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Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside
Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
,
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, and
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese.


Terminology

() or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in
Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...
, refers to people of Chinese citizenship residing outside of either the PRC or ROC (Taiwan). The government of China realized that the overseas Chinese could be an asset, a source of foreign investment and a bridge to overseas knowledge; thus, it began to recognize the use of the term Huaqiao. Ching-Sue Kuik renders in English as "the Chinese
sojourner A sojourner is a person who resides temporarily in a place. Sojourner may also refer to: *Sojourner Truth (1797–1883), abolitionist and women's rights activist *Albert Sojourner (1872–1951), member of the Mississippi House of Representatives ...
" and writes that the term is "used to disseminate, reinforce, and perpetuate a monolithic and essentialist Chinese identity" by both the PRC and the ROC. The modern informal internet term () refers to returned overseas Chinese and ''guīqiáo qiáojuàn'' () to their returning relatives. () refers to people of Chinese origin residing outside of China, regardless of citizenship. Another often-used term is 海外華人 (Hǎiwài Huárén) or simply 華人/华人 (Huárén) in Mandarin. It is often used by the Government of the People's Republic of China to refer to people of Chinese ethnicities who live outside the PRC, regardless of citizenship (they can become citizens of the country outside China by naturalization). Overseas Chinese who are ethnic
Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...
, such as
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
, Hokchew,
Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...
,
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
or Teochew refer to themselves as zh, c=唐人, labels=no (Tángrén), pronounced ''Tòhng yàn'' in
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
, ''Toung ning'' in Hokchew, ''Tn̂g-lâng'' in
Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...
and ''Tong nyin'' in
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
. Literally, it means ''Tang people'', a reference to
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
China when it was ruling. This term is commonly used by the
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
, Hokchew,
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
and
Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...
as a colloquial reference to the Chinese people and has little relevance to the ancient dynasty. For example, in the early 1850s when Chinese shops opened on Sacramento St. in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, the Chinese emigrants, mainly from the Pearl River Delta west of
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...
, called it ''Tang People Street'' ( zh, c=唐人街, p=Tángrén Jiē) and the settlement became known as ''Tang People Town'' () or Chinatown, which in Cantonese is ''Tong Yun Fow''. The term () is added to the various terms for the overseas Chinese to indicate those who would be considered
ethnic minorities in China Ethnic minorities in China are the non- Han population in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The PRC officially recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within China in addition to the Han majority. As of 2010, the combined population of o ...
. The terms and () are all in usage. The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the PRC does not distinguish between Han and ethnic minority populations for official policy purposes. For example, members of the
Tibetan people The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans liv ...
may travel to China on passes granted to certain people of Chinese descent. Various estimates of the Chinese emigrant minority population include 3.1 million (1993), 3.4 million (2004), 5.7 million (2001, 2010), or approximately one tenth of all Chinese emigrants (2006, 2011). Cross-border ethnic groups (, ''kuàjìng mínzú'') are not considered Chinese emigrant minorities unless they left China ''after'' the establishment of an independent state on China's border. Some ethnic groups who have historic connections with China, like the Hmong may not or may identify themselves as Chinese.


History

The Chinese people have a long history of migrating overseas. One of the migrations dates back to the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
when
Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferr ...
(1371–1435) became the envoy of Ming. He sent people – many of them are
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
and
Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...
 – to explore and trade in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Ph ...
and in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
.


