Chapter 2 Literature Review
2.6 CARICOM and the Importance of Culture
2.6.3 The Diaspora as part of Civil Society
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countries economically. Its presence also reflects a democratic society; portraying an image whereby all are welcomed and celebrated. This image can be developed and promoted for the purpose of boosting regional tourism and other industries.
Scotia Bank Caribbean Festival/ CARIBANATM (CANADA): This festival is
considered the largest Caribbean cultural event in North America. Started in 1967, it was driven by members of the community who, over the years became known as the
CARIBANATM Arts Group. In 2010, CARIBANATM contributed to $438million dollars towards the economy of Toronto (Nangwaya, 2011).
West Indian Day Parade/ Labor Day Parade (NEW YORK): The earliest known hosting of the West Indian Day Parade took place in Brooklyn during the 1940s. From a spectacle drawing in a few thousand people, the event now attracts an audience of nearly 3.5milion. Having the largest West Indian population in the United States, the state of New York has also shared in the profits made by event patrons and sponsors. In 2003,
$86million dollars was made on every 1million attendees, totaling over $300million generated by tourism, local purchases and the use of public transportation (Meschino, 2012).
Events of such magnitude may not be suitable for the diaspora in Taiwan. However, though miniscule in comparison to the Caribbean diaspora in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, the CARICOM diaspora in Taiwan remains relevant and, if maximized through the implementation of pertinent projects and schemes, can generate effective avenues for future investment.
2.6.3 The Diaspora as part of Civil Society
Discourse on civil society, its overall functions and goals have evolved; taking on a broader significance and position globally. Initially considered as being under the
influence of political agendas - as a channel for public and partisan schemas, this concept expanded to include civil society as the “public sphere…[that is] no longer confined to
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the borders of the territorial state” and “in which local identities and affiliations are being transformed by broader and more powerful concerns and a new basis of
solidarity”(Enjolras, 2009, p.77). Diaspora communities, as part of civil society can be agents of unified action as a distinguishing trait for collective, public aims rather than private, individualistic goals. It echoes the creation and fostering of relations with communities within the global sphere.
Lessons can be learned and models can be applied to the context of CARICOM and its member states. Thus, the following chapter analyzes formal and informal diaspora engagement policies and/or institutions with a view of providing recommendations for a possible diaspora initiative in Taiwan as a pilot initiative for the rest of the Asia-Pacific.
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Chapter 3 Case Studies
3.1 Introduction to Case Studies
The purpose of presenting the following supplementary studies is to highlight functions and provide suggestions that would be applicable to a diaspora initiative in Taiwan. It is intended to primarily use small-island states as examples to further justify the reasoning behind the need for SIDS to invest in diaspora engagement strategies. Saint Lucia and Jamaica were chosen for this particular study.
Saint Lucia’s diaspora policy was selected to highlight functions of that policy that can be applied by CARICOM in its approach to the diaspora in Taiwan. Jamaica was selected due to its pioneering diaspora policies, strategies and research especially in the area of diaspora mapping and the establishment of official virtual diaspora platforms and networks.
3.1.1 Brief Overview of Saint Lucia Foreign Policy
Saint Lucia is an island nation in the Caribbean region; one of several protruding volcanic formations that form the archipelago of the Windward Islands. Saint Lucia has an area of 616km2 with a population of nearly 185,000 people of predominantly, African descent.
Once an agriculture-based economy, Saint Lucia has in recent years turned to tourism.
Before it gained its independence on 22 February 1979, Saint Lucia's foreign policy was determined by Great Britain. With external affairs handled entirely by The Crown, capacity in crafting policies was limited. After gaining its independence, Saint Lucia’s foreign policy soon began to focus on its position within organizations like CARICOM, the United Nations and the Commonwealth of Nations. Primary considerations included regional security and trade liberalization with Latin America and the United States and on securing financial and technical assistance for national development.
Saint Lucia’s connection with the Asia-Pacific region began as part of the
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Commonwealth of States (Braveboy-Wagner, 1997). Yet, the country’s link to the region (aside from being a recipient of a small population of East Indian immigrants during indentured labour) soon became mostly defined by its dealings with Taiwan and China.
3.1.2 Saint Lucia-Taiwan Relations
Five years after becoming a sovereign nation, Saint Lucia, under the leadership of the late Sir John George Melvin Compton—Saint Lucia’s first Prime Minister and leader of the United Workers Party - established formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan (Hsiao, 2007).
