Evening star., 1948-12-19

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Netherlands Indies and the Philip
pines are included. Each Of these
main subdivisions presents one OF
more specific problems. Yet they all
contain one common factor. This Is
the ubiquitous Chinese, who has
installed himself in numbers aggre-
eating millions and who everywhere
plays a role Of great Importance
especially in the economic field.
Conquests Were Indirect
These transplanted Chinese range
from lordly bankers and wealthy
merchants to canny shopkeepers and
humble coolies In the mines and on
the plantations. They perform the
tasks of business and hard labor
which the native peoples are too in.
dolent and ineficient to do fol
themselves. So they prosper ano
multiply. tending in some cases te
dominate and actually to outnumbel
the natives. From the long-range
view, there Is much to indicate that
the Chinese will eventually domi.
nate most or all of Southeast Asia.
Chinese penetration of Southeast
Asia is not new. Though intensi.
fed in modern times, it has beer
going on for ages. This Is because
the entire region forms part of the
Far East, an isolated world in itsel1
down to its discovery by the West
four centuries ago. And Of that Fal
Eastern world, China and its impres.
sive civilization was admittedly the
central sun. Unlike Rome, China
was not a predatory empire, sending
forth mighty armies to annex anc
subdue. Its conquests were indirect
tending to be cultural and economic
In character. To those outlyine
peoples China was the august pre-.
ceptor, sometimes chastizing then
Tor their presumption, yet continu.
ously instilling the principles of its
ordered civilization. That was espe.
clally true of the mainland peoples
Burmese, Siamese, Annamites anc
Cambodians, all of whom were ir
direct contact with China and no,
very dissimilar in racial makeup.
The result was that Chinese sages
merchants, travellers, navigators
even common folk, enjoyed a Ger.
tain prestige which facilitated thei,
missions and enterprises. Theil
status was certainly different from
Chinese modern migrants to West.
ern lands. who have been mostly
eoolie laborers or engaged In hum
bic occupations like laundering o,
restaurant keeping, and in a wholly
alien environment to boot.
Movement Not Official
Yet. in Southeast Asia, as else
where. the Chinese influx exhibited
the same basic characteristics. To
begin with, it was neither officially
Inspired nor supported. This was
because the old Chinese empire was
not q nation-state, in the Western
sense, but rather a loose assemblage
OF provinces differing markedly
from each other, doing much as
they pleased, and with relatively
slight control by the central i'm.
perial government. Old China was
basically Q mosaic Of clan-families
overlaid by a system of guilds O,
other associations, to all Of whom
the individuals loyalty was pri.
marily due and from which he di.
rectly profited. Those ties the mi
grating Chinese took with him
and transplanted in his new abode
Parenthetically. 1t should be re-
marked that Chinese migrants to
Southeast Asia have nearly always
come from two southeastern coastal
provinces Of China-Fukien and the
Cantonese region of Kwangtung
This made for solidarity among the
migrants themselves, coupled with
strong ties with their homelands
So 1t Is not strange to find Chinese
communities in foreign lands ex-
tremely clannish, building up "Chi.
natowns" where they lead their own
lives and perpetuate their modes OF
thought and existence.
Until relatively recent times the
Chinese communities in Southeast
Asia consisted chiefly of merchants
and traders. The mass influx of
Chinese came about through the
Intensive development of natural
resources by the Western powers
who had added those countries to
their colonial possessions. All this
development created a huge de-
mand for efficient, reliable labor on
the plantations, in the mines, and
at the commercial ports. This de-
mand the rather indolent, carefree
natives could not or would not meet.
But overpopulated China offered a
limitless supply Of labor which could
I'LL the bill.
Rooted and Spread Out
Thus. about q hundred years ago
there set in that mass influx of
migratory coolie labor which, in
the ensuing century, has given all
Southeast Asia a distinct Chinese
tinge. Those humble migrants did
not always remain coolies. Shrewd
and thrifty as well as hard work.
ing. they grasped the opportunities
Of new lands to climb the economic
and social ladder. Bringing brides
from China, they founded families
who did well. Even when they In
termarried with the native women
their mixed offspring usually
merged with the Chinese commu.
nifty.
What Chinese penetration can dc
is most strikingly shown in Malaga
There the Chinese are numbered ir
millions. The metropolis of Singa.