Suspensions

Suspensions

In recent years the Commonwealth has suspended several members "from the Councils of the Commonwealth" for failure to uphold democratic government. Suspended members are not represented at meetings of Commonwealth leaders and ministers, although they remain members of the organisation.
Fiji, which was not a member of the Commonwealth between 1987 and 1997 as a result of a republican coup d'état, was suspended in 2000–2001 after a military coup, as was Pakistan from 1999 until 2004, and again on November 22, 2007 following President Musharraf's implementation of emergency rule. Fiji was suspended once again following the military coup of December 2006.[17]
Nigeria was suspended between 1995 and 1999.
Zimbabwe was suspended in 2002 over concerns with the electoral and land reform policies of Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF government, before withdrawing from the organisation in 2003. The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland came close to being admitted as a full commonwealth member, but prospects for this were suspended, indefinitely, following Southern Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of independence in 1965.
On 12 November 2007, in response to the 2007 Pakistani state of emergency, the Commonwealth gave Pakistan a 10-day deadline to restore its constitution and lift other emergency measures or face suspension from the 53-nation grouping.[18] On 22 November 2007, after the 10-day deadline had expired, Pakistan was suspended from the Commonwealth for violating its key principles, on the grounds of President Musharraf's refusal to give up his role as head of the army, restore an independent judiciary and lift the state of emergency in the country;[19] however, Pakistan termed the suspension 'unreasonable and unjustified'.

Applicants

Applicants

Rwanda (since 2003), Sudan, Algeria, Madagascar and Yemen have applied to join the Commonwealth, and there was some interest expressed by Israel (being formerly administered by the United Kingdom) and the Palestinian National Authority.[14]
Other eligible applicants could come from any of the remaining inhabited British overseas territories, Crown dependencies, Australian external territories and Associated States of New Zealand if any later become fully independent.[15] Many such jurisdictions are already directly represented within the Commonwealth, particularly through the Commonwealth Family.

Non-applicants

Non-applicants

Egypt, Burma and Iraq have never shown an interest in joining the Commonwealth, although they are eligible to do so, having histories of British rule. Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Oman similarly are not members. Other countries with historical links to the United Kingdom or other Commonwealth countries that could theoretically be Commonwealth members, but have shown no indication of a wish to join, include Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The United States declared its independence from Britain in 1776, which is more than 100 years before Lord Rosebery coined the term Commonwealth of Nations. Consequently, it is not a member. In addition to the original Thirteen Colonies, Hawaii (which still retains the Union Jack in its flag), Alaska, Washington state, and Oregon were all under post-1776 exploration by various British captains such as James Cook, and his protégé George Vancouver. The British had settlements in what is now the United States up until the Oregon Treaty of 1846.
France secretly considered membership in the 1950s, under the leadership of Prime Minister Guy Mollet. In the context of nationalisation of the Suez Canal, colonial unrest, and increasing tensions between British-backed Jordan and French-backed Israel, Mollet saw a union between Britain and France as a possible solution. A British Government document of the time reported "That the French would welcome a common citizenship arrangement on the Irish basis". The request was turned down by the British prime minister Anthony Eden, along with a request for Commonwealth membership, and a year later France signed the Treaty of Rome with Germany and the other founding nations of the Common Market, later to become the EU.

Common wealth

Common wealth

The Common wealth of Nations, usually known as the Commonwealth and sometimes as the British Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, most of which are former British colonies (the exceptions being the United Kingdom itself, the United States and Mozambique).
The Commonwealth is an international organisation through which countries with diverse social, political, and economic backgrounds co-operate within a framework of common values and goals, outlined in the Singapore Declaration.[1] These include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism, and world peace.[2]
Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the Commonwealth, recognised by each state, and as such is the symbol of the free association of the organisation's members. This position, however, does not imply political power over Commonwealth member states. In practice, the Queen heads the Commonwealth in a symbolic capacity, and it is the Commonwealth Secretary-General who is the chief executive of the organisation. The Commonwealth is not a political union, and does not allow the United Kingdom to exercise any power over the affairs of the organisation's other members.

