Chinese Populations in Contemporary Southeast Asian Societies: Identities, Interdependence and International Influence (review)

Book Reviews335 ChinesePopulations in Contemporary SoutheastAsian Societies: Identities, Interdependence and International Influence. Edited by M. Jocelyn Armstrong, R. WarwickArmstrong, and Kent Mulliner. Surrey: Curzon Press, 2001.268 pp. Certain negative mental images persist ofthe estimated 23 million ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia, scattered unevenly across the region and having different degrees ofacceptance and integration. One example is that oftheir being "economic animals" who focus on commerce at the expense ofthe common good; another is their inertia in local politics making it necessary for them to form alliances with the ruling élites and engage in corrupt practices to ensure their own security. This book, comprising conference papers from various disciplines, deals with Southeast Asian ethnic Chinese identity, their contributions to regional interdependence and influence in the region between 1980 and 1999 against the backdrop ofthe rise ofChina. A recurring theme in this volume is that despite the preceding stereotypes the Chinese in Southeast Asia cannot be treated as a homogeneous group. The book is broadly divided into four sections. The first is overviews ofhistorical and contemporary economic context (Chapters 2 and 3), followed by case studies on business organizations as a dimension ofChinese identity (Chapters 4 and 5). The third section contains cases studies on religion, gender, and subethnicity in relation to evolving Chinese identities (Chapters 6 to 8) before the final section on the interplay of local, regional, global, and transnational identities and activities (Chapters 9 and 10). HistorianJ. Norman Parmer undertakes a broad-brush periodization of the historical review of Chinese presence in Southeast Asia in his chapter. The long history of China's political, ethnic, and cultural influence on Chinese communities outside China is complicated by the ambivalent treatment towards the Chinese byWestern colonial authorities . Indigenous anxieties have come to the fore with the putative rise ofChina and its appeal to the Chinese overseas community for investments , trade, and cultural exchanges. Leo Suryadinata examines the economic status and role ofthe Chi- 336Book Reviews nese in Southeast Asia and highlights some ofthe commonly cited reasons for success: Confucian values and heritage; the discriminated minority's route to success via business activity; political connections with the indigenous political élites; and the Chinese ability to benefit from capitalism. An interesting line ofargument, proffered by Liu Hong's contribution , centres on the transnational and institutional dimensions of Chinese networking. Although the study is confined to the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI), he persuasively argues for an emphasis on social and business organizations in the study of modern Chinese transnationalism. Liu's thesis revolves around the horizontal and vertical dimensions ofsuch organizations — the former linking the state and society in the pursuit of economic development while the latter links diverse individuals, communities, and nation-states across territorial boundaries. The resulting network is an "organizing logic" in the study ofethnic Chinese regional economic and social activities . In examining the influential Federation ofFilipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Theresa Chong Carino meticulously traces the close relationship between the Federation and the political élites against the backdrop ofthe evolving Philippines-Taiwan-China relations . Originally biased towards Taiwan's KMT, the Federation has since taken a more neutral approach towards China-Taiwan politics. This is a reflection ofthe pragmatic political economy approach towards the economic opportunities for Chinese-Filipinos as well as deeper integration ofthe Chinese-Filipino into Filipino society. Carino sensitively captures the nuances ofthe changes and analyses their long-term implications . What one can discern from the two case studies are that the economic role of such umbrella Chinese organizations has gained precedence over the political role and that beyond the economics of ethnic ties, the significance ofsuch organizations depends on their being relevant to their host societies. In Singapore, in addition to being a key player in the government's abiding belief in "ethnic capitalism", the Chinese clans and business organizations are now urged to play their part in maintaining the Chinese cultural ballast in a Chinese-majority Book Reviews337 societywhich is fast becoming deculturalized. Despite the Filipinization ofthe ethnic Chinese in the Philippines, Carino anticipates the umbrella Chinese organizations' continued prominence "for the articulation of Chinese political and economic interests" in the foreseeable future. The Singapore experience similarly demonstrates...