Pacific Studies in China: Policies,Structure and Research

ABSTRACT

The expansion of Chinese influence in the Pacific has aroused growing attention from academics and policymakers. Although China has established six main Pacific research centres, there has been little investigation into what motivates this increasing interest. Building on the author's recent interviews with 39 Chinese mainstream scholars on the subject of Pacific Studies, this paper aims to fill this gap by providing an in-depth analysis of Pacific Studies in China, especially how centres are structured and what motivated their establishment. It is argued that the initiation, structure and scholarly focus of academic research on the Pacific in China has been largely driven by government policies, but also that government interest has fluctuated under President Xi Jinping. Government policy dependence is a double-edged sword that both promotes and hinders Pacific scholarship.     

Government Publishing in the German Pacific 1885–1914

Germany’s colonial experience in the Pacific was both relatively short (1884–1914) and also quite dispersed. In addition to administrative staff and office, a well-functioning colonial administration also required the means to propagate and document its administrative regulations and decisions. This article examines how the administrative offices in German Samoa and German New Guinea went about their official printing needs. In the Samoa case, the Germans ‘inherited’ a well-established printing environment, facilitated by newspapers. Here the official publications of the colonial government were merely additional print-jobs. In German New Guinea, however, no such infrastructure pre-existed and the German administration had to start its own press. Over time, the government gazette added no official sections and, had World War I not intervened, was on track to became a local newspaper.     

Captain Cook upon Changing Seas: Indigenous Voices and Reimagining at the British Museum

ABSTRACT

This article reviews the British Museum exhibition, Reimagining Captain Cook: Pacific Perspectives, 29 November 2018–4 August 2019. It situates the exhibition within a global context of exhibitions held around the 250th anniversary of Cook’s first voyage, and critically considers its attempt to reframe dominant narratives surrounding Cook, his voyages and more broadly the colonization of the Pacific through a focus on Pacific Islander perspectives within a changing museum sector.     

Pacific Collections at the Australian National University Library – Impacts of the Chifley Flood

The Australian National University (ANU) Library is comprised of five specialist branches. ANU Library collections have been developed over the last 50 years by academics and library staff to support world class research and study at ANU. On Sunday 25 February 2018, flooding inundated the ANU Chifley branch of the ANU Library, resulting in damage to collections related to Australian and general History, Philosophy and Religion as well as some relevant microform resources to Pacific research.     

Visionary experience and social protest in Polynesia: A note on ‘Ofa Mele Longosai

The Making of Modern Samoa: Traditional Authority and Colonial Administration in the Modern History of Western Samoa. By Malama Meleisea. Suva, Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, 1987. xiv, 280 pp, illus., notes, bibliog., index.

Oceania: The Native Cultures of Australia and the Pacific Islands. By Douglas L. Oliver. Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 1989. 2 vols, xii, 1275 pp, figs, plates, maps, notes, bibliog., indexes.

The Pacific Islands. 3rd ed. By Douglas L. Oliver. Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 1989. xi, 304 pp, maps, illus., bibliog., index. US$14.95.

Ples Blong Iumi, Solomon Islands: The Past Four Thousand Years. Edited by Hugh Laracy. Suva, Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, 1989. xiv, 176 pp, maps, illus., bibliog., index.

Pacific Prelude: A journey to Samoa and Australasia, 1929. By Margery Perham. Edited and with an introduction by A. H. M. Kirk‐Greene. London, Peter Owen, 1988. 272 pp, appendix, notes, bibliog., index.

Torres Strait Islanders: Custom and Colonialism. By Jeremy Beckett. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1987. xii, 251 pp, plates, maps, bibliog., index. Hardcover, $A45.00. Paper, $A19.35.

Tangan Music. By Richard Moyle. Auckland, Auckland University Press, 1987. xiv, 256 pp, plates, figures, bibliog., index. $NZ75.

Atlas des Iles et Etats du Pacifique Sud. By Benoit Antheaume and Joel Bonnemaison. Montpellier &; Paris, GIP RECLUS/PUBLISUD, 1988. 126 pp.

