The Changing Faces of the Chinese Community

Prepared for the Re-inventing the Chinese Church Conference

Vancouver

Nov. 11-15, 2002

A Presentation to CCCOWE

by Edward Ng, Ph.D.

[Dr. Edward Ng received his Ph.D. in demography from the University of Western Ontario. He is a statistician working in Statistics Canada. He often preaches and gives seminar in different churches and to university students in various parts of Canada.]

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Outline

– OVERVIEW

– How many Chinese in Canada?

– Where were they from? Why did they come? Where do they live now?

– DEMOGRAPHY

– What are their characteristics? (age, economic status)

– PSYCHOLOGY

– How much do they participate in community life? How is their sense of belonging to Canada and life satisfaction?

– ASSIMILATION

– New paradigm of assimilation? What should be the role of Chinese churches in Canada?

– Concluding Remarks

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Purpose

• Describing and examining the causes and consequences of the changing faces of Chinese communities

• Understanding immigrant assimilation process within the context of globalization

– assimilation or trans-nationalism?

• Explore possible ministry implications for Chinese churches

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Data and limitations

• As much as possible, the latest Census data was used.

– Thus, for ethnic data, Census 1996 was used, since the 2001 Census data would not be publicly available until early 2003.

– For religion data, Census 1991 was used for the same above-mentioned reason, as well as the fact that religion was asked once every 10 years only. The 2001 Census data on religion will be available in May of 2003.

• Survey results from Statistics Canada and administrative databases from Citizen and Immigration Canada were also used.

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Overview: How Many Chinese In Canada?

• According to Census 1996, visible minority (vismin) population totaled 3.2 million (11.2% of the total Canadian population).

• Chinese population composed 3% of the total Canadian population in 1996.

• Chinese population was also the biggest vismin group, at 26.9% (i.e. about 860,000).

• By contrast, there were only 58,000, 119,000 and 289,000 Chinese in the 1961, 1971 and 1981 censuses, respectively. By 1991, the population increased to more than half a million (at 634,000).

• The most important demographic force impacting on the Chinese community in Canada is perhaps the changing immigration trend.

• As a direct consequence of the liberalization of immigration regulations in the 1960s, Canada started to attract many immigrants from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East (mainly of whom are visible minority).

• Canada has slowly become multi-ethnic.

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Where Were They From?

• Recent immigrants come from all over the world. One in two recent immigrants were born in a country in Asia, with East Asia -Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan - accounting for one quarter of immigrants who landed in the first half of the 1990s.

• By contrast, earlier immigrants to Canada tended to come from European countries or the U.S. (see figures 1 and 2)

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Figure 1. Top ten places of birth for Immigrants coming in before 1981, Canada, 1996

	Before 1981
U.K.	566,700
Italy	320,200
U.S.	169300
Germany	156100
Portugal	116300

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Figure 2. Top ten places of birth for immigrants, by period of immigration, Canada, 1996

	1981-1990
Hong Kong	77,000
Poland	73,400
India	68100
Vietnam	65500
China	65400

	1991-96
Hong Kong	108,900
CHINA	87,900
India	71300
Philippines	71300
Sri Lanka	44200

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Figure 3. Number of Immigrants to Canada from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, 1980 to 2000

	Hong Kong	China*	Taiwan
1980	6309	4936	827
1981	6451	6550	834
1982	6542	3571	560
1983	6710	2217	570
1984	7696	2214	421
1985	7380	1883	536
1986	5893	1902	695
1987	16170	2625	1467
1988	23281	2778	2187
1989	19908	4430	3388
1990	29261	7989	3681
1991	22340	13915	4488
1992	38910	10429	7456
1993	36582	9469	9867
1994	44174	12487	7412
1995	31766	13308	7694
1996	29915	17458	13183
1997	22194	18450	13287
1998	8071	19736	7169
1999	3771	29095	5461
2000		40945	3409

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Why did they come?

• Chinese immigration to Canada is a result of discrete pushes and pulls due to changing geopolitics in both sending and receiving countries and the global economic restructuring process.

• Figure 4 shows the immigrant categories for immigrants from China and HK. Most came in as economic migrants, and a much smaller proportion came in for family re-union reason, or as refugees.

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Figure 4. Number of Immigrants according to categories, China and HK, 2000

	Economic	Family	Refugee	Others
China and HK	33077	7080	632	156

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Ministry Implication 1

• What are the impacts of the different waves of Chinese immigration on the Chinese community and churches?

