Abstract
Cityhood incorporation is a common local issue in the American local history regarding different political, social, and economic factors. However, the creation of municipality becomes more controversial agenda in certain local regions when suburban ethnic communities are rapidly created by post-1965 immigration. It is reflected by the cityhood movement in Hacienda Heights in 2003, when Chinese/Taiwanese immigrants added ethnic elements in these public and civic activities. This study provides further observation and investigation to the impact that Chinese capitalize on their ethnic and non-ethnic social networks to increase their power in the community-based civic matters, while showing various dimensions on the responses from local multiethnic communities.
Highlights
Since the late nineteenth century, the cityhood movement is a common local phenomenon in the United States with regards to the sharing of local political power by diverse groups, multi-ethnic relationship, local economic growth, as well as the choice of different community-based lifestyles among local people
The study focuses on how Chinese capitalize on their ethnic and non-ethnic social networks to increase their power in community-based civic matters, and show the response from local multiethnic communities
Hacienda Heights had transformed into a multi-ethnic community after the 1980s, the local HHIA still was controlled by European locals, which constituted over 70 percent of its 500 registered members, and took up most seats of its board directors
Summary
Since the late nineteenth century, the cityhood movement is a common local phenomenon in the United States with regards to the sharing of local political power by diverse groups, multi-ethnic relationship, local economic growth, as well as the choice of different community-based lifestyles among local people. The flow of transnational social capital, staunch pre-immigration socioeconomic status, and professional attainment empower Chinese new immigrants with selective assimilation patterns: possessing the ability to retain original cultural endowment and engagement in transnational and local activities as an alternative path to social and economic achievement in the United States (Portes, 1999; Levitt, DeWind, & Vertovec, 2003). This selective assimilation is proved to be efficient in many aspects of immigration community, their participation in the local politics (Wen, Lauderdale, & Kandula, 2009, and etc.).. The study focuses on how Chinese capitalize on their ethnic and non-ethnic social networks to increase their power in community-based civic matters, and show the response from local multiethnic communities
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