Cantonese in SoutheastAsia / 東南亞粵僑

----------------------------

Hoa / 越南粵僑

Total population
862,371 in Vietnam (1999)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Bac Lieu, Da Nang, Kien Giang, Quang Ninh; Hong Kong; United States; Australia; Canada
Languages
Vietnamese, Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka

Religion
Predominantly Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism with Confucianism (Ancestor Worship). Small numbers of Catholics and Protestants.

Hoa
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 越南華僑
[show]Transcriptions
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese người Minh Hương
người Hoa
người Huê kiều
người Khách
người Hán,
người Tàu (might be offensive)[2]

Hoa refers to a minority in Vietnam consisting of persons considered to be ethnic Chinese (Han Chinese). They are often referred to as either Chinese Vietnamese,[3] Vietnamese Chinese,[4] Sino-Vietnamese, or ethnic Chinese in/from Vietnam by the Vietnamese populace, Overseas Vietnamese, and other ethnic Chinese. The Vietnamese government's classification of the Hoa excludes two other groups of Chinese-speaking peoples, the San Diu ('mountain Chinese') and the Ngai.

According to the 1999 Vietnamese census, with 862,371 people (1.1% of the population), the Hoa are the 6th largest ethnic group in Vietnam.[1]

[edit] Languages

The people who escaped from Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) China to Vietnam declared themselves as the Minh-huong (明鄉; pinyin: Míngxiāng) which means the people of the Ming Dynasty. The Hoa are descended from early settlers from the Guangdong province who arrived in Vietnam from the 18th to 20th centuries. The final group of mainland China migrants came during the 1940s. A large proportion of Hoa who are living outside of Vietnam speak Cantonese as their mother tongue. The second largest group of Hoa tend to speak Teochew (Chaozhou), but may also speak Cantonese as a lingua franca. The younger generation of Hoa in Vietnam tends to speak both Vietnamese and Cantonese.

The intermarriage between the Hoa and the majority Kinh ethnic groups is the highest compared to other minorities in Vietnam.[5] But the Hoa were more likely to intermarry within their own ethnicity, since they "frowned upon inter-marriage with the local Vietnamese".[6]

They are predominantly urban dwellers. A few Hoa live in small settlements in the northern highlands near the Chinese frontier, where they are also known as ngai. In 1955, North Vietnam and China agreed that the Hoa should be integrated gradually into Vietnamese society and should have Vietnamese citizenship conferred on them.

[edit] Occupations

Before 1975 the northern Hoa were mainly rice farmers, fishermen, and coal miners, except for those residing in cities and provincial towns. In the South, the French colonizers had allowed the Cholon Hoa to be the trading middleman.[7] Subsequently, they became dominant in commerce and manufacturing.

[edit] History

This section requires expansion.
[edit] Population

The Daoyi Zhilue documents Chinese merchants who went to Cham ports in Champa, married Cham women, to whom they regularly returned to after trading voyages.[8] A Chinese merchant from Quanzhou, Wang Yuanmao, traded extensively with Champa, and married a Cham princess.[9]

The Chinese living in the Mekong Delta area settled there before any Vietnamese settled in the region.[10]

When the Ming dynasty in China fell, several thousand Chinese refugees fled south and extensively settled on Cham lands and in Cambodia.[11] Most of these Chinese were young males, and they took Cham women as wives. Their children identified more with Chinese culture. This migration occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries.[12] In the 1600s many Chinese men from southeastern Chinese provinces like Fujian continued to move to southeast asia, including Vietnam, many of the Chinese married native women after settling down in places like Hội An.[13]

In mid-1975, when North and South Vietnam were unified, the combined Hoa communities of the North and South numbered approximately 1.3 million, and all but 200,000 resided in the South, most of them in the Saigon metropolitan area, especially in the Cholon district (Chinatown). Beginning in 1975, the Hoa bore the brunt of socialist transformation in the South.

An announcement on March 24 outlawed all wholesale trade and large business activities, which forced around 30,000 businesses to close down overnight,[14][15] followed up by another that banned all private trade.[16][17] Further government policies forced former owners to become farmers in the countryside or join the armed forces and fight at the Vietnam-Cambodia border, and confiscated all old and foreign currencies, as well as any Vietnamese currency in excess of the US value of $250 for urban households and $150 by rural households.[17][18][19][20][21][22] While such measures were targeted at all bourgeois elements, such measures hurt ethnic Hoa the hardest and resulted in the takeover of Hoa properties in and around major cities.[23][24] Hoa communities offered widespread resistance and clashes left the streets of Cholon "full of corpses".[18][25]

These measures, combined with external tensions stemming from Vietnam's dispute with Cambodia and China in 1978 and 1979 caused an exodus of as the majority of the Hoa, of whom more than 170,000 fled overland into the province of Guangxi, China, from the North and the remainder fled by boat from the South. China received a daily influx of 4-5,000 refugees, while Southeast Asian countries saw a wave of 5,000 boat people arriving at their shores each month. China sent unarmed ships to help evacuate the refugees, but encountered diplomatic problems as the Vietnamese government denied that the Hoa suffered persecution and later refused to issue exit permits after as many as 250,000 Hoa had applied for repatriation.[26] In an attempt to stem the refugee flow, avert Vietnamese accusations that Beijing was coercing its citizens to emigrate, and encourage Vietnam to change its policies towards ethnic Hoa, China closed off its land border in 1978.[27] This led to a jump in the number of boat people, with as many as 100,000 arriving in other countries by the end of 1978. However, the Vietnamese government by now not only encouraged the exodus, but took the opportunity to profit from it by imposing a price of five to ten taels of gold or an equivalent of US $1,500 to $3,000 per person wishing to leave the country.[28][29][30][31][32] The Vietnamese military also forcibly drove the thousands of border refugees across the China-Vietnam land border, causing numerous border incidents and armed clashes, while blaming these movements on China by accusing them of using saboteurs to force Vietnamese citizens into China.[33][34][35][36][37][38] This new influx brought the number of refugees in China to around 200,000.[39]

The size of the exodus increased during and after the war. The monthly number of boat people arriving in Southeast Asia increased to 11,000 during the first quarter of 1979, 28,000 by April, and 55,000 in June, while more than 90,000 fled by boat to China. In addition, the Vietnamese military also began expelling ethnic Hoa from Vietnam-occupied Kampuchea, leading to over 43,000 refugees of mostly Hoa descent fleeing overland to Thailand[40] By now, Vietnam was openly confiscating the properties and extorting money from fleeing refugees. In April 1979 alone, Hoa outside of Vietnam had remitted a total of US $242 million (an amount equivalent to half the total value of Vietnam's 1978 exports) through Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City to help their friends or family pay their way out of Vietnam.[41] By June, money from refugees had replaced the coal industry as Vietnam's largest source of foreign exchange and was expected to reach as much as 3 billion in US dollars.[42] By 1980, the refugee population in China reached 260,000,[43] and the number of surviving boat people refugees in Southeast Asia reached 400,000.[44] (An estimated 50%[45][46] to 70%[41] of boat people perished at sea.) By the end of 1980, the majority of the Hoa had fled from Vietnam. In addition to ethnic Hoa, an estimated 30,000 ethnic Vietnamese refugees fled to China.[citation needed]

[edit] Immigration to other countries

Today, there are many Hoa communities in Australia, Oceania, Canada, France and the United States, where they have been instrumental in breathing new life into old existing Chinatowns. For example, the established Chinatowns of Los Angeles, Houston, Toronto, Honolulu, and Paris have a Vietnamese atmosphere due to the large presence of Hoa people. Some of these communities also have associations for transplanted Hoa refugees such as the Association des Résidents en France d'origine indochinoise in Paris.

The Chinese Vietnamese population in China now number up to 300,000, and live mostly in 194 refugee settlements mostly in the provinces of Guangdong, Yunnan, Fujian, Hainan, Jiangxi, and Guangxi. Most (85%+) have achieved economic independence, but the remainder still live below the poverty line in rural areas.[47] While they have most of the same rights as Chinese nationals, including employment, education, housing, property ownership, pensions, and health care, they had not been granted citizenship and continued to be regarded by the government as refugees. Their refugee status allowed them to receive UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) assistance and aid until the early twenty-first century.[48] In 2007, the Chinese government began drafting legislation to grant full Chinese citizenship to Indochinese refugees, including the ethnic Hoa which make up the majority, living within its borders.[49]

There is also a sizable Hoa refugee population – many of whom speak Cantonese – in Hong Kong, but they have experienced discrimination in housing and employment.

In the United States, the Hoa have also started businesses in prominent Vietnamese communities called Little Saigon near Los Angeles and San Jose, including those in the states of California, Texas, and Washington. They own a large share of businesses especially catering to the local Vietnamese population and to other Hoas.

[edit] Hoa concentrations in Vietnam

This section requires expansion.
Ho Chi Minh City: Cho Lon
Tien Giang
Dong Nai
Kien Giang
Tra Vinh province
Hai Phong (most emigrated or forced out during the 1979 crisis).
Bạc Liêu
Ca Mau

[edit] Hoa descent in other countries

United States

Boston: Chinatown; and larger presence in Dorchester section
Chicago: New Chinatown
Denver
Detroit: Madison Heights
Honolulu: Chinatown
Houston: Chinatown
Los Angeles metropolitan area: San Gabriel Valley, Orange County, Chinatown
Philadelphia: Chinatown
San Francisco Bay Area: San Francisco, San Jose, Fremont, Oakland
Seattle: International District
Dallas
Canada

Calgary, Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
Montreal: Chinatown, Brossard
Ottawa, Ontario
Toronto: Chinatown, Toronto, Mississauga, North York, Ontario, Kitchener, Ontario, Waterloo, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Vancouver: Chinatown, Richmond
Victoria, British Columbia
Australia

Melbourne: Box Hill, Footscray, Springvale
Sydney: Cabramatta, Bankstown
Hong Kong

Yuen Long
France

Paris: 13th arrondissement
United Kingdom

London: Hackney, Lewisham

[edit] See also

List of ethnic groups in Vietnam
San Diu people
Vietnamese American

----------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoa

Laotian Cantonese

Total population
185,000 (est.)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Vientiane, Phonsavan, LuangPrabang, Pakse
Languages
Lao, Teochew, Cantonese, Southwestern Mandarin[2]

Religion
Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism

The Laotian Chinese are an overseas Chinese community who live in Laos. At present they constitute an estimated 2% of the population. Most Laotian Chinese are descendants of older generations who moved down from the Southern China provinces from the 19th century and present.Most have ancestry from the provinces of:Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan and, Guizhou. Laotian Chinese are mostly Teochew and Cantonese, but some also speak Southwestern Mandarin from the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan. Today in Laos, many ethnic Chinese migrants have decided to reside in Laos, making the population rise by a couple of thousands, Many ethnic Chinese were also involved in constructing the 2009 Southeast Asian Games venues held in Vientiane. During the 1970s and 1980s, after the Communist Pathet Lao came into power, some Laotian Chinese fled to Thailand and other countries. The U.S. also has a significant Laotian Chinese population (Laotian Chinese American). Many still practice certain Chinese traditions and customs ancestors ancestors did.[3]

[edit] References

^ http://www.ocac.gov.tw/english/public/p ... 63&level=B
^ A. Doak Barnett. Communist China and Asia. Published for the Council on Foreign Relations. pp. 175. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZpEeAAAAMAAJ&pgis=1.
^ Joel Martin Halpern. The Role of the Chinese in Lao Society. Rand Corp. pp. 4. http://books.google.com/books?id=XoU1AA ... lr=&pgis=1.
[edit] External links

Calgary Lao-Chinese Association

----------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_in_Laos

Cantonese in Burma

Total population
1,662,000 (est.)
Regions with significant populations
Myanmar
Languages
Burmese, Min Nan, Cantonese, Hakka, Yunnanese

Religion
Predominantly Theravada Buddhism and/or Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism.
Minority Islam (mostly among Panthay)

Chinese people in Burma
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 緬甸華人
Simplified Chinese 缅甸华人

The Burmese Cantonese or Cantonese Burmese (Burmese: မြန်မာတရုတ်လူမျိုး; also called Sino-Burmese) are a group of overseas Chinese born or raised in Burma (Myanmar). Although the Chinese officially make up three percent of the population, the actual figure is believed to be much higher. Among the under-counted Chinese populations are those of mixed background,[1] those that have declared themselves as ethnic Bamar to escape discrimination, and tens of thousands of illegal Chinese immigrants that have flooded Upper Burma since the 1990s but are not counted due to the lack of reliable census taking.[2]

The Burmese Chinese dominate the Burmese economy today.[3] Moreover, the Burmese Chinese have a disproportionately large presence in Burmese higher education, and make up a high percentage of the educated class in Burma.

[edit] Demography

Generally, the Burmese Chinese in Lower Burma fall into three main groups:

Hokkien (Burmese: eingyi shay အင်္ကျီရှည်, or let shay လက်ရှည် lit. long-sleeved jackets) from Fujian Province
Cantonese (Burmese: eingyi to အင်္ကျီတို, or let to လက်တို lit. short-sleeved jackets) from Guangdong Province
Hakka (Burmese: zaka စက, lit. mid-length sleeve) from Fujian and Guangdong provinces
The Hokkien and Cantonese comprise 45% of the ethnic Chinese population.[4] The Cantonese were originally dubbed "short sleeved jackets" because most migrants from Guangdong Province were artisans, wearing short-sleeve jackets, while most of the Hokkien were traders, wearing long-sleeved jackets.[5] These names remain in use today. Hakkas are further subdivided into those with ancestry from Fujian Province and Guangdong Province, called eingyi shay haka and eingyi to haka respectively. The groups have different stereotypical associations. The Cantonese are commonly thought of as the poorest of the Chinese, the Hokkiens are stereotypically wealthier, occupying high positions in the economy, and having connections to the government.

In Upper Burma and Shan Hills, the Panthay and Kokang, mainly speakers of a Mandarin dialect of the Southwestern Mandarin branch, most akin to Yunnanese, predominate. The mountain-dwelling, farming Kokang are classified as a part of the Shan national race, although they have no linguistic or genetic affinity to the Tai-speaking Shan, and the largely trading Muslim Panthay have long been considered separate local nationalities, distinct from the Chinese diaspora community. Combined, they form 21% of Burmese Chinese.[4]

Finally, there are the tayoke kabya (တရုတ်ကပြား) of mixed Chinese and indigenous Burmese parentage. The kabya (ကပြား, meaning "mixed heritage") have a tendency to follow the customs of the Chinese more than of the Burmese. Indeed, tayoke kabya who follow Burmese customs are absorbed into and largely indistinguishable from mainstream Burmese society.[6] A large portion of Burmese Chinese is thought to have some kabya blood, possibly because immigrants could acquire Burmese citizenship through intermarriage with the indigenous Burmese peoples.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Language

Most Burmese Chinese speak Burmese as their mother tongue. Those with higher education also speak Mandarin and/or English. The use of Chinese dialects still prevails. Min Nan is mostly used in Yangon as well as in Lower Burma, while Toisan dialect (臺山話 a type of Cantonese) and Yunnanese Mandarin are well preserved in Upper Burma.

During General Ne Win's rule (1962–1988), the ban on Chinese-language schools caused a decline of Mandarin speakers. The number of Chinese schools is growing again today because of the importance of Mandarin Chinese. (Note: Standard Mandarin refers to the national language of Mainland China and Taiwan, as distinctive from the Southwestern Mandarin dialect of the Upper Burma, Kokang and Panthay).

[edit] Religion

Most Burmese Chinese practice Theravada Buddhism, incorporating some Mahayana Buddhist and Taoist beliefs, such as the worship of Kuan Yin. There are several notable Chinese temples in Yangon, including Fushan Si Temple (a Buddhist temple), Kheng Hock Keong Temple (a Taoist temple dedicated to Mazu) and Guanyin Gumiao Temple (a Buddhist temple dedicated to Guanyin).

The Panthay or Chinese Muslims (回教華人; ပန်းသေးလူမျိုး, lit. "little flowers") practice Islam.

[edit] Education

The Burmese Chinese place a high importance on education, and represent a disproportionately high share of those with advanced (medical, engineering or doctorate) degrees in Burma. The number would be higher still had it not been for the longstanding ban on those without Burmese citizenship from pursuing advanced degrees. Nowadays, many wealthy Burmese Chinese send their children overseas—particularly in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, for advanced studies.[7]

[edit] Names

The Burmese Chinese have Burmese names and many also have Chinese names. Given names in various Chinese dialects are often transliterated into the Burmese language, using phonetic transcriptions or translated. For example, a Burmese Chinese person named 'Khin Aung' may have the Chinese name of 慶豐 (Hokkien POJ: Khèng-hong), with '慶' (Hokkien POJ: khèng) corresponding to 'Khin', and '豐' (Hokkien POJ: hong) corresponding to 'Aung'. However, variations of transcription do exist (between dialects), and some Burmese Chinese do not choose to adopt similar-sounding Burmese and Chinese names. Because the Burmese lack surnames, many Burmese Chinese tend to pass on portions of their given names to future generations, for the purpose of denoting lineage.

According to publications of Long Shan Tang, a clan association based in Yangon, the ten most common Chinese surnames in Yangon are:

Li (李)
Peng (彭)
Shi (時)
Dong (董)
Min (閔)
Niu (牛)
Bian (邊)
Xin (辛)
Guan (關)
Tsui/Hsu(徐)
[edit] Cuisine

Burmese Chinese cuisine is based on Chinese cuisine, particularly from Fujian, Guangdong and Yunnan provinces, with local influences. Spices such as turmeric and chili are commonly used. Also, the use of soy sauce, bean curd, bean sprouts, Chinese pickled mustards, and dried mushrooms can be attributed to Chinese influence. The following is a partial list of Chinese contributions to Burmese cuisine. These are an established part of today's Burmese cuisine that they are hardly differentiated as a foreign cuisine.

Pauksi: steamed buns
Bèkin: roasted duck
Igyakway: fried Chinese doughnut
Htamin kyaw: fried rice
La mont: mooncake
Mi shay: thin rice noodle soup
Mi swan: thin wheat noodles
San byoke: rice porridge
Panthay khaukswè: Panthay-style fried noodles
Sigyet khaukswè: literally "noodles laced in cooked oil," usually with chicken

[edit] History

[edit] Pre-colonial era

The earliest records of Chinese migration into present-day Burma were in the Song and Ming dynasties.[4] In the 18th century, Ming Dynasty princes settled in Kokang (the northern part of present-day Burma). Chinese traders, however, traveled as far as the capital city as well as northern towns on the Irrawaddy such as Bhamo. Some of them stayed and started a Chinese community at Amarapura, and when King Mindon Min moved his capital to Mandalay in 1859, the Chinese were the only community that decided to stay behind. Many of their descendants intermarried into the host society and remain important and respected citizens of Amarapura.

[edit] Colonial period

Another wave of immigration occurred in the 19th century under the British colonial administration. Britain encouraged immigration of Indians and Chinese to British Burma, and such incentives for work opportunities and enterprise and for accumulating wealth attracted many Chinese. They primarily came to Burma via British Malaya.[4] The Chinese quickly became dominant in the highly lucrative rice and gem industries. Many became merchants and traders owning both wholesale and retail businesses. Unlike in British Malaya, where most Chinese were coolie laborers, the Chinese in Burma were largely from the artisan and merchant classes.[6] Their success was reflected in the popular Burmese expression, "Earn like the Chinese, save like the Indian, and don't waste money like the Bamar."

They integrated well into Burmese society not least because they, like the Bamar, were of Sino-Tibetan stock and were Buddhists, implicit in the nickname pauk hpaw (ပေါက်ဖော်, lit. "sibling").[8] During British rule, marriage between the Chinese and Burmese, particularly Chinese men and Burmese women, was the most common form of intermarriage in Burma, as evidenced by a High Court ruling on the legal status of Sino-Burmese marriages under Burmese Buddhist law.[9]

The Chinese are arguably the only other group of people the Bamar historically have a high regard for, not just for their ancient and uninterrupted civilization but for their skills and intellect as well. From 1935 until the end of British rule, the Chinese were represented in the colonial legislature, the House of Representatives.[10]

[edit] Post-independence era

During the 1950s, Burma was one of the first countries to recognize the People's Republic of China as a nation. However, its own Chinese population was treated as aliens. The Burmese Chinese were issued foreign registration cards (FRC) in a tiered citizenship system adopted by the post-independence government. When the Chinese Communists expelled the Kuomintang, many fled to Burma and Thailand over the borders of Yunnan Province. The Burmese government fought and removed the armed KMT and forced them to Taiwan;[11] those who managed to stay prospered. In the 1950s, discriminatory policies against overseas Chinese encompassed citizenship, government employment, approval for business regulations and licensing, loan extensions and permission to make remittances.[12]

During this period, there was a sharp rise in the number of private Chinese language schools, primarily teaching Mandarin Chinese, in Burma, from 65 in 1935 to 259 in 1953 and 259 at its peak in 1962, with many such schools affiliated to the Chinese nationalist (တရုတ်ဖြူ) or communist (တရုတ်နီ) movements.[13] However, fewer than 10% of Burmese Chinese of school age attended Chinese language schools.[14] Similarly, there were 80 clan associations operating in the 1950s.

[edit] Socialist rule

In 1962, Ne Win led the Socialist coup d'état, establishing the Revolutionary Council under the Burmese Way to Socialism. In February 1963, the Enterprise Nationalization Law was passed, effectively nationalizing all major industries and prohibiting the formation of new factories. This law affected many Chinese industrialists and entrepreneurs.[15] The government's economic Burmanization program further prohibited foreigners, including the Chinese, from owning land, sending remittances, getting business licenses and practicing medicine.[16] Such policies led to the beginnings of a major exodus of Burmese Chinese to other countries—some 100,000 Chinese left Burma.[11]

Although a kabya himself, Ne Win banned Chinese-language education and created other measures to compel the Chinese to leave. Ne Win's government stoked up racial animosity and ethnic conflicts against the Chinese, who were terrorized by Burmese citizens, the most violent riots taking place at the time of the Cultural Revolution in China in 1967.[11] All schools were nationalized, including Chinese language schools. Beginning in 1967 and continuing throughout the 1970s, anti-Chinese riots continued to flare up and many believed they were covertly supported by the government.[17] In 1967, Latha Secondary School was torched by the henchmen of Ne Win's government, where school girls were burnt alive. Similarly, Chinese shops were looted and set on fire. Public attention was successfully diverted by Ne Win from the uncontrollable inflation, scarcity of consumer items and rising prices of rice. The 1982 Citizenship Law further restricted Burmese citizenship for Burmese Chinese (as it stratified citizenship into three categories: full, associate, and naturalized) and severely limited Burmese Chinese, especially those without full citizenship and those holding FRCs, from attending professional tertiary schools, including medical, engineering, agricultural and economics institutions.[4] During this period, the country's failing economy and widespread discrimination accelerated an emigration of Burmese Chinese out of Burma.

[edit] Modern era

Since 1988, the State Peace and Development Council (formerly SLORC) has been in power, loosening the government's role in the economy and implementing laws to encourage private sector growth and foreign investment. This has been particularly important for the Chinese in reasserting their economic power. Today, the majority of retail, wholesale and import trade run by the Burmese Chinese today.[4] Sein Gay Har, a major retailer that began in Yangon's Chinatown in 1985, is owned by a Hakka Chinese family. Four of the five largest commercial banks in Myanmar, Myanmar Universal Bank, Yoma Bank, Myanmar Mayflower Bank, and the Asia Wealth Bank, were all founded by Sino-Burmese.[18]

Today, the majority of Burmese Chinese live in the major cities of Yangon, Mandalay, Taunggyi, Bago, and their surrounding areas. According to Global Witness, 30 to 40% of Mandalay's population consists of ethnic Chinese. Although there are Chinatowns (တရုတ်တန်း; tayoke tan) in the major cities, the Chinese are widely dispersed throughout the country. The northern region of Burma has seen an influx of mainland Chinese migrant workers, black market traders and gamblers. In the Kachin State, which borders China in three directions, Mandarin Chinese is the lingua franca.

[edit] Notable Burmese Chinese

Aik Htun[19] (Kokang) - Managing director of Olympic Construction Co. and deputy chairman of Asia Wealth Bank, two large conglomerates in Burma
Aung Gyi[11] - leading army dissident and Ne Win's former deputy/co-conspirator in the 1962 coup
Aw Boon Haw (Hakka) - Inventor of Tiger Balm
Aw Boon Par (Hakka) - Brother of Aw Boon Haw
Khun Sa (Kokang) - Major Southeast Asian drug lord
Khin Nyunt (Hakka) [20] - Former Prime Minister (2003–2004) and Chief of Intelligence (1983–2004) of Myanmar
Kyaw Myint - founder of Myanmar May Flower Bank
Lo Hsing Han (Kokang) - Major Southeast Asian drug lord
Ne Win (Hakka)[21] - Leader of Burma from 1960s to 1980s
Ngwe Gaing: Alinga Kyawzwa Award winning painter
Pheung Kya-shin - leader of Kokang Special Region and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army
San Yu (Hakka) - President of Burma (1981–1988)
Serge Pun[22] - Proprietor of Yoma Bank, a major banking chain in Myanmar and chairman of First Myanmar Investment Co. Ltd (FMI), one of Myanmar's leading investment companies and Serge Pun & Associates Limited, an investment conglomerate[23]
Taw Sein Ko (Hokkien)[24] - eminent Director of Archaeology (1901–1915)
Thakin Ba Thein Tin[11] - Communist leader from the 1970s to the 1990s
Major General Kat Sein - former Minister of Health
Dr. Kyaw Myint - (Minister of Health)
[edit] See also

Kokang people
Panthay
Overseas Chinese
British Chinese
Burmese diaspora
[edit] Further reading

Mya Than (1997). "The Ethnic Chinese in Myanmar and their Identity". In Leo Suryadinata. Ethnic Chinese as Southeast Asians. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 981-3055-58-8.
[edit] Notes


Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (September 2010)
^ Hooker, Michael Barry (2002). Law and the Chinese in Southeast Asia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 981-230-125-9.
^ "China's Ambitions in Myanmar". July 2000. http://www.asiapacificms.com/articles/m ... influence/.
^ Chua, Amy (2004). "Review: The Ethnic Question in Law and Development". World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability (The Michigan Law Review Association) 102 (6): 1044–1103. doi:May, 2004. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4141938.
^ a b c d e f Mya Than (1997). Leo Suryadinata. ed. Ethnic Chinese As Southeast Asians. ISBN 0-312-17576-0.
^ Chen, Yi-Sein (1966). "The Chinese in Rangoon during the 18th and 19th Centuries". Essays Offered to G. H. Luce by His Colleagues and Friends in Honour of His Seventy-Fifth Birthday. Volume 1: Papers on Asian History, Religion, Languages, Literature, Music Folklore, and Anthropology (Artibus Asiae Publishers) 23: 107–111. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1522640.
^ a b Stamp, L. Dudley (1930). "Burma: An Undeveloped Monsoon Country". Geographical Review (American Geographical Society) 20 (1): 107–109. doi:Jan., 1930. http://www.jstor.org/stable/209128.
^ Win, Htet (July 2004). "The Road To Riches?". The Irrawaddy. http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=3799&z=102. Retrieved 2006-06-05.[dead link]
^ Aung, Pho Thar (2003-09-16). "Tango with China". The Irrawaddy. http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=381&z=28. Retrieved 2006-06-05.[dead link]
^ Ikeya, Chie (2008). "The Modern Burmese Woman and the Politics of Fashion in Colonial Burma". The Journal of Asian Studies (Cambridge University Press) 67: 1299. doi:10.1017/S0021911808001782. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/di ... id=2541936.
^ Vandenbosch, Amry (1947). "The Chinese in Southeast Asia". The Journal of Politics (Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Southern Political Science Association) 9 (2): 89. doi:Feb., 1947. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2125860.
^ a b c d e Martin Smith (1991). Burma - Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity. London,New Jersey: Zed Books. pp. 153–154, 225–226, 98, 39.
^ Holmes, Robert A. (1967). "Burmese Domestic Policy: The Politics of Burmanization". Asian Survey (University of California Press) 7 (3): 188–197. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2642237.
^ Murray, Douglas P. (1964). "Chinese Education in South-East Asia". The China Quarterly (Cambridge University Press on behalf of the School of Oriental and African Studies) (20): 78–80. doi:Oct. - Dec., 1964. http://www.jstor.org/stable/651712.
^ Ibid. 80
^ Ibid. 190
^ Ibid. 191
^ Steinberg, David L. (2002). Burma: The State of Myanmar. Georgetown University Press. ISBN 0-87840-893-2.
^ Turnell, Sean (2009). Fiery dragons: banks, moneylenders and microfinance in Burma. NIAS Press. p. 261. ISBN 9788776940409.
^ Backman, Michael (2003-03-30). "Burma's banking meltdown goes unnoticed beyond its borders". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/ ... 24134.html. Retrieved 2006-06-22.
^ Kuppuswamy, C.S. (2004-09-11). "MYANMAR: The shake- up and the fall out.". South Asia Analysis Group. Archived from the original on 15 December 2005. http://web.archive.org/web/200512150709 ... r1161.html. Retrieved 22 May 2006.
^ Leong, S.T. (1997). Migration and Ethnicity in Chinese History. Stanford University Press.
^ Backman, Michael (2003-03-30). "Burma's banking meltdown goes unnoticed beyond its borders". The Age (The Age). http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/ ... 24134.html. Retrieved 2006-06-22.
^ Zaw Htet (2006-11-13). "FMI profits beat the business blues". The Myanmar Times. http://www.myanmar.com/myanmartimes/Mya ... 2/b001.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-26.
^ Strachan, Paul (1989). Pagan - Art and Architecture of Old Burma. Kiscadale.
[edit] External links

Newidea! Myanmar information Web Site
Burma Overseas Chinese Student Association
Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (Chinese-language only)
Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, R.O.C.
Chronology of Chinese-Burmese Relations of The Irrawaddy

---------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_in_Burma

Cantonese Cambodians

Total population
1,180,000 (est.)[1]
Teochew 708,000
Cantonese 236,000
Hoklo 82,600
Hakka 47,200
Hainanese 47,200
Other 59,000
Regions with significant populations
Cambodia United States France Australia
Languages
Khmer, Teochew, Cantonese, Min-Nan, Hakka, Hainanese

Religion
Mahayana Buddhism and/or Theravada Buddhism with Taoism.[2]

Related ethnic groups
Han Chinese

Chinese Cambodians
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 柬埔寨華人
Simplified Chinese 柬埔寨华人

Cantonese Cambodians are Cambodian citizens of Cantonese descent. "Khmer-Chen", is used for peoples of either mixed Cambodian & Chinese descent or people of whom are Cambodian born citizens with Chinese ancestry; (Khmer being the ethnic group of Cambodia and Chen meaning Chinese in the Khmer language). During the late 1960s and early 1970s, they were the largest ethnic minority in Cambodia; there were an estimated 425,000. However, by 1984, there were only 61,400 Chinese Cambodians left. This has been attributed to a combination of warfare, economic stagnation, Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese persecution, and emigration.

[edit] Role in the economy

In 1963, William Willmott, an expert on overseas Chinese communities, estimated that 90% of the Chinese in Cambodia were involved in commerce. Today, an estimated 60% are urban dwellers engaged mainly in commerce, with most of the rural population working as shopkeepers, processors of food products (such as rice, palm sugar, fruit, and fish), and moneylenders. Those in Kampot Province and parts of Kaoh Kong Province cultivate black pepper and fruit (especially rambutans, durians, and coconuts). Additionally, some rural Chinese Cambodians are engaged in salt water fishing.

Most Chinese Cambodian moneylenders wield considerable economic power over the ethnic Khmer peasants through usury. Studies in the 1950s revealed that Chinese shopkeepers in Cambodia would sell to peasants on credit at interest rates of 10-20% a month. This might have been the reason why seventy-five percent of the peasants in Cambodia were in debt in 1952, according to the Australian Colonial Credit Office. There seemed to be little distinction between Chinese and Sino-Khmer (offspring of mixed Chinese and Khmer descent) in the moneylending and shopkeeping enterprises.

