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R 270943Z APR 06
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 013384 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB, R, EAP/CM, EAP/PD, DRL 
STATE PASS USTR 
USDOC FOR 4420/ITA/MAC/MCQUEEN, CELICO, DAS LEVINE 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON KIPR EINV PHUM KPAO PINR AMGT CMGT CH
SUBJECT: The Long March:  Driving Deep into the Hakka and 
Minnan People's Heartland in Guangdong and Fujian Provinces 
 
REF:  A) Guangzhou 11568 and previous, B) Guangzhou 10337 
 
--    C) Guangzhou 5995 and previous,  D) Guangzhou 3992 
 
(U) This document is sensitive but unclassified.  Please 
protect accordingly.  Not for release outside U.S. 
Government Channels.  Not for internet publication. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Continuing its efforts to get 
especially its Entry Level Officers (ELOs) on full two-year 
consular tours out of the office and onto the roads, 
cities, and villages of south China to do policy advocacy 
and public diplomacy work, Consulate Guangzhou embarked on 
its "long march" through the watershed and Hakka heartland 
areas (Heyuan and Meizhou) of northeastern Guangdong, then 
into the Hakka heartland areas (Yongding and Longyan) of 
western Fujian before decamping into the coastal prefecture 
cities of Zhangzhou, Xiamen, and Quanzhou -- the "original 
home town" of the Minnan dialect speakers in Taiwan and 
many parts of Southeast Asia.  Although natural resource- 
constricted, these are heavily human resources rich places, 
with considerable talent and drive.  The "long march" ends 
the Consulate's current cycle of "circuit trips" in our 
district, but it is clear that the transportation 
infrastructure now makes it feasible to enlarge outreach in 
an easier fashion, especially if hubbed out of provincial 
capitals such as Nanning and Fuzhou or major metropolises 
such as Xiamen.  End Summary. 
 
"Journey to the West" Journeys Completed by Long March East 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
¶2.  (SBU) In line with the same operational and management 
philosophy behind Consulate Guangzhou's January 2006 
"Journey to the West" to Guangxi and early March "short 
march" to the so-called "Chao-Shan" areas of eastern 
Guangdong (reftels), we embarked in the latter part of 
March and the first days of April on the "long march" to 
eastern Guangdong by Consulate van.  On the "march," the 
Consulate party rotated in and out three ELOs all on full 
two-year consular tours.  As in the "Journey to the West" 
and the "short march," the ELO leadership development aim 
is to provide opportunities for the consular ELOs to get 
literally ground's eye and face-to-face views of places and 
people within the consular district to improve the 
officers' visa adjudication capabilities, provide them 
policy advocacy and public speaking opportunities, and to 
allow for direct mentoring from the Consul General and the 
Economic/Political Section chief on interviewing and 
interaction techniques, policy advocacy, and public 
speaking presence. 
 
Hakka and Minnan Heartlands 
--------------------------- 
¶3.  (SBU) The areas we traveled to are famous in their own 
right.  Heyuan, meaning "river origin" is precisely that, 
an area of scenic beauty that is literally the main source 
of the East River (the Dongjiang) which provides the 
drinking water for Hong Kong, Dongguan, and Shenzhen 
(septel).  Dominated by the Hakka -- the tough hill people 
who migrated "late" to southern China from the central 
plains a millennium ago, Heyuan is largely undeveloped 
industrially and is very definitely dwarfed in importance 
by its eastern neighbor, Meizhou.  Meizhou is the home of 
Marshal Ye Jianying, and many of Guangdong's most prominent 
officials come from there, including current Governor Huang 
Huahua.  It is the "heartland of the Hakka" -- until one 
crosses the border to Longyan in Fujian Province which 
proclaims itself the "heartland of the Hakka."  Yongding in 
Longyan has perhaps the greatest concentration of well- 
preserved Hakka "pounded earth buildings" (tulou), and this 
tourist potential coupled with the high educational and 
skill levels of the Hakka themselves constitute some of the 
leading factors for economic growth and potential. 
Zhangzhou, to the south of Longyan, is mixed Hakka and 
Minnan dialect speaking and one of the fastest growing 
places in Fujian, drawing from Xiamen and Taiwan 
businessmen.  Xiamen is the most important economic, 
educational, and social center of Fujian even though it is 
not the provincial capital.  Quanzhou, once the most 
important Chinese port in the Maritime Silk Road, is one of 
 
GUANGZHOU 00013384  002 OF 002 
 
 
the great athletic gear manufacturing centers in the world, 
and one of the great intellectual property rights (IPR) 
problem areas to as well. 
 
The Mainland Mirror of Taiwan 
----------------------------- 
¶4.  (SBU) Of great significance is the fact that these are 
the "original home areas" to the vast majority of 
Taiwanese, of which the plurality are Minnan dialect 
speakers, a sizeable minority Hakka speakers, and, of 
course, a diverse "mainlander" population segment. 
Consequently, this is also the area where the "unification 
with the homeland" appeal has its greatest efficacy. 
Zhangzhou, for example, has the third largest (after 
Dongguan and Suzhou) concentration of Taiwan businessmen 
and their families essentially permanently residing on the 
mainland.  On the ground, however, the main local 
governmental interest is still economic growth, and the 
Taiwan factor is more one of getting more investments than 
winning hearts and minds. 
 
Circuits and Hubs 
----------------- 
¶5.  (SBU) The "long march" and the "short march" and 
"Journey to the West" excursions that preceded them 
constitute the most easily executed circuit road trips in 
Guangzhou's Consular District.  Any other long distance 
trips by vehicle would require considerable backtracking 
essentially because of the mountainous terrain to be found 
in various parts of Guangdong, Fujian, and Guangxi.  While 
upgrades to the existing expressway system will make these 
trips more feasible, with fewer stretches of expressways 
that do not yet connect especially across provincial lines, 
the Consulate is well aware that we are getting only a 
fairly superficial view of the destinations visited in 
these and other trips to cities in South China. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) By the Consulate's reckoning, there are 35 
prefectural level cities of over a million people in the 
Consular District (which is composed of Guangdong, Fujian, 
and Hainan Provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous 
Region which together have a population of 200 million). 
These do not include cities of over a million within a 
prefecture, such as Panyu in Guangzhou or Shunde in Foshan, 
albeit the Consulate regularly visits these places.  In the 
last year and a half, the Consulate has had some 
significant official contact with or business in all but 
three of the 35, including one of the closest prefectures 
to Guangzhou (the reputedly beautiful Guilin-like city of 
Zhaoqing). 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The expressway system has focal points from which 
it would be feasible to sustain greater contacts.  Because 
it is Guangxi's capital, Nanning is the focal point of the 
highway system there, and during our "Journey to the West," 
we had to constantly travel back through Nanning to get to 
other destinations.  Fujian's capital of Fuzhou is 
similarly the focal point of the expressway system in that 
province, albeit the hinterland prefectures to the north 
and west of Fuzhou do not need to be visited fairly 
frequently in pursuing USG interests.  Even though it is 
not a capital, Xiamen is well connected to the Hakka and 
Minnan heartlands, and the Shantou and Chaozhou areas to 
the west in Guangdong are within relatively close reach as 
well.  Hainan is an island province with a small population 
as well; it already draws an appropriate number of visits 
from the Consulate.  Meanwhile the intensive transportation 
infrastructure development within the core Pearl River 
Delta makes this "industrial workshop of the world" easily 
covered, although the boom in private automobile ownership 
also makes these roads increasingly more crowded. 
 
Dong