Republic of the Philippines

University of Eastern Philippines

University Town, Northern Samar

GRADUATE STUDIES

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CHINA

AND EAST TIMOR

SUBMITTED BY:
ROSE AURA O. HERIALES
MED SS- 2

SUBMITTED TO:
ETHEL B. CUYCO
Subject Professor

S.Y 2020-2021
 CHINA AND TIMOR LESTE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

INTRODUCTION
The well-established relationship between China and Timor-Leste has
a long history. China sided with the Timorese people with sympathy and
support during their struggle for national independence and first country to
established diplomatic ties with Timor-Leste after its founding. The past
eight years have witnessed a closer bilateral relationship between China and
East Timor in all fields, evidenced by China's assistance for East Timor's
nation building and social developmental. Good cooperation between the two
countries can be found in fields of infrastructure, agriculture, public health,
education, capacity building, social solidarity and public security. As a
matter of fact, China is helping Timor to the best of their capability and
build the Foreign Ministry Office Building and the Presidential Palace there
wherein over 700 Timorese civil servants and technical personnel have
received occasional training in China so far, and up to 21 students enjoyed
the Chinese Government Scholarship. As for public health, has four medical
teams dispatched from China have successively offered treatment to local
patients for more than 150,000 person-times. Over 320 Chinese police
officers, men and women alike, have served in 15 batches under the UN
Peacekeeping Mission. The Chinese Government also provided Timor-Leste
with a number of material supplies, including food, edible oil, farm
machinery, seeds, pesticides, fishing gears, medicine, mosquito nets,
wheelchairs, sporting goods, police uniforms, communication equipment
The year 2010 is a fruitful year for China and East Timor. H.E.
President Horta hosted the National Pavilion Day for Timor-Leste in
Shanghai Expo, the first time ever for Timor-Leste to be represented in the
World Expo as an independent nation, and to show its socio-economic
progress, beautiful landscape and unique cultural heritage.
By unswervingly pursuing the foreign policy of "building a good
neighbor relationship and partnership with all neighboring
countries", China develops friendship and partnership with its neighboring
countries in Asia, Timor-Leste included. Both as developing countries in
Asian region and with similar experience in history, China and Timor-Leste
had long been sympathizing with, supporting, respecting and trusting each
other throughout the national liberation, nation building and social
development. At the same time, enjoy good communication and coordination
in international and regional affairs. China is grateful for the valuable
support of the Timorese government over the years towards issues
of China's core interests. China, as always share with Timorese people the
opportunities brought by China's economic development, and do whatever
in their capability to help Timor enhance its ability of independent and
sustainable development. Stronger cooperation and mutual benefit are
conducive to their common development, not only benefiting the two peoples
but also contributing to peace, stability and prosperity of Asia and the world
at large.
HISTORY
China and Timor-Leste shared an important history. The friendly
exchanges between the two countries date back to ancient times. As
recorded, the first group of Chinese set their feet on Timorese soil in 1514.
Over the long years, more and more Chinese people settled down or started
doing business in Timor-Leste, living amicably with the Timorese people.
Before European colonialism, Timor was included in
Indonesian/Malaysian, Chinese, and Indian trading networks, and in the
14th century was an exporter of aromatic sandalwood, slaves, honey, and
wax. It was the relative abundance of sandalwood on Timor that attracted
European explorers to the island in the early 16th century. Sandalwood
played a critical role in attracting foreign traders and colonizers alike to
the island. Nearly a century later, the Portuguese would follow the
scent of sandalwood across the ocean, which would eventually lead to
over four hundred years of Portuguese colonization of sandalwood-rich
East Timor. On November 1975, Independence of East Timor was
declared. However, few months after, Indonesia declared the newly freed
country its 27th province, marking the start of a brutal period of occupation
that lasted until 2002. In May 2002, after 450 years of foreign occupation,
East Timor became the 21st century’s first new nation.
China is home to the oldest of the major civilizations. China was ruled
by various dynasties for much of its history. The fist dynasty believed to be
the Xia dynasty which formed somewhere around 2250 B.C. The Shang or
Yin dynasty gained power around the 14 th century B.C. The Han Dynasty
which lasted over 400 years from 206 B.C to 220 A.D, was one of the most
influential in China’s history. The Qing dynasty in 1644, during the Qing
dynasty, Western influences European trade and a number of wars all
served to weaken China. In 1900’s, revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen created
the Chinese Nationalist Peoples Party, also called the Koumintang. After
Sun-Yatsen dies, Chiang Kai-shek became a leader, however, Chiang Kai-
shek turned on the leaders of CCP. Mao Zedong took over the communists
and led the CCP on a famous long march to a distant area in China. There,
they gained the strength to force Chiang Kai-shek out of China in 1949 and
Mao Zedong established The People’s Republic of China. However, Mao
Zedong embarked on a new plan called the Great Leap Forward and
unfortunately, this plan backfired and China experienced a terrible famine
including much starvation and death. Over the next several decades China
would struggle but slowly recovered and became a major world power again.
Both countries struggled with political reforms and economic
development. Compared to East Timor, after several decades of struggle,
China slowly embraced political reforms under one party political system
that led to the rapid growth in their economies such as human capital
accumulation, physical capital accumulation, technology improvement,
foreign trade and foreign trade investment. Since then, China has been the
world’s fastest-growing economy. On the contrary, the political instability of
East Timor, hinders to the economic growth of the country. Notwithstanding
the gains made since independence, political stability remains at the core of
many Timor-Leste’s biggest challenges. How to address this challenge in an
appropriate and sustainable way, will be one of the most important factors
in achieving real progress in East Timor.

