THE MOVEMENT FOR THE VIETNAMESE TO DEVELOP BUSINESS IN THE CHINESE “KHACH TRU” (GUEST RESIDENTS) BOYCOTT MOVEMENT IN COCHINCHINE IN 1919

Abstract

The Chinese “khach tru” (guest residents) boycott movement broke out in Cochinchine in 1919, then spread throughout the country. In this movement, in addition to calling on Vietnamese to boycott goods and services of overseas Chinese merchants, the initiators of the movement also called on the Vietnamese in Cochinchina to invest in developing production and business activities to compete and replace the role of overseas Chinese merchants in economic activities and mobilized a large number of Vietnamese people to participate. This article reconstructs the movement for the Vietnamese to develop business in the Chinese “khach tru” (guest residents) boycott movement which broke out in Cochinchina in 1919 by such methods as analysis, criticis and synthesis of historical documents which were mainly published in contemporary press forums. On that basis, the article analyzes the origin and continuation of this movement in the later period, thereby clarifying the contributions and historical significance of this movement to the formation process of the Vietnamese bourgeoisie during the French colonial period and the contributions of the movement to the Vietnamese historical process.