Like every other chief of state in Southeast Asia. South Viet Nam's President Ngo Dinh Diem was disturbed by the disproportionate economic influence wielded by his country's closely knit 1,000,000 "overseas Chinese."* In South Viet Nam 75% of the country's rice and corn trade is Chinese-controlled, and Chinese entrepreneurs dominate much of the nation's export-import trade, banking and shopkeeping. President Diem felt that Chinese who lived and worked in South Viet Nam should become Vietnamese citizens. The Chinese, respectable, law-abiding, but ever prideful of their heritage, disagreed.
Eight months ago Diem issued...