In 1997, when the then opposition party—The Saint Lucia Labor Party—came to power, ties with Taiwan were severed in favor of China. In 2006, after the UWP returned to Government, diplomatic relations with Taiwan were re-established. However, following another election win in 2011 by the Saint Lucia Labor Party, relations were kept with Taiwan. This decision was upheld despite the party’s ideological affiliation with China.
June 2015 saw the country’s first physical presence in the Asia-Pacific region as it established its diplomatic quarters in Taipei, Taiwan (Hou, 2015).
Saint Lucia, as one of the CARICOM states with allegiances to Taiwan has benefitted from significant educational, cultural, technological and agricultural exchanges. The following table provides a brief scope of some of the projects and schemes that the Government of Taiwan has assisted in since the country’s last general elections in 2011 (see Table 3).
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Table 3: List of Projects and Schemes in Saint Lucia assisted by the Government of Taiwan since 2011.
Year Grant/Project/Scheme Amount Status
2011 (i)Aquaculture Project,
(ii)Fruit and Vegetable Demonstration Rescue Plan (to fight Black Sigatoka disease)
US$2.72million
US$696,111
Ongoing
Ongoing
2013 (i)ICT Technical Cooperation Project (St. Lucia)
2014 (i)St. Jude Hospital Reconstruction
Project, US$8.4 million
Ongoing
2015 (i)Sustainable Energy Programme US$890,000 Ongoing
Source: Table compiled from multiple sources including the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) and several Caribbean News Agencies.
In addition to providing monetary assistance to national development projects, the Government of Taiwan has also assisted in developing the country’s human resource capabilities. This assistance has gone beyond the issuance of scholarship opportunities for Saint Lucian nationals to pursue higher education and technical training in Taiwan.
The International Cooperation and Development Foundation (ICDF), the Taiwan Youth Overseas Service, the Embassy of the Republic of China to Saint Lucia and the Overseas Volunteers Program have all provided local Saint Lucians with opportunities to enhance their skills in agriculture, information technology, health and language learning.
Monetary contributions, though necessary for the timely implementation and completion of projects cannot compare to the value of sharing irrigation technology, technological
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expertise in systems security management and imparting the culture and language of Taiwan through people-to-people exchanges. As part of the Taiwanese diaspora abroad, Taiwanese nationals in CARICOM countries offer yet another example of how
transnational communities can contribute to their host countries.
3.1.3 Saint Lucia’s National Diaspora Policy
In 2014, the Government of Saint Lucia presented the second draft of its National
Diaspora Policy. The goals of the Diaspora Policy revolve around fellowship, cooperation and instilling national pride among Saint Lucians at home and abroad. Yet most dialogue with the Saint Lucian diaspora is done through consulates and diplomatic missions abroad. The policy detailsspecific ways in which the Government of Saint Lucia and the diaspora can collaborate in the public and private sectors. Saint Lucia's diaspora have formed themselves into associations which usually take the form of regional or district fractions as well as general national groups with social, cultural and political functions.
The Union of Saint Lucia Associations (USLOA) was designated as the umbrella unit for the majority of Saint Lucian associations abroad. As of 2014, the USLOA, recognized a total of 15 diaspora organizations abroad; the majority being in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom15.
Policies aimed at encouraging Saint Lucians to return to their countries have been tailored to assist them in easily transitioning to their homeland, with added benefits to prompt them to invest. The government of Saint Lucia has recognized the importance of the country’s consulates and diplomatic missions abroad to the diaspora by enforcing functions such as: (i) serving as a platform to receive and address diaspora issues; (ii) being points of engagement and diaspora mobilization; and (iii) being collection of diaspora demographics and information
Policy recommendations with regards to the diaspora are focused on economic growth,
15 Government of Saint Lucia Diaspora Policy (second draft), 2014, http://saintluciaconsulateny.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/lc_Second-Draft-Diaspora-Policy1.pdf
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poverty reduction, good governance and capacity building. It is meant to be an all-inclusive attempt to engage Saint Lucian nationals abroad while addressing rights and issues faced by the diaspora in their host countries.
