Migration Encounters

Abstract

Abstract This chapter addresses the issue of how the mass movement of people from China in recent years has left unintended consequences on host countries and their local communities. Using Thailand as its focus, the chapter situates this mass movement of people within the context of the long history of migration from China to Southeast Asia, while emphasizing the similarities and differences between these different waves of Chinese migration to the region. The chapter specifically discuss three categories of such population movement: tourists, businesses, and students. It then considers the changing perception towards the Chinese in Thailand and explores how to explain such changing perceptions with a view of the Chinese migration history to Southeast Asia.