South Africa’s Chinese Communities: An Update

Abstract

South Africa is home to one of the oldest, most diverse, and certainly some of the largest communities of Chinese people on the African continent. It also leapt into prominence in discourses of China’s global rise when it joined the existing BRIC group of countries, at China’s insistence, to become the “S” in BRICS. As such, it has understandably been the focus of a great deal of the existing literature on Chinese in South Africa, with historical accounts (Yap and Man 1996; Armstrong 2013; Harris 1994, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2014; Park 2008, 2016; Huynh 2008a, 2008b), memoirs (Accone 2011; Ho 2012), writings focused on state-to-state relations (Alden and Wu 2014; Grimm et al. 2013), those focused on newer Chinese migrant communities (Harrison et al. 2012; Dittgen 2015; Lin 2014; Park 2008, 2012, 2013; Park and Chen 2009, 2010; Huynh et al. 2010; Hyunh 2015), as well as articles focused on media, culture, visual representations, and art (van Staden 2017; Wasserman 2014, 2016; Moyo et al. 2016), among others. In addition, various aspects of Chinese communities and engagements in South Africa are also the topic of several PhD research projects, which have been recently completed (Xu 2017, Hwang 2018) or which are anticipated shortly (Liu). Despite all the research, few have attempted to update the status of the various communities for nearly a decade; fewer, still, have focused on Chinese civic engagement and political participation in South Africa with the notable exception of Park’s recent work on the politics of Chineseness (2014, 2017). The first part of this paper, based on research conducted by Chen in 2018, provides an update of the general status of Chinese in the country and notes changes and developments in the different groups of Chinese (Chinese South African, Taiwanese South African, and Chinese migrant) communities. For example, while the Taiwanese South African community seems to be shrinking, those who remain are increasingly embedded in South African society. Shifts in the “new” Chinese migrant communities (no longer so new) include recent reports of a major ongoing exodus, changes in the class make-up of newer migrants (including increasing numbers of professionals), and different forms of economic engagement (such as the growth of “Chinatowns” and China malls and investments in a wider range of sectors). In the meantime, the “oldest” community of ethnic Chinese on the continent continues to struggle with what it means to be Chinese during China’s global rise while still dealing with the ambivalence of many South Africans. The second part of the paper will address Chinese community organizations, growing levels of civic engagement, and increasing political engagement and participation. For example, while ethnic Chinese in South Africa are becoming increasingly localized and embedded in South African civic and political life, Michael Sun (member of the mayoral committee) for Public Safety in the City of Johannesburg recently experienced racial slurs and denigration, which would indicate that many South Africans continue to see Chinese people as “other.” Beyond the racist treatment of