Early emigration

Different waves of immigration led to subgroups among overseas Chinese such as the new and old immigrants in Southeast Asia,
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
, Oceania, the Caribbean, South America, South Africa, and Europe. In the 19th century, the age of
colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their reli ...
was at its height and the great Chinese diaspora began. Many colonies lacked a large pool of laborers. Meanwhile, in the provinces of
Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...
and
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...
in China, there was a surge in emigration as a result of the poverty and village ruin. The Qing ruler was forced to allow its subjects to work overseas under colonial powers. Many Hokkien chose to work in Southeast Asia (where they had earlier links starting from the Imperial Chinese era), as did the Cantonese. The area of
Taishan, Guangdong Province Taishan (), alternately romanized in Cantonese as Toishan or Toisan, in local dialect as Hoisan, and formerly known as Xinning or Sunning (), is a county-level city in the southwest of Guangdong province, China. It is administered as part ...
was the source for many of the economic migrants. San Francisco and California was an early American destination in the mid 1800s because of the California Gold Rush. Many settled in San Francisco forming one of the earliest Chinatowns. For the countries in North America and Australia saw great numbers of Chinese gold diggers finding gold in the gold mining and
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...
construction. Widespread famine in Guangdong impelled many Cantonese to work in these countries to improve the living conditions of their relatives. Some overseas Chinese were sold to
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
during the Punti-Hakka Clan Wars (1855–1867) in the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
many people from the
New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
emigrated to the UK (mainly England) and to the British Raj India to help depopulation. During the early and mid-19th century, the anthropometric indicators, namely height of the overseas Chinese was close to the parameters of Southern Europeans. Moreover, the
average height Human height or stature is the distance from the bottom of the feet to the top of the head in a human body, standing erect. It is measured using a stadiometer, in centimetres when using the metric system or SI system, or feet and inches when u ...
of Southern Chinese used to be relatively stable at around 161–164 cm for males. Another important fact is that the height of Chinese emigrants varied depending on the location they have chosen. Hence,
emigrants Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
from
Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the nor ...
and
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
were shorter than some Chinese prisoners who used to live in the U.S. and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
. The establishment of the
Lanfang Republic The Lanfang Republic (, Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Làn-fông Khiung-fò-koet''), also known as Lanfang Company (), was a Chinese kongsi federation and a tributary state of Qing China in Western Borneo. It was established by a Hakka Chinese named in 17 ...
() in West Kalimantan was established by overseas Chinese.


Republic of China

Under the Republicans economic growth froze and many migrated outside the Republic of China, mostly through the coastal regions via the ports of
Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...
,
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...
,
Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
and
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
. These migrations are considered to be among the largest in China's history. Many nationals of the Republic of China fled and settled down overseas mainly between the years 1911–1949, after the Nationalist government led by
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
lost the mainland to Communist revolutionaries and relocated. Most of the nationalist and neutral refugees fled Mainland China to
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
while others fled to
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
(
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
,
Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...
,
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
and
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
) as well as
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
(Republic of China).


After World War II

Those who fled during 1912–1949 and settled down in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
and
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
and automatically gained citizenship in 1957 and 1963 as these countries gained independence.
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
members who settled in Malaysia and Singapore played a major role in the establishment of the
Malaysian Chinese Association The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA; zh, 马来西亚华人公会; ; ta, மலேசிய சீனர் சங்கம், initially known as the Malayan Chinese Association) is a uni-racial political party in Malaysia that seeks to ...
and their meeting hall at Sun Yat Sen Villa. There was evidence that some intended to reclaim mainland China from the CCP by funding the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
. During the 1950s and 1960s, the ROC tended to seek the support of overseas Chinese communities through branches of the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
based on
Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
's use of
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
Chinese communities to raise money for his revolution. During this period, the People's Republic of China tended to view overseas Chinese with suspicion as possible
capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...
infiltrators and tended to value relationships with Southeast Asian nations as more important than gaining support of overseas Chinese, and in the
Bandung declaration The first large-scale Asian–African or Afro–Asian Conference ( id, Konferensi Asia–Afrika)—also known as the Bandung Conference—was a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, which took place on 18–2 ...
explicitly stated that overseas Chinese owed primary loyalty to their home nation. From the mid-20th century onward, emigration has been directed primarily to Western countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada, Brazil, The United Kingdom, New Zealand, Argentina and the nations of Western Europe; as well as to Peru, Panama, and to a lesser extent to Mexico. Many of these emigrants who entered Western countries were themselves overseas Chinese, particularly from the 1950s to the 1980s, a period during which the PRC placed severe restrictions on the movement of its citizens. In 1984, Britain agreed to transfer the sovereignty of
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
to the PRC; this triggered another wave of migration to the United Kingdom (mainly England), Australia, Canada, US, South America, Europe and other parts of the world. The
1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Four ...
further accelerated the migration. The wave calmed after Hong Kong's transfer of
sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
in 1997. In addition, many citizens of Hong Kong hold citizenships or have current visas in other countries so if the need arises, they can leave Hong Kong at short notice. In recent years, the People's Republic of China has built increasingly stronger ties with African nations. In 2014, author Howard French estimated that over one million Chinese have moved in the past 20 years to Africa. More recent Chinese presences have developed in Europe, where they number well over 1 million, and in Russia, they number over 200,000, concentrated in the
Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admin ...
. Russia's main Pacific port and naval base of Vladivostok, once closed to foreigners and belonged to China until the late 19th century, bristles with Chinese markets, restaurants and trade houses. A growing Chinese community in Germany consists of around 76,000 people . An estimated 15,000 to 30,000 Chinese live in Austria.


