The Saigon Chinese, with their Taiwanese links, were viewed as corrupt bourgeoisie, while the northern Mountain Chinese were suspected as a fifth column for China's ambitions in Vietnam. Today, the main source of tension is the resettling of lowlanders in mountain regions, which is putting pressure on limited farming and forest resources. Women outnumber men, largely because of war deaths. They form a high proportion of the industrial workforce, but have only recently been given greater political representation.
Family life is strong and is based on kinship groups within village clans.