• How can we strike a balance in the development of ministries for the different sub-groups? How to avoid potential conflicts among Chinese sub-groups from place of origin?

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Where do they live now?

– Overall, Chinese population (local-born included) is highly concentrated in big urban centers, and especially in certain municipalities.

– Chinese composed 7.9% of Toronto, 15.4% of Vancouver and only 1.4% of Montreal.

• 25% of Markham, 20% of Richmond Hill and 17% of Scarborough.

• 33% of Richmond, 28% of Vancouver, 22% of Burnaby and 15% of Coquitlam.

• 10% of Brossard and 6% of Saint-Laurent.

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Where do all the recent immigrants go?

• Ontario and B.C. are home to a large proportion of recent immigrants.

• Immigrants are increasingly drawn to Toronto and Vancouver which are home to six out of ten most recent immigrants.

• 48% of recent immigrants (185,900) from Hong Kong resided in Toronto, while 40% (153,300) from China did so. For those from Taiwan, the corresponding figure was 23% (see Figures 5,6 & 7, as summarized in Table 1)

• The figures for Vancouver were 37%, 31% and 63%, respectively. Somehow, Taiwanese preferred Vancouver over Toronto.

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Figure 5. Recent Hong Kong immigrants and area of residence in Canada, 1996 (in thousands of persons)

Victoria	0.8
Vancouver	68.5
Edmonton	5.6
Calgary	7.5
Saskatoon	0.1
Regina	0.4
Winnipeg	1
Hamilton	0.7
Toronto	88.4
Ottawa	1.9
Montreal	5.8
Quebec City	0.1
Halifax	0.3
Rest of Canada	4.8

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Figure 6. Recent immigrants from China and area of residence in Canada, 1996 (in thousands of persons)

Victoria	1.6
Vancouver	47.6
Edmonton	6
Calgary	6.6
Saskatoon	0.8
Regina	0.6
Winnipeg	2
Hamilton	1.2
Toronto	62
Ottawa	4.9
Montreal	10.3
Quebec City	0.5
Halifax	0.5
Rest of Canada	8.9

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Figure 7. Recent immigrants from Taiwan and area of residence in Canada, 1996 (in thousands of persons)

Victoria	0.3
Vancouver	27.6
Edmonton	0.3
Calgary	0.7
Saskatoon	0.1
Regina	0.1
Winnipeg	0.1
Hamilton	0.3
Toronto	9.8
Ottawa	0.3
Montreal	2.9
Quebec City	0
Halifax	0
Rest of Canada	1

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Table 1. Percentage distribution of recent Chinese immigrants by place of origin and area of residence in Canada, 1996

	HK	China	Taiwan
Victoria	0.43	1.04	0.69
Vancouver	36.85	31.01	63.45
Edmonton	3.01	3.91	0.69
Calgary	4.03	4.30	1.61
Saskatoon	0.05	0.52	0.23
Regina	0.22	0.39	0.23
Winnipeg	0.54	1.30	0.23
Hamilton	0.38	0.78	0.69
Toronto	47.55	40.39	22.53
Ottawa	1.02	3.19	0.69
Montreal	3.12	6.71	6.67
Quebec City	0.05	0.33	0.00
Halifax	0.16	0.33	0.00
Rest of Canada	2.58	5.80	2.30
Total (Percentage)	100	100	100
Total (in thousands)	185.9	153.5	43.5

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Ministry Implication 2

• High concentration of Chinese in cities presents both pros and cons for outreach.

– The high density makes it potentially cost-effective

– attractive city life may make it harder for people to realize their real need.

• Episodes of conflicts with mainstream society arose in past years (e.g. in Markham and Richmond). What should be the role of the Chinese church as salt and light in such situation?

• Not to be neglected are those Chinese who are in smaller cities and towns (e.g. cities like Sarnia, St. John). How can the churches co-ordinate effective outreach efforts to outlying and less resourceful areas?

• With the proliferation of technology, how can evangelistic newspaper and TV programs and even the internet be used to help in outreach?

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Demography

• Chinese origin was reported by 860,000 people in Census 1996.

• Of these reporting Chinese origins, over 75% are immigrants.

• Conversely, some 206,700 were local-born Chinese.

• Another 21,165 were non-permanent residents (e.g. working permit or student visa holders etc).