History's Anthropology: The Death of William Gooch. By Greg Dening. ASAO Special Publications. No. 2. Lanham, University Press of America, 1988. xix + 122 pp, bibliog.     

Harry Holland's ‘Samoan Complex’

ABSTRACT

‘Harry’ Holland, one of the early leaders of the parliamentary Labour Party in New Zealand, was an anomalous figure in early 20th-century New Zealand politics. In addition to a principled adoption of militant socialism, he stood apart from the rest of the House of Representatives due to his pronounced interest in Samoan affairs. This interest was so acute that one of his Labour colleagues, John A. Lee, remarked that he possessed a ‘Samoan complex’. This paper addresses the lack of critical attention paid to this facet of his career. Even though Holland's attitudes towards Samoa were sometimes couched in the same vocabulary as the coloniser, he always stood on the side of the colonised. His endorsement of Indigenous self-government was ahead of its time, and his campaigning played a key role in the Samoan struggle for independence. At a broader level, Holland was possibly the most significant of a cohort of colonial critics who questioned New Zealand's right to govern Pacific Islanders and who sought to rein in New Zealand's more overbearing Pacific Island administrations.     

Addressing seasonal site use through ancient DNA species identification of Pacific salmon at Dionisio Point,Galiano Island,British Columbia

We use ancient DNA analysis to identify Pacific salmon vertebrae to species in order to provide an important line of evidence that helps to establish the timing of seasonal residence at a Pacific Northwest Coast village site. Ancient DNA results from House 2 at Dionisio Point allow a characterization of the salmon fishery. Ten of eleven randomly selected smaller-sized salmon vertebrae were positively identified as sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) while only a single pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) was identified. Of the 322 whole salmon vertebrae identified from House 2 occupation deposits during zooarchaeological analysis, 58 percent measure less than 8.0 mm and 70 percent are less than 8.5 mm in maximum transverse diameter. Together with documented aspects of the material record from Dionisio Point, most notably the vertebrate fauna from House 2, the indication that sockeye was the primary focus of the Dionisio Point salmon fishery suggests the site was inhabited during the spring and summer. This approach to the identification of season-specific site occupation has the potential for application over much of the Northeast Pacific.     

State functioning and state failure in the South Pacific

The South Pacific region features enormous variation in state performance. While Polynesian nations such as Samoa have proved to be relatively successful post-colonial states, Melanesian countries like the Solomon Islands are increasingly categorised as 'weak', 'failing' or 'failed' states. Drawing on a range of comparative studies by economists and political scientists in recent years, this article argues that cross-country variation in ethnic diversity between much of Polynesia and Melanesia is a key factor in explaining differences in state performance across the South Pacific. It shows how different kinds of ethnic structure are associated with specific political and economic outcomes, including variation in political stability, economic development, and internal conflict from country to country. In so doing, it helps explain why some parts of the South Pacific appear to be failing while others are relative success stories - and why this is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.     

21世纪的太平洋——在政治、经济、军事上的重要性评价

太平洋是地球上最大的海洋,在环太平洋沿岸和浩瀚海洋中星罗棋布的岛屿上,分布着40个国家和一些尚未独立的地区,太平洋地区国家陆地面积占世界的46%,人口占世界的40%,但却拥有全球50%以上的GNP和近1/2的世界贸易总额。二次大战以后,太平洋地区的迅速崛起,引起国际舆论的广泛关注。21世纪是太平洋世纪,已日益被国际社会所公认。本文立足于政治军事地理及地缘政治学的基本理论,以21世纪是太平洋世纪的基本结论为出发点,从资源、经济、政治、军事等四个方面对太平洋在21世纪的重要性进行了系统地分析与评价。指出太平洋不仅是人类有待开发的巨大资源宝库和全球经济最富有活力的地区而且是21世纪全球地缘政治中心和地缘战略中心,是世界上各大国和大国集团矛盾的焦点,以及军费增长最快和军备最密集的地区。在今后相当长一段时期内,围绕太平洋地区控制权的争夺竟会日趋激烈。因此21世纪的世界是走向和平还是步入战争,关键取决于环太平洋地区各种战略力量的矛盾与合作。     

