1 The London School of Economics and Political Science New China and its Qiaowu: The Political Economy of Overseas Chinese policy in the People’s Republic of China, 1949–1959 Jin Li Lim A thesis submitted to the Department of International History of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, September 2016. 2 Declaration: I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 98,700 words. 3 Abstract: This thesis examines qiaowu [Overseas Chinese affairs] policies during the PRC’s first decade, and it argues that the CCP-controlled party-state’s approach to the governance of the huaqiao [Overseas Chinese] and their affairs was fundamentally a political economy. This was at base, a function of perceived huaqiao economic utility, especially for what their remittances offered to China’s foreign reserves, and hence the party-state’s qiaowu approach was a political practice to secure that economic utility. Through the early-to-mid-1950s, the perceived economic utility of the huaqiao and their remittances led to policies that systematically privileged the huaqiao (especially in China) and their interests, all in the name of securing, incentivising and increasing remittances back to China. This was even done at the expense of other CCP ideological impetuses, especially in terms of socialist transformation, as the party-state permitted contradictions between these youdai [favourable treatment] policies for the huaqiao, and its own vision for socialist transformation. Yet, by 1959, and after a series of crises brought the contradictions between qiaowu and socialist transformation to the fore, the CCP’s radical shift to the left led by Mao Zedong forced qiaowu to now conform with Mao’s demand to place ‘politics in command’. Thus qiaowu abandoned its prioritisation of economic utility and its past policies, for alignment with Mao’s revolutionary ideals, and in service to the Great Leap Forward. This thesis represents an original contribution to historiography on the PRC, the huaqiao, and qiaowu, both in terms of the new evidence from a wide range of Chinese archives that it utilises, but also because it revises existing narratives—and especially the pro-CCP conventionalisms—that gloss over the huaqiao experience of New China. Furthermore, this thesis also addresses the lacunae in the historiography on the PRC in the 1950s, and its silence on where qiaowu fits into the story of China’s socialist transformation. 4 Table of Contents: Abstract 3 Table of Contents 4 Acknowledgements 6 Glossary of Chinese terms 7 List of Abbreviations 9 Introduction 12 The Political Economy of Overseas Chinese policy 15 Historiography 18 Structure and Scope 30 Sources 33 Prologue: Fait Accompli? 36 Chapter 1. Rights and Interests 42 Introduction 43 To do some good 44 Openness and Sincerity 49 Common Program 60 Conclusion 63 Chapter 2. Screaming for socialism 66 Introduction 67 Like another province overseas 68 If only 1% 79 All huaqiao have money 94 Conclusion 114 Chapter 3. No complaints, no escapes, no shortfalls 118 Introduction 119 They will fervently leap 120 Rather Left than Right 132 More money, more problems 148 Conclusion 166 Chapter 4. Fourth–class socialism 170 Introduction 171 ‘Is the Overseas Chinese Affairs Bureau your Daddy?’ 173 Special Circumstances 187 The Great Debate 201 Conclusion 220 Chapter 5. Politics in Command 224 Introduction 225 A Great Leap Forward for qiaowu 227 Keep Left 241 Conclusion 254 5 Conclusion 258 Political Economy 261 Contradiction 265 Paradox 269 Caveat Emptor 274 Appendices 276 Appendix I. ‘Overseas Chinese Remittances to the People’s Republic 277 of China, 1950–1960’ Bibliography 278 6 Acknowledgements: ‘This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.’ This thesis represents years of work, but it is a pale reflection of the tremendous journey, and all the vicissitudes that make up a PhD. Thank God I had help. I gratefully acknowledge the generosity of Lee Han Shih and the Lee Foundation; the London School of Economics & Political Science; the Royal Historical Society; the Universities’ China Committee in London; and the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange. My research would have been impossible without their financial support, and I thank them for their generosity. I thank the staff of the Beijing, Shanghai, Fujian, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs archives in China. I also thank Irene Wong and the HKBU Library’s Special Collections & Archives; Celia Chen and the Universities Service Centre for China Studies, CUHK; and the Internal Security Department, Singapore. I was fortunate to meet many senior scholars through my PhD, who were generous with their advice and knowledge, and I am very grateful to Wang Gungwu, Shen Zhihua, Li Danhui, Niu Jun, Jiang Zhongwei, and Yan Ruxuan. I also thank Jiang Zhenpeng, Ding Lixing, Liang Zhi, Gao Yuqun, Danny Wong, and Zhou Taomo, for kindly helping me in my research. I was fortunate enough to share my LSE life with brilliant colleagues, and to have had the special privilege of benefitting from their advice, and enjoying their intellect and friendship—especially the happy few of E388A: Anton Harder, Simon Toner, Chen Zhong Zhong, Pete Millwood, Takahiro Yamamoto, Cees Heere, Oliver Elliott, and Scott Gilfillan. I believe that while a PhD only takes a few years, its roots go much deeper. I send my thanks to all the teachers who have inspired, helped, and guided me: Judy Ho, Ngoei Wenqing, Clarissa Tan, Hans Lee, Erica Wald, Paul Mulvey, and Angela Romano. I owe a great intellectual debt to my supervisor, Odd Arne Westad. Studying under one of the leading Sinologists of this age has been a unique privilege (since 2009), and I have benefitted superlatively from his guidance, wisdom and intellect. I will never be able to thank him enough. Special thanks also go out to my wonderful advisor, Antony Best, for magnanimously stepping into the breach, and for his patient advice and comments. I think that a PhD is really not for the faint-hearted, and I must thank my friends— especially Randy, Jimmy, Claire, and Cassie—for holding me up, and keeping me sane through some difficult times. I would be nothing without the love and support of my family. I am thankful for the encouragement of my siblings (especially when they cooked for me), and for all—for everything—that my parents have done to support me in higher education and life. My father was the first to encourage my love for history, and my mother has always pushed me to be a better student and person. I dedicate this thesis to them. Above everything and everyone else, I thank God. ‘For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things’—I am only here because of him. To God be the glory; the best is yet to be. 7 Glossary of Chinese terms: This thesis uses hanyu pinyin romanisation for Chinese proper names and nouns, except in those few instances where their other (usually older) forms are more generally familiar, for instance: Sun Yat-sen (Sun Zhongshan), Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi), Tan Kah Kee (Chen Jiageng), and etc. Citations of Chinese sources in the footnotes are in pinyin. The thesis bibliography lists the Chinese secondary sources consulted, and includes a title translation in English, pinyin transliteration, and the Chinese characters for each entry. Quotations from Chinese sources have been translated into English. The following is a glossary of some of the more common Chinese terms in the thesis. Pinyin English translation Characters Notes guiqiao Overseas Chinese 归侨 shorthand for 归国华侨 returnee (to China) [guiguo huaqiao] haiwai Overseas Chinese 海外华侨 sometimes also 国外华侨 huaqiao (actually abroad) [guowai huaqiao] huaqiao Overseas Chinese 华侨 nanqiao Overseas Chinese refugee 难侨 shorthand for 归难华侨 [guinan huaqiao] qiaobao Overseas Chinese 侨胞 shorthand for 华侨同胞 compatriot [huaqiao tongbao] qiaohui Overseas Chinese 侨汇 shorthand for 华侨汇款 remittances [huaqiao huikuan] qiaojuan Overseas Chinese 侨眷 shorthand for 华侨眷属 dependent and/or relative [huaqiao juanshu] qiaolian Overseas Chinese 侨联 from huaqiao friendship association association, 华侨联谊会 [huaqiao lianyihui]; or the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, 中华全国归国 华侨联合会 [zhonghua quanguo guiguo huaqiao lianhehui] qiaoqu Overseas Chinese area 侨区 shorthand for 华侨地区 [huaqiao diqu] qiaopi Overseas Chinese 侨批 from a Hokkien (Minnan) correspondence pronunciation of letter, or 信 [xin] as 批 [pi]. qiaosheng Overseas Chinese student 侨生 shorthand for 华侨学生 [huaqiao xuesheng] 8 qiaowu Overseas Chinese affairs 侨务 shorthand for 华侨事务 [huaqiao shiwu] qiaoxiang Overseas Chinese 侨乡 shorthand for 华侨家乡 hometown [huaqiao jiaxiang] teshu special, or exceptional 特殊 as in huaqiao special circumstances, 华侨特殊 情况 [huaqiao teshu qingkuang] youdai favourable or preferential 优待 from 优良对待 [youliang treatment duidai] or 优厚对待 [youhou duidai] 9 List of Abbreviations: 1949-1952 1949-1952 Zhonghua Renmin