The Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia: gains and losses

... bureaucracies. This has given rise to the clientelistic relationships, cronyism and all-inclusive corruption, such as what has happened in Indonesia. Despite a complicated historical environment, the Chinese diaspora became an essential part of the ASEAN economies back in the pre-colonial times; since then, including into the present day, the diaspora’s capital, labor and business skills have become a major part of these countries’ economies. Western, Chinese and Southeast Asian scholars have thoroughly analyzed the reasons for the Chinese’s impressive economic results [5] , which in a nutshell boil down to the following: Personal traits of the Chinese, i.e. diligence, intelligence, thriftiness, quick learning,...