The Overseas Chinese Of South East Asia

The 60million Chinese who live outside of China have long been an economic powerhouse in their own right. Managing in South-East Asia is not like managing anywhere else. This book describes their communities and environments in which they work and emphasises the need for cultural understanding as a pre-requisite for business success.

As Qing Dynasty China disintegrated, economic hardship and civil disorder led to millions of Chinese men and women seeking their fortunes abroad, many journeying south into French Indochina. These emigres settled into tight-knit communities called huiguan: organisations which closely mirrored the religious, social and economic constitution of their own places of origin. Here, Tracy Barrett sheds light on the overseas Chinese communities in French Indochina and the interactions between them and French colonial authorities. She also addresses the nature, scope and effectiveness of the congregation system - an institution designed by the French to control Indochina's overseas Chinese but eventually extended across the greater French empire as a means of monitoring 'foreign Asiatics'. Including a close analysis of French colonial law and of the economic and social networks between Chinese settler communities across Indonesia, "The Chinese Diaspora in South East Asia" provides an important insight into the characteristics of Chinese migration.

The Chinese in Southeast Asia, with their growing economic clout, have been attracting attention from politicians, scholars and observers in recent decades. The rise of China as a global economic power and its profound influence over Southeast Asia has cast a spotlight on the role of Southeast Asian Chinese in the region''s economic relations with China.The Southeast Asian Chinese as an economic force and their growing importance with China are, to a certain extent, determined by the nature and development of their communities. This book uses a multifaceted approach to unravel the forces that helped to transform the communities in the past. Containing 17 papers written within a span of six and a half years, from 2000 to 2006, the book focuses on the social, economic and political aspects of these communities, with special emphasis on the Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore.

More than 80 per cent of the Chinese outside China live in Southeast Asia and many of them have been integrated into the local societies. However, the resurgence of China and ethnic Chinese investment in their ancestral land have caused concern among some non-Chinese Southeast Asian elites. They have begun to question the position and identity of the Chinese population in their countries. Ethnic Chinese as Southeast Asians addresses these ethnic Chinese issues, as well as ethnic Chinese relations with China and with indigenous groups in the region. Written by leading scholars in Southeast Asia, including both ethnic Chinese and non-Chinese, the volume also explores the position of the ethnic Chinese in contemporary as well as the future Southeast Asia, providing readers with a most up-to-date and comprehensive study on the subject.

With the rise of China and massive new migrations, China has adjusted its policy towards the Chinese overseas in Southeast Asia and beyond. This book deals with Beijing’s policy which has been a response to the external events involving the Chinese overseas as well as the internal needs of China. It appears that a rising China considers the Chinese overseas as a source of socio-political and economic capital and would extend its protection to them whenever this is not in conflict with its core national interest. The impacts on and the responses of the relevant countries, especially those in Southeast Asia, are also examined

Chronologically arranged, this compilation of self-contained essays, lectures and papers provides insight into a complex issue - the true identity of the overseas Chinese.