Ethnic Composition
Prior to the formation of the Communist Party of Siam, the Communist Party of China had an active exile branch working amongst the ethnically Chinese in the country. The party obtained legal status in 1946, and had a major influence in trade unions and amongst Chinese students. The party had around 2000 active members and another 3000 sympathizers in Siam. However, after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 most of the Chinese communists in the country joined the CPT. Thus from this period until 1976, the party membership was largely ethnically Chinese. However, following the rapid expansion of the party following the 1976 massacre the profile of the party changed and ethnic Thais came to constitute the dominant group amongst the party ranks.
There was also a strong presence of other ethnic minorities amongst the party ranks. Notably, whilst many Hmongs in neighbouring Laos tended to side with anti-communist forces, the CPT was able to build a strong base amongst Hmong people in Thailand.
Read more about this topic: Communist Party Of Thailand
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