Chinese migration has changed fundamentally in recent years. It no Mette Thunø (ed.) longer has the exceptional and ambivalent nature of earlier times when virtual slaves dreamed of returning home to China as rich men but instead settled in Chinatowns across the globe. An important factor is that China has changed, transformed by decades of economic liberalization and rapid economic growth. As such, most migrants – both women and men – now leave China for a more promising future and often find ways to bring their families with them. Chinese migration may New Chinese Migration and the Global Expansion of China be distinct but it is no longer exceptional. The rise of China in a globalizing world is having a major impact Beyond Chinatown on Chinese migrant communities. Today, China matters – all around the world. Both its insatiable demand for raw materials and its flood Beyond Chinatown of exported manufactures affect everyone; distant corners of the Third Edited by Mette Thunø World that once had never heard of China now have a thriving Chinese presence. And, suddenly, third-generation Chinese who once could not wait to escape their Chinatown now proudly proclaim their ethnic Chinese identity. Because it opens a new approach to the study of recent Chinese migration, this volume will be of vital interest in the field of both general and Chinese migration studies. But, bringing to life as it does the momentous changes sweeping the Chinese world in all parts of the globe, it will also be of interest to a far wider readership. ‘[A]n informative book in both scope and content. … the book is a must read’. – Edward Gonzalez-Tennant, Journal of Chinese Overseas ‘[T]his book rewards readers with thoughtful insights on what it means to be Chinese overseas in the shadow of a rising China.’ – Hui Yew-Foong, The China Journal www.niaspress.dk Thuno_reprint-cover.indd 1 24/11/2011 17:20 BEYOND CHINATOWN Thunø-prels.indd 1 8/2/07 13:22:19 NIAS STUDIES IN ASIAN TOPICS 20 M. C. Hoadley & C. Gunnarsson (eds) The Village Concept in the Transformation of Rural S.E. Asia. Studies from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand 21 Lisbeth Littrup (ed.) Identity in Asian Literature 22 O. Bruun & O. Odgaard (eds) Mongolia in Transition. Old Patterns, New Challenges 23 S. Tønnesson & H. Antlöv (eds) Asian Forms of the Nation 24 Vibeke Børdahl (ed.) The Eternal Storyteller. Oral Literature in Modern China 25 I. Reader & M. Söderberg (eds) Japanese Influences and Presences in Asia 26 Leif Manger (ed.) Muslim Diversity. Local Islam in Global Contexts 27 J. Koning, M. Nolten, J. Rodenburg & R. Saptari (eds) Women and Households in Indonesia. Cultural Notions and Social Practices 28 S. Sparkes & S. Howell (eds)The House in Southeast Asia. A Changing Social, Economic and Political Domain 29 P. P. Masina (ed.) Rethinking Development in East Asia. From Illusory Miracle to Economic Crisis 30 L. Manderson & P. Liamputtong (eds) Coming of Age in South and Southeast Asia Youth, Courtship and Sexuality 31 Li Narangoa & R. Cribb (eds) Imperial Japan and National Identities in Asia, 1895–1945 32 C. E. Goscha & S. Ivarsson (eds) Contesting Visions of the Lao Past. Lao Historiography at the Crossroads 33 M. Beresford & Ngoc Angie (eds) Reaching for the Dream. Challenges of Sustainable Development in Vietnam 34 O. Bruun & Li Narangoa (eds) Mongols from Country to City. Floating Boundaries, Pastoralism and City Life in the Mongol Lands 35 V. Børdahl, Fei Li & Huang Ying (eds) Four Masters of Chinese Storytelling. Full- length Repertoires of Yangzhou Storytelling on Video 36 C. Derichs & T. Heberer (eds) The Power of Ideas. Intellectual Input and Political Change in East and Southeast Asia 37 B. Sellato & P. Sercombe (eds) Beyond the Green Myth. Borneo’s Hunter-Gatherers in the 21st Century 38 M. Janowski & F. Kerlogue (eds) Kinship and Food in Southeast Asia 39 M. Gravers (ed.) Exploring Ethnic Diversity in Burma 40 G. Helgesen & S. Risbjerg Thomsen (eds) Politics, Culture and Self: East Asian and North European Attitudes 41 M. Thunø (ed.) Beyond Chinatown 42 G. Bankoff & S. Swart Breeds of Empire. The ‘Invention’ of the Horse in Southeast Asia and Southern Africa 1500–1950 Thunø-prels.indd 2 8/2/07 13:22:20 Beyond Chinatown New Chinese Migration and the Global Expansion of China Edited by Mette Thunø Thunø-prels.indd 3 8/2/07 13:22:20 NIAS Studies in Asian Topics Series, 41 First published in 2007 by NIAS Press Reprinted in 2012 NIAS – Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Leifsgade 33, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark tel (+45) 3532 9501 • fax (+45) 3532 9549 email: [email protected] • website: www.nias.press.dk © NIAS – Nordic Institute of Asian Studies 2007 While copyright in the volume as a whole is vested in the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, copyright in the individual chapters belongs to their authors. No chapter may