The World of the Chinese
China is playing an increasingly important role worldwide. Under President Xi Jinping, substantial investments are being made in communication and cooperation and industrious Chinese people are settling abroad in large numbers. Documentary maker and China expert Ruben Terlou visits them in the new VPRO travel series ‘The World of the Chinese’. Who are they, what do they want to achieve and what impact does their presence have on the local population?
Episodes
Ruben Terlou visits the Solomon Islands, the unknown island state that symbolizes the increasing rivalry between China and the West. China provided a new stadium, many loans and medical aid in exchange for cutting ties with Taiwan. A security treaty allows China to send police officers, resulting in a violent uprising among the local population. Ruben meets tradesmen in Chinatown whose shops were set on fire. And on Malaita, where most of the rioters come from, he meets the man blamed for the riots. Why don't the Solomon Islanders want China?
In poor Laos, China has moved entire villages to build rails for a flashy speed train to the capital Vientiane. Laos is also building countless dams on the Mekong and its tributaries with Chinese money, with the aim of becoming the 'battery' of Southeast Asia and thus lifting itself out of poverty. Ruben visits a small fishing community that takes action on the banks of the Mekong in Thailand. Their way of life has now become almost impossible. In Laos, Ruben boards the new train. In a village that was moved for the train, there is still one old couple living in their old house.
China's global expansion drive is clearly visible in Suriname. From deep in the impenetrable Surinamese jungle to the Brownsberg nature reserve, Ruben meets Chinese shopkeepers, Chinese gold seekers and Chinese gold traders everywhere. Ninety percent of all supermarkets in the capital Paramaribo are owned by Chinese and Suriname has a sky-high debt due to Chinese loans and investments. The Chinese are also very active in the exploitation of Suriname's natural resources, such as gold and wood. With fatal consequences for the indigenous population and nature.
Australia is one of the few Western countries that exports more to China than it imports. Political ally of the West, but economically linked to China. How free is rich Australia really? Ruben meets veterans and asks them that question. He travels along the west coast, where the lobster industry has been hit hard by the trade restrictions that have been in place since corona. And he speaks to elderly Chinese who reflect on the complicated relationship between the two countries.
In a series of meetings with both Chinese and Mongolians, Ruben paints a worrying picture of a country that is said to be democratic. Unfortunately, China's long arm easily reaches across the border. The enormous Mongolia, which has only 3.5 million inhabitants, is wedged between communist giants Russia and China. Major international musical productions must show the world that they are different: independent and democratic. But in the meantime, under pressure from China, there is no place for anti-Chinese voices and refugees from China, fleeing oppression in neighboring Inner Mongolia, are not safe in Mongolia.
