“Migrants’ hearts remain in China, study finds” says NZ Herald. A research found 94.5 per cent stated the were Chinese/Taiwanese/Hong Konger, while only 5.5 per cent said they somehow felt they belonged to both New Zealand and their country of origin. There is also a growing number of younger migrants are more attracted to their homeland identity than those aged 45 and over.
This is surprising for the researchers who think the older Chinese would be more conservative.
I am not surprised with the results. As a 1.5 generation Hong Kong Chinese New Zealander, it took me years to feel comfortable with both identity. I often still get the “Oh you speak good English”, and “how long have you been here?” stuff. Why can’t New Zealanders see me as New Zealander? And when I was in Hong Kong, I had the “oh you speak good Cantonese”, or “you have an HK ID Card?” stuff.
I have finally become more comfortable going back to HK in recent years as Hong Konger, after many of years of trying to integrate into New Zealand and be branded as New Zealander.
As I blogged yesterday, there are more to Chinese than festivals and food. We don’t have a lot of different needs because I look different. I have the basic needs such as food, shelter and love.
Sometimes I also relate better with my Chinese counterparts. For those of us who live overseas, we work harder to keep our culture and believes. We also share what’s back home. And with what happened to me in recent weeks, I have had a lot more support from my Chinese friends.
New Zealand is a multicultural society – which means, everyone needs to welcome each other with open hands. Unless this happens, it won’t stop me, and many others, to feel more connected to their homeland in China, or for me, Hong Kong.
