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A Short History Of The Transformation Of Ethnic Chinese Organizations In Thailand: From Seditious Secret Societies To Patriotic Cultural Ngos, Zhang Ying Ying, Wasana Wongsurawat

Asian Review

Ethnic Chinese organizations in Thailand were transformed and developed through the past century and a half of the modern era in three major phases. In the early-19th century, an influx of Chinese labor migrants followed the tradition of establishing fi ctive kinship networks in their host country through sworn brotherhoods and secret societies. Towards the end of the 19th century, however, the modernization and nation-building processes of the Thai state came into confl ict with the culture and lifestyle of Chinese secret societies and they became criminalized. Consequently, the ethnic Chinese community in Thailand entered the second phase of registering …