A review of Pridi’s Banomyong’s political activism in China and his exile to France (1948-1970) through the “Dossier de Pridi” at the Archives diplomatiques du ministère des Affaires étrangères, France

Abstract

Of all the works on Pridi Bayomyong’s biography, Pridi's 21-year exile in China from 1948 to 1970 is the least studied. Currently available works on Pridi in China thus have many limitations. For example, Pridi’s image is often static, emphasising on him not being a communist. Many works also did not provide the correct facts. Even if the facts seem correct, they are often so partially, without providing much help in understanding Pridi or the context at the time. However, in contrast to previous works which ignore the importance of the period, the time when Pridi was in China could be characterised as politically intense, both domestically and internationally. For instance, the Korean War, Sarit's coup in Thailand, the Vietnam War, the beginning of the armed struggle of the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT), the "Great Leap Forward" and the Cultural Revolution, all happened when Pridi was in exile in China.

This article studies the two folders which may be called the “Dossier de Pridi”, kept at the Archives diplomatiques du ministère des Affaires étrangères, France, which covers the period 1965-1972, and presents the contents of the documents. It proposes that if analysed, interpreted and compared with other documents related to Pridi's exile in China, it is possible to view the complexities of Pridi as a political activist while living in exile in China from 1948 to 1970 by dividing his activism into three sub-periods, which is related to the situation in Thailand, in China and the international situation.