Hong Kong Americans

Hong Kong Americans

Total population
215,814 (born in Hong Kong) (2012)[1]
Regions with significant populations
California, New York, Washington (Seattle)[2]
Languages
Predominantly English, varieties of Chinese: Yue Chinese (Cantonese, Taishanese), Min Chinese (Eastern,[3] Southern), Hakka, Wu Chinese[4] (Taihu Wu, Oujiang Wu), Mandarin Chinese (Standard Chinese).
Religion
Unaffiliated, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism
Related ethnic groups
Hong Kong Canadians, Hong Kong Britons Hong Kong Australians, Hong Kong New Zealanders Chinese Americans, Taiwanese Americans Americans in Hong Kong, Overseas Chinese

Hong Kong Americans or American Hong Kongers are Americans of Hong Kong ancestry. Hong Kong has since 1997 been a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China; from 1841 to 1997 it was a British crown colony.

According to the 2012 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 219,231 Americans who are born in Hong Kong,^[5][6] a figure that excludes immigrants from Hong Kong who were born elsewhere, and American-born descendants of these immigrants. Currently, there are over 330,000 Hong Kong immigrants to the United States.^[7] This makes the United States the third largest home of Hong Kong diaspora, behind Hong Kong and Canada. Many of the Hong Kong Americans hold both United States citizenship and right of abode in Hong Kong. Other than the US passport, many of them also hold HKSAR Passport and British National (Overseas) passport.

History

After the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, an influx of Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong immigrants settled in Chinatown, San Francisco, California, and Chinatown, Manhattan, New York. In Chinatown neighborhoods, many Hong Kong immigrants opened businesses such as Chinese restaurants and supermarkets.^[8][9][10]

During the 1980s and the 1990s, a large number of high-skilled Hong Kong immigrants settled in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, and the San Francisco Bay Area, where many were employed by high-technology companies in Silicon Valley. Many of the Hong Kong immigrants in the Bay Area resided in suburban communities, such as Burlingame, South San Francisco, and San Mateo, and in the Richmond District and Sunset District in San Francisco.^[11][12]

Population

As of 2012, there are 219,231 people in the United States who are born in Hong Kong. 96,281 of people born in Hong Kong live in the state of California.^[5] 39,523 of the people born in Hong Kong live in New York.^[13] There is also a sizable community of Hong Kongese in the Greater Boston Area, especially in Quincy, Massachusetts.^[14]

Notable Americans of Hong Kong origin

• Nathan Adrian – swimmer and Olympic medal winner
• Jin Au-Yeung – rapper, songwriter, TVB actor
• Flora Chan – TVB actress
• Francis Chan – preacher
• Jaycee Chan – singer, film actor
• John S. Chen – CEO of BlackBerry
• Kevin Cheng – TVB actor
• Amy Chow – gymnast and Olympic medal winner
• Denny Chin – judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1994–present), first Asian American appointed as a United States district court judge
• Margaret Chin – member of the New York City Council representing Chinatown.
• Khalil Fong – singer and songwriter
• The Fung Brothers – comedy and hip hop duo
• James Hong – actor
• William Hung – singer
• Brian Burrell - actor
• Yuet Wai Kan – pioneer of using DNA to diagnose human diseases; helped set the stage for the Human Genome Project
• Michelle Kwan – Olympic medal winner, ice skater
• Nancy Kwan – actress and model
• Kent Lai – tenured full professor, University of Utah School of Medicine
• Bruce Lee – martial artist and actor
• Justin Lo – Cantopop singer and songwriter
• Vivienne Tam – fashion designer
• Sam Tsui – musician, singer-songwriter and an Internet celebrity through YouTube
• Grace Wong – TVB actress
• Kolten Wong – professional MLB player
• Daniel Wu - actor

References

1. "Race Reporting for the Asian Population by Selected Categories: 2010". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
2. "Host of Papers Cater to Seattle's Asian American Community : Media: An increasing inflow of immigrants is a major reason for the proliferation of such publications.". Los Angeles Times. May 16, 1995. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
3. "Ethnologue report for language code: cdo". Ethnologue.com. Retrieved 2011-12-31.
4. "Ethnologue report for language code: wuu". Ethnologue.com. Retrieved 2011-12-31.
5. "2012 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
6. "Table 1. First, Second, and Total Responses to the Ancestry Question by Detailed Ancestry Code: 2000". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
7. http://www.ocac.gov.tw/download.asp?tag=P&file=DownFile/File_1619.pdf&no=1619
8. "Chinatown History". San Francisco Chinatown. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
9. Ronald Skeldon (1994). Reluctant Exiles?: Migration from Hong Kong and the New Overseas Chinese. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 256–. ISBN 978-962-209-334-8. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
10. Ming K. Chan; Gerard A. Postiglione (1996). The Hong Kong Reader: Passage to Chinese Sovereignty. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 174–. ISBN 978-1-56324-870-2. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
11. Ronald Skeldon (1994). Reluctant Exiles?: Migration from Hong Kong and the New Overseas Chinese. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 242–. ISBN 978-962-209-334-8. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
12. Foley, Michael (2007). Religion and the New Immigrants : How Faith Communities Form Our Newest. Page 42. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
13. "2008-2010 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
14. Quincy's Asian American community is growing, changing, The Patriot Ledger