Fujian

Fujian
Population	38,565,000
Leading Party	Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party
National People's Congress	Djoessoef Al-Bida'an (Ind.) – 34; Ng Xiao-Hong (CPWDP) – 28

Fujian (Chinese: 福建), alternatively romanized as Fukien or Hokkien, is a province on the southeastern coast of China. It borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou, while its largest city by population is Quanzhou, both located near the coast of the Taiwan Strait in the east of the province.

With a population of nearly 39 million, Fujian ranks 17th in population among Chinese provinces.

While its population is chiefly of ethnic Han Chinese origin, it is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse provinces in China. Historically the dialects of the language group Min Chinese were most commonly spoken within the province, including the Hokkien and Fuzhou dialects. Hakka Chinese is also spoken. Min dialects and Hakka Chinese are unintelligible with Mandarin Chinese. Due to emigration, a sizable amount of the ethnic Chinese populations of Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines speak Southern Min (or Hokkien).

History

Fujian has a rich history of revolutionary, left-wing rebellion.

In November 1931, in the early stages of the Chinese Civil War, Chinese communists led by Mao Zedong and Zhu De formed the Chinese Soviet Republic. Its largest base of power was the Jiangxi–Fujian Soviet (officially named the Central Revolutionary Base), which occupied the mountainous region spanning Fujian and neighboring Jiangzi.

Ongoing rebellion in Fujian led Chiang Kai-shek, head of the National Government of the Republic of China, to deploy the 19th Route Army to suppress resistance in November 1933. His plan backfired, and upon arrival the leaders of the Army negotiated peace with the communists, broke with the National Government, and formed the leftist Productive People's Party. Together with the Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party (itself originating from an alliance of communists and leftist Nationalists a few years prior), they established the Fujian People's Government, consolidating power throughout the remaining area of the province not already under Chinese Soviet control. This would prove to be short-lived, as reinforcements from the National Army, supported by air raids, drove out the Soviet Republic and People's Government throughout 1934, precipitating the infamous Long March.

The flag of the Fujian People's Government is still used today as the official emblem of the CPWDP (with whom the Productive People's Party merged in 1934).

The Communists would of course retake Fujian at the conclusion of the Civil War with the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

In the Mao-era of the People's Republic of China, the pace of Fujian's economic development was relatively slow compared to the rest of China. This was because, given its proximity to Taiwan, the PRC government anticipated Fujian being the frontline of a potential war between the two countries. As a result, Fujian maintained a very stable ecosystem, and today, the province has the highest forest coverage rate and the most diverse biosphere in China.

Economy

Since 1978, Fujian has seen steady expansion of production in a wide variety of industries, including tea products, clothing, sporting goods, and electronics.

Given its location on the Pacific coast, as well as its many rivers, seafood is another important product, with shellfish production especially prominent.

The province lacks much land suitable for large-scale agricultural production, given its mountainous terrain and extensive forests. Nevertheless, it leads the country in longan production, and is also a major producer of lychees and tea. Rice, sweet potatoes, wheat, and barley are also cultivated to a modest extent.