Reviewing “The Chinese Question” in Southeast Asia

Abstract

These books share a common interest – overseas Chinese political, social, and economic fates and identities, and are broadly focused on three key questions: what was the position of Chinese people in Southeast Asia during the twentieth century?What images circulated about Chinese Diaspora communities in the region, and how was “Chineseness” defined by themselves, the states and societies in which they lived, and their ancestral homelands? Finally, how did domestic political agendas, bilateral diplomacy, and global geopolitics mediate notions of Chineseness, whether viewed as culture and/or citizenship?