The Government of Saint Lucia recognized the need to transform its brain drain into brain gain. Strategies have thus been developed that seek to utilize the intellectual and technical skills of the diaspora. With pertinence to reaching out to the CARICOM diaspora in Taiwan, The Caribbean Community’s initiative could include the following schemes:
“…c. Establish a Diaspora Volunteer Programme that provides an avenue through which they donate their time and expertise towards worthy causes on the island.
h. Ensure that Diaspora individuals and companies will be given due consideration consistent with regional and international obligations i. Facilitate the establishment of structured technical networks to facilitate ongoing technical consultations between Diaspora and resident technicians in fields such as education, health, tourism, agriculture, trade, science and technology.
j. Facilitate the participation of skilled and professional non-resident nationals in capacity building programmes at the national level k. Work with regional bodies, OECS and CARICOM to establish databases with the assistance of key international agencies for the recruitment of qualified members of the Caribbean Diaspora.”16
Saint Lucia’s diaspora policy distinctly states areas where the Government of Saint Lucia has pledged to support the diaspora such as culture, arts and exportation of cultural products, adding that “diaspora communities thrive on the principle of a common identity…[and] collective consciousness.” With regards to the diaspora in Taiwan, the following opportunities hint to where CARICOM as a unit can invest in
16 Government of Saint Lucia Diaspora Policy (second draft), 2014, http://saintluciaconsulateny.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/lc_Second-Draft-Diaspora-Policy1.pdf
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“Encourage residents abroad to take appropriate action to retain and promote aspects of our traditional heritage in the host countries.”17
This can be done through the governing body for ministries of culture throughout CARICOM states and their combined effort to design and produce bilingual or
multilingual promotional material. Translations could be a joint effort between alumni associations of CARICOM students who have studied in Taiwan along with members of the Taiwanese Overseas Volunteers and Youth Ambassadors. Additionally, local
businesses can be pinpointed based on their reputation for producing quality products to help provide items that can be made available for prospective trade shows and other events in Taiwan. A list of trade shows separated by countries in the Asia-Pacific can be compiled and updated with the help of the diaspora in those host countries.
“Encourage more cultural exchanges between schools and cultural groups in Saint Lucia and the diaspora.”
To offset the cost of travel, virtual classrooms serve as ideal channels for facilitating cross-cultural exchanges. Cost would arise depending on the condition of ICT channels and internet hubs. A pen pal system can also be started between schools in Taiwan and those in CARICOM member states. Schools in Taiwan can have the option of practicing English and interacting with students from across the Caribbean Community in a series of virtual classroom interactions.
Additionally, experts in topics such as regional integration, sustainable development, cultural preservation, economic theories, international affairs, health and entrepreneurship can be exchanged. Symposiums and conferences that invite innovative minds in these areas from CARICOM and Taiwan can be hosted. Current regional projects can be presented for discussion on feasible and effective approaches on how they should be
17 Government of Saint Lucia Diaspora Policy (second draft), 2014, http://saintluciaconsulateny.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/lc_Second-Draft-Diaspora-Policy1.pdf
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In the area of capacity building, CARICOM can issue regional seminars uniting returnees from Taiwan around the region to participate in skills transfer projects. For example, CARICOM nationals, who studied in areas such as agronomy, can collectively meet with representatives to offer insight and suggestions for regional policy formation. This can also be applied in the areas of health and technology among others Students who have studied business and trade can be sought after to provide perception of the market environment in Taiwan. As attaches, these students can serve as a bridge connecting potential investors interested in regional and national projects, while giving local
investors much need perspective as to business etiquette and prospective niche markets.
3.2 Jamaica: Mapping and Mobilization
Jamaica is home to an estimated 2.7million people18. Grouped as part of the Greater Antilles, Jamaica is usually included in definitions of the Caribbean that include the British-speaking island nations of the Lesser Antilles due to similar colonial past, language and culture.
3.2.1 Brief Overview of Jamaican Foreign Policy
Until its Independence in 1962 Jamaica’s foreign policy was essentially that of Great Britain. Under the theme of economic development, Jamaica’s foreign policy was characterized by its successful agreements but also by the country’s “inability” to turn these successful foreign policy agreements into “economic growth inducing benefits”.
(Thourburn, Morris, 2014).
Unlike Saint Luca with few diplomatic missions globally, Jamaica has reaped the benefit of international recognition and “high visibility” due to the presence of its embassies and consulates around the world. Since 1962, foreign policy considerations shaped by internal
18 Jamaica Population, http://www.tradingeconomics.com/jamaica/population
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and external factors have resulted in the emergence of several trends detailing the manner in which Jamaica formerly dealt with its regional and extra-regional counterparts. (see Table 4).
