Chinese in Vietnam
According to the 1989 census, there are 900,185 ethnic Chinese, or "Hoa," in Vietnam. This corresponds to only 1.4 percent of the total Vietnamese population. Nevertheless, as with other Chinese minorities in Southeast Asia, they play a very important role in the economic life of Vietnam. This has been the case since Vietnam gained independence from France in the mid-1950s and was particularly true in the former Republic of Vietnam (RVN) up to 1975. Ethnic Chinese have played a different but still important role in the socialist economy of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV).
After the end of the Vietnam War and the demise of the RVN, the new Vietnamese authorities opted to pursue economic policies that were characterized by the gradual implementation of socialist transformation and that had a considerable detrimental impact on the economic interests of the ethnic Chinese. Relations between China and Vietnam also gradually deteriorated, and as this occurred, increasingly discriminatory policies were implemented against the ethnic Chinese in Vietnam. These factors caused a large-scale exodus of ethnic Chinese from Vietnam in 1978 and 1979. An estimated 430,000 to 466,000 ethnic Chinese left Vietnam between the end of the war in 1975 and the end of September 1979.
The 1980s and 1990s have been characterized by a slow process of reintegration of ethnic Chinese into Vietnamese society. This has been spearheaded by developments in Ho Chi Minh City, where about half of the ethnic Chinese live. Decrees of the Communist Party of Vietnam and government in 1995 and 1996, respectively, signaled the full reintegration of the ethnic Chinese. Apart from changes in the policies implemented at the local, government, and party levels directed at the ethnic Chinese, the overall policies of doi moi ("renovation") and economic liberalization have contributed to reintegration.
Given the overall situation today, the future of the ethnic Chinese in Vietnam looks brighter than at any time since 1978. A pertinent question is whether the process of reintegration will continue or if there are potential pitfalls that could lead to the reemergence of past problems and possibly a new mass migration of Chinese. To a certain degree, the future development will depend on economic policies. As long as the policies of economic renovation and reform are pursued, such a situation will not recur. Another important factor is the impact of China-Vietnam relations. In principle, as long as the bilateral relations are good and there is a willingness to maintain these relations, they will have a positive impact on the ethnic Chinese in Vietnam.
Boat People;; China–Vietnam Relations; Ho Chi Minh City; Sino-Vietnamese Culture
Further Reading
Amer, Ramses. (1996) "Vietnam's Policies and the Ethnic Chinese since 1975." SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia 11, 1 (April): 76–104.
——. (1998) "Vietnam and Its Chinese Minority: From Socialist Transformation and Exodus to Economic Renovation and Reintegration." Journal of the South Seas Society 53 (December): 101–127.
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