CHINESE | familylanguagepolicy

THE CHINESE COMMUNITY

The history of Chinese diaspora in Britain dates back to the 17th century in terms of labour migrants. Until the Second World War, small groups of Chinese diasporans remained living around Britain's main ports, the oldest and largest in Liverpool and London. These communities consisted of a transnational and mobile population of Cantonese seamen and a small number of more permanent residents who ran shops, eateries, and boarding houses that catered for them. Chinese migration to Britain continued without much change until the 1980s, when rising living standards and urbanization in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia gradually reduced the volume of migration from the former British Colonies. At the same time, the number of students and skilled emigrants from the People's Republic of China began to rise. Since the immigration of the 1960s, the Chinese community has made rapid socioeconomic advancements in the UK. Overall, as a demographic group, the British Chinese are well-educated and have higher incomes than other demographic groups in the UK. The British Chinese also fare well on many socioeconomic indicators, including low incarceration rates and high rates of health. According to the 2011 census data, there are 433,150 Chinese people (approximately 0.7% of the UK population) living in the UK. The number of Chinese students coming to the UK for higher education reached 91,215 in 2015-16, which made China one of the top 5 origins of international students in British higher education.

The British Chinese community in the 21st century is becoming more intersected, connected, and mobile. There are Chinatowns, Chinese community centres, and community schools in almost every place where there is a substantial Chinese community, with new immigrants and long-term citizens giving and seeking help and support there. The current population of British Chinese speak two major Chinese varieties: Cantonese and Mandarin, while other Chinese regional dialects (such as Hakka and Hokkien) are also spoken at the community and family levels.