[edit] Dialect groups

The Chinese in Cambodia represented five major linguistic groups, the largest of which was the Teochew(accounting for about 60%), followed by the Cantonese (accounting for about 20%), the Hokkien (accounting for about 7%), and the Hakka and the Hainanese (each accounting for about 4%). The people of some of these Chinese dialects characteristically tend to gravitate towards certain occupations.

[edit] Teochew

The Teochew, who made up about 90 % of the rural Chinese population, ran village stores, controlled rural credit and rice-marketing facilities, and grew vegetables. In urban areas they were often engaged in such enterprises as importing and exporting, selling pharmaceuticals, and street peddling. Most of them now living surrounding the area where their expectation of run the business to success. They mostly are the front-runner among the Chinese community in local big cities.

[edit] Cantonese

The Cantonese, who were the majority Chinese group before the Teochiu migrations began in the late 1930s, lived mainly in the city. Frequently, the Cantonese engaged in transportation and in construction, for the most part as mechanics or carpenters. Known in Cambodia as "Chen-Catung" in Khmer language. Other than the city, Kampong Cham is their community.

[edit] Hainanese

The Hainanese started out as pepper growers in Kampot Province, where they continued to dominate that business. Many moved to Phnom Penh, where, in the late 1960s, they reportedly had a virtual monopoly on the hotel and restaurant businesses. They also often operated tailor shops and haberdasheries.

[edit] Hakka

In Phnom Penh, the newly-arrived Hakka were typically folk dentists, sellers of traditional Chinese medicines, and shoemakers. Hakka deemed to be the newest Chinese and the smallest group of all which their movement just began during Second Sino-Japanese War. After the earliest settlement in Cambodia, Stung Treng is the consideration of most Hakka active community.

[edit] Hokkien

The Hokkien community was involved in importing and exporting and in banking; many of the richest Chinese Cambodians were Hokkien. Revealed to be the earliest group to be found in Cambodia after their earliest arrival in the Khmer Empire era and the following biggest immigration in 15th century, they once drew with the Cantonese speakers as the largest speaker group in 1860s. Kampong Thom still stands today as the main centre for the Hokkien community, followed by Siem reap, Battambang and Kampong Chnnang.

[edit] History

[edit] Medieval History

The Chinese presence in Cambodia goes back a number of centuries; in terms of settled communities, different southern Chinese ethnic groups arrived in the country at slightly different times. It is thought that the first distinct Chinese communities were probably established after the fall of the Song dynasty in the thirteenth century. What is clear, however, is that among the first ethnic Chinese to settle in Cambodia were the Hokkiens, while the Cantonese and Hainanese seem to have arrived towards the end of the seventeenth century, followed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by the Teochiu and Hakka. At the time of the French Protectorate, the largest Chinese groups were the Hokkiens and Cantonese, though by the mid-twentieth century they would be outnumbered by the Teochius.

Chinese presence in Cambodia dated back to the 13th century when Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan visited Cambodia and in the 16th century, Portuguese seafarers recorded the presence of a Chinese enclave in Phnom Penh in 1620. Early Chinese immigrants comprised almost exclusively of men, and they took local Khmer or Cham women as wives. Their descendants quickly assimilated into the local community by intergating themselves economically and socially into the agricultural commune of ancient Cambodians. Some male descendants of Chinese immigrants kept Chinese hairstyles. Descendants of Chinese immigrants from the Ming dynasty maintained the Ming practice of keeping a Chinese topknot until the 18th century.[3]

These Chinese communities had extensive autonomy during the French protectorate period. In effect, each distinct Chinese linguistic group had its own chef de congregation, and these chiefs were recognized by French authorities as having power over matters of immigration and emigration, movement between towns, schools, temples, cultural societies. In other words, they were not treated as colonial subjects; each of the Chinese minorities had the right to control its own internal affairs to a quite extensive degree. This also meant that the French did not assume any responsibility for the Chinese in matters such as health and education.

This was to be a high point in terms of the rights of the Chinese minorities. Cambodian independence in 1953 saw a regression in their treatment by state authorities and the previously existing autonomy was eliminated by the new government. However, many private associations - cultural, business-oriented and to do with education - were simply continued by the Chinese communities and clan associations themselves, as these communities still had very significant economic and political power. Anti-Chinese feeling and policies emerged, however, after the coup of 1970 which saw the establishing of a pro-West government which considered the neighbouring People's Republic of China a dangerous threat - and the Chinese minorities in Cambodia as a possible fifth column.

The year 1970 thus marks the beginning of almost two decades of severe repression of the Chinese minorities in Cambodia. It was after this point that Cambodian authorities started forcing the closure of Chinese schools and newspapers, requiring the Chinese to carry special identity papers, imposing special taxes on the Chinese and moving towards denying them Cambodian citizenship. While the Khmer Rouge regime appeared to have a more ‘tolerant' ethnic policy initially, it continued to discriminate against the Chinese once it had completed its takeover of Cambodia. The continued discrimination, however, now rested on class rather than ethnic grounds; since the majority of urban Chinese were traders, they were classified as ‘capitalists' by the revolutionary regime. While there is no evidence that the Chinese were particularly targeted in the Khmer Rouge purges, their population in Cambodia was probably reduced by half in the four years of Khmer Rouge rule; it seems that there was an increased number of anti-Chinese events just prior to the Vietnamese invasion which brought an end to the Pol Pot regime.

The establishment of the People's Republic of Kampuchea after the Vietnamese invasion in 1979 was not completely positive for the Chinese minorities. Partly because of tensions between China and Vietnam, the new Cambodian authorities adopted restrictive measures against the remaining members of the Chinese minorities, including banning them from returning to urban trades. This continued until the Vietnamese army left in 1989. As Cambodia began moving towards a democratic state, the more obvious forms of discrimination against the Chinese began to be removed or tempered. After 1990, they were allowed to celebrate Chinese festivals and religious practices, then to re-establish Chinese associations and conduct business activities. Even more recently, they have started operating their own schools, which have expanded considerably in recent years in Phnom Penh and other centres.

[edit] Under French rule

Distinction by dialect group has also been important historically in the administrative treatment of the Chinese in Cambodia. The French brought with them a system devised by the Vietnamese Emperor Gia Long (1802–20) to classify the local Chinese according to areas of origin and dialect. These groups were called bang (or congregations by the French) and had their own leaders for law, order, and tax-collecting.[4]

The French enforced similar policies in Cambodia.[4] The head of a bang, known as the ong bang, was elected by popular vote; he functioned as an intermediary between the members of his bang and the government. Individual Chinese who were not accepted for membership in a bang were deported by the French authorities.

[edit] After independence

The French system of administering the Chinese Cambodian community was terminated in 1958. During the 1960s, Chinese community affairs tended to be handled, at least in Phnom Penh, by the Chinese Hospital Committee, an organization set up to fund and to administer a hospital established earlier for the Chinese community.

This committee was the largest association of Chinese merchants in the country, and it was required by the organization's constitution to include on its fifteen-member board six people from the Teochiu dialect group, three from the Cantonese, two from the Hokkien, two from the Hakka, and two from the Hainanese. The hospital board constituted the recognized leadership of Phnom Penh's Chinese community. Local Chinese school boards in the smaller cities and towns often served a similar function.

In 1971 the government authorized the formation of a new body, the Federated Association of Chinese of Cambodia, which was the first organization to embrace all of Cambodia's resident Chinese. According to its statutes, the federation was designed to "aid Chinese nationals in the social, cultural, public health, and medical fields," to administer the property owned jointly by the Chinese community in Phnom Penh and elsewhere, and to promote friendly relations between Cambodians and Chinese.

With leadership that could be expected to include the recognized leaders of the national Chinese community, the federation was believed likely to continue the trend, evident since the early 1960s, to transcend dialect group allegiance in many aspects of its social, political, and economic programs.

Generally, relations between the Chinese and the ethnic Khmer were good. There was some intermarriage, and a sizable proportion of the population in Cambodia was part Sino-Khmer, who were assimilated easily into either the Chinese or the Khmer community. Willmott assumes that a Sino-Khmer elite dominated commerce in Cambodia from the time of independence well into the era of the Khmer Republic.

[edit] Under the Khmer Rouge

The Khmer Rouge takeover was catastrophic for the Chinese community for several reasons. When the Khmer Rouge took over a town, they immediately disrupted the local market. According to Willmott, this disruption virtually eliminated retail trade "and the traders (almost all Chinese) became indistinguishable from the unpropertied urban classes."[5]

The Chinese, in addition to having their livelihood eradicated on the whole, also suffered because of their class. They were mainly well-educated urban merchants, and thus were characteristic of the people whom the Khmer Rouge detested. Chinese refugees have reported that they shared the same brutal treatment as other urban Cambodians under the Khmer Rouge régime and that they were not discriminated against as an ethnic group until after the Vietnamese invasion.

[edit] Under the PRK/SOC

Following the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and the fall of Democratic Kampuchea, the new pro-Hanoi People's Republic of Kampuchea regime lifted some of the oppressive rules imposed on ethnic Chinese by the Khmer Rouge government. Chinese newspapers were allowed and the ban on speaking Chinese at home was lifted.[6] However, partial restrictions and a certain amount of suspicion remained, for the pro-Soviet PRK regime resented China's support for the Khmer Rouge guerrillas fighting against it, now renamed as the "National Army of Democratic Kampuchea" (NADK). Observers at the time believed that the lingering anti-Chinese stance of the PRK government and of its officials in Phnom Penh made it unlikely that a Chinese community of the same scale as before the Khmer Rouge could resurface in Cambodia in the near future.

The conditions for the ethnic Chinese, however, improved greatly under the SOC, the transitional avatar of the PRK after 1989. Restrictions placed on them by the former PRK gradually disappeared. The State of Cambodia allowed ethnic Chinese to observe their particular religious customs and Chinese language schools were reopened. In 1991, two years after the SOC's foundation, the Chinese New Year was officially celebrated in Cambodia for the first time since 1975.[7]

[edit] Modern years

Of particular note is China's economic role in the country,[8] which encouraged Sino-Khmer businessmen to reestablish their past business which were once suppressed by the Khmer Rouge. Modern Cambodian economy is highly dependent on Sino-Khmer companies who controlled a large stake in the country's economy,[9] and their support is enhanced by the large presence of lawmakers who are of at least part-Chinese ancestry themselves.[10]

The position of the Chinese minority has undergone a dramatic turn for the better and the Chinese seem to have regained much of their previous economic clout. For various reasons, including the growing economic collaboration between China and Cambodia and the huge investments being made by Chinese companies, the Chinese community has seen its numbers expand dramatically in the 2000s. There has been a huge growth in Chinese-language schools, often generously supported by the government of China through subsidies, and also in the production of textbooks (in Chinese) that incorporate Cambodian history and seminars for teachers. There may be close to 100 such schools today (2007). One of these private schools claims to be the largest overseas Chinese school in the world, with some 10,000 students. A number of Chinese-language newspapers began to be published in the country after 1993, and state television broadcasting even included a news segment in Chinese after 1998. All of the main political parties in Cambodia now appear sensitive to the clout of the Chinese minority, publishing campaign material in Chinese in the last elections. While this minority faced serious discrimination until the 1980s, it appears that that period has come to an end and that they no longer appear to be victimized by state authorities and are allowed to prosper under Hun Sen.[11]

[edit] Well known Sino Khmers

Pol Pot - Khmer Rouge leader (Chinese-Khmer extract)
Ta Mok - Khmer Rouge leader (Chinese-Khmer extract)
Ieng Sary - Khmer Rouge leader
Khieu Samphan - Khmer Rouge regime's head of state
Nuon Chea (劉平坤) - Khmer Rouge chief ideologist
Lon Nol - President of the ill-fated Khmer Republic (Chinese-Khmer extract)
Bun Rany-The Head of Cambodian Red Cross and the wife of Khmer prime minister, Hun Sen.
Sinn Sisamouth-The "King of Khmer Music". He was born with several ethnic group's blood, such as Cambodian, Chinese, and Laotian.
Cham Prasith- the Cambodian Minister of Trade and Commerce (Chinese descent). His real name retained Chinese Sound as Aik Tik Yu.
Tea Banh - Cambodian People's Party politician (Thai-Chinese).
Sokun Nisa - Popular Khmer singer, often featured on Karaoke DVD's (Koun Chen)
Kang Kek Iew - former leader in the Khmer Rouge, head of Khmer Rouge special branch and Tuol Sleng (S-21) prison camp in Phnom Penh

[edit] Footnotes

^ "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008- ... 324545.htm.
^ Brandon Toropov, Chad Hansen (2003). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Taoism. Alpha Books. p. 121. ISBN 0028642627.
^ Nyíri, Savelʹev (2002), p. 256
^ a b Nyíri, Savelʹev (2002), p. 257
^ Nyíri, Savelʹev (2002), p. 265
^ Amy B. M. Tsui, James W. Tollefson (2006). Language Policy, Culture, and Identity in Asian Contexts. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp. 110–5. ISBN 0805856935.
^ Judy Ledgerwood, Cambodian Recent History and Contemporary Society; 1989-1993 State of Cambodia
^ China-Cambodia: More than just friends?
^ The rise and rise of a Cambodian capitalist
^ 华人在柬埔寨几度沉浮
^ http://www.minorityrights.org/3288/camb ... inese.html
[edit] References

Pál Nyíri, Igorʹ Rostislavovich Savelʹev (2002). Globalizing Chinese Migration. Ashgate Publishing. pp. 255–6. ISBN 0754617939.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.
[edit] External links

WorldChinese: Cambodia
The Growing Cambodian-Chinese Alliance (with information on the Chinese community in Cambodia)

--------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_in_Cambodia

Thai Cantonese

Total population
7,053,240 [1]
Regions with significant populations
Thailand
Languages
Chinese languages, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkiens, Teochew and Thai

Religion
Thai Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Chinese Folk Religions, Christianity

Related ethnic groups
Teochews, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Southern Chinese, Peranakan and other Chinese people

Thai Chinese
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 泰國華人
Simplified Chinese 泰国华人

The Thai Cantonese are an overseas Cantonese community who live in Thailand. Official statistics show that six million people in 1987,[2] or about 14% of Thailand's population claim to be of Chinese ethnicity.[3] Extensive intermarriages with the Thais, especially in the past has resulted in many people who claim Chinese ethnicity with Thai ancestry, or mixed.[4] People of Chinese descent are concentrated in the coastal areas of Thailand, principally Bangkok.[5] They are well-represented in all levels of Thai society and play a leading role in business and politics. More than half of all Prime Ministers in Thailand are of Chinese descent.

Slightly more than half of the ethnic Chinese population in Thailand trace their ancestry to the Chaozhou prefecture in eastern Guangdong. This is evidenced by the prevalence of the Minnan Chaozhou dialect among the Chinese in Thailand. A minority trace their ancestry to Hakka and Hainanese immigrants.[6]

Most ethnic Chinese in Thailand are proficient in the Thai language, and a large number are also conversant in Chinese with varying degrees of fluency. In general, ethnic Chinese use Thai as a working language, while Chinese is spoken at home and with relatives.[citation needed] Assimilated Thais of Chinese ancestry, on the other hand, have since used Thai in everyday life and are much less adept in Chinese.[7] The Teochew dialect of Chinese is used as a commercial lingua franca among the Chinese business circles, principally in Bangkok.[8]

The proficiency of the Thai language among the ethnic Chinese is attributed to the fact that Thai is a compulsory subject in all schools, while students from Chinese-medium schools are more proficient in Chinese than those from other schools in general. In recent years, many Chinese have also used Mandarin for communication among the Chinese in Thailand.[9]

[edit] Religion

The first-generation Chinese immigrants were followers of Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism. Theravada Buddhism has since become the religion of many ethnic Chinese in Thailand, especially among the assimilated Chinese. Very often, many Chinese in Thailand combine practices of Chinese folk religion with Theravada Buddhism.[10] Major Chinese festivals such as Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival and Qingming are widely celebrated especially in Bangkok, Phuket, and other parts of Thailand where there are large Chinese populations.[11]

The Chinese in Phuket are noted for their nine-day vegetarian festival between September and October. During the festive season, devotees will abstain from meat and Mortification of the flesh by Chinese mediums are also commonly seen, and the rites and rituals seen are devoted to the veneration of Tua Pek Kong. Such idiosyncratic traditions were developed during the 19th century in Phuket by the local Chinese with influences from Thai culture.[12]

In the north, there are some Chinese people who practice Islam. They belong to a group of Chinese people, known as Chin Ho. Most of the Chinese Muslim are descended from Hui people who live in Yunnan, China. There are currently seven Chinese mosques in Chiang Mai,[13] one of them is Baan Haw Mosque, a well known mosque in the north.

[edit] History

The history of Chinese immigration to Thailand dates back many centuries. Chinese traders in Thailand, mostly from Fujian and Guangdong, began arriving in Ayutthaya by at least the thirteenth century. According to the Chronicles of Ayutthaya, it was mentioned that King Ekathotsarot (r. 1605-1610) had been "concerned solely with ways of enriching his treasury," and was "greatly inclined toward strangers and foreign nations," especially Portugal, Spain, the Philippines, China, and Japan.

Ayutthaya was under almost constant Burmese threat from the 16th century onwards, and Qianlong, the Emperor of Qing was alarmed by the Burmese military might. From 1766-1769, Qianlong sent his armies four times to subdue the Burmese, but all four invasions failed. Ayutthaya thus fell to the Burmese in 1767. The Chinese efforts diverted the attention of Burma's Siam army, General Taksin, who was the son of a Chinese immigrant, took advantage of the situation by organizing his force and attacking them. Taksin actively encouraged Chinese immigration and trade. Settlers principally from Chaozhou prefecture came in large numbers.[14]

The Chinese population in Thailand jumped from 230,000 in 1825 to 792,000 by 1910. By 1932, approximately 12.2% of the population of Thailand was Chinese.[15]

However, early Chinese immigration consisted almost entirely of Chinese men who married Thai women. Children of such intermarriages were aptly called Sino-Thai[16] or known as Luk-jin (ลูกจีน) in Thai.[17] This tradition of Chinese-Thai intermarriage declined when large numbers of Chinese women began to emigrate into Thailand in the early 20th century.

The corruption of the Qing Dynasty and the massive population increase in China, along with very high taxes, caused many men to leave China for Thailand in search of work. If successful, they sent money back to their families in China. Many Chinese prospered under the "tax farming" system, whereby private individuals were sold the right to collect taxes at a price below the value of the tax revenues.

In the late 19th century, when Thailand was busy defending its independence from the colonial powers, Chinese bandits from Yunnan Province began raids into the country in the Haw wars (Thai: ปราบกบฏฮ่อ). Thai nationalist attitudes at all levels were accordingly colored by anti-Chinese sentiment. Members of the Chinese community had long dominated domestic commerce and had served as agents for the royal trade monopolies. With the rise of European economic influence, however, many Chinese shifted to the opium traffic and tax collecting, both of which were despised occupations. In addition, Chinese millers and rice traders were blamed for an economic recession that gripped Siam for nearly a decade after 1905. Accusations of bribery of officials, wars between the Chinese secret societies, and use of violent tactics to collect taxes served to foster Thai resentment against the Chinese at a time when the community was expanding rapidly due to immigration.

By 1910, nearly 10 percent of Thailand's population was Chinese. Moreover, the new arrivals frequently came in families and resisted assimilation. Chinese nationalism, encouraged by Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the Chinese revolution, had also begun to develop, parallel with Thai nationalism. The Chinese community even supported a separate school system for its children.

Legislation by King Rama VI (1910-1925) that required the adoption of Thai surnames was largely directed at easing tensions with Chinese community by encouraging assimilation. Thai Chinese had to choose between forsaking their Chinese identity or being regarded as foreigners. Most opted to become Thai.

A number of ethnic Chinese families left Burma between 1930 and 1950 and settled in the Ratchaburi and Kanchanaburi Provinces of Western Thailand. A few of the ethnic Chinese families in that area had already emigrated from Burma in the 19th century. Ethnic Chinese families can be recognized by the shrines in their homes and shops, which are mostly located straight on the ground and painted in red, decorated with gold tinsel and small red lamps.

The Chinese in Thailand also suffered discrimination between the 1930s to 1950s under the military dictatorship of Prime Minister Plaek Pibulsonggram, (in spite of being part-Chinese himself).[18] State corporations took over commodities such as rice, tobacco and petroleum, and Chinese businesses found themselves subject to a range of new taxes and controls.

Nevertheless, the Chinese were still encouraged to become Thai citizens, and by 1970 it was estimated that more than 90 percent of the Chinese born in Thailand had done so. When diplomatic relations were established with China[19] in the 1970s, resident Chinese not born in Thailand were offered the chance of becoming Thai citizens. The remaining permanent resident Chinese alien population was then estimated at less than 200,000.

[edit] Dialect groups

The vast majority of the Thai Chinese belong to various southern Chinese dialect groups. Of these, 56% are Teochew (also commonly spelled as Teochiu), 16% Hakka and 11% Hainanese. The Cantonese and Hokkien each constitute 7% of the Chinese population, and 3% belong to other Chinese dialect groups.[20]

The Teochews mainly settled around Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. Many of them worked in government sectors, while others were involved in trade. During the reign of King Taksin, some influential Teochew traders were granted certain privileges. These prominent traders were called "Royal Chinese" (Jin-luang in Thai).

The Hokkiens constitute the largest dialect group among the Chinese in Songkhla and Phuket, while the Hakkas are mainly concentrated in Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Central Western provinces. The Hakka own many private banks in Thailand, notably Kasikorn Bank.

A large number of Thai Chinese are the descendants of intermarriages between Chinese immigrants and Thais, while there are others who are of predominantly or solely of Chinese descent. People who are of mainly Chinese descent are descendants of immigrants who relocated to Thailand as well as other parts of Nanyang (the Chinese term for Southeast Asia used at the time) in the early to mid 20th century due to famine and civil war in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong (Teochew, Cantonese, Hainan, Hakka groups) and Fujian (Hokkien, Hakka). Among the ethnic Chinese, assimilation and adoption of Thai culture tends to take place among the Chinese who have a significant amount of Thai ancestry.

In the southern Thai provinces, notably the Chinese community in Phuket Province, the assimilated group is known as Peranakans. These people share a similar culture and identity with the Peranakan Chinese in neighboring Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia.[21][22][23] Ethnic Chinese in the Malay-dominated provinces in the south used Malay, rather than Thai as their lingua franca, and occasionally intermarry with the local Malays.[24]

Substantial numbers of Chinese people of (mainly) Yunnanese descent can be found in villages around Chiang Rai Province. These are descendants of Kuomintang soldiers who fought against the Chinese Communist soldiers in the 1940s, before fleeing to the northern regions and settling among the local people.[25][26][27] The Chinese Muslim community, also known as Haw or Hui settled in parts of northern Thailand during the years of the Panthay Rebellion, who eventually formed a distinct community in Chiangmai by the late 1890s.[28]

[edit] Linguistic concentrations

Teochew
Hakka
Hainanese
Cantonese
Hokkien
[edit] Surnames

Thai Chinese can often be recognized by having a surname containing the original Chinese name or its translation. In former prime minister Banharn Silpa-Archa's name, Archa (horse) is the translation of the Chinese surname Ma (馬). Another example is Sondhi Limthongkul, where Lim is the Hainanese pronunciation of the Chinese surname Lin (林). Many Thai Chinese adopted long surnames[29] to mimic the royal names formerly given to high officials by the kings. Ethnic Thais tend to have shorter surnames, though many have now changed them to longer ones. Thai Chinese generally adopted Thai surnames to avoid persecution by assimilating into society. When choosing a surname, they would often combine auspicious Thai words with their original Chinese surname.

[edit] References

^ The Ranking of Ethnic Chinese Population Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, R.O.C.
^ Frank-Jürgen Richter. Business Networks in Asia: Promises, Doubts, and Perspectives. Quorum Books. p. 193. ISBN 1567203027.
^ CIA - The World Factbook-Thailand
^ Chris Dixon. The Thai Economy: Uneven Development and internationalisation. Routledge. p. 267. ISBN 0415024420.
^ Paul J. Christopher. 50 Plus One Greatest Cities in the World You Should Visit. Encouragement Press, LLC. p. 25. ISBN 1933766018.
^ Chris Baker, Pasuk Phongpaichit. A History of Thailand. Cambridge University Press. p. 93. ISBN 0521816157.
^ Chee Kiong Tong, Kwok B. Chan. Alternate Identities: The Chinese of Contemporary Thailand. BRILL. pp. 21–23. ISBN 981210142X.
^ Durk Gorter. Linguistic Landscape: A New Approach to Multilingualism. Multilingual Matters. p. 43. ISBN 1853599166.
^ Antonio L. Rappa. Language Policy and Modernity in Southeast Asia. Springer. p. 116. ISBN 1402045107.
^ Martin E. Marty, R. Scott Appleby, John H. Garvey, Timur Kuran. Fundamentalisms and the State: Remaking Polities, Economies, and Militance. University Of Chicago Press. p. 390. ISBN 0226508846.
^ Chee Kiong Tong, Kwok B. Chan. Alternate Identities: The Chinese of Contemporary Thailand. pp. 30–34. ISBN 981210142X.
^ Jean Elizabeth DeBernardi. The Way That Lives in the Heart: Chinese Popular Religion and Spirits Mediums in Penang, Malaysia. [[Stanford University Press]]. pp. 25–30. ISBN 0804752923.
^ [1]
^ Bertil Lintner. Blood Brothers: The Criminal Underworld of Asia. Macmillan Publishers. p. 234. ISBN 1403961549.
^ Martin Stuart-Fox. A Short History of China and Southeast Asia: Tribute, Trade and Influence. Allen & Unwin. p. 126. ISBN 1864489545.
^ Smith Nieminen Win. Historical Dictionary of Thailand. Praeger Publishers. p. 231. ISBN 0-8108-5396-5.
^ Rosalind C. Morris. In the Place of Origins: Modernity and Its Mediums in Northern Thailand. Duke University Press. p. 334. ISBN 0822325179.
^ Michael Leifer. Dictionary of the Modern Politics of South-East Asia. Routledge. p. 204. ISBN 0415138213.
^ "Bilateral Relations". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China. 2003/10/23. http://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zzjg/yzs/gjlb/2787/. Retrieved 2010/06/12. "On July 1 1975, China and Thailand established Diplomatic relations."
^ William Allen Smalley. Linguistic Diversity and National Unity: Language. University of Chicago Press. pp. 212–3. ISBN 0226762882.
^ Celebrating Chinese New Year I
^ Peranakan Chinese New Year Festival
^ บาบ๋า-เพอรานากัน ประจำปีครั้งที่ 19 ณ จังหวัดภูเก็ต
^ Andrew D.W. Forbes (1988). The Muslims of Thailand. Soma Prakasan. pp. 14–15. ISBN 974-9553-75-6.
^ Doi Mae Salong Chiang Rai
^ Thailand: The Magic Kingdom of Mae Hong Son
^ Doi Mae Salong
^ Andrew D.W. Forbes (1988). The Muslims of Thailand. Soma Prakasan. p. 93. ISBN 974-9553-75-6.
^ Mirin MacCarthy. "Successfully Yours: Thanet Supornsaharungsi." Pattaya Mail. [Undated] 1998.
[edit] External links

Thai-Chinese chamber of commerce
(English) Thai Chinese.net
[edit] Associations

The Chinese Association in Thailand (Chong Hua)
Teochew Association of Thailand
Hakka Association of Thailand
(Thai) Thai Hainan Trade association of Thailand
Fujian Association of Thailand
[edit] Miscellaneous

Assessment for Chinese in Thailand
Anti-Chinese Labor riot of 1924, & bottom of page, how Thai Army suppressed 1889 riot between Chinese triads Tang Kong Xi (Teochew) and Siew Li Kue (Fujian)
Why do Thais have long surnames?

------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_Chinese

------------------------

Bangkok's Chinatown is centered on Yaowarat Road (เยาวราช) in Samphanthawong district.

The Chinatown is an old business center covering a large area around Yaowarat and Charoen Krung Road. There are many small streets and alleys full of shops and vendors selling all types of goods. It has been the main centre for trading by the Chinese community since they moved from their old site some 200 years ago. Nearby Phahurat or Indian market. Yaowarat Road is also famous for many varieties of delicious foods, and become foods street in the night.

[edit] History of Bangkok's Chinatown

Chinatown is located in one of the oldest areas of Bangkok. It was set up by Chinese traders who came in junks to trade with Thailand (Siam) during the Rattanakosin period, around the 18th century. By the end of 1891, King Rama V had ordered the construction of many roads, including Yaowarat Road. Chinatown does not consist of only Yaowarat Road, but also includes others such as: Charoen Krung Road, Mungkorn Road, Songwat Road, Songsawat Road, Chakkrawat Road, etc. Yaowarat is the center of the area. The path of the road is said to resemble a dragon's curvy body, making it an auspicious location for business. Visitors can find leading gold shops, garments, textiles, stationery, souvenirs, second-hand parts and equipment, electric goods, computer parts, antiques, imported musical instruments, and local delicacies at a bargain, often at wholesale prices. Year 2003 marked the 111th anniversary of this legendary road.

Land prices around Yaowarat Road has always been the priciest in Bangkok and Thailand due to limited land which are mostly owned by prominent Thai Chinese family who are leaders of their respective industry.

------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaowarat_Road

Malaysian Cantonese

Total population
c.7,150,000 (as of June 2008)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Malaysia
Languages
Chinese languages, Malaysian Mandarin, Cantonese, Foochow , Hakka, Hokkiens, Teochew, Malaysian English and Malay

Religion
Predominantly Buddhism and Christianity , Chinese folk religion, Confucianism, and Taoism; Yi Guan Dao; relatively small numbers of Muslims[2]

Related ethnic groups
Southern Chinese, Chinese Singaporean, Peranakan, Chindian

Malaysian Chinese
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 馬來西亞華人
Simplified Chinese 马来西亚华人
[show]Transcriptions
alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 馬來西亞唐人

Malaysian Cantonese (simplified Chinese: 马来西亚华人; traditional Chinese: 馬來西亞華人; pinyin: Mǎláixīyà Huárén) is a Malaysian of Chinese origin. Most are descendants of Chinese who arrived between the fifteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries. Within Malaysia, they are usually simply referred to as "Chinese" in all languages. The term Chinese Malaysian is also sometimes used to refer to this community.

[edit] History

See also: Chinese emigration and Peranakan
[edit] First Wave

The first wave of Chinese settlers came during the Malacca Empire in the early 15th century. The friendly diplomatic relations between China and Melaka culminated during the reign of Sultan Mansur Syah who married Hang Li Po from China. A senior minister of state and five hundred youth of noble births and handmaidens in waiting accompanied the princess to Malacca. [3] The descendants of these people are called Baba(men) and Nyonya(women).

[edit] Second Wave

The second and much bigger wave of Chinese immigrants came during the 19th century and early 20th century as coolies. These immigrants were running away from China due to the fighting of the Opium War in 1840. Their immigration to Malaya was encouraged by the British who needed Chinese coolies to work on their rubber plantations and tin mines. The immigrants came as free labour or indentured labour on a credit ticket system. Free labour meant they financed their own journey with savings or loans from their kinsman. These groups of early Chinese coolies are not surprisingly the most exploited by their employers. They worked long hours to pay off the high interest rates on credit ticket system.[4]

[edit] Origins

The Min Chinese form the largest Chinese group in Malaysia and they came from Fujian, eastern Guangdong and Hainan provinces.

