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This paper on China's soft power relations with Fiji since 1975 provides an on-the-ground view of the scope of China's Aid, Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and Trade with Fiji to provide an alternative narrative for China's increased presence in the Pacific, including Fiji. Its focus on China's three non-coercive tools of soft power diplomacy (aid, FDI and trade) with Fiji aims to highlight Fiji's anticipatory geographies as initially conceptualized by Sparke (2007) and applied to Fiji by Szadziewski (2020). Existing literature on China's increased presence in the Pacific is dominated by geopolitical and geostrategic narratives which portray Pacific island states as a 'collective pawn' in the aid completion between the Pacific islands' traditional aid donors (U.S., Australia and New Zealand) and China. This paper highlights the need for alternative narratives to show the agency of Pacific island states, including Fiji, and how they are capable of setting its own aid agendas and of choosing their principal aid donors. It also seeks to challenge mainstream alarmist and fear mongering narratives of China's increased presence in the Pacific and Fiji. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically known as China's 'Netherlands', the lowlands of Lixiahe were and still are characterized by vast waterscapes. This paper introduces an island society fostered by this wet landscape, which thrived in premodern times and has undergone a transition into modernity. From a long-term perspective, there have been constant interactions between this island society and the water-land environments. This study details such socio-natural interactions and reconsiders the role of natural settings in the evolution of this island society in the modern context of intensifying human interventions. A comparative study is conducted in two periods of premodern and modern times, and a parallel examination is conducted into three levels of this island society to explore island relations. A boundary approach based on landscape ecology theories is employed to interpret the complex socio-natural interactions in both temporal and spatial dimensions. Through this historical exploration, the paper concludes with three links between resilience thinking and architecture/planning practice in wet landscapes and discusses contemporary issues connected with the socio-ecological resilience of these lowland islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept behind the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI; formerly 'One Belt, One Road') began to take shape in 2013. Since then, this Chinese-led project has become a major plank in China's foreign relations. The BRI has grown from its basis as a vision of interregional connectivity into a truly global system, encompassing places--including many island states, territories, and cities--from the South Pacific to the Arctic, from East Africa to the Caribbean, from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean. Islands and archipelagos are particularly prominent in the BRI's constituent 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) and Polar Silk Road or Ice Silk Road projects, but little scholarly attention has been paid to how the BRI relates to islands per se. This special section of Island Studies Journal includes nine papers on islands and the BRI, concerning such diverse topics as geopolitics, international law and territorial disputes, sustainability and climate change adaptation, international relations of autonomous island territories, development of outer island communities, tourism and trade, and relational understandings of archipelagic networks. Taken together, these papers present both opportunities and risks, challenges and ways forward for the BRI and how this project may impact both China and island and archipelago states and territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Island ecosystems and living conditions are undergoing rapid change as human populations are increasingly concentrated in coastal regions. Many island economies have transitioned from an emphasis on primary sector production to reliance on tourism, port, and shipping industries. This has driven processes of large-scale construction and urbanization, occasioning drastic changes in island ecosystems and enhancing the importance of understanding ecosystem service mechanisms on islands. This paper explores the spatial distribution and interactions of ecosystem services in East China's Zhoushan Archipelago and how these should affect the island's sustainable development policy. The results show that the archipelago's total ecosystem services hold great potential but that there are significant trade-offs and synergy relations, which vary on different islands in the archipelago. Cultural services are mainly distributed across the northeastern and southeastern regions, with plentiful natural scenery and Buddhist cultural heritage, which are attractive to tourists. Provisioning services show a negative correlation between cultural services and regulating services, indicating strong trade-offs between them. However, the synergy areas between cultural and regulating services might become priorities for future policies. These are mostly situated in the rural eastern part of the archipelago. The island planning policy proposed in this paper, based on the ecosystem services theory and sensitive to intra-archipelagic differences, contributes to efforts at island sustainable development by seeking to resolve tensions between economic development and environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores conceptions of islands in Ancient and Imperial China. From at least the 3rd Century BCE, mainland Chinese culture regarded islands as sacred, unapproachable fairylands, home to the elixir of immortality. This inspired a trend for voyages in search of mythological sacred islands as well as a landscape architecture trend for constructing artificial islands in imperial palace gardens. Over time, Taoism came to associate islands with the home of the gods, and Chinese Buddhism came to associate islands with dragon kings. As China's maritime activity increased, so, too, did