Overseas Chinese experience


Commercial success

Chinese emigrants are estimated to control US$2 trillion in liquid assets and have considerable amounts of wealth to stimulate economic power in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. The Chinese business community of Southeast Asia, known as the
bamboo network The Bamboo network () or the Chinese Commonwealth () is a term used to conceptualize connections between businesses operated by the Overseas Chinese community in Southeast Asia. The Overseas Chinese business networks constitute the single most ...
, has a prominent role in the region's private sectors. In Europe, North America and Oceania, occupations are diverse and impossible to generalize; ranging from catering to significant ranks in
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
,
the arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...
and
academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
. Overseas Chinese often send remittances back home to family members to help better them financially and socioeconomically. China ranks second after India of top remittance-receiving countries in 2018 with over US$67 billion sent.


Assimilation

Overseas Chinese communities vary widely as to their degree of
assimilation Assimilation may refer to: Culture * Cultural assimilation, the process whereby a minority group gradually adapts to the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture and customs ** Language shift, also known as language assimilation, the prog ...
, their interactions with the surrounding communities (see Chinatown), and their relationship with China. Thailand has the largest overseas Chinese community and is also the most successful case of
assimilation Assimilation may refer to: Culture * Cultural assimilation, the process whereby a minority group gradually adapts to the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture and customs ** Language shift, also known as language assimilation, the prog ...
, with many claiming
Thai identity Thainess or the Thai identity ( th, ความเป็นไทย, ) is a conceptual identity regarding the quality of being Thai, i.e. characteristics seen as distinctive to the Thai people, their culture, and those belonging to Thailand as a ...
. For over 400 years, Thai Chinese have largely intermarried and/or assimilated with their compatriots. The present royal house of Thailand, the Chakri dynasty, was founded by King Rama I who himself was partly Chinese. His predecessor, King Taksin of the
Thonburi Kingdom The Thonburi Kingdom ( th, ธนบุรี) was a major Siamese kingdom which existed in Southeast Asia from 1767 to 1782, centered around the city of Thonburi, in Siam or present-day Thailand. The kingdom was founded by Taksin the Great, ...
, was the son of a Chinese immigrant from Guangdong Province and was born with a Chinese name. His mother, Lady Nok-iang (Thai: นกเอี้ยง), was Thai (and was later awarded the noble title of Somdet Krom Phra Phithak Thephamat). In the Philippines, the Chinese, known as the
Sangley Sangley (English plural: ''Sangleys''; Spanish plural: ''Sangleyes'') and Mestizo de Sangley (Sangley mestizo, ''mestisong Sangley'', ''chino mestizo'' or Chinese mestizo) are archaic terms used in the Philippines to describe a person of pure o ...
, from
Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...
and
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...
were already migrating to the islands as early as 9th century, where many have largely intermarried with both native Filipinos and Spanish Filipinos ( Tornatrás). Early presence of Chinatowns in overseas communities start to appear in Spanish colonial Philippines around 16th century in the form of Parians in
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...
, where Chinese merchants were allowed to reside and flourish as commercial centers, thus
Binondo Binondo () is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas and Tondo. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594 by the S ...
, a historical district of Manila, has become the world's oldest Chinatown. Under Spanish colonial policy of Christianization,
assimilation Assimilation may refer to: Culture * Cultural assimilation, the process whereby a minority group gradually adapts to the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture and customs ** Language shift, also known as language assimilation, the prog ...
and intermarriage, their colonial mixed descendants would eventually form the bulk of the middle-class which would later rise to the Principalía and illustrado intelligentsia, which carried over and fueled the elite ruling classes of the American period and later independent Philippines. Chinese Filipinos play a considerable role in the
economy of the Philippines The economy of the Philippines is the world's 32nd largest economy by nominal GDP according to the International Monetary Fund 2021 and the 12th largest economy in Asia, and the 3rd largest economy in the ASEAN after Indonesia and Thai ...
and descendants of Sangley compose a considerable part of the
Philippine population Demography of the Philippines records the human population, including its population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects. The Philippines annualized population growth rate be ...
. In
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, the Chinese rarely intermarry (even amongst different Chinese linguistic groups), but have largely adopted the Burmese culture whilst maintaining Chinese cultural affinities. In
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...
, between 1965 and 1993, people with Chinese names were prevented from finding governmental employment, leading to a large number of people changing their names to a local, Cambodian name. Indonesia and Myanmar were among the countries that do not allow birth names to be registered in foreign languages, including Chinese. But since 2003, the Indonesian government has allowed ethnic Chinese people to use their Chinese name or using their Chinese family name on their birth certificate. In Vietnam, all Chinese names can be pronounced by Sino-Vietnamese readings. For example, the name of the previous
paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often hol ...
Hú Jǐntāo () would be spelled as "Hồ Cẩm Đào" in Vietnamese. There are also great similarities between Vietnamese and Chinese traditions such as the use Lunar New Year, philosophy such as
Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...
,
Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...
and ancestor worship; leads to some Hoa people adopt easily to Vietnamese culture, however many Hoa still prefer to maintain Chinese cultural background. The official census from 2009 accounted the Hoa population at some 823,000 individuals and ranked 6th in terms of its population size. 70% of the Hoa live in cities and towns, mostly in Ho Chi Minh city while the rests live in the southern provinces. On the other hand, in Malaysia, Singapore, and
Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...
, the ethnic Chinese have maintained a distinct communal identity. In
East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-w ...
, a large fraction of Chinese are of
Hakka descent The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
. In Western countries, the overseas Chinese generally use romanised versions of their Chinese names, and the use of local first names is also common.


