2.1. Study Area
Yunnan Dehong Autonomous Prefecture border shares a boundary with Myanmar (see
Figure 1). The Prefecture boundary accounts for 2.2% of the national land boundary length, and 25% of the China-Burma border line. This border has been peaceful since 1949, which is mostly due to the policy of handling boundary issues that arose between the two countries.
Dehong serves as an important transport link between China and Myanmar. The highway connects Lashio, Mandalay, Bhamo, Myitkyina and other important towns in Myanmar. Although Dehong Prefecture is not in the core of China’s foreign trade today, historically, it was a fort on the ancient Southern Silk Road. With the Burma and Stilwell Roads passing through the area during World War II, it assumed an important role of wartime transport. The oil and gas pipeline recently constructed by China in Burma also passes through this area.
Figure 1.
The location of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture. (a) The location of Yunnan Province in China; (b) The location of Dehong Prefecture in Yunnan Province; (c) The location map of Dehong Prefecture.
Figure 1.
The location of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture. (a) The location of Yunnan Province in China; (b) The location of Dehong Prefecture in Yunnan Province; (c) The location map of Dehong Prefecture.
Dehong is associated with an important cross-border ethnic area; people on both sides of the border communicate closely. 49.7% of the population in Dehong belong to an ethnic minority, including the Dai, Jingpo, Achang, Déang, Lisu and other cross-border ethnic groups. Although Dehong is in a mountainous region, there is no insurmountable natural barrier between China and Myanmar. After the founding of People’s Republic of China, the border was defined. The relationships among ethnic minorities in the border areas between Dehong and Myanmar are cordial; and it is one of China’s most friendly and peaceful border regions. However, because there are languages and kinship ties between people on both sides, and people can move easily, illegal immigration, smuggling, drug trafficking, cross-border crime exist. These pose major problems in border management.
2.2. Practice of Border Management Policyand Changes in Yunnan
China’s border policies include both general and specific policies. The basic policies refer to safety management, public security management and other administrative work developed by the country in border areas. The specific policies refer to the policies and regulations developed according to the specific conditions of different border regions. These generally involve three types of policies: people in transit, trade and border area development. The entry and exit of people involve the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; transnational marriages involve the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and international trade involves the Commerce Department, Customs and the Port Administration. We next discuss the border policies during two periods.
The first period was from 1949 to 1978. Although this stage is lengthy, China’s connection with the outside world was a relatively closed one. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the country set up border management agencies, established organizational forms and tasks, and formulated the basic system and policies of border management. In 1960 the Prime Minister of Myanmar, Ne Win visited China, and signed The Agreement on Border Issues between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Union of Myanmar on 28 January. In the same year, the Prime Minister U Nu and Chief of Staff Ne Win visited China and signed the Border Treaty between the People’s Republic of China and the Union of Myanmar on 1 October. Although signing the treaty could not prevent some of the armed conflict on the border itself, there were also some negative effects. During this period, the major purpose of the border policy between China and Myanmar was basically to maintain the regular operations, entry-exit orderliness, an emergency response for refugees and cross-border management. However, during this period the management of personal enter-exit still remained very weak. Many Chinese could enter northern Burma through this route, and even reach other parts of the world.
The second period was after 1978, when China entered a new era of the reform and opened up to the world with the development of the economy at the center. China continued to improve relations with neighboring countries, and constantly adjusted policies in border areas at national and Dehong levels. The Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy issued by the State in 1984 specifically related to border policies. The main aspects of these policies involve management of population flows, cross-border marriages and border trade. During this period, economic targets were the main objective of border management. For example, the State Council approved Ruili, Wanding and Hekou as Border Economic Cooperation zones in 1992. In May 2011, with the support by the State Council, Malipo (Tianbao), Gengma (Mengding), Tengchong (Houqiao), Menglian (MengAh) and Lushui (Pianma) Border Economic Cooperation Zones were constructed in Yunnan. In 1996, the Yunnan provincial government issued Implementation Measures for Cross-Border Trade and Economic Management in Yunnan, in which the provisions for cross-border trade promoted local economic development. In 2004, the Standing Committee of Yunnan Provincial People’s Congress approved the repeal of the Regulations on Border Trade and Economic Management in Dehong Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province (Trial), because it had conflicts with The Regulations on Border Economic and Trade Management of Yunnan Province. Thus, we can see that global interests and local interests were part of border policies.