The Opening of the Coconut Curtain: Pacific Influence on the World Council of Churches through the Campaign for a Nuclear-Free Pacific, 1961 to 2000

This paper investigates the influence of Pacific Church leaders within the wider forum of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and their promotion of Pacific concerns – primarily the campaign for a nuclear free Pacific and other ecological concerns. The 1975 WCC Assembly held in Nairobi marked the move of the WCC from a predominantly North Atlantic body to a fully global one, with an emphasis on African issues and with Pacific church leaders elected to the WCC Central Committee. From 1975 the Pacific presence increased within the WCC, with a Pacific President from 1991. In an interesting example of the interaction of local and international activism, Pacific church leaders both used links with the ecumenical body to educate themselves on theology, science and campaigning skills, and used the platform of WCC Assemblies to bring their concerns to a worldwide audience.     

Towards Free Trade in the Pacific? The Genesis of the ‘Kava‐Biscuit War’ between Fiji and Vanuatu

Contemporary movements towards trade liberalisation have influenced economic development in Pacific island states, where opportunities for growth have always been restricted. The new free trade, centred on comparative advantage, is especially challenging for countries producing sugar, where diversification is difficult, and for the smallest states where trade options have always been limited. New regional trade agreements have been introduced in the Pacific as a step towards global free trade, but have emphasised trade rivalry and conflict, characterised by the ‘kava‐biscuit war’ between Fiji and Vanuatu, rather than complementary trade and cooperation. Movement towards free trade poses acute problems for island states, yet international agreements have not recognised their particular disadvantages, and continue to stress benefits that are nowhere apparent in the Pacific.     

Gender and candidate selection in a weakly institutionalised party system: the case of Samoa

Women’s political representation has historically been low in Samoa, as in much of the Pacific region. Candidate selection is viewed as a crucial factor in women’s under-representation globally. This article contends that the lack of formalised party selection processes sets Samoa apart from most other countries studied as part of the literature on gender and candidate selection. Yet, as this article shows, pre-selection processes exist at the village level, where a weak level of institutionalisation in the party system gives an inordinate amount of influence to local male gatekeepers. These processes are gendered, but can advantage female candidates that successfully navigate them. The extent to which these pre-election processes affect results depends largely on informal norms of group consensus within communities. This article looks at these processes in the context of the 2016 Samoan election, the first since a constitutional amendment mandating a minimum level of women’s representation in Parliament.     

The Varying Role of Vertebrae in Pacific Fishbone Analysis: Comparing Tropical Versus Temperate Midden Assemblages

Archaeologists working in the tropical Pacific have demonstrated the feasibility and value of including fish vertebrae in midden analyses, and recent New Zealand studies draw similar conclusions. This work provides an illustrated guide to the identification of vertebrae from key New Zealand fish taxa and shows the effects of including vertebrae on a large fishbone assemblage from southern New Zealand. We note major differences between New Zealand and tropical Pacific assemblages resulting from the inclusion of vertebrae. Unlike the Indo‐Pacific taxa of the tropical Pacific, no New Zealand species have been shown to be sensitive to the inclusion of vertebrae. In both places, including vertebrae results in changes in relative abundance and rank order; but in New Zealand, this is a function of processing practices, not fishing behaviours. This work serves to highlight changes in the Polynesian fishing adaption following the colonisation of New Zealand. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unmasking the Essential Realities of COVID-19: The Pasifika Community in the Salt Lake Valley

Pacific Islanders in diaspora are disproportionately contracting COVID-19, experience hospitalization and develop complications. In Utah, Pacific Islanders have the highest contraction rate in the state. Pacific Islanders constitute only 2% of the state's population, but represent 4% of the those infected with COVID-19, begging the question how we might explain the high rates of contraction? As community engaged scholars and practitioners, we offer discussion, insight, and commentary on the COVID-19 pandemic affecting Pacific Islanders in Utah. Grounding this discussion is a history of the Pacific Islander community as an essential workforce that dates back to the 1850s, before statehood. We argue that historical discrimination against these early Pacific Islanders shaped the way this group is racialized as essential laborers today. The authors offer this assertion along with practices and protocols that honour cultural norms of socialization, which we see is the pathway to provide safe measures that are relevant to the Utah Pasifika community.     