Discrimination

Overseas Chinese have often experienced hostility and
discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of Racial discrimination, r ...
. In countries with small ethnic Chinese minorities, the
economic disparity There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of we ...
can be remarkable. For example, in 1998, ethnic Chinese made up just 1% of the population of the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
and 4% of the population in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
, but have wide influence in the Philippine and Indonesian private economies. The book '' World on Fire'', describing the Chinese as a "market- dominant minority", notes that "Chinese market dominance and intense resentment amongst the indigenous majority is characteristic of virtually every country in Southeast Asia except Thailand and Singapore". This asymmetrical economic position has incited anti-Chinese sentiment among the poorer majorities. Sometimes the anti-Chinese attitudes turn violent, such as the 13 May Incident in Malaysia in 1969 and the
Jakarta riots of May 1998 The May 1998 riots of Indonesia ( id, Kerusuhan Mei 1998), also known as the 1998 tragedy (''Tragedi 1998'') or simply the 1998 event (''Peristiwa 1998''), were incidents of mass violence, demonstrations, and civil unrest that occurred thro ...
in Indonesia, in which more than 2,000 people died, mostly rioters burned to death in a shopping mall. During the colonial era, some genocides killed tens of thousands of Chinese and some genocides by the Sri Lankans killed hundreds of thousands of Tamils. During the Indonesian killings of 1965–66, in which more than 500,000 people died, ethnic Chinese Hakkas were killed and their properties looted and burned as a result of anti-Chinese racism on the excuse that Dipa "Amat" Aidit had brought the PKI closer to China. The anti-Chinese legislation was in the Indonesian constitution until 1998. The state of the Chinese Cambodians during the Khmer Rouge regime has been described as "the worst disaster ever to befall any ethnic Chinese community in Southeast Asia." At the beginning of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1975, there were 425,000 ethnic Chinese in
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...
; by the end of 1979 there were just 200,000. It is commonly held that a major point of friction is the apparent tendency of overseas Chinese to segregate themselves into a subculture. For example, the anti-Chinese Kuala Lumpur Racial Riots of 13 May 1969 and
Jakarta Riots of May 1998 The May 1998 riots of Indonesia ( id, Kerusuhan Mei 1998), also known as the 1998 tragedy (''Tragedi 1998'') or simply the 1998 event (''Peristiwa 1998''), were incidents of mass violence, demonstrations, and civil unrest that occurred thro ...
were believed to have been motivated by these racially biased perceptions. This analysis has been questioned by some historians, most notably Dr. Kua Kia Soong, the principal of New Era College, who has put forward the controversial argument that the 13 May Incident was a pre-meditated attempt by sections of the ruling Malay elite to incite racial hostility in preparation for a coup. In 2006, rioters damaged shops owned by Chinese- Tongans in Nukualofa. Chinese migrants were evacuated from the riot-torn
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
. Ethnic politics can be found to motivate both sides of the debate. In Malaysia, many " Bumiputra" ("native sons") Malays oppose equal or meritocratic treatment towards Chinese and Anti-Indian sentiment, fearing they would dominate too many aspects of the country. The question of to what extent ethnic Malays, Chinese, or others are "native" to Malaysia is a sensitive political one. It is currently a taboo for Chinese politicians to raise the issue of Bumiputra protections in parliament, as this would be deemed ethnic incitement. Many of the overseas Chinese emigrants who worked on railways in North America in the 19th century suffered from racial discrimination in Canada and the United States. Although discriminatory laws have been repealed or are no longer enforced today, both countries had at one time introduced statutes that barred Chinese from entering the country, for example the United States
Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law excluded merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplo ...
of 1882 (repealed 1943) or the Canadian
Chinese Immigration Act, 1923 The Chinese Immigration Act, 1923, known today as the Chinese Exclusion Act (the duration of which has been dubbed the Exclusion Era), was an act passed by the government of Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, banning most forms ...
(repealed 1947). In both the United States and Canada, further acts were required to fully remove immigration restrictions (namely United States' Immigration and Nationality Acts of 1952 and
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...
, in addition to Canada's) In Australia, Chinese were targeted by a system of discriminatory laws known as the ' White Australia Policy' which was enshrined in the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901. The policy was formally abolished in 1973, and in recent years Australians of Chinese background have publicly called for an apology from the Australian Federal Government similar to that given to the 'stolen generations' of indigenous people in 2007 by the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. In South Korea, the relatively low social and economic statuses of ethnic Korean-Chinese have played a role in local hostility towards them. Such hatred had been formed since their early settlement years, where many racially ethnically Koreans that are Chinese of Korean ancestry hailing from rural areas were accused of misbehaviour such as spitting on streets and littering. More recently, they have also been targets of hate speech for their association with violent crime, despite the Korean Justice Ministry recording a lower crime rate for Chinese in the country compared to native South Koreans in 2010.


