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Examining the Demographic Changes of the Ethnic Chinese in Vietnam Since 1975

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Examining the Demographic Changes of the Ethnic Chinese in Vietnam Since 1975 Malaysian Journal of Chinese Studies, 2013, 2(1): 1-34 Examining the Demographic Changes of the Ethnic Chinese in Vietnam Since 1975 Ramses AMER* Abstract This study examines demographic developments of the ethnic Chinese in Vietnam since 1975. It begins with the patterns of demographic change since the mid-1970s that shows a considerable decline in the number of Chinese as indicated by the official censuses of 1976 and 1979. The period was characterized by large-scale migration of the Chinese out of the former Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV or North Vietnam) and the former Republic of Vietnam (ROV or South Vietnam). The policies of socialist transformation were a major factor in the exodus from the South while in the North it was the deterioration in relations between Vietnam and China that triggered the exodus. The Chinese population has continued to diminish up to 2009 but at a more moderate pace than in the late 1970s. Key words: Ethnic Chinese, Vietnam, China, demography, migration Introduction This study investigates demographic developments relating to the ethnic Chinese in Vietnam. A core dimension is the patterns of growth and decline in the number of Chinese in Vietnam since 1975 when the Vietnam War came to an end. The context in which the demographic changes have taken place is outlined and factors influencing the patterns of change and their effects on migration flows are identified and analysed. The terms “Chinese community” and “ethnic Chinese” refer to persons living in Vietnam who identify themselves as being of Chinese ethnicity, regardless of their citizenship. The term “Overseas Chinese” is not used as it denotes a citizen of either China or Taiwan.1 Vietnamese * Dr. AMER is Associate Professor in Peace and Conflict Research, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Oriental Languages, Stockholm University, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected] This study is an updated and revised version of selected parts of a paper prepared for the 7th Conference of The International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas (ISSCO) on “Migration, Indigenization and Exchange: Chinese Overseas from Global Perspectives” organized by Nanyang Technological University and Chinese Heritage Centre, Singapore, 7–10 May 2010 (Amer, 2010a). It draws on research on the ethnic Chinese in Vietnam carried out by the author since the late 1980s. The final work on the study was carried out while the author was Visiting Senior Fellow, Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. 2 Amer research on the ethnic Chinese in Vietnam uses the term “microethnic” to denote all minority groups in the country and “macroethnic” to denote the majority group, i.e. Kinh, which is the official name used in Vietnamese censuses. The rationale is that terms such as “Chinese minority, Overseas Chinese, Chinese Community, or Chinese migrants” have derogatory and discriminatory connotations associated with the nationality policies of the French colonial authorities and the authorities in South Vietnam (Mac, 1994a: 219 and 1994b: 42). However, the terms “Chinese community” and “ethnic Chinese” are used in this study. Official terminology in the Vietnamese censuses in the former North Vietnam and also in Vietnam as a whole after 1975 identifies three ethnic groups as ethnic Chinese. These are the Hoa, the Ngái, and the Sán Dìu.2 Vietnamese authorities seem to associate the Hoa as Han Chinese in origin and the Ngái and Sán Dìu as non-Han people from China. This study begins with an outline of the demographic developement of the Chinese followed by an examination of the policies and developments in the former Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) after 1975; the exodus of Chinese from the former Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) in 1978; and the large-scale exodus by boat in 1978 and 1979. The relability of the Vietnamese population statistics is next assessed, following which developments relating to the Chinese in the country since 1979 and the continued decline of the Chinese population are examined. The study concludes by giving a summary of the main findings and the broad analysis. Demographic Developments after 1975 The first official census was carried out in unified Vietnam in 1979, and repeated thereafter every ten years. A census carried out in the former South Vietnam in early 