That was an interesting read and I was particularly interested in what you said here: “But unlike the latter, which follows the story of later generations of Thai Chinese who have become firmly established in Bangkok, the former focuses on the struggles of first-generation Teochew immigrants who just freshly arrived from China.”
I wrote a piece for the SCMP a few years back and I identified this group of immigrants that came from China like Dhanin Chearavanont, a descendant of Chinese immigrants and chairman of conglomerate the CP Group: “The pioneers were among an influx of Chinese immigrants, who famously came to Thailand with little more than the shirts on their backs – a plight Thais refer to as seaua peun, mawn bai, or ‘one rug and one pillow’.” https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/2113771/bangkok-street-food-vendors-removal-sparks-debate-about
As a descendant of Chinese origin yourself, I’m wondering how you feel about the recent anger among many Thais regarding the scams, the influx of new AI data centres and of course the usual corruption along with the pollution caused by Chinese companies? In my almost 3 decades of living in Thailand, there’s always been a bit of back-and-forth regarding the influence of China in Thailand but just recently it seems to have escalated enormously.
Thanks for reading, Tom, and for the link to your SCMP piece. I think that among Thai-Chinese there doesn't seem to be much shared affinity between the descendants of the earlier waves of Chinese immigration in the late 19th/early 20th century and more recent arrivals. And so it seems to me that the common sentiment among many Thais — i.e frustration — is shared by this community as well.
That was an interesting read and I was particularly interested in what you said here: “But unlike the latter, which follows the story of later generations of Thai Chinese who have become firmly established in Bangkok, the former focuses on the struggles of first-generation Teochew immigrants who just freshly arrived from China.”
I wrote a piece for the SCMP a few years back and I identified this group of immigrants that came from China like Dhanin Chearavanont, a descendant of Chinese immigrants and chairman of conglomerate the CP Group: “The pioneers were among an influx of Chinese immigrants, who famously came to Thailand with little more than the shirts on their backs – a plight Thais refer to as seaua peun, mawn bai, or ‘one rug and one pillow’.” https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/2113771/bangkok-street-food-vendors-removal-sparks-debate-about
As a descendant of Chinese origin yourself, I’m wondering how you feel about the recent anger among many Thais regarding the scams, the influx of new AI data centres and of course the usual corruption along with the pollution caused by Chinese companies? In my almost 3 decades of living in Thailand, there’s always been a bit of back-and-forth regarding the influence of China in Thailand but just recently it seems to have escalated enormously.
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks again. 🙏
Thanks for reading, Tom, and for the link to your SCMP piece. I think that among Thai-Chinese there doesn't seem to be much shared affinity between the descendants of the earlier waves of Chinese immigration in the late 19th/early 20th century and more recent arrivals. And so it seems to me that the common sentiment among many Thais — i.e frustration — is shared by this community as well.