Tag Archives: Chinese Americans

Race & Ethnicity, USA Culture

Chinese Americans: Railroads to Fiber Optics – by Dr. Julia Wai-Yin So

ASIAN AMERICANS IN THE USA

Asian Americans comprise about 5.6% of the United States.  Among them, the Chinese Americans, with 3.79 million—constitute the largest Asian ethnic group in the U.S. Most of them arrived at this country in three separate immigration waves, each characterized by its own set of reasons for migration.

The first wave took place during the Gold Rush in California as part of the 1800s immigration wave.  The Chinese immigrants were primarily laborers from Southeast China. Some came voluntarily with the intention of returning to their home village with wealth and prestige; others were kidnapped and bought as Asian slaves. This article will follow the story of Chinese Americans and the challenges they still face.

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Authors R-Z, Politics, Social Issues

Asian Americans and Politics – by Jonathan Yao

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There has been a recent and burgeoning trend towards materialism in Chinese cultures, perhaps coinciding with recent economic booms. I witness this anecdotally whenever I walk down 5th Avenue in Manhattan and see a disproportionate number of Chinese people outside luxury retail stores. After perusing through some studies, I confirmed my intuitions and discovered that 68% of people from Chinese feel a lot of pressure to be successful and make money and that 71% of people from China are most likely to measure their success by what they own. Both of these numbers are the highest among all countries surveyed. Chinese consumers have now overtaken Americans to become the world’s largest buyers of personal luxury items.

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Around the world, Commerce, Race & Ethnicity

Chopsticks Made in the USA – Dr. Julia Wai-Yin So

To many of us, the idea of using two sticks with one hand to pick up a piece of chicken or vegetable from a plate or bowl and putting that same piece of chicken or vegetable into our mouth without dropping it is beyond one’s imagination. However, this is what one out of every five people in the world does at mealtime on a daily basis. These people with such dexterity with chopsticks live in what we call “chopsticks nations” such as China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

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