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The predominant Chinese religion is based on Mahayana Buddhism, which is quite similar to the Hinayana Buddhism20 in Thailand. Hence, there is less conflict with respect to religious customs, beliefs, and identity for the Chinese, such as with the Thai national code whereby Thai are expected to pay homage to Buddha. Thus, the Chinese minority have been able to easily merge into the Thai majority, unlike other ethnic and religious minorities such as the Malay-speaking Muslims of the south and the Thai-Indians, who at one point had threatened to secede as a result of Thailand’s Buddhist-oriented laws. Furthermore, the Chinese are quite similar to the Thai in appearance and that has also made it easier for the Chinese to fit in than for the other groups that look different from the Thai. It is also easier for the Thai to accept the Chinese into their community, more so than the Malay and Indonesian Muslims who have different religious beliefs. For example, Malays do not eat pork because it is against the Muslims’ strict Halal code. Consequently, the Thai and the Chinese are not quite welcomed living within that community due to such religious differences.
Secondly, the similarity in lifestyles and beliefs (e.g., food and folk beliefs) between the two cultures has rendered a rather smooth assimilation of the Chinese into Thai society. This cultural affinity has prompted successive generations of the Thai government to craft policies that help the Chinese to assimilate. Indeed, proactive assimilation policies have played a strong role in helping the Chinese minority adapt, unlike Muslim countries that have overtly discriminatory policies against the Chinese.
Chan and Tong
Chan and Tong (1993) counter Skinner’s hypothesis that the similarity in lifestyles and beliefs, especially in religion, has prompted the Chinese to emigrate to Thailand and has eased their assimilation process. Their findings will also be addressed in this book. In their article “Rethinking Assimilation and Ethnicity: The Chinese in Thailand,” Chan and Tong (1993) claim that Skinner “overemphasized the forces of assimilation.”21