[lvlrsSTI]

The Thai Chinese have been deeply ingrained into all elements of Thai society over the past 200 years. The present Thai royal family, the Chakri dynasty, was founded by King Rama I who himself was partly Chinese.[5] His predecessor, King Taksin of the Thonburi Kingdom, was the son of a Chinese father from Chaoshan.[6] With the successful integration of historic Chinese immigrant communities in Thailand, a significant number of Thai Chinese are the descendants of intermarriages between ethnic Chinese and native Thais. Many of these descendants have assimilated into Thai society and self-identify solely as Thai.[7][8][9]

Thai Chinese are a well-established middle class ethnic group and are well represented at all levels of Thai society.[10][11][12]: 3, 43 [13][14] They play a leading role in Thailand's business sector and dominate the Thai economy today.[15]: 22 [12]: 179 [16][17] In addition, Thai Chinese have a strong presence in Thailand's political scene with most of Thailand's former Prime Ministers and the majority of parliament having at least some Chinese ancestry.[18][19][15]: 58 [20] Thais of Chinese descent are also well represented among Thailand's military and royalist elite.

[lvlrsSTI]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_Chinese

[lvlrsSTI]

For assimilated second and third generation descendants of Chinese immigrants, it is principally a personal choice whether or not to identify themselves as ethnic Chinese.[24] Nonetheless, nearly all Thai Chinese solely self-identify as Thai, due to their close integration and successful assimilation into Thai society.[25][26] G. William Skinner observed that the level of assimilation of the descendants of Chinese immigrants in Thailand disproved the "myth about the 'unchanging Chinese'", noting that "assimilation is considered complete when the immigrant's descendant identifies himself in almost all social situations as a Thai, speaks Thai language habitually and with native fluency, and interacts by choice with Thai more often than with Chinese."[27]: 237  Skinner believed that the assimilation success of the Thai Chinese was a result of the wise policy of the Thai rulers who, since the 17th century, allowed able Chinese tradesmen to advance their ranks into the kingdom's nobility.[27]: 240–241  The rapid and successful assimilation of the Thai Chinese has been celebrated by the Chinese descendants themselves, as evident in contemporary literature such as the novel Letters from Thailand (Thai: จดหมายจากเมืองไทย) by Botan.[28]

Today, the Thai Chinese constitute a significant part of the royalist/nationalist movements. When the then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is Thai Chinese, was ousted from power in 2006, it was Sondhi Limthongkul, another prominent Thai Chinese businessman, who formed and led People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) movement to protest the successive governments run by Thaksin's allies.[29][30] Mr. Sondhi accused Mr. Thaksin of corruption based on improper business ties between Thaksin's corporate empire and the Singapore-based Temasek Holdings Group.[31] The Thai Chinese in and around Bangkok were also the main participants of the months-long political campaign against the government of Ms. Yingluck (Mr. Thaksin's sister), between November 2013 and May 2014, the event which culminated in the military takeover in May 2014.

[[[ForeverAlone]]]

My parents told me a lot old gen Hainanese actually in Thailand.

[SotongOngTee]

There are quite many influential Sookeenang in Thai government. My clan used to have triennial function there and we need not pass through normal airport immigration channel.

[Huliwang]

My parents told me a lot old gen Hainanese actually in Thailand.

I met one sukeenang in Hat Yai. They owned a spectacle shop and I heard them talked in Hainanese. So I bs them in Hainanese and were very happy to meet me........