Международная научная конференция ЮВА в СПбГУ-65

Международная научная конференция, посвященная 65-й годовщине начала изучения языков ЮВА в нашей стране The CHinese Overseas in Thailand and Vietnam—Similarities and Differences 237 ‘Renovation’ (Đổi M i), the local Chinese diaspora once again gained an opportunity to more actively participate in the social life of the country, which also included the ability to get involved in economic activity. An additional important factor, that should be mentioned, in relation to the improvement of the position of the Chinese Overseas in Vietnam was the stabilization of foreign relations between the SRV and the PRC, which happened in the early 1990s. This in turn led to the fast growth of bilateral trade between the two countries and general intensification of cooperation between them. Naturally, those Chinese Overseas, who still remained in Vietnam at the time of the stabilization of its relations with China could not help but benefitted from that process. Returning to the Chinese Overseas in Thailand, it should be stressed, that they continued to play a crucial role in the economic development of that country continuously throughout the 20 th century and now, during the early 21 st century, they still remain very important in Thai economy. The number of successful businessmen of Chinese descent has been growing during the 20 th  — early 21 st centuries. During the last four decades at least, it is the Chinese Overseas who consistently top the lists of the richest men in Thailand [Forbes]. According to the estimates made in 2002, the Chinese Overseas in Thailand generated over 33 % of the national GDP [Haley, et al. 2009: 15]. In Thailand it is not at all common to express any type of negative attitude to the public self-identification and acknowledgement of oneself as an Overseas Chinese person, and it was not common virtually ever in its history. Majority of Thai people do not consider the Chinese ethnic minority leaving in the country to be any kind of threat. As such, apart frommaybe just a brief period in Thailand’s history, when state inspired nationalismwas on the rise, during the late 1930s, there has been almost no suspicion and hostility between the Thais and the people of Chinese descent, who live in Thailand. Moreover, by the late 20 th century those Chinese Overseas people in Thailand, who managed to attain especially good results in business, started to also get more and more directly involved in local politics as well, even in politics on the highest level. Thus, almost all PrimeMinisters of Thailand of non-military background