Canada

Canada

Canada (IPA: /ˈkænədə/) is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area,[2] and shares land borders with the United States to the south and northwest.
The lands have been inhabited for millennia by various groups of aboriginal peoples, and many areas are still occupied by mainly aboriginal peoples. Some of the eastern coasts were settled and explored by Vikings. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored and later settled the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal, semi-autonomous polity.[3][4][5] This began an accretion of additional provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and culminating in the Canada Act in 1982 which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament.
A federation now comprising ten provinces and three territories, Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. It is a bilingual and multicultural country, with both English and French as official languages at the federal level. Technologically advanced and industrialized, Canada maintains a diversified economy that is heavily reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade—particularly with the United States, with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship.

Malaysia

Malaysia

Malaysia (pronounced /məˈleɪʒə/ or /məˈleɪziə/) is a federation of thirteen states and three federal territories in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of 329,847 km². [1][2] The capital city is Kuala Lumpur while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government.[2] The country is separated into two regions — Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo — by the South China Sea.[2] Malaysia borders Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines.[2] Located near the equator, the weather is characterized by tropical climate.[2] Malaysia is headed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and politically led by a Prime Minister.[3][4] The government is closely modeled after the Westminster parliamentary system.[5]
The country was once colonized by the United Kingdom; British Malaya and Malaysia did not exist as a unified state prior to 1946 and 1963, respectively.[clarify] The Federation of Malaya achieved independence from the United Kingdom on August 31, 1957.[6] Singapore, Sarawak, British North Borneo and the Federation of Malaya federated to form Malaysia on September 16, 1963.[7] The early years of the federation were marred by an armed conflict with Indonesia and the expulsion of Singapore.[8][9] The Southeast Asian nation experienced an economic boom and underwent rapid development during the late 20th century. With a GDP per capita standing at USD13,000, it has, from time to time, been considered a newly industrialized country.[10][11] As one of three countries that control the Strait of Malacca, international trade plays a large role in its economy. [12] At one time, it was the largest producer of tin, rubber and palm oil in the world.[13][14] Manufacturing has a large influence in the country's economy.[15]
The population of Malaysia is approximately 25 million[2]. The Malays forms the majority of the population while there are sizable Chinese and Indian communities. Islam is the largest as well as the official religion of the federation.[2][16] The Malay language is the official language.[17]
Malaysia is the founding member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations and participates in many international organizations such as the United Nations.[18][19] As a former British colony, it is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.[20] It is also a member of the Developing 8 Countries.

Singapore

Singapore

Singapore (Malay: Singapura; Chinese: 新加坡; pinyin: Xīnjiāpō; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர், Ciŋkappūr), officially the Republic of Singapore (Malay: Republik Singapura; simplified Chinese: 新加坡共和国; pinyin: Xīnjiāpō Gònghéguó; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு, Ciŋkappūr Kudiyarasu), is an island nation located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the Equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At 704.0 km² (272 sq mi), it is one of the few remaining city-states in the world and the smallest country in Southeast Asia.
The British East India Company established a trading post on the island in 1819. The main settlement up to that point was a Malay fishing village at the mouth of the Singapore River. Several hundred indigenous Orang Laut people also lived around the coast, rivers and smaller islands. The British used Singapore as a strategic trading post along the spice route.[3] It became one of the most important commercial and military centres of the British Empire. Winston Churchill called it "Britain's greatest defeat" when it was occupied by the Japanese during World War II.[4] Singapore reverted to British rule in 1945. In 1963, it merged with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia. Less than two years later it split from the federation and became an independent republic on 9 August 1965. Singapore joined the United Nations on September 21 that same year.
Since independence, Singapore's standard of living has increased. A state-led industrialization drive, aided by foreign direct investment has created a modern economy based on electronics manufacturing, petrochemicals, tourism and financial services alongside the traditional entrepôt trade. Singapore is the 17th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita.[5] The small nation has a foreign reserve of S$222 billion (US$147 billion).[6]
The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore established the nation's political system as a representative democracy, while the country is recognized as a parliamentary republic.[7] The People's Action Party (PAP) dominates the political process and has won control of Parliament in every election since self-government in 1959.[8]

Fujian

Fujian

Fujian (help·info) (Chinese: 福建; pinyin: Fújiàn; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal map spelling: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan or Taiwanese: Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait. The name Fujian comes from the combination of Fuzhou and Jian'ou, two cities in Fujian. The name was coined during Tang Dynasty.
Most of Fujian is administered by the People's Republic of China. However, the archipelagos of Kinmen (Chinese: 金门; pinyin: Jīnmén) and Matsu (Chinese: 马祖; pinyin: Măzŭ) are under the control of the Republic of China based in Taiwan. Thus, there are two provinces (in the sense of government organizations; Fujian and Fujian) with the same name.