fiction regarding islands of adventure. These conceptions of sacred islands and islands of adventure coexisted with the use of actual islands as places of political exile. By exploring island traditions in Chinese literature, this paper adds to our knowledge of how and why people throughout history have regarded islands and archipelagos as special. This paper also pursues a decolonial island studies by challenging some of the Eurocentric and imperialistic tendencies within the research field, which have led to a privileging of Western island metaphors and understandings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When marginal groups face social transformation, they risk being unable to adapt and acquire equal developmental opportunities, slipping into 'further marginalisation'. This paper explores the case of the Dan fishing community of Sanya City, Hainan, China. Efforts to transform Sanya City into an international island tourism destination involve plans to relocate Sanya fishing port and to clear the adjacent neighbourhood inhabited by the Dan people, traditionally a boat-dwelling people, who have long been marginalised relative to China's land-oriented society. As their natural and social resources dwindle, the Dan of Sanya City must cope with the loss of their homes and livelihoods, as they are forced into the city's suburbs and as the port relocation complicates the economics and practicalities of making a living from the fishing industry. This paper argues for greater attention to be given to local needs in the formulation of urban development strategies in island cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores how Guangzhou's urban density and hub functions have conditioned its cultural dynamics by looking specifically at the city's Muslim community. Guangzhou's island spatiality has influenced the development of the city's Muslim community both historically and in the contemporary era. As a historic island port city, Guangzhou has a long-standing tradition of commerce and foreign trade, which brought to the city the first group of Muslims in China. During the Tang and Song dynasties, a large Muslim community lived in the fanfang of Guangzhou, a residential unit designated by the government for foreigners. Later, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, Hui Muslims from northern China, who were mostly soldiers, joined foreign Muslims in Guangzhou to form an extended community. However, during the Cultural Revolution, Guangzhou's Muslim community and Islamic culture underwent severe damage. It was not until China's period of reform and opening-up that the Muslim community in Guangzhou started to revive, thanks to the city's rapid economic development, especially in foreign trade. This is today a floating community, lacking geographical, racial, ethnic, and national boundaries. This paper argues that Guangzhou's island spatiality as a major port at the mouth of the Pearl River has given rise to a floating Muslim community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite an abundance of representations that focalize Zhuhai's island and coastal features in both academic and popular discourses, serious engagement with the lived sociogeographic realities of the 'city of a hundred islands' are few and far between. As a critical reaction, this paper seeks a relational production of Zhuhai, China as an island city with specific urban island spatiality. The focus/locus problematic is deployed within the wider context of the relational turn in island studies. First, representations that bring Zhuhai's islandness into focus are categorized and analyzed. It is questioned whether these discourses have constructed for the city an organic collective self that identifies with island and marine values. In an effort to de-focus Zhuhai's island and coastal geographies and re-produce them as locus, a series of place-specific relational issues pertinent to urban island studies are addressed, such as the relationship between island spatiality and city formation, land-sea configurations, and the nature of urban public space between land and sea. It is argued that the island city of Zhuhai's imaginaries and the concretization of its island and coastal possibilities follow a trajectory that is island conscious and mainland unconscious. To propose alternative theoretical models for a more nuanced understanding of the lived realities of the island city of Zhuhai and island cities in general, the paper concludes by re-contextualizing the focus/locus dichotomy within the wider theoretical framework of the relational turn in island studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the complex interaction between island histories and island geographies by presenting a case study of Dongzhou Island, Hengyang, China, contextualized through several critical island events. Employing a wide range of methods including archival research, textual and media analysis, field and map observations, semi-structured interviews, and informal interaction, the research is broadly framed in the problematic of geographical memory consisting of hard island memory, soft island memory, and lived island memory. Particular attention is paid to the construction of Dongzhou Island's cultural trauma based on three difficult island histories: mass killing, radical planning, and uneven development. Findings indicate that these memories coexist on or about the island, in virtual isolation from each other. It is argued that while hard memory constructs the island as a petrified landmark, soft memories murmur about the forgotten or obscured pains of a small island that bears witness to the violence of war and progress. The theoretical and practical implications regarding the role of place memory in rejuvenating local cultures are also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Island countries and territories are often subjected to standardized development strategies, which overlook the distinct needs of different island societies. Indian Ocean island countries and territories face certain shared sustainability challenges but also have their own diverse needs when it comes to sustainable development. This paper undertakes a qualitative analysis of 1) the