Relationship with China

Both the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and the Republic of China maintain high level relationships with the overseas Chinese populations. Both maintain cabinet level ministries to deal with overseas Chinese affairs, and many local governments within the PRC have overseas Chinese bureaus.


Citizenship status

The Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China, which does not recognise dual citizenship, provides for automatic loss of PRC citizenship when a former PRC citizen both settles in another country ''and'' acquires foreign citizenship. For children born overseas of a PRC citizen, whether the child receives PRC citizenship at birth depends on whether the PRC parent has settled overseas: ''"Any person born abroad whose parents are both Chinese nationals or one of whose parents is a Chinese national shall have Chinese nationality. But a person whose parents are both Chinese nationals and have both settled abroad, or one of whose parents is a Chinese national and has settled abroad, and who has acquired foreign nationality at birth shall not have Chinese nationality"'' (Article 5). By contrast, the Nationality Law of the Republic of China, which both permits and recognises dual citizenship, considers such persons to be citizens of the ROC (if their parents have household registration in Taiwan).


Returning and re-emigration

With China's growing economic prospects, many of the overseas Chinese have begun to migrate back to China, even as many mainland Chinese millionaires are considering emigrating out of the nation for better opportunities. In the case of
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
and
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
, political and ethnic strife has cause a significant number of people of Chinese origins to re-emigrate back to China. In other Southeast Asian countries with large Chinese communities, such as Malaysia, the economic rise of People's Republic of China has made the PRC an attractive destination for many Malaysian Chinese to re-emigrate. As the Chinese economy opens up, Malaysian Chinese act as a bridge because many Malaysian Chinese are educated in the United States or Britain but can also understand the Chinese language and culture making it easier for potential entrepreneurial and business to be done between the people among the two countries. After the
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...
reforms, the attitude of the PRC toward the overseas Chinese changed dramatically. Rather than being seen with suspicion, they were seen as people who could aid PRC development via their skills and
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
. During the 1980s, the PRC actively attempted to court the support of overseas Chinese by among other things, returning properties that had been confiscated after the 1949 revolution. More recently PRC policy has attempted to maintain the support of recently emigrated Chinese, who consist largely of Chinese students seeking undergraduate and graduate education in the West. Many of the Chinese diaspora are now investing in People's Republic of China providing financial resources, social and cultural networks, contacts and opportunities. The Chinese government estimates that of the 1,200,000 Chinese people who have gone overseas to study in the thirty years since
China's economic reforms The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up (), known in the West as the opening of China, is the program of economic reforms termed "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and " socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of ...
beginning in 1978; three-quarters of those who left have not returned to China. Beijing is attracting overseas-trained academics back home, in an attempt to internationalise its universities. However, some professors educated to the PhD level in the West have reported feeling "marginalised" when they return to China due in large part to the country's “lack of international academic peer review and tenure track mechanisms”.