GEOGRAPHY
China and East Timor have some similarities in terms of geography of
the two countries.
China Stretching 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) from east to west and
3,400 miles (5,500 kilometers) from north to south, China is a large country
with widely varying landscapes.  Its territory includes mountains, high
plateaus, sandy deserts, and dense forests. One-third of China's land area is
made up of mountains. The tallest mountain on Earth, Mount Everest, sits
on the border between China and Nepal. China has thousands of rivers. The
Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers are the most important. At 3,915 miles (6,300
kilometers) long, the Yangtze is the world's third largest river.
The geography of East Timor exhibits a mountainous terrain on the
eastern half of the island of Timor in Southeast Asia (or Oceania depending
on definitions). East Timor includes the eastern half of Timor, the Ocussi-
Ambeno region on the northwest portion of the island of Timor, and the
islands of Atauro and Jaco. The country is located northwest of Australia in
the Lesser Sunda Islands at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago.
The island of Timor is part of the Malay Archipelago and is the largest and
easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East Timor is the only Asian
nation to lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere. The Loes River is the
longest with a length of 80 km (50 mi). This river system covers an area of
2,184 km2 (843 sq. mi). It is a small country with a land size of
14,919 km2 (5,760 sq. mi).
Obviously, China is bigger than East Timor when it comes to land
area. and China is more populated compared to East Timor. Also, China has
a thousand of rivers in which the coastline has been used extensively for
export-oriented trade, causing the coastal provinces to become the leading
economic center. However, both countries are similar in the sense that their
land areas are both arable to permanent crops and temporary crops that
may help to feed its people.

CLIMATE
Owing to tremendous differences in latitude, longitude, and altitude,
the climate of China is extremely diverse, ranging from tropical in the far
south to subarctic in the far north and alpine in the higher elevations of the
Tibetan Plateau. Monsoon winds, caused by differences in the heat-
absorbing capacity of the continent and the ocean, dominate the climate.
During the summer, the East Asian Monsoon carries warm and moist air
from the south and delivers the vast majority of the annual precipitation in
much of the country. They are the location of most of China's agricultural
output and human population.
East Timor lies between the tropics. Temperatures are generally warm,
although it is cooler in highland areas. Many sea and jungle products are
unique to the region, and were therefore much desired by international
traders in early times. The entire region is affected by the monsoon winds,
which blow regularly from the northwest and then reverse to blow from the
southeast. These wind systems bring fairly predictable rainy seasons, and
before steamships were invented, these wind systems also enabled traders
from outside the region to arrive and leave at regular intervals. Because of
this reliable wind pattern.
The climate of China and East Timor are different. East Timor being
part of Southeast Asia, is hot and humid with distinct rainy and dry seasons
compared to China. However, China’s climate is characterized by the
enormous size of the country. In the North, the climate is temperate with
summer temperatures, around 25c and very cold winters. In the South, it is
subtropical with very hot summers and mild winters.

The comparative analysis of China and Timor-Leste is discussed

within the six dimensions of our national security. These are the
Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, Technology, Environmental and
Military- or better known under the acronym PESTEM.

POLITICAL DIMENSION
LOCAL
The People’s Republic of China has been ruled by the Communist
Party since The President serves as a ceremonial head of state for a 5-year
term and has little power within the government. The Premier of China is
the head of government, presiding over the State Council composed of
four vice premiers and the heads of ministries and commissions.
The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China holds ultimate
power and authority over state and government. The National People’s
Congress, exercises the legislative power in China. It is composed of 2,987
members This body plays a role in debating policy proposals and mediating
discussions. Representatives are elected for 5-year terms and meet once a
year. Amendments to the constitution are considered after proposed by at
least 20% of its members and are approved by a two-thirds vote. The
Congress also writes and amends laws concerning civil affairs, state issues,
and criminal acts. The Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s
Procuratorate are part of the judicial branch of the Chinese government. The
Supreme Court is the highest in the land, and the National People’s
Congress appoints its 340 judges. The head of The Central Military
Commission is the Chairman, who acts as the Commander-in-Chief of the
military. consists of 11 members and is responsible for controlling the
People’s Liberation Army, the People’s Liberation Army militia, and the
People’s Armed Police
The East Timorese constitution was modelled on that of Portugal. It
takes place in a framework of a unitary semi-presidential representative
democratic republic. The head of state of the East Timorese republic is the
President, who is directly elected by popular vote for a five-year term, and
whose executive powers are somewhat limited by the constitution. The
president usually appoints as the prime minister, the leader of the majority
party or majority coalition. As head of government the prime minister
presides over the cabinet. The unicameral Timorese National Parliament
(Parlamento Nacional) exercises the legislative power and 65 members
elected by proportional representation for a five-year term. The number of
seats can vary from a minimum of 52 to a maximum of 65. The Supreme
Court of Justice has one judge appointed by the National Parliament and
the rest appointed by the Superior Council for the Judiciary.
The political structures of both countries differ widely. The
Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China provides that state power
belongs to the people. The National Peoples Congress and local people’s
congresses at all levels are organs representing the people in exercising state
power. The people’s congresses have four main functions and powers:
legislation, supervision, appointment and removal of officials, and making
decisions on major issues. These functions are a major reflection of the way
the Chinese people exercise their power as masters of the state through the
people’s congress system. The people’s congress system accords with the
national conditions of China. It not only ensures that people exercise state
power in a concerted way and gives full play to their enthusiasm and
initiative as masters of the state, but also creates favorable conditions for
state organs to share the work and help one another in organizing the
socialist construction. On the contrary, the Democratic Republic of Timor-
Leste has a unicameral national parliament and the Constituent Assembly
declared itself the first national parliament of the new state. The parliament
drafted a constitution for Timor-Leste provided for parliamentary
government with a largely symbolic, popularly elected President. However,
controversy surrounds that the President of using the power too often and
too broadly without considering the advice of the rest of government. The
Constitution guarantees every citizen the power to petition the courts
directly on constitutional grounds, but this article is being ignored in
practice and the courts refuse to accept public complaints without
considering the actual conditions of Timor-Leste. As a result, the future
marked uncertainty on many levels and many questions remain unanswered
which led to not getting the peace and stability that the Timorese people
have hoped for and considered world’s poorest economies in less than two
decades.

