHONE CLIP OF BROTHER AND SISTER WITH BASKETBALL ENTERING HOUSE, CREDIT “He Family”; SHOW VOA VIDEO OF HE FAMILY WALKING DOWN STREET, SEEN FROM REAR)) ((Mandatory CG: He Family))
as they adapt to a world that’s both familiar and different.
Mike O’Sullivan, VOA News, Los Angeles.
ELIZABETH LEE:
From Los Angeles, we travel across the U.S. to New York City. Many people of Chinese heritage go to the Big Apple to work and study. In fact, there are several so-called Chinatowns just in this one city, alone. The newest is in a neighborhood called Long Island City. It’s just a few subway stops away from Manhattan. Let’s see why some locals describe this as the younger, hipper Chinatown.
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: CTown New York (3 of 11)
HEADLINE: New York’s newest “Chinatown”: young, hip and dog-friendly
TEASER: Younger, hipper, well-to-do Asians drawn to Long Island City in New York, the newest “Chinatown” for the space, living amenities and dog parks
PUBLISHED: 5/29/24, 10:06 am
BYLINE: Elizabeth Lee, Tina Trinh
DATELINE: Long Island City
VIDEOGRAPHER: Tina Trinh and Elizabeth Lee
SCRIPT EDITORS: Bill Ide, sb
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:10
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:
[[INTRO: Many people of Chinese descent are drawn to New York City for the jobs and universities. There are several so-called Chinatowns in the Big Apple. The newest one is in Long Island City, just a few subway stops away from Manhattan. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details on what many residents are describing as the younger, hipper Chinatown.]]
((NAT POP: BARK)) ((video of dog park))
These furry friends come to mind…
((bark))
…when New Yorkers describe the type of people drawn to Long Island City.
((Zoe Zheng, Works in Long Island City))
“They love to keep doggies.”
((Kit Yeung, Lives in Long Island City))
“There’s an abundance of, just dogs and dog parks.”
((NARRATOR)) ((people walking around LIC and businesses with Chinese names))
Another notable attribute of this neighborhood: the growing number of Asian faces and Chinese characters here.
((Kit Yeung, Lives in Long Island City)) ((00;03;15;22))
“The buzz is there where this is almost like the new Chinatown.”
((NARRATOR)) ((video of LIC, Chinese faces, old Chinatown, Flushing video))
In a city where Asians make up more than 14% of the population, there are actually several so-called Chinatowns in New York City. (( https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/newyorkcitynewyork# ))
There’s the old Chinatown in downtown Manhattan, with roots in the mid-1800s. And the Queens neighborhood of Flushing is home to the largest number of Chinese immigrants in New York City, some 70,000. ((https://www.qc.cuny.edu/academics/aac/chinese-in-chinatown-and-flushing/
https://pavementpieces.com/scenes-from-flushing-queens-new-yorks-largest-chinatown/ ))
((NAT POP: video Kit punching at a bag))
Software engineer turned martial arts coach Kit Yeung was living in Flushing until he discovered Long Island City.
((Kit Yeung, Long Island City Resident))
“Several years ago…”
((MANDATORY COURTESY: Kit Yeung))
“I had a puppy, and I came to Long Island City to a dog park…”,
((END COURTESY))
“…and I just instantly fell in love with Long Island City.”
((NARRATOR)) ((outdoor shots of LIC, and inside the gym jumping rope))
Not only did Yeung move here – he’s also seen a growing number of Asians attending classes at his gym.
((Kit Yeung, Long Island City Resident))
“Here in Long Island City, it’s a more modern… You get a lot of young professionals, a lot of students, a more hip, cooler type of Asian food and trendy restaurants and trendy bubble tea and desserts.”
((NARRATOR)) ((video of making bubble tea))
Running one bubble tea spot is Zoe Zheng. She saw a business opportunity in Long Island City.
((Zoe Zheng, Works In Long Island City))
“A lot of my friends, they live in Long Island City because of Long Island City is very close to Manhattan.”