Language

The usage of Chinese by the overseas Chinese has been determined by a large number of factors, including their ancestry, their migrant ancestors' "regime of origin", assimilation through generational changes, and official policies of their country of residence. The general trend is that more established Chinese populations in the Western world and in many regions of Asia have
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
as either the dominant variety or as a common community vernacular, while
Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standa ...
is much more prevalent among new arrivals, making it increasingly common in many Chinatowns.West (2010), pp. 289–90


Country statistics

There are over 50 million overseas Chinese. Most of them are living in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
where they make up a majority of the population of
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
(75%) and significant minority populations in
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
(22.4%),
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
(14%) and
Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...
(10%). , - , , ,
Chinese people in the Czech Republic Chinese people in the Czech Republic form one of the country's smaller migrant communities. Migration history A few Chinese settled in Czechoslovakia prior to World War II. They consisted largely of overland migrants from Wenzhou, Zhejiang. Mos ...
, , 7,485 , , , , 2018 , - , , ,
Chinese of Romania The Chinese of Romania are one of the smallest minorities of Romania. Migration history China and Romania have a history of several decades of economic and cultural exchanges as part of the Communist bloc. Former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin li ...
, , 5,000 , , , , 2017 , - , , , , , 4,000 , , , , 2020 , - , , , , , 2,346 , , , , 2016 , - , , , , , 2,213 , , , , 2001 , - , , , , , 2,200 , , , , 2017
, - , , , Chinese people in Serbia , , 1,373 , , , , 2011
, - , , ,
Chinese people in Bulgaria History Chinese people ( bg, китайци, ''kitaytsi''; see Cathay) in Bulgaria () form a small part of the Overseas Chinese community. According to estimates by members of the community, the Chinese in Bulgaria number around 5,000, although B ...
, , 1,236 , , , , 2015 , - , , , -- , , 686 , , , , 2019 , - , , , -- , , 104 , , <1%, , 2013 , - , - style="background:#ccf;" ,
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
, , , , 8 215 000 , , , , , - , , , Chinese American, American-born Chinese , , 5,025,817 , , 1.5% , , 2017 , - , , , Chinese Canadian,
Canadian-born Chinese , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = Chinese Canadian population by province.svg , image_caption = Chinese Canadians as percent of population by province / territory , pop = 1,715,7704.63% of the ...
, , 1,769,195 , , 5.1% , , 2016 , - , , ,
Chinese Brazilian Chinese Brazilians ( pt, Sino-brasileiro, italic=yes or ''Chinês-brasileiro''; zh, c=巴西華人 / 巴西华人 or 巴西華裔 / 巴西华裔) are Brazilians of Chinese ancestry or birth. The Chinese Brazilian population was estimated to be a ...
, , 250,000 , , , , 2017 , - , , ,
Chinese people in Argentina Chinese Argentines are Argentine citizens of Chinese ancestry or Chinese-born immigrants. The Chinese Argentine community is one of the fastest-growing communities in Argentina. As of 2018, the community was made up of 200,000 people. History Sin ...
, , 120,000-200,000 , , <1%, , 2016 , - , , ,
Chinese people in Panama Ethnic Chinese in Panama, also variously referred to as Chinese Panamanians, Panamanian Chinese, Panama Chinese or in Spanish as ''chino-panameños'', are Panamanian citizens and residents of Chinese origin or descent. History The Chinese commun ...
, , 80,000 , , 2% , , 2018 , - , , , Chinese immigration to Mexico , , 24,489 , , <1%, , 2019 , - , , ,
Chinese-Peruvian Chinese Peruvians, also known as ''tusán'' (a loanword from ), are Peruvian citizens whose ancestors came from China. They are people of overseas Chinese ancestry born in Peru or who have made Peru their adopted homeland. 14,307 Peruvians claim ...
, , 14,223 , , , , 2017 , - , , ,
Chinese people in Chile It is estimated that there are over 20,000 Chinese people in Chile. Chinese immigrants come from both China and Taiwan. Reasons for immigration A high demand for manpower in the Southern South American region was present around the 1950s–1960s ...