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Figure 8. Age Distribution of Population,

Canada and Visible Minority, 1996

	0-14	15-24	25-44	45-64	65-74	75+
Canada-Total	20.7	13.5	32.7	21.6	7.1	4.4
Visible Minority-Total	24.3	16.3	35.2	18.2	4	1.9
Chinese	19.9	15.8	34.9	20.7	5.9	2.9

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Age distribution of Chinese by place of birth, 1991

• In 1991, only 171,000 were local-born (c.f. 207,000 in 1996). 59% of the local-born in 1991 were under 15 years of age.

• By contrast, only 8.8% of the foreign-born Chinese population were under 15 years of age. These however were the Canadian raised Chinese.

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Ministry Implication 3

• About 20% of Chinese are between 45 and 64 years of age. The Christians in this age group will be retiring in the next 10 to 20 years. How can we help them to finish well in their service to God.

• The young local-born and the Canadian-raised Chinese has distinct experiences that fit neither the lives of their parents nor those of the mainstream.

• They are the transition generation that bridge between the past and the future, between the Industrial Age and the Information Age.

• They gave dual cultural identity- two sets of values, (at least) two languages, often two wardrobes, two sets of movie star and music videos, two kinds of humour and two lives --- one at home and one ‘out there’.

• Growing up with belief structures that cannot fit 100% their reality, they have to seek out and manufacture their own icons and structure of stability.

• How can the church help the local-born generation to make the right decision in life?

• How can the church take advantage of the bi-cultural feature of the local-born to further God’s kingdom?

• How can the un-churched local-born be attracted and be led into the Kingdom?

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Economic indicators

• Occupationally speaking, Chinese tends to be in either Professional groups or in Services (see Figure 9).

• Recent immigrants in big cities faced higher level of unemployment. Figures 10 and 11 tell us that this applies to both sexes.

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Figure 9. Age-standardized Proportion of Selected Vismin groups in selected occupations, 1991

	Mangerial	Professional	Manual	Service
Chinese	9%	15%	13%	15%
Koreans	17%	10%	8%	8%
South Asians	8%	13%	19%	9%
Filipinos	3%	12%	14%	25%

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Figure 10. Unemployment rate for men
aged 25-44 (in %), 1996

	Toronto	Vancouver
Canadian-born Men	6	7
Recent Immigrant Men	14	14

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Figure 11. Unemployment rate for women
aged 25-44 (in%), 1996

	Toronto	Vancouver
Canadian-born Women	6	6
Recent Immigrant Women	21	16

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Ministry Implication 4

• There are barriers to participation into the Canadian society, as seen in the higher rate of unemployment among recent immigrants. How can the church help?

• How can the different occupational groups be targeted for the sharing of the Gospel?

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Psychology: Do Chinese immigrants have a sense of belonging in Canada?

• Table 2 tells us that more than 90% of immigrants from China and HK who immigrated to Canada during the 1980s quickly became citizen by 1996 . In contrast, those from Taiwan did not show that same kind of urgency.

• If situations warrant it, however, many may leave Canada for greener pasture

– e.g. some used Canada as a stepping stone to the US. In view of the high-tech melt-down, there is also a recent movement by Chinese to go back to China for better work opportunities. Similarly, some HK immigrants already returned to HK after 1997.

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Table 2. Canadian citizenship by country of birth, Canada, 1996

– More than 90% of Canada’s immigrants who arrived during the 80s and were born in these countries have become Canadian citizens

– Romania, Tanzania, Hong Kong, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Iran, Haiti, Vietnam, Morocco, Egypt, Laos, Hungary, Kenya, People’s Republic of China, Philippians

– Less than 70% of Canada’s immigrants who arrived during the 80s and were born in these countries have become Canadian citizens

– Ireland, UK, India, Chile, Malaysia, Italy, South Korea, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Finland, US, Japan, Netherlands, Australia

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Chinese involvement in community

• Greater organizational involvement is highly desirable in ensuring social cohesion and creating social capital.

– Making a living in a market economy involves risk. The more you can depend on people you can trust the less risk you take.

– Networks of trusted social relationships create social capital, which is fundamentally critical in the new economy.

• Chinese involvement in community, cultural and sports was minimal.

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Activity involvement rates

• Table 3 shows that Chinese participation in different types of organization was low: sports (8%), community (6%) and cultural (6%). Interestingly, religious participation among Chinese was comparatively high (12%) but still low compared with most other groups.

