Link to article: https://apnews.com/article/chinese-immigration-thailand-schools-chiang-mai-9d1953344e8b35327020408b8f677264
This article reviews the recent increase in Chinese emigration to other countries, specifically Thailand, and moreover goes over why it is happening. The text includes interviews from Chinese parents about their children and why they chose to move. A very prominent reason is the ultra-competitive work environment in China, particularly for students. The competition for schools is so intense that a parent’s desire for their child to have a good education can coerce them to give up their job and rent an apartment near their child’s place of study to do chores for them. However, in other cities outside of China such as the Chiang Mai province in Thailand where the competition is much more relaxed, both parents and students are able to pursue lives outside of education.
My take is that the recent increase in emigration from China will be detrimental to the country itself. China’s harsh work environment for students, some as young as elementary school, is bad enough that people are exiting the country to escape it. Clearly, the work required for both parents and students is enormous, and China may have to take some steps to decrease the amount of pressure. Lasting impacts may include a lowered population thanks to the waves of Chinese emigrating, and perhaps a more permanent Chinese population centered around foreign international schools in Chiang Mai and beyond.
Taking Thailand into account, a potential response could be making more residential infrastructure near any international schools in its cities. More Chinese cultural assimilation could occur primarily in more urban environments. On top of that, Thailand’s economy would increase due to families moving in and taking jobs, as well as more students coming into its schools. On the other hand, China’s overall educated workforce could decrease. Since the amount of Chinese emigrating in general is on the rise, there will be fewer adults taking jobs. China could respond by coercing its citizens to stay by somehow making the educational environment less oppressive, or perhaps it could take more extreme measures such as locking down the border with Thailand if the emigration problem became more severe. We are currently learning about world actors and who holds the most influence. China is a very powerful multi-nation state, and holds a lot of influence over the world’s affairs. Thailand, meanwhile, is a very homogenous nation-state with not a lot of variety of people and not a lot of power on the world stage. However, with the influx of Chinese beginning to move there, it could become less homogenous over time once the benefits of moving are realized. Perhaps Thailand could become a multi-nation state in the future should this trend continue.