[edit] Min Nan people

[edit] Hokkien

Chinese settlers from the southern regions of Fujian constitute the largest group, and generally identified as Hokkien. The bulk of Chinese settlers in Malaya before the 18th century came from Amoy and Zhangzhou and settled primarily in Penang and Malacca, where they formed the bulk of the local Chinese populace. More Hokkiens settled in Malaya from the 19th century onwards, and dominated the rubber plantation and financial sectors of the Malayan economy.[5] The bulk of Hokkien-speaking Chinese settled in the Malay Peninsula and formed the largest dialect group in many states, specifically in Penang, Malacca, Kelantan, Terengganu,[6] Kedah and Perlis.[7] In Malaysian Borneo, the Hokkiens make up a sizeable proportion within the Chinese community, and are primarily found in larger towns, notably Kuching and Sibu.[8]

[edit] Teochew

Immigrants from the Chaoshan region began to settle in Malaya in large numbers from the 18th century onwards, mainly in Province Wellesley and Kedah (mainly around Kuala Muda). These immigrants established were chiefly responsible for setting up gambier and pepper plantation industries in Malaya. More Teochews immigrated to Johor at the encouragement of Temenggong Ibrahim in the 19th century, and many new towns were established and populated by plantation workers from the Chaoshan region. The Teochews constitute a substantial percentage within the Chinese communities in Johor Bahru[9] and principal towns along the coasts of Western Johor (notably Pontian, Muar and to a smaller extent, Batu Pahat) as well as selected hinterland towns in the central regions of the state.[7] Many rural communes in Sarawak and Sabah were also populated by the Teochews, many of them being descendants of plantation workers which came to set up gambier and pepper plantations, following the administrative pattern of their countrymen in Johor.[10] Smaller communities of Teochews can also be found in other states, notably in Sabak Bernam in Selangor, where many Teochews settled down as rice agriculturalists,[7] as well as in the hinterlands of Malacca.[11]

[edit] Hainanese

Chinese immigrants from Hainan began to migrate to Malaya and North Borneo from the 19th century onwards, albeit in much smaller numbers than the aforementioned speech groups. The Hainanese were employed as cooks by wealthy Straits Chinese families, while others were engaged in food catering business or the fishery business and formed the largest dialect group in Kemaman district of Terengganu[12] and Pulau Ketam (Selangor) as well as sizeable communities in Penang and Johor Bahru.[13] Smaller communities of Hainanese are also found in Sarawak and Sabah, where they work as coffee shop owners and are mainly found in large towns and cities.[14]

[edit] Hing Hua

The Hing Hua came from Putian. Their numbers were much smaller than the other Min Chinese from Fujian and they were mostly involved in the bicycle, motorcycle and automobile spare parts industry.

[edit] Min Dong people

Settlers from Fuzhou 福州 (also known as Hokchew or Foochow among the Hokkiens and Cantonese respectively) and Fuqing 福清 also came in sizeable numbers during the 19th centuries and dominated the corporate industry in the 20th century. They speak a distinct dialect and are classified separately from the Hokkiens and a large number are Christians. The Foochow formed the largest dialect group in Sarawak–specifically in areas around the Rajang River,[15] namely in the towns of Sibu, Sarikei and Bintangor. The Foochow also settled in large numbers in a few towns in Peninsular Malaya, notably Sitiawan in Perak and Yong Peng in Johor.[16]

[edit] Hakka people

The Hakkas came from both Guangdong and Fujian provinces. They form the second largest group of people after the Hokkiens. Large numbers of Hakka settled in the western parts of Malaya and North Borneo and worked as miners in the 19th century as valuable metals such as gold and tin were discovered. Descendants of these miners formed the largest community among the Chinese in Selangor[17] and very large communities in Perak (specifically Taiping and Ipoh),[18] Sarawak , Sabah and Negeri Sembilan.[19] As the gold and tin mining industries declined in economic importance in the 20th century, many turned to the rubber industry, and large numbers of Hakka settled in Kedah and Johor (principally in Kulai and Kluang).[20] In Sabah, many Hakkas were involved in agriculture. They cut down the forests to make way for tobacco, rubber and coconut plantations. In time, the Hakka community also dominated the state's industry and economy. However, even today, many Sabahan Hakkas are still involved in agriculture, especially those living in rural towns such as Tenom and Kudat where they are often the backbone of the local industry.

[edit] Cantonese people

The Cantonese mostly came from Guangdong province and a minority from Guangxi province. They form the third largest group of people after the Hakkas. They settled down in Kuala Lumpur of the Klang Valley, Ipoh of the Kinta Valley in Perak, Pahang as well as Seremban in Negeri Sembilan and Sandakan of Sabah. They started the development and turn these early settlement into principal towns. Most of the early Cantonese worked as coolie laborers, engaged in tin mining and rubber plantation. From the late 19th century onwards as the tin mining industry declined in economic importance, the Cantonese as well as other Malaysian Chinese gradually shifted their focus to business and contribute much to the social and economic development in Malaya.

[edit] Demographics

An early census of ethnic groups in the British Malay states, conducted by the British in 1835, showed that ethnic Chinese constituted 8 percent of the population and were mainly found in the Straits Settlements, while the Malays and Indians made up 88 percent and 4 percent of the population respectively.[21] Malaya's population quickly increased during the 19th and 20th centuries, although the majority of Chinese immigrants were males rather than females.[22] By 1921, Malaya's population had swelled to nearly three million, and the Chinese constituted 30 percent of Malaya's population while the Malays constituted 54.7% of Malaya's population, whose growth was fueled by immigrants from neighboring Indonesia (the Indians made up most of the remainder). While the Chinese population was largely transient, and many coolies returned to China on a frequent basis, 29 percent of the Chinese population were local born, most of whom were the offspring of first-generation Chinese immigrants.[23] The British government began to impose restrictions on migration during the 1930s, but the difference between the number of Chinese and Malays continued to close up even after World War II. The 1947 census indicated that the Malays constituted 49.5% of the population, compared to the Chinese at 38.4%, out of a total population of 4.9 million.[24]

Malaysian Chinese historical demographics (%)
1957 1970 1980 1991 2000 [25]
2,667,452 (45%) [26] 3,564,400 (35%) 3,564,400 (33%) 4,623,900(31.7%) 5,691,900(25%)
[edit] By state & territory

The 2000 Population and Housing Census Report gives the following statistics (excluding non citizens) [27]:

State Population % of Population
Johor 54,920 35.4%
Kedah 12,569 14.9%
Kelantan 2,575 3.8%
Malacca 22,392 29.1%
Negeri Sembilan 22,405 25.6%
Pahang 14,749 17.7%
Perak 61,175 32%
Perlis 992 10.3%
Penang 44,323 46.5%
Sabah 691,096 13.2%
Sarawak 852,198 26.7%
Selangor (including Federal Territory of Putrajaya) 166,018 30.7%
Terengganu 2,641 0.3%
Federal Territory Population % of Population
Kuala Lumpur 71,819 43.5%
[edit] States with large Chinese population

As of 2008, the majority of Chinese people are mainly concentrated in the west coast states of west Malaysia with significant percentage of Chinese (30% and above) such as Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor.

Areas with significant Chinese populations(40% and above) for each state are:

Kuala Lumpur
Kepong, Cheras, Bukit Bintang, Old Klang Road, Sri Petaling, Pudu, Segambut.

Selangor
Subang Jaya/USJ, Puchong, SS2, Petaling Jaya, Damansara Jaya/Utama, Bandar Utama, Serdang, Port Klang.

Year Total population Malay Percentage Chinese Percentage
1891[28] 81,592 23,750 50,844
2011[29] 5 Million 1.45 Million 29 %
Penang
Penang island, Bukit Mertajam

Year Total population Malay Percentage Chinese Percentage
1812[30] 26,107 9,854 37.7% 7,558 28.9%
1820 35,035 14,080 40.2% 8,595 24.5%
1860 124,772 71,723 57.4% 36,222 29.0%
1891 232,003 92,681 39.9% 86.988 37.5%
1970[31] 775,000 247,000 30.6% 436,000 56.3%
1990[32] 1,150,000 399,200 34.5% 607,400 52.9%
2005[33] 1,511,000 624,000 41.3% 650,000 43%
Perak
Ipoh, Taiping, Batu Gajah, Sitiawan

Year Total population Malay Percentage Chinese Percentage
1891[34] 94,345 44.0%
1901[34] 329,665 150,239 45.6%
Johor
Johor Bahru, Kluang, Batu Pahat, Muar, Segamat

[edit] States with medium Chinese population

These are states where the Chinese are a significant minority (10% - 29.9%) such as Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Sarawak and Sabah.

The major Chinese population areas (40% and above) for each state are

Malacca
Malacca City

Negeri Sembilan
Seremban, Rasah

Pahang
Bentong, Raub, Mentakab, Kuantan

Sarawak
Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri, Sarikei, Sri Aman, Marudi, Lawas, Mukah, Limbang, Kapit, Serian, Bau

Sabah
Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. Tawau, Kudat and scattered regions in the south (most notably Beaufort and Keningau) also have small but significant Chinese communities

[edit] Languages

A governmental statistic in 2000 classifies the dialect affiliation of the ethnic Chinese in Malaysia:[35]

Dialect Population[36]
Southern Hokkien (Minnan) 1,848,211
Hakka 1,679,027
Cantonese 1,355,541
Teochew 974,573
Mandarin 958,467
Hainanese 380,781
Min Bei 373,337
Foochow 249,413
Although their ancestral origin are different but due to intermarriages between the different linguistic groups and also due to regional influences, different regions are formed each with its own defacto lingua franca to facilitate communication between the different Chinese dialects in the same region.

Furthermore, the younger generations have generally lost command of their own subdialect (e.g. Hainanese, Hing Hua) and prefer to speak the lingua franca in each region.

[edit] Hokkien

Northern Peninsular Malaysia Penang, Kedah, Perlis, East Coast, Taiping are predominantly Penang Hokkien speaking.

Klang and Malacca groups are also predominantly Hokkien speaking but the variant spoken is Southern Malaysian Hokkien which has a similar accent to Singaporean Hokkien.

In Sibu and Sitiawan, Fuzhou is widely spoken but it is not a lingua franca.

[edit] Hakka

Hakka, specifically the Huiyang (惠陽, Hakka: Fui Yong) variant, is the main Chinese dialect in the East Malaysian state of Sabah. According to a census in 1991, 113000 Sabahans identified themselves as being of Hakka descent. This is a clear majority over the Cantonese, of whom there were 28000, making them a distant second.[37] This makes Sabah the only state in Malaysia where Hakka is clearly the predominant dialect among the local Chinese.

In other regions of Malaysia, there are significant numbers of Hakka people, for example in the town of Miri in Sarawak and in major cities in Peninsular Malaysia. However, many do not speak Hakka due to the stronger influence of Hokkien and Cantonese in Peninsular Malaysia. The variants of Hakka most widely spoken in Malaysian states other than Sabah are the Ho Poh and Moiyan (Meixian) variants, which are very seldom spoken in Sabah itself.

[edit] Cantonese

Central Peninsular Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Seremban, Ipoh & Kuantan are predominantly Cantonese speaking.

Cantonese is also the main dialect in Sandakan. The only district dominated by Cantonese dialect in Johor is Mersing.

Many Chinese of other dialect subgroups are able to understand and/or speak Cantonese at various levels due to the influence of movies and television programs from Hong Kong, which are aired on the TVB channel through the Astro pay television service. The Hakkas, especially, are able to pick up Cantonese with ease due to the similarities between the Hakka and Cantonese dialects.

[edit] Mandarin

Southern Peninsular Malaysia especially Johor are predominantly Mandarin speaking.

This is a result of influence from the Mandarin dominant media from Singapore and proximity of Johor to Singapore. Johor and parts of Malacca are able to receive Singapore's free-to-air TV.

Many Chinese educated Malaysian Chinese families have taken to speaking Mandarin with their children due to the notion that other Chinese dialects are growing increasingly redundant in an era where Mandarin is increasing in importance. This has led to the emergence of a community of young Chinese who are fluent in Mandarin but unable to speak their native Chinese dialect, understand but do not speak it, or prefer not to speak it in public.

Unlike Singapore which has a single medium of instruction, not all families send their children to Chinese medium schools so there still exists Malay or English educated Chinese who don't know how to speak Mandarin. Morever, a significant percentage of older generation regardless of education are more comfortable speaking non Mandarin dialects.

[edit] Education of Malaysian Chinese

Main articles: Education in Malaysia and Early Malay nationalism#Towards independence
Malaysian Chinese can be categorised to be educated in 3 different streams of education i.e. English educated, Chinese educated and Malay educated. This is due to the different era and type of education offered mentioned below.

Public education in Malaysia is free. There are two types of pre-tertiary schools in Malaysia—National schools (the medium of instruction is the National language Malay) and National-type schools (the medium of instruction is in either Chinese or Tamil). In all schools, the National language is a compulsory subject and English is taught as a second language.) Malaysian Chinese citizens can therefore choose to attend either Chinese or Malay medium schools.[38]

Most Bachelor's degree courses offered at public universities are taught in the national language, that is, Bahasa Malaysia, while post-graduates studies are usually conducted in English. English is used as the primary medium of instruction at most private higher educational institutions.[38]

About 90% of Malaysian Chinese children in Malaysia today go to Mandarin-medium primary schools, while only a small group of 10% or so attend Malay medium primary schools. However, most Malaysian Chinese (more than 95%) switch to Malay medium schools for their secondary education. The rationale behind this is because Malay-medium secondary schools are free while Mandarin-medium secondary schools are fee paying.[39]

The switch from Mandarin medium primary school to Malay medium secondary school for the majority of Malaysian Chinese has resulted in many school dropouts as students are unable to cope with the difference in the medium of instruction. The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) pointed out an estimated 25% of Chinese students dropout before reaching the age of 18; the annual dropout rate is estimated to be over 100,000 and worsening. Certain dropouts become apprentices in workshops, picking up skills like plumbing or motor-repair. Others eager to make a quick buck find themselves involved in illicit trades, such as peddling pirated DVDs or collecting debts for loan sharks.[39]

An older group of Malaysian Chinese who attended school before the 1970s when Malaysia was still a British colony are English educated as national schools in Malaysia then used English as the medium of instruction. English-medium teaching was phased out of Malaysian schools by the 1970s and all national schools used Malay as the medium of instruction.[40]

In 2003 to 2011, the Malaysian government introduced an experimental policy of using English as the language of instruction for Science and Mathematics. The policy did not turn out well as only 8% of teachers were using English exclusively in classes while the use of Bahasa Melayu was still common and schools could not find enough staff who could teach in English. In March 2009, 5,000 ethnic Malays who took to the streets to voice their opposition to the policy and in July, the education minister announced that the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics would revert back to Bahasa Melayu starting from 2012.[40]

[edit] Name Format

Main article: Chinese_name
Non Mandarin

Before Mandarin gained popularity among Malaysian Chinese in the late 20th century, Malaysian Chinese romanised their names according to the pronunciation of their Chinese names in their respective original dialect. E.g.:

Male: Yap Ah Loy 葉亞來 (Hakka)

Mandarin

The younger generations tend to retain the original dialect for the surname while using Mandarin pronunciation and romanisation for the given name. E.g.:

Male: Chan Yung Choong 陈永聪 (Surname: Cantonese, Given name: Mandarin)

In recent years, it has become increasingly common for given names to be romanised according to the Pinyin system. E.g.:

Female: Wee Xiao Wen 黄小雯 (Surname: Hokkien/Hokchiu, Given name: Mandarin, according to Pinyin romanisation)

English
Some Chinese will adopt an English nickname for the convenience of Westerners e.g.

Yeoh Choo Kheng 楊紫瓊, Michelle commonly written as Michelle Yeoh

Muslim
Those who marry Muslims and converted into Muslim will have a Muslim name in front e.g.

Tan Yew Leong, Abdullah[41] commonly written as Abdullah Tan

[edit] Religion

Main article: Malaysian Chinese religion
Religions of Chinese Malaysians
Religion Percent
Buddhism
 
75.9%
Taoism
 
10.6%
Christianity
 
9.6%
Islam
 
1.0%
Hinduism
0.3%
Other religions
0.2%
Folk religions
0.1%
No religion
 
2.3%
A majority of the Chinese in Malaysia claim to be Buddhist or Taoist, though the lines between them are often blurred and, typically, a syncretic Chinese religion incorporating elements of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and traditional ancestor-worship is practised, with the fact that each individual follows it in varying degrees. About 9.6% are Christian (Mainstream Protestants, Catholics and other denominations including a fast-growing number of Evangelicals and Charismatics) and a small number (0.7%) profess Islam as their faith.

[edit] Intermarriage

The Chinese in Malaysia maintain a distinct communal identity and rarely intermarry with native Muslim Malays for religious and cultural reasons. According to Muslim Laws, the Chinese partner would be required by law to renounce their religion and adopt the Muslim religion. Most Malaysian Chinese consider their being "Chinese" at once an ethnic, cultural and political identity.

However, there are many who have intermarried with Malaysian Indians, who are predominantly Hindu. The children of such marriages are known as Chindians.[42] Chindians tend to speak English as their mother tongue.

In the Bornean states of Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysians of mixed Chinese-Native parentage ('native' referring to the indigenous tribes in those states, e.g. Iban and Melanau in Sarawak as well as Kadazan and Murut in Sabah) are referred to as "'Sino'" (e.g. Sino-Iban, Sino-Kadazan). Depending entirely on their upbringing, they are either brought up to follow native customs or Chinese traditions. A small minority forgo both native and Chinese traditions, instead opting for a sort of cultural anonymity by speaking only English and/or Malay and not practicing both Chinese and tribal customs.

[edit] Food

Main article: Cuisine of Malaysia
Malaysian Chinese eat all types of food which includes Chinese, Indian, Malay and Western cuisines. Some Malaysian Chinese are vegetarians, as they may be devoted followers of Buddhism, while others do not consume beef, especially those worshipping the Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yin). Malaysian Chinese food contains similarities and differences with the Chinese food in China.

[edit] China

The cuisine of Malaysian Chinese food are similar to the food in Southern China as they are primarily from the Fujian cuisine, Cantonese cuisine and Hakka cuisine.

[edit] Local

However, there are local inventions such as Loh Mee 滷麵, thick noodle in clear gravy found only in the Klang Valley. Bak Kut Teh 肉骨茶 originated from Klang and not China.[43] Influences from the spicy Malay cuisine can be found in local inventions such as Curry Mee, Curry Chicken and Chili Crab. The influence from the Peranakan cuisine can be found in dishes such as Laksa and Mee Siam.

[edit] Culture

For more details on this topic, see Festivals of Malaysia.
There exist some degrees of differences in the Malaysian Chinese culture compared to that of China. Some traditional festivals celebrated by the Chinese community in Malaysia are no longer celebrated in China after the Chinese Cultural Revolution. This is especially true of regional rites and rituals that are still celebrated by the Malaysian descendants of the peasant migrants from China. Some have attributed the traditional practices of Malaysian Chinese to "a little backwater of Chinese culture as it was in China 80 years ago".[44]

[edit] Socio-economic position within Malaysia

[edit] Economic status

Malaysian Chinese have the highest household income among the 3 ethnic groups in Malaysia. According to Sulaiman Mahbob, as of December 2007, the monthly average household income was at 4,437 ringgit [45]

Malaysian Chinese are dominant in both business and commerce sectors in Malaysia.[46] As a result, they are the biggest taxpayers among all ethnic groups in the country.[47] They contribute almost 90 percent of the country's income tax.[48]

[edit] Non bumiputera

Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia grants the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) responsibility for “safeguard[ing] the special position of the ‘Malays’and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities” and goes on to specify ways to do this, such as establishing quotas for entry into the civil service, public scholarships and public education.[49]

Partly in line with the constitution, Malaysia has devised a long-standing policy of providing affirmative action to Bumiputeras (the ethnic Malays) which spans over four decades. Affirmative action is provided in the form of the Malaysian New Economic Policy or what is now known as the National Development Policy [50] Under such affirmative action, various concessions are made to Bumiputeras. Amongst many other concessions, 70% of seats in public universities are to be allocated to Bumiputeras, all initial public offerings (IPOs) must set aside a 30% share for Bumiputera investors and monetary support were provided to Bumiputeras for entrepreneurial development.[51][52]

Malaysian Chinese along with Malaysian Indians are considered "non bumiputera" and hence do not enjoy these concessions.

[edit] Prominent Malaysian Chinese

For more details on this topic, see List of Malaysian Chinese.
[edit] Miscellaneous

[edit] Emigration

Among emigrants, Chinese Malaysians form the largest outflow amongst all ethnic groups in Malaysia. It is forecasted that the proportion of Malaysian Chinese in Malaysia's total population will fall from 45% in 1957 to 18.6% in 2035 if current trends continue.[53]

[edit] See also

Chinese Singaporean
Peranakan
Overseas Chinese
Malaysian Chinese religion
Demographics of Malaysia
Islam in China
May 13 Incident
New Village
[edit] References

Notes
^ Malaysia, Background Notes, United States: Department of State, December 2008, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2777.htm, retrieved 2009-05-08
^ Dept. of Statistics: "Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2000", Table 4.1; p. 70, Kuala Lumpur: Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2001
^ Malaysia-Singapore-6th-Footprint-Travel, Steve Frankham, ISBN 9781906098117
^ http://www.chinatownology.com/overseas_ ... aysia.html
^ Yan (2008), p. 71
^ Tan (2002), p. 1
^ a b c Tan, Kam (2000), p. 47
^ Pan (1999), p. 185-6
^ Pan (1999), p. 173
^ Tan, Kam (2000), p. 39
^ Villagers, church authorities in standoff in Malacca, 22 October 2008, The Star (Malaysia)
^ Tan (1984), p. 20-2
^ Butcher (2004), p. 80
^ Pan (1999), p. 43
^ Backman, Butler (2003), p. 27
^ Toong, Siong Shih, p. 1976
^ Constable (2005), p. 138
^ Constable (2005), p. 129
^ Constable (1988), p. 137
^ Hara (2003), p. 24
^ Yamashita, Eades (2003), p. 7
^ Ooi (1963), p. 122
^ Chandler, Owens (2005), p. 312
^ Hwang (2005), p. 22
^ Prof. Dato' Dr Asmah Haji Omar, edt: "Encyclopedia of Malaysia - Languages and Literature", pp 52-53, Kuala Lumpur: Editions Didier Millet, 2004, ISBN 981-3018-52-6
^ http://www.thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp file=/2011/5/8/columnists/onthebeat/8641370&sec=On%20The%20Beat
^ General Report of the Population and Housing Census 2000. Putrajaya: Department of Statistics, Malaysia. 2005. pp. 60–64. ISBN 9839044265.
^ International Conference of South-East Asian Historians (1962), p. 102
^ http://www.thestar.com.my/columnists/st ... The%20Beat
^ Colonial Construction of Malayness: The Influence of Population Size and Population, Kiran Sagoo, November 27, 2006, International Graduate Student Conference Series, p. 9/16
^ Tan (1984), p. 3
^ Goh (1990), p. 148
^ TheStar, Wong Chun Wai, May 9, 2010
^ a b Ball (1903), p. 129
^ Dept. of Statistics: "Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2000", Kuala Lumpur: Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2001
^ Joshua Project database for Malaysia
^ http://www.asiawind.com/forums/read.php ... 039&t=4028
^ a b http://www.portal.mohe.gov.my/portal/pa ... ion_System
^ a b Chow Kum Hor (2008-01-31), "Battle to save Malaysia's Chinese dropouts", The Straits Times (AsiaOne News), http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/S ... 47357.html, retrieved 2008-10-01
^ a b De Lotbinière, Max (10 July 2009). "Malaysia drops English language teaching". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/ju ... aysia-tefl.
^ [Husband of Yasmin Ahmad]
^ Daniels, Timothy P. (2005), Building Cultural Nationalism in Malaysia, Routledge, p. 189, ISBN 0415949718
^ http://www.astro.com.my/epg/event.php?id=4703434
^ BBC News: Chinese diaspora: Malaysia (URL last accessed on May 17, 2007)
^ Malaysian Indians richer than ethnic Malays
^ http://www.malaysiaexplorer.net/malaysia_people.html
^ The Sun, [1], 27 March 2006, P.10
^ http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns ... e-dilemma-
^ http://www.jac.gov.my/jac/images/storie ... tution.pdf
^ Fuller, Thomas (5 January 2001). "Criticism of 30-Year-Old Affirmative-Action Policy Grows in Malaysia". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/05/news/ ... a.2.t.html.
^ http://staroba.my/index.php?option=com_ ... n&Itemid=4
^ http://dmscairo.net/download/Economy/Ne ... Policy.pdf
^ http://english.cpiasia.net/index.php?op ... Itemid=156
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Backman, Michael; Butler, Charlotte, Big in Asia: 25 strategies for Business Success, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003, ISBN 0333985117
Ball, James Dyer, Things Chinese: Or Notes Connected With China, 4th edn., Hong Kong
Butcher, John G., The Closing of the Frontier: A History of the Marine Fisheries of Southeast Asia, c. 1850-2000, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2004, ISBN 9812302239
Constable, Nicole, Chinese Politics in Malaysia: A History of the Malaysian Chinese Association, Oxford University Press, 1988, ISBN 0195888812
Constable, Nicole, Guest People: Hakka Identity in China and Abroad, University of Washington Press, 2005, ISBN 0295984872
Goh, Beng-Lan, Modern Dreams: An Inquiry into Power, Cultural Production, and the Cityscape in Contemporary Urban Penang, Malaysia, 2002, Cornell Univ Southeast Asia, ISBN 0877277303 (0-87727-730-3)
Hara, Fujio, Malayan Chinese and China: Conversion in Identity Consciousness, 1945-1957, NUS Press, 2003, ISBN 9971692651
In-Won Hwang, Personalized politics: The Malaysian state Under Mahathir, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2003, ISBN 9812301852
International Conference of South-East Asian Historians, Papers on Malayan History, Journal of South-east Asian History., 1962
Megarry, Jacqueline, World Yearbook of Education: Education of Minorities, Taylor & Francis, 2006, ISBN 0415392977
Ooi, Jin-Bee, Land, People, and Economy in Malaya, Longmans, 1963
Owen, Norman G.; Chandler, David, The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia: A New History, University of Hawaii Press, 2005, ISBN 0824828410
Pan, Lynn, The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas, Harvard University Press, 1999, ISBN 0674252101
Tan, Chee Beng, Chinese Minority in a Malay State: The Case of Terengganu in Malaysia, Eastern Universities Press, 2002, ISBN 9812101888
Tan, Chee Beng; Kam, Hing Lee, The Chinese in Malaysia, Oxford University Press, 2002, ISBN 9835600562
Tan, Sooi Beng, Ko-tai, A New Form of Chinese Urban Street Theatre in Malaysia, Southeast Asian Studies, 1984
Toong, Siong Shih, The Foochows of Sitiawan: A Historical Perspective, Persatuan Kutien Daerah Manjung, ISBN 9834182406
Yamashita, Shinji; Eades, Jeremy Seymour, Globalization in Southeast Asia: Local, National and Transnational Perspectives, Berghahn Books, 2003, ISBN 1571812563
Yan, Qinghuang, The Chinese in Southeast Asia and Beyond: Socioeconomic and Political Dimensions, World Scientific, 2008, ISBN 9812790470

-----------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysian_Chinese

Cantonese Singaporean


Total population
2,794,000 [1](2010 est.)
Regions with significant populations
Singapore
Languages
Predominantly:
English and Singaporean Mandarin
Others:
Min Chinese, Yue Chinese, Hakka, various other Chinese dialects

Religion
Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity and others

Cantonese Singaporeans (simplified Chinese: 新加坡华人; traditional Chinese: 新加坡華人; pinyin: Xīnjiāpō Huárén) are people of Chinese ethnicity who hold Singaporean nationality. As of 2010, Chinese Singaporeans constitute 74.1% of Singapore's resident population, or approximately three out of four Singaporeans, making them the largest ethnic group in Singapore. Outside Greater China, Singapore is the only country in the world where ethnic Chinese constitute a majority of the population.

Ethnic Chinese in Singapore tend to identify themselves primarily as Singaporeans (新加坡人) and only secondarily as Chinese (Huaren/ 华人/華人). The terms Chinese Singaporean or Singaporean Chinese are used interchangeably. In terms of racial or ethnic identity, Chinese in Singapore commonly identify themselves as "Huaren 华人/華人" rather than "Huayi 华裔/華裔" or "Huaqiao 华侨/華僑" . Peranakan Chinese are the offspring of ethnic Chinese who had married indigenous peoples and have developed a unique culture distinct from the Chinese majority.

[edit] Definition

The Singapore Department of Statistics defines 'Chinese' as a 'race' (or 'ethnic group'). Chinese in Singapore refer to persons of Chinese origin such as Hokkiens, Teochews, Cantonese, Hakkas, Hainanese, Hockchias, Foochows, Henghuas, Shanghainese, etc.[2] Singaporeans of mixed parentage are classified as "Chinese" if their father is classified as such.

[edit] Ancestral origins or language groups

In general, the Chinese in Singapore are grouped according to their respective Chinese spoken language, linguistic-cultural or ancestral groups. The ancestral origins of the Chinese Singaporeans are diverse in nature and they are identified by their linguistic differences and ancestral home (known as "Zuji 祖籍" or "Jiguan 籍贯").

Most of the Chinese in Singapore belong to several linguistic-cultural groups, originating from mainly the southern parts of China, predominantly Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan province. The Hokkiens, Teochews and Cantonese jointly form more than three-quarters of the Chinese population. The Hakka, Hainanese and other groups account for most of the remainder. These are generally the descendants of the migrants from southern China during the 19th and early half of 20th century (first and second wave of migration) and are typically known as "local Singaporean Chinese" (新加坡本地华人). The 1990s and early 21st century saw Singapore experiencing a third wave of new Chinese migration from different parts of China.

Inter-marrying between different Chinese language/ancestral groups is quite common in Singapore, but association of linguistic-cultural group will follow the respective ancestry of the father's side. For instance, if one's father is of Hokkien ancestry and another's mother is of Teochew ancestry, the children will tend to associate themselves as Hokkien (i.e. following the roots of the father). Some Chinese Singaporeans also tend to associate themselves with their clans and ancestral origins, as seen in Singapore Chinese Clan Associations.

Population Profile of Singapore Chinese Dialect Groups[3]
Dialect Group Ancestral home 1990 2000
Hokkiens Xiamen (厦门), Quanzhou (泉州), Zhangzhou (漳州), Tongan (同安), Nanan (南安), Anxi (安溪), Huian (惠安), Yongchun (永春), Longhai (龍海), Jinjiang (晉江) 896,080 1,028,490
Teochews Chaozhou (潮州), Shantou (汕头), Chaoan (潮安), Chaoyang (潮陽), Jieyang (揭阳), Raoping (饒平), Chenghai (澄海), Puning (普寧), Huilai (惠來) 466,020 526,200
Cantonese Guangzhou (广州), Zhaoqing (肇庆), Shunde (顺德), Taishan (台山), Heshan (鹤山) 327,870 385,630
Hakkas Meixian (梅县), Dapu (大埔), Huizhou (惠州) 155,980 198,440
Hainanese Wenchang (文昌), Haikou (海口) 148,740 167,590
Foochows (Min Dong) Fuzhou (福州) 36,490 46,890
Henghua (Puxian/Putian) Putian (莆田), Xianyou (仙游) 19,990 23,540
Shanghainese Shanghai (上海) 17,310 21,550
Hockchia (Fuqing) Fuqing (福清) 13,230 15,470
Others 50,150 91,590

[edit] Min-Nan (Hokkien) 【闽南人】

Main article: Hoklo people

The Hokkiens (福建人) constitute around 41% of the Chinese Singaporean population. They are the largest Chinese dialect group in Singapore. In Singapore, "Hokkien" is the term referring to the Min-nan people (闽南人) or Hoklo people (河洛人). They originated from the southern parts of the Fujian province (福建省), including Xiamen (厦门), Quanzhou (泉州), Zhangzhou (漳州) and other Min-nan towns/villages such as Tongan (同安), Nanan (南安), Anxi (安溪), Huian (惠安), Yongchun (永春), Longhai (龍海), Jinjiang (晉江) etc.

They speak Singaporean Hokkien, the standard of which is based on the Amoy dialect (厦门话 / 厦门闽南语) of Hokkien, a Min-nan (闽南) language, which is 50.4% comprehensible with Teochew (潮州话), and less so with Hainanese (海南话).[4] The Hokkien language was a lingua franca amongst the various Chinese language groups and was also used by other ethnic groups such as the Malays and Indians to communicate with Chinese before Mandarin came into dominance during 1980s and 1990s.

