Bonn Oriental and Asian Studies insights

Abstract

The first article by Cornelia Bogen explores how a media campaign by the Chinese Communist Party affected perceptions of the ir handling of COVID 19 by the local population. The article further interro gates the values that under pin the nationalism distinct to China and demonstrates how these values were manipulated by the Chinese Communist Party to evade criticism in their handling of the pandemic. In the second article by Ngọc Hân Lê we travel a short distance to Vietnam to examine a collection of material representing the Han Viet class, a social class that existed during a time in Vietnam’s history that has been little explored so far. The artifacts under scrutiny were unearthed during excavations that took place in the 1930s, when Vietnam was under Chinese occupation. The article examines the historical background in which the se expeditions , which were conducted by a Swedish took place, offering a glimpse into how colonial archaeology functioned at the time. The issue’s first essay submission by Zuhal Yesilyurt Gündüz takes us to Turkiye, where we explore the nature of gold extractivism and its impact on the human and non-human populations of the country. In addition to emphasizing its environmental impact, this essay connects the neoliberal policies of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to its endeavors for continual capital growth, which is examined through the lens of gold extractivism. Finally, this issue of the journal features Sümeyra Yakar’s book review on <em>Islam and Muslim Resistance to Modernity in Turkey</em> by Gökhan Bacik.