overarching philosophies of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) projects and 2) the specific Indian Ocean island-focused initiatives that have formed part of the MSR. The aim is to ascertain the manner in which island sustainability is conceived by and pursued within the MSR framework. The article finds that the Chinese government envisions the MSR as a path toward transnational mutual benefit and pursuit of shared interests, with economic and environmental sustainability being mutually contingent and reinforcing. Focus is placed on bilateral and multilateral partnerships that advance sustainable development across the region and on Indian Ocean islands in particular. Although there is at present a lack of effective assessment of sustainability achievements within the MSR, this policy framework offers an opportunity for working toward sustainable development in a manner that suits diverse island needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Shelving Disputes and Pursuing Joint Development' (SDPJD) has for decades been China's premier policy for resolving territorial disputes, especially those regarding islands. SDPJD is, however, commonly understood to be tripartite policy, in which 'shelving disputes' and 'pursuing joint development' are made conditional upon the principle of 'sovereignty belongs to China'. Although SDPJD aims to peacefully settle China's island territorial disputes in the East China Sea (Diaoyu Islands) and the South China Sea (Spratly Islands), the policy has not been particularly successful in practice. This is in part because, whereas 'shelving disputes' and 'pursuing joint development' are cooperative in nature, 'sovereignty belongs to China' is inherently confrontational. The prominence granted to 'sovereignty belongs to China' is linked to outmoded understanding of the concept of sovereignty and the tendency for Chinese scholars and officials to regard island territorial disputes as the zero-sum games. This paper argues that SDPJD's success is dependent upon separating 'sovereignty belongs to China' from 'shelving disputes' and 'pursuing joint development' and perhaps abandoning the former principle entirely. China should pursue non-confrontation resolution to island territorial pursuits, especially in the contexts of efforts to develop a peaceful and cooperative 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though peripheral to China's policies of global engagement, the small island developing states (SIDS) of the Pacific are becoming an annex to Beijing's project for a 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Traditionally part of the West's exclusive sphere of influence, the Pacific Islands have become a contested space, seeking to benefit from the rivalries between the major powers. Among the foremost of these small island states is Fiji, whose Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has enhanced Fiji's engagement with China. His government has sought to raise Fiji's profile on the international stage, seeking to be a regional power among the small states of the Pacific, and to carry the latter's voice and interests to global fora. Though on significantly different scales, both China and Fiji have embraced a form of 'go global' ambition. This paper examines the concrete and theoretical aspects of China's involvement in Fiji within the BRI and what Beijing and Suva each hope to achieve from this partnership. It will consider potential long-term trends, and whether this initiative may be empowering for Fiji and will discuss whether a SIDS can repurpose to its own advantage a much more powerful state's initiative, despite the latter's relative lack of interest in remote small island countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI), China attaches great importance to tourism diplomacy with the South Pacific Island Countries (SPIC). The study of the relationship between tourism and trade is therefore of great significance for the further development of bilateral political and economic cooperation. This paper selected data on the inbound and outbound tourism, as well as import and export trade, between China and SPIC in the period 1998-2017, and used econometric methods to demonstrate the interconnections. The results show that there is a positive long-term equilibrium relationship between passenger flow and import and export trade of China and SPIC. Under the influence of policies, the interaction between inbound and outbound tourism and import and export trade is characterized by periodic fluctuations. China's outbound tourism to SPIC plays a stronger role to import trade than to export trade. From the analysis of two sections, major events have a moderating effect on the proportion of SPIC tourists and trade dependence on SPIC, while both of the proportion of Chinese tourists and their trade dependence on China are on the rise, and these two have a pulling effect for each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how nationalist narratives from Taiwan grappled with incorporating their 'island frontier' into conceptions of a Chinese unitary state. In the post World War II era, after the Chinese Nationalist government-in-exile re-established itself on the island of Taiwan, US-dominated scholarship strategically framed Taiwan as a convenient substitute for the study of China. This framing went hand in hand with the re-sinicization project on the island vigorously pursued by the Nationalists after they took control over the island after the collapse of the Japanese Empire. The Nationalist agenda emphasized the historical connection between the island and mainland China in order to politically create an imagined, and imagining, national community across the Strait. This paper critically investigates how continent-based nationalist narratives have sought to incorporate offshore islands into their unitary framework. It does so by deploying the concepts of geobody, geomancy, geochronology, geosymmetrical analogies, and regional demarcation to explore the geographical ideas on the construction of the postwar national imaginary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the recent incursion by China (meaning both Beijing and Taipei) into the Caribbean and