Das Programm „Lebendige Dörfer“: Eine Reaktion auf die Salami-Methode der Volksbefreiungsarmee in den Xiaokang-Dörfern

SS: On 12 July 2024, the Rural Development and Migration Prevention Commission of India’s Uttarakhand State reported that 11 villages along the India-Tibet border in the Chamoli, Pithoragarh, and Uttarkashi districts had been abandoned. The Commission’s survey of 137 villages in the previous year revealed that three villages in Chamoli, six in Pithoragarh, and two in Uttarkashi were deserted. This finding underscores the significance of the Indian government’s Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP), launched in July 2023, aimed at preventing such occurrences. The VVP seeks to provide essential services, including social goods, livelihood opportunities, healthcare, infrastructure, and communication facilities to encourage the repopulation of these border villages. This initiative is particularly crucial in light of China’s establishment of Xiaokang villages near the Indian border. The settlement of entirely new villages close to the border, often within contested territory, surpasses the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) previous forward patrolling and road-building activities. This action violates multiple treaties that China has signed with its neighbours, disregards decades of border negotiations, and mirrors the tactics China used in the South China Sea to seize smaller islands and construct new ones.

Xiaokang (小康) is an ancient Chinese social concept first mentioned in the “Shi Jing” (Book of Poems) nearly 2,000 years ago. It signifies China’s national aspiration to develop into a society characterised by “modest happiness and comfort” for the common people. Over the years, the term evolved, and China’s paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, described Xiaokang as a stage of economic development marked by a per capita income of US$ 800. China achieved this target in 1997, and by 2024, its per capita income has risen to approximately US$ 13,136. In 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping invoked the Xiaokang concept to address poverty and measure the quality of life in villages, ensuring that no one would be left behind in the pursuit of development. He emphasised the importance of health, infrastructure, and cultural and environmental progress, alongside income equality, to signify the attainment of a modestly prosperous village. This policy shift led to increased efforts to develop border villages, aiming to enhance the living standards of border populations and improve border management and security.