A Crazy Rich Asians poser: overseas Chinese are as much Chinese as cultural products of the country they live in

Reading Time:2 minutes

British actress Gemma Chan stars in the Hollywood hit “Crazy Rich Asians”, alongside other actors of Chinese descent. Photo: AP

Published: 9:02am, 23 Sep 2018Updated: 9:02am, 23 Sep 2018

I agree with Anson Chan on the challenges of multicultural representation in the media, especially for a text with a specific narrative such as Crazy Rich Asians (“First Black Panther, now Crazy Rich Asians: how Hollywood minority voices are going mainstream”, September 3).

Both its literary and movie versions have succeeded in providing a breezy overview of the Chinese diaspora’s depth and diversity. But any attempt to impose a primordial definition on this smorgasbord of some 60 million people with Chinese ancestry living outside Greater China would be simplistic, superficial and problematic, even for a behemoth like the Community Party of China.

For example, the only thing that is obviously Chinese or Asian about elegant British actress Gemma Chan is her appearance. The same may be said for the other Chinese actors who hail from America, Australia, the UK, and elsewhere.

Even in Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, there are variations in the values and outlook of the Western and Chinese-educated local population.

Chinese Indonesians work to preserve 700 years of history in ‘Little China’ in Java

And these are probably the only three countries outside Greater China where Chinese cultural practices remain largely immune from assimilation into the native cultures of their new home. In the West or in countries like Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, most naturalised Chinese assume localised names to fit in, for example.

Overseas Chinese … are citizens of their respective countries first and foremost

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x