What is noteworthy in Singapore is that "Hokkiens" do not refer to all the people originating from all parts of the Fujian province. It was only used to specifically refer to Min-nan people (闽南人) (i.e. people of southern Fujian province) who speak the Min-nan dialects (闽南语), otherwise also known in Singapore as simply "Hokkien" (福建话). In this sense, "Hokkiens" has excluded other people of Fujian provinces such as Fuzhou, Putian etc.

Early Hokkien migrants settled around Amoy Street and Telok Ayer Street, forming enclaves around the Thian Hock Kheng Temple. They subsequently set up clan headquarters (Hokkien Huey Kuan) there and later expanded to Hokkien St and the vicinity of China Street. The Hokkiens were the most active in early trading that centred along the Singapore River.

As early settlers came from the southern coast of China, they were active in sea trade and worshipped one of the patron-deities of Taoist pantheon, the Heavenly Mother or "Ma Zhu" who supposedly looked out for seafarers. Thian Hock Kheng Temple houses Goddess "Ma Zhu" (妈祖) and is thus also known as Ma Zhor Kheng. Another popular patron group of deities are the Nine Emperor Gods, a commemoration of the Emperors who were said in Taoist folklore to have brought peace and prosperity to the people. Among some Chinese Singaporeans, the supreme Taoist God, the Jade Emperor, is revered and his birthday on the 9th day of Chinese New Year is accorded utmost prominence by them.

An official Taoist practice by a Taoist spiritual medium known as "Tangki 乩童" (a Hokkien term derived from Taiwan) is also popular amongst some Taoist Chinese. In this ceremony, the spiritual medium goes into a trance and is thought to establish a channel of communication between the mortal petitioner and the chosen Deity. It is said that the Taoist Deity transmogrifies the spiritual medium and provides a wide range of help to devotees ranging from religious rituals to health, business, domestic queries and requests like a talisman to protect their loved ones.

[edit] Teochew 【潮州人】

The Teochew (潮州人) in Singapore constitute about 21% of the Chinese population in Singapore, making them the second largest Chinese dialect group in Singapore. They originated from Chaoshan region in the eastern part of Guangdong province of China, including Chaozhou (潮州), Shantou (汕头), Jieyang (揭阳), etc.

The Teochew people speak Teochew, another Min-Nan language, which is 50.4% mutually intelligible with Hokkien. The Teochews, like the Hainanese, trace their ancestry to southern Fujian (福建). Their migration from southern Fujian to their new homes in what is now known as the Chaoshan region and Hainan Island respectively was due mainly to overpopulation and famine in the southern Fujian region. Despite linguistic and cultural similarities, the Teochews and Hokkiens considered themselves distinct and did not get along well during their early settlement in Singapore, especially during the British colonial era. Like the Hokkiens, the Teochews similarly shared the Taoist belief of a Taoist spiritual medium.

The Teochews were the dominant Chinese Language group for a period of time during the 19th century. Mass emigration of Chinese from Fujian later caused the Hokkiens to outnumber the Teochews, especially in the south. The majority of the Chinese living along the banks of the Straits of Johor were largely Teochew until the HDB initiated mass redevelopment from the 1980s onwards.

The majority of the Teochews settled along the banks of the Singapore River in Chinatown during the 19th and early 20th century. Teochews who settled in Chinatown worked in many commercial sectors as well as fishery. Traditional commercial sectors of Chinatown once dominated by Teochews include Circular Road and South Bridge Road.

Other Teochew businessmen set up gambier and pepper plantations in the dense forests of Singapore, parts of northern Singapore as well as Johor Bahru. The Chinese first started their plantations with the approval of the Sultan of Johor from the nineteenth century onwards. This attracted more Teochews to start their plantations in those areas over the years. As such, the "Kangchu" system eventually started to form. The Chinese word "Kang" (江) means river, while "Chu" (厝) means house. However, in this context, "Chu" is the clan's name of the first headman in charge of the plantations in the area. The "Kangchus" gave rise to modern place names such as Choa Chu Kang, Lim Chu Kang and Yio Chu Kang, all of which were largely plantation areas prior to urban redevelopment.

Early Chinese immigrants clustered themselves to form clan and language associations. These clan associations or Kongsi served as unions for the mostly illiterate Chinese labourers and represented them when dealing with their colonial rulers or employers. One of the more prominent clan associations for the Teochews was the Ngee Ann Kongsi, a Teochew-oriented association formed in 1845 that is still in existence.

The Straits Times highlighted that Hougang has a relatively high concentration of Teochew residents.

[edit] Cantonese 【广府人】

Main article: Cantonese people
The Cantonese (广东人) make up 15% of the Chinese Singaporean population. They originated from the southern region of Guangdong province in China, including Guangzhou (广州), Zhaoqing (肇庆), Shunde (顺德), Taishan (台山), Heshan (鹤山), etc.

Unlike the Hokkien, Teochew and the Hainanese, the Cantonese speak a language belonging to the Yue family. The Cantonese community uses several dialect groups. Yue Hai is considered to be the purest form of Cantonese because of its close proximity with the language of Guangzhou. Other variants include Luoguang, Seiyap and Gouyeung. The Gwainaam variant is largely based in Guangxi and shares close affinity with Pinghua. As with the Hokkiens and Teochews, some Cantonese also share Taoist beliefs.

The Cantonese worked mainly as doctors, politicians, teachers of classical Chinese, goldsmiths, tailors and restaurateurs during the early and mid 20th century, and their businesses dominated the shop houses along Temple Street, Pagoda Street, and Mosque Street.

Cantonese women from the Samsui district (Chinese: 三水区; pinyin: Sānshǔi Qū), worked in construction sites, and contributed greatly toward Singapore's development. These Samsui women left their families behind in China and came to Singapore to work in construction sites for a living during the early 20th century. They were noted for their distinctive navy-blue outfits and bright red headgear, which were meant for protecting their hair as they worked. The headgear was first worn by Wang Chao Yun (王朝云 字子霞), a concubine of Su Dongpo, in the Hakka Fui Chiu district of Guangdong province and it eventually became the traditional headgear of Hakkas. Cantonese women who worked alongside female Hakka labourers adopted the use of the headgear.

Cantonese women from the Seiyap (Chinese: 四邑) district in the Jiangmen prefecture wore black headgear similar to the Samsui women. Seiyap women who wore black headgear mainly worked in shipyards at the old harbour along Singapore river as well as at Keppel Harbour.

As of 2010 Singaporeans recognize Chinatown for having a large number of Cantonese people.

[edit] Hakka 【客家人】

Main article: Hakka people

The Hakka (客家人) constitute 11.4%.[5] They originated mainly from the Hakka-speaking region (north-eastern part) of Guangdong province in China, such as Meixian (梅县), Dapu (大埔), etc. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of the Republic of Singapore has Hakka ancestry originating from Dapu (大埔).

Since the Hakka language is somewhat similar to Mandarin, albeit strongly influenced by Min-nan and Yue, the Hakkas were long thought to have migrated from Northern China between the 4th and the 13th century. Recent genetic studies, however, have shown that the Hakkas originated from Southern China, like the other Chinese language groups in Singapore.

Many Hakka women who came to Singapore during the early 20th century worked in construction sites and wore headgear similar to the Samsui women. However, unlike the Samsui women, those Hakka women wore black, rather than red headgear.

[edit] Hainanese 【海南人】

Main article: Hainanese people
This group constitutes 5% of the Chinese Singaporean population. Of them, the majority are Hainanese (海南人), from Hainan, speaking Hainanese. The Hainanese in Singapore originated mainly from north-eastern region of Hainan island, including Wenchang (文昌) and Haikou (海口).

As late-comers to Singapore (late 19th century), most of them worked as shop helpers, chefs, and waiters in the hospitality sector. Hainanese chicken rice is a famous dish.

The Singaporean Hainanese were also known for their Western food, as many of the early Hainanese migrants worked as cooks on European ships.

[edit] Hong Kong 【香港人】

Main article: Hong Kong people
This group consists of most whom migrated to Singapore in the late 1980s' to early 1990s' due to the take over of Hong Kong by People's Republic of China.

[edit] Peranakan

Main article: Peranakan

The Peranakan, also known as Baba-Nyonya, are early Chinese immigrants from Malacca and Penang, many who later migrated to Singapore. As they are of mixed Chinese and Malays ancestry, the Peranakans are classified as a separate ethnic group from the Han Chinese in Singapore. They embrace a fusion of Malay and Chinese cultures but have their own distinct identity. The men are known as Baba while the women are known as Bibiks or Nyonyas. Peranakans in Singapore were once concentrated around Geylang (where many Malays lived) and Katong (a predominantly Chinese enclave). This is because the Peranakans were often intermediaries for businesses and social groups in colonial Singapore owing to their ability to speak English, Malay, and Hokkien.

Many Peranakans and Hokkien Chinese moved out of the congested town of Singapore - now the Central Business District (CBD) - and built seaside mansions and villas along the East Coast in Tanjong Katong ("Turtle Bay" in the Malay language) for their families.

After Singapore's independence in 1965, Peranankan people have moved throughout the island of Singapore. Peranakans in Singapore generally belong to the Hokkien and Teochew language groups and spoke Baba Malay and Chinese dialects as mother tongues. Many of them converted to Roman Catholicism during the 18th-century Portuguese colonisation of South-East Asia when missionaries set up posts in Batavia (Indonesia) and Malaya (Malaysia).

The Peranakans were a transcultural mix of ethnic groups that blended colonial English style with indigenous Malay languages and Hokkien Chinese customs.

[edit] Language

Main articles: Singaporean Mandarin, Singdarin, Singlish, and Singaporean Hokkien
[edit] Overview

Traditionally, Chinese Singaporeans used their respective mother tongues as their main avenue of communication. Although that led to much inconvenience amongst the varying dialect groups, it has nevertheless forged strong dialectal bonds amongst the Chinese community.

But today, the languages spoken by Chinese in Singapore exhibited a diversity including English, Singlish, Mandarin, Singdarin (Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin), Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese and other Chinese dialects. Most Chinese Singaporeans are generally bilingual, whereby they can speak both English and Mandarin or some other Chinese dialects.

[edit] Before 1980s

Before 1980s, Chinese Singaporean were either English-educated or Chinese-educated. The English educated Chinese were educated with English as the medium of instruction and learnt little or no Mandarin in school (In such cases, the Mandarin language became an optional language). As a result, they became affianced to English-speaking and inevitable distanced from the Chinese language and their respective mother tongues. On the other hand, the Chinese-educated were educated with Mandarin as the medium of instruction but learnt little or no English. They usually speak Mandarin and their respective mother tongues with little or no English. There were of course a portion of Chinese Singaporeans who were bi-lingual, i.e. simultaneously educated with English and Mandarin as the medium of instruction, or alternatively they attended Chinese-based primary schools and subsequently transferred to English-based schools from their secondary education.

[edit] After 1980s

After 1980s, all schools (including former Chinese-based schools) in Singapore began to use English as the primary medium of instruction with Mandarin as a secondary language. Thus, Chinese Singaporean educated in the post-80s are usually bi-lingual.

English is supposedly the 1st language and therefore presumably spoken by all Singapore residents. This was partly due to Singapore government's policy of making English the medium of instruction in all schools in the 1980s (including former Chinese-based schools),as well as making English the working language for administration and business in Singapore (in short making English the lingua franca among all Singaporean). The presence of English language in Singapore has its roots originating from Singapore's colonial past, whereby Singapore was part of British colony. As a result of the government's policy, English or Singlish has become widespread among the Singapore residents, including but not confining to the Chinese Singaporeans (esp. the young people). The increase of English/Singlish speaking Chinese family in Singapore was a result of misperceived social and cultural values that the preservation of mother tongues is "low-class" resulting in desperate attempts to replace mother tongues with the English language. As of 2010, it was estimated that 32.6% of Singapore Chinese speak English at home.[1] But at work or in the city and business district, English is the official lingua franca, but there remains a notably undeniable fact, albeit ironical, that the Hokkien dialect remains extant amongst Singaporeans, not limiting to the Chinese, and operates as the unofficial common language.

Mandarin is another widely spoken language among Chinese Singaporeans. As of 2010, it was estimated that 47.7% of Chinese Singaporeans speak Mandarin at home.[1] Evidently, Singapore government's Speak Mandarin Campaign was launched in 1980s with the intention of making Mandarin the lingua franca among the Chinese in Singapore.[7] It was intentionally a way to unify the Chinese from different dialect groups. In the 1990s, this campaign began to target the English-speaking Chinese Singaporeans. As a result of this campaign, Mandarin became widespread in places such as residential area, HDB, neighbourhood shopping and even business districts. Evidently, Mandarin is also often spoken in most "traditional Chinese-based" schools, despite the fact that English is their medium of instruction. Colloqually, as with all other languages spoken in Singapore, the Chinese Singaporeans prefers a localized flavour in mixing words from English, Hokkien, Malay, and some other dialects, into the Mandarin language. Most young Chinese Singaporeans are capable of conversational Mandarin, but are weaker in their ability to write Mandarin.

[edit] Variations according to age group

The main languages spoken by Chinese Singaporean vary according to the age group. Most young Chinese Singaporean speak either English or Mandarin whilst the elderly, though able to converse in Mandarin, have preferred Chinese dialects such as Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka, or Hainanese. As the south-eastern Chinese dialects are not taught in school, the number of their speakers has steadily declined, and with it saw the deterioration of Chinese cultures and values. In addition, many parents have begun to communicate with their children solely in English, in the belief that the language is essential to attain upward social mobility. Many of the young Chinese in Singapore are unable to use their mother tongues fluently - most can utter no more than a few words. However, a few years into the work force, be it white-collar or blue-collar, most would pick up the Hokkien dialect. This applies equally even to the more westernized Chinese Christian community, who prefers the English language over any other. This (the Hokkien dialect) apparently seems to be the only struggling force against the loss of Chinese cultural heritage.

[edit] Debate over preferred language

The question of which language is preferred in Singapore seem to have caused a series of debate among the Chinese Singaporeans recently. The question of declining standards in the command of the Chinese language amongst Chinese Singaporeans seems to cause several revision in the government's education package towards the Chinese language. The Singapore government's continued policy towards bilingualism for all Chinese Singaporean, which is to continue to pursue English as the first language while making Mandarin the lingua franca (or at least the 2nd language or home language) amongst all Chinese has drawn mixed responses. The more English-speaking Chinese Singaporeans will generally prefer English language as the lingua franca or their home language, while the Mandarin-speakers worries that English will replace Mandarin as the lingua franca, thus eliminating the thin thread of Chinese identity altogether, saw English as a strong competition. With the rising economy of China in the 21st century, which has led to more Singapore companies requiring fluency in Mandarin, Mandarin has been viewed with greater importance amongst the Singaporean Chinese than before and has rose in terms of prominence.[8] Both English and Mandarin will continue to dominate the language scene among Chinese Singaporeans.

[edit] Chinese Dialects Preservation

There also exists a strong urge and need in preserving the dialect cultures in Singapore. The decline of the Chinese indigenous religion, Taoism, has also indirectly contributed to the deterioration of Chinese cultural heritage. Unless the government and Chinese Singaporeans take their own initiative in preserving dialect cultures, Chinese dialects may probably decline or even disappear from Singapore in the near future. There is thus a strong need to restore the Chinese identity or risk it falling into extinction one day. This exigency is translated into recent renewed efforts by Chinese clan associations in Singapore to impart and revive their respective Chinese mother tongues, which are met with warm receptions, including the younger generations. Therefore, there lies a greater challenge for the Chinese community in Singapore - the preservation of the Chinese identity - than just the satisfaction of linguistic domination and material gains.

Language Most Frequently Spoken at Home Among Chinese Resident Population Aged 5 and Over.[1][9]
Home language 1990 ('000) 2000 ('000) 1990 (%) 2000 (%) 2010 (%)
Total 1,884.0 2,236.1 100.0 100.0 100.0
English 363.4 533.9 19.3 23.9 32.6
Mandarin 566.2 1,008.5 30.1 45.1 47.7
Chinese Dialects 948.1 685.8 50.3 30.7 19.2
Others 6.4 7.9 0.3 0.4 0.4
[edit] Chinese languages Media

In Singapore, Mandarin is generally propagated through various Mandarin Chinese TV media, cable TV and radio channels. Most Chinese dialect media (such as those of Hokkien, Cantonese) are generally censored in the mainstream Chinese media of Singapore, except for some Chinese dialect news broadcasting in radio channel FM95.8. Hokkien media from Taiwan and Cantonese media from Hong Kong are however easily available for sale in shops of Singapore and also present in Karaoke lounges. Some cable channels in Singapore also have Hokkien media from Taiwan and Cantonese media from Hong Kong.

[edit] Education

Main article: Chinese education in Singapore
[edit] Before 1980s

Main articles: Nanyang University and Chinese-medium education system in Singapore
Singapore's Chinese education began with the establishment of old-style private Chinese schools (known as "Sishu 私塾") by early Chinese immigrants during the 19th century . These schools predominantly used various southern Chinese languages (such as Hokkien) as its medium to teach Chinese classics. In the 1920s, as influenced by China's New Cultural Movement, many Chinese schools in Singapore began to change its medium of instruction to Mandarin. During the British colonial times, the colonial government generally allowed the Chinese community in Singapore to organise and develop its own system of Chinese education. By 1930s and 1940s, with donations and fundings from the public, more Chinese organisations began to set up more Chinese schools. In 1953, the chairman of Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, Mr.Tan Lark Sye organised and helped to establish the first overseas Chinese-medium university (Nanyang University) in Singapore, leading to the establishing of a well-structured Chinese-medium education system (from primary school to university) in Singapore.

However, after the 1960s, the left-wing communist ideology of People's Republic of China and the cultural revolution was in conflict with the capitalist policy of Singapore. In order to attract western investments, Singapore decided to adopt the fundamental policy of making English its main lingua franca and working language. In order to prevent the Singaporean Chinese from being influenced by left-wing political thoughts, Singapore greatly promoted English and placed less emphasis on Chinese education. On the one hand, it encouraged Chinese Singaporeans to attend English-medium schools for economic reasons; on the other hand, it initiated a public effort in denouncing communism. Due to a lesser proficiency in English, Chinese-educated Singaporeans often encountered difficulties in finding jobs in Singapore. Thus, the majority of Chinese Singaporeans sent their children to English-medium schools for better job prospects, causing the number of registered students at Chinese-medium schools to drop annually. All these factors (including that of government policy) eventually caused the Chinese-medium education system to perish in Singapore.

[edit] After 1980s

Main articles: Education in Singapore and Special Assistance Plan
Since the early 1980s, the Singapore government gradually abolished the Chinese-medium education system in Singapore. Apart from Chinese language and moral education subjects, all subjects are taught in English. However, to make sure that Singaporean Chinese still maintain and preserve their mother tongue (Chinese) culture, the Singapore government implemented the teaching of Chinese language in all schools: All Chinese Singaporeans had to learn Mandarin Chinese as a "second language". Singapore also established the Special Assistance Plan Schools. These were formerly traditional Chinese-medium schools and were tasked with the nurturing of Chinese language and cultural talents. The Chinese subject in Singapore did not just involve the teaching of Chinese languages; it was also tasked with the mission of transmitting Chinese cultural values to Chinese Singaporeans. Because of the continuation of Chinese education in Singapore, the Chinese Singaporeans are generally able to speak, read, and write Mandarin Chinese. Chinese Singaporeans are thus one of the few overseas Chinese communities (the other being Malaysian Chinese) which still preserved the Chinese language and culture.

[edit] Inter-marriage

The Chinese in Singapore generally maintain a distinct communal identity and are more likely to intermarry within the Chinese community. Inter-marriage between different Chinese dialect groups are quite common. There is also a minority of Chinese in Singapore who inter-marry with other ethnic groups in Singapore such as Singaporean Malays, Singaporean Indians, Eurasians, Africans, Caucasians, Japanese, Koreans, etc.

[edit] Religion

Main article: Singaporean Chinese religion
Religions of Chinese Singaporeans Aged 15 years and Above (Year 2010) [1]
Religion Percent
Buddhism
 
43%
Taoism/Chinese Folks Religion
 
14.4%
Christianity
 
20.1%
Islam
0.4%
Other religions
0.3%
No religion
 
21.8%
According to the 2010 census, 43% of Singapore's Chinese population declared themselves to be Buddhist, 14.4% Taoist, 20.1% Christian and 21.8% non-religious. The Chinese form the vast majority in these four groups, due to their dominance in Singapore.

The majority of the Chinese in Singapore register themselves as Buddhist, and a smaller number claimed to be Taoist. Many Chinese have retained to a certain extent the Taoist belief and practice which is an age-old Chinese tradition. Taoism was once the dominant belief system, but younger generations have either switched to Buddhism or have become non-religious. In Singapore, Chinese folks religious practice such as worship of certain folks deities is often classified under Taoist practice; Though in actual fact, this was inherited from the southern Chinese folk religious practice, which mixed Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism together.

[edit] Food

Main articles: Chinese cuisine and Cuisine of Singapore
Many of the Singaporean Chinese dishes were adapted by early Chinese immigrants to suit local circumstances (such as available ingredients) and cannot strictly be considered mainstream Chinese cuisine. Nevertheless, these dishes exhibited local Singaporean Chinese flavours and tastes. Most of the local Singaporean Chinese dishes such as Bak kut teh, Mee pok, Ban mian, Char kway teow, Chee cheong fun, Hokkien mee, Hainanese chicken rice, Wan ton mee, Popiah etc. can still be easily found in hawker centres or food courts throughout Singapore. Some Singaporean Chinese are vegetarians, as they may be devoted followers of Buddhism, while others do not consume beef, especially those worshipping the Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yin). With the influx of new migrants from all parts of China in the 21st century, Chinese cuisine of a variety of regional flavours and tastes can be found across Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, Singapore or in other regions of Singapore, such as Sichuanese cuisine, North-eastern Chinese cuisine etc.

[edit] Cultural differences

Main article: Chinese culture
Since most of the Singaporean Chinese have ancestry originating from southern China, the Singaporean Chinese culture generally has a closer affinity with the southern Chinese culture (predominantly that of Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan province) instead of northern Chinese culture. This is especially true in terms of various southern Chinese dialects, customs, cultural, and religious practices in Singapore.

Although the Culture of Singapore is diverse in nature, Singapore is one of the few countries outside Greater China with a vibrant Chinese cultural presence. Although Singapore's infrastructure and environment might seem Western, Chinese culture is generally present across all corners of Singapore. This includes the widespread use of different Chinese languages/dialects, various Chinese writings across Singapore, various Chinese press and entertainment media, a thriving Chinese pop culture, various Chinese organisations, Chinese cultural festivals, Chinese opera, Chinese religious activities, Chinese bookshops etc.

There exists, however, some degree of differences between the Singaporean Chinese and mainland Chinese in terms of mindset, culture, and languages. While the mainland Chinese are largely sino-centric in their outlook of the world, Singaporean Chinese are educated in English medium schools (but taught Chinese language throughout their education) and are exposed to western influences. As such, the local Singaporean Chinese culture is a blend and mix of southern Chinese culture, local Singaporean culture (with various influences from cultures of other ethnicity) and western culture.

There are also some differences in the Singaporean Chinese culture compared to that of China. Some traditional Chinese religious and folks custom are preserved by the Chinese community in Singapore, but are no longer practised or seen in China after the Chinese Cultural Revolution. This is especially true of regional rites and rituals practiced by Singaporean descendants of the peasant immigrants from southern China.

There are also distinctive recognisable differences between Singaporean Mandarin accent and PRC's Mandarin accent. Colloquially , many Chinese Singaporeans also speak a mixed language, toggling between Singlish or Singdarin. Many of the local Chinese dialects in Singapore such as Hokkien, Teochew, or Cantonese have also been largely acculturated and differ from what is spoken in China.

[edit] History

Main article: Chinese migration
[edit] Before 1819

The earliest records of Singapore in Imperial Chinese sources named Singapore as "Long Ya Men 龙牙门", "Ling Ya Men 凌衙门", "Dan Ma Xi 单马锡", "Dan Ma Xi 淡马锡", "Xi La 息辣", "Xi Li 息力" or "Shi le 石叻" etc.

Archaeological excavations of artifacts such as Chinese coins or ceramics in Singapore, which dated back to the period of the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song (998-1022) and Emperor Renzong of Song (1023–1063), indicated that Chinese merchants or traders had already visited Singapore since Song dynasty.[10]

The Chinese record Annals of various foreign states 《诸蕃志》 (zhufanzhi) written by Zhao Rushi 赵汝适 in 1225 clearly described Chinese merchant ships arriving in Singapore from Quanzhou and various Chinese trading activities.[11] In this annal, the chapter San Fo Qi men 三佛齐门 (the Chinese name for Srivijaya) clearly recorded Chinese merchant ships must pass by "Ling Ya Men 凌衙门"(the ancient Chinese name for Singapore) in order to reach Srivijaya for trading. The Chinese record Investigation of Southern Pacific 《南洋测蠡》 (Nanyang Celi) described the presence of Chinese tombs in Singapore (known as "Xin Ji Li Po 新忌利波" in Chinese). On the Chinese tomb, there were words and inscriptions recording the period of Later Liang Dynasty and Emperor Gong of Song. This could have proven that from 907-1274, some Chinese had settled, lived, died and were buried in Singapore.

The Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan, visiting the island around 1330, described a small Malay settlement called Dan Ma Xi (淡馬錫, from Malay Tamasik) containing a number of Chinese residents. According to Wang Dayuan, the Chinese inhabitants of Singapore were dressed in local traditional costumes and generally intermarried with local South-East Asian women, following an amalgamamation of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. These were the earliest Peranakans of Singapore.

Following the decline of Srivijayan power, Temasek was alternately claimed by the Majapahit and the Siamese, but the invasion of 1377 and 1391 caused Singapore to be destroyed. Following that, there were little Chinese records of the visiting of Chinese to Singapore.

The Chinese explorer Zheng He's naval voyage in 1403 indicated Singapore as Dan Ma Xi (淡馬錫, from Malay Tamasik). In 1420, en route the 6th voyage, Zheng He passed by Singapore, but there were no records of presence of Chinese.

[edit] 1819-1937

From the founding of modern Singapore by Stamford Raffles till the Japanese occupation in 1942, Singapore was ruled as a colony by the British. When the British first arrived in Singapore, most of the inhabitants on the island of Singapore were fisherman, seamen or pirates, living in small houses. There were about 150 people; about 30 were Chinese, while the rest were Malays.[12]

When Singapore became a Straits Settlement, there were very few Chinese. After Singapore became a British trading post as part of the Straits Settlement, the first batch of Chinese came from Malaysia, predominantly from Malacca and Penang. Amongst these Chinese from Malacca and Penang, many were peranakans or descendants of Chinese in Malaysia for several generations. Most of them were traders and can speak Chinese dialects, Malays; while many were also English-educated and can communicate with the British. In the Manners and customs of the Chinese of the Straits Settlements, Singapore, it was described that the Straits-born Chinese regarded themselves as British subjects instead of Chinese subjects; their lifestyle were more westernized.[13]

After Singapore became the capital of the British Straits Settlements in 1832, the free trade policy attracted many Chinese from Mainland China to trade, and many settled down in Singapore. Because of a booming commerce which required large number of labour force, Chinese coolie trade also appeared in Singapore. Indentured Chinese labourers (known as coolie) were contracted by coolie traders and brought to Singapore to work. The large influx of coolies into Singapore only stopped after William Pickering became the Protector of Chinese. In 1914, the coolie trade was abolished and banned in Singapore.

Because China banned the traveling of Chinese overseas before the Opium War, any form of coolie trade was conducted mainly through the Portuguese-controlled Macau. Thus any form of large migration of Chinese labourers overseas in the beginning of 19th century is quite unlikely. It was only after the Treaty of Nanking signed on 1842 (due to Opium War) that large migration of Chinese coolie began to appear. In 1860 under the 2nd Opium War, Chinese coolie trade became legalized and reached a high peak.

The large influx of Chinese to Singapore led to the establishment of a large number of Chinese associations, schools, and temples in Singapore and, within a century, the Chinese immigrant population exceeded that of the Malays. During this period, Christian missionaries from Europe began evangelising to the Asians, especially the Chinese. By 1849, the Chinese formed half of Singapore's population.

From 19th till mid 20th century, migrants from China were known as "Sinkeh"(新客 - New Guest). Out of these Sinkeh, a majority of them were coolies, workers on steam boats etc. Some of them came to Singapore in search of a better living and to escape away from poverty in China. Many of them also escaped to Singapore due to chaos and wars in China during the first half of 20th century. Many of them came from Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan province. Most of them paid loyalty to China and regarded themselves as "Huaqiao".

Peranakans or those English-educated Chinese who had descended for many generations in Singapore were typically known as "Laokeh" (老客 - Old Guest) or "Straits Chinese". Most of them paid loyalty to the British Empire and did not regard themselves as "Huaqiao".

[edit] 1937-1945 (World War II)

The Second Sino-Japanese War, started in 1937, revived a perceived sense of patriotism in the local Chinese to China and soon the Singaporean Chinese imposed an embargo against Japanese goods and products in Singapore. During the war, fearing for the safety of their relatives in China, some of the immigrants returned to China to fight the Japanese, while established entrepreneurs sent economic aid or military equipment to China. After the Japanese took Singapore in 1942, the Kempeitai tracked down many Chinese who aided the Chinese war effort against Japan. However, the Kempeitai's Sook Ching Operation was simply a massacre designed to drive fear into the local populace, so the Kempeitai simply picked out people based on accounts of masked informers, which in many cases were false accounts based on personal vendettas. There were also active anti-Japanese resistance during the war, such as Force 136, headed by Lim Bo Seng and Force 666, headed by Wong Wai Lit.

[edit] After 1945

Race riots were common during the early post-war period, predominantly in the period between self-governance and independence in 1965. One major riot took place during birthday celebrations in honour of Muhammad, on 21 July 1964. There were records of high casualties (23 killed and 454 injured), as well as claims that the riot was politically motivated to oust the then Prime Minister (Lee Kuan Yew) and his cabinet as well as to prevent the promotion of a Malaysian Malaysia concept in Peninsular Malaysia.

After the Independence of Singapore in 1965, Singapore began to foster a more racially harmonious society in Singapore. Following the construction of Singapore national identity and nationhood, the Chinese in Singapore began to change their mindset from temporary stay to permanent settlements in Singapore, thus taking roots in Singapore. Following this transformation, the Chinese in Singapore gradually began to recognize nationally as "Singaporeans", while racially as "Huaren" instead of "Huaqiao".

Chinese migrants from China during the late 20th century and early 21st century were generally known as "Xinyimin 新移民" (new immigrants). They came from various parts of China.

[edit] Chinese Associations or Institutions in Singapore

Main articles: List of Chinese Organisations in Singapore and Chinese clan association
[edit] Historical Background

When the Chinese migrants first arrived in Singapore in the 19th and early 20th century, they settled in an enclave such as Chinatown. Due to closer dialectal affinity, they tend to group themselves according to similar Chinese dialects or place of origins in China. This led the Chinese to form 5 dialectal Cohorts (known as Bangqun 幫群), namely the Hokkien Bang, Teochew Bang, Cantonese Bang, Hakka Bang and Hainanese Bang.

During the British colonial period, the colonial government basically adopted the approach of using "the Chinese to govern the Chinese". They appointed Chinese leaders to govern the Chinese community. Effectively, the Chinese community existed in a half-autonomy state. Most Chinese leaders used the Chinese civil societies (small organizations) to help govern the Chinese community and to help new Chinese immigrants settled into Singapore, including finding jobs and lodgings for them.

As most of these Chinese civil societies were involved in Chinese family religious activities such as funerals or ancestral worship, they were in fact religious-oriented. This gradually evolved into the development of Chinese Temples or Chinese clan associations in Singapore. As time passed by, the Chinese had grown to have more achievements in the business and education in Singapore. Some rich and powerful Chinese businessmen began to establish Clubs, such as the Ee Ho Hean Club (怡和轩) in 1895,[14] and Chamber of Commerce, such as the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in order to broaden the Chinese social circle. Established in 1906, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry was the highest body of organization within the Chinese community in Singapore. It was responsible for fighting the rights of the Chinese in Singapore during the British colonial period. During the World War II, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry had managed to help raise funds and resources to help relieve the sufferings in war-torn China.

