The hypocrisy of China’s Russian border disputes
China demands control of Taiwan, but ignores former territory in Russian hands. Through the eyes of a Taiwanese citizen who lived in Vladivostok, we dig into the tensions between the two counties.
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The war in Ukraine has bound China and Russia closer together.
But just under the surface, a long history of border disputes between the two lies momentarily dormant. With nationalism ascendant in both countries, it’s a potential wedge issue that could push the two nations apart.
Last summer, a video of a stone slab covered in Chinese characters that was discovered by tourists in Vladivostok, Russia, went viral on Chinese social media.
It was evidence that the modern-day city of Vladivostok had been part of Chinese territory up until the mid 1800s, during the Qing dynasty – and revealed the controversial history between the two countries.
The fact that Russia and China have often exchanged territory throughout their histories also highlights the problems with the narrative that Taiwan is part of China’s territory.
“If China's claims on Taiwan are about territorial integrity then it should also take back land from Russia signed over by the last Chinese dynasty in the 19th century,” said Taiwan President Lai Ching-te in an interview with Taiwanese media this September.
In 1860, after the Second Opium War, China and Russia signed the Convention of Peking, which transferred 400,000 square kilometers of Chinese territory to Russia, including Sakhalin and Vladivostok. More recently, Vladivostok was the Russian military port where North Korean soldiers were trained for fighting in Ukraine.
Even today, Chinese people, including migrants living in Taiwan, still call Vladivostok its old name, Hai Shen Wei (海參崴) – and its history has become like a fishbone stuck in their throats.
John Slava Pei is one of the very few Taiwanese people who has lived in Vladivostok, and has seen the stone slab – known as a stele – with his own eyes. John, who even has a Russian name, Слава, lived in the city for several years before returning to Taiwan.
He told the Counteroffensive about the stele’s meaning, and how it came to be in Vladivostok.
In 1899, the Boxer Rebellion began. It was a civilian uprising that had the Qing emperor’s blessing, which aimed to force foreigners out of China. More than ten thousand foreign businessmen, officials, and missionaries were killed.
The bloody revolt ended after a war with the Eight-Nation Alliance, which included Russia. During the fighting, the Russians gained the upper hand, leading the Chinese to commission a tribute in their honour, pledging allegiance.
Modern Russians in Vladivostok seem not to care much about the stele, John Slava Pei said. It has been left for over 120 years without any cover that would shelter it from the sun or rain, which has meant that some of the carved words have been eroded.
“I think the Russians didn’t understand much about what it says, so they just left the stele there,” said John. He then showed me pictures he had taken of other heritage the Chinese had left in Russia, displaying connections that many choose to forget.
“You can tell from these pieces of evidence that this place used to belong to China,” John said. The place has changed, but the Chinese influence is everywhere. “You see the Russian structures, signs, and culture all over Vladivostok but also with some Asian elements.”
When he was living in Russia, John visited Chinese sites near his home. In Ussuriysk, a town near Vladivostok that is similarly close to the Russian border, there is a Chinese Stone Tortoise from the 12th Century sitting in a local park.
In Vladivostok, he also visited the Vladimir K. Arseniev Museum of Far East History to witness the famous Yongning Temple Steles. Chinese officials in the Ming Dynasty built the Yongning Temple Steles in record of an official tour in 1413, showing the territory was under China’s control. The Russian have kept them since they took the land.
The shared history continued into modern times. With the Soviet Union’s support, Mao Zedong declared the formation of the People’s Republic of China on October 1st, 1949. The Soviets confirmed the diplomatic relationship with the CCP the next day, and signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual Assistance in 1950.
Even after that, many in Taiwan and China hoped to take back territory that had been given away to the Russians. John’s father was a Chinese migrant who served with Chiang Kai-Shek‘s nationalist army in the 1950s, and had a strong will to make China “united.”
The patriotic passion was passed on to John. “I remember the first time I went to Vladivostok. I pulled out our national flag and yelled, ‘Return Vladivostok!‘” laughed John with embarrassment. “It was so stupid.”
As the 20th century wore on, relations between China and the Soviet Union soured. The two countries had different visions of Communism, and the Sino-Soviet split formed
In 1969, tensions ultimately turned into a serious border conflict near Damansky (Zhenbao) Island, which petered out before it became full blown war. After Richard Nixon's official visit to China in 1972, China became more closely aligned with the US.
Although the CCP didn’t have the best relationship with the Soviets, they never tried to negotiate the return of Vladivostok, as far the official record shows. It is hard to dispute that Vladivostok belongs to Russia now. And border agreements have been mostly settled.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, China and Russia have tried to show the world that they’ve moved on by using Vladivostok as merely a naval base. Those modern connections are what brought John to the city.
After hosting an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Vladivostok in 2012, Russian President Putin announced a plan to help the city grow by building its first-ever casino. Vladivostok hoped to attract tourists from everywhere, but especially from China.
Before he came to Vladivostok, John was working as a Russian translator.
“I was probably a Russian in my past life,” he quipped. He recalled his second year at university, debating what language to choose as his second major. “I didn’t want to learn popular languages so I thought about choosing Turkish or Korean, but their department was on the fourth floor. I passed the third floor and saw the Russian department. I walked in and registered for the courses.”
