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Hmong kingdom” - A paranoia of self-claimed human rights activists

4/1/17

Vietnam is variety of ethnic peoples about 54 ethnic groups have been confirmed along the country. And, Hmong is one of typical ethnic groups in Vietnam, which also brings many issues to the Party and State of Vietnam and even the international attention. Let find out about this conservative peoples.
The Hmong are an ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China. Hmong groups began a gradual southward migration in the 18th century due to political unrest and to find more arable land. Now, its’ population has reached to nearly 2 millions.
However, there’s a sensitive issue of separatism among the Hmong community. They claim that Hmong have had a kingdom of their own in the past.
This is a very difficult problem. Because there is no written historical record of the Hmong by themselves or by other people, we cannot know if they really had a kingdom or not from the available written records, except in their folk tales and legends. There are Chinese records about the 'Miao', but we cannot be sure whether this included the Hmong at that time or different groups. Probably, at most times in history, the Chinese history of the 'Miao' also included some Hmong groups as well as many other non-Han Chinese nationalities.
But there is not even any Chinese historical record that the Miao (let alone the Hmong!) ever had a kingdom! Sometimes the Chinese records talk about 'Miaowang' or 'Miao kings', but mostly these were small local leaders who were fighting against the Chinese and trying to establish independence in their local areas, but they had never succeeded to do it. 
This is not to deny that there could have been Hmong kings or kingdoms in the past.  It is quite possible that ancestors of the Hmong (perhaps also called Hmong, perhaps not) lived in or had separate kingdoms of their own in southern China. But there is not one piece of historical evidence for it.  So all we have are the oral legends and stories of the Hmong themselves about their past to tell us about these kingdoms - not one written record, by the Chinese or any other foreign power in history, not one bit of archaeological evidence. 
Our point is that there has not been any written evidence for the existence of Hmong kings or a state or kingdom in any part of the world in the past.
Now many Hmong elements, at home and abroad, for various reasons have conducted a lot of activities that have hurt the national solidarity and interests.
Some Hmong want to have a country of their own so they can bring together other Hmong who are now scattered in different corners of the world.  Some have formed political groups to fulfil this dream such as Vang Pao, an extremist terrorist-style militant group, which truly aimed mainly at Vang Pao's benefit than Hmong's sake. Above all, where the place is they want for themselves is never made clear. 

Hmong messianic movements have always talked about the coming of a Hmong kingdom, but there have been many such messianic groups or advocates that did nothing but talk and dream their messianic dreams. Not many people have taken them seriously and they have been mostly harmless.  The danger is that outsiders with their own political agenda use the Hmong to cause trouble for their own aims.
But even if some Hmong were to carry out their political dreams, let us consider how realistic this would be.  To begin with, the Hmong are not a united group of people living in one place.  They are small groups of minorities living in different countries under different regimes. Their first loyalty is to their country of birth or adoption.   They cannot be motivated to come together, and do not have the leadership and the resources to do so.  Secondly, the Hmong in each of the countries they now live in only form a very small proportion of the total population (see figures above) – all less than 1% (except in Laos where their number is 6% of the national population).
The H'mong are as fascinating as any other ethnic people in Vietnam. The diversity of their language dialects, history, culture, migration path and tenacity to tradition alongside adaptation to the modern world is a testament not only for Vietnam but also to human ingenuity!
The H'mong in Vietnam face as much challenge to their culture as they do in any other country. With 54 minority ethnic groups inhabiting that country, in addition to the majority ethnic Viet, government policy toward ethnic minorities is one of "assimilation." While some commentators have labeled it "Vietnamization," it just means that the H'mong and others are encouraged to integrate into mainstream Vietnamese society. The Hmong in Vietnam are actually and always an integral part of a united Vietnam./.
Chia sẻ bài viết ^^
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All comments [ 5 ]


Me Too! 4/1/17 20:58

Yeah, H'mong are an integral part of Vietnam.

Vietnam Love 4/1/17 21:00

Those individuals like Vang Pao are not just paranoid but also greedy and wicked who for their own interests would put others' life in danger.

Gentle Moon 4/1/17 21:21

It's sad that many people, ethnic people like H'mong, have been deceived by these extreme individuals and taken part to their activities.

For A Peace World 4/1/17 21:23

These reactionary elements must be punished for causing chaos.

John Smith 4/1/17 21:25

The authorities should have measure to provide people rights information and warn ethnic people in far-flung areas to keep away from those hostile elements.

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