ABSTRACT
History invariably helps enlighten people's thinking about the reality in which they find themselves. We should bear in mind, however, that historical phenomena are the product of a specific time and space, and that history does not repeat itself in any literal sense. While we do acknowledge that research on Southeast Asian Chinese investment and enterprise management in China in the past will contribute to an understanding of the reaction of Southeast Asian Chinese to China's open door and reform policies from the end of the 1970s, we still insist on being cautious about the use of paradigms and concepts which ignore the time perspective. For a long time, in this particular field of study, ‘Love of the Motherland and Love of the Hometown’ (Aiguo aixiang) has been a popular slogan bandied about in Chinese academic circles to explain overseas Chinese investment in China. The nub of the matter is that this explanatory framework has been applied so indiscriminately that it has become a kind of label to be stuck arbitrarily on all overseas Chinese investment activities in China. Such cursory labelling ignores the continuous changes through which the relationship of Southeast Asian Chinese investors with their home country has passed over time.