, , 17,021 , , <1%, , 2017 , - , , ,
Chinese Venezuelans Chinese Venezuelans ( es, Chino-venezolanos) are people of Chinese ancestry who were born in or have immigrated to Venezuela. The country is home to nearly 400,000 Chinese. P.201 Almost all their businesses are related to the culinary field. Demog ...
, , 15,358 , , , , 2011 , - , , , Ethnic Chinese in the Dominican Republic , , 15,000 , , , , 2017 , - , , ,
Chinese people in Nicaragua Chinese Nicaraguans (; es, Sino-nicaragüenses) are Nicaraguans of Chinese ancestry who immigrated to or born in Nicaragua. They are part of the Chinese diaspora. Chinese people first arrived in Nicaragua's Caribbean coast in the latter part of ...
, , 12,000 , , , , -- , - , , ,
Chinese people in Costa Rica Chinese people have been immigrating to Costa Rica since the mid-nineteenth century. They come from The People's Republic of China (including the enclaves of Hong Kong and Macao), and from Taiwan. The Sino-Costa Rican community is of great cultur ...
, , 9,170 , , , , 2011 , - , , , Chinese-Surinamese , , 7,885 , , 1.5% , , 2012 , - , , , Chinese Jamaicans , , 5,228 , , , , 2011 , - , , ,
Chinese Trinidadian and Tobagonian Chinese Trinidadians and Tobagonians (sometimes Sino-Trinidadians and Tobagonians or Chinese Trinbagonians) are Trinidadians and Tobagonians of Han Chinese ancestry. The group includes people from Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Overseas Chinese ...
, , 3,984 , , , , 2011 , - , , ,
Chinese Guyanese The first numbers of Chinese arrived in British Guiana in 1853, forming an important minority of the indentured workforce. After their indenture, many who stayed on in Guyana came to be known as successful retailers, with considerable integration w ...
, , 2,377 , , , , 2012 , - , , , , , 2,176 , , , , 2017 , - , , , Ethnic Chinese in Belize , , 1,716 , , <1%, , 2000 , - , , , Chinese Cuban , , 1,300 , , , , 2008 , - , - style="background:#ccf;" ,
Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...
, , , , 1 500 000 , , , , , - , , ,
Chinese Australian Chinese Australians () are Australians of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Chinese diaspora, and are the largest Asian Australian community. Per capita, Australia has more people of Chines ...
, , 1,390,639 , , 5.5% , , 2021 , - , , ,
Chinese New Zealander Chinese New Zealanders ( mi, Tāngata Hainamana o Aotearoa; ) or Sino-New Zealanders are New Zealanders of Chinese ancestry. The largest subset of Asian New Zealanders, many of the Chinese immigrants came from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, ...
, , 247,770 , , 4.9% , , 2018 , - , , ,
Chinese people in Papua New Guinea Chinese people in Papua New Guinea included, , only about 1,000 of the "old Chinese"—locally born descendants of late 19th- and early 20th-century immigrants—remain in the country; most have moved to Australia. However, their numbers ...
, , 20,000 , , , , 2008 , - , , ,
Chinese in Fiji The Chinese diaspora in Fiji is a small but influential community in the multiracial society that makes up modern-day Fiji. In the early 2000s their numbers were estimated at around 6,000, or a little over half of one percent of Fiji's population ...
, , 8,000 , , , , 2012 , - , , ,
Chinese in Tonga A significant Chinese presence in Tonga is relatively recent. There were approximately three or four thousand Chinese people living in Tonga in 2001, thus comprising 3 or 4% of the total Tongan population. This figure includes Tongan citizens of Chi ...
, , 3,000 , , , , 2001 , - , , ,
Chinese in Palau Chinese have been settling in Palau in small numbers since the 19th century. The early settlers consisted of traders and labourers, and often intermarried with Palauan women. Their offspring quickly assimilated with the local populace and generall ...
, , 1,030 , , , , 2012 , - , , ,
Chinese in Samoa The majority of Chinese nationals currently residing in Samoa are businessmen, labour workers, and shopowners in the southwestern Pacific island nation of Samoa, and there are at least 30,000 people in Samoa who are of mixed Samoan and Chinese des ...
, , 620 , , , , 2015
Chinese in Samoa The majority of Chinese nationals currently residing in Samoa are businessmen, labour workers, and shopowners in the southwestern Pacific island nation of Samoa, and there are at least 30,000 people in Samoa who are of mixed Samoan and Chinese des ...