• The political participation was very low (at 0%).

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Table 3. Involvement Rates (%) by Selected Ethnic Origins and Type of Organization, 1997

	Religious	Sports	Community	Cultural	Political
French	12	17	10	9	4
British	15	24	12	13	5
German	24	18	9	9	4
Dutch	32	23	14	12	4
Chinese	12	8	6	6	0
Aboriginal	8	18	6	13	2

Source: 1997 National Survey of Giving Volunteering and Participating

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Life Satisfaction

• Figure 12 shows that many Chinese indicated that they are very satisfied with life (29%) or somewhat satisfied with life (61%).

– However, their satisfaction level was very similar to that for the aboriginal, for whom the corresponding figures were 30% and 57% respectively.

– The Dutch scored highest, and they have very good community spirit e.g. through church involvement.

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Figure 12. Satisfaction with Life, Selected Ethnic Origins, 1997

	Very dissatisfied	Somewhat dissatisfied	Somewhat satisfied	Very satisfied
Dutch	0	2	39	59
British	1	7	40	52
German	1	4	46	50
French	1	7	49	42
Aboriginal	1	11	57	30
Chinese	1	8	61	29
Total	1	7	49	43

Source: 1997 National Survey of Giving Volunteering and Participating

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Religion

• Unlike other groups, the majority of Hong Kong immigrants said they had no religious affiliation.

• In 1991, 60% of them reported that they had no religious affiliation, compared with only 15% of all immigrants and 12 % of the total Canadian-born population.

• At the same time, 18% of immigrants indicated that they were Catholics, 16% were protestants and 6% with other religions.

• Similarly, the majority of immigrants from China said they had no religious affiliation.

• In 1991, 67% of them reported that they had no religious affiliation.

• At the same time, 13% indicated that they were Buddhists, 12% were protestants, 7% were Catholic and 1% with other religions.

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Ministry Implication 5

• The mission field for Chinese in Canada is huge. More than 60% of HK and Mainland Chinese have no religious affiliation.

• Meanwhile, analysis by the Christian Commitment Research Institute (Dr. Frank Jones) shows that Christians and religiously committed Chinese are more likely to be satisfied with life than non-Christians and the less committed.

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Assimilation for immigrants

• In this globalized era, transnational communities have flourished and are unlike earlier waves of migrants.

• Function of ethnic communities.

• Actors in ethnic communities.

• Implication to ethnic communities.

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Ministry Implication 6

• Chinese church is now coming of age. What should be the role of the Chinese church in Canada? How can we reach out to other ethnic groups as well as to encourage Chinese Christians to contribute to Canada.

– According to Prof. Reginald Bibby, new immigrants are ‘changing the face of God’. New immigrants’ zealous Christianity is rejuvenating the faith in Canada

• Some Caucasian churches are now reaching out to the Chinese. In turn, how can Chinese churches work with these Caucasian churches to extend God’s kingdom in Canada?

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Concluding Remarks

• Canada has experienced one of the smallest census-to-census growth rates in its population. From 1996 to 2001, the nation’s population increased by only 4% (from 28 million to 30 million).

• The effects of below replacement fertility has become more and more apparent since 1974.

• Immigration has become and will likely to be an increasingly important component of population growth into the 21st Century. More Chinese are likely to emigrate to Canada.

• A Statistics Canada medium population projection for vismin groups estimated that Chinese population in Canada will increase from 625,500 to about 1.2 million in 2001 and 2.1 million by 2016.

• Dealing with change, conflict and how to realize potential are three key elements in the leading of any group.

• One important task of the Chinese church at present is three-folded:

– how to handle the changes brought on by the changing immigration trend,

– how to resolve the potential conflict within and with the main-stream society,

– Chinese church, with its rich resources and bi-cultural nature of many of its members, has the privileged task of helping its members to realize their full potential in God’s kingdom.

• Once the Census 2001 results on ethnicity and on religion are released in early 2003, many of this presentation will be available ASAP. The new 2001 census will differentiate between Mandarin and Cantonese speaking Chinese, while as formerly, we only know whether a person speaks Chinese or not.

• As well, Statistics Canada is conducting a Longitudinal survey on immigrants to Canada, the result of which will also be released soon.

• May God help the Chinese church to biblically and truly re-invent itself for the important task ahead.

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