Chinese Politics in Colonial Saigon (1919-1936): The Case of the Guomindang

Date

2010

Authors

Engelbert, Thomas

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Volume Title

Publisher

Centre for the Study of the Chinese Southern Diaspora, The Australian National University

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Open Access

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Abstract

The Chinese (Hoa) in colonial Indochina formed a complex community divided linguistically and economically into several social strata ranging from the long established colonial businessmen (vieux chinois) to self-employed merchants, factory owners, or skilled craftsmen, below whom teemed the vast majority of manual workers or petty traders. These Chinese are often regarded as essentially non-political. Using unpublished archival sources, this article reveals a more complex story, showing that local Chinese occasionally played significant political roles in the early-to-mid 1920s. It was colonial repression of Vietnamese anti-colonial movements, plus the urgent needs of the Chinese motherland from the later 1920s, that ultimately oriented most Hoa politics towards China. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, colonial police records confirm their support for the Guomintang; but its internal problems, which mirrored those of the GMD in China, often cost the party the political and financial support of local Chinese.

Description

Keywords

Chinese politics in Vietnam, colonial south Vietnam, French Cochinchina, Hoa, Chinese trades unions, Guomindang, Overseas Chinese, Huaqiao

Citation

Source

Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies

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Journal article

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Publication

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Open Access

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