DANGER ZONES: Black, White & Red Thais

The spectacular drive of the Viet Minh Communist army through Laos last week threatened to set off a chain reaction through Southeast Asia (see map). The ethnic majority in this region is Thai (pronounced tie), an ancient racial group distinct from both Chinese and Indians.

There are White Thais (whose women wear mostly white), Black Thais (who wear black), and, more recently, Red Thais (from the political colors they wear), who have their own autonomous administration in southern Yunnan (Red China). But Thais, of one color or another, inhabit Viet Nam, Laos,...

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