“搬走都是那边吸引力太强啊”水头寨党支部书记杨春福说：“越南的政策太好了，深得人心。”
马关县金厂镇老寨村水头寨的项正友，一家9口人全部搬到了越南莱州省。
临走前，项通知乡里乡亲，甚至告诉镇上的领导干部，把他们请来摆了好几桌宴席，庆贺乔迁之喜。他们一家人现在都入了越南籍。
当时，金厂镇原武装部部长杨光礼对项的“叛逃”并没有多加劝说，项临走还送了他一片杉树林。
马关县的国境线长138公里，有金厂、都龙、小坝子、夹寒菁、仁和、木厂6个边境镇，14个边境村委会和54个边境村寨，每个寨子都有边民外迁。
而沿云南中越边境一带，文山州马关和麻栗坡县一些边境民族都是举家迁往越南。据官方统计，这些边境地区的生活贫困导致边民陆续外迁，几年来，文山州麻栗坡、马关等县已有398户边民背井离乡，其中有198户752人外迁到越南、老挝和缅甸居住。
“搬走都是那边吸引力太强啊”水头寨党支部书记杨春福说：“越南的政策太好了，深得人心。”
目前，越南正加快北部边境地区恢复建设。在边境一线居住的边民，越南郑辅给予财力和物资上的扶持，全面消除茅草房。凡是进行异地搬迁的边民，每户给予8000元人民币的补助。而公路建设、人畜饮水、边民的公共设施建设全是国家投资。对有水利资源的村寨，国家无偿为农户安装微型水电发动机。
此外，越南郑辅每年还为每个劳力无偿供应一把锄头、一把砍刀，他们为边民每年无偿提供种子、耕牛，每年没人补助化肥15公斤，供应每户边民每月1千克煤油，2千克盐巴，还有收音机。
对吃粮困难的边民，越南则每户给300-800公斤的粮食，遇到自然灾害，他们还会给边民每人每月发放10-15公斤救济粮和25元救济款。
令杨春福心动的是，越南对中越边境沿线的民族山区，一律实行免费治疗，免费防疫。仅凭这一点就足够吸引不少村民搬过去。他说。中国的农村合作医疗根本没办法。村民看病都要去镇上、县上的医院才能报销，而且报销部分不足一半，村民还得自掏腰包。
那边的村民小组长待遇也比这边高，他们一个月18万越南盾，折合人民币90元。而我们一年才120元。杨春福换算得很快，他对两国政策做了一番深入的比较。他说，越南计划生育政策也宽松，这边却采取强制措施，强拉人去接扎，没钱罚款就拉牛、拉马、没有牲口就拆房子。
现在，边民子女全部采取免费教育，并且对贫困学生，少数民族学生还给予生活补助，同时采用民族语言教学，吸引不少中国边民送小孩到境外读书。
在云南河口、已有一部分边民的孩子自发地到越南学校读书。一些边民埋怨道：“国家这么大，也比越南富得多，可是对边民的照顾为什么还不如越南？”
与此同时，原缅共分裂，蜕变而成的缅甸佤帮在与缅甸郑辅达成和平协议后，制定了迁移10万人到泰缅边境勐阮、岩城等地定居的“南迁计划”。受其发放粮食和安置费、解决住房、小孩免费入学、提供必要的生产生活用具等一系列优惠政策的吸引。云南边境地区的佤族1200多户，纷纷表示愿意随迁。
另外还有不少边民受境外种植罂粟高额利润的诱惑。纷纷移民到佤邦种植、收割罂粟。目前，佤邦首府邦康3万人口中，有2万是从中国出去的
云南澜沧、西盟、孟连3县边民外迁情况也比较严重。据不完全统计，这三个县共有799户、2832人迁移到缅甸佤邦辖区定居。
云南民族大学人文学院院长鲁刚做了一项调查显示，在越、老、缅、泰四国北部地区，分布着相当数量的来自云南境内的汉、回、白等族人口，有的已经形成较大的聚居区，一般被成为“境外云南人”或“境外华人”。其中仅缅、泰、越三国北部一带便达数十万之众。在越南北部，这些人已被称为“华族”，被列为该国的少数民族之一。
另一份云南民族事物委员会的调查则显示，中国移民到缅甸果敢地区的共有约21万人（包括流动人口），其中老街就有11万多人，主要以汉族（缅郑辅称为果敢族）为主，他们通用汉语，其余还有彝、傣、傈僳、佤、崩龙（德昂）、苗等几个主要民族。
At present, all the children of the border people are free of charge of education. In addition, they are given living subsidies to poor students and minority students. At the same time, ethnic language teaching is used to attract many Chinese border residents to send their children to study abroad.
In Hekou, Yunnan Province, some of the children of the border people spontaneously went to Vietnamese schools. Some of the border residents complained: "the country is so big, and it is much richer than Vietnam, but why is the care for the border people not as good as that of Vietnam?"
At the same time, after reaching a peace agreement with Zheng Fu of Myanmar, the wa gang of Myanmar, which was formed by the split of the former Burmese Communist Party, formulated a "south migration plan" to relocate 100000 people to mengruan, Yancheng and other places along the Thai Burmese border. It is attracted by a series of preferential policies, such as the distribution of food and resettlement fees, housing, free schooling for children, and the provision of necessary production and living appliances. More than 1200 wa families in Yunnan border areas have expressed their willingness to move with them.
In addition, many border residents were attracted by the high profits of poppy cultivation abroad. They immigrated to Wa State to plant and harvest opium poppy. At present, of the 30000 people in bangkang, the capital of Wa State, 20000 are from China
The emigration of the border people in Lancang, Ximeng and Menglian counties is also serious. According to incomplete statistics, a total of 799 households and 2832 people from these three counties have moved to the wa area of Myanmar to settle down.
Lu Gang, Dean of the school of Humanities of Yunnan University for nationalities, has made a survey and found that in the northern areas of Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, a considerable number of Han, Hui, Bai and other ethnic groups from Yunnan are distributed. Some of them have formed large settlement areas and are generally called "overseas Yunnan people" or "overseas Chinese". Among them, there are hundreds of thousands of people in the northern part of Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. In northern Vietnam, these people are known as the "Chinese" and are listed as one of the ethnic minorities in the country.
Another survey conducted by Yunnan Ethnic Affairs Committee shows that there are about 210000 Chinese immigrants (including floating population) in Kokang area of Myanmar. Among them, there are more than 110000 people in Laojie, mainly Han nationality (mainly called Kokang nationality in Myanmar and Zheng). They speak Chinese. The rest are Yi, Dai, Lisu, WA, benglong (De'ang) and Miao.