Handling mountain minorities in China, Vietnam and Laos: from history to current concerns

This paper is an overview of issues pertaining to highland minorities in the three socialist countries sharing portions of the Southeast Asian Massif, namely China, Vietnam and Laos. It presents the historical complexity of highland minority policy in these countries. The paper thus depicts prevalent state strategies that aimed, and largely still aim, to handle highland minorities in the most effective and economical way, to ensure that the nation will progress steadily forward. The six current issues of borders and transnationality, taxonomy, indigenous peoples' status, customary land tenure, tourism and environmental issues are then explored critically.