Foreign and Military Affairs

Overseas Chinese's bumpy road toward integration

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-07-02 16:11

Barriers and Possible Solutions

In spite of the favorable conditions, barriers exist to overseas Chinese's integration into their new societies.

Even though the new generation of overseas Chinese are better educated, language remains a problem.

Born in a Chinese farmer's family, Cui Zhanfeng defeated other candidates in a global recruitment to become Oxford University's professor of chemical engineering. He was the first ethnic Chinese professor in the university's 1,000-year history.

Cui walked a long way to his success, though. When he first came to Glasgow, Scotland, the local residents' heavy accent was a headache for him.

"I felt like I could understand nothing," he said. "I would ask people to write the words down when I went to banks or shops." As time went by, Cui could understand more and more and finally one day, "I suddenly understood every word."

Compared with language barriers, cultural differences are a greater problem.

Chen Deliang, executive director of the International Council for Science, understands this.

"The Chinese culture emphasizes introversion, but working at an international organization you have to be insistent on your points," he said.

Bernard P. Wong, an anthropology professor at San Francisco State University, had many stories about culture shock. In his book titled "The Chinese in Silicon Valley," Wong wrote about the difficulties Chinese high-tech workers, particularly those from the Chinese mainland, have experienced in Silicon Valley.

Wong wrote that Americans value open and direct exchange. Employers, for example, may not appreciate workers who are quiet in professional meetings and self-effacing about their achievements.

He noted that many Chinese did not know how to negotiate with their American employers for better pay or working conditions.

Some Chinese would demonstrate their loyalty to a particular firm by staying with it for longer period of time. American employers may read their behavior in a different way, though. They would think that the Chinese stayed because they could not find better jobs, according to Wong.

Bars are favorite places for Westerners to socialize, but few overseas Chinese would feel at ease in such places, wrote Wong.

Moreover, the phenomenon known as "glass ceiling" is a new barrier for overseas Chinese to overcome in their professional development.

"In America, glass ceiling still exists for Asian Americans," George Koo, a well-known Chinese American, told Xinhua in an interview.

"Part of the cause is due to Asian's culturally instilled low-key demeanor and natural inclination to be modest rather than being aggressive in promoting oneself," he said, adding that the American mainstream culture tends to favor those most assertive in proclaiming their ability and accomplishments.

The other cause is the continued persistence of racial prejudice among mainstream Americans, said Koo.

In Silicon Valley, Chinese and Indians constitute an important work force. The Chinese are better educated, yet receive lower pay and fewer promotions compared to their Indian and Caucasian colleagues. That happens against the backdrop that ethnic Chinese high-tech professionals outnumber their Indians counterparts.

Shien-Biau Woo, a retired physics professor and former lieutenant governor of Delaware, concurred.

"The glass ceiling is pervasive," Woo said. "All American institutions, be they private industries, universities, federal, state and local governments, will choose to shortchange Chinese Americans when it comes to getting good jobs, because they can get away with it."

How can overseas Chinese break through glass ceiling? A few success stories may provide us with food for thought.

Tao Thomas Qu from the Chinese mainland, the founding executive of the Chinese Professionals Association of Canada, was celebrated as one of the Top 12 most influential Chinese Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area in 2006.

Tao maintained that immigrants must establish a network of contacts and friends with native Canadians.

Once an immigrant enters the workforce, he must understand and adopt the values of the workplace while identifying and cultivating potential mentors within the organization, said Tao.

Leadership skill development is integral to career advancement, Tao said. Developing leadership skills and experience through involvement in community services, which are highly regarded in Canada, are important, he added.

Gary Locke encouraged Chinese Americans to take part in US politics, citing his own example. He used to joke that his family "moved one mile in 100 years," referring to the fact that his grandfather was a servant in a family one mile away from the governor's mansion 100 years before Locke himself became governor of the same state.

Since the 1980s, Chinese are the largest minority in all Asian minorities in the Unites States. But Locke noted that the ratio of Chinese representatives in the US political arena was rather low compared with other minorities in the United States.

"The truth is that if we Chinese Americans want to achieve something, we must join in the decision making process," Locke said.

However, Woo acknowledged, challenges remain. "First, being mostly new immigrants, we shy away from politics, which is the very tool we need to win equal treatment. Second, effective politics depends on large numbers -- large number of voters, money and volunteers. Most new immigrant leaders prefer to form their small cliques to pursue the ego satisfaction of being "a big fish, " although in a very small pond."

Woo, who came to the United States from Hong Kong at the age of 18, was former president of the 80-20 Initiative that works to organize Asia-Pacific Americans into a swing bloc-vote in presidential elections. Despite all sorts of difficulties, Woo and his fellow overseas Chinese are making continuous efforts for their political rights.