Kuomintang Chinese in Thailand
The Kuomintang Chinese in Thailand are mainly Yunnanese Chinese descendants of Chinese Nationalist (Kuomintang, KMT) soldiers who settled in the mountainous border region of Northern Thailand in the 1960s, having been pushed out of Southern China following the KMT's defeat in the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and later from northern Burma, where they were based in the 1950s.
Although many were evacuated to Taiwan in 1953 and again in 1961, several thousand remained and moved into the Thai border area.[1] The Thai government tolerated their presence in exchange for their assistance fighting against the communist insurgency in Thailand, but their role in the Golden Triangle's opium trade presented a major issue.[2] By the 1980s, when the communist threat had subsided, the government pursued a policy of assimilation, granting them Thai citizenship and encouraging them to abandon opium cultivation through crop substitution and other development programmes.[3]
As of 2022,[update] the KMT Chinese and other Yunnanese groups in Thailand, collectively known in Thai as Chin Haw, number around 200,000, inhabiting 108 villages in Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces.[1] (KMT villages alone numbered 64 in 2014, according to Taiwan government statistics.)[3] Among the best-known settlements are Mae Salong in Chiang Rai, Ban Rak Thai in Mae Hong Son, and Arunothai in Chiang Mai. Several villages have become known as tourist destinations for their distinct culture and architecture.[3][4]
The KMT Chinese have largely retained their Yunnanese identity and customs, partly through ties with Taiwan, from which they also received developmental aid from the 1980s to around 2000. However, such ties have since faded, and the rise of mainland Chinese influence has led to controversy in some communities.[1]
See also[edit]
- Khun Sa, a Shan–Chinese warlord and major rival of the Kuomintang in the drug trade
- 1967 Opium War
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Siriphon, Aranya (6 September 2022). "From pro-Taipei to pro-Beijing: Are KMT Chinese in Thailand switching their allegiance?". ThinkChina. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ^ Han, Enze (2019). "Spillover of the Chinese Civil War and Militarization of the Borderland". Asymmetrical Neighbors: Borderland State Building between China and Southeast Asia. Oxford Academic. pp. 55–71. doi:10.1093/oso/9780190688301.003.0004.
- ^ a b c Qin, Amy (14 January 2015). "In Remote Thai Villages, Legacy of China's Lost Army Endures". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
- ^ "Mae Salong, where Kuomintang's 'lost army' put down roots". South China Morning Post. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
Further reading[edit]
- Chang, Wen-Chin (December 2001). "From War Refugees to Immigrants: The Case of the KMT Yunnanese Chinese in Northern Thailand". International Migration Review. 35 (4): 1086–1105. doi:10.1111/j.1747-7379.2001.tb00053.x. ISSN 0197-9183.
- Hung, Po-Yi; Baird, Ian G. (May 2017). "From soldiers to farmers: The political geography of Chinese Kuomintang territorialization in northern Thailand". Political Geography. 58: 1–13. doi:10.1016/j.polgeo.2016.12.005.