TAY NINH

town, southern Vietnam, situated on a tributary of the Vam Co Tay River, 65 miles (105 km) northwest of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and 25 miles (40 km) from the border with Kampuchea. Tay Ninh is the seat of the Cao Dai, a militant syncretic religious sect founded in 1926 that controlled and administered the area for several years following World War II. Formerly a Cambodian (Khmer) territory occupied early in the 19th century by the Vietnamese under Emperor Gia Long, the region has Khmer, Chinese, and Cham minorities. The region is noted for its large rubber and sugar plantations; rice and coconuts are also harvested. Followers of the Cao Dai, who dominate the area, have built a cathedral in Tay Ninh. The region also has concentrations of the Hoa Hao, a rival militant Buddhist sect. Pop. (1989) town, 32,881.