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Chinese Abroad
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To the ends of the Earth
My first contact with Chinese was not in China but here in India. There is a very big community of them here - engaged mostly in Carpentry, Leather Industry, Restaurant Business. Over my 40 years teaching here, many Chinese have gone through my hands. A great number of them have made their way to Canada. Each time I visit Canada, we have a reunion and reminisce about old times.
But whether in India, or Canada, or UK, or the US or Australia - I find there are certain characteristics which the Chinese never lose. The same courtesy marks them out wherever on the globe they wend their way. The same dedication to hard work. The same loyalty to their roots and traditions. The same discipline.
No doubt, as with any community, a few of them go wrong and end up in gangs. But this is rare, and more of a foil to set off the good majority.
I wonder if any sociaologist has ever managed to track down the source of these typical characteristics across the Chinese people as a race. I find it fascinating. And it whets my appetite on the eve of my return to China on 2nd May.
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May 31, 2006 21:26 Reply
PINETREE said:
As a 1st generation borne out of China, I still harbour some attachment to this great country mainly thru' the early influence of my father. I thus feel uplifted to hear a very experienced man saying such honourable things about the Chinese.
I do agree that there is a certain trait amongst the Chinese whether in the Mainland or overseas. But my observation is that if a Chinese is borne into another country, it is a matter of time & course that he would think/behave exactly like the rest of these countrymen unless the family influence is still strong.
I observe that ABC(American Borne Chinese) behave not quite different from the rest of the USAmericans - they speak like one, think like one & behave like one. Other than their skin colour, they are but the same nationality.
The ones your encountered in India(eg) are probably borne as 1st or 2nd generation and where the family influence might still be in them. But I doubt their children or grandchildren will be like them.