From Middlemen to Minorities:The Shifting Position of the Chinese in Colonial and Post-Colonial Vietnam, 1887-1963

Abstract

This paper discusses the changing position of the Chinese during the French colonization and decolonization in Vietnam. Attention is given to the intermediate role of the Chinese between the French colonial authorities and the Vietnamese, which provided the Chinese with an advantageous position over indigenous population. The Japanese occupation of Vietnam during World War II considerably harmed Chinese businesses. Although the Chinese managed to restore their businesses in post-colonial Vietnam, the intensifying First Indochina War (1946-1954) made their position increasingly precarious. Under such unfavourable conditions, the majority of the Chinese fled North Vietnam in the 1940s and early 1950s, a departure that became more pronounced following the collapse of French colonialism in 1954. The remaining interests of the Chinese in the South also became the targets of South Vietnam’s government. This study analyzes the relationship between the French decolonization and the declining position of Chinese community in Vietnam.