Where China Meets Southeast Asia : Social and Cultural Change in the Border Regions

This book provides readers with the first survey of social conditions since the opening of the borders between China and mainland Southeast Asia in the early 1990s. There have been radical changes in the economic policies of the various states involved, in particular, China, Vietnam, and Laos. Each chapter provides a close-up survey of a particular area and problem, but cumulatively they provide an invaluable general picture of social and cultural change in the border regions where China meets Southeast Asia.

From China to Facebookistan, the Internet has transformed global commerce. A cyber-law expert argues that we must free Internet trade while simultaneously protecting consumers.

On the ancient Silk Road, treasure-laden caravans made their arduous way through deserts and mountain passes, establishing trade between Asia and the civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean. Today’s electronic Silk Roads ferry information across continents, enabling individuals and corporations anywhere to provide or receive services without obtaining a visa. But the legal infrastructure for such trade is yet rudimentary and uncertain. If an event in cyberspace occurs at once everywhere and nowhere, what law applies? How can consumers be protected when engaging with companies across the world?

In this accessible book, cyber-law expert Anupam Chander provides the first thorough discussion of the law that relates to global Internet commerce. Addressing up-to-the-minute examples, such as Google’s struggles with China, the Pirate Bay’s skirmishes with Hollywood, and the outsourcing of services to India, the author insightfully analyzes the difficulties of regulating Internet trade. Chander then lays out a framework for future policies, showing how countries can dismantle barriers while still protecting consumer interests.

Contents Contributors Introduction: The Disappearing Frontier? 1. Where Nothing Is as It Seems: Between Southeast China and Mainland Southeast Asia in the “Post-Socialist” Era 2. The Southern Chinese Borders in History 3. Ecology Without Borders 4. Negotiating Central, Provincial, and County Policies: 72 Border Trading in South China 5. The Hmong of the Southeast Asia Massif: 98 Their Recent History of Migration 6. Regional Trade in Northwestern Laos: An Initial Assessment of the Economic Quadrangle 7. Lue across Borders: Pilgrimage and the Muang Sing Reliquary in Northern Laos 8. Transformation of Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, PRC 9. The Hell of Good Intentions: Some Preliminary Thoughts on Opium in the Political Ecology of the Trade in Girls and Women 10. Cross-Border Mobility and Social Networks: Akha Caravan Traders 11. Cross-Border Links between Muslims in Yunnan and Northern Thailand: Identity and Economic Networks 12. Trade Activities of the Hoa along the Sino-Vietnamese Border 13. Cross-Border Categories: Ethnic Chinese and the Sino-Vietnamese Border at Mong Cai 14. Regional Development and Cross-Border Cultural Linkage: The Case of a Vietnamese Community in Guangxi, China 15. Women and Social Change along the Vietnam-Guangxi Border Index "This book provides readers with the first survey of social conditions since the opening of the borders between China and mainland Southeast Asia in the early 1990s. There have been radical changes in the economic policies of the various states involved, in particular, China, Vietnam, and Laos. Each chapter provides a close-up survey of a particular area and problem, but cumulatively they provide an invaluable general picture of social and cultural change in the border regions."--Provided by publisher