After Singapore gained independence and autonomy in 1960s, the Singapore government undertook measures to help foster racial harmony in Singapore. It encouraged various races of different languages and religious backgrounds to intermingle and to live side by side. Following the growth of Singaporean nationhood and national identity, the Chinese immigrants began to change their mindset from temporary migration to permanent settlements, thus soiling their roots in Singapore. With the strengthening of Singaporean national identity, the Chinese clans association gradually declined in terms of importance. Their role of organizing and governing the Chinese community was soon taken over by the Singapore government.

[edit] Today

Today, all Singapore's clans associations came under the flagship of Singapore Federation of Chinese Clans Association (SFCCA). They function as the cultural role for connecting Chinese Singaporeans to their Chinese roots or Ancestral home. In addition, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) continued to look after the interests of the Chinese business community as well as sourcing business opportunities in China. The Chinese Development Assistance Council was founded out of these two organizations (SFCCA and SCCCI) to help nurture and develop the potential of the Chinese community in contributing to the continued success of multiracial Singapore. There are also various Chinese cultural organizations such as Singapore Chinese Calligraphy Society, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Nanyang Confucian Association, Singapore Chinese Opera Institute etc. In addition, there are also major Chinese religious Associations such as Singapore Taoist Federation, Singapore Buddhist Federation to look after the religious affairs of Chinese Singaporeans.

All these Chinese organizations continue to play an important role in the economical, cultural and religious activities of Chinese Singaporeans.

[edit] Prominent Chinese Singaporeans

For more details on this topic, see List of Prominent Chinese Singaporeans.
[edit] See also

Malaysian Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Chinese people
Huayi
Tangren
Han Chinese
British Chinese
Chinese culture
Confucianism
Sinosphere
Chinatown, Singapore
Chinatown
Buddhism in Singapore
Taoism in Singapore
Singlish
Jook-sing
List of common Chinese surnames in Singapore
Chinese language romanisation in Singapore
Singaporean Mandarin
Standard Singaporean Mandarin
Speak Mandarin Campaign
Singaporean Hokkien
Singapore Chinese Characters
Singdarin
[edit] References

Notes
^ a b c d e "Table 3 Ethnic Composition of the Resident Population", Singapore Department of Statistics, Social Statistics Section, http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/c2010acr.pdf, retrieved 2011-01-12
^ "Glossary of Terms and Definition" (PDF). Singapore Department of Statistics. 2000. http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/c2 ... ossary.pdf. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
^ Edmund Lee Eu Fah, "Profile of the Singapore Chinese Dialect Groups", Social Statistic Section, Singapore Department of Statistics (2000)
^ http://www.glossika.com/en/dict/researc ... minnan.php
^ "Overview Singapore". 2006. http://www.intercultures.ca/cil-cai/ove ... asp?iso=sg. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
^ 陈能端 (Chen Nengduan). "他们来自另一个岛屿 (They come from another island)". zaobao.com. http://www.zaobao.com/xhd/pages/xhd090504c.shtml. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
^ Leong Koon Chan. "Envisioning Chinese Identity and Multiracialism in Singapore". http://www.iasdr2009.org/ap/Papers/Oral ... gapore.pdf. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
^ Reuters (2009-09-16). "RPT-FEATURE-Eyeing China, Singapore sees Mandarin as its future". http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/09/ ... 8920090916. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
^ Lee, Edmund E. F., "Profile of the Singapore Chinese Dialects", Singapore Department of Statistics, Social Statistics Section, http://www.howardscott.net/4/Swatow_A_C ... %20Fah.pdf, retrieved 2010-10-18
^ "新加坡华语戏曲的发端(The start of Singapore's Chinese Opera". http://lunwen.5151doc.com/Article/HTML/212003.html. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
^ 周定国 (Zhou Dingguo). ""狮城"新加坡地名文化(Singapore local geographical culture)". http://www.zgchb.com.cn/article/2008/12 ... 12172.html. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
^ Newbold, Thomas John. Political and statistical account of the British settlements in the Straits of Malacca, viz, Pinang, Malacca and Singapore: with a state with a history of the Malayan states on the Peninsula of Malacca. vol 1. London: J Murray. 1839. p279
^ Vaughan, Jonas Daniel. "The manners and customs of the Chinese of the Straits Settlements" . Singapore: Mission Press. 1879 . pp4-5
^ 中国侨网 (zhonguo qiaowang). "新加坡怡和轩俱乐部(Singapore Ee Ho Hean Club)". http://news.xinhuanet.com/overseas/2005 ... 477406.htm. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
Bibliography
http://weecheng.com/singapore/9eg/index.htm
The Straits Times, April 28, 2006, pg 15, Prime section
新加坡华文知识分子角色的演变 (Changing role of the Chinese Intellectuals in Singapore), Lianhe Zaobao, 14 March 1999
新加坡华人族谱的价值与缺憾 (Values of Singaporean Chinese genealogy records)
[edit] Further reading

Lynn Pan (Singapore Chinese Heritage Center) (1998). The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas. Singapore: Archipelago Press Landmark Books. ISBN 981-3018-92-5 399.
许教正 (Xu Jiaozhen) (1965). 《东南亚人物志》 (Historical Figure of South East Asia). Singapore: Xu Jiaozhen Pub.
Song Ong Siang (1993). One Hundred Years' History of the Chinese in Singapore. Singapore: Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce Publisher.

[edit] External links

Thai Theravada Buddhist Shop in Singapore
Festival of the Nine Emperor Gods
2003 speech by Lee Hsien Loong on Teochews
Research Center for Overseas Chinese at National University of Singapore
Singapore Chinese Heritage Center
Singapore Huayi Net
Singapore Chinese Teachers' Union
Singapore Chinese Development Assistance Council
Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations
Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry

--------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Singaporean

Cantonese Filipino

Total population
1,146,250 [1]
(1.3% of the Philippine population) Chinese Mestizos (20% percent of the Philippine population)
Regions with significant populations
Philippines
(Metro Cebu, Metro Manila, Angeles, Batangas, Bacolod, Davao, Iligan, Iloilo, Lucena, Sulu, Tarlac, Vigan, Zamboanga)
elsewhere

Languages
Hokkien, Mandarin, Cantonese, Teochew (Chao Chow), Filipino languages, English
other Chinese languages

Religion
Predominantly Christianity. Buddhist, Taoist and Shenist minorities.

A Cantonese Filipino (simplified Chinese: 华菲; traditional Chinese: 華菲; pinyin: Huáfēi; Hokkien: Huâ-hui; Cantonese: Wàhfèi; Tagalog/Filipino: "Tsinoy" (pronounced [tʃɪnoɪ]) derived from two words: "Tsino" (meaning "Chinese") and "Pinoy" (the slang word for "Filipino")) is a Philippine national of Chinese ethnicity but born/raised in the Philippines.

Many, if not all people in the Philippines, including Chinese Filipinos themselves, use and accept the term "Filipino Chinese"/"Filipino-Chinese".[1] However, this is inconsistent with US English usage, on which Philippine English is largely based. Despite its inconsistency with American English, the term remains to be the officially accepted reference in the Philippines.[verification needed]

[edit] Spelling

The term "Chinese Filipino" may or may not[2][3] be hyphenated. The website of the organization Kaisa para sa Kaunlaran (Unity for Progress) omits the hyphen, adding that Chinese Filipino is the noun where "Chinese" is an adjective to the noun "Filipino." The Chicago Manual of Style and the APA,[4] among others, also recommend dropping the hyphen. When used as an adjective, "Chinese Filipino" may take on a hyphenated form or may remain unchanged. For instance, when hyphenated, "Chinese-Filipino community," "Chinese-Filipino Catholic," or "Chinese-Filipino student." Chicago style, on the other hand, explicitly advises against using the hyphen even when "Chinese Filipino" is used as an adjective. For instance, "Chinese Filipino student" and "Chinese Filipino community",[5][6][7] but "Chinese-Filipino Catholic" or "Chinese-Filipino Buddhist" given that three consecutive words are capitalized and that Filipino in that sense is linked to Chinese rather than being an adjective to Catholic or Buddhist.

[edit] Terminology

Different terminologies are used to refer to Chinese Filipinos (Philippine nationals of Chinese ethnicity), as follows:

Of pure Chinese descent: Chinese (English), Tsino/Chino (Filipino, Spanish), and Lan-nang (Hokkien)
Of mixed Chinese and indigenous Filipino descent: Filipino Chinese/Chinese Filipino/Philippine Chinese (Eng.), Tsinoy/Chinoy (Fil., Sp.), and Chhut-si-ia (Hokkien)
Of mixed Chinese and Spanish descent: Tornatras (Eng., Fil., Sp.; archaic)
There are also a variety of Chinese terms in use:

華人 -- Huárén -- a generic term for referring to Chinese people, without implication as to nationality
華僑 -- Huáqiáo -- Overseas Chinese, usually China-born Chinese who have emigrated elsewhere
華裔 -- Huáyì -- People of Chinese ancestry who were born in, residents of and citizens of another country
During the Spanish Colonial Period, the term Sangley was used to refer to people of unmixed Chinese ancestry while the term Mestizo de Sangley was used to classify persons of mixed Chinese and indigenous Filipino ancestry; both are now out of date in terms of usage.

"Indigenous Filipino" is used in this article to refer to the original inhabitants prior to the Spanish Conquest of the islands. During the Spanish Colonial Period, the term Indio was used.

[edit] Overview

The Chinese Filipinos has always been one of the largest ethnic Filipino groups in the country with Chinese immigrants comprising the largest group of immigrant settlers in the Philippines. They are one of the three major ethnic groupings in the Philippines, namely: Christian Filipinos (73% of the population-including indigenous ethnic minorities), Muslim Filipinos (5% of the population) and Chinese Filipinos (22% of the population-including Chinese Mestizos). Today, most Chinese Filipinos are locally born. The rate of intermarriage between Chinese settlers and indigenous Filipinos is among the highest in Southeast Asia, exceeded only by Thailand. However, intermarriages occurred mostly during the Spanish colonial period because Chinese immigrants to the Philippines up to the 19th century were predominantly male. It was only in the 20th century that Chinese women and children came in comparable numbers. Today, Chinese Filipino male and female populations are practically equal in numbers. These Chinese mestizos, products of intermarriages during the Spanish colonial period, then often opted to marry other Chinese or Chinese mestizos (as was the case with the ancestors of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal). Generally, Chinese mestizos is a term referring to people with a partial Chinese ancestry.

By this definition, the ethnically Chinese Filipinos comprise 1.3% (1.1 million) of the population.[8] This figure however does not include the Chinese mestizos who since Spanish times have formed the middle class in Philippine society nor does it include Chinese immigrants from the People's Republic of China since 1949.

[edit] Ethnicity

Most Chinese in the Philippines belong to either the Fujianese or Cantonese dialect groups of the Han Chinese ethnicity. Most unmixed Chinese in the Philippines come from the province of Fujian in China and are thus called Fujianese, or Hoklo. They speak the Lan-nang (Philippine) variant of the Minnan Chinese dialect, which is further subdivided into several sub-dialects. The most common Minnan (Southern Fujianese) dialect in the Philippines is the Xiamen dialect, which is mutually intelligible with the Quanzhou dialect, another common dialect in the Philippines. The rest of the unmixed Chinese in the Philippines are mostly of Cantonese origin, with large numbers of descendants originally from the Taishan city of Guangdong province in Southern China. They speak the Cantonese dialect group/language, although many are raised to speak only the Minnan dialect. Most are not as economically prosperous as their Fujianese cousins in Philippine society. Some ghettoes of the Cantonese people are found in Santa Mesa, Manila and in Tondo. There are also a minority of Cantonese who have Portuguese ancestry - they are the Macanese from Macau. Other non-resident Chinese in the Philippines, such as expatriates and envoys are of Beijing, Shanghainese, or origin from other Provinces of China.

[edit] Mestizos

Chinese mestizos are persons of mixed Chinese and either indigenous Malay or Spanish (or both) ancestry. They make up 20% of the country's total population (those who are pure blooded or at least 50% Chinese make up at least 2% of the population). A number of Chinese mestizos have surnames that reflect their heritage, mostly two or three syllables that have Chinese roots (e.g., the full name of a Chinese ancestor) with a Hispanized phonetic spelling. The Chinese mestizos may also be known as Tsinoys (alternatively spelled as "Chinoy"), although this term may also refer to the full-blooded Chinese Filipinos; and/or Chinito, a term that largely denotes physical characteristics (referring to slanted eyes) rather than ethnic origin or cultural orientation. During Spanish times, they were legally classified as Mestizo de Sangley which was printed on their cedulas or community tax certificates.

During the Spanish colonial period, the Spanish authorities encouraged the Chinese male immigrants to convert to Catholicism. Those who converted got baptized and their names Hispanized, and were allowed to intermarry with indigenous Malay women. They and their mestizo offspring became colonial subjects of the Spanish crown, and as such were granted several privileges and afforded numerous opportunities denied to the unconverted Chinese. Starting as traders, they branched out into land leasing, money lending and later landholding.

Chinese mestizo men and women were encouraged to marry Spanish and Malay women and men, by means of dowries, in a policy to mix the races of the Philippines so it would be impossible to expel the Spanish.[9]

[edit] Culture

[edit] Language

Most of the Chinese in the Philippines trace their ancestry to the southern part of Fujian province in China, also known as the Min-nan region. The Lan-nang (traditional Chinese: 咱儂話; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lán-lâng-oē; literally "our people's language") variant of Hokkien is the lingua franca of the Chinese Filipino community. The rest are descendants of migrants from Guangdong, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. The other Chinese dialects that can be heard in the Chinese-Filipino communities are Mandarin Chinese (which is taught in Chinese schools in the Philippines and spoken in varying degrees of fluency by Chinese Filipinos), Taiwanese (which is mutually intelligible with the Quanzhou and Xiamen dialects), and Cantonese. The vast majority of the Chinese in the Philippines are also fluent in English as well as Tagalog, and for those residing outside of Metro Manila, the local language of the region, like Ilokano, Hiligaynon, Cebuano (Cebu, Davao, and Iligan), and Chabacano (Zamboanga), Waray-Waray (Calbayog and Tacloban).

[edit] Lifestyle

The Chinese in the Philippines are mostly business owners and their life centers mostly in the family business. These mostly small or medium enterprises play a significant role in the Philippine economy. A handful of these entrepreneurs run large companies and are respected as some of the most prominent business tycoons in the Philippines. Chinese Filipinos attribute their success in business to frugality and hard work, Confucian values and their traditional Chinese customs and traditions. They are very business-minded and entrepreneurship is highly valued and encouraged among the young.

Most Chinese Filipinos are urban dwellers. An estimated 50% of the Chinese Filipinos live within Metro Manila, with the rest in the other major cities of the Philippines. They are practically everywhere. In contrast with the Chinese mestizos, few Chinese are plantation owners. This is partly due to the fact that until recently when the Chinese Filipinos became Filipino citizens, the law prohibited the Chinese from owning land.

As with other Southeast Asian nations, the Chinese community in the Philippines has become a repository of traditional Chinese culture. Whereas in mainland China many cultural traditions and customs were suppressed during the Cultural Revolution or simply regarded as old-fashioned nowadays, these traditions have remained largely untouched in the Philippines. Many new cultural twists have evolved within the Chinese community in the Philippines, distinguishing it from other overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. These cultural variations are highly evident during festivals such as Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival. The Chinese Filipinos have developed unique funerary[10] and wedding customs[11] as well.

While the older generation practiced the ancient customs of imperial and feudal China,[12] the younger generation have adapted to more modern lifestyles. Traditional customs such as ancestor worship are still practiced today through family shrines and clans associations,[13][14] as well as placing Catholic imagery alongside Taoists idols such as the Santo Nino or the Crucifix placing beside the Buddha or any other Chinese Traditional Religious figure.

[edit] Religion

The Chinese Filipinos are unique in Southeast Asia in being overwhelmingly Christian. Almost all Chinese Filipinos, including the Chinese Mestizo but excluding the recent immigrants, had or will have their marriages in a Christian church. This proves that the majority of Chinese Filipinos have been baptized in a Christian church, with Catholics forming the largest group.

However, many of Chinese-Filipino Catholics still tend to practice the traditional Chinese religions side by side with Catholicism, although a small number of people practising solely traditional Chinese religions do exist as well.[15] Mahayana Buddhism,[16] Taoism[17] and ancestor worship (including Confucianism)[18] are the traditional Chinese beliefs that continue to have adherents among the Chinese Filipinos. Some may even have Jesus Christ as well as Buddha statues or Taoist gods in their altars. It is not unheard of to venerate the blessed Virgin Mary using joss sticks and Buddhist offerings, much as one would have done for Mazu.[19] Buddhist-Taoist temples can be found where the Chinese live, especially in urban areas like Manila, and the Chinese have the tendency to go to pay respects to their ancestors at least once a year, either by going to the temple, or going to the Chinese burial grounds, often burning incense and bringing offerings like fruits and accessories made from paper. Some Chinese-Filipino Catholics do have problems with this religious duality, but due to Christian proselytization, the elderly vastly outnumber the young in the Chinese temples in the Philippines.

A comparatively large number of Chinese Filipinos are also Protestants. Chinese Filipinos comprise a large percentage of membership in some of the largest evangelical churches in the Philippines like Christ's Commission Fellowship and Greenhills Christian Fellowship. The United Evangelical Church of the Philippines, was founded by Chinese Filipinos, and they form the majority of worshippers.[20]

[edit] Civil Society

Aside from their family businesses, Chinese Filipinos are active in civic organizations related to education, health care, public safety, social welfare and public charity. As most Chinese Filipinos are reluctant to participate in politics and government, they have instead turned to civic organizations as their primary means of contributing to the general welfare of the Chinese-Filipino community and to the betterment of Philippine society. Beyond the traditional family and clan associations, Chinese Filipinos tend to be active members of numerous alumni associations holding annual reunions for the benefit of their Chinese-Filipino secondary schools.[21] Outside of secondary schools catering to Chinese Filipinos, some Chinese Filipino businessmen have established charitable foundations to benefit Philippine society. Notable ones include the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, Metrobank Foundation, Tan Ya Kee Foundation, Angelo King Foundation, Jollibee Foundation, Alfonso Yuchengco Foundation, Cityland Foundation, etc. Some Chinese-Filipino benefactors have also contributed to the creation of several centers of scholarship in prestigious Philippine Universities, including the John Gokongwei School of Management at Ateneo de Manila, the Yuchengco Center at De La Salle University, and the Ricardo Leong Center of Chinese Studies at Ateneo de Manila. Coincidentally, both Ateneo and La Salle enroll a large number of Chinese-Filipino students. In health care, Chinese Filipinos were instrumental in establishing and building renowned medical centers in the country including the Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center, the Metropolitan Hospital, the Angelo King Medical Center at the De La Salle Health Sciences Institute, Chong-Hua Hospital and the St. Luke's Medical Center, one of Asia's leading health care institutions. In public safety, Teresita Ang See's Kaisa, a Chinese-Filipino civil rights group, organized the Citizens Action Against Crime and the Movement for the Restoration of Peace and Order at the height of a wave of anti-Chinese kidnapping incidents in the early 1990s.[22] In addition to fighting crime, Chinese Filipinos have organized volunteer fire brigades all over the country, reportedly the best in the nation.[23] In the arts and culture, the Bahay Tsinoy and the Yuchengco Museum were established by Chinese Filipinos to showcase the arts, culture and history of Chinese Filipinos and the Philippines.[24]

[edit] Surnames

Most Chinese Filipinos today have single syllable Chinese surnames, the most common of which are Tan (陳), Poa/Pua (潘), Ong (王), Lim (林), Go/Ngo (吳), Ng/Uy/Wong (黃), Gao/Kao (高), Chua/Cua (蔡), Sy/See/Si (施), Co (許) and Lee/Dy (李). Chinese Filipinos as well as Chinese mestizos who trace their roots back to Chinese immigrants to the Philippines during the Spanish Colonial Period usually have multiple syllable Chinese surnames such as Chuacuco, Chuatoco, Cojuangco, Dyloco, Dytoc, Dy-Cok, Gueco, Gokongwei, Limcuando,[25] Ongpin, Quebengco, Sycip, Tambengco, Tambunting, Tanbonliong, Tantoco, Tiongson, Yuchengco, Tanciangco, and Yupangco, among such others. These were originally full Chinese names which were transliterated into Spanish and adopted as surnames. There are also multiple syllable Chinese surnames that are Spanish translations of hokkien words. Surnames like Tuazon (Eldest Grandson), Dizon (Second Grandson), Samson (Third Grandson), Singson (Fourth Grandson), Gozon (Fifth Grandson), Lacson (Sixth Grandson) are examples of Hokkien words with Spanish translations used as surnames for some Chinese Filipinos who trace their ancestry from Chinese immigrants to the Philippines during the Spanish Colonial Period also. In contrast, more recent immigrants have single syllable Chinese surnames. Many Chinese mestizos (as well as Spanish-Chinese and Tornatras) have also either inherited or took on Spanish or indigenous surnames, such as Martines, Madrigal, Santos, or Zarate. A lot of Chinese Filipinos also took on Filipino surnames the moment they were naturalized. Today, it is difficult to identify who are Chinese Filipinos based on surnames alone. To determine who Chinese Filipinos are, one should know their background and family history and culture.

[edit] History

These ethnic Chinese sailed down and frequently interacted and even created settlements including CALABARZON region such as Rizal which carried on trade with the Arab traders long before the Spanish conquest. As evidenced by a collection of priceless Chinese artifacts found in the Philippines, dating back right up to the 10th century.

Prehistoric evidence attest to the fact that many datus,rajahs, and Lakans (indigenous rulers) in the Philippines were of mixed Filipino and Chinese ancestry. They formed the group which is to be called Principalia during the Spanish period, and were given privileges by the Spanish colonial authorities.

The arrival of the Spaniards to the Philippines attracted many Chinese male immigrants from China, but there was already a significant population of chinese immigrants long before Spanish knowledge of the archipelago due to the relationship between the various kingdoms in what is now known as Luzon, and the Ming dynasty. The Spanish authorities restricted the activities of the Chinese immigrants and confined them to the Parían near Intramuros. With low chances of employment and prohibited from owning land, most of them engaged in retail trades or acted as skilled artisans to the Spanish colonial authorities. Many of the Chinese who arrived during the Spanish period were Cantonese, who worked as stevedores and porters, but there were also Fujianese, who entered the retail trades. The Chinese revolted fourteen times, against Spanish abuses, but their revolts were quickly put down by joint forces of the indigenous Filipinos, Mexicans, and the Spaniards. As it were, the Chinese rulers at the time forbade their Chinese subjects from emigrating and made the crime of leaving China punishable by death upon their return. To the Chinese rulers, those who had abandoned their homeland to settle in foreign lands were considered traitors who ceased to be Chinese.[26] In addition, the Spanish authorities decided to segregate the Chinese immigrants into two groups: Parían (unconverted) and Binondo (converted). The massacres and expulsions targeted the unconverted while sparing the converted Chinese. To avoid this grim fate, most Chinese male[clarification needed] immigrants converted to Catholicism, intermarried with indigenous women, and adopted Hispanized names and customs. The children of unions between indigenous Filipinos and Chinese were called Mestizos de Sangley or Chinese mestizos, while those between Spaniards and Chinese were called Tornatrás and were classified as blanco or white, together with the mixed-race Spanish mestizos and pure-blooded Spanish Filipinos. The Chinese mestizos were largely confined to the Binondo area. However, they eventually spread all over the islands, and became traders, moneylenders and landowners.[27]

During the American colonial period, the Chinese Exclusion Act in the United States was also put into effect in the Philippines.[28] Nevertheless, the Chinese were able to settle in the Philippines, despite strict American law enforcement. Following World War II and the fall of the Chinese mainland to the Chinese Communist Party, many Chinese migrated from Fujian province in China to the Philippines. This group formed the bulk of the current population of Chinese Filipinos.[26]

Beginning World War II, Chinese Filipino soldiers and guerrillas joined in the fight against the Japanese Imperial Forces during the Japanese Occupation in the Philippines (1941–1945). On April 9, 1942, many Chinese Filipino Prisoners of War were killed by Japanese Forces during the Bataan Death March after the fall of Bataan and Corregidor in 1942. Chinese Filipinos were integrated in the U.S. Armed Forces of the First & Second Filipino Infantry Regiments of the United States Army. After the Fall of Bataan and Corregidor in 1942, when Chinese Filipinos was joined the soldiers is a military unit of the Philippine Commonwealth Army under the U.S. military command is a ground arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) was started the battles between the Japanese Counter-Insurgencies and Allied Liberators from 1942 to 1945 to fought against the Japanese Imperial forces. Some Chinese-Filipinos joined the soldiers were integrated of the 11th, 14th, 15th, 66th & 121st Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Armed Forces in the Philippines - Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL) under the military unit of the Philippine Commonwealth Army started the Liberation in Northern Luzon and aided the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Abra, Mountain Province, Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya and attacking Imperial Japanese forces. Many Chinese-Filipinos joined the guerrilla movement of the Philippine-Chinese Anti-Japanese guerrilla resistance fighter unit or Wa Chi Movement, the Ampaw Unit under by Colonel Chua Sy Tiao and the Chinese-Filipino 48th Squadron since 1942 to 1946 to attacking Japanese forces. Thousands of Chinese Filipino soldiers and guerrillas died of heroism in the Philippines from 1941 to 1945 during World War II. Over hundreds of thousands of the Chinese Filipino soldiers and guerrillas were attacked by Japanese Imperial Forces during the liberation of the Philippines. Thousands of Chinese Filipino Veterans are interred in the Shrine of Martyr's Freedom of the Filipino Chinese in World War II located in Manila.[29]

After independence, successive Philippine presidents have had ambivalent attitudes about the Chinese Filipinos. Presidents Ramon Magsaysay and Carlos P. Garcia promoted the Filipino First policies, and put in tough government directives to hinder the ownership of businesses by Chinese Filipinos who were still citizens of the Republic of China. During the Martial Law Period, Chinese language schools were ordered closed or else to limit the time alloted for Chinese language, history, and culture subjects from 4 hours to 2 hours, and instead devote them to the study of Filipino languages and culture. This method of teaching persists to this very day. Marcos' policy eventually led to the formal assimilation of the Chinese Filipinos into mainstream Filipino society.[30] Following People Power Revolution (EDSA 1), the Chinese Filipinos quickly gained national spotlight as Cory Aquino, a Chinese mestiza, eventually became president.[31] She encouraged free press and cultural harmony, a process which led to the burgeoning of the Chinese language media. Mild racist riots occurred during 1992 when several Filipinos, led by Armando Ducat, Jr., a businessman, campaigned for 'kicking-out the Chinese-Filipinos instead of the Americans', referring to the formal closure of the American military bases in the Philippines, and during 1998, when a Chinese mestizo, Senator Alfredo Lim, entered the candidacy for president. Also, numerous incidents of crimes such kidnap-for-ransom, extortion and other forms of harassment were committed against the Chinese Filipino community starting in the early 1990s and lasting to this day. Senior members of the Philippine Military were allegedly involved.[32]

[edit] Current and future trends

Most of the Chinese Filipinos are descendants of Chinese who migrated three or four generations ago. In the case of most Chinese mestizos, this can be as far back as five, six, or up to eight generations ago. Unlike in Malaysia and Indonesia where intermarriage is uncommon and people can generally be classified ethnically just by physical appearance, the Philippine definition of who is Chinese Filipino and who is Chinese mestizo can be based on one's language usage and cultural values. A full-blooded Chinese who can no longer speak Chinese and no longer practice Chinese culture or beliefs is more often than not identified as a Chinese mestizo. By the same token, a Chinese biological mestizo who still speaks fluent Chinese and practices Chinese culture might be reintegrated into the Chinese-Filipino culture. As "mestizo" often evokes a person of higher social status, there is also a tendency to not identify those in the lower class as "mestizo" even if they are in fact of mixed descent.

The Chinese in the Philippines cannot be simplistically classified. But generally, some observers claim they can be classified into three types, based on when their ancestors first arrived. Most of the Chinese mestizos, especially the landed gentry trace their ancestry to the Spanish era. They are the "First Chinese" or Sangley whose descendants nowadays are mostly either the Chinese mestizos or have integrated into the indigenous population. The largest group of Chinese Filipinos in the Philippines are the "Second Chinese," who are descendants of migrants in the first half of the 20th century, between the anti-Manchu 1911 Revolution in China and the Chinese Civil War. This group accounts for most of the "full-blooded" Chinese. The "Third Chinese" are the recent immigrants from mainland China, after the Chinese economic reform of the 1980s. Generally, the "Third Chinese" are the most entrepreneurial and have not totally lost their Chinese identity in its purest form and seen by some "Second Chinese" as a business threat.[33] On the other hand, the "First Chinese" or Sangley had largely intermarried and assimilated into a Hispanized Catholic culture since the 17th century. After the end of Spanish rule, their descendants, the Chinese mestizos, managed to invent a cosmopolitan mestizo culture coupled with an extravagant Mestizo de Sangley lifestyle.[34]

As of the present day, due to the effects of globalization in the Philippines, there has been a marked tendency to acculturate to North American lifestyles, without losing Chinese culture and identity. This is especially true for younger Chinese Filipinos living in wealthy suburbs like Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila[35] who are gradually shifting to English as their preferred language, thus identifying more with North American culture, at the same time speaking Chinese among themselves. There is also a renewed tendency and interest to study and practice the use of Chinese language. More and more Chinese mestizos tend also to reintegrate into Chinese societies by attending Chinese schools, learning to speak Chinese and adopting Chinese customs. Although at a slower pace than Thailand,[36] assimilation is gradually taking place in the Philippines.

With the onset of globalization since the 1990s, increasing numbers of well-to-do Chinese Filipino families are acquiring North American or Australasian passports and sending their children abroad to attend prestigious North America or Australasian Universities.[37] Many are opting to remain after graduation to start professional careers in North America or Australasia. Philippine-educated Chinese Filipinos from middle-class families are also migrating en masse to North America and Australasia. Those who have family businesses regularly commute between North America (or Australasia) and the Philippines. In this way, they follow the well-known pattern of other Chinese immigrants to North America who lead "astronaut" lifestyles: family in North America, business in Asia.[38] Furthermore, many Chinese-Filipino entrepreneurs and professionals have flocked to their ancestral homeland to partake of business and employment opportunities opened up by China's emergence as a global economic superpower.[39] If Chinese Filipinos[clarification needed] remain in the Philippines, they would become part of the ever expanding Chinese community in the country.