INTERNATIONAL

Foreign Relations
East Timor is a full member state of the Community of Portuguese
Language Countries (CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth,
an international organization and political association of Lusophone nations
across four continents. In each of those nations, Portuguese is an official
language. East Timor sought membership in the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2007, and a formal application was submitted in
March 2011. Since the discovery of petroleum in the Timor Sea in the
1970s, there have been disputes surrounding the rights to ownership and
exploitation of the resources situated in a part of the Timor Sea known as
the Timor Gap, which is the area of the Timor Sea which lies outside the
territorial boundaries of the nations to the north and south of the Timor
Sea. These disagreements initially involved Australia and Indonesia,
although a resolution was eventually reached in the form of the Timor Gap
Treaty. After the declaration of East Timor's nationhood in 1999, the terms
of the Timor Gap Treaty were abandoned and negotiations commenced
between Australia and East Timor, culminating in the Timor Sea Treaty.
Australia's territorial claim extended to the bathymetric axis (the line of
greatest sea-bed depth) at the Timor Trough. It overlapped East Timor's own
territorial claim, which followed the former colonial power Portugal and
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in claiming that the
dividing line should be midway between the two countries. It was revealed in
2013 that the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) planted listening
devices to listen to the East Timorese government during negotiations over
the Greater Sunrise oil and gas fields. This is known as the Australia–East
Timor spying scandal.
The foreign relations of the People's Republic of China (PRC),
commonly known to most states as China, guides the way in
which China interacts with foreign nations and expresses its political and
economic weaknesses and values. As a great power and emerging
superpower, China's foreign policy and strategic thinking are highly
influential. China officially claims it unswervingly pursues an independent
foreign policy of peace. The fundamental goals of this policy are to preserve
China's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, create a
favorable international environment for China's reform and opening up and
modernization of construction, and to maintain world peace and propel
common development. An example of a foreign policy decision guided by
"sovereignty and territorial integrity" is not engaging in diplomatic
relations with any country that recognizes the Republic of China (Taiwan),
which the PRC does not recognize as a separate nation. China is a member
of many international organizations, holding key positions such as a
permanent membership on the United Nations Security Council. In the early
1970s, the PRC replaced the ROC as the recognized government of "China"
in the UN following Resolution 2758. As a nuclear power, China signed
the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in the United
Nations. China's foreign policy today is summarized as strategic relations
with neighboring countries and the world's superpowers to strive for China's
national interest, and to create a favorable environment for China's domestic
development for perpetual competition in the world in the long-run.
China and Timor-Leste, relationship and partnership with all
neighboring countries to protect their political stability and economic
development. However, these two countries are different when it comes to
their foreign policy objectives. China, even after attaining highest level of
development has to make some dependency on other nations to fulfill their
own interests and that is to preserve its possessions such as extension of
territory or a membership of some world organization. China wanted to
maintain its subsequent economic growth. In fact, China maintained
mutually beneficial relations in various fields and at different levels with
major countries in the world such as Europe, Japan, Russia and U.S. The
healthy relations between China and these countries have continued their
growth.
On the contrary, East Timor being the newest emerging nation and is
heavily dependent on foreign aid, aims of pursuing foreign relations to
negotiate and propose the establishment of international treaties and
agreements, promote Timor-Leste’s interests overseas and ensure the
protection of Timorese citizens abroad, to ensure the representation of
Timor-Leste in other States and International organizations and manage the
network of embassies, missions, permanent and temporary representations
and consular offices, according to the priorities of external policy. So, its
foreign policy places high priority on its relationships with Indonesia;
neighbors such as Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore; and friendly
countries and donors such as the United States, China, the European
Union, Japan, and Portugal. East Timor believes that having a good
relationship with these countries will be a great help in different levels.

II. ECONOMIC DIMENSION

In terms of their economic aspects, both countries shared an
important. In fact, China still continue providing funds and aids for Timor-
Leste’s economic development.
Timor-Leste is one of the poorest countries in the world with
approximately half of Timorese living on a dollar a day or less. Generating
employment is one of the government’s most pressing challenges. Nearly
80% of the population lives from subsistence farming. Unemployment and
underemployment combined are as high as 70%, with a 20% unemployment
in urban areas and a 40% rate among youth. The government estimates that
around 40% of the population lives below the poverty line, and per capita
income is estimated at $542 per annum. Timor-Leste is one of the most
energy-dependent economies in the world, based on revenues from
development of oil and gas in the Timor Sea. It has developed some small-
scale agricultural exports, particularly coffee, and tourist arrivals have risen
rapidly, though still only reached 27,000 in 2009. The economy is almost
exclusively dependent on government spending and foreign donor
contributions. The largest oil and gas field is known as Greater Sunrise.
While the Greater Sunrise area has yet to achieve development leading to
full production, Timor-Leste has built up considerable reserve funds from
the smaller Bayu-Undan oil and gas field. These reserves are thought to be
worth approximately $6 billion.
Historically, China was one of the world's foremost economic
powers for most of the two millennia from the 1st until the 19th century.
China's GDP in 1820 was six times as large as Britain's, the largest economy
in Europe and almost 20 times the GDP of the nascent United States. China
is the world's largest manufacturing economy and exporter of goods.  It is
also the world's fastest-growing consumer market and second-largest
importer of goods. China is a net importer of services products. It is the
largest trading nation in the world and plays a prominent role
in international trade and has increasingly engaged in trade organizations
and treaties in recent years. As China's economic importance has grown, so
has attention to the structure and health of the economy. China's largest
trading partners are the US, EU, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, India,
Taiwan, Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brazil.
China and Timor-Leste have a wide difference in terms of their
economic aspects. Chinese economy has been the world’s fastest-growing
economy. Compare to East Timor, China is the largest trading nation in the
world and plays a prominent role in international trade and has increasingly
engaged in trade organizations and treaties throughout the years. The
international economy trade, foreign investors, international economy trade
opportunities and investments are some of the factors that contributed
greatly to the rapid economic growth of China. On the contrary, Timor-Leste,
despite having reserve funds from the smaller oil and gas field and small-
scale agricultural exports, particularly coffee, its economic growth is slower
compare to China.
The country’s economic development depends on the capacity to absorb
investment and aid for efficient use in promising industries such as
agricultural, tourism, mining and natural gas in Timor-Leste.

 GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP)

Owing to political uncertainty and the impact of the novel coronavirus.
East Timor gross domestic product is expected to have fallen sharply.
Despite a return to economic growth in 2019, failure to approve a state
budget for 2020, renewed political uncertainty, and the global COVID-19
outbreak have all considerably weighed down prospects for 2020. In
addition, recent heavy rains caused floods that affected thousands of people
and many businesses. Given these mutually reinforcing negative effects, the
GDP growth forecast for 2020 has been lowered from 4.6 percent (as
projected in the October 2019 report) to -4.8 percent. In particular, the
economic impacts of COVID-19 will largely depend on the direct impact of
the virus, the scope and duration of the public health measures adopted, as
well as the economic policy response. Despite the COVID-19, which
first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, China’s gross domestic
product rose by 6.5% in the fourth quarter from a year ago, official data
from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Those numbers beat
analysts’ expectations. Chinese authorities shut down more than half the
country but online sales of consumer goods rose at a relatively rapid pace of
14.8% last year, the statistics bureau said, but the proportion of overall
retail sales held fairly steady at around one-fourth.
It would not be surprising to see China's fast economic recovery
despite the COVID-19 pandemic which started in one of its cities. While
much of the world was struggling to maintain balance because of the in and
out of lockdown, China is still ahead of everybody else. Online sales of
consumer goods did a great job to rose it’s gross domestic product by 6.5%.
On the contrary, East Timor being one of the poorest countries in Asia and
its economy is heavily dependent on foreign aid and oil, GDP growth is
expected to fall to -3% in 2020 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19.
Struggled so much in coping with the pandemic, their economy was affected
and resulted negative GDP growth in last year, the lockdowns had a great
impact in East Timor’s economic development.

 INFLATION RATE
East Timor Inflation Rate Rises to Over 1-1/2 Year High. East Timor's
annual inflation increased to 1.2 percent in December 2020, the most since
March last year, from 0.8 percent in the previous month. Food & non-
alcoholic beverages inflation accelerated to a near seven-year high of 2.2
percent in December from 1.4 percent in November. Also, prices of clothing
& footwear increased more. Meanwhile, prices of housing were unchanged in
December, the same as in the prior month. On the other hand, prices fell
further for transport (-2.5% vs -2.1%), furniture & household equipment (-
1.0% vs -0.6%) and alcohol & tobacco (-0.4% vs -0.6%). On a monthly basis,
consumer prices were up 0.5 percent in December, the most since April of
2018, after a 0.1 percent rise in November. 
The consumer price index in China rose by 0.2 percent year-on-year
in December 2020, after a 0.5 percent fall a month earlier and compared
with market consensus of a 0.1 percent gain. Food prices went up 1.2
percent, reversing from a 2.0 percent fall in November, amid adverse
weather and rising demand ahead of the Lunar New Year festival. Pork
prices fell much softer (-1.3% vs -12.5%) after soaring last year due to the
African Swine outbreak. Also, there were rises in cost of health (1.3% vs
1.5%), education (0.9% vs 1.0%), and other goods and services (2.2% vs
2.5%). At the same time, prices of household goods and services were flat for
the second straight month, while cost fell for transport (-3.1% vs -3.9%)
rent, fuel, and utilities (-0.6% vs -0.6%); and clothing (-0.1% vs -0.3%). On a
monthly basis, consumer prices increased by 0.7 percent, the most since
February, after a 0.6 percent fall in November. For full 2020, consumer
prices rose 2.5%
The two countries are similar in the sense that both have experience a
moderate increase of inflation in December 2020. Inflation of both countries
are because of food prices and alcoholic beverages. However, its difference is
that the inflation of China is lower compared to East Timor, as a result the
consumer prices of East Timor is higher compared to China.

 UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
The official surveyed unemployment rate for urban workers in China
rose to historic levels in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, touching a
nearly two-decade high of 6.2 per cent in February. Since then, the figure
has gradually retreated to near pre-pandemic levels. In December 2020, the
surveyed jobless rate stood at 5.2 per cent, unchanged from 5.2 per cent in
November, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).China’s
official jobless indicators are released on a monthly or quarterly basis, but
because they only cover part of the job market, it is hard to gauge the real
state of China’s unemployment situation. For the whole of 2020, China’s
surveyed jobless rate was 4.7 per cent compared with 5.5 per cent the
previous year. For the first time in decades, China’s labor market came
under pressure on multiple fronts, a challenge that was underscored during
the first quarter when the country posted its contraction in more than 40
years. China’s accelerating economic rebound in the third quarter of 2020
failed to significantly improve job prospects for the country’s young and
educated. The number of temporary jobless workers in China in 2020 could
have ranged between tens of millions and 250 million, according to various
estimates.
Timor-Leste is struggling with one of its thorniest socio-economic
problems half the men aged between 20 and 24 in Dili, the country's
largest city, are unemployed. Various government and non-government
initiatives are in place to address this problem, but in the absence of
foreign investment much more is needed. An estimated 20 percent of the
country's 1.1 million inhabitants are unemployed. In 2020, unemployment
rate for East Timor was 4.6 %. Unemployment rate of Timor-Leste increased
from 3.3 % in 2001 to 4.6 % in 2020 growing at an average annual rate of
1.81%.
Unemployment in both countries is very evident even before the
spread of corona virus. In China, the surveyed jobless rate stood at 5.2
percent last December 2020. Despite being one of the world’s leading
economy, China failed to provide job opportunities to its people most
especially the young and educated. Similar to China, unemployment in East
Timor is also a problem, almost half of the men in Dili is unemployed. As a
result, unemployment rate in 2020 increased.

III. SOCIO-CULTURAL DIMENSION

CULTURE
Timorese cultural heritage is multi-layered, a fascinating combination
of traditional Timorese, Portuguese, Chinese, and Indonesian influences.
This permeates their local architecture, cuisine clothing styles and artistic
endeavors. Timorese culture continues to evolve in local arts and
handicrafts, as well as in dance and music. Cultural motifs, both old and
modern, are incorporated into the design of tais, hand woven textiles, basket
work and wood carving. Cultural groups still perform traditional dances and
songs and also are entertaining in new ways. Talented Timorese bands and
dance groups perform in venues and festivals.
Chinese culture is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating
thousands of years ago. The area over which the culture prevails covers a
large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying,
with customs and traditions varying greatly between provinces, cities, and
even towns as well. Chinese is historically considered the dominant culture
of East Asia. With China being one of the earliest ancient civilizations,
Chinese culture exerts profound influence on the philosophy, virtue,
etiquette, and traditions of Asia to date. Chinese language, ceramics,
architecture, music, dance, literature, martial arts, cuisine, visual arts,
philosophy, business etiquette, religion, politics, and history have global
influence while its traditions and festivals are also celebrated, instilled, and
practiced by people around the world.
Chinese culture is considered as one of the world’s oldest cultures
compared to East Timor since Chinese culture originated thousands of years
ago. It is considered as dominant culture in East Asia compared to Timorese
culture. However, because of diverse and various ethnics groups settling in
each country, both countries are rich in their culture, customs and
tradition. The culture of Chinese and Timorese continue to evolve through
their language, arts, religion and history.

