The Recent Wave of Hong Kong Immigrants into Vancouver

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The Recent Wave of Hong Kong Immigrants into Vancouver

This paper is concerned with the recent wave of Hong Kong immigrants

into Vancouver. The stage is set for this discussion by first explaining some

background behind Canadian immigration policy and then discussing the history of

Chinese immigrants in Vancouver. From these discussions we are informed that

Canadian immigration policy was historically ethnocentric and only began to

change in the late 1960s. It was at this point that we see a more multicultural

group of immigrants into our nation. The history of Chinese immigration in

Vancouver, and for that matter, Canada is not positive one. The experiences and

prejudices which were developed over 100 years ago still colours the way in

which we view one another.

The recent wave of Hong Kong immigrants began in the 1970s. This group

is different from most others before it because of it's scale and the fact that

they tend to be well-educated, affluent people. The result of their immigration

into Vancouver has been a booming economy and social tension. With greater

understanding and awareness on both sides we can alleviate the social tensions.

Introduction

There is a school in Vancouver which is offering a four year immersion

programme to its students. That in itself is not highly unusual in our bilingual

nation, what is unusual is that the language of choice for the immersion

programme is not French, it is Mandarin. The programme was voted in by parents

who believed the Mandarin language to be more important to their children's

futures in Vancouver than French. This situation shows quite effectively the

transition which is taking place in Canada's third largest city. Vancouver is a

city which is consistently looking more and more to the Pacific Rim nations,

especially Hong Kong, for its economic and social connections.

Vancouver is the most asian Canadian city in outlook. At $1.3 Billion,

British Columbia accounts for the greatest Asian investment of all the provinces.

As the urban center of the province, Vancouver is the destination for most of

this capital. With an Asian population of over 18%, perhaps it is not so

surprising that so much Asian capital is invested in the city. The draw of

Vancouver for Asians has numerous reasons including, security, an opportunity to

continue business in Asia, and a feeling of welcome. The result is that the city

is being completely rebuilt with asian money. As a consequence of this influx,

all is not well, there are tensions within the city that have recently been

surfacing. Before entering into this discussion, however, it is important to

understand the context of immigration in Canada as well as the history of asian

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