[edit] Notable people


This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2011)
AJ Dee — actor and swimmer.
Albino SyCip — Known as the "Dean of Philippine Banking". A lawyer by profession, he earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He co-founded Chinabank and set up branches in Xiamen and Shanghai, China. Father of Washington and Alexander SyCip.
Alexander SyCip — Founder of SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan, largest and leading law firm in the Philippines.
Alfonso Yuchengco (Chinese-Tagalog) — insurance tycoon with roots in Nan'an, Fujian and founder of controversial Pacific Plans.
Alfredo Lim (Chinese-Tagalog) — current Manila mayor and former senator of the Philippines.
Alodia Gosiengfiao (Chinese-Spanish-Tagalog) — Cosplayer.
Amy Chua Professor of Law at Yale Law School
Andrew Gotianun (Chinese-Cebuano) — real estate tycoon.
Andrew Tan — Entrepreneur who engages in real estate, liquor, and fast food. Born in Fujian, China and grew up in an apartment in Hong Kong with his family. Later, he moved to Manila where he studied accounting at University of the East. The government of Quezon City honored him "Businessman of the Year" for 2004.
Don Antonio Tuason — The great patriarch of the only Filipino noble family. He was born, Son Tua in Fujian and settled in Binondo, Manila in the early 18th century. He came to Manila to engage in the galleon trade. Quickly amassing wealth because of his business acumen, he became possibly the richest man in the Philippines by late 18th century.
Arnel Ty - President of Liquified Petroleum Gas Marketers Associations of the Philippines (LPGMA).
Arthur Bernard "Champ" Lui-pio - Lead vocalist of popular OPM band "Hale".
Arthur Yap (Chinese-Boholano/Visayan) — Congressman, Third District of Bohol (2010–Present}.
Fortunano "Atoy" Co — Professional basketball player, politician, former councillor of Pasig City.
Don Benedicto Dimaculangan Tuazon the illegitimate son of Don Antonio Tuason of Fukien China.
Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III (Chinese-Kapampangan-Spanish-Tagalog) — current 15th President of the Philippines, son of ex-senator Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr (November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) and former President Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009).
Brent Chua — model.
Bobby Ongpin — former Trade and Industry Minister in martial law.
Charlie Chao — Feng Shui Expert.
Capitan Tomas Tanchanco — Gobernadorcillo / Reformist during Spanish occupation.
Chris Tiu — TV Host of Pinoy Records, Ateneo Blue Eagles Team Captain-Point Guard in Basketball, said to be surnamed Xu.
Chua Cu (now Chuacuco) — founder of Che Yong Cua Chua Family association.
Claudio Teehankee, Sr. (Chinese-Tagalog) — Retired Chief Justice
Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino (Chinese-Kapampangan-Spanish-Tagalog) — became 11th President of the Philippines in 1986 and moral leader of the People Power uprising against the Marcos authoritarian regime; her ancestral roots are in Hong Chiam Village in Tung-An county near Xiamen City of Fujian province, China
David Mendoza Consunji (Chinese-Spanish-Tagalog) — civil engineer, construction company founder, former Philippine Secretary of Public Works, Transportation and Communication.
Dee C. Chuan Pre-war 20th century Chinese community leader, "Lumber King" of the Philippines, leader of the Chinese community efforts to support China's war of resistance against Japanese military invasion, civic leader, President of the Philippine Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, founder of "Chinese Commercial News" and "Fookien Times", grand-nephew of 19th century lumber pioneer entrepreneur Dy Han Kia.
Dino Carlo Chua ; Former Vice-Mayor of Cavite city and Presently Provincial Board Member of Cavite Province. His Great Grandfather is a "Sangley" who migrated in Cavite during the early 1800s. Sangley means 'FIRST Chinese in the Philippines". The American military Base in Cavite City was named as "Sangley Point Airbase" as a proof of the early occupation of the Chinese-Filipino in the area.
Denver Chua City Councilor of Cavite City (Younger Brother of Vice-Mayor Dino Chua/ Denver is also the Founder of Snack Town Factory Corporation.
Dennis Trillo — (Chinese-Tagalog) Philippine actor his acting career soar and make him in a matinee idol in his movie "Ashite Imasu 1941:Mahal Kita"
Dominic Penalosa (Chinese-Filipino Canadian) — Founder of worldfriends.tv.[40]
Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr. (Fujian Chinese-Kapampangan-American) — tycoon and politician, boss of San Miguel Corporation and leader of Nationalist People's Coalition.
Edwin Lacierda (Chinese-Boholano/Visayan) - Legal counsel and co-convenor of the civil society group, The Black and White Movement. Constitutional Law Professor. Current Presidential Spokeperson of the Aquino Administration, Malacanang.
Emilio Aguinaldo (Chinese-Tagalog) —Filipino general, politician, independence leader, first president of the Philippines, dictator of the Dictatorial Government, President of the Revolutionary Government, president of the nascent first Philippine Republic
Emilio Yap — Manila Bulletin, Manila Hotel and Euro-Phil Laboratories owner.
Enchong Dee - Filipino actor, model, heartthrob and champion swimmer.
Enrique Cheng - Real estate tycoon, Founder of The Landmark Department Stores,Owner of Sugar and corn Mills in North Cotabato,Independent (Chinese,Born In Cotabato)Director of Philippine Airlines,Senior Vice President of PLDT(1990–1994)has built 9 complex building and a 5 star commercial center in Guangzhou China.
Enrique T. Yuchengco — Insurance tycoon and father of controversial Pacific Plans, Inc. founder Alfonso Yuchengco.
Felicity Tan CCTV International news presenter at age 23.
Ferdinand Marcos (Chinese-Japanese-Ilocano) — President from 1965 to 1986. In a speech before the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) in 1966, he remarked: "I have Chinese blood in me...I am not ashamed to admit that perhaps the great leaders of our country all have Chinese blood."
Francis "Ang Biao" Chua — President of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII)
George Ty — banking tycoon. Management Association of the Philippines 2007 Man of the Year.[41]
Hayden Kho, Jr. — doctor, actor, model
Heart Evangelista — Actress
Jesus Tanchanco Sr. — Technocrat and First Minister of National Food Authority.
Hector Timothy Chua — part time model, actor, automobile tycoon
Henry Lim Bon Liong - Chairman and CEO of Sterling Paper Group of Companies; Dr. Jose Rizal Awardee for excellence in the field of Management and Finance; Aurelio Periquet, Jr. Business Leadership Awardee.
Henry Sy — Shopping mall tycoon.
Howard Q. Dee — former Philippine Ambassador to the Vatican and Malta, government negotiator with Communist rebels, past President of top pharmaceuticals firm United Laboratories, head of various civic organizations and a great-grandnephew of 19th century lumber pioneer Dy Han Kia.
Ignacio Tan - Philanthropist, well landed in Southern Mindanao, voluntary distributed a major portion of his land holdings to the tenants living in the area even before agrarian reform was instituted in the Philippines.
James Yap (Chinese-Ilonggo/Visayan) — professional basketball superstar player for the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants in the Philippine Basketball Association
Jaime Sin (Chinese-Capiznon) — powerful Philippine Catholic leader and member of the College of Cardinals.
Janice Wei — Hong Kong singer.
JC Tiuseco — Basketball player, model, and actor.
Jeffrey Espiritu (known as Mister Fu) - TV host, and DJ of Energy FM 91.5, known for his words "May ganun?".
John Gokongwei (Chinese-Cebuano) — self-made tycoon, founder of JG Summit Holdings.
General Jose Ignacio Paua — pure-blooded Chinese general (from the village of Lao-Na) who supported the Katipuneros in the fight against the Spaniards and later joined Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo’s army in the short-lived war against the Americans.
Jose Mari Chan — singer and songwriter, son of Chinese immigrant sugar tycoon Antonio Chan from Fujian, China
José Rizal (Spanish-Chinese-Japanese-Tagalog) — Filipino national hero, polymath, physician, novelist, nationalist, propagandist, martyr and considered to be the greatest Filipino surnamed Chua before his late Hispanic surname.
Jose Yao Campos — founder of United Laboratories.
Joseph Yeo — De La Salle Green Archers standout guard-forward in basketball. Currently playing for the Sta. Lucia Realtors in PBA.
Jun Lozada — witness of the NBN-ZTE deal
Ken Tan — just recently edited the Article of "The Young Jodi", Barbie Forteza.
Kim Chiu (Chinese-Cebuano) — actress, teen icon.
Kris Aquino-Yap (Chinese-Spanish-Kapampangan-Tagalog) — popular TV talk show host and daughter of President Aquino
Leon O. Chua — Professor of Electrical Engineering at UC Berkeley. World-renowned pioneer in neural networks, chaos theory, and nonlinear circuits. Father of Amy Chua.
Lim Eng Beng — Professional basketball player.
Limahong — A Chinese pirate and warlord who invaded the northern Philippine Islands in 1574.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz (Chinese-Tagalog) — first Filipino saint, said to be surnamed Li.
Lucio Tan — Billionaire and patron of Chinese language education.
Manuel Tinio (Chinese-Tagalog) — was the youngest General of the Philippine Revolutionary Army, Governor of the Province of Nueva Ecija and former director of the Bureau of Lands.
Mikee Cojuangco (Chinese-Spanish-Tagalog) — equestrienne, former actress.
Manuel S. Cheng Chairman of Diamond Motors Corporation. Mitsubishi Philippines
Marcelo H. del Pilar (Spanish-Chinese-Tagalog) — Filipino journalist, lawyer, propagandist, writer, and the prominent editor of the newspaper La Solidaridad.
Peter S. Lim (Chinese-Bikolano) — Civil Engineer, Sanitary Engineer, Dean of University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Engineering, 2006 - 2009.
Ramon A. Cukingnan Jr. — Prominent Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Professor at UCLA.
Engr. Roman Ting Go and Dr. Mildred Go (pure Fujian Chinese) — Banaag Awardee (2000); Founder and proprietor of the Manila Xiamen International School in Fujian, China, the first Filipino-owned international school in China.[42]
Robert Parungao (Chinese-Filipino Canadian) — Founder of New Voices Project in Vancouver.[43]
Román Ongpin — patron of artists and revolutionaries against Spanish rule.
Sergio Osmeña (Chinese-Cebuano-Spanish) — third President of the Philippines.
Simon L. Chua — famous mathematics educator, founder and president of the Mathematics Trainers' Guild, Philippines, and the first Filipino awardee of the Paul Erdos Award which is considered by the mathematics world as the Nobel Prize of Mathematics.
Stanley Chi — "Point of view" Stand up comedian, Host of Front Act, TV-5 and Cartoonist for Manila Bulletin's comic strip "Chopsticks".
John Paul C. Tanchanco — Businessman and Economist of T1W. He was also known as an award-winning media producer, commercial music artist and director. He was also responsible for directing the notable film, "Isang Lahi: Pearls from the Orient"
Tan Yu — real-estate tycoon and owner of Fuga Island in Babuyan group of islands, Cagayan.
Teresita Ang See — Civil and human rights activist.
Tomas Pinpin (Chinese-Tagalog) — known as the "Prince of Filipino Printers" or the "Patriarch of Filipino Printing." He learned the art of printing in 1608 in the Dominican-owned printing press in Abucay, Bataan
Tony Tan Caktiong — fast food chain tycoon.
Gen. Vicente Lim — the first Filipino to graduate from West Point.
Victor Tan — Owner of San Pablo Trading
Vince Golangco - Editor-in-chief & Creative Director of WhenInManila.com, and radio DJ
Washington SyCip — Founder of SyCip Gorres & Verayo, one of the largest accounting firms in Asia; Chairman Emeritus, Asian Institute of Management.
Wesley So — chess grandmaster
Women of Malolos — The Women of Malolos consisted of 20 women from the principalia mestizo-sangley clans of the town during Spanish occupation. They were the first women who stood for women empowerment and liberation through education : The women came from the Tiongson, Tanchanco, Reyes, Santos, Tantoco families. Filipino National Hero, Jose Rizal, wrote his famous letter to the Women of Malolos, in his El Filibusterismo, which he said that the women’s action made him see Filipino women in a new light.
Wilson Lee Flores — Multi-awarded writer, editor and journalist, a college professor, a real estate entrepreneur and also two-term former president and past 3-term chairman of The Anvil Business Club, also a great-great-grandson of 19th century Manila lumber entrepreneur and philanthropist Dy Han Kia.
Justin Wu: Washington State Entrepreneur
Yi Shuan "Ann" Li — Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Clash 2010 housemate.
Leah Dizon American-born to a Filipino-Chinese father, and who became a "gaijin tarento" (foreign talent), singer, and model in Japan.

[edit] See also

Chinese-Filipinos who migrated to Mexico during the galleon trade
Tornatrás
Sangley
Category:Chinese schools in the Philippines
Chinoy TV, a TV program broadcast in Net25, featuring the Chinese community in the Philippines.
[edit] References

^ Lim, Cherry T. (31 January 2003). In the Philippines, Filipino Citizens of Chinese Descent are colloquially and officially called and referred to as "Filipino Chinese". Filipino-Chinese or Chinese-Filipino? Sun Star Cebu. Cebu.
^ http://www.librarylink.org.ph/revdetails.asp?rev=92 Palanca, Ellen / Clinton (ed.). Chinese Filipinos. 2003.
^ California State University–Los Angeles Editorial Style Guide
^ http://www.docstyles.com/archive/apacrib.pdf
^ American Anthropological Association Style Guide
^ Michigan State University Style Sheet
^ Hyphens, en dashes, em dashes. (n.d.) Chicago Style Q&A. Chicago Manual of Style Online. (15th ed.)
^ :: Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, R.O.C. ::
^ Gary Emma Helen Blair, James Alexander Robertson, Edward Gaylord Bourne (1907). The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803: explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the beginning of the nineteenthe century, Volume 52. The A.H. Clark Company. p. 86. http://books.google.com/books?id=_0kQAA ... se&f=false. Retrieved 2010-07-14. [sic]
^ Crying Ladies
^ WeddingsAtWork.com Publication: My Little Kan Chiu Book (2nd Edition)
^ Filipino Folk Beliefs FS
^ Articles - Philippine Kho Association
^ Leuphana Universität Lüneburg - INFU: Institut für Umweltkommunikation
^ http://www.apts.edu/jam/6-2/JUayan.pdf Uayan, Jean. (2004) Chap Chay Lo Mi: Disentangling the Chinese-Filipino Worldview. Journal of Asian Mission, 6(2), 183-194.
^ 菲律賓馬尼拉佛光山 I.B.P.S. Manila, Philippines
^ Daoism and Scientific Civilization
^ Neo-Confucian Philosophy [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
^ Memoirs of Aline: Feast of Ma-cho
^ http://www.apts.edu/jam/99-1/j-shao.pdf Shao, Joseph T. (1999) Heritage of the Chinese-Filipino Protestant Churches. Journal of Asian Mission, 1(1), 93-99.
^ Official Website of Hope Christian High School Alumni Association of America
^ i Report Edsa 20th Anniversary Special Issue | Teresita Ang See — 'We could not stay as bystanders'
^ Association Of Volunteer Fire Chiefs & Fire Fighter
^ Yuchengco Museum - Home
^ http://books.google.com/books?ei=GhU5TZ ... rch_anchor
^ a b Weightman, George H. (February 1960) The Philippine Chinese: A Cultural History of A Marginal Trading Company. Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Dissertation Information Service.
^ http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/bit ... 64.n10.pdf Wickberg, Edgar. (March 1964) The Chinese Mestizo in Philippine History. The Journal Southeast Asian History, 5(1), 62-100. Lawrence, Kansas: The University of Kansas, CEAS.
^ Chinese Exclusion Act: 1882
^ http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/hl/hl100564.htm Vanzi, Sol Jose. (29 June 2004) BALITANG BETERANO: FIL-CHINESE GUERRILLA IN WW2 IN RP. Manila: Philippine Headline News Online
^ http://192.38.121.218/issco5/documents/ ... er_000.doc Palanca, Ellen. (Jan. 1999) A Comparative Study of Chinese Education in the Philippines and Malaysia. Ateneo de Manila.
^ http://www.public-conversations.org.za/ ... son_12.pdf Anderson, Benedict. (1988) Cacique Democracy in the Philippines: Origins and Dreams.
^ http://books.google.com/books?id=lISGiG ... #PPA128,M1 Hau, Caroline S. (24 November 2003) "Who Will Save Us From The 'Law'?": The Criminal State and the Illegal Alien in Post-1986 Philippines. Figures of Criminality in Indonesia, the Philippines and Colonial Vietnam, 128-151. SEAP Publications. Ithaca, New York.
^ http://www.pcij.org/i-report/2007/chinese3.html Palanca, Carlos (11 July 2007). Beyond Binondo and Ma Ling. Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. Manila.
^ Tettoni, Luca Invernizzi and Sosrowardoyo, Tara. (1997). Filipino Style. Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd. Hong Kong, China.
^ Christians in Manila decry mall's Muslim prayer room | csmonitor.com
^ http://www2.chass.ncsu.edu/CIES/KeyesPaper.htm Keyes, Charles. (2003) Ethnicity and the Nation-State: Asian Perspectives. North Carolina State University CIES Spring 2003 Symposium: Contextualizing Ethnicity. North Carolina.
^ http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/be/be002894.htm Lee Flores, Wilson. (27 July 2004). The New Breed of RP Businessmen. Philippine Star. Manila.
^ http://www.asiapacific.ca/analysis/pubs ... siness.pdf Chen, Wenhong and Wellman, Barry. (2007 April). Doing Business at Home and Away, Policy Implications of Chinese-Canadian Entrepreneurship. Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. Vancouver, British Columbia.
^ http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/fortune20 ... 18p14n.pdf
^ Expats for Olympic Torchbearers
^ Metrobank Foundation, Inc. | Profile - Metrobank Foundation President
^ http://www.cfo.gov.ph/presidential/Roma ... g%20Go.htm 2000 Banaag Awardee, Commission on Filipinos Overseas.
^ Comme les Chinois » Regarde les Chinois : Robert Parungao

------------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Filipino

Ethnic Cantonese in Brunei

Total population
43,000 (2006) [1]
Regions with significant populations
Bandar Seri Begawan
Languages
Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew, Mandarin, Malay

Religion
Predominantly Buddhist, Taoist; minority Christian [2] and a small number of converts to Islam.[3]

Ethnic Chinese in Brunei form roughly 15% of Brunei's population. As of 1986, it was estimated that over 90% were unable to obtain Bruneian citizenship despite generations of residence in the country.[4]

Celebrities

Wu Zun, a prominent actor and singer.
References

^ "Brunei". The World Factbook. Langley, VA: Central Intelligence Agency. 2006. https://www.cia.gov/library/publication ... os/bx.html. Retrieved 2006-09-17. The total population of Brunei is estimated at 380,000, of whom 11.2% are of Chinese descent.
^ International Religious Freedom Report 2007 - Brunei
^ Islamic banking in Southeast Asia, By Mohamed Ariff, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, pg. 24
^ Limlingan, Victor Simpao (1986). The Overseas Chinese in ASEAN: Business Strategies and Management Practices. pp. 240–241.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_people_in_Brunei

Cantonese Indonesians I

Total population
> 2,400,000 Han Chinese (including those of ancestral descent)
Regions with significant populations
Jakarta, West Kalimantan, East Java, Riau, Central Java, West Java, Bangka–Belitung Islands, Banten
Languages
Indonesian, Mandarin, Min Nan (Hokkien and Teochew), Hakka, Cantonese, Xinghua, and other dialects

Religion
Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, and Hinduism

Related ethnic groups
Most trace their ancestry to the Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka, and Cantonese peoples of southern China.

Chinese Indonesians
Traditional Chinese 印尼華人
Simplified Chinese 印尼华人
[show]Transcriptions
alternative Chinese name
Chinese 印尼唐人

Cantonese Indonesians, also called the Indonesian Cantonese, are an overseas Cantonese group whose ancestors emigrated from China to Indonesia, formerly a colony of the Netherlands as the Dutch East Indies. Indonesia's 2000 census reported more than 2.4 million self identified ethnic Chinese citizens, or 1.2 percent of the country's population at the time. This figure is disputed because it is impossible to determine the exact number of Chinese Indonesians, most of the times because of fear from being identified as one in the years following anti-Chinese violence in 1998.

Maritime trade drove early migration patterns of the Chinese into the Malay Archipelago, in addition to the 1293 Mongol invasion of the island of Java and expeditions led by mariner Zheng He in the 15th century. When European explorers began arriving in Southeast Asia in the 16th and 17th centuries, they established ports of trade in the region and began interacting with Chinese traders and merchants who were already present. After the Dutch East India Company established Batavia (now the capital city of Jakarta) as its headquarters on Java in 1609, it became a hub of trade between China and India. In order to expand their colony, the Dutch contracted laborers from the Fujian and Guangdong regions of southern China. For the next 300 years members of the Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew, and Cantonese ethnic groups entered the Dutch East Indies as construction and plantation workers, miners, and artisans.

At the turn of the 20th century, nationalist movements began to emerge in both China and Indonesia. Fueled by the visit of Chinese revolutionary figure Sun Yat-sen to Southeast Asia in 1900, a Chinese nationalist movement oriented toward the homeland gained popularity. On the other hand, there were those who advocated for maintaining relations with the Dutch and those who fought for the right of Indonesia's self-determination. Coincidentally for the Chinese community, Dutch recognition of an independent Indonesia and the establishment of a communist People's Republic of China both occurred in 1949. Growing anti-communist sentiment in the following decades meant that the Chinese eventually became targets of the worst mass violence in Indonesian history in 1965–1966.

Development of Chinese society in Indonesia was based upon three main pillars: clan associations, ethnic media, and Chinese language schools.[1] Under the government of the New Order, which came into power in 1966–1967, these institutions were dismantled in favor of assimilation policies as a solution to the "Chinese Problem". Over the next three decades the government exploited Chinese economic aptitude to fund its development programs. A culture of corruption grew and became associated with the ethnic Chinese community, which had become dependent on law enforcement officials for protection against ethnic violence. Indonesia depended on Chinese business networks for economic support, prior to and following the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.

The ethnic Chinese are generally more urbanized than the indigenous pribumi population, though significant rural and agricultural communities also exist outside the main islands.[2] Emigrant communities emerged in more industrialized nations beginning in the second half of the 20th century. Among the overseas residents, their identities are noticeably more Indonesian than Chinese.[3]

[edit] Alternative names

Sociologist Mely G. Tan asserts that scholars studying ethnic Chinese emigrants often refer to the group as a "monolithic entity": the overseas Chinese.[4] Such treatment also persisted in Indonesia with a majority of the population referring to them as orang Cina, orang Tionghoa (both meaning "Chinese people"), or hoakiau (華僑).[Note 1] Ethnic Chinese in the 1930 Dutch East Indies census were categorized as foreign orientals, and registered separately from the indigenous population.[5] Current ethnographic literature describe them as Chinese Indonesians. They were previously described as the Indonesian Chinese, but there has been a shift in terminology as the old description emphasizes the group's Chinese origins, while the more recent one its Indonesian integration.[6] Aimee Dawis, citing prominent scholar Leo Suryadinata, believes the shift is "necessary to debunk the stereotype that they are an exclusive group" and also "promotes a sense of nationalism" among them".[7]

Other terms used for identifying sectors of the community include peranakan and totok. The former, used to describe those born locally, is derived from the root Indonesian word anak ("child") and thus means "child of the land". The latter is derived from Javanese and means "new" or "pure" to describe the foreign born and new immigrants.[8] There is also a significant number of Chinese Indonesians living in the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong who are considered part of the population of "returned overseas Chinese" (歸國華僑).[9] In order to identify Chinese Indonesians, Tan contends they must be separated by citizenship into those who are citizens of the host country and those who are resident aliens. They are further broken down by cultural orientation and social identification.[4]

[edit] History

See also: History of Indonesia

[edit] Early interactions

The first recorded movement of people from China into the Malay Archipelago was the arrival of Mongol forces under Kublai Khan that culminated in the invasion of Java in 1293. The Mongols introduced Chinese technology to the island, particularly shipbuilding and coinage. Their intervention also hastened the decline of the classical kingdoms and precipitated the rise of the Majapahit empire.[10] Some Chinese and Portuguese sources indicate that Chinese traders were the first to arrive on Ternate and Tidore in the Maluku Islands to buy cloves, but they were later driven out by Javanese traders as Majapahit expanded.[11]

Chinese Muslim traders from the eastern coast of China arrived at the coastal towns of Indonesia and Malaysia in the early 15th century. They were led by the mariner Zheng He, who led several expeditions to southeastern Asia between 1405 and 1430. In the book The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores (瀛涯勝覽), his translator Ma Huan documented the activities of the Chinese Muslims in the archipelago and the legacy left by Zheng He and his men.[12] These traders settled along the northern coast of Java, but there is no further documentation of their settlements beyond the 16th century. Scholars believe that the Chinese Muslims became absorbed into the majority Muslim population.[13] Between 1450 and 1520, the Ming Dynasty's interest in southeastern Asia reached a low point and trade, both legal and illegal, rarely reached the archipelago.[14] The Portuguese also made no mention of any resident Chinese minority population when they arrived in Indonesia in the early 16th century.[15] Trade from the north was re-established when China legalized private trade in 1567 and began licensing 50 junks a year. Several years later silver began flowing into the region, from Japan, Mexico, and Europe, and trade flourished once again. Distinct Chinese colonies emerged in hundreds of ports throughout southeastern Asia, including the pepper port of Banten.[14]

[edit] Colonial period (1600–1900)

By the time the Dutch arrived in the early 17th century, major Chinese settlements were already in existence along the northern coast of Java. Most were traders and merchants, but they also practiced agriculture in some inland areas. The Dutch contracted many of them as skilled artisans in the construction of Batavia on the northwestern coast of Java.[16] The new harbor was selected as the new headquarters of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) in 1609 by Jan Pieterszoon Coen. It soon grew into a major hub for trade with China and India. Batavia became home to the largest Chinese community in the archipelago and remains so today, though the city has been renamed as Jakarta.[17] Coen and other early Governors-Generals promoted the entry of Chinese immigrants to new settlements "for the benefit of those places and for the purpose of gathering spices like cloves, nutmeg, and mace".[18] The port's Chinese population of 300–400 in 1619 had grown to at least 10,000 by 1740.[19]

Most of those who settled in the archipelago had already severed their ties with the mainland and welcomed favorable treatment and protection under the Dutch.[20] Some became "revenue farmers", middlemen within the corporate structure of the VOC, tasked with collecting export–import duties, managing land sales, and managing the harvest of natural resources.[21] Following the 1740 Batavia massacre the Dutch attempted to place a quota on the number of Chinese who could enter the Indies. Amoy was designated as the only immigration port to the archipelago, and ships were limited to a specified number of crew and passengers depending on size. This quota was adjusted at times to meet demand for overseas workers, such as in July 1802 when sugar mills near Batavia were in need of workers.[22]

When the VOC was nationalized on 31 December 1799, the freedoms the Chinese experienced under the corporation were taken away by the Dutch government. Among them was the Chinese monopoly on the salt trade which had been granted by the VOC administration.[23] An 1816 regulation introduced a requirement for the indigenous population and Chinese traveling within the territory to obtain a travel permit. Those who did not carry a permit risked being arrested by security officers. The Governor-General also introduced a resolution in 1825 which forbade "foreign Asians" from living within the same neighborhood as the native population.[24] Following the costly Java War (1825–1830) the Dutch introduced a new agrarian and cultivation system that required farmers to "yield up a portion of their fields and cultivate crops suitable for the European market". Compulsory cultivation restored the economy of the colony, but ended the system of revenue farms established under the VOC.[25]

The Chinese were perceived as temporary residents and encountered difficulties in obtaining land rights. Europeans were prioritized in the choice of plantation areas, while colonial officials believed the remaining plots must be protected and preserved for the indigenous population. Short-term and renewable leases were later introduced as a temporary measure, but many Chinese remained on these lands upon expiration of their contracts and became squatters.[26] In the second half of the 19th century the colonial government began experimenting with the idea of an "Ethical Policy" to protect the indigenous population, casting the Chinese as the "foremost enemy of the state". Under the new policy the administration increased restrictions on Chinese economic activities, which they believed exploited the native population.[27]

Chinese settlement in the archipelago was not limited to Java. In West Borneo the Chinese established their first major mining settlement in 1760 and ousted Dutch settlers and the local Malay princes, including establishing their own republic. By 1819 they came into conflict with the new Dutch government and were seen as "incompatible" with its objectives. On the other hand, the local government considered the Chinese population indispensable for the development of the region.[28] The Bangka–Belitung Islands also became examples of major settlements in rural areas. Although only 28 Chinese were recorded on the islands in 1851, the population had risen to nearly 40,000 in 1915 with robust fishing and tobacco industries. Coolies brought into the region after the end of the 19th century were mostly hired from the Straits Settlements due to recruiting obstacles that existed in China.[29]

[edit] Divided nationalism (1900–1949)

The Chinese revolutionary figure Sun Yat-sen visited southeast Asia in 1900[30] and later that year the socio-religious organization Tiong Hoa Hwe Koan (中華會館), also known as the Chinese Association, was founded. Their goal was to urge ethnic Chinese in the Indies to support the revolutionary movement in China. In its effort to build Chinese-speaking schools the association argued that the teaching of English and Chinese languages should be prioritized over Dutch, in order to provide themselves with the means of taking "a two or three-day voyage (Java–Singapore) into a wider world where they can move freely" and overcome restrictions of their activities.[31] Several years later the Dutch authorities abandoned its segregation policies, abolished travel permits for the ethnic Chinese, and allowed them to freely move throughout the colony. The 1911 Xinhai Revolution and the 1912 founding of the Republic of China coincided with a growing Chinese-nationalist movement within the Indies.[30]

Until 1908 there was no recognizable nationalist movement among the indigenous population; however, Dutch authorities feared that nationalist sentiments would spread with the growth of ethnically mixed associations, known as kongsi. In 1911 some Javanese members of the Kong Sing association in Surakarta broke away and clashed with the ethnic Chinese. This incident led to the creation of Sarekat Islam, the first organized popular nationalist movement in the Indies. Indigenous groups saw the Chinese nationalist sentiment as "haughty" which led to antagonism between the two sides.[32] The anti-Chinese sentiment spread throughout Java in 1918 and led to mass violence being carried out by members of Sarekat Islam on the ethnic Chinese in Kudus.[33] Following this incident the left-wing Chinese nationalist daily Sin Po called on both sides to work together to improve living conditions because it viewed most ethnic Chinese, like most of the indigenous population, as poor.[34]

Sin Po first went into print in 1910 and began gaining momentum as the leading advocate of Chinese political nationalism in 1917. The ethnic Chinese who followed its stream of thought refused any involvement with local institutions and would only participate in politics relating to mainland China.[36] A second stream was later formed by wealthy ethnic Chinese who were Dutch-educated. This Dutch-oriented group wished for increased participation in local politics, Dutch education for the ethnic Chinese, and the furthering of ethnic Chinese economic standing within the colonial economy. Championed by the Volksraad's sole ethnic Chinese representative Kan Hok Hoei, this movement gained momentum and reached its peak with the Chung Hwa Congress of 1927 and the formation of the Chung Hwa Hui party in 1928, which elected Kan as its president. Sin Po was also criticized by the editor-in-chief of the Madjallah Panorama news magazine for misguiding the ethnic Chinese by pressuring them into a Chinese-nationalist stance.[37]

In 1932 pro-Indonesian counterparts founded the Partai Tionghoa Indonesia to support absorption of the ethnic Chinese into the Javanese population and support the call for self-government of Indonesia. Members of this group were primarily peranakan.[38] These divisions continued into the period of Japanese occupation (1942–1945).[39] Under the occupation ethnic Chinese communities were attacked by Japanese forces, in part because of a suspicion that they contained sympathizers of the Kuomintang as a consequence of the Second Sino-Japanese War. When the Dutch returned, following the end of World War II, the chaos caused by advancing forces and retreating revolutionaries also saw radical Muslim groups attack ethnic Chinese communities.[33]

Although revolutionary leaders were sympathetic toward the ethnic Chinese, they were unable to stop the sporadic violence. Those who were affected fled from the rural areas to Dutch controlled cities, a move many Indonesians saw as proof of pro-Dutch sentiments.[40] There was evidence, however, that Chinese Indonesians were represented and participated in independence efforts. Four members of the Committee for the Investigation of the Preparation for Indonesian Independence (Badan Penyelidik Usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia, BPUPKI) and one member on the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence (Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia, PPKI) had names that were clearly Chinese.[41]

[edit] Loyalty in question (1950–1966)

The Netherlands relinquished its territorial claims in the archipelago (with the exception of West Papua) following the 1949 Round Table Conference, which is the same year that the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, allowing the Communist Party of China to take control of mainland China. Most Chinese Indonesians considered a communist China less attractive than a newly independent Indonesia, but their loyalties were questioned. Ethnic Chinese born in the Dutch East Indies whose parents were domiciled under Dutch administration were regarded as citizens of the new state according to the principle of jus soli, or "right of the soil".[40] However, Chinese law considered a person as a Chinese citizen according to the principle of jus sanguinis, or right of blood. This meant that all Indonesian citizens of Chinese descent were also claimed as citizens by the People's Republic of China. After several attempts by both governments to resolve this issue, Indonesia and China signed a Dual Nationality Treaty on the sidelines of the 1955 Asian–African Conference in Bandung. One of its provisions was the ability to renounce Chinese citizenship for those who wished to solely remain Indonesian citizens.[42]

