CHINESE VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN CITIES AND THE KAIFONGS IN HONG KONG
ALINE K. WONG*
VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS IN OVERSEAS CHINESE COMMUNITIES
There are many kinds of voluntary organizations among the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, such as chambers of commerce, clan associations, district and dialect associations, trade unions, religious societies, secret societies, political clubs and recreational clubs. However, in terms of contribution to the public life of the Chinese communities, three types of organizations, viz., the chambers of commerce, the district and dialect associations are more important than the rest. District and dialect groups are always closely connected; it is difficult to speak of one apart from the other. And in some cases, the chambers of commerce are in fact federations of local district associations.
Well-known literature on the Chinese voluntary associations in this part of the world includes such works by William Skinner1 and Richard Coughlin on Thailand, Maurice Freedman3 on Singapore, Victor Purcell on Malaya, Ju-k’ang T’ien5 on Sarawak, Donald Willmott on Semarang and Lea Williams on Indonesia. Examining this wealth of literature, one finds that the chambers of commerce, the district and dialect associations serve three main kinds of functions; namely, economic, social and political. While the chambers of commerce are manifestly merchants’
* Mrs. Wong is head of the Department of Sociology at United College, Chinese University of Hong Kong. This paper was contributed to a conference on "The City as a Centre of Change in Asia" organised by the Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong in June, 1969.
1 Leadership and Power in the Chinese Community of Thailand, Ithaca, 1958.
2 Double Identity. The Chinese in Modern Thailand, Hong Kong, 1960.
3 Chinese Family and Marriage in Singapore, London, 1957.
4 The Chinese in Malaya, London, 1948; The Chinese in Southeast Asia, London, 1965.
5 The Chinese of Sarawak, London, 1953.
6 Chinese of Semarang, Ithaca, 1960.
7 Overseas Chinese Nationalism, Glencoe, 1960; The Future of the Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, 1966.