戰後暹羅對華人的移民政策（1945-1949年）

Abstract

After the Second World War, the Republic of China did not settle down immediately. Instead, because of the Communist upheavals, the nation was in great turmoil, with her people starved and injured. As a result, the civilians along the southeast coast-mostly the people of Chaochou and Swatow (both in the Province of Kwangtung)-had no choice but flee to Siam (now Thailand) to take refuge. Some Chinese people who came to aid their home country during the War also went back to Siam to revive their business there. Besides, the Chinese people who were forced to return to China during the War also took the chance to reenter Siam. Among them, there were some that did not have legal permission to enter the country, some that tried to escape from military service, some who could not pay the immigration fees, and some who wanted to stay in Siam because of various reasons-criminals or wanderers, etc. Mass immigration of the Chinese people into Siam and the ferries overloaded with such people were a big problem to the Siam government. They feared that these people would disrupt the economy and the stability of the country. In order to deal with the mass immigration of the Chinese, they set up ”Immigration Regulations” to further limit the number of immigrants and raise the immigration fees. The number of immigrants permitted in 1947 and 1948 was respectively 10,000, but that for 1949 was only 200. Meanwhile, the government of the Republic of China also took some actions to protect her people from ill treatment by the Siam government. First, they made new laws-”Measures for the Immigration of the People to Siam” and ”Measures for the Banishment of Over-loaded Ferries.” Furthermore, they also conducted negotiations with the Siam government on the issue of limited numbers. However, Siam was very stubborn in this aspect, and because of their anti-Chinese policies of 1948, the number of Chinese immigrants into Siam was further reduced.