We are Chinese Canadian: The response of Vancouver's Chinese community to Hong Kong immigrants, 1980-1997

This project examines Vancouver's Chinese Canadian community in light of the increase of Hong Kong Chinese immigration to Canada in the 1980s and 1990s. It illustrates how the term "Chinese Canadian" was claimed by a group of established Canadians of Chinese descent, as a means to articulate a distinct cultural identity in contrast to the new Hong Kong Chinese immigrants, who were not well received by Vancouver residents. It explores how media and institutions, such as the Chinese Cultural Centre, became outlets for the established Chinese community to present their distinctly "Canadian" identity; while revealing the inherent problems associated with the essentialist term, "Chinese Canadian." Furthermore, this paper discusses why the new Hong Kong Chinese immigrants were not received into the existing Chinese community and what effect this may have had on both the new immigrants and the established community.