be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of the author or publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Beyond Chinatown : new Chinese migration and the global expansion of China. - (NIAS studies in Asian topics ; 41) 1.Chinese - Foreign countries 2.Chinese - Foreign countries - Ethnic identity 3.China - Emigration and immigration I.Thuno, Mette 909’.04951083 ISBN 978-87-7694-000-3 Typeset by NIAS Press Printed in the United Kingdom by Marston Digital Publication of this work was supported by generous grants from the Chiang-Ching-kuo Foundation and the Danish Research Council for the Humanities. new page iv.indd 1 27/01/2012 15:27 CONTENTS Preface vii Contibutors ix 1. Mette Thunø Introduction. Beyond ‘Chinatown’: Contemporary Chinese Migration 1 PART I CONTEMPORARY CHINESE MIGRATION: ORDINARY AND DISTINCT 2. Ronald Skeldon The Chinese Overseas: The End of Exceptionalism? 35 3. Cheng Xi The ‘Distinctiveness’ of the Overseas Chinese as Perceived in the People’s Republic of China 49 PART II CONTEMPORARY CHINESE MIGRATION: CHANGING ECONOMIC IMPACT AND HOST-COUNTRY RESPONSES? 4. Zhang Xiuming Remittances, Donations and Investments in Qingtian County since 1978 67 5. Yow Cheun Hoe Detraditionalized and Renewed. Qiaoxiang Areas: Case Studies of Panyu and Wenzhou in the Reform Period since 1978 83 6. Antonella Ceccagno The Chinese in Italy at a Crossroads: The Economic Crisis 115 7. Teresita Ang See Influx of New Chinese Immigrants to the Philippines: Problems and Challenges 137 PART II: CHINA’S RISE AS A GLOBAL POWER AND TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES 8. Wang Gungwu Liuxue and Yimin: From Study To Migranthood 165 9. Wang Cangbai and Wong Siu-lun Home as a Circular Process: The Indonesian-Chinese in Hong Kong 182 10. Maggi W.H. Leung Rethinking ‘Home’ in Diaspora. A Family Trans- nationalized? A Place of Nostalgia? A Commodity for Sale? 210 11. Live Yu-Sion The Sinwa of Reunion: Searching for a Chinese Identity in a Multicultural World 234 v Thunø-prels.indd 5 8/2/07 13:22:20 Beyond Chinatown 12. Peta Stephenson Altered States: Indigenous Australian and Chinese Diasporic Alliances 254 Index 275 TABLES 2.1. Manufacturing trade and the relative importance of immigration, 2000 38 2.2. Relative importance of trade in services, 2000 39 2.3. Fertility decline, China and selected other areas, 1965–2000 40 2.4. Increase in China-born in selected destinations, various years 43 4.1. Qingtian people migrating abroad 70 4.2. Distribution of Qingtian migrants 70 4.3. Qingtian associations in Europe 73 5.1. Demographic profiles of Panyu (1997) and Wenzhou municipality (2001) 90 5.2. Qiaoshu enterprises in Wenzhou municipality, 1985–1998 96 5.3. Sanzi enterprises in Wenzhou municipality, 1984–1999 97 6.1. Businesses headed by Chinese (PRC) in Italy, September 2004 119 6.2. Businesses headed by Chinese (PRC) in selected Italian regions, September 2004 119 6.3. Selected commercial activities of the Chinese in Italy and in some Italian regions, September 2004 131 11.1. Number of Chinese in Reunion (1902–1941) 238 MAPS 5.1. Major qiaoxiang areas in Guangdong 87 5.2. Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province 89 FIGURES 2.1. Population pyramid summary for China, 2025 42 12.1. Zhou Xiaoping, ‘Land’, 1998 260 12.2. Photographer unknown, ‘Jimmy Pike and Zhou Xiaoping in China’, 1996 262 12.3. Zhou Xiaoping and Jimmy Pike, ‘Drew each other’ (1 and 2), 1995 263 vi Thunø-prels.indd 6 8/2/07 13:22:21 Preface Originally, the chapters included in this book were presented at the Fifth Conference for the International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas (ISSCO) held in Copenhagen in May 2004. The conference was jointly sponsored by the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, the Danish Research Council for the Humanities, Daloon Foundation, Knud Højgaards Fund, Asia House Foundation, International Institute of Asian Studies (IIAS), Nordic Institute of Asian Studies and the University of Copenhagen. Its purpose was to bring together scholars from all continents and across aca- demic disciplines to discuss the significance of contemporary Chinese migration compared with Chinese historical migration and migration in general. The selection criteria for the contributions included in this volume encompassed the presentation of new theories and novel empirical data related to the overall theme of contemporary Chinese migration and ethnic Chinese identity constructions associated with the rise of China as an economic and cultural power. I am grateful to all the contributors and the staff at NIAS Press for their eagerness to complete this volume and for their patience with several rounds of revisions. I also wish to acknowledge the contributions of par- ticipants at the conference whose presentations are not included in this volume, but whose engagement and comments during the conference have added positively to the final outcome of this book.