From Science to Religion: Justifying French Pacific Voyaging and Expansion in the Period of the Restoration and the July Monarchy

Abstract

What explains the generous state sponsorship of the French Pacific voyages of scientific exploration in the period of the Restoration and the July Monarchy, and what links did these voyages have with the beginnings of a French Pacific empire from 1842? While it is argued that the early voyages owed much to state advancement of science, this goal receded as a reviving France became increasingly imperial minded. In justifying imperial expansion into the Pacific, the French monarchy turned increasingly to another source of national identity and global influence: the activities of French missionaries. Though the promotion of French missions did not constitute a primary goal of French Pacific expeditions, their reports helped to strengthen the alliance between French missions and an increasingly expansionist state. Ironically it was the voyagers’ attention to religion rather than science that was to be more directly linked with the foundations of a French Pacific empire.     

Building Capacity in Pacific Island Heritage Management: Lessons from Those Who Know Best

In recognition of the need to build capacity in heritage place management in the Pacific in 2004, UNESCO funded the development of the CD-ROM training program Conserving Pacific Places. The program attempted to address the lack of sustainable long-term outcomes from previous training programs ‘field-tested’ by Pacific Island heritage managers. This not only provided feedback on modifications to the Australian training model required to make it appropriate and useful in the Pacific Island context but gave voice to shared regional issues and concerns in Pacific Island heritage conservation through the writing of the Smith (2004).     

Animals Old and New. Multiple Perspectives on the Meaning of Beasthood

Caton, Hiram, ed. The Samoa Reader: Anthropologists Take Stock. Lan‐ham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1990. xiii + 351 pp. including references and index. $38.75 cloth, $22.75 paper.

Monberg, Torben. Bellona Island Beliefs and Rituals. Pacific Islands Monograph Series, No. 9. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1991. xix + 449 pp. including appendixes, references, and index. $42.00 cloth.

Lindstrom, Lamont. Knowledge and Power in a South Pacific Society. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990. xvi + 224 pp. including references and index. $29.95 cloth, $16.95 paper.     

The Chinese Pacifics: A Brief Historical Review

ABSTRACT

This survey reviews the growing role and presence of China in the Island Pacific. As the late Professor Ron Crocombe remarked, in the Pacific a major transition is under way from a range of European to Asian influences. Many Western observers have viewed this rise of Asian, and specifically Chinese, influence with alarm, but Crocombe saw it as offering Pacific Islanders new opportunities. This paper first analyses the diversity that can be masked by terms such as ‘China’ and ‘the Pacific’. Then it surveys recent literature on China in the Pacific and scholarship concerned with longer Chinese histories in the region that most recent commentators ignore and which question a number of their assertions. Finally, it suggests possible future directions for historical research on this topic.     

From the Archives: Pacific Research Archives

The Pacific Research Archives (PRA) is one of three national collections held in the archives at the Australian National University (ANU). This paper describes the origins of and relationships among the three core archival collections: the Noel Butlin Archives Centre, the ANU University Archives and the Pacific Research Archives. The entire ANU Archives boasts over 20 kilometres of records, largely held in the ‘Acton Tunnel’, an underground car park redeveloped as a repository. Established in 2007, the Pacific Research Archives includes over 150 collections created by scholars, missionaries, colonial administrators, organisations and individuals who were working, or had interests, in the Pacific Islands in the politico-cultural regions of Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia. This paper traces the origins of the university’s role as a leader in Pacific studies, the context in which the Pacific Research Archives was created in 2007 and its current method of operation in a collaborative and digital world.