Chinese nationals in Singapore

Chinese nationals in Singapore (Simplified Chinese: 居住新加坡的中国国民) refers to Chinese people who are of Chinese nationality residing in Singapore. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the community had a population of 451,481 in 2019, with 52,516 originating from Hong Kong and 18,820 from Macau, the 2 special administrative regions of China.[1][lower-alpha 1] The community of Chinese nationals are the 2nd largest foreign community in Singapore, constituting 18% of the country's foreign-born population.[2]

This article is about people of Chinese nationality residing in Singapore. For the article on Singaporeans of Chinese descent, see Chinese Singaporeans.
Chinese nationals in Singapore
居住新加坡的中国国民  (Chinese)
Total population
451,481 (2019)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Singapore
Languages
Singapore English, Chinese (Cantonese)
Related ethnic groups
Chinese people

Chinese migration to Singapore has been happening since the 19th century, after the founding of Singapore as a free port by Stamford Raffles in 1819. The demand for a skilled workforce and labour in Singapore was the driving force for attracting Chinese migrants to Singapore during that period of time.[3] Today, newer Chinese migrants includes migrant workers working in various industries of the Singapore economy, with a mix of blue-collar workers and white-collar workers,[4] as well as students.[5][6]

History

During the 19th century, Chinese migration to Southeast Asia was a common occurrence. Many were unskilled and migrated from China to Southeast Asia for jobs during the colonial period of the region. In 1821, the first Chinese junk arrived in Singapore, then a newly founded British port. During this period of time, the port of Singapore became one of the largest hubs in Asia, beating out Batavia (present day Jakarta, Indonesia) as an international trading port.[3] By 1871, due to the influx of migrants from Malaya, China, India and other parts of Asia, Singapore's population had reached nearly 100,000, with over half of them being Chinese.[7] By the 1930s, there were 4 million ethnic Chinese living in Southeast Asia, forming a significant minority population within different territories in the region.[4] Today, descendants of early Chinese migrants make up the bulk of the population of Chinese Singaporeans.

Newer Chinese migration today began from the 1980s, with many of them working in blue-collared jobs during Singapore's rapid industrialisation which began in the 1970s.[8] During 1989, after the Tiananmen Square protests, the Singaporean government offered 25,000 permanent residency status to Hong Kong residents for them to settle in Singapore. One of the reasons was also to maintain the racial percentage of the 3 major ethnic groups in Singapore, with Singaporeans migrating aboard and to offset the declining birth rate.[9] Education in Singapore is also another reason for migration, with the Singaporean government providing scholarships to attract international students outside of ASEAN countries. These includes pre-tertiary and undergraduate institutions, and although the scholarships are bond-free, recipients would have to work in a Singaporean company for a period of time before they can leave the country.[6]

Demographics
See also: Immigration to Singapore
Population of Chinese nationals in Singapore from 1990 to 2019.[1]

In 1990, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, among the 177,245 Chinese nationals residing in Singapore, there were a total of 150,447 from the Chinese mainland, 15,043 from Hong Kong and 11,755 from Macau residing in Singapore.[1] In 2000, the number of Chinese nationals increased to 311,501 individuals. Individuals from mainland China and Hong Kong increased by 66.3% and 70.7% respectively while the number of Chinese nationals from Macau decreased by 16.1% for that year. Since then, the population of Chinese nationals residing in Singapore has increased steadily and it reached a total population of 532,734 in 2015, before falling to 451,481 in 2019. One of the reasons for the decline might be due to the Singapore government tightening immigration rules in that same year for hiring foreigners.[10] In 2020, policies on hiring foreigners were further amended by the Ministry on Manpower to encourage companies to practice fair employment practices.[11]

Integration into Singaporean society

Integration of newer Chinese migrants has been harder due to different cultural behaviours and norms between Singaporeans. With the increase of Chinese nationals in Singapore, they are stereotyped to have uncivilised and objectionable behaviours while being out in public.[12] The high influx of immigrants into Singapore has also resulted increasingly xenophobic behaviour against some foreign communities in Singapore.[13][14] Another reason would be the perception that the Singaporean government gives special treatment to foreigners or permanent residents as compared to Singaporeans, even though some of them do not pledge allegiance to the country.[6] Some newer Chinese migrants tend to regard Singapore as a Chinese society, as a large majority of the Singaporean population is of ethnic Chinese descent, with a "sense of familiarity". This results in some of the newer migrants choosing not to communicate in or learn the country's lingua franca, English resulting in misunderstandings and thus, being unable to integrate well into Singaporean society.[15][16]

Controversies
Wang Peng Fei derogatory video incident

In July, 2011, Wang Peng Fei, then a student of East Asia Institute of Management, uploaded a video making derogatory comments about Singaporeans and Singapore culture. Amongst other topics mentioned in the video were comments about Singapore's low fertility rate and racist comments against Indian Singaporeans.[17] Wang was expelled after the release of the video and a police report was also made against him for his comments, which is a chargeable offence under Singaporean law if found convicted.[18]

