Chinese diaspora
Chinese diaspora refers to people who, having been born in or descended from the Republic of China or the People's Republic of China, live outside those countries. They are generally found in the Far East and America, where they arrived as workers with a majority of Cantonese. Overseas Chinese may be of the majority Han ethnic group, or any of the other ethnic groups in China.
Terminology
The Chinese language has several terms equivalent to English "overseas chinos" referring to Chinese citizens residing in countries outside of China: Huáqiáo (Traditional Chinese, 華僑; Chinese Simplified, 华侨; pinyin, Huáqiáo) or Hoan- kheh in Hokkien (in Chinese, 番客). The term haigui (海归) refers to returning overseas Chinese and guīqiáo qiáojuàn (归侨侨眷) to their relatives who are also returning to China.
Huáyì (Traditional Chinese 華裔; Simplified Chinese 华裔; pe̍h-ōe-jī, Hôa-è) refers to individuals of Chinese ethnicity outside of China. Another frequently used term is 海外华人 (Hǎiwài Huárén), a more literal translation of overseas Chinese; It is usually used by the government of the P.R. China to refer to the ethnic Chinese population living outside the P.R. China, regardless of nationality.
Overseas Chinese who are of Han Chinese ethnicity, such as Cantonese, Hoochew, Hokkien, or Hakka refer to Overseas Chinese as 唐人 (Tángrén), pronounced tòhng yàn in Cantonese, toung ning in Hoochew, Tn̂g-lâng in Hokkien, and tong nyin in Hakka. Literally, it means Tang people, a reference to the Tang dynasty when it ruled the Han region. It should be noted that this term is commonly used by Cantonese, Hoochew, Hokkien, or Hakka as a colloquial way of refer to the Chinese, and has little connection to the ancient dynasty.
The term shǎoshù mínzú (少数民族) is added to the different Chinese terms of overseas to indicate those in the diaspora who would be considered ethnic minorities in China. The terms shǎoshù mínzú huáqiáo huárén and shǎoshù mínzú hǎiwài qiáobāo (少数民族海外侨胞) are all in use. The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the P.R. China does not distinguish between Han and minority ethnic populations for reasons of official guidelines. For example, members of the Tibetan diaspora may travel to China with permits granted to certain Overseas Chinese. Different estimates of the Overseas Chinese minority population include 3 million one hundred thousand (1993), 3 million four hundred thousand (2004), 5 million seven hundred thousand (2001, 2010), or about one-tenth of all overseas Chinese (2006, 2011). Transnational ethnic groups (跨境民族, kuàjìng mínzú) are not considered Overseas Chinese minorities unless they left China after the establishment of an independent state on the border of China.
Statistics
| Continent/Country | Population | Year of Information | % of Tusán in the country | % of Tusan worldwide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia | 30.976.784 | 2006 | 0.8% | 78.7% |
 Indonesia | 9,200,000 | 2021 | 3.1% | 11.7% |
 Malaysia | 6.8 million | 2021 | 22.4% | 12.1% |
 Thailand | 20,000,000 | 2021 | 29% | 11.7% |
 Singapore | 2,770,300 | 2009 | 74.2% | 4.3% |
 Vietnam | 1,200,000 | 2005 | 3% | 2%-3% |
 Philippines | 1.100.000 | 2005 | 2% | 2.4% |
 Burma | 1.100.000 | 2005 | 3% | 2.1% |
 Japan | 655.377 | 2008 | 0.5% | 1.7% |
 South Korea | 624.994 | 2009 | 0.2% | 0.5% |
 Cambodia | 343.855 | 2005 | 1.2% | 0.87% |
 India | 189.470 | 2005 | 0.02% | 0.5% |
 Laos | 185.765 | 2005 | 1% | 0.5% |
 United Arab Emirates | 180.000 | 2009 | 2.61% | -- |
 Brunéi | 43,000 | 2006 | 15% | 0.1% |
 Israel | 23,000 | 2001 | 0.3% | 0.1% |
 North Korea | 10,000 | 2009 | 0.2% | 0.1% |
 Pakistan | 10,000 | 2009 | -- | -- |
 Sri Lanka | 3,500 | 0.0001% | 0.000088% | |
 Mongolia | 1.323 | 2000 | 0.4% | 0.03% |
| America | 6.099.240 | 2008 | 0.6% | 15.4% |
 United States | 3,500,000 | 2007 | 1.2% | 6.8% |
 Canada | 1.300.000 | 2006 | 3.9% | 3.4% |
 Mexico | 1,900,000-2,100,000 | 2008 | 16.5% | 3.4% |