2.3. Three Crucial Policies Implemented in Dehong
The first point relates to the policies for the management of people entering and exiting the countries. There are two types of people entering and exiting: residents and non-residents living along the border area. The management of three sections of the China-Burma border policy changed from military guard into administrative management since 1986. In accordance with
The Entry-Exit Administration Law of People’s Republic of China, “foreigners not holding official passports and border passes are prohibited from entering and exiting the border areas of China from Sino-Burma border. If a Chinese border resident wants to enter or leave the country, he should register with the police station at his registered permanent address, and enter from the designated port”. Especially since 1990, the number of people entering China along the Dehong border has surged. Currently 6 million people enter or leave China from Dehong annually [
22]. Some Chinese citizens participated in gambling in Myanmar resulting in some major criminal cases. On 2 November 2005, the business of operating the long-distance certificate application for border tourism from different locations in Dehong and Xishuangbanna was officially stopped, which resulted in significant economic losses for Dehong. When one-day tours to the China-Burma border first opened, the number of tourists from Dehong reached 290,000. After the policy of certificate application for border tourism from within different locations was abolished, the occupancy of hundreds of top class hotels was less than half than before and the business of travel agencies was down nearly 70%. After consultation with the Governments of Myanmar and Vietnam, gambling establishments on the Myanmar border side were demolished and a new travel management approach was implemented. On 27 November 2013, the Exit-Entry Administration of Yunnan Public Security Department was officially approved by the Ministry of Public Security and National Tourism Administration and the Wenshan, Honghe, Xishuangbanna, Baoshan and Dehong prefectures were allowed to handle certificate application for border traveling from different locations. In addition, on 31 December 2013 the People’s Government of Dehong Prefecture promulgated the Interim Measures for the Management of Workers from Outside of Dehong, which requires that in order to work in Dehong, an outside border resident should hold a health certificate for international travel, a registration certificate for foreign workers, a visa, a residence permit and a temporary residence permit for people living outside the boundary of Yunnan.
The second priority related to transnational marriage management policies. As an important part in cross-border exchanges, cross-border marriages have an important impact on social security and stability in border region. On 17 February 1995, the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued regulations that marriage between border resident of the adjoining country and in China must comply with Chinese regulations on marriage, must hold valid travel and identity documents, and must have proof of consent to marriage and a health certificate. In addition, they must apply for a marriage certificate in the Civil Affairs Department of the provincial capital. However, for various reasons, the cross-border marriage population who register their marriages at the provincial capital is small. On 9 September 2010 the Public Security Bureau of Dehong Prefecture and the Bureau of Civil Affairs jointly issued Regulations on Management of Cross-border Marriage Registration Certificate in Dehong (Trial), aiming to change the current state of low registration rate of cross-border marriages in Dehong. These can provide important information for the management of foreign affairs, family planning, labor, health, education and other sectors. Dehong was the first area in China to issue such regulations. According to the information from the Public Security Bureau of Dehong, as of 30 June 2010, the number of Chinese citizens who married with foreigners (primarily Burmese) was 8140, most were de facto marriages, that is, they have no marriage certificates.
There is still a more powerful reason to focus on cross-border trade policies. Since Myanmar and China signed a cross-border trade agreement in 1988, the governments at all levels of Yunnan Province developed appropriate incentive policies to actively develop border trade. Since 1991, the relevant government departments have issued a series of preferential policies to support the opening up and development of border trade in border provinces, especially the port or gateway area which enjoys tax breaks. Beginning in April 1996, and in line with the international environment of China’s foreign trade, relevant border policies were adjusted (No. 2 document of the State Council), and 162 kinds of duty-free concessions of goods were canceled. From 1996 to 1998 import tariffs and import taxes were halved at the statutory rate, and border trade was included in general trade management regulations. When viewed at the national level, these measures regulated the border trade between China and other countries, but constrained the border trade in Dehong [
23]. Subsequently, the State Council issued new provisions for a border tax policy which was implemented until the introduction of a new border tax policy in 2012. The border trade and foreign investment policies stimulated rapid economic development in Yunnan Province. Opening land crossings is an important measure for promoting border trade. The boundary between Yunnan and Myanmar is longer than that Vietnam and Laos. These are also more entry posts with Myanmar than that with Vietnam and Laos [
24].
In summary, the Sino-Burma border policy adjustments made by China in Dehong are based both on local national security and regional development.
Table 1 shows the objective and forms of the border policy.
Table 1.
Purpose and implementation methods of the main border policies in Dehong, Yunnan.
Table 1.
Purpose and implementation methods of the main border policies in Dehong, Yunnan.
Types of Policy | Purposes of Policy | Implementation Forms |
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Entry-exit of personnel | Facilitate contact between borderers | Issue certificates for borderers |
Promote border tourism | Travel permit application from different locations |
Restrict illegal entry-exit (Limits on foreign workers, illegal immigration, etc.) | National Law on Entry-Exit Administration |
Limit illegal residence within the border | Temporary residence permit of borders outside of Yunnan |
Restrict illegal inbound workers | Temporary residence permit and workers’ registration certificate outside the border of Yunnan |
Restrict cross-border gambling | Agreement on dismantling border gambling establishments |
Cross-border marriages | Limit illegal marriage | Entry-Exit Administration Law |
Guarantee de facto marriage | Inbound marriage registration certificate |
Prevent the trafficking of women | Inbound marriage record registration certificate |
Border trade | Promote border trade | Increase the number of frontier crossings |
Prohibit smuggling (drugs and arms) | Customs inspection measures |
Adjust the international trade structure | Adjustment in categories of duty-free goods |