Curry incident

In August, 2011, a new migrant Chinese family was reported to have complained about the smell of their Indian Singaporean neighbour cooking curry. Despite their neighbour closing windows and doors of their home when they were cooking the dish, the Chinese family wanted their neighbours to not cook the dish entirely, which was part of Singaporean cuisine. After the dispute was reported in the newspaper, it received public backlash from Singaporeans and negative comments, mainly towards the Chinese migrant family.[19] A Facebook movement to in response to the Chinese family's comments was also started. The dispute was mediated by the Community Mediation Centre, under the Ministry of Law and an compromise was reached between the two families.[20]

Sun Xu 'dogs' comment

In February 2012, Sun Xu, an undergraduate with the National University of Singapore under a scholarship provided by the Ministry of Education made derogatory comments against Singaporeans on his microblog.[21] After the post came to light, Sun was fined S$3,000 by NUS and had his scholarship was revoked. He also had to pay back the scholarship benefits that he received, as well as serve community service with the university for three months.[22]

Notable people
  • Jackie Chan, a martial artist and actor originally from Hong Kong
  • Jet Li, Chinese film actor, film producer and martial artist
  • Xu Bin, a Chinese actor based in Singapore.
  • Zhao Wei, a Chinese actress.
  • Cao Ruyin, a Chinese murder victim who worked as a construction worker in Singapore. His killer Kho Jabing was executed since 2016.

References
  1. "International migrant stock 2019". United Nations. Retrieved 18 August 2020. This figure includes people who are of Chinese origin in Singapore, not including the Taiwanese population in Singapore
  2. Y., Hui; P.D., Yang; S.H., Zhan. "Immigration, Population, and Foreign Workforce in Singapore: An Overview of Trends, Policies, and Issues". Humanities & Social Studies Education (HSSE) Academic Group. HSSE Online. 6 (1): 10–25. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  3. G.K., Chong; L.G, Bak (21 June 2019). A General History Of The Chinese In Singapore. pp. 24–50. ISBN 9789813277656.
  4. A., Aris; N.A., Evi (27 December 2004). International Migration in Southeast Asia. pp. 80–85. ISBN 9789812302793.
  5. "Is bond-free S'pore scholarship just 'a stepping stone' for China students?". AsiaOne. 20 November 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  6. "Chinese Migration to Singapore: Discourses and Discontents in a Globalizing Nation-State". Asian and Pacific Migration Journal: APMJ. 1 (22): 31–54. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  7. Brenda S.A. Yeoh (2003). Contesting Space in Colonial Singapore: Power Relations and the Urban Built Environment. NUS Press. p. 317. ISBN 978-9971692681.
  8. M., Lin (2010). "Chinese migrant workers in Singapore: An analysis based on interviews". Research Gate. Asian and Pacific migration journal: APMJ. 1: 194–215. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  9. S.B., Chew; C., Rosalind (1995). "Immigration and Foreign Labour in Singapore". ASEAN Economic Bulletin. 12 (2): 191–200. doi:10.1355/AE12-2F. JSTOR 25770595.
  10. "Singapore's foreign workers left in limbo amidst tighter manpower rules". Singapore Business Review. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  11. "MOM further tightens foreign worker regime to develop 'strong local core of skilled workers'". TODAYonline. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  12. "Rapid Growth in Singapore's Immigrant Population Brings Policy Challenges". Migration Policy Institute. 3 April 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  13. "Singapore activists warn of surging xenophobia as foreigners take the blame for social ills". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  14. "Singapore's Foreigner Problem". The Diplomat. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  15. "Why Chinese nationals and Singaporeans don't get along". AsiaOne. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  16. Cavallaro, Francesco; Seilhamer, Mark Fifer; Yen Yee, Ho; Bee Chin, Ng (2018). "Attitudes to Mandarin Chinese varieties in Singapore" (PDF). Journal of Asian Pacific Communication. 28 (2): 195–255. doi:10.1075/japc.00010.cav. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  17. "Student apologises for video parody of S'poreans". Yahoo News. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  18. "Looking back at 2011: Chinese student mocks S'poreans". AsiaOne. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  19. "Singapore's 'anti-Chinese curry war'". Telegraph UK. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  20. "Shanmugam clarifies 'curry issue'". Yahoo News. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  21. "S'poreans outraged over PRC scholar's 'dog' comment". Yahoo News. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  22. "NUS student Sun Xu punished for 'dogs' comment". Yahoo News. 27 March 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2020.

Notes
  1. Chinese nationals who convert to Singaporean citizenship would be grouped according to the CMIO model.

Bibliography
  • Chong Guan Kwa, Bak Lim Kua (2019), A General History Of The Chinese In Singapore, World Scientific, ISBN 9789813277656
  • Aris Ananta, Evi Nurvidya Arifin (2004), International Migration in Southeast Asia, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, ISBN 9789812302793
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