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Mongolia's from China were estimated at 10,000 in the 1990s; some use Mongolia as a transit point into Russia .Bedeski 1999 HISTORY OF SETTLEMENT Historically, the Gobi served as a barrier to large-scale Chinese settlement in what was, before 1921, called Outer Mongolia ; the unsuitability of most of the territory for Agriculture made settlement less attractive. Some Chinese settlements in Mongolia were founded in 1725, when farmers moved there by decree of the Qing Dynasty to grow food for soldiers fighting the Dzungars . They were established in the Orkhon and Tuul river basins, and in 1762, in the Khovd region. Although the Qing officially closed off Mongolia to Chinese immigrationBatbayar 2006: 216 and occasionally evicted Chinese merchants, Chinese trade firms continually penetrated the country, concentrating mainly in Ikh Khüree , Uliastai , Khovd and Kyakhta . Their trade practices and the lifestyle of the Mongolian nobility lead to an ever-increasing indebtedness of the banners, nobles, and ordinary people, and Chinese businesses became a target of public discontent as early as Chingünjav 's rebellion in 1756. The spill-over from the Dungan Rebellions of the 1870s into Mongolia also saw a number of Chinese businesses in Khovd and Uliastai destroyed. Many of the Chinese merchants lived in Mongolia only seasonally or until they had made enough money to return to China. Others took Mongolian wives, at least for the time of being in Mongolia. In 1906, the Qing Dynasty began to implement policies aimed at a Han-Chinese colonization of Outer Mongolia along the lines of those in Inner Mongolia, but these policies never took full effect because the Dynasty collapsed and Mongolia declared independence in 1912. The total Han Chinese population at that time, mainly consisting of traders and artisans, but also of some colonists, can be estimated to have been at some ten thousand. AFTER MONGOLIA'S INDEPENDENCE Upon Mongolia's declaration of independence, many Chinese became victims of atrocities, particularly in Khovd . However, after 1912, Chinese businesses were able to continue their operations, incl. collection of debts, largely unimpeded. It was only the establishment of communism that meant an end to Chinese trade in Mongolia. Ever-increasing obstacles to commerce were created, and the closure of the border to China for imports in 1928 meant an end for Chinese enterprise in the country. With the PRC development aid projects of the 1950s, another wave of Han Chinese entered Mongolia. However, most of them left the country when relations between Mongolia and China got sour in the mid 1960s. In the early 1980s, Ulan Bator was reported to have a small Chinese community, which published a Chinese-language Newspaper and which looked to the Chinese embassy there for moral support. However, in 1983, Mongolia systematically began expelling some of the remaining 7,000 Chinese contract workers in Mongolia to China. They were accused of "preferring an idle, parasitic way of life" to honest labor on the State Farms . At the same time, ethnic Chinese who had become naturalized citizens were reported to be unaffected. Because the presence and the status of Chinese residents in Mongolia were politically sensitive subjects, Mongolian sources usually avoided mentioning the Chinese at all. After the introduction of democracy, another wave of Chinese immigrants has entered the country. Many of the immigrants work in the construction sector, others run small or medium enterprises. Negative sentiments against Chinese immigrants remain; China is seen as a potential threat to Mongolia's security and cultural identity.''Asian Economic News'' 2007-02-23 SEE ALSO REFERENCES Notes Sources |
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