((NARRATOR)) ((Zheng making tea, LIC video))
Originally from China, Zheng moved to New York with her parents. She lives with them in Flushing but hopes to move here one day.
((Zoe Zheng, Works In Long Island City))
“Long Island City has a lot of new skyscrapers than in Flushing or in old Chinatown, Manhattan.”
((NARRATOR)) ((video of skyscrapers in LIC, nat pop transition to inside Chris Yu’s restaurant))
These shiny new buildings have not always been here, says Long Island City entrepreneur Chris Yu, whose parents are from Taiwan.
((Chris Yu, Long Island City Resident & Entrepreneur))
“I remember when I first moved to New York seven, eight years ago, it was actually still quite industrial. All the apartments are pretty low-rises, you know. Now, when you’re in LIC [Long Island City] you see all the high rises.”
((NARRATOR)) ((video of Skyline Town))
The most prominent high rise is this 67-story condominium: Skyline Tower. It’s an example of how new construction in Long Island City offers a little more for the money than the older buildings in Manhattan.
((Jonna Stark, Real Estate Agent))
“You have 24-hour door person, you’ve got a gym, you’ve got a roof deck, you’ve got a pool. The views are incredible. I mean, you know, Skyline Tower, you would hope you would have some skyline views and you certainly do.”
((NARRATOR)) ((outside video of streets, video of Chinese grocery store))
The area around Skyline Tower is also the center of where the Chinese community lives and shops.
((Kit Yeung, Long Island City Resident))
“I feel like this is the cooler type of Chinatown.”
((NARRATOR)) ((subway sign, Manhattan beauty shots, people in LIC))
Only a few subway stops from Manhattan, where many people here work and attend school, they can come home to different scenery.
((Jonna Stark, Real Estate Agent))
“When you get off the subway here, you can exhale a little bit. There’s a little bit more space, a little bit more room to breathe.”
((MANDATORY COURTESY: Kit Yeung))
((NARRATOR)) ((video of dog park))
And more space for Yeung, his dogs…
((END COURTESY))
…and other four-legged friends to play with their owners by the river in Long Island City.
Elizabeth Lee, VOA News, New York.
ELIZABETH LEE:
We now head to Peru in South America. In the capital city of Lima, Chinese immigrants established a Chinatown after arriving as indentured laborers. In those days, it served as a meeting place for fellow countrymen. Today, it’s become a vibrant commercial hub where Chinese and Peruvian cultures have mixed giving this Chinatown a unique flavor. Adriana Núñez Rabascall brings us this story from Lima.
USAGM SHARE
PLAYBOOK SLUG: CTown Lima (5 of 11)
HEAD: Chinatown Lima: A Chinese and Peruvian Fusion of Food and Language
TEASER: Lima, Peru’s Chinatown is peppered with the influence of indentured laborers from China through food and language.
PUBLISHED AT: 05/31/2024 at 9:30am
BYLINE: Adriana Núñez Rabascall
CONTRIBUTOR: Adriana Núñez Rabascall
DATELINE: Lima, Peru
VIDEOGRAPHER: Adriana Núñez Rabascall
TRANSLATOR/VIDEO EDITOR: Veronica Villafañe
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA,
PLATFORMS: (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
SCRIPT EDITORS: ELee, KEnochs;
TRT: 3:29
VID APPROVED BY: ELee approved
UPDATE:
Links/Notes:
((INTRO))
[[Lima’s Chinatown was founded by Chinese migrants who arrived in Peru as indentured laborers. Back then, it was a meeting place for fellow countrymen, but today, it’s a vibrant commercial hub intertwined with Peruvian society. Adriana Núñez Rabascall has the story from Lima.]]
((NARRATION))
From the colors…
((Nat POP))
…to the sounds…
((Nat))
And above all — the flavors – the ingredients that make up Lima’s Chinatown. It’s a fusion of cultures that can be experienced in the food scene here, says restaurant owner Vanessa Yong.