In 2016, a shareholder in Vladivostok casino, a Taiwanese company named Firich Enterprises – which built the casino’s slot machines – recruited John. He packed his luggage and moved to Vladivostok right away.
John was in charge of translating and managing tours for guests staying at the casino, be they Russian or Chinese. With his history major background, it was something close to his dream job. Sadly, he couldn’t bear being separated from his family for too long and moved back to Taiwan in 2019, right before Covid.
After John’s return, the Ukraine war began a new phase in Chinese-Russian relations. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, it has increasingly been relying on China’s economic and military support. The current Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited Moscow in August and claimed that “Chinese-Russian relations are at an unprecedentedly high level.”
Due to their support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, China has paved the way for Russian support if they invade Taiwan. In fact, Russia has claimed that Taiwan is part of China multiple times.
But underlying all this are centuries of more complex relations. Politicians from both countries prefer not to mention their historical conflicts, so they ignore the handful of Chinese influencers who have tried to trace the tensions online.
Living in Taiwan now with his family, John understands better than most people that one way to handle divided politics is to brush it under the carpet.
He and his wife avoid discussing political issues because their family supports different political parties in Taiwan.
“There isn’t really much to talk about,” said John. The harmony of the family is more important.
Sometimes it’s better not to touch the trigger that would upset both sides.
NEWS OF THE DAY:
Good morning to readers; Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands. Tim says hi from Taipei, where he’s reporting out a couple stories.
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Russia faces sanctions, a recent currency devaluation, an unclear outlook for oil prices, and the prospect that its largest trading partner, China, will not be able to shake off serious economic problems on its own.
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REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK:
Hi, it’s Elaine here.
It’s been a few weeks since the American election and the world is slowly processing it. While many foreign countries are wary about Trump’s return, Taiwan has conflicted emotions.
In 2020, Taiwan led amongst Asian-Pacific countries in its support for Trump, favoring him with 42 percent support over Biden’s 30 percent. Trump’s anti-China policies are comforting to the Taiwanese who’ve suffered from years of bullying from their neighbour.
As he prepares to return to the White House, Trump hasn’t disappointed the Taiwanese. He named Sen. Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State, a man who China sanctioned.
The video above shows a few Taiwanese restaurants offering discounts for all meals of the day to celebrate Trump’s win. “Trump wins so the price of food supply can drop,” claimed one of the restaurant owners.
Whether the restaurant owner is right and food prices will drop remains to be seen. Taiwan imports most of its grains from the US and South America, and not from Europe. Despite this, Taiwan was affected by the rise in world grain prices thanks to the war in Ukraine. Many hope an end to the war could lower grain prices.
However, according to Statista, the price of wheat, the main grain exported from Ukraine, has already been dropping steadily since last year. In fact, the grain inflation caused by the Ukraine War has had a limited impact on Taiwan – far less than the effects of the pandemic.
But some of Trump’s pronouncements suggest he could have a negative effect on Taiwan’s economy. Last year, Trump made a statement accusing Taiwanese chip companies of stealing business from America. Since then, the media has been speculating that the new TSMC factory in Arizona, which is the biggest Taiwanese chip manufacturing company, won’t get the funding promised by the Biden administration’s Chip Act.
In response, the Taiwanese opposition voices have hit back at Trump. Taiwan Plus, the national Taiwanese channel that broadcasts in English, called the elected president Donald Trump a convicted felon while reporting the US election.
Taiwan Plus’s pronouncements caused controversy, and Minister of Culture Li Yuan was questioned by Congress. He pointed out that it is common for Western media to discuss Trump’s ongoing criminal cases, claiming that “foreign journalists have different points of view than the Taiwanese media, and there is a gap between them”.
But many in Taiwan do not want to see criticism of Trump. One congressman from the Kuomintang party, Lo Chih-Chiang, criticized Taiwan Plus for “holding Taiwan back on diplomacy”.
Throughout all this, the incoming president's stance on the Ukraine War remains a strong factor in how Taiwanese people feel about Trump. Some worry that Taiwan would become a pawn for Trump in international diplomacy, and that he could “sell out” Taiwan as people speculate what he could do to Ukraine.
Some Taiwanese hope that business links are the way to keep good relations with Trump. Many believe the “silicon shield” of TSMC, with its most advanced chip manufacturing method, could protect Taiwan from China’s invasion and retain American support.
But at the same time, TSMC plans to expand its productivity in the US, speculation that the firm might lose its market advantage has been all over the Taiwanese media. Once America is capable of producing its own chips, some fear Taiwan may lose Trump’s interest and support.
DOG OF PEACE:
Today’s dog of peace is this little pup that belongs to John and his wife, who is pictured here meeting a local celebrity Sonia Sui.
I told John the puppy was attracted to her beauty. He told me it was because of the food.
What do you think?
Stay safe out there.
Best,
Elaine
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I did understand that large parts of russia were formally chinese, and vaguely remember some threatening noises from xi jinping about taking land back some years ago. But I also understand that Taiwan is rich and successful so it makes sense china wants it, as they Hong Kong. But Vladivostok? What’s in it for them?
Fascinating history, and bless all families living across political divides.