Assimilation

Assimilation

Hakka people in a wedding in East Timor, 2006Overseas Chinese vary widely as to their degree of assimilation, their interactions with the surrounding communities (see Chinatown), and their relationship with China. In Thailand, overseas Chinese have largely intermarried and assimilated with their compatriots. In Myanmar, the Chinese rarely intermarry (even amongst different Chinese linguistic groups), but have largely adopted the Burmese culture whilst maintaining Chinese culture affinities. Indonesia, and Myanmar were among the countries that do not allow birth names to be registered in foreign languages, including Chinese. But since 2003, the Indonesian government has allowed overseas Chinese to use their Chinese name or using their Chinese family name on their birth certificate.
In Vietnam, Chinese names are transliterated naturally into Vietnamese. For example, 胡锦涛 (pinyin: Hú Jǐntāo) would become "Hồ Cẩm Đào". Very often, there is no distinction between Vietnamese and ethnic Chinese. In western countries, the overseas Chinese generally use romanised versions of their Chinese names, and the use of local first names is also common.

Overseas

Overseas

Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China region, which includes territories administered by the rival governments of the People's Republic of China (PRC) (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau) and the Republic of China (ROC) (Taiwan and surrounding islands). In addition, the ROC had granted residents of Hong Kong and Macau "Overseas Chinese Status" prior to their respective handover to Beijing rule, so the definition may be said to loosely extend to them. People of partial Chinese ancestry may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese.
The term Overseas Chinese is ambiguous as to whether it can refer to any of the ethnic groups that live in China (the broadly defined Zhonghua minzu) or whether it refers specifically to the Han Chinese ethnicity, narrowly defined. Korean minorities from China who are living in South Korea today are often included in calculations of overseas Chinese, because these ethnic Koreans also identify themselves as part of the Chinese nation. In Southeast Asia and particularly in Malaysia and Singapore, the state classifies the Peranakan as Chinese despite partial assimilation into Malay culture.
One study on overseas Chinese defines several criteria for identifying non-Han overseas Chinese: there is evidence of descent from groups living within or originating from China, they still retain their culture, self-identify with Chinese culture or acknowledge Chinese origin, and are not indigenous to their current land. Under this definition, minority overseas Chinese number about 7 million, or about 8.4% of the total overseas population.[1]

Chinese Indonesians

Chinese Indonesians

Chinese Indonesians (Mandarin: Yìndùníxīyà Huárén (Traditional: 印度尼西亞華人, Simplified: 印度尼西亚华人） Hakka: Thong ngin, Min: Teng lang, Indonesian: Tionghoa Indonesia, or (derisively) Cina totok) are ethnically Chinese people living in Indonesia, as a result of centuries of overseas Chinese migration.
Chinese Indonesian people are diverse in their origins, timing and circumstances of immigration to Indonesia, and level of ties to China. Many trace their origins to the southern parts of China, such as Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan provinces.
Broadly speaking, there were three waves of immigration of ethnic Chinese to Southeast Asia in general and Indonesia in particular. The first wave was spurred by trading activities dating back to the time of Zheng He's voyage in the early 15th century, the second wave around the time of the Opium War, and the third wave around the first half of the 20th century.
Chinese Indonesians whose ancestors immigrated in the first and second waves, and have thus become creolised or huan-na (in Hokkien) by marriage and assimilation, are called Peranakan Chinese. The more recent Chinese immigrants and those who are still culturally Chinese are called Cina Totok.
Most Chinese who migrated to Indonesia came as traders or labourers. Colonial policies made it difficult for Chinese to acquire land, and the only region with a significant Chinese farmer population was West Kalimantan. (There is also a significant population of Peranakan peasant farmers in the countryside around Jakarta. They are descended from what were probably amongst the earliest Chinese immigrants to Southeast Asia.) The largest populations of Chinese Indonesians today are in the cities of Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Pekan Baru, Semarang, Pontianak, Makassar, Palembang, and Bandung.