As many as 390,000 ethnic Chinese, two-thirds of those with rightful claims to Indonesian citizenship, renounced their Chinese status when the treaty came into effect in 1962.[42] On the other hand, an estimated 60,000 ethnic Chinese students left for the People's Republic of China in the 1950s and early 1960s.[44] The first wave of students were almost entirely educated in Chinese-language schools, but were not able to find opportunities for tertiary education in Indonesia. Seeking high quality scientific professions, they entered China with high hopes for their future and that of the mainland.[43] Subsequent migrations occurred in 1960 as part of a repatriation program and in 1965–1966 following a series of anti-communist violence that also drew anger toward the ethnic Chinese. As many as 80 percent of the original students who entered the mainland eventually became refugees in Hong Kong.[44] Under the programs of China's Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), the returned overseas Chinese were questioned for their loyalty and targeted because of their foreign connections.[9] As most had grown up in an urban environment they were sent to the countryside, told to "rebel against their own class background", and eventually lost contact with their families.[45] They were attacked as "imperialists", "capitalists", "spies", "half-breeds", and "foreign devils".[43]

In 1959, following the introduction of soft-authoritarian rule through Guided Democracy, the Indonesian government and military began placing restrictions on alien residence and trade. These regulations culminated in the enactment of Presidential Regulation 10 in November 1959, banning retail services by non-indigenous persons in rural areas. Ethnic Chinese, Arab, and Dutch businessmen were specifically targeted during its enforcement in order to provide a more favorable market for indigenous businesses.[47] This move was met with protests from the Chinese government and some circles of Indonesian society. Javanese writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer later criticized the policies in his 1961 book Hoakiau di Indonesia. An integrationist movement, led by the Chinese Indonesian political party Baperki (Badan Permusjawaratan Kewarganegaraan Indonesia), began to gather interest in 1963, including that of President Sukarno. However, a series of attacks on ethnic Chinese communities in West Java in May proved it to be short-lived, despite the government's condemnation of the violence.[48] When Baperki was branded a communist in 1965 the ethnic Chinese were implicated by association. As many as 500,000 people people died in the anti-communist massacres of 1965–1966, the single most bloody event of violence in Indonesia's history.[49]

[edit] Managing the "Chinese Problem" (1967–1998)

See also: Legislation on Chinese Indonesians

When the New Order government of General Suharto came into power in 1966–1967, it introduced a political system based only on the Pancasila (five principles) ideology and suppressed "a sharpening of opinions that can result in dissension".[citation needed] In order to prevent the ideological battles that occurred during Sukarno's presidency from resurfacing, Suharto's "Pancasila democracy" sought a depoliticized system where discussions of forming a cohesive ethnic Chinese identity was no longer allowed.[50] A government committee was formed in 1967 to examine various aspects of the "Chinese Problem" (Masalah Cina) and agreed that forced emigration of whole communities was not a solution: "The challenge was to take advantage of their economic aptitude whilst eliminating their perceived economic dominance."[51] The semi-governmental Institute for the Promotion of National Unity (Lembaga Pembina Kesatuan Bangsa, LPKB) was formed to advise the government on facilitating assimilation of Chinese Indonesians. This process was done through highlighting the differences between the ethnic Chinese and the indigenous pribumi, rather than seeking similarities. Expressions of Chinese culture through language, religion, and traditional festivals were banned and the ethnic Chinese were encouraged to adopt Indonesian-sounding names.[52]

During the 1970s and 1980s Suharto and his government brought in Chinese Indonesian businesses to participate in the economic development programs of the New Order, while keeping them highly vulnerable in order to strengthen the central authority and restrict political freedoms. Patron-client relationships, mainly through the exchange of money for security, became an accepted norm among the ethnic Chinese as they maintained a social contract through which they could claim a sense of belonging in the country. A minority of the economic elite of Indonesian society, who may or may not be ethnic Chinese, secured relationships with Suharto's family members and members of the military for protection, while small business owners relied on local law enforcement officials for protection.[52] Stereotypes of the wealthy minority became accepted as generalized facts, but they failed to acknowledge that these businessmen are small in number compared to the small traders and shop owners. In a 1989 interview conducted by scholar Adam Schwarz for his book A Nation in Waiting: Indonesia's Search for Stability, an interviewee stated that, "to most Indonesians, the word 'Chinese' is synonymous with corruption".[53] The economic role of the ethnic Chinese was contradictory because it did not translate to acceptance of their status in the greater society. They were politically weak and often faced social harassment.[54]

Anti-Chinese sentiment gathered intensity through the 1990s and major riots broke out in Situbondo (October 1996), Tasikmalaya (December 1996), and Rengasdengklok (January 1997). President Suharto had gathered the most powerful businessmen—mostly Chinese Indonesians—in a nationally televised 1990 meeting at his private ranch, calling on them to contribute 25 percent of their shares to cooperatives. Commentators described the spectacle as "good theatre", as it only served to reinforce resentment and suspicion of the ethnic Chinese among the indigenous population.[55]

When Suharto entered his seventh term as president, following an uncontested election on 10 March 1998, Indonesian students began a series of major demonstrations in protest of the New Order regime which contined for weeks and culminated in the shootings of four students by security forces at Trisakti University in May.[56] The incident sparked major violence in Jakarta, Solo, Surabaya, Lampung, and Palembang during 12–15 May. Property and businesses owned by Chinese Indonesians were targeted by mobs and over 100 women were sexually assaulted. In the absence of security forces, large groups of men, women, and children looted and burned the numerous shopping malls in major cities. In Jakarta and Solo over 1,000 people died inside their shopping malls.[57] Tens of thousands of ethnic Chinese fled the country following these events[58] and bankers estimated that US$20 billion of capital had left the country in 1997–1999 to destinations such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United States.[59]

[edit] Social policy reforms (1999–present)

Suharto unexpectedly resigned on 21 May 1998, one week after he returned from a Group of 15 meeting in Cairo following the riots.[61] The reform government formed by his successor Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie began a campaign to rebuild the confidence of Chinese Indonesians who had fled the country, particularly businessmen. Along with one of his envoys James Riady, son of financial magnate Mochtar Riady, Habibie appealed to Chinese Indonesians seeking refuge throughout East Asia, Australia, and North America to return and promised security from various government ministries as well as other political figures, such as Abdurrahman Wahid and Amien Rais. Despite Habibie's efforts he was met with skepticism because of remarks he made, as Vice President and later as President, which suggested that the message was insincere.[62] One special envoy described Chinese Indonesians as the key to restoring "badly needed" capital and economic activity, prioritizing businessmen as the target of their pleas. Others, including economist Kwik Kian Gie, saw the government's efforts as perpetuating the myth of Chinese economic domination rather than affirming the ethnic Chinese identity.[63]

Symbolic reforms to Chinese Indonesian rights under Habibie's administration were made through two Presidential Instructions. The first abolished the use of the terms "pribumi" and "non-pribumi" in official government documents and business. The second abolished the ban on the study of Mandarin Chinese and reaffirmed a 1996 instruction which abolished the use of the Indonesian Citizenship Certificate (Surat Bukti Kewarganegaraan Republik Indonesia, SKBRI) to identify citizens of Chinese descent. Habibie established a task force to investigate the May 1998 violence, although his government later dismissed its findings.[64] As an additional legal gesture Indonesia ratified the 1965 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination on 25 May 1999.[65] In 2000 the newly elected President Wahid abolished the ban on public displays of Chinese culture and allowed Chinese traditions to be practised freely, without the need of a permit. Two years later President Megawati Sukarnoputri declared that the Chinese New Year (Imlek) would be marked as a national holiday from 2003.[66] In addition to Habibie's directive on the term "pribumi", the legislature passed a new citizenship law in 2006 defining the word asli ("indigenous") in the Constitution as a natural born person, allowing Chinese Indonesians to be eligible to run for president. The law further stipulates that children of foreigners born in Indonesia are eligible to apply for Indonesian citizenship.[67]

[edit] Origins

See also: Chinese emigration

Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago almost entirely originated from ethnic Han groups of what are now the Fujian and Guangdong provinces in southern China, known for their regional diversity.[68] The Han Chinese form the largest ethnic group in the world with large numbers living in Southeast Asia.[69] Nearly all Chinese Indonesians are either patrilineal descendants of these early immigrants, or new immigrants born in mainland China.[70]

As the first group of Chinese people to settle in large numbers, the Hokkien of southern Fujian became the dominant immigrant group until the middle of the 19th century. Their maritime-mercantile culture comes from their trade occupations whilst in Indonesia. Descendants of Hokkiens are the dominant group in eastern Indonesia, Central and East Java, and the western coast of Sumatra. Teochews, southern neighbors of the Hokkien, are found throughout the eastern coast of Sumatra, in the Riau Archipelago, and in western Borneo. They were preferred as plantation laborers in Sumatra but have become traders in regions where the Hokkien are not well represented.[71]

The Hakka, unlike the Hokkien and the Teochew, originate from the mountainous inland regions of Guangdong and do not have a maritime culture.[71] Due to the unproductive terrain of their home region, the Hakka emigrated out of economic necessity in several waves from 1850 to 1930 and were the poorest of the Chinese immigrant groups. Although they initially populated the mining centers of western Borneo and Bangka Island, Hakkas became attracted to the rapid growth of Batavia (now Jakarta) and West Java in the late 19th century.[72]

Cantonese people, like the Hakka, were well known throughout Southeast Asia as mineworkers. Their migration in the 19th century was largely directed toward the tin mines of Bangka, off the east coast of Sumatra. Notable traditionally as skilled artisans, the Cantonese benefited from close contact with Europeans in Guangdong and Hong Kong by learning about machinery and industrial success. They migrated to Java about the same time as the Hakka, but for different reasons. In Indonesia's cities they became artisans, machine workers, and owners of small businesses such as restaurants and hotel-keeping services. The Cantonese are evenly dispersed throughout the archipelago and number far less than the Hokkien or the Hakka. Consequently their roles are of secondary importance in the Chinese communities.[72]

[edit] Demographics

See also: Demographics of Indonesia

Indonesia's 2000 census reported 2,411,503 citizens (1.20 percent of the total population) as ethnic Chinese.[Note 2] An additional 93,717 (0.05 percent) ethnic Chinese were reported as foreign citizens, mostly those of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China, who may not be able to pay the cost of becoming an Indonesian citizen.[73] Because the census employed the method of self-identification, those who refused to identify themselves as ethnic Chinese, or had assumed the identity of other ethnic groups, were recorded as non-Chinese.[1] It is also likely that some did not identify themselves for fear of repercussions in the wake of anti-Chinese violence in 1998.[74] According to data collected from the 2005 Intercensal Population Survey, the population slightly decreased to an estimated 2.31 million. The decline was attributed to falling fertility rates, an outflow of Chinese Indonesians to foreign countries, a growing segment of the population who did not consider themselves as ethnic Chinese, and possible underestimation because the data set was collected as a survey rather than a formal census.[75]

Prior estimates on the exact number of Chinese Indonesians relied on the 1930 Dutch East Indies census, which collected direct information on ethnicity.[76] This census reported 1.23 million self-identified ethnic Chinese living in the colony, representing 2.03 percent of the total population, and was perceived to be an accurate account of the group's population.[5] Ethnic information would not be collected again until the 2000 census and so was deduced from other census data, such as language spoken and religious affiliation, during the intermediate years.[77] In an early survey of the Chinese Indonesian minority, anthropologist G. William Skinner estimated that between 2.3 million (2.4 percent) and 2.6 million (2.7 percent) lived in Indonesia in 1961.[70] Former foreign minister Adam Malik provided a figure of 5 million in a report published in the Harian Indonesia daily in 1973.[78] Many media and academic sources subsequently estimated between 4 and 5 percent of the total population as ethnic Chinese regardless of the year.[77] Estimates within the past decade placed the figure between 6 and 7 million,[79] and the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission of the Republic of China estimated a population as high as 7.67 million in 2006.[80]

Approximately one-fifth of Chinese Indonesians lived in the capital city of Jakarta, located on the island of Java. When the island's other provinces—Banten, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, and East Java—are included, this population accounted for nearly half (45.92 percent) of all Chinese Indonesians.[81] Outside of Java, the provinces of West Kalimantan, North Sumatra, Riau, the Bangka–Belitung Islands, and South Sumatra accounted for an additional 45.16 percent of the population. The Bangka–Belitung Islands had the highest local concentration of ethnic Chinese (11.75 percent of the province's population), followed by West Kalimantan (9.62 percent), Jakarta (5.83 percent), Riau (4.11 percent), and North Sumatra (3.07 percent). In each of the remaining provinces, Chinese Indonesians account for 1 percent or less of the provincial population.[82] Most Chinese Indonesians in North Sumatra lived in the provincial capital of Medan, but they constituted only a small percentage because of the relatively large population of the province.[81] Bangka–Belitung, West Kalimantan, and Riau are grouped around the hub of ethnic Chinese economic activity in Singapore and, with the exception of Bangka–Belitung, these settlements existed long before Singapore's founding in 1819.[83]

The ethnic Chinese population grew by an average of 4.3 percent annually between 1920 and 1930. It then slowed due to the effects of the Great Depression and many areas experienced a net emigration. Falling growth rates were also attributed to a significant decrease in the number of Chinese immigrants admitted into Indonesia since the 1950s.[76] The population is relatively old according to the 2000 census, having the lowest percentage of population under 14 years old nationwide and the second largest percentage of population over 65. Their population pyramid had a narrow base with a rapid increase until the 15–19 age group, indicating a rapid decline in total fertility rates. This was evidenced by a decline in the absolute number of births since 1980. In Jakarta and West Java the population peak occurred in the 20–24 age group, indicating that the decline in fertility rates began as early as 1975. The upper portion of the pyramid exhibited a smooth decline with increasing population age.[84] It is estimated that 60.7 percent of the Chinese Indonesian population in 2000 constitute the generation which experienced political and social pressures under the New Order government. With a life expectancy of 75 years, those born prior to this regime change will completely disappear by 2032.[85]

[edit] Emigrant communities

Main article: Overseas Indonesian
New migrants began moving from Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries to more industrialized regions around the world in the second half of the 20th century. Although these migrants possess a Chinese heritage, they often were not identified as such.[86] There have been several independent estimates made on the Chinese Indonesian population living in other countries. James Jupp's The Australian People encyclopedia estimated that half of over 30,000 Indonesians living in Australia in the late 1990s are ethnic Chinese, and they have since merged with other Chinese communities.[87] In New Zealand, many migrants reside in the suburbs of Auckland after some 1,500 sought asylum from the 1998 upheaval, of which two-thirds were granted residency.[88] Australian scholar Charles Coppel believes they also constitute a large majority of returned overseas Chinese living in Hong Kong. Though it is impossible to accurately count this number, news sources provided estimates ranging from 100,000 to 150,000.[89] Of the 57,000 Indonesians living in the United States in 2000, one-third were estimated to be ethnic Chinese.[90] Locally knowledgeable migrants in Southern California estimate that 60 percent of Indonesian Americans living in the area are of Chinese descent. Their families usually resided in Indonesia for several generations and may have intermarried with "pribumi".[91] In Canada, only a minority of the emigrant Chinese Indonesian community speak a Chinese dialect. Although families are interested in rediscovering their ethnic traditions, the Canadian-born children are often reluctant to learn either Indonesian or Chinese languages.[92]

[edit] Society

It may be stated as a general rule that if a given area of Indonesia was settled by Chinese in appreciable numbers prior to this century, Chinese society there is in some degree dichotomous today. In one sector of the society, adults as well as children are Indonesia-born, the orientation toward China is attenuated, and the influence of the individual culture is apparent. In the other sector of the society, the population consists of twentieth-century immigrants and their immediate descendants, who are less acculturated and more strongly oriented toward China. The significance and pervasiveness of the social line between the two sectors varies from one part of Indonesia to another.
—G. William Skinner, "The Chinese Minority", Indonesia[93]
Scholars studying Chinese Indonesians often distinguish members of the group according to their racial and sociocultural background: the "totok" and the "peranakan". The two terms were initially used to racially distinguish the pure-blooded Chinese from those with mixed ancestry. A secondary meaning to the terms later arose that meant the "totok" were born in China, and anyone born in Indonesia is considered "peranakan".[Note 3] Segmentation within "totok" communities occurs through division in speech groups, a pattern that has become less apparent since the turn of the 20th century. Among the indigenized "peranakan" segmentation occurs through social class, which is graded according to education and family standing rather than wealth.[94]

[edit] Gender and kinship

Kinship structure in the "totok" community follows the patrilineal, patrilocal, and patriarchal traditions of Chinese society, a practice which has lost emphasis in "peranakan" familial relationships. Instead, kinship patterns in indigenized families incorporated elements of matrilocal, matrilineal, and matrifocal traditions found in Javanese society. Within this community, both sons and daughters can inherit the family fortune, including ancestral tablets and ashes.[96] Political, social, and economic authority in "peranakan" families is more evenly distributed between the two genders than in "totok" families. Kin terms do not distinguish between maternal and paternal relatives, and polygyny is strongly frowned upon. Western influence in "peranakan" society is evidenced by the high proportion of childless couples. Those who did have children also had fewer of them than "totok" couples.[97]

Despite their break from traditional kinship patterns, "peranakan" families are closer to some traditional Chinese values than the "totok". Because the indigenized population have lost much of the connection to their ancestral homes in the coastal provinces of China, they are less affected by the modernization patterns of the 20th century which has transformed the region. The "peranakan" have a stricter attitude toward divorce, though the separation rates among families in both segments are generally lower than other ethnic groups. Arranged marriages are more common in "peranakan" families, whose relationships tend to be more nepotistic. Secularization among the "totok" meant that their counterparts carry out ancestral rituals to a higher degree, and "peranakan" youth tend to be more religious. Through education provided by high quality Catholic and Protestant schools, these youth are much more likely to convert to Christianity.[98]

In the 21st century the conceptual differences of the two groups have become dated and do not sufficiently describe the development of ethnic Chinese communities.[99] Interracial marriage and cultural assimilation often prevent the formation a precise definition of Chinese Indonesians in line with any simple racial criterion. Use of a Chinese surname, in some form or circumstance, is generally a sign of cultural self-identification as ethnic Chinese or alignment with a Chinese social system.[70]

[edit] Economic aptitude

See also: Economy of Indonesia

Members of the "totok" community are more inclined to be entrepreneurs and adhere to the practice of "guanxi", which is based on the idea that one's existence is influenced by the connection to others, implying the importance of business connections.[100] In the first decade following Indonesian independence, their business standing strengthened after being limited only to small businesses in the colonial period. By the 1950s virtually all retail stores in Indonesia were owned by ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs, whose businesses ranged from selling groceries to construction material. Discontentment soon grew among indigenous merchants who felt they could not compete with ethnic Chinese businesses.[101] Under pressure from indigenous merchants the government enacted the Benteng program and Presidential Regulation 10 of 1959, which imposed restrictions on ethnic Chinese importers and rural retailers. Ethnic Chinese businesses persisted, due to their integration into larger networks throughout Southeast Asia, and their dominance continued despite continuous state and private efforts to encourage the growth of indigenous capital.[102]

Government policies shifted dramatically after 1965 and became more favorable toward economic expansion. In an effort to rehabilitate the economy, the government turned to those possessing the capability to invest and expand corporate activity. Ethnic Chinese capitalists, called the cukong, were strengthened by the military, which emerged as the dominant political force after 1965.[102] Indigenous businessmen once again demanded greater investment support from the government in the 1970s, but each legislation fell short of reducing ethnic Chinese dominance.[103] In a 1995 study published by the East Asia Analytical Unit of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, approximately 73 percent of the market capitalization value of public listed companies (excluding foreign and state-owned companies) were owned by Chinese Indonesians. Additionally, they owned 68 percent of the top 300 conglomerates and nine of the top ten private sector groups at the end of 1993.[104] This figure propagated the general belief that ethnic Chinese—then estimated at 3 percent of the population—controlled 70 percent of the economy.[105][106][107] Amid disputes surrounding the accuracy of this figure, it was evident that a wealth disparity existed along ethnic boundaries. The image of an economically powerful ethnic Chinese community was further fostered by the government through its inability to dissociate itself from the patronage networks.[108] The Hokchia group dominated the ethnic Chinese business scene during the Suharto government, with other groups emerging after 1998.[46]

The top five conglomerates in Indonesia prior to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis—the Salim Group, Astra International, the Sinar Mas Group, Gudang Garam, and the Lippo Group—were all owned by ethnic Chinese, with annual sales totaling Rp112 trillion (US$ 47 billion).[110] When the crisis finally hit the country, the rupiah's plunge severely disrupted corporate operations. Numerous conglomerates collapsed after losing a majority of their assets. Over the next several years, other conglomerates struggled to repay international and domestic debts.[111] Reforms introduced following 1998 were meant to steer the economy away from oligarchic arrangements established under the New Order;[112] however, plans for reform proved too optimistic. When President B. J. Habibie announced in a 19 July 1998 interview with The Washington Post that Indonesia was not dependent on ethnic Chinese businessmen, the rupiah's value plunged 5 percent.[Note 4] This unexpected reaction prompted immediate changes in policies, and Habibie soon began enticing conglomerates for their support in the reform plans.[113] Most were initially fearful of democratization, but the process of social demarginalization meant that the ethnic Chinese were regarded as equal members of society for the first time in the nation's history.[114][115] Increased regional autonomy allowed surviving conglomerates to explore new opportunities in the outer provinces, and economic reforms created a freer market.[116]

[edit] Political activity

Between the 18th and early 20th centuries, ethnic Chinese communities were dominated by the "peranakan" presence.[117] This period was followed by the growth of "totok" society. As part of a resinicization effort by the indigenized ethnic Chinese community, a new pan-Chinese movement emerged with the goal of seeking a unified Chinese political identity. The movement later split in the 1920s when "peranakan" elites resisted the leadership of the "totok" in the nationalist movement, and the two groups developed their own objectives.[118] When it became apparent that unification was being achieved on "totok" terms, "peranakan" leaders chose to align their community with the Dutch, who had abandoned the segregation policies in 1908. The two communities once again found common ground in opposition against the invading Japanese when the occupying forces treated all Chinese groups with contempt.[119]

The issue of nationality, following independence, politicized the ethnic Chinese and led to the formation of Baperki in 1954, as the first and largest Chinese Indonesian political party or mass organization. Baperki and its majority "peranakan" membership led the opposition against a draft law which would have restricted the number of ethnic Chinese who could gain Indonesian citizenship. This movement was met by the Islamic Masyumi Party in 1956 when it called for the implementation of affirmative action for indigenous businesses.[42] During the 1955 legislative election, Baperki received 178,887 votes and gained a seat on the People's Representative Council (DPR). Later that year two Baperki candidates were also elected to the Constitutional Assembly.[120]

Ethnic-based political parties were banned under the government of President Suharto, leaving only the three indigenous-dominated parties of Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP), and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). The depoliticizing of Indonesian society confined ethnic Chinese activities to the economic sector. Chinese Indonesian critics of the regime were mostly "peranakan" and projected themselves as Indonesians, leaving the ethnic Chinese with no leaders to represent them.[120] On the eve of the 1999 legislative election, after Suharto's resignation, the news magazine Tempo conducted a survey of likely Chinese Indonesian voters on their political party of choice for the election. Although respondents were able to choose more than one party, 70 percent favored the Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle (PDI–P), whose image of a nationalist party was considered favorable toward the ethnic Chinese. The party also benefited from the presence of economist Kwik Kian Gie, who was well respected by both ethnic Chinese and non-ethnic-Chinese voters.[121]

New ethnic political parties such as the Chinese Indonesian Reform Party (Partai Reformasi Tionghoa Indonesia, PARTI) and the Indonesian Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Party (Partai Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Indonesia, PBI) failed to garner much support in the 1999 election. Despite this result the number of Chinese Indonesian candidates standing in national election increased from fewer than 50 in 1999 to almost 150 in 2004.[122] Of the 58 candidates of Chinese descent who ran for office as representatives from Jakarta in the 2009 legislative election, two won seats.[123]

----------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Indonesian

Cantonese Indonesians II

[edit] Culture

[edit] Language

Three major Chinese speech groups are represented in Indonesia: Hokkien, Hakka, and Cantonese. In addition to these, the Teochew speak a dialect that is mutually intelligible with Hokkien. Distinctions between the two, however, are accentuated outside of their regions of origin.[71] There were an estimated 2 million speakers of various Chinese dialects in 1982: 700,000 speakers of the Min Nan language family (including Hokkien and the Teochew dialect); 640,000 Hakka speakers; 460,000 Mandarin speakers; 180,000 Cantonese speakers; and 20,000 speakers of the Min Dong language family (including Xinghua). Additionally, an estimated 20,000 spoke varieties of the Indonesian language.[124]

Many Indonesians, including the ethnic Chinese, believe in the existence of a dialect of Malay language, Chinese Malay, known locally as Melayu Tionghoa or Melayu Cina. The growth of "peranakan" literature in the second half of the 19th century gave rise to such a variant, popularized through silat ("martial arts") stories translated from Chinese or written in Malay and Indonesian. However, scholars argue it is different from the mixture of spoken Javanese and Malay that is perceived to be "spoken exclusively by ethnic Chinese".[Note 5]

[E]xcept for a few loan words from Chinese, nothing about 'Chinese Malay' is uniquely Chinese. The language was simply low, bazaar Malay, the common tongue of Java's streets and markets, especially of its cities, spoken by all ethnic groups in the urban and multi-ethnic environment. Because Chinese were a dominant element in the cities and markets, the language was associated with them, but government officials, Eurasians, migrant traders, or people from different language areas, all resorted to this form of Malay to communicate.
—Mary Somers Heidhues, The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas[125]
Academic literature discussing Chinese Malay commonly note that ethnic Chinese do not speak the same dialect of Malay throughout the archipelago.[126] Furthermore, although the Dutch colonial government first introduced the Malay orthography in 1901, Chinese newspapers did not follow this standard until after independence.[127] Because of these factors, the ethnic Chinese play a "significant role" in the development of the modern Indonesian language as the largest group during the colonial period to communicate in a variety of Malay dialects.[128]

[edit] Literature

Soe Hok Gie was a prolific writer whose material opposed the successive dictatorships of Presidents Sukarno and Suharto from an Indonesian Chinese point of view. Although never publishing his works himself, his articles were compiled by Stanley and Aris Santoso and republished with the title Zaman Peralihan (Transition Era) by GagasMedia. His diary was published in 1983 under the title Catatan Seorang Demonstran ("Annotations of a Demonstrator"). Soe's university thesis was also published, as Di Bawah Lantera Merah ("Under the Red Lantern"). Soe is also the subject of a 1997 book written by Dr John Maxwell and entitled Soe Hok-Gie: Diary of a Young Indonesian Intellectual.

Ong Hok Ham is another Chinese Indonesian writer, and a Chinese Indonesian historian. Wahyu yang Hilang, Negeri yang Guncang ("A Lost Mandate, an Agitated Country") was published in 2002. Other works include: Runtuhnya Hindia Belanda ("The Fall of the Netherlands Indies"), Negara dan Rakyat ("The State and the People"), and Dari Soal Priayi sampai Nyi Blorong—Refleksi Historis Nusantara ("From Priayi to Nyi Blorong—Historical Reflections on the Indonesian Archipelago"). An English-language collection of his writings, The Thugs, the Curtain Thief, and the Sugar Lord, was published in 2003. The book chronicled power, politics and culture in colonial Java.

Kho Ping Hoo or Asmaraman Sukowati Kho Ping Hoo Chinese: 許平和; pinyin: Xǔ Pínghé) is an Indonesian author of Chinese ethnicity. He is well-known in Indonesia for his martial arts fiction set in a background of China or Java. During his 30 year career at least 120 stories have been published, according to Leo Suryadinata.[citation needed] However, Forum magazine claimed Kho Ping Hoo had written at least 400 stories with the background of China, and 50 stories with the background of Java.[citation needed]

[edit] Religion

See also: Religion in Indonesia

The Ministry of Religious Affairs grants official status to six religions: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism.[129] Scholarly work devoted to the religious life of the ethnic Chinese of Southeast Asia is largely absent. The 1977 French book Les Chinois de Jakarta: Temples et V́ie Collective on temples in Jakarta is the only major study to assess ethnic Chinese religious life in Indonesia.[130]

According to the 2000 census data, almost 90 percent of Chinese Indonesians were Buddhist or Christian (Catholic and Protestant). Buddhists accounted for 53.82 percent of the Chinese Indonesian population, and Christians accounted for 35.09 percent.[131] Conversion from the "Chinese religion" to Christianity often occurs in the younger generations. It is not uncommon to find families with Christian children where their parents still adhere to the traditional religion.[132] The first wave of conversions occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, in response to intolerance of Chinese culture, and the number of ethnic Chinese Catholics during this period increased by more than 400 percent. The second wave followed after the government withdrew Confucianism's status as a recognized religion in the 1970s. It was estimated in 2006 that 70 percent of the ethnic Chinese population was Christian with active proselytism from international churches.[133]

In a country where nearly 90 percent of the population are Muslims, the ethnic Chinese Muslims form a small minority of the ethnic Chinese population. The 2000 census counted 5.41 percent of Chinese Indonesians were followers of Islam.[131] Associations such as the Organization of Chinese Muslims of Indonesia (Persatuan Islam Tionghoa Indonesia, PITI) had been in existence in the late 19th century. It was re-established in 1963 as a modern organization, but occasionally experienced periods of inactivity. PITI would later build the Muhammad Cheng Hoo Mosque in Surabaya.[134] Confucians were included in the category of other religions in 2000 and accounted for 3.91 percent of the Chinese Indonesian population.[131] The Supreme Council for Confucian Religion in Indonesia (Majelis Tinggi Agama Khonghucu Indonesia, MATAKIN) estimated that 95 percent of Confucians are ethnic Chinese.[129] Although the government has restored Confucianism's status as a recognized religion, many local authorities do not abide by it and have refused to allow ethnic Chinese from listing it as a religion on their identity cards.[135]

[edit] Architecture

See also: Chinese architecture and Indonesian architecture

Various forms of Chinese architecture exist throughout Indonesia with marked differences between urban and rural areas and among the different islands.[136] Architectural developments by the Chinese in Southeast Asia differ from those in mainland China. By blending local and European (Dutch) design patterns, numerous variations of fusion styles emerged.[137] Chinese architecture in Indonesia manifested in three forms: religious temples, study halls, and houses.[136] Cities during the colonial period were divided into three racial districts: European, oriental (Chinese, Arabs, and other Asians), and indigenous. There were usually no physical boundaries among the zones, except for rivers, walls, or roads in some cases. Such legal boundaries promoted high growths in urban density within each zone, especially in the Chinese quarters, often leading to poor environmental conditions.[138]

Early settlers did not adhere to traditional architectural practices when constructing houses, but instead adapted to living conditions in Indonesia. Although the earliest houses are no longer standing, they were likely built from wood or bamboo with thatched roofs, resembling indigenous houses found throughout Sumatra, Borneo, and Java. More permanent constructions replaced these settlements in the 19th century.[139] Segregation policies under the Dutch forbade the use of European architectural styles by non-European ethnic groups. The ethnic Chinese and other foreign and indigenous groups lived according to their own cultures. Chinese houses along the north coast of Java were renovated to include Chinese ornamentation.[140] As racial segregation eased at the turn of the 20th century, the ethnic Chinese who had lost their identity embraced European culture and began removing ethnic ornaments from their buildings. Government policies prohibiting the public display of Chinese culture during the New Order also accelerated the transition toward local and Western architecture.[141]

[edit] Cuisine

Main article: Chinese Indonesian cuisine
Example Chinese loanwords for food
Loanword English name
bakmi egg noodles with meat
kuetiao rice noodles
bihun Chinese vermicelli
juhi and cumi cuttlefish
lobak radish or turnip
kuachi melon seed
Source: Tan 2002, p. 158
Chinese culinary culture is particularly evident in Indonesian cuisine through the Hokkien, Hakka, and Cantonese loanwords used for various dishes.[142] Words beginning with bak (肉) signify the presence of meat, e.g. bakpau ("meat bun"); words ending with cai (菜) signify vegetables, e.g. pecai ("Chinese white cabbage").[143] Most of these loanwords for food dishes and their ingredients are Hokkien in origin and are used throughout the Indonesian language and vernacular speech of large cities. Because they have become an integral part of the local language, many Indonesians and ethnic Chinese do not recognize their Hokkien origins. Some food and ingredients are part of the daily diet of both the indigenous and ethnic Chinese populations as side dishes to accompany rice, the staple food of most of the country.[144] Among ethnic Chinese families, whether they are strongly Chinese oriented or already acculturated, pork is often the preferred meat.[145] Its consumption has, however, decreased in recent years due to a recognition of its contribution to health hazards such as high cholesterol levels and heart disease.[144]

In a 1997 restaurant listing, published by the English-language daily The Jakarta Post, which largely caters to expatriates and middle class Indonesians, at least 80 locations within the city can be considered Chinese out of the 10-page list. Additionally, major hotels generally operate one or two Chinese restaurants, and many more can be found in large shopping centers.[146] Upscale Chinese restaurants in Jakarta can be found serving delicacies such as shark fin soup and bird's nest soup, where the urban character of the ethnic Chinese is well established.[142] Food with healing properties, generally under traditional Chinese medicine, are in high demand.[147]

[edit] Notes

^ The latter two terms are derived from the Hokkien dialect. Sociologist Mely G. Tan argued that these terms "only apply to those who are alien, not of mixed ancestry, and who initially do not plan to stay in Indonesia permanently" (Kahin 1991, p. 119). She also noted that the terms Cina (Tjina in older orthography) and Cino (Tjino) carry a derogatory meaning to earlier generations of immigrants, especially those living on the island of Java. However, this connotation appears to have faded in later generations, as noted by Dawis (2009, p. 75).
^ Suryadinata, Arifin & Ananta (2003, p. 77) used the 31 published volumes of data on the 2000 census and reported 1,738,936 ethnic Chinese citizens, but this figure did not include their population in 19 provinces. Space restrictions in the census publication limited the ethnic groups listed for each province to the eight largest. Ananta, Arifin & Bakhtiar (2008, p. 23) improved upon this figure by calculating directly from the raw census data.
^ Dawis (2009, p. 77) cited a presentation by Charles Coppel at the 29th International Congress of Orientalists for information on the initial usage of the two terms. Skinner (1963, pp. 105–106) further noted that totok is an Indonesian term specifically for foreign-born immigrants but is extended to include the descendants oriented toward their country of origin. Peranakan, on the other hand, means "children of the Indies".
^ Habibie said in the interview, "If the Chinese community doesn't come back because they don't trust their own country and society, I cannot force [them], nobody can force them. [...] Do you really think that we will then die? Their place will be taken over by others." (Suryadinata 1999, p. 9)
^ Indonesian scholar Dede Oetomo believed "the term 'Chinese Malay' is really a misnomer. There may be a continuity between 'Chinese Malay' and modern Indonesian, especially because the former was also used in the written discourse of members of ethnic groups besides the Chinese in the colonial period and well into the postindependence era" (Kahin 1991, p. 54).