((Vanessa Yong, Chinese Peruvian Restaurant Owner)) ((Female in Spanish))
“One of the most common tales you hear is that when the Chinese arrived, they would say ‘chi fan’ – chi means eat and fan rice. When Peruvians walked by Chinatown, they would say: hey, what are the Chinese doing? chi fan, chi fan… oh, look, their food is called ‘chifa’… and it stuck.”
((NARRATOR))
Yong has taken the fusion of both cultures to her kitchen.
((Vanessa Yong, Chinese Peruvian Restaurant Owner)) ((Female in Spanish))
“What did the Chinese teach the Peruvians? The way to stir-fry, the use of the wok. But what did we teach the Chinese? We add yellow pepper, Peruvian pisco to our dishes. That fusion creates a super enriching intercultural gastronomy.”
((NARRATOR))
Chinatown is a place Daniel Chung has been visiting since he was a teenager.
((Daniel Chung, Chinese Peruvian Citizen)) ((Male in Spanish))
“Chinatown is part of our history, where our grandparents brought us to unite the whole family.”
((NARRATION)) ((old archive photos))
Chinese migrants first arrived in Peru in 1849, under the so-called “Chinese law.” As indentured laborers and servants, the Chinese filled the shortage created by the abolition of slavery, five years after the first Chinese arrived here. Most of them came from the Guangdong province in Southern China.
((Humberto Rodríguez, Anthropologist)) ((Male in Spanish))
“The great wave was between 1849 and 1874, when one hundred thousand Chinese arrived.”
((NARRATION))
After working on the land owned by wealthy Peruvians and fulfilling five to eight-year-contracts, the Chinese where free to start a new life. Many Chinese moved to Lima.
((Daniel Chung, Chinese Peruvian Citizen)) ((Male in Spanish))
“The first thing the Chinese did here was start businesses. That’s all they knew how to do here in Lima.”
((NARRATION))
Other waves of migration brought more Chinese to the country. Very few Chinese families still live in Chinatown, but the community maintains its cultural link to the past in the markets.
((Daniel Chung, Chinese Peruvian Citizen)) ((Male in Spanish))
“These are the Chinese mushrooms used in all Chinese stir-fries.”
((NARRATION))
On these streets, rituals connect Chung to his ancestors.
((Daniel Chung, Chinese Peruvian citizen)) ((Male in Spanish))
“This is the entrance to the Quan Qung Temple… Quan Qung is a Chinese warrior who has been venerated by the Chinese community over time.”
((Nat))
((NARRATION))
There are currently about 3 million people of Chinese descent living in Peru. That’s almost 9% of the country’s population. And with China being Peru’s largest trading partner and a place where China is building a major Latin American port, Chinese people are still coming for business.
((NAT POP))
((NARRATION))
For the descendants of some of the earliest migrants to Peru, the Chinese language may be lost over time, but Chinese traditions, faith and food can still be found in Chinatown.
Adriana Núñez Rabascall, for VOA News, Lima Peru.
ELIZABETH LEE:
In the last decade, one of the reasons why many people from China have migrated to countries around the world is because of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative – which aims to connect China to the world through infrastructure projects that support trade. On the African continent, there are several Chinatowns scattered throughout the city of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. It’s where old and new Chinese migrants shop. VOA’s Nairobi Bureau Chief Mariama Diallo took a stroll through one of them.
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: CTown Nairobi (9 of 11)
HEADLINE: Nairobi’s Chinatowns: a reflection of greater Chinese presence
TEASER: Growing number of businesses in Nairobi’s Chinatowns support Chinese migrants to Kenya.
PUBLISHED AT: 06/04/2024 at 9:30am
BYLINE: Mariama Diallo
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Nairobi, Kenya
VIDEOGRAPHER: Amos Wangwa
PRODUCER: Amos Wangwa
SCRIPT EDITORS: ELee, Bill Ide
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA original
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:12
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:
((INTRO)) [[Chinatowns are recognizable all over the world, either by their big red gates or streets lined with Chinese restaurants and stores. In Nairobi, Kenya, there are several Chinatowns of different sizes scattered around the city. VOA Nairobi bureau chief, Mariama Diallo took a stroll in one of them and has this story.]]