See also

*
Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...
&
Chinese folk religion in Southeast Asia Chinese folk religion plays a dynamic role in the lives of the overseas Chinese who have settled in the countries of this geographic region, particularly Burmese Chinese, Singaporean Chinese, Malaysian Chinese, Thai Chinese and Hoa. The Indon ...
* Chinatown, the article and :Chinatowns the international category list *
Chinese kin A Chinese kin, lineage or sometimes rendered as clan, is a patrilineal and patrilocal group of related Chinese people with a common surname sharing a common ancestor and, in many cases, an ancestral home. Description Chinese kinship tend to be ...
,
Kongsi Kongsi () is a Hokkien transcription term meaning "company", especially businesses which have been incorporated. However, the word has other meanings under different historical contexts. ''Kongsi'' were most commonly known as Chinese social orga ...
&
Ancestral shrine An ancestral shrine, hall or temple ( or , vi, Nhà thờ họ; Chữ Hán: 家祠户), also called lineage temple, is a temple dedicated to deified ancestors and progenitors of surname lineages or families in the Chinese tradition. Ancestra ...
* Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association *
List of overseas Chinese This is a list of notable Chinese people living outside of the Greater China. Leaders and politicians Presidents and Prime Ministers *Arthur Chung: 1st President of Guyana, Guyana * Abhisit Vejjajiva: Prime Minister of Thailand *Banharn Silpa-Arc ...
* Migration in China * Kapitan Cina * List of politicians of Chinese descent *
Overseas Chinese banks Overseas Chinese-focused banks excelled in commerce, finance, and many other industries. While catering to Chinese immigrants in foreign countries, these banks are not controlled by the Chinese government, nor do they have any ties with the Chinese ...
* United Front (China) * Legislation on Chinese Indonesians *
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law excluded merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplo ...
( Scott Act, 1888 & Geary Act, 1892) in United States *
Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 The ''Chinese Immigration Act, 1885'' was a Canadian Act of Parliament that placed a head tax of $50 () on all Chinese immigrants entering Canada. It was based on the recommendations published in the Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration in 1 ...
&
Chinese Immigration Act, 1923 The Chinese Immigration Act, 1923, known today as the Chinese Exclusion Act (the duration of which has been dubbed the Exclusion Era), was an act passed by the government of Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, banning most forms ...
in Canada * Chinese head tax &
Vancouver anti-Chinese riots, 1886 The Vancouver anti-Chinese riots of 1886, sometimes called the Winter Riots because of the time of year they took place, were prompted by the engagement of cheap Chinese labour by the Canadian Pacific Railway to clear Vancouver's West End of large D ...
*'' Lost Years: A People's Struggle for Justice'' * Overseas Chinese Affairs Office


References


Further reading

* Barabantseva, Elena. ''Overseas Chinese, Ethnic Minorities and Nationalism: De-centering China'', Oxon/New York: Routledge, 2011. * Brauner, Susana, and Rayén Torres. "Identity Diversity among Chinese Immigrants and Their Descendants in Buenos Aires." in ''Migrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers in Latin America'' (Brill, 2020) pp. 291–308. * Chin, Ung Ho. ''The Chinese of South East Asia'' (London: Minority Rights Group, 2000). * Chuah, Swee Hoon, et al. "Is there a spirit of overseas Chinese capitalism?." ''Small Business Economics'' 47.4 (2016): 1095-111
online
* Fitzgerald, John. ''Big White Lie: Chinese Australians in White Australia'', (UNSW Press, Sydney, 2007). * *Kuhn, Philip A. ''Chinese Among Others: Emigration in Modern Times'', (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008). * Le, Anh Sy Huy. "The Studies of Chinese Diasporas in Colonial Southeast Asia: Theories, Concepts, and Histories." ''China and Asia'' 1.2 (2019): 225-263. *López-Calvo, Ignacio. ''Imaging the Chinese in Cuban Literature and Culture'', Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida, 2008. * Ngai, Mae. ''The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes and Global Politics'' (2021), Mid 19c in California, Australia and South Afric
excerpt
* *Pan, Lynn. ''The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas'', (Harvard University press, 1998). * * Sai, Siew-Min. "Mandarin lessons: modernity, colonialism and Chinese cultural nationalism in the Dutch East Indies, c. 1900s." ''Inter-Asia Cultural Studies'' 17.3 (2016): 375-394
online
* Sai, Siew-Min. "Dressing Up Subjecthood: Straits Chinese, the Queue, and Contested Citizenship in Colonial Singapore." ''Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History'' 47.3 (2019): 446-473
online
* Tan, Chee-Beng. ''Chinese Overseas: Comparative Cultural Issues'', Hong Kong University Press, 2004. * Taylor, Jeremy E. ""Not a Particularly Happy Expression":"Malayanization" and the China Threat in Britain's Late-Colonial Southeast Asian Territories." ''Journal of Asian Studies'' 78.4 (2019): 789-808
online
* Van Dongen, Els, and Hong Liu. "The Chinese in Southeast Asia." in ''Routledge Handbook of Asian Migrations'' (2018)
online


External links

* {{Authority control Chinese diaspora