A Chinese Ethnographer in DR Congo – Part 2

I embarked on my PhD studies in October 2022. Despite my prior experience in Africa, Congo was still a new country to me. I questioned whether I could identify “at least 20 heterosexual couples […] and a minimum of 20 heterosexual Chinese/Congolese individuals who had intimate relationships with Congolese/Chinese”, as outlined in my research project which I had submitted a few months earlier as part of my fellowship application. I initially intended to include same-sex relationships, but this plan has changed due to the challenges posed by the homophobic environment in both societies. To gain insights into the country and gather information about Chinese-Congolese couples, I mobilised a few strategies remotely, including (1) reaching out to acquaintances (former peers and professors) with living experience in DR Congo or connections matching the searched profile; and (2) using digital platforms (especially WeChat¹ groups and online forum) to identify potential informants.

I reached out online to my peers from my undergraduate French Studies program in China who had worked or were working in Congo as ‘translators’² for Chinese state-owned enterprises. They all confirmed hearing rumours or gossip about such couples, yet none personally knew any. This did not surprise me, as being a ‘translator’ for a Chinese company in Africa typically involves restrictions on freedom of movement outside working hours and limited contact with the outside world due to security concerns. I was pleased to learn these rumours confirming the existence of Chinese-Congolese couples, even though I had no direct contact with them. Through these informal conversations, I also gathered some initial data on the perceptions of other Chinese individuals in Congo towards these ‘mixed’ couples. For instance, my younger schoolmate Tian³, who worked as a ‘translator’ for an infrastructure construction project in Lubumbashi for a year, shared with me:

One of our [low-skilled] workers married a local [college] student. She’s eight years younger than him and studied computer science. The woman’s father seems to be a police officer. The man ‘bought’ his wife from the latter’s family for a bride-price of $1,500. The Chinese man married her because he couldn’t afford to marry a Chinese woman in China with the [poor] condition and [low] income of his family. Everyone found this story unbelievable and wondered how anyone [Chinese] could marry a local woman.

I also had a conversation with Professor Zhang, who was my French-Chinese interpretation instructor. Professor Zhang served at the Chinese embassy in the Republic of Zaire (Congo’s name from 1971 to 1997) during the 1980s. His stories provided me with insights into the second wave of Chinese immigration to Congo under the regime of Mobutu Sésé Seko. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, thousands of Chinese, employed by state-owned enterprises or institutions such as hospitals and universities, were dispatched to Congo to work on cooperative projects funded by Chinese grants. According to Professor Zhang, almost all Chinese in Congo during that period were short-term contract migrants (3-4 years) who would return to China at the conclusion of the project. Consequently, Chinese-Congolese couples were not prevalent at that time. Nevertheless, with the deterioration of political stability, marked by two Congo civil wars since the 1990s, this influx of investment and Chinese labour came to a standstill.

Fortunately, with the assistance of another professor, I established contact with the first couple I would later meet and interview, and the Chinese woman became my ‘gatekeeper’. When I mentioned my plans to work in Africa after graduation in 2016, Professor Wang, also a friend of mine, said, “If you ever go to Congo-Kin[shasa] and need any help, I have a female classmate who married a Congolese, and they are now living in Kinshasa.” Thanks to Professor Wang’s introduction, I connected with Liyuan via WeChat. Since I prefer introducing myself and my research project face-to-face, I didn’t initially disclose my real purpose for going to Congo. Instead, I asked Liyuan for recommendations for my accommodation in Kinshasa.

Additionally, my ‘translator’ friends invited me to join several Congo-based WeChat discussion groups for the Chinese community. Through these groups, I obtained valuable information for my fieldwork from Belgium. These virtual spaces served as primary sites for my initial online participant observations among different groups of Chinese migrants in Congo, including the group for well-educated ‘translators’ and the Chinese ‘marketplace’ group, where individuals share business information and promote their goods or services.

I also searched online for potential Chinese gay informants before my pilot fieldwork. My previous research focused on young Chinese gay migrants in France, drawing on virtual ethnography. Building on this experience, I logged into the most famous Chinese homosocial forum of the 2010s (although much less popular now). This platform allowed users to connect and engage with homoerotic content such as pictures, videos, and novels. Navigating to the Friends Map section, categorized by Chinese cities and provinces, as well as other countries and regions in the world, I found a post updated on June 21, 2022, in the Africa subsection. The post read: “If there are any friends near DRC in Africa, you can connect to chat, eat, travel, and work together!” Connecting with Brother Li via QQ (another Chinese social media platform), I explained my upcoming field trip to Congo. Coincidentally, he was from the same municipality as me, deepening our connections and mutual trust.

Brother Li became another ‘gatekeeper’ for my fieldwork in Haut Katanga and Lualaba. Upon his suggestion, I booked a room in a Chinese restaurant, which includes three meals a day, for my stay in Kinshasa. He also assisted me in finding accommodation in Lubumbashi. Professor O. Kahola Tabu from the University of Lubumbashi offered me invaluable assistance by providing an official invitation, leading to the successful acquisition of a two-month visa for Congo. Only two months after the official start of my PhD studies, I embarked on my pilot fieldwork scheduled between December 2022 and January 2023 in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi.

Endnotes:

1. A widely used Chinese social media application both in China and among its diasporas.
2. Their responsibilities extend beyond the basic translation of documents to include tasks such as purchasing, accounting, management, and human resources. However, both these enterprises and the individuals involved commonly use the term “fayu fanyi” (French translator) to designate those recruited primarily for their linguistic abilities. ‘Translator’ here is a convenient shorthand.
3. All names in this series of blog posts are pseudonyms to preserve the privacy and anonymity of informants.