Table 4 Jamaica’s Development Ideology
Source: Jamaica’s Foreign Policy: Making the Economic Link (Thorburn, Marie, 2007)
3.2.2 Jamaica-China Relations
Jamaica’s relationship with China is especially visible through the Chinese-Jamaican communities on the island. As part of its socio-ethnic fabric, Jamaican’s of Chinese descent serve as one of the bridges to the Asia-Pacific region. Chinese celebrations have
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been incorporated into Jamaica’s national calendar of events with museums and centers serving the purpose of educating Jamaican nationals about Chinese history, religion, culture, language and the contributions of Chinese-Jamaicans to the island’s national development.
On November 21st 1972, The People’s Republic of China and Jamaica established diplomatic relations which have remained consistent (without sever) for over 40 years.
Trade between the two countries commenced shortly after diplomatic relations were established. Jamaica is China’s largest trading partner in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Jamaica exports commodities of value to China such as bauxite, aluminum and cane sugar, while China exports textile products and light machinery to the island. Trade cooperation and people-to-people exchanges have been instrumental in upholding economic bilateral ties19. Further exchanges have taken place at a government level through visits made by respective government delegations of the two countries.
Exchanges at this level began within 4 years of the formal establishment of diplomatic ties20.
Efforts in the realm of culture, education and sports have also seen steady mutual involvement between China and Jamaica. In 1991, during the visit of Jamaica's Prime Minister Michael Manley to China, the Sino-Jamaican Cultural Agreement was signed.
However, exchanges had already began since 1973. The Embassy of the People’s
Republic of China to Jamaica notes that Chinese photo exhibitions, performance troupes, puppet theatres and sports teams had already come to Jamaica before the 1980s.
Scholarly exchanges also took place between the Social and Economic Institute of the University of the West Indies and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Scholarships that allowed Jamaican students to pursue Chinese language, environmental sciences, construction and international finance (among others) were already being offered since
19 Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to Jamaica, Political Relations, http://jm.china-embassy.org/eng/zygx/zzgx/t211492.htm
20 Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to Jamaica, Economy and Trade, http://jm.china-embassy.org/eng/zygx/jmhz/t211230.htm
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Despite such an extensive political, economic and socio-ethnic history between Chinese and Jamaican nationals, diaspora engagement networks do not recognize the Jamaican population in China alongside those of the United States, Canada and Europe. Still, Jamaica’s efforts at diaspora networking, mapping and diaspora policy formation are worth discussing as it presents a framework that can be expanded regionally to suit the CARICOM-Taiwan context and larger regional proportions.
3.2.3 Jamaica and the Diaspora
Jamaica’s diaspora engagement policies and diaspora research have been considered as models worthy of adoption by other CARICOM states. Migration in Jamaica: A Country Profile is a report detailing migration patterns and characteristics of Jamaica’s inbound and outbound migration from as early as 1970 to as recent as 2010. Prepared in
collaboration with the International Organization of Migration office in Jamaica and the European Union, this document: (i) provides a detailed analysis of migration trends and traits, (ii) links this data analysis to its possible implications on national development (iii) uses this data to justify and improve migration policy frameworks that are of mutual benefits to the diaspora and the homeland22.
The thorough methods of data collection and analysis serve as models that can benefit the Caribbean Community. Data is not restricted to Jamaican migrants but includes an
equally detailed presentation of immigrants who have been in Jamaica for at least 1 year.
Labour migrants, asylum seekers, inbound tourists, foreign-born nationals with Jamaican citizenship, migrants from Commonwealth nations are some of the categories catered for, in addition to information of outbound migration on Jamaican nationals. Gender,
occupation and age have been acquired mostly from statistics bureaus and immigration
21 Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to Jamaica, Culture and Education, http://jm.china-embassy.org/eng/zygx/whjy/t211231.htm
22 Migration in Jamaica: A Country Profile 2010, International Organization on Migration,
https://www.mapjadiaspora.iom.int/sites/all/documents/Migration%20in%20Jamaica%20-%20A%20Country%20Profile%202010.pdf
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42 agencies from countries of destination.
The Mapping Project
The Jamaica Diaspora Mapping Project was an initiative started in 2013 aimed at serving two functions: (i) gathering relative information on the location, interests and skills of the diaspora and (ii) developing government capacities towards effectively engaging the diaspora. Migration records have been compiled since 1970s (Glennie and Chappell,
The Jamaica Diaspora Mapping Project was an initiative started in 2013 aimed at serving two functions: (i) gathering relative information on the location, interests and skills of the diaspora and (ii) developing government capacities towards effectively engaging the diaspora. Migration records have been compiled since 1970s (Glennie and Chappell,