 RELIGION
East Timor has been nominally Catholic since early in the Portuguese
colonial period. The Catholic faith became a central part of East Timorese
culture during the Indonesian occupation. While under Portuguese rule, the
East Timorese had mostly been animist, sometimes integrated with minimal
Catholic ritual. The number of Catholics dramatically increased under
Indonesian rule for several reasons: Indonesia was predominantly Muslim,
the Indonesian state required adherence to one of five officially recognized
religions and did not recognized traditional beliefs and because the Catholic
Church, which remained directly responsible to the Vatican throughout
Indonesian rule became a refuge for East Timorese. However, in spite of the
majority of the country's people now being Catholics, there is freedom of
religion in the new secular republic.
The Chinese Government recognizes five official religions which are
Buddhism, Islam, Taoism, Catholicism and Protestantism. China seeks to
regulate religious groups and worship. Religious believers seek to practice
their faith outside of state-controlled religious venues and unregistered
religious groups and spiritual movements are subject to intimidation,
harassment, and detention. Chinese religious beliefs are wide-ranging and
eclectic, deriving from several religious traditions. But several religious
concepts are characteristics of general Chinese religious thought. Chinese
religion is dualistic, emphasizing the two opposed complimentary principles
of the universe, yin and yang. But the yin and yang are the double
manifestation of the single, eternal cosmic principal: the Tao. Also important
is the concept of heaven which is describe in terms of impersonal power or
fate, other times are personal deity.
East Timor has been nominally catholic since Portuguese period but
during Indonesian period, Timorese people has no freedom to choose their
own religion because Indonesian State only recognized five official religions
and did not recognized traditional beliefs. Similar to East Timor, China who
recognizes only five official religions such as Buddhism, Islam, Taoism,
Catholicism and Protestantism, but does not also recognize spiritual
movements. Unlike, East Timor, the Chinese religion is dualistic
emphasizing the two opposed complimentary principles of the universe, yin
and yang.

 LANGUAGE
The languages of East Timor include both Austronesian and Papuan
languages. The lingua franca and national language of East Timor is Tetum,
an Austronesian language influenced by Portuguese, with which it has equal
status as an official language. Fataluku is a Papuan language widely used in
the eastern part of the country. Both Portuguese and Tetum have official
recognition under the Constitution of East Timor, as do other indigenous
languages. The rise of lingua francas in the linguistically diverse East Timor
and the domination of several clans over others have led to the extinction of
many smaller language. However, some of them are still in use as ritual
languages or cants. Research done in the mid-2000s by the Dutch linguist
revealed that the Makuva language, formerly spoken by the Makuva tribe
but believed to have been extinct since the 1950s, was still used
occasionally.
There are several hundred languages in China. The predominant
language is Standard Chinese, which is based on central Mandarin, but
there are hundreds of related Chinese languages, collectively known as
Hanyu, that are spoken by 92% of the population. The Chinese languages
are typically divided into seven major language groups, and their study is a
distinct academic discipline. They differ as much from each other
morphologically and phonetically. China's population spoke some variety
of Mandarin Chinese as their first language, accounting for 71% of the
country's population. According to the 2019 edition of Ethnologue,
904,000,000 people in China spoke some variety of Mandarin as their first
language in 2017. Standard Chinese, known in China as Putonghua, is the
official national spoken language for the mainland and serves as a lingua
franca within the Mandarin-speaking. Several other have additional official
languages. For example, Tibetan has official status within the Tibet
Autonomous Region and Mongolian has official status within inner
Mongolia. Language laws of China do not apply to either Hong Kong or
Macau, which have different official languages than the mainland.
Similar to China, East Timor being linguistically diverse country
speaks different languages. Tetum being the country’s lingua franca and
national language was influenced by the Portuguese during its occupation.
In fact, Tetum is the legacy of Portuguese. However, because of the
existence of this, it led to the extinction of many smaller languages. On the
contrary, Chinese languages are typically divided into seven major language
groups, and differ as much from each other morphologically and
phonetically. But acknowledges the hundreds different languages they have
and almost 92 percent of its population speaks these languages. China’s
predominant language is Standard Chinese, which is based on
central Mandarin.