 Colombia | 160,000 | -- | -- | -- |
 Brazil | 156,980-2,200,000 | 2014 | 9.8% | 0.4% |
 Panama | 135,000 | 2003 | 5% | 0.4% |
 Paraguay
| 40.000 | 2008 | 30% | -- |
 Cuba | 114.240 | -- | -- | -- |
 Argentina | 120.000 | 2008 | 0.5% | 0.5% |
 Venezuela | 200,000 | -- | -- | -- |
 Peru | 100,000 | 2013 | -- | -- |
 Costa Rica | 45,000 | 2011 | 1.04% | -- |
 Nicaragua | 12,000 | -- | -- | -- |
 Suriname | 70,000 | 2003 | 14% | 0.2% |
 Jamaica | 70,000 | -- | -- | -- |
 Dominican Republic | 50,000 | 2010 | -- | -- |
 Chile | 25,000 | 2013 | -- | -- |
 Honduras
| 6.800 | 2021 | -- | -- |
 Trinidad and Tobago | 3.800 | 2000 | -- | -- |
 Guyana | 2.722 | 1921 | -- | -- |
 Puerto Rico | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Europe | 1.700,000 | 2006 | 0.2% | 4.1% |
 Russia | 998,000 | 2005 | 0.5% | 1.9% |
.svg){kind=small} France | 600.000-700.000 | 2010 | 1.05% | 1.5% |
.svg){kind=small} United Kingdom | 466,000 | 2008 | 0.8% | 1.3% |
 Spain | 224.559 | 2019 | 0.37% | 1% |
 Italy | 209.934 | 2010 | 0.33% | 0.8% |
 Netherlands | 114.928 | 2006 | 0.7 per cent | 0.1% |
 Germany | 71,639 | 2004 | 0.1% | 0.1% |
 Serbia | 20.000 | 2008 | -- | -- |
 Ireland | 16.533 | 2006 | 0.39% | -- |
 Bulgaria | 10,000 | 2005 | -- | -- |
 Portugal | 9.689 | 2007 | -- | -- |
 Finland | 7.078 | 2009 | 0.13% | -- |
 Romania | 2.249 | 2002 | -- | -- |
| Oceania | 1,000,000 | 2003 | 1.9% | 1.7% |
.svg){kind=small} Australia | 669.896 | 2006 | 3.2% | 1.3% |
 New Zealand | 147 570 | 2006 | 3.5% | 0.3% |
 Fiyi | 6000 | 2000 | 0.5% | 0.01% |
 Tonga | 3000 | 2001 | 3 or 4% | -- |
 Samoa | 30 000 | -- | 16.2% | -- |
| Africa | 500 000 | 2009 | ▪1% | 1.26% |
 South Africa | 350 000 | 2009 | 0.7 per cent | 0.8% |
 Angola | 100 000 | 2007 | 0.5% | 0.25% |
 Zambia | 20 000 | 2003 | 0.15% | 0.05% |
 Mauritius | 30 000 | 2007 | 3% | -- |
| Total | 39 817 784 | 100% |
History
Chinese people have a long history of migrating abroad. One of the migrations dates back to the Ming dynasty when Zheng He (1371–1435) was an ambassador for the Ming. He sent people – many of them Cantonese and Hokkien – to explore and trade in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Chinese Civil War
When China was under the imperial rule of the Qing Dynasty, subjects who left the Qing Empire without the administrator's consent were considered traitors and were executed. Their relatives also faced consequences. However, the establishment of the Republic of Lanfang (Traditional Chinese, 蘭芳共和國; pinyin, Lánfāng Gònghéguó) in West Borneo, Indonesia, as a tributary state of Qing China, attests that permission was possible. The republic survived until 1884, when it fell under Dutch occupation as Qing influence waned.
Under the ROC administration from 1911-1949, these regulations were abolished and many emigrated from the ROC, mostly via the coastal regions and ports of Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan and Shanghai. These migrations are considered among the most important in the history of China. Many ROC nationals fled and settled in Southeast Asia mainly between the years 1911-1949, after the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government lost to the Communist Party of China in the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Most of the nationalists and neutral refugees fled from Mainland China to Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Indonesia) as well as Taiwan, ROC. Many nationalists who decided to stay were persecuted or even executed.
Most Chinese who fled the ROC between 1911-1949 settled in Singapore, Malaysia, and automatically obtained citizenship in 1957 and 1963 when these countries achieved independence. Kuomintang members who settled in Malaysia and Singapore played an important role in the establishment of the Chinese Malay Association. There is some evidence that they tried to reclaim mainland China from the communists by founding the Kuomintang in China.