Chinese Society in the Republic of Vietnam in the 1960s: Reading Chinese-language Newspapers Published in Saigon

Satohiro Serizawa
(Cultural Anthropology; Studies of Chinese Overseas)
(Professor, Faculty of International Studies, Tenri University / Visiting Professor, CSEAS, Kyoto University)

From 1954 to 1975, Vietnam was divided into the two states of “The Democratic Republic of Vietnam” in the north and “The Republic of Vietnam” in the south, with the city of Saigon as its capital. This year (2025) marks 50 years since Saigon was taken by North Vietnam forces on April 30, 1975, ending the civil war and leading to the unification of North and South Vietnam. Saigon is now well known to Japanese people as Ho Chi Minh City.

I am currently researching Chinese-language newspapers that were published in Saigon. I focus on four newspapers published from September 1966 to December 1967, which are held on microfilm in the library of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto University. This short article presents some preliminary findings from a review of announcements and advertisements printed in the four newspapers.

Newspaper Announcements: A Window on the Chinese Community in Saigon

The ethnic Chinese community in Saigon in the 1960s was composed of first-generation immigrants who had escaped from mainland China during the Sino-Japanese War of the 1930s and 1940s and those who left around the time of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. They had much affection for the traditional Chinese culture that they had enjoyed before emigrating. At the same time, Saigon’s Chinese community operated under the influence of the Republic of China, the regime of Chiang Kai-shek in Taiwan after 1949, which had close ties with South Vietnam. In response to the Cultural Revolution in the People’s Republic of China on the mainland, which was perceived as destroying traditional culture, the Republic of China in Taiwan promoted a “Chinese Cultural Revival Movement.” In this context, Chinese language schools, ancestral associations (where people with the same surname worshipped their ancestors), and Chinese-language newspapers were established in Saigon.

Chinese-language newspapers played a significant role in the social lives of Chinese people in Saigon. In reviewing the four newspapers mentioned above, I found that many locals placed family-related notices in the newspapers, such as announcements of funerals and marriages. Such family rituals, including those of ancestor worship, were important events for the traditional Chinese family. Information about these events circulated through the announcements, which connected people to each other and to shared traditions, strengthening a sense of community.

A Mutual Aid System Revealed: The Case of a Hakka Merchant Family’s Announcements

Eager to help their fellow Chinese, successful businessmen in the immigrant community contributed their wealth to community activities for the ethnic Chinese in Saigon. They often became members of the management committees of hospitals run by native-place associations (groups composed of people from the same hometown in China). Chinese people in Saigon in the 1960s benefited from hospitals run by hometown groups not only as patients; their continuous contributions to hospital management created a communal connection and allowed their personal and family assets to be used for social work.

A series of announcements published in a Chinese-language newspaper by one Chinese family in Saigon provides a useful example here. Six hospitals were operated by Chinese native place associations in Saigon in the 1960s. These were “Guangzhao,”¹ run by the Cantonese, “Fushan,” run by the Fujianese, “Liuyi,” run by the Chaoshanese, “Hainan,” run by the Hainan islanders, “Chongzheng,” run by the Hakka people, and “Zhongzheng,” run by the five groups above together. Many of the Hakka merchants in the southern part of Vietnam were from Dabu County of Guangdong Province in China and engaged in the medical business. In 1967, the chairman of the management committee of Chongzheng Hospital was Mr. Gao Xue Tian, who owned three pharmacies.

On January 16, 1967, colleagues and friends of Mr. Gao Xue Tian published an announcement in the Jianguo Guoji Lianhe Bao (one of the four Chinese newspapers I am researching), celebrating the birth of Mr. Gao Xue Tian’s grandson. Mr. Li Bo Chi posted a similar celebratory announcement on January 17. On January 15, the Western Saigon branch of the International Lions Club, where Mr. Gao Jin Xing was a member, placed a congratulatory announcement to their fellow member in the same newspaper.

Responding to these announcements, Mr. Gao Xue Tian and his son, Mr. Gao Jin Xing, published a response of gratitude in Jianguo Guoji Lianhe Bao on January 18. In it, they declared that they would donate 5,000 Yuan to each Chinese hospital in Saigon, or a total of 30,000 Yuan (the equivalent of approximately 300–600,000 Yen today). Next to this announcement was a joint thank-you announcement from the six hospitals, expressing their gratitude to Mr. Gao Xue Tian and his son for the donation.

In this way, the Chinese community in Saigon had a system in place in which hospitals were important mutual aid facilities, and Chinese funds were channeled into social work. The connections between personal and family ceremonies and the local community were made known to members of the Chinese community through the exchange of announcements in Chinese-language newspapers, reinforcing the mutual aid system and a sense of community.

I have collected numerous examples of this kind of series of announcements published in Saigon’s Chinese-language newspapers. Newspapers are a valuable resource for area studies. Before the advent of radio, television, and the more recent Internet, they were an important medium for conveying information that the public needed to know and played a key role in shaping public opinion. In August 2025, the one remaining official Chinese-language newspaper in Ho Chi Minh City ceased print publication. The online version does not include community announcements. This gives me a renewed motivation to continue to probe the Chinese-language newspapers of Saigon. 

This article is also available in Japanese. >>
「1960年代・南ベトナムの華人社会：
サイゴンの中国語新聞を読む」（芹澤知広）