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British Chinese
British Chinese (traditional Chinese: 英籍華人; simplified Chinese: 英籍华人; pinyin: Yīng jí huárén), also known as Chinese British or Chinese Britons, are people of Chinese – particularly Han Chinese – ancestry who reside in the United Kingdom, constituting the second-largest group of Overseas Chinese in Western Europe after France.
The United Kingdom has the oldest Chinese community in Western Europe. The first waves of immigrants came between 1842 (the end of the First Opium War) and the 1940s (the end of World War II), largely through treaty ports opened as concessions to the British for the Opium Wars, such as Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Shanghai. British Chinese communities began to form in British ports in Liverpool, London, Cardiff, and Glasgow. In the Liverpool area, by the end of World War II, an estimated 900 Eurasian children were born to Chinese fathers and white mothers.
Since the middle of the 20th century, many British Chinese have been descended from people of former British colonies, such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. This shifted in the late-1970s with new waves of Chinese migrants coming from Vietnam, mainland China, and Hong Kong. Following new national security laws imposed by China onto Hong Kong, the United Kingdom offered a pathway to citizenship for British National (Overseas) status holders residing in Hong Kong – the majority of whom are ethnically Chinese. Two years since the introduction of the BN(O) visa immigration route in 2021, 144,500 Hong Kongers have arrived in the United Kingdom.
According to the 2021 Census, the Chinese ethnic group numbered 502,216, or 0.8% of the United Kingdom population. British Chinese live in every major British city, most notably including London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Cambridge. Compared with most other ethnic minorities in the UK, the Chinese are amongst the most geographically dispersed. The six cities of Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester, and Newcastle upon Tyne host Chinatowns.
Overall, as a demographic group, the British Chinese are amongst the highest income earners, the highest academic achievers and the least likely to receive any welfare support from the government. They also place well on socioeconomic metrics with the lowest arrest and incarceration rates, lowest overweight or obesity rates, and the lowest school suspension rates.
The term "Asian" in the United Kingdom usually refers to those of South Asian heritage, such as Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Kashmiris. Furthermore, although Chinese have a long history of settling in the United Kingdom, the 1991 census was the first to introduce a question on ethnicity; earlier censuses only recorded country of birth. In the 2001 census, Chinese was not included in the broad 'Asian or Asian British' category, but in the 'Chinese or other ethnic group' category instead. The 'Chinese or other ethnic group' category continues to be used by some public bodies and governmental departments, with those who identify as Chinese not counted under the 'Asian or British Asian' category. In the 2011 census, the question for ethnic group allowed for the option of "Chinese" for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and "Chinese, Chinese Scottish or Chinese British" for Scotland.
The terms "British-born Chinese" (BBC) and "Scottish-born Chinese" (SBC) have become common ways of describing ethnic Chinese who were born in the United Kingdom. However, the newer term of "British Chinese" began to emerge in the 1990s as a way to articulate a bicultural identity. Diana Yeh argues that the term is also a means to negotiate and offer agency to individuals often rejected as not being "British" or "Chinese" enough, yet also not being as visible as "Black" or "Asian" ethnic minorities. Along with the term "British Chinese," there has been an increasing use of more inclusive umbrella terms such as "British East Asian" (BEA) and "British East and Southeast Asian" (BESEA), especially in the arts sector and in the face of racism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Britain has been receiving ethnic Chinese migrants more or less uninterruptedly on varying scales since the 19th century. While new immigrant arrivals numerically have replenished the Chinese community, they have also added to its complexity and the already existing differences within the community. Meanwhile, new generations of British-born Chinese have emerged.
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British Chinese
British Chinese (traditional Chinese: 英籍華人; simplified Chinese: 英籍华人; pinyin: Yīng jí huárén), also known as Chinese British or Chinese Britons, are people of Chinese – particularly Han Chinese – ancestry who reside in the United Kingdom, constituting the second-largest group of Overseas Chinese in Western Europe after France.
The United Kingdom has the oldest Chinese community in Western Europe. The first waves of immigrants came between 1842 (the end of the First Opium War) and the 1940s (the end of World War II), largely through treaty ports opened as concessions to the British for the Opium Wars, such as Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Shanghai. British Chinese communities began to form in British ports in Liverpool, London, Cardiff, and Glasgow. In the Liverpool area, by the end of World War II, an estimated 900 Eurasian children were born to Chinese fathers and white mothers.
Since the middle of the 20th century, many British Chinese have been descended from people of former British colonies, such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. This shifted in the late-1970s with new waves of Chinese migrants coming from Vietnam, mainland China, and Hong Kong. Following new national security laws imposed by China onto Hong Kong, the United Kingdom offered a pathway to citizenship for British National (Overseas) status holders residing in Hong Kong – the majority of whom are ethnically Chinese. Two years since the introduction of the BN(O) visa immigration route in 2021, 144,500 Hong Kongers have arrived in the United Kingdom.
According to the 2021 Census, the Chinese ethnic group numbered 502,216, or 0.8% of the United Kingdom population. British Chinese live in every major British city, most notably including London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Cambridge. Compared with most other ethnic minorities in the UK, the Chinese are amongst the most geographically dispersed. The six cities of Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester, and Newcastle upon Tyne host Chinatowns.
Overall, as a demographic group, the British Chinese are amongst the highest income earners, the highest academic achievers and the least likely to receive any welfare support from the government. They also place well on socioeconomic metrics with the lowest arrest and incarceration rates, lowest overweight or obesity rates, and the lowest school suspension rates.
The term "Asian" in the United Kingdom usually refers to those of South Asian heritage, such as Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Kashmiris. Furthermore, although Chinese have a long history of settling in the United Kingdom, the 1991 census was the first to introduce a question on ethnicity; earlier censuses only recorded country of birth. In the 2001 census, Chinese was not included in the broad 'Asian or Asian British' category, but in the 'Chinese or other ethnic group' category instead. The 'Chinese or other ethnic group' category continues to be used by some public bodies and governmental departments, with those who identify as Chinese not counted under the 'Asian or British Asian' category. In the 2011 census, the question for ethnic group allowed for the option of "Chinese" for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and "Chinese, Chinese Scottish or Chinese British" for Scotland.
The terms "British-born Chinese" (BBC) and "Scottish-born Chinese" (SBC) have become common ways of describing ethnic Chinese who were born in the United Kingdom. However, the newer term of "British Chinese" began to emerge in the 1990s as a way to articulate a bicultural identity. Diana Yeh argues that the term is also a means to negotiate and offer agency to individuals often rejected as not being "British" or "Chinese" enough, yet also not being as visible as "Black" or "Asian" ethnic minorities. Along with the term "British Chinese," there has been an increasing use of more inclusive umbrella terms such as "British East Asian" (BEA) and "British East and Southeast Asian" (BESEA), especially in the arts sector and in the face of racism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Britain has been receiving ethnic Chinese migrants more or less uninterruptedly on varying scales since the 19th century. While new immigrant arrivals numerically have replenished the Chinese community, they have also added to its complexity and the already existing differences within the community. Meanwhile, new generations of British-born Chinese have emerged.