((NARRATOR))
From caramel sunflower seeds to Chinese instant noodles, the Feng Chen supermarket has a wide variety of products.
[[FOR RADIO: Owner Liu Feng Chen says his doors are open to everyone.]]
((Liu Feng Chen, Supermarket Owner)) ((Broken English but understandable))
“This supermarket is not only for Chinese, [it’s] for any people.”
((NARRATOR))
This market is in one of the mini-Chinatowns in Nairobi. Located in the Kilimani neighborhood, it’s about 5 kilometers west of the city’s central business district.
Owner and former doctor, Liu Feng Chen, opened this market six years ago. Originally from China, he came to Kenya three decades ago.
((MANDATORY COURTESY: Liu Feng Chen))
He married a Kenyan, and they have two children. Chen says he became an…
((END COURTESY))
…entrepreneur because he saw a business opportunity here.
((Liu Feng Chen, Supermarket Owner)) ((Broken English but understandable))
“I check from 30 years ago up to now, the Chinese they come … more than before.”
((NARRATOR))
The modern-day wave of migration from China to Kenya took off during the administration of
((MANDATORY COURTESY: Reuters))
…late president Mwai Kibaki…
((END COURTESY))
…says Nairobi University’s Kenneth Ombongi.
((Kenneth Ombongi, Nairobi University)) ((in English))
“Kibaki sort of formulated a foreign policy that was anchored around positive engagement in diplomacy. Ehich was, if we have danced to the tune of the West all this long, and we have not been able to move as fast as we wanted to move development wise, why can’t we try the East?”
((NARRATOR))
Like many African countries, Kenya has green-lighted massive Chinese-built infrastructure including highways and railroads. They are part of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-billion-dollar vision aimed to promote trade and investment by connecting China to the world through infrastructure projects.
Along with more Chinese workers connected to these projects are businesses that cater to them.
[[FOR RADIO: Stephen Obado is the general manager of the Hotpot Train Restaurant]]
((Stephen Obado, Restaurant Manager)) ((in English))
“We provide soup, a pot of soup, beef soup to be precise. You cook by yourself. So, we have a variety of things. There’s different kinds of meats.”
((NARRATOR))
General manager Stephen Obado says he’s been working at the Hotpot Train Restaurant in Chinatown since it opened in January.
[[For radio: Obado says he’s been working in the restaurant since it opened in January]]
((Stephen Obado, Restaurant Manager)) ((in English))
“[The] majority of our customers are Asians, but we also have local customers. So Chinese people and Thailand people are possibly the majority of the people we get here.”
((NARRATOR))
Bonnie Hao – originally from Shanghai – recently moved to Kenya from Uganda for work six months ago. She’s been a regular visitor here.
((Bonnie Hao – Customer)) ((in English))
“When I eat the hot pot, it makes me miss my homeland. Maybe I’m going for shopping some Chinese. We use some special things. Like the vegetable is different from local [vegetables].”
((NARRATOR))
Fresh faces mean more business for Liu Feng Chen. Between the Chinese and local customers, plus the years he’s been living here, he has learned to embrace Kenyan culture and even picked up a little Swahili….
((Nats, chen singing a song in Swahili))
“Jambo, Jambo Bwana…” ((Applause from us at the end))
((MARIAMA DIALLO VOANEWS NAIROBI))
ELIZABETH LEE:
While Chinatowns have traditionally been a neighborhood where people of mostly-Chinese descent live or shop – it’s not the case for the Chinatown in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. VOA’s Afghan service has more on what you can – and likely cannot find – in this Chinatown.
