Overseas Chinese

Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of ethnic Chinese birth who reside outside the territories
of the the People's Republic of China (PRC), its special administrative regions (SARs) of Hong
Kong and Macau, as well as the Republic of China (ROC or Taiwan).
The Chinese people have a long history of migrating overseas. One of the migrations dates
back to the Ming dynasty when Zheng He (1371–1435) became the envoy of Ming. He sent
people – many of them are Cantonese and Hokkien – to explore and trade in the South China
Sea and in the Indian Ocean.
Different waves of immigration led to subgroups among overseas Chinese such as the new
and old immigrants in Southeast Asia, North America, Oceania, the Caribbean, South America,
South Africa, and Europe. In the 19th century, the age of colonialism was at its height and the
great Chinese diaspora began. Many colonies lacked a large pool of laborers. Meanwhile, in the
provinces of Fujian and Guangdong in China, there was a surge in emigration as a result of the
poverty and ruin caused by the Taiping rebellion. The Qing Empire 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 Ming era), as did the Cantonese. The area of Taishan, in
Guangdong province 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 Australasia, great numbers of laborers were also needed
in the dangerous tasks of gold mining and railway 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 during the Punti-Hakka Clan
Wars (1855–1867) in the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong. After World War II many people from
the New Territories in Hong Kong emigrated to the UK (mainly England) and to the Netherlands
to earn a better living.
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. The Chinese business
community of Southeast Asia, known as the bamboo network, 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, the arts and academia.
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
Chinese diaspora vary widely as to their degree of assimilation, 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, with many claiming Thai identity. For over 400 years, Thai Chinese have largely
intermarried and/or assimilated with their compatriots.
Chinatowns:
Early presence of chinatowns in overseas communities start to appear in Spanish colonial
Philippines, around as early as 1583 (or even earlier), in the form of Parians in Manila, where
Chinese merchants were allowed to reside and flourish as commercial centers, thus Binondo, a
historical district of Manila, has become one of the world's oldest Chinatowns.
The development of most Chinatowns typically resulted from mass migration to an area
without any or with very few Chinese residents. Binondo in Manila, established in 1594, is
recognized as the world's oldest Chinatown. Notable early examples outside Asia include San
Francisco's Chinatown in the United States and Melbourne's Chinatown in Australia, which were
founded in the mid-19th century during the California Gold Rush and Victorian gold rush,
respectively. A more modern example, in Montville, Connecticut, was caused by the displacement
of Chinese workers in the Manhattan Chinatown following the September 11th attacks in 2001
Key Reason for Emigration :
 The farmable land was limited

 War and plagues are reasons
 Natural Disasters
 Overcrowding

Overseas Chinese

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Overseas Chinese

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Overseas Chinese

Key Reason for Emigration :

 The farmable land was limited

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