Country/corresponding immigrant community in NYC:
Chinese diaspora/immigrants.
Has the country been in the news lately? If so, for what?
Yes. Xi Pinjing, President of the PRC, will be taking a third term of power. Recently, there has been news about how Chengdu (an area in Sichuan) has been hit with a lockdown. China was also recently hit by an earthquake with a continuously rising death toll. There were also stories about Hong Kong speech therapists being jailed for usage of books deemed “seditious” by the government.
How many live in the US? In the tristate area? How many are in the international diaspora? How many in the home country?
As of 2016, there are approximately 5 million people of Chinese ancestry in the US.
As of 2017, there are approximately 900,00 Chinese-Americans in the tristate area.
As of 2017, there are approximately 10 million international Chinese diaspora.
As of 2020, there are approximately 1.4 billion people in China.
In the tristate area, where do they live?
Most Chinese people in New York reside in Queens, approximately 40%. There are Chinatowns in Manhattan, Flushing in Queens, and Bensonhurst in Brooklyn.
What types of jobs do a significant percentage of them have?
As of 2018, most Chinese workers are employed in: Management, Business, Science, and Arts occupations. Most of these numbers come from immigrants, rather than native-born diaspora.
Why did they come to New York/the US? When?
Chinese immigrants first came to New York in the early 19th century, before the Chinese Exclusion act. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 allowed for a resurgence of Chinese immigrants. After the quota for the act was lifted, the number of Chinese-Americans increased exponentially.
What are some major organizations/advocacy groups/resources in this community?
The Chinese-American Planning Council, Chinese Progressive Association New York, Garden of Hope, United Chinese Association of Brookyln.
Do they have local media house/s? If so, list them.
Some are more trustworthy than others. For a list: Chinese Daily News/World Journal, The China Press, Epoch Times (not trustworthy).
List/link the major media houses in the home country. Are they reliable? What is the press landscape like there?
The major media houses in China are not reliable. China is known to have one of the worst press freedom landscapes for journalists worldwide. Even media sources based internationally must pass inspection in Beijing to be published digitally. Some are: People’s Daily (print), Beijing Daily/Guangming Daily (print), Xinwen (China News Service, broadcasting).
How strong are relationships with the home country? How significant are remittances to the home country’s economy?
Tensions between the United States and China have been gradually increasing. There are questions as to how China’s allyship with Russia impacts the latter’s invasion of Ukraine. Nancy Pelosi also visited Taiwan, causing climate talks between the US and China to cease. Right now, the two countries are in a stalemate that’s reminiscent of the Cold War. The US has also been critical of China’s human rights abuses, with the former denying all allegations of such. Still, the economic ties between the two are seen as one of the most international relationships globally.
In the homeland what is the GDP per capita? Where does that rank in the world? What are the major industries?
As of 2020, the GDP per capita was 10,500.40 USD. This ranks China at 79 globally. Major industries include: services, manufacturing, and agriculture.
What is the system of government? When did this system come into place? Was there a colonial power? (Or was it the colonial power?)
Authoritarian under the political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which emerged under the leadership of Mao Zedong in 1949.
Name of the NY consul general. How long has he/she been in the role?
Huang Ping, who has been in the role since November 2018.
Link to three news stories that have been published about the immigrant community in New York.
Are there any restaurants, bars, small businesses etc. that are owned/frequented by members of the immigrant community? Are there any other informal community spaces you can identify in the city?
There are several restaurants and small businesses that are owned by Chinese-Americans, both immigrant and native-born. One whose staff I plan to interview with permission of the owner is “A Taste of Shanghai,” (known by frequent goers as shanghai xiaochi) a restaurant in Flushing.
Give three potential story ideas. (Doesn’t need to be a fully fleshed-out pitch yet, but should be well thought-out.)
- The use of Chinese social media/news consumption via social media by Chinese diaspora, by both immigrants and native-born. Why do these diasporas continue to use Chinese sources for news when it’s an open secret that everything is censored/moderated by the Chinese government? What turns them off from using other media sources, what keeps them connected?
- Second-generation immigrants taking over businesses that were started by their parents. Many immigrants come to America with hopes that their children will have better opportunities than they did. So why are second-generation immigrants choosing the same jobs as their parents? For this story, I think it’d be better to pick one Chinese-American owned small business specifically for a profile– getting to know the family and the struggles they’ve experienced.
- The gentrification of Chinatowns in New York City, specifically Flushing. As a Queens resident, everytime I go to Flushing there seems to be a new restaurant opening that’s high scale. The older restaurants that made Flushing known for its “cheap eats” reputation are closing down. The increase of high scale restaurants are no doubt causing issues for mom and pop stores. Now people are avoiding Flushing, describing it as “not what it used to be.” I’ve witnessed this in real time and think it would make an interesting story. What’s even more interesting, residents are being displaced by their own people. The high scale restaurants are owned by fellow Chinese diaspora– it’s co-ethnics replacing other co-ethnics.
I think I’m leaning towards story idea #3 since I have a small restaurant owner/her employees that I can interview. However, that’s in regards to whether my interview will happen. It’s been pushed back twice, due to the recent observance of the Mid-Autumn festival. Today’s interview was delayed again, so if it’s canceled I will go with one of the other ideas.