(PLAYBOOK SLUG: CTown Kabul
HEADLINE: Kabul’s Chinatown: A marketplace for Chinese products
TEASER: Kabul Chinatown is filled with Chinese-made products but very few Chinese faces
PUBLISHED AT: 06/06/2024 at 10am
BYLINE: Afghan Service
CONTRIBUTOR: Roshan Noorzai, Noshaba Ashna
DATELINE: Kabul, Afghanistan
VIDEOGRAPHER: Afghan Service
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: ELee, KE
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _x_ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:33
VID APPROVED BY: KE
VIDEO: TVPKG
TYPE: PKG
[[INTRO: While most Chinatowns in cities around the world either used to be or are still places where many people of Chinese descent live or shop, that is not the case for a Chinatown in Kabul, Afghanistan. VOA’s Afghan service has more on what can be found in Kabul’s Chinatown. The story is narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.))
((NARRATOR))
Kabul’s Chinatown is unlike any other Chinatown in the world. It’s hard to find Chinese faces here. But there are plenty of Chinese-made products.
[[FOR RADIO: says shopkeeper Hamidullah]]
((Hamidullah, Chinatown Shopkeeper)) ((Male, Dari)))
“They are Chinese brands. We bring quality products to the market.”
((NARRATOR))
Opened in 2019, Kabul’s Chinatown is more of a marketplace. It’s where Afghans sell and buy Chinese products. While Afghanistan gets imports from Pakistan, Iran and China, Chinese products offering low prices, draw people here.
[[FOR RADIO: Mohammad Younus Momand is with Afghanistan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry]]
((MANDATORY COURTESY: Mohammad Younus Momand))
((Mohammad Younus Momand, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry)) ((Male, Pashto)))
“Chinese goods have a good market in Afghanistan, and it is developing.”
((END COURTESY))
((NARRATOR))
This Chinatown has already been moved once and there are plans to move it again says this Chinatown shopkeeper, Hafizullah.
(((Hafizullah, Chinatown Shopkeeper)) ((Male, Dari)))
“In the future, they will have a very nice place in Deh Sabz. Chinese want to build a town, and they plan to have 150 factories there.”
((NARRATOR))
Hafizullah is referring to the Chinatown Industrial Park Project, about 19 km Northeast of the current China Town.
((MANDATORY COURTESY: Regional Traders Economic Community China Town in Afghanistan))
Announced in 2022, developments on the new industrial park can be seen here from the China Town in Afghanistan website, sponsored by China’s Ministry of Commerce.
((END COURTESY))
((MANDATORY COURTESY: GLOBAL TIMES))
Chinese state media Global Times then cited Chinatown Kabul’s deputy general manager Li Xijing and reported the project to include partnerships from mining “to urban area construction and production of building materials.”
[[https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202204/1260570.shtml]]
((END COURTESY))
((MANDATORY COURTESY: Global Disinformation Lab at UT Austin / NGA Tearline))
So far, construction and development have been minimal based on images analyzed by researchers at the Global Disinformation Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ((
((NARRATOR))
Chinese companies have shown interest in Afghanistan’s. mining sector, but experts say further business partnerships are being hindered by Beijing’s concerns over terrorist activities that would affect Chinese business inside Afghanistan, and even potentially spill over into China.
((MANDATORY COURTESY: Abdul Ghafoor Lewal))
(((Abdul Ghafoor Lewal, Former Afghan Diplomat)) ((Male, Pashto)))
“I think the economic-oriented relationship between China and Afghanistan is important. But it is not possible currently, and the relationship between China and Afghanistan is believed to be more security-oriented.”
((END COURTESY))
((NARRATOR))
To that end, Beijing has repeatedly expressed concern and encouraged the Taliban to “combat all forms of terrorists forces” within the country.
((For VOA Afghan Service, Bezhan Hamdard VOA News))
ELIZABETH LEE:
While we didn’t see a lot of Chinese people in our last story, the next story looks very different as we head to the island city-state of Singapore in Southeast Asia. Nicknamed the “Lion City” Singapore is home to a majority ethnic-Chinese population. It may seem strange — Chinatown in a majority-Chinese area. Adam Hancock thought so and brings us this story from a historic district in the island nation.
