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in Darwin increased from 4.9 per cent to 6.2 per cent, in Sydney from 2.8 per cent to 4.7 per cent and in Wellington City from 3.8
per cent to 4.7 per cent.
As a result of this migration from densely-populated East
and Southeast Asia, most if not all of us here would have relatives in all four corners of the Pacific, often siblings or
first cousins.
These family links weave a network of
relationships which
which help bring Pacific communities closer together. Our ability to operate this network is of crucial importance for both Hongkong and Singapore.
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There is here an important difference between the Japanese and the Chinese model. Because of strong family units, Chinese migrants to North America and Australasia maintain
vigorous diaspora cultures. So too Vietnamese, Thai and Indian
migrants. Chinese Americans, Chinese Canadians and Chinese Australians link up in a way which Japanese Americans do not. There is a strong desire among non-Japanese Asian communities in
the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to remain Asian and not
be wholly absorbed into white society. I would go so far as to argue that Asians in these countries are more dynamic precisely because they remain Asian in their core values.
To maintain the core values, we must pay attention to culture and education. For ethnic Chinese, the Chinese language, whether Mandarin or Cantonese, is critical even if it is not fully mastered. Hongkong and Singapore have a common long-term interest in promoting Asian culture and Asian languages among Asians and non-Asians in North America and Australasia. We
should jointly promote schools which teach English, Chinese and other Asian languages like Thai and Malay.
In this way, we link not only Hongkong and Singapore but also other cities on the Pacific Rim. The process is already underway, brought about not least by the migration of Hongkongers and Taiwanese to the US, Canada and Australia. We should help it along by vision and organization.
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