 EDUCATION
East Timor's educational system includes six years of primary
education and six years of secondary education. In 2000, the language of
instruction was Indonesian, but this has been a subject of debate. Many are
encouraging a switch to the national language of Tetum as a primary
language with Portuguese and English as secondary languages. Moreover,
adult literacy rate in 2010 was 58.3%, up from 37.6% in 2001. At the end of
Portuguese rule, literacy was at 5%.The country's main university is
the National University of East Timor. There are also four colleges. Since
independence, both Indonesian and Tetum have lost ground as media of
instruction, while Portuguese has increased, in 2001 only 8.4% of primary
school and 6.8% of secondary school students attended a Portuguese-
medium school. By 2005 this had increased to 81.6% for primary and 46.3%
for secondary schools. Indonesian formerly played a considerable role in
education, being used by 73.7% of all secondary school students as a
medium of instruction, but by 2005 Portuguese was used by most schools
in Baucau, Manatuto, as well as the capital district.
The educational system of China is divided into three categories: basic
education, higher education, and adult education. By law, each child must
have nine years of compulsory education from primary school (six years) to
junior secondary education. Since 1986, compulsory education in China
compromises primary and junior secondary school, which together last for
nine years. In 2010, about 82.5 percent of students continued their
education at a three-year senior secondary school. In 2010, 27 percent of
secondary school graduates are enrolled in higher education. This number
increased significantly over the last years, reaching a tertiary school
enrolment of 50 percent in 2018. Vocational education is available to
students at the secondary and tertiary level. In 2006, the government
pledged to provide completely free nine-year education, including textbooks
and fees. Annual education investment went from less than US$50 billion in
2003 to more than US$250 billion in 2011. However, there remains an
inequality in education spending. Free compulsory education in China
consists of primary school and junior secondary school between the ages of
6 and 15. In 2011, around 81.4% of Chinese have received secondary
education. Despite the high results, Chinese education has also faced both
native and international criticism for its emphasis on rote memorization and
its gap in quality from rural to urban areas. As of 2020, China had the
world's second-highest number of top universities. Currently, China trails
only the United States in terms of representation on lists of top 200
universities according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities
(ARWU). China is home to the two best universities (Tsinghua
University and Peking University) in the whole Asia and
the Pacific and emerging countries by the Times Higher Education World
University Rankings. 
The educational system of China is divided into three categories which
are basic, higher and adult education, unlike East Timor which is only
divided into two categories, the primary and secondary. East Timor China’s
annual investment for education is higher. So, many opportunities are
offered for the students in terms of education such as free nine-year
education including textbooks and fees. As a result, 27 percent of secondary
school graduates are enrolled in higher education and this continue to
increase over the years reaching almost half percent of tertiary school
enrolment. China had the world's second-highest number of top universities
compared to East Timor. On the other hand, East Timor’s enrolment rate
are increasing since 2001. Despite the not so high investment in education,
Timor-Leste is continuing to rebuild schools in order to improve the quality
of education and to meet the needs of the growing population in terms
education.
  HEALTH
The National Health and Family Planning Commission of China,
together with its counterparts in the local commissions, oversees the health
needs of the Chinese population. An emphasis on public health and
preventive medicine has characterized Chinese health policy since the early
1950s. At that time, the Communist Party started the Patriotic Health
Campaign, which was aimed at improving sanitation and hygiene, as well as
treating and preventing several diseases. Diseases such
as cholera, typhoid and scarlet fever, which were previously rife in China,
were nearly eradicated by the campaign. After Deng Xiaoping began
instituting economic reforms in 1978, the health of the Chinese public
improved rapidly because of better nutrition, although many of the free
public health services provided in the countryside disappeared along with
the People's Communes. Healthcare in China became mostly privatized, and
experienced a significant rise in quality. In 2009, the government began a 3-
year large-scale healthcare provision initiative. By 2011, the campaign
resulted in 95% of China's population having basic health insurance
coverage. In 2011, China was estimated to be the world's third-largest
supplier of pharmaceuticals, but its population has suffered from the
development and distribution of counterfeit medications. As of 2017, the
average life expectancy at birth in China is 76 years, and the infant
mortality rate is 7 per thousand. Both have improved significantly since the
1950s. Rates of stunting, a condition caused by malnutrition, have declined
from 33.1% in 1990 to 9.9% in 2010. Despite significant improvements in
health and the construction of advanced medical facilities, China has
several emerging public health problems, such as respiratory illnesses
caused by widespread air pollution,  hundreds of millions of cigarette
smokers, and an increase in obesity among urban youths.
Health in East Timor at birth was at 60.7 in 2007. The fertility rate is
at six births per woman. Healthy life expectancy at birth was at 55 years in
2007. Malnutrition rates in children have reduced but in 2013 still stood at
51%. The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for East Timor
was 370. The under-5 mortality rate per 1,000 births is 60 and the neonatal
mortality rate per 1,000 live births is 27. The number of midwives per 1,000
live births is 8 and the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women is 1 in 44.
The country has one of the highest smoking rates in the world, with 33% of
the population, including 61% of men, smoking daily. In 2013 only three
deaths from malaria were recorded, and achievement recognized by
the World Health Organization. Government expenditure on health was
US$150 per person in 2006. There were only two hospitals and 14 village
healthcare facilities in 1974. By 1994, there were 11 hospitals and 330
healthcare centers. Many of the health-related issues are outside the
competence of the Minister of Health. Since independence the country has
established a medical school, a nursing school, and a midwifery school.
Beginning with economic reforms in 1978, health standards in China
began to diverge significantly between urban and rural areas, and also
between coastal and interior provinces. Much of the health sector became
privatized. As state-owned enterprises shut down and the vast majority of
urban residents were no longer employed by the state, they also lost much
of the social security and health benefits. As a result, the majority of urban
residents paid almost all health costs out-of-pocket beginning in the 1990s,
and most rural residents simply could not afford to pay for health care in
urban hospitals. Although China is world's third-largest supplier
of pharmaceuticals, but its population has suffered from the development
and distribution of counterfeit medications that resulted to between 200,000
to 300,000 people die each year due to counterfeit or substandard medicine.
The healthcare system of East Timor consists of the National Healthcare
Service sector as well as the private healthcare sector. These sectors are
regulated and monitored by the Government. The availability of both public
and private sectors within the country gives patients freedom of choice.
However, similar to China patients seeking private care are required to make
out-of-pocket payments for all medical treatments and services rendered.
This implies that only a small group of people in the country can afford to
utilize the services offered by the private healthcare sector given the
widespread poverty in the country. 

IV. TECNOLOGICAL DIMENSION

As an emerging tech giant, China has demonstrated it can be a
leading innovator both globally and domestically. The country is making
gains in four broad categories of innovation, including: 1) manufacturing, 2)
digital platforms and associated markets (spurred by new apps and small
money-based transactions); 3) the utilization of apps and other technologies
designed to solve societal problems (and reconfigure existing businesses in
the process, such as bike share apps and unstaffed convenience stores); and
4) basic science R&D in fields such as computing and biotechnology. China
has roughly 800 million internet users, nearly all of whom own
smartphones. In addition, the Chinese government actively supports
innovation through targeted, relaxed regulations; widespread wireless
internet services; and significant investments in basic research. What’s
more, China’s June 2017 cybersecurity law further tilts the technological
playing field in favor of domestic firms, since it requires all firms operating
in the country to store data in mainland China and restricts data transfers.
In addition, China is the world leader in patent applications with 40 percent
of the global total, a share more than two times larger than that of the
United States and four times larger than that of Japan. Even before the
emergence of the state-led Chinese strategies mentioned above, Beijing has
been prioritizing since 2012 the translation of commercial technological
success to military application, or an emphasis on so-called military-civil
fusion. This acceleration of the transfer of people and technologies between
the military and civilian sectors is now a major theme of all technological
investment in China.
Since 2002, Timor-Leste only has one telecommunication company,
Timor-Telecom. This had its consequences: high transaction cost for the
Timorese people and businesses, missed opportunities, long travel times on
poor roads and seclusion of many rural communities. Most landline
connections that existed before Timor-Leste’s independence were destroyed
post-referendum, so the role of mobile phones is vital. However, roughly only
50 percent of the population have access to mobile phones and over two
thirds of them live in the capital, Dili. The vast majority of people living in
rural areas are not connected due to high costs and lack of service. The cost
of using the internet is also very expensive. A 256-kbps fixed broadband
connection costs $300/month or $3,100/month for unlimited access and
high speed*. These prices are high by any international standard, let alone
in a less developed country like Timor-Leste. Price levels partly reflect the
cost of providing service (including the cost of international satellite
bandwidth), but also the previous monopolistic market structure. Another
important aspect of the telecoms/ICT sector reforms will be the
establishment of an independent Regulator, Autoridade Nacional de
Comunicacoes. The ANC will be mandated to ensure competitive practice by
the operators, compliance with new regulations typical for a competitive
market with multiple service providers, and to develop a program to support
universal access in commercially less viable areas of the country.
The effects of technology change on the global economic structure are
creating immense transformations. China, being tech giant is very advance
in terms of technology and innovations compare to East Timor which has
only one telecommunication company since 2002. China also spend a lot of
money to improve its technology that even US, Russia and Europe are
threatened. However, East Timor being still in the process of rebuilding its
nation is at least trying to upgrade its technology until now.

V. ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSIONS

 NATURAL RESOURCES
One of East Timor's most important natural resources is arable land.
The agricultural sector is one of East Timor's most important industries as it
contributed 32% of the country's GDP in 2005. The most agriculturally
productive areas in East Timor are located in the country's northern region.
Timorese farmers grow a wide array of crops such as rice, corn, sweet
potatoes, and cassava, which are mainly produced for local consumption.
Timorese farmers also grow cash crops such as tobacco, coconuts, and
coffee. Water is also an essential natural resource, and the country is
divided into 12 hydrological units. According to the Timorese government, in
2004, roughly 91% of the country's water was used for irrigation while 0.2%
of the water was used in industries. East Timor is yet to fully develop its
hydropower reserves as it only has few micro-hydropower plants. While vast
quantities of crude oil and natural gas which play an important role in the
country’s economy. In the past, several companies searched for oil in East
Timor, but they were unsuccessful. However, a geological survey by
Netherland Sewell indicated that the country had at least 127 million
barrels of oil in one area. Timor resources, one of the major oil companies in
the country, has planned to drill oil wells in the region. East Timor also has
oil reserves and natural gas in the Timor Sea which it was unable to exploit
fully because of a maritime border dispute with Australia. The dispute was
resolved in 2018, and the resolution allowed East Timor to exploit the crude
oil reserves within the sea.
 China has extensive deposits of coal, oil and natural gas. The high
mountains and powerful rivers of China provide many opportunities for
hydroelectric power. The best potential for hydroelectric power lies in
Southwest China. Also, about 10 percent of China is farmland. Major crops
are rice, wheat corn, as well as barely, soybeans, tea, cotton and tobacco.
Chinas has become a world leader in the production of pigs, chicken and
eggs.
Both countries are rich in their natural resources that may provide
opportunities for economic growth and sustainable development. China’s
natural resources includes oil, gas, coal and land that may use by the
farmers. No wonder, China is one of the most leading economy in the world
because of their rich natural resources most especially the opportunities for
hydroelectric power since it is surrounded with long and powerful rivers. On
the contrary, East Timor is rich with its oils reserves and natural gas in the
Timor Sea. This is one of the reasons why some countries, including China
wanted to pursue good relationships with them its because of the country’s
oil and natural gas.

VI. MILITARY DIMENSIONS

The People's Liberation Army is the regular armed forces of
the People's Republic of China (PRC) and of the PRC's founding and ruling
political party, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Besides the Central
Military Commission and several minor units directly under it, the PLA has
five major service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Rocket
Force, and the Strategic Support Force. A majority of military units around
the country are assigned to one of five theater commands by geographical
location. The PLA is the world's largest military force and constitutes the
second largest defense budget in the world. It is also one of the fastest
modernizing militaries in the world, and has been termed as a potential
military superpower, with significant regional power and rising global power
projection capabilities. In 2015, the PLA is the world's third-most powerful
military. PRC law explicitly affirms the leadership of the party over the
armed forces of the People's Republic and designates the  Central Military
Commission as the nationwide military command of the People's Republic of
China. The Party CMC operates under the name of the State CMC for legal
and governmental functions and as the ceremonial Ministry of National
Defense for diplomatic functions. The PLA is obliged to follow the principle of
the Communist Party's absolute civilian control of the military under the
doctrine of "the party commands the gun" taken from a speech given by Mao
Zedong during an emergency meeting of top party leadership on the 7th of
August 1927 at the beginning of the Chinese civil war. Its commander-in-
chief is the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Since 1949,
China has used nine different military strategies, which the PLA calls
"strategic guidelines". The most important came in 1956, 1980, and 1993. In
times of national emergency, the People's Armed Police and the China
Militia act as a reserve and support element for the PLAGF (People's
Liberation Army Ground Force). The list of Infantry equipment of the
people’s liberation army are pistols, submarine guns, rifles, machine guns,
sniper rifle, shoulder-launched weapons, automatic-grenade launchers,
grenades, hand grenades, mortars, flamethrowers, anti-aircraft guns.
The Timor Leste Defence Force (F-FDTL) is the body responsible for
the defence of East Timor. The F-FDTL was established in February 2001
and comprises two infantry battalions, small naval and air components and
several supporting units. The F-FDTL's primary role is to protect East Timor
from external threats. The constitution of East Timor assigns the F-FDTL
responsibility for protecting East Timor against external attack. The
constitution states that the F-FDTL shall guarantee national independence,
territorial integrity and the freedom and security of the populations against
any aggression or external threat, in respect for the constitutional order. The
constitution also states that the F-FDTL. shall be non-partisan and shall
owe obedience to the competent organs of sovereignty in accordance with
the Constitution and the laws, and shall not intervene in political matters."
The National Police of East Timor (or PNTL) and other civilian security forces
are assigned responsibility for internal security. In practice the
responsibilities of the F-FDTL and PNTL were not clearly delineated, and this
led to conflict between the two organizations.
The East Timorese Government has broadened the F-FDTL's role over
time. As what have been designated "new missions", the F-FDTL has been
given responsibility for crisis management, supporting the suppression of
civil discord. In 2011 F-FDTL had an authorized strength of 1,500 regular
personnel and 1,500 reservists. It had not reached these totals as funding
shortfalls prevented the reserve component from being formed and the
Army's two regular battalions were under-strength. While all the F-FDTL's
personnel were initially FALINTIL veterans the force's composition has
changed over time and few soldiers from the insurgency remain due to the
force's narrow age requirement. After the F-FDTL's 1st Battalion was
established in 2001 recruitment was opened to all East Timorese above the
age of 18, including women. Few women have joined the F-FDTL, however,
and as at February 2010 only seven percent of new recruits were female.
China and East Timor have a wide difference in terms of its military.
China wields by far the world’s largest military, compared to East Timor.
With 2.8 million soldiers, sailors, airmen-twice the American number. Yet
Chinas military was a full million people stronger in the 1980’s- before PRC
leaders recognized that its size actually worked against their aim in
developing a modern force. Two million of China’s soldiers serve in the
ground forces where they primary responsibilities are to ensure domestic
and protect borders-not to project power. The, only 20 percent of those
ground forces are even equipped to move about within China. A still smaller
number possess the trucks, repair, facilities, construction and engineering
units, and other mobile assets needed to project power abroad. China can
protect its boarder against external threats. On the contrary, the military of
East Timor is weaker compare to that of China. Maybe the reasons are
because East Timor being one of the poorest countries will not be able to
purchase weapons like what China did. Both countries are similar to its the
role to guarantee national independence, territorial integrity and the
freedom and security of the populations against any aggression or external
threat.
 CHINA AND EAST TIMOR: RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Introduction:
The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health
crisis of our time and the greatest challenge we have faced since World War
Two. Since its emergence in Asia in 2019, the virus has spread to every
continent . We have now reached the tragic milestone of more than two
million deaths, and the human family is suffering under an almost
intolerable burden of loss. But the pandemic is much more than a health
crisis, it's also an unprecedented socio-economic crisis. Stressing every one
of the countries it touches, it has the potential to create devastating social,
economic and political effects that will leave deep and longstanding scars.
Every day, people are losing jobs and income, with no way of knowing when
normality will return. Small island nations, heavily dependent on tourism,
have empty hotels and deserted beaches. 