[
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: CTown: Singapore (7 of 11)
HEADLINE: Singapore’s historic Chinatown unites a modern megacity with its past
TEASER: Chinatown is the largest historic district in Singapore and remains a key attraction for both tourists and the ethnic Chinese community.
PUBLISHED AT: 06/03/2024 at 3:44 pm
BYLINE: Adam Hancock
CONTRIBUTOR: Adam Hancock
DATELINE: Singapore
VIDEOGRAPHER: Lee Beng Seng
PRODUCER: Lee Beng Seng
SCRIPT EDITORS: Elee, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:25
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVR
EDITOR NOTES: This is part of the Chinatown Series. Please place in the Chinatown folder within HFR when copy edit is complete. Release date TBA. ))
((INTRO: ))
[[The island city state of Singapore has a majority-ethnic Chinese population. So why would the Southeast Asian nation have a Chinatown? Adam Hancock went to this historic district to find out.]]
((NARRATOR))
These murals can be found across Singapore. Created by Yip Yew Chong, some of his most famous pieces can be found in the city’s Chinatown.
((Nats, yip speaking))
((NARRATOR))
Yip grew up in Chinatown. His family shared a small house with up to five other families at a time – but it was what happened outside that shaped his childhood.
((Yip Yew Chong, Artist and Former Chinatown Resident))
“The whole street was called the street of the dead. Because on the street there were funeral parlors, coffin makers.”
((Nats, ambiant sound))
((NARRATOR))
Like so much of Singapore’s history, the story of Chinatown begins with Britain’s Sir Stamford Raffles. In 1822, he designated a settlement for the many new Chinese immigrant arrivals.
[[FOR RADIO: Jeya Ayadurai is Singapore historian.]]
((Jeya Ayadurai, Singapore Historian – 00’21))
“The British had established themselves in Singapore, they had created law and order. There was tremendous hardship in China and difficulties and so it was natural at that period when there was great disorder and instability in China to go forth.”
((NARRATOR))
This small island, once a British colony, is now its own nation, and has become the 2nd largest port in the world.
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Despite the name – Chinatown is not a Chinese-only community. The district reflects Singapore’s patchwork of cultures. Chinatown is home to the oldest Hindu temple in the country.
((nats pop, mosque call on speaker))
And one of the Singapore’s earliest mosques is just up the road.
((NARRATOR))
Chinatown is also famous for its elegant shop houses – but as the Chinese population continued to grow, they became overcrowded. It led to many residents being rehoused across Singapore. But for a country where ethnic Chinese make up three quarters of the population, this part of the city is still a focal point.
((Jeya Ayadurai, Singapore Historian))
“The idea of it remains powerful enough for the community to gather here during special Chinese occasions.”
((NARRATOR))
Today, Chinatown is a hub for Singapore’s many visitors, filled with sound
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color, food and shops. It’s also home to many family-run businesses, like Tong Heng, which has been serving pastries since the 1930s. Its famous diamond shaped egg tarts are as popular as ever and as one of the oldest brands in Chinatown. Today, Ana Fong runs the pastry shop established by her great grandfather.
((NARRATOR))
((Ana Fong, Tong Heng Traditional Cantonese Pastries 00’08))
“There’s a very strong bond, like old businesses helping each other, and there is this very strong community spirit.”
((NARRATOR))
Whilst that spirit might remain – plenty of other things have changed. In 1983, Yip and his family relocated from their small house to a new high rise public housing by the country’s Housing Development Board or HDB.
((Yip Yew Chong, Artist and Former Chinatown Resident))
“My family was very lucky to have moved to the 25th floor of the HDB (Housing Development Board) flat. Wow, it was a huge luxury.”
((NARRATOR))
Huge skyscrapers now dominate this city-state’s skyline, but these distinctive Chinatown buildings have been preserved – with this historic district still at the heart of a very modern metropolis.
Adam Hancock, VOA News, Singapore.
ELIZABETH LEE:
That’s all for now. From all of us here at the Inside Story, thanks for watching.
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I’m Elizabeth Lee. We will see you next week, for The Inside Story.