Pacific. The general contours of Chinese trade and investment are discussed to provide a background context for a more specific exploration of Chinese aid, especially to small islands across the two regions. A review of recent literature primarily from Western sources reveals that the main strategic use of aid by Beijing (People's Republic of China - PRC) has been to support the demands of its growing economy but secondarily to isolate Taiwan (Republic of China - ROC) diplomatically. This conclusion, illustrated with several case vignettes, is based on the focus of Chinese aid on those islands retaining diplomatic links with Taipei as well as on the political manoeuvreing this Cross-Strait rivalry has spawned. The paper further suggests that the types of projects Beijing and Taipei have funded, like those of their Western counterparts before them (Australia, Japan, United States), yield limited long-term island development gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's rapid urbanization has not only resulted in significant economic development but has also introduced various social problems and encouraged human migration. Chinese islands are not immune to these changes. Aspects of island geography and environment mean that island migration has some unique characteristics and underlying drivers. Most recent studies have focused on mainland migration, but few attempts have been made to examine island migration. This paper bridges this gap by focusing on the Zhoushan Archipelago and combines qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the characteristics and causes of migration. The results show that (i) Zhoushan's population is more concentrated in developed towns and larger islands, (ii) inter-island and island-mainland migrations are the two dominant migration types, and (iii) the main drivers for migration are exhaustion of fishery resources and policy implementation by multi-level governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper considers Lieyu island from a relational geography perspective, relative to the islands of Kinmen, Xiamen, and Taiwan. Lieyu retains its natural landscape and military heritage in part due to its remote location and military restrictions relative to nearby Kinmen Island. Local politicians harness Lieyu's archipelagic relationality and sense of underdevelopment relative to other islands in its archipelago to gain financial subsidies for infrastructure development. Such infrastructure projects (including fixed links) endanger Lieyu's sense of islandness and island place. We introduce the term 'compensatory destruction', which involves destroying existing place-based values or attributes in the process of implementing new values in the name of development. Although compensatory destruction is not necessarily bad, care must be taken to ensure that development projects serve the needs of the community as a whole and are adequately assessed and evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hong Kong has numerous outlying islands that are relatively underdeveloped due to isolation from the urban core and are dependent on ferries. Concurrently, the Hong Kong Government has expressed a desire for outlying islands to be places for urban expansion and has proposed building more bridges, tunnels, and reclaimed land. Development of these fixed links may transform the outlying island communities' current ways of life. Ferry operators struggle to maintain efficient operation, fleet investments, improved services, and attract passengers while competing with fixed link transport modes. Urban ferry transport has been resurgent in parts of Europe, North America, and Australia, but not Hong Kong. This paper identifies a new typology of island communities according to connectivity based on available transport links. Using census and ferry statistics, the socioeconomic development of island communities is analysed. The transport problems faced by outlying islands are further conceptualised, and possible scenarios for socially sustainable island futures are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of state size on level of democratization has been a topic of interest to political scientists. However, studies have largely focused on democratic regimes, leaving unexplored the implications of state size for the regime persistence of hybrid regimes. This article compares two Chinese island cities with hybrid regimes through political analysis supplemented by interviews, and argues that a smaller regime is more likely to be authoritarian than a larger one. The case of Macau shows that the very small size of a 'microstate' helps central authorities to exercise political control, stifle political pluralism, and monopolize opinions, all of which strengthen regime persistence. In contrast, the case of Hong Kong shows that a merely 'small state', a larger political entity, creates political polarization, encourages political competition, and diversifies opinions, resulting in a more confrontational state-society relationship. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the effect of state size on regime persistence in hybrid regimes and explaining political development in Macau and Hong Kong from an alternative geopolitical perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special thematic section lays the groundwork for the development of island studies in the Sinophone world as well as introduces international scholars to the region's islands. Papers are included from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the island city of Macau as Europe's last Asian colony and one of China's special administrative regions (SARs) that enjoys a high degree of autonomy. The author traces the root cause of the current social discontent and political dilemma in the face of Macau's post-colonial casino boom and economic miracle. The study finds that Macau's islandness, smallness and geographic location significantly affect the island city's urban political culture. While Macau shares similarities with other island cities across the world, as a Chinese casino city under Portuguese administration for more than 400 years, certain unique features have also developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]