[edit] References

^ a b Suryadinata, Arifin & Ananta 2003, p. 74
^ Heidhues 2001, pp. 164–165
^ Cunningham 2008, p. 104
^ a b Kahin 1991, p. 119
^ a b Ananta, Arifin & Bakhtiar 2008, p. 20
^ Suryadinata 2004, p. viii
^ Dawis 2009, p. xxii
^ Tan 2008, p. 1
^ a b Coppel 2002, p. 357
^ Reid 2001, p. 17
^ Reid 2001, pp. 20–21
^ Ma 2005, p. 115
^ Tan 2005, p. 795
^ a b Reid 1999, p. 52
^ Reid 2001, p. 33
^ Tan 2005, p. 796
^ Heidhues 1999, p. 152
^ Phoa 1992, p. 9
^ Phoa 1992, p. 7
^ Phoa 1992, p. 8
^ Phoa 1992, p. 10
^ Hellwig & Tagliacozzo 2009, p. 168
^ Phoa 1992, p. 11
^ Phoa 1992, p. 12
^ Phoa 1992, p. 13
^ Heidhues 2001, p. 179
^ Phoa 1992, p. 14
^ Phoa 1992, p. 16
^ Phoa 1992, pp. 17–18
^ a b Purdey 2006, p. 5
^ Suryadinata 1997, pp. 3, 10
^ Purdey 2006, p. 6
^ a b Purdey 2006, p. 7
^ Suryadinata 1997, pp. 10–11
^ Setiono 2003, pp. 449–450
^ Suryadinata 1997, p. xv
^ Suryadinata 1997, p. 33
^ Suryadinata 1997, p. 50
^ Suryadinata 1997, p. 70
^ a b Purdey 2006, p. 8
^ Tan 2008, p. 6
^ a b c Purdey 2006, p. 9
^ a b c Coppel 2002, p. 337
^ a b Coppel 2002, p. 336
^ Coppel 2002, p. 350
^ a b Suryadinata 2008, p. 11
^ Purdey 2006, p. 11
^ Purdey 2006, p. 13
^ Purdey 2006, p. 14
^ Purdey 2006, p. 15
^ Purdey 2006, p. 20
^ a b Purdey 2006, p. 21
^ Purdey 2006, p. 22
^ Robison 1986, p. 271
^ Purdey 2006, pp. 23–24
^ Purdey 2006, pp. 106–107
^ Purdey 2006, p. 108
^ "Ethnic Chinese tell of mass rapes". BBC News. 23 June 1998. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/indon ... 118576.stm. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
^ Napier, Catherine (9 November 1999). "Wahid Aims to Bring Back the Billions". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/512754.stm. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
^ "Presiden: Hak Sipil Masyarakat Tionghoa Telah Terpenuhi". Tempo. 1 February 2009. http://www.tempointeraktif.com/hg/polit ... 67,id.html. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
^ Purdey 2006, p. 106
^ Purdey 2006, p. 175
^ Purdey 2006, p. 176
^ Purdey 2006, p. 179
^ Purdey 2006, p. 180
^ Hoon, Chang-Yau (April 2004). "How to be Chinese". Inside Indonesia 78. ISSN 0814-1185. http://www.insideindonesia.org/content/view/237/29/. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
^ Suryadinata 2008, p. 12
^ Skinner 1963, p. 101
^ Gernet 1996, p. 6
^ a b c Skinner 1963, p. 97
^ a b c Skinner 1963, p. 102
^ a b Skinner 1963, p. 103
^ Suryadinata, Arifin & Ananta 2003, p. 76
^ Suryadinata, Arifin & Ananta 2003, p. 75
^ Ananta, Arifin & Bakhtiar 2008, p. 24
^ a b Heidhues 1999, p. 151
^ a b Suryadinata, Arifin & Ananta 2003, p. 73
^ "阿丹・馬立克外長談稱 還沒有迫切性去匆匆與中共恢復正常關係 [Foreign Minister Adam Malik: No Urgency to Normalize Relations with Communist China]" (in Chinese). Harian Indonesia. Antara: p. 1. 26 April 1973.
^ Johnston, Tim (3 March 2005). "Chinese diaspora: Indonesia". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4312805.stm. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
^ "印尼2006年華人人口統計推估 [2006 Chinese in Indonesia Estimate]" (PDF). Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission. May 2007. http://www.ocac.gov.tw/download.asp?tag ... df&no=9894. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
^ a b Ananta, Arifin & Bakhtiar 2008, p. 26
^ Ananta, Arifin & Bakhtiar 2008, p. 27
^ Heidhues 1999, p. 160
^ Suryadinata, Arifin & Ananta 2003, p. 80
^ Ananta, Arifin & Bakhtiar 2008, p. 28
^ McKeown 2005, p. 73
^ Penny & Gunawan 2001, p. 440
^ Walrond 2009
^ The estimate of 100,000 was published in Asiaweek on 3 June 1983, while the estimate of 150,000 was published in the Hong Kong Standard on 21 December 1984. (Coppel 2002, p. 356)
^ Cunningham 2008, p. 106
^ Cunningham 2008, p. 95
^ Nagata 1999, p. 725
^ Skinner 1963, pp. 103–104
^ Skinner 1963, p. 110
^ Dawis 2009, p. 113
^ Dawis, p. 77
^ Skinner 1963, p. 107
^ Skinner 1963, p. 108
^ Dawis 2009, p. 80
^ Dawis 1963, p. 78
^ "Peraturan yang Menggusur Tionghoa" (in Indonesian). Tempo 36 (25): 94–95. 13–19 August 2007. ISSN 0126-4273. http://majalah.tempointeraktif.com/id/a ... 35.id.html. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
^ a b Robison 1986, p. 272
^ Robison 1986, p. 275
^ East Asia Analytical Unit 1995, p. 41
^ Tenorio, Alfred S. (8 January 1999). "Correcting the Myth About the Dominance of Ethnic Chinese in Indonesian Business". BusinessWorld: p. 25. ISSN 0116-3930.
^ Mead, Walter Russell (28 June 1998). "The Capitalist; Bottom-Fishing Time?". The New York Times Magazine. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/28/magaz ... -time.html. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
^ Schmetzer, Uli (18 March 1998). "Asia Neighbors Fear Spread Of Indonesia's Economic Ills". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998 ... an-nations. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
^ Chua 2008, p. 43
^ Richburg, Keith B. (20 October 1996). "Lippo's Ties to Power Customary Business in Asia". The Washington Post: p. A1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/na ... /lippo.htm. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
^ Chua 2008, p. 147
^ Chua 2008, pp. 72–73
^ Chua 2008, p. 75
^ Chua 2008, p. 88
^ Chua 2008, p. 114
^ Chua 2008, p. 116
^ Chua 2008, p. 142
^ Skinner 1963, p. 105
^ Dawis 2009, p. 79
^ Skinner 1963, p. 109
^ a b Suryadinata 2002, p. 133
^ Suryadinata 2002, pp. 127–128
^ Tjhin, Christine Susanna (January 2009). "A new political animal?". Inside Indonesia 95. ISSN 0814-1185. http://www.insideindonesia.org/content/view/1165/47/. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
^ "Chinese-Indonesians to quiz vice presidential candidates". The Jakarta Post. 12 June 2009. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009 ... dates.html. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
^ Lewis 2005, p. 391
^ Heidhues 1999, p. 154
^ Kahin 1991, p. 55
^ Kahin 1991, p. 61
^ Kahin 1991, p. 65
^ a b Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2009). "Indonesia". 2009 Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom. United States Department of State. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127271.htm. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
^ Coppel 2002, p. 256
^ a b c Ananta, Arifin & Bakhtiar 2008, p. 30
^ Kahin 1991, p. 122
^ Brazier, Roderick (27 April 2006). "In Indonesia, the Chinese go to church". International Herald Tribune. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/27/opini ... azier.html. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
^ Ma 2005, p. 120
^ Suryadinata 2008, p. 10
^ a b Pratiwo 2007, p. 74
^ Widodo 2007, p. 69
^ Widodo 2007, p. 60
^ Pratiwo 2007, p. 75
^ Pratiwo 2007, p. 76
^ Pratiwo 2007, p. 77
^ a b Tan 2002, p. 154
^ Tan 2002, pp. 155–156
^ a b Tan 2002, p. 158
^ Tan 2002, p. 157
^ Tan 2002, p. 160
^ Tan 2002, p. 168
[edit] Bibliography

Tertiary sources
Heidhues, Mary Somers (1999), "Indonesia", in Pan, Lynn, The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas, Cambridge, M.A.: Harvard University Press, pp. 151–168, ISBN 978-0-674-25210-3.
Ma, Rosey Wang (2005), "Hui Diaspora", in Ember, Melvin; Ember, Carol R. & Skoggard, Ian, Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures Around the World, New York, N.Y.: Springer Science+Business Media, pp. 113–124, ISBN 978-0-387-29904-4.
McKeown, Adam (2005), "Chinese Diaspora", in Ember, Melvin; Ember, Carol R. & Skoggard, Ian, Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures Around the World, New York, N.Y.: Springer Science+Business Media, pp. 65–76, ISBN 978-0-387-29904-4.
Nagata, Judith (1999), "Indonesians", in Magocsi, Paul R., Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 723–726, ISBN 978-0-8020-2938-6.
Penny, Janet & Gunawan, Tuti (2001), "Indonesians", in Jupp, James, The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins (2nd ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 439–441, ISBN 978-0-521-80789-0.
Reid, Anthony (1999), "Chinese and Southeast Asian interactions", in Pan, Lynn, The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas, Cambridge, M.A.: Harvard University Press, pp. 51–53, ISBN 978-0-674-25210-3.
Tan, Mely G. (2005), "Ethnic Chinese in Indonesia", in Ember, Melvin; Ember, Carol R. & Skoggard, Ian, Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures Around the World, New York, N.Y.: Springer Science+Business Media, pp. 795–807, ISBN 978-0-387-29904-4.
Walrond, Carl (4 March 2009), Indonesians, Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/indonesians, retrieved 16 February 2010.
Secondary sources
Ananta, Aris; Arifin, Evi Nurvidya & Bakhtiar (2008), "Chinese Indonesians in Indonesia and the Province of Riau Archipelago: A Demographic Analysis", in Suryadinata, Leo, Ethnic Chinese in Contemporary Indonesia, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, pp. 17–47, ISBN 978-981-230-834-4.
Chua, Christian (2008), Chinese Big Business in Indonesia: The State of Capital, Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-45074-4.
Coppel, Charles A. (2002), Studying Ethnic Chinese in Indonesia, Asian Studies Monograph Series, Singapore: Singapore Society of Asian Studies, ISBN 978-9971-9904-0-4.
Cunningham, Clark E. (2008), "Unity and Diversity among Indonesian Migrants to the United States", in Ling, Huping, Emerging Voices: Experiences of Underrepresented Asian Americans, Rutgers University Press, pp. 90–108, ISBN 978-0-8135-4341-3.
Dawis, Aimee (2009), The Chinese of Indonesia and Their Search for Identity: The Relationship Between Collective Memory and the Media, Amherst, N.Y.: Cambria Press, ISBN 978-1-60497-606-9.
East Asia Analytical Unit (1995), Overseas Chinese Business Networks in Asia, Canberra: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, ISBN 978-0-642-22960-1.
Gernet, Jacques (1996), A History of Chinese Civilization (2nd ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-49781-7.
Heidhues, Mary Somers (2001), "Chinese Settlements in Rural Southeast Asia: Unwritten Histories", in Reid, Anthony, Sojourners and Settlers: Histories of Southeast Asia an the Chinese, Honolulu, H.I.: University of Hawaii Press, pp. 164–182, ISBN 978-0-8248-2446-4.
Kahin, Audrey, ed. (1991), Indonesia: The Role of the Indonesian Chinese in Shaping Modern Indonesian Life, Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Southeast Asia Program, ISBN 0-87727-800-051-6, http://cip.cornell.edu/seap.indo/1106972014, retrieved 26 January 2010.
Lewis, M. Paul, ed. (2005), "Indonesia", Ethnologue: Languages of the World (15th ed.), Dallas, T.X.: SIL International, ISBN 978-1-55671-159-6, http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=ID, retrieved 26 January 2010.
Phoa, Liong Gie (1992), "The Changing Economic Position of the Chinese in Netherlands India", in Fernando, M. R.; Bulbeck, David, Chinese Economic Activity in Netherlands India: Selected Translations from the Dutch, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, pp. 5–18, ISBN 978-981-3016-21-7.
Pratiwo (2007), "Seeking the Spirit of the Age: Chinese Architecture in Indonesia Today", in Nas, Peter J. M., The Past in the Present: Architecture in Indonesia, Leiden: Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, pp. 73–83, ISBN 978-90-6718-296-6.
Purdey, Jemma (2006), Anti-Chinese Violence in Indonesia, 1996–1999, Honolulu, H.I.: University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 978-0-8248-3057-1.
Reid, Anthony (2001), "Flows and Seepages in the Long-term Chinese Interaction with Southeast Asia", Sojourners and Settlers: Histories of Southeast Asia an the Chinese, Honolulu, H.I.: University of Hawaii Press, pp. 15–50, ISBN 978-0-8248-2446-4.
Robison, Richard (1986), "The Emergence of a Capitalist Class: Chinese-Owned Capital", Indonesia: The Rise of Capital, Sydney: Allen & Unwin, pp. 271–322, ISBN 978-0-04-909024-8.
Setiono, Benny G. (2003) (in Indonesian), Tionghoa dalam Pusaran Politik, Jakarta: Elkasa, ISBN 978-979-96887-4-3.
Skinner, G. William (1963), "The Chinese Minority", in McVey, Ruth, Indonesia, Survey of World Cultures, New Haven, C.T.: Yale University Southeast Asia Studies, pp. 97–117.
Skinner, G. William (2001), "Creolized Chinese Societies in Southeast Asia", in Reid, Anthony, Sojourners and Settlers: Histories of Southeast Asia an the Chinese, Honolulu, H.I.: University of Hawaii Press, pp. 51–93, ISBN 978-0-8248-2446-4.
Suryadinata, Leo (1999), "The Ethnic Chinese Issue and National Integration in Indonesia" (PDF), Trends in Southeast Asia (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies), ISSN 0219-3213, http://www.iseas.edu.sg/trends992.pdf.
Suryadinata, Leo (2002), "Democracy and Ethnic Chinese Politics", Election and Politics in Indonesia, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, pp. 126–138, ISBN 978-981-230-121-5.
Suryadinata, Leo (2008), "Chinese Indonesians in an Era of Globalization: Some Major Characteristics", in Suryadinata, Leo, Ethnic Chinese in Contemporary Indonesia, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, pp. 1–16, ISBN 978-981-230-834-4.
Suryadinata, Leo, ed. (2004), Chinese Indonesians: State Policy, Monoculture, and Multiculture, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, ISBN 978-981-210-298-0.
Suryadinata, Leo; Arifin, Evi Nurvidya & Ananta, Aris (2003), "The Ethnic Chinese: A Declining Percentage", Indonesia's Population: Ethnicity and Religion in a Changing Political Landscape, Indonesia's Population Series, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, pp. 73–102, ISBN 978-981-230-218-2.
Tan, Mely G. (2002), "Chinese Dietary Culture in Indonesian Urban Society", in Wu, David Y. H. & Cheung, Sidney C. H., The Globalization of Chinese Food, Honolulu, H.I.: University of Hawaii Press, pp. 152–169, ISBN 978-0-8248-2582-9.
Tan, Mely G. (2008), Etnis Tionghoa di Indonesia: Kumpulan Tulisan, Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia, ISBN 978-979-461-689-5.
Widodo, Johannes (2007), "The Chinese Diaspora's Urban Morphology and Architecture in Indonesia", in Nas, Peter J. M., The Past in the Present: Architecture in Indonesia, Leiden: Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, pp. 67–72, ISBN 978-90-6718-296-6.
Primary sources
Hellwig, Tineke & Tagliacozzo, Eric, eds. (2009), The Indonesia Reader: History, Culture, Politics, Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, ISBN 978-0-8223-4424-7.
Suryadinata, Leo, ed. (1997), Political Thinking of the Indonesian Chinese, 1900–1995: A Sourcebook (2nd ed.), Singapore: Singapore University Press, ISBN 978-9971-69-201-8.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chinese Indonesians

Anti Discrimination Movement (Gerakan Perjuangan Anti Diskriminasi, GANDI)
Chinese Indonesian Association (Perhimpunan Indonesia Tionghoa, INTI)
Indonesian Chinese Social Association (Paguyuban Sosial Marga Tionghoa Indonesia, PSMTI)

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Indonesian

Cantonese community in India

Total population
189,470[1]
Regions with significant populations
Kolkata · Mumbai
Languages
Bengali · Hindi · Chinese languages · English

The Cantonese community in India are a community of immigrants and their descendants that emigrated from China starting in the late 18th century to work at the Calcutta port. Unofficial estimates put the number of Chinese in Kolkata anywhere from 5,000 to 200,000, most of whom live in or near Chinatown in Tangra.[2][3]

The ethnic Chinese have contributed to many areas of the social and economic life of Kolkata. Today a majority are engaged in business with a major segment involved in the manufacturing and trade of leather products. A sizeable number are also owners and workers in Chinese restaurants.[2] Kolkata is the only city in India to have a Chinatown,[4] the only other Chinatown to exist (in Mumbai) has disappeared.

[edit] Immigration

The first record of travel from China is provided in the travelogue of Fa-Hien who visited Tampralipta, in what is now Tamluk in the Fifth Century A.D. Records of immigration for the next sixteen centuries are not reliable although many words in Bengali can be attributed to Chinese influences.[2] For example chini, the Bengali word for "sugar" comes from the word for China, and words like Chinamati for porcelain china hint at Chinese influences.[5]

Kolkata, then known as Calcutta, was the capital of British India from 1772 to 1911. It was also geographically the easiest accessible metropolitan area from China by land. The first person of Chinese origin to arrive in Calcutta was Yang Tai Chow who arrived in 1778. He worked in a sugar mill with the eventual goal of saving enough to start a tea trade.[3] Many of the earliest immigrants worked on the Khidderpore docks. A police report in 1788 mentions a sizeable Chinese population settled in the vicinity of Bow Bazaar Street.[2]

During the time of Warren Hastings, the first governor-general of British India, a businessman by the name of Tong Achi established a steel mill at Achipur, 33 km from Calcutta, on the bank of the Hooghly River near Budge Budge.[6] A temple and the grave of Tong Achi still remain and are visited by many Chinese who come from the city during the Chinese New Year.[6]

One of the earliest records of immigration from China can be found in a short treatise from 1820. This records hints that the first wave of immigration was of Hakkas but does not elaborate on the professions of these immigrants. According to a later police census, there were 362 in Calcutta in 1837. A common meeting place was the Temple of Guan Yu, the god of war, located in the Chinese quarter near Dharmatolla.[2] A certain C. Alabaster mentions in 1849 that Cantonese carpenters congregated in the Bow Bazar Street area.[2] As late as 2006, Bow Bazar is still noted for carpentry, but few of the workers or owners are now Chinese.

According to Alabaster there were lard manufacturers and shoemakers in addition to carpenters. Running tanneries and working with leather was traditionally not considered a respectable profession among upper-caste Hindus, and work was relegated to lower caste muchis and chamars. There was a high demand, however, for high quality leather goods in colonial India, one that the Chinese were able to fulfill. Alabaster also mentions licensed opium dens run by native Chinese and a Cheena Bazaar where contraband was readily available. Opium, however, was not illegal until after India's Independence from Great Britain in 1947. Immigration continued unabated through the turn of the century and during World War I partly due to the fact that China was undergoing political upheavals such as the Opium Wars, First Sino-Japanese War and the Boxer Rebellion. Around the time of the First World War, the first Chinese-owned tanneries sprung up.[2]

[edit] Sino-Indian War of 1962

During the Sino-Indian conflict, the Chinese faced anti-national sentiment unleashed by the Indian National Congress-dominated government. Chinese businesses were investigated for links to the Chinese government and many people of Chinese origin were interned in prisons in North India.[7]

India's Independence from Britain did not hinder the influx of Chinese into Kolkata. In 1961, there were close to 7,000.[2] The Sino-Indian War of 1962 ended further immigration from communist China. An unknown number left (most for Australia, Canada, and the United States). Further, those that remained were often suspected of collaboration with an enemy nation. According to a 2005 documentary, some were sent to an internment camp in Rajasthan [7] The situation was alleviated when India and China resumed diplomatic relations in 1976. However, it was not until 1998 that ethnic Chinese were allowed naturalized Indian citizenship.[7] In 2005, the first road sign in Chinese characters was put up in Chinatown, Tangra.[3]

[edit] Today

The Chinese today work as tannery-owners,sauce manufacturers, shoeshop owners, and restaurateurs. A number of them run beauty parlours in the city. Among services, dentistry is a traditional occupation that is being welcomed by the new generation.[3] Many of the shoe shops lining Bentick Street, near Dharmatolla, are owned and operated by Chinese. A number of restaurants dotting the city are also owned by the Chinese. Fusions of Chinese (especially Hakka) and Indian culinary traditions have given rise to a widely available form, Indian Chinese cuisine. There is one Chinese newspaper published in the city, The Overseas Chinese Commerce in India but figures from 2005 show that sales have dwindled from 500 to 300 copies sold.[8] At one time, 90% of the students of the Grace Ling Liang English School were ethnic Chinese. In 2003, they comprised only about 15% of the 1500 students.[9]

Many of the Chinese of Calcutta are Christians. A large number of the younger generations became Christians due to the influence of missionary schools they studied in. The Chinese New Year remains widely observed.[3] Hakka Chinese of Calcutta tend to be endogamous.

[edit] Notable Indian people of Chinese descent

Meiyang Chаng - Indian actor and singer. Finalist for Indian Idol 3
Jwala Gutta - Indian badminton player
Lawrence Liang - Indian legal researcher and lawyer
Nelson Wang - Indian restaurateur
[edit] See also

Indian Chinese cuisine
Tangra, Calcutta
Chinatown, Calcutta
Indians in China
Chinese influences on Bengali cuisine
[edit] Notes

^ http://www.ocac.gov.tw/english/public/p ... 63&level=B :: Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, R.O.C. ::]. Ocac.gov.tw (2004-08-24). Retrieved on 2010-12-12
^ a b c d e f g h Haraprasad, Ray (2006-08-23). "Chinese". Banglapedia. http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/C_0202.htm. Retrieved 2006-09-26.
^ a b c d e Biswas, Ranjita (2005). "Little China Stays Alive in Eastern India". IPS News. Inter Press Service News Agency. http://www.ipsnews.net/print.asp?idnews=30346. Retrieved 2006-09-26. "Though most of the local Chinese are Christians, they celebrate the traditional Chinese New Year with gusto and many who emigrated from Kolkata make it a point to return at this time."
^ Karkaria, Bachi (2004-04-28). "Bell tolls for China Town". India Times. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/arti ... 646128.cms. Retrieved 2006-09-26.
^ Suniti Chatterji. The Origin and Development of Bengali Language, University of Calcutta Press, 1926.
^ a b Datta, Rangan (2006-03-19). "Next weekend you can be at ... Achipur". Telegraph. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060319/a ... 983329.asp. Retrieved 2006-09-26.
^ a b c Sen, Tansen (2005-04-13). "Go for a slight change of route". Telegraph. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050413/a ... 590518.asp. Retrieved 2006-09-26.
^ Sardar, Aninda (2005-04-03). "Kolkata's only Chinese daily on shaky ground". Indian Express. http://in.news.yahoo.com/050402/48/2kiuy.html. Retrieved 2006-09-26.[dead link]
^ "Loss for law, gain for school". Telegraph. 2003-09-18. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1030918/a ... 359544.asp. Retrieved 2006-09-26.
[edit] External links

Kolkata Chinese Community Blog
'Legend of Fat Mama', a 23 minute documentary on Chinatown by Rafeeq Illiyas
Interview with the Principal of Grace Ling Liang English School
Travel article on Achipur
Photos of Chinese New Year Celebration, Calcutta & Achipur
Photos of Chinese Temples in Old China Town, Calcutta (Kolkata)

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_community_in_India

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Tangra, Calcutta 加爾各答唐人（粵僑）

Tangra is a region in east Kolkata that traditionally housed a large number of tanneries owned by people of Hakka Chinese origin. "47 South Tangra Road", may be the most confusing postal address, as it used to cover the whole of Chinatown Tangra with over 350 tanneries. Most of the standing structures have been built, over many years, by the industrious Hakka Chinese, upon marshy and reclaimed low lying land. Over the past several decades, it has served as the location of Calcutta's Chinatown. This is not a coincidence; the Hakka Chinese of Calcutta have gradually turned this part of the Kolkata into an important destination for sourcing finished and semi-finished leather. The Hakka Chinese specialized in the manufacture of leather and turned it into one of the major industries of West Bengal, providing employment to tens of thousands of local inhabitants. In addition to the huge volume of exports to the developing and developed countries, finished leather is supplied to the major shoe and leather goods manufacturers all over the country. Many made-to-order shoe shops in Kolkata are also run by enterpreneurs from this community.

Food from Tangra is a distinct variety of traditional Hakka Chinese cuisine adapted to Indian ingredients and the Bengali palate. This has spread to the rest of India, along with the recipes earlier unique to Tangra. Tangra is now the most popular destination for Chinese food. Chinese food sold in Tangra restaurants are now known all over the world as 'Hakka Style" Chinese food.

Kolkata Chinatown is changing rapidly. The population is no longer renewed by waves of migration and many traditional professions such as dentistry, laundry and tannery are no longer the preserve of the Chinese. The West Bengal government, under direction from the Supreme Court, recently moved all tanneries to Bantala, a suburb in the east of Kolkata.

The success of "Hakka style" Chinese food in the rest of India encouraged a migration of many Chinese families to other cities as the economic fortunes of Tangra decayed. Many landmark Chinese eateries, including Nanking, Waldorf, Peiping and Fat Mama have closed or changed hands and fortunes. The once prosperous Calcutta Chinese community is now clearly in decline. However, a boom in Tangra's unique Indian-Chinese food is attracting a lot of attention these days and the cuisine will probably live on in Kolkata and in the global Indian Diaspora.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangra,_Calcutta"

Categories: West Bengal geography stubs | Neighbourhoods in Kolkata
Hidden categories: Articles lacking sources from May 2011 | All articles lacking sources

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangra,_Calcutta

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Chinatown, Kolkata

Chinatown (Bengali: চায়নাটাউন, কলকাতা) in the eastern part of the city of Kolkata is the only Chinatown in India.[1] The locality was once home to 20,000 ethnic Chinese, now the population has dropped to 2,000 or so. The traditional occupation of the Chinese community here had been working in the nearby tanning industry and the Chinese restaurants. The area is still noted for the Chinese restaurants where many people flock to taste traditional Chinese and Indian Chinese food.

[edit] History

Main article: Chinese community in India
During the time of Warren Hastings, the first governor-general of British India, a businessman by the name of Tong Achi established a steel mill at Achipur, 33 km from Calcutta, on the bank of the Hooghly River near Budge Budge.[2] A temple and the grave of Tong Achi still remain and are visited by many Chinese who come from the city during the Chinese New Year.[2]

One of the earliest records of immigration from China can be found in a short treatise from 1820. This records hints that the first wave of immigration was of Hakkas but does not elaborate on the professions of these immigrants. According to a later police census, there were 362 in Calcutta in 1837. A common meeting place was the Temple of Guan Yu, the god of war, located in the Chinese quarter near Dharmatolla.[3] A certain C. Alabaster mentions in 1849 that Cantonese carpenters congregated in the Bow Bazar Street area.[3] As late as 2006, Bow Bazar is still noted for carpentry, but few of the workers or owners are now Chinese.

According to Alabaster there were lard manufacturers and shoemakers in addition to carpenters. Running tanneries and working with leather was traditionally not considered a respectable profession among upper-caste Hindus, and work was relegated to lower caste muchis and chamars. There was a high demand, however, for high quality leather goods in colonial India, one that the Chinese were able to fulfill. Alabaster also mentions licensed opium dens run by native Chinese and a Cheena Bazaar where contraband was readily available. Opium, however, was not illegal until after India's Independence from Great Britain in 1947. Immigration continued unabated through the turn of the century and during World War I partly due to the fact that China was undergoing political upheavals such as the Opium Wars, First Sino-Japanese War and the Boxer Rebellion. Around the time of the First World War, the first Chinese-owned tanneries sprung up.[3]

[edit] See also

Chinese of Calcutta
Tangra, Calcutta
Indian Chinese cuisine

[edit] Notes

^ Taipei Times article
^ a b Datta, Rangan (2006-03-19). "Next weekend you can be at ... Achipur". Telegraph. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060319/a ... 983329.asp. Retrieved 2006-09-26.
^ a b c Haraprasad, Ray (2006-08-23). "Chinese". Banglapedia. http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/C_0202.htm. Retrieved 2006-09-26.

[edit] External links

Kolkata ChinaTown
Photos of Chinese New Year, Calcutta
Photos of Chinese Temple, Tiretta Bazar, Calcutta
Trade changes Indo-Chinese relations - BBC.co.uk

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown,_Calcutta