CHINA
As the first country to be engulfed in the COVID-19 pandemic, China
is several weeks ahead of many other countries on the “curve” of the virus
progression. As such, the changing situation in China is being monitored
closely by many other countries. While statistical methods of counting
infections and deaths have differed across countries, it is generally agreed
that China has the pandemic largely under control at the current stage, with
increases in new cases rising at a rate of less than 100 per day. Indeed, in
China, the public mood moved on from one of fear to one of caution around
late February. Since then, while many restrictions remain in place around
the country, caution has morphed into mere habit. Having worn a facemask
every day for months now. People are adjusting to the “new normal” and
seem to realize that there is a long battle ahead. While they realize it is going
to be tough, there is a general sense among the population that China will
be able to manage the adaptation process more effectively than most
governments around the world.

THE RESPONSE OF CHINA TO COVID 19 PANDEMIC

The government response ramped up quickly after January 23, and
restrictions became more and more onerous through February and most of
March. Access to residential compounds was banned to people not
registered as living within them. Restaurants closed for around 2.5 months,
only recently re-opening. Much domestic travel required quarantine upon
arrival at destination for 14 days, and a similar policy was introduced for
international travel once the pandemic was confirmed as a global problem.
Right now, even foreigners with valid visas and working permits are not
allowed back into China. The concern now is focused on Chinese nationals
returning to China from Europe and America. The following are China’s
respond to covid 19 pandemic:
a. Epidemic response capacity. Since the 2003 SARS outbreak, China has
been strengthening and improving their epidemic response capacity for
future outbreaks.
b. Case identification and large-scale surveillance. A community-wide
temperature screening was implemented, and thousands of quarantine
stations were established in airports, railway stations, bus stations and ferry
terminals. The government invested in a mobile tracking application that
categorizes individuals into color groups according to health status and
travel history, enabling quarantine if warranted.
c. National reporting system. As soon as a COVID-19 case is diagnosed, the
responsible doctor is required to report electronically. Each province is
required to submit daily reports with epidemiological curves, with data used
to focus on areas with more cases and requiring further measures.
d. Health-care facilities and medical team preparations. Anticipating
hospitals could be overwhelmed, they built additional facilities nationwide to
accommodate all patients.
e. City lockdown and social distancing. Large-scale quarantine and social
distancing were imposed, locking millions of people at huge human and
economic costs.
f. Improvements. With all the measures taken and the people’s
commitment, a decline in the new cases and deaths was observed thereafter.

EAST TIMOR
East Timor with all-round support from the World Health
Organization, Timor-Leste, an island nation of 1.3 million people, has
responded swiftly and effectively in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic,
despite a fragile healthcare system and limited resources. 
Even before the first confirmed case in the country, as immediate
assistance, WHO prioritized availability of essential medical supplies and
testing kits to Timor-Leste. Given the importance of timely and quality
testing, WHO provided the National Health Laboratory (NHL) primers and
probes to carry out 1,000 COVID-19 tests. PPE, including gloves, gowns,
goggles and masks were also made available. 

THE RESPONSE OF EAST TIMOR TO COVID 19 PANDEMIC

Timor-Leste, formerly known as East Timor, has a creaky healthcare
system and is one of the poorest countries in Asia, but even as neighbouring
Indonesia grapples with one of the worst outbreaks in the region, it has
managed to keep the virus at bay. The country had reported only 44 COVID-
19 infections with zero fatalities as of Monday, leaving it with the second-
smallest outbreak in Southeast Asia after Laos, according to Johns Hopkins
University. Experts credit the government’s swift action, imposing strict
border controls and ramping up testing and healthcare facilities within
weeks, as well as its willingness to work with experts for the relative success
of its response. The government closed it borders in mid-March – firstly to
non-citizens and, soon after, to everyone. Those Timorese citizens who
remained overseas (mostly students, those working in low-skilled
occupations in the UK, Ireland and South Korea, or seasonal workers in
Australia) were offered support to stay abroad. The government – which was
at the same time experiencing an unrelated political impasse which
threatened to bring it down – declared a state of emergency and issued stay
at home orders.
Citizens received support packages – including soap, eggs and rice –
from the non-government and private sector and households earning under
$US500 a month were eligible for a monthly subsidy of $US100 from the
government. The border with Indonesia was actively patrolled by authorities
who enforced the closure and stay at home orders. With many Timorese
families spread across residences along both sides of the border, the
relevant authorities needed to work with local communities to encourage
them to both self-police and disseminate COVID-19 health information.