1976 provides the basis for an official estimate for the whole country. This estimate and the four censuses of 1979, 1989, 1999, and 2009 provide data on the Hoa and the Sán Dìu. The 1979 census provides a figure on the Ngái group, namely, 1,318 persons (Census 1979, 1983: 104). This group is omitted in the 1989 census, but re-appears in the 1999 census with a figure of 4,841 (Census 1999, 2001: 21), and is reported as 1,035 in the 2009 census (Census 2009, 2010: 135). Given the lack of comparative data for the Ngái and the small number of the group it will not be the subject of further attention in this study. The population of the Hoa in Vietnam has declined unabated since 1976 (Table 1). From 2.6 per cent of the total population in 1976, the Hoa made up barely 1 per cent in 2009 (Table 2). The population in Vietnam as a whole has been growing since 1976 and the Hoa were the second largest ethnic group after the majority Kinh community. In 1989, they had dropped to fifth place and continued to decline further to eighth place by 2009. The Hoa community is Demographic Changes of the Ethnic Chinese in Vietnam Since 1975 3 the only major ethnic group whose number has diminished between 1976 and 2009 (Census 1976, 1976: 18, Census 1979, 1983: 104, Census 1989b, 1991: 66, Census 1999, 2001: 21, Census 2009, 2010: 134). 3 Table 1. Number of Hoa in Vietnam 1976, 1979, 1989, 1999, and 2009 Estimate/Census Total Increase/Decrease (%) 1976 1,236,000 - 01-10-1979 935,074 -24.35 01-04-1989 900,185 -3.73 01-04-1999 862,371 -4.20 01-04-2009 823,041 -4.78 Sources: Census 1976, 1976: 18; Census 1979, 1983: 104; Census 1989b, 1991: 66; Census 1999, 2001: 21; Census 2009, 2010: 134 Table 2. The Hoa as a Percentage of the Total Population of Vietnam, 1976, 1979, 1989, 1999, and 2009 Estimate/Census Hoa Total Population % of Hoa 1976 1,236,000 48,060,000 2.57 01-10-1979 935,074 52,741,766 1.77 01-04-1989 900,185 64,375,762 1.40 01-04-1999 862,373 76,323,173 1.13 01-04-2009 823,071 85,846,997 0.96 Sources: Census 1976, 1976: 18; Census 1979, 1983: 104; Census 1989b, 1991: 66; Census 1999, 2001: 21; Census 2009, 2010: 134 It is necessary to examine the demographic evolution of the Hoa in the former North Vietnam and South Vietnam after 1975. Census data show a significant and dramatic depopulation of the Hoa community from a quarter of a million in 1974 to a mere 53,000 in 1979, or a decline of 79 per cent. The number has since hovered around 50,000 or so up to 2009 (see Table 3). Table 3. Number of Hoa in Former Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1974, 1979, 1989, 1999, and 2009 Census Total Increase/Decrease (%) 01-04-1974 256,534 - 01-10-1979 53,672 - 79.08 01-04-1989 49,040 - 8.63 01-04-1999 50,172 +6.39 01-04-2009 52,116 +3.87 Sources: Census 1974, DRV, 1976: 28; Census 1979, 1983: 105-115; Census 1989b, 1991: 68, 70-91; Census 1999, 2001: 22-50; Census 2009, 2010: 148-164 4 Amer Demographic Changes of the Ethnic Chinese in Vietnam Since 1975 5 In the former South Vietnam, the decline in the population of the Hoa community was continuous but more gradual. After a 7.6 per cent reduction between 1976 and 1979, the decline had stabilized at 3 to 5 per cent between each census up to 2009 (Table 4). Table 4. Number of Hoa in Former Republic of Vietnam in 1976, 1979, 1989, 1999, and 2009 Census Total Increase/Decrease (%) 01-02-1976 949,825 - 01-10-1979 877,691 - 7.59 01-04-1989 850,614 - 3.09 01-04-1999 809,516 -5.08 01-04-2009 770,955 - 4.76 Sources: Census 1976, ROV, 1976: 339; Census 1979, 1983: 115–124; Census 1989b, 1991: 69, 91- 114; Census 1999, 2001: 51-82; Census 2009, 2010: 149-225 Changes in the population of the Sán Dìu group contrast sharply with that of the Hoa. Unlike the Hoa, this group has been growing in number from 57,440 in 1974 to 146,821 in 2009. The growth is particularly significant in relative terms in the 1980s and 1990s (Table 5). 4 Table 5. Number of Sán Dìu in Vietnam in 1974, 1979, 1989, 1999, and 2009 Census Total Increase/Decrease (%) 01-04-1974 57,440 - 01-10-1979 65,808 + 14.57 01-04-1989 94,630 + 43.80 01-04-1999 126,237 + 33.40 01-04-2009 146,821 + 16.31 Sources: Census 1974, DRV, 1976: 28; Census 1979, 1983: 104; Census 1989b, 1991: 66; Census 1999, 2001: 21; Census 2009, 2010: 148 The distribution of the Hoa and Sán Dìu ethnic groups in the major cities and provinces in 1979, 1989, 1999, and 2009 is shown in the Appendices. It is clear that, unlike the Hoa, the majority of the Sán Dìu reside in the former North Vietnam. From the mid-1970s to 2009, the decline in the population of the Hoa is in sharp contrast to the growth of the Sán Dìu.
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