Ethnicities, Personalities And Politics In The Ethnic Chinese Worlds

Book excerpt: The rise of the economic power of the ethnic Chinese, known also as overseas Chinese, Chinese overseas or Chinese diaspora, was a late 20th century phenomenon. It was partly the result of the rise of the Four Little Asian Dragons in the 1970s, and was speeded up by the tempo of globalization towards the end of that century. This book explores the ethnic identity and boundary of the Chinese as minority groups in foreign lands, and as sub-groups among the Chinese themselves. It examines prominent personalities that had wielded considerable influence in the ethnic Chinese communities in the economic, social and educational arenas. It also discusses the type of politics that had impacted their relationship with their mother country — China.Containing 16 papers presented at various international conferences in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan as keynote speeches and research findings which are predominantly unpublished in English, this book provides fresh perspectives and re-interpretations on the issues of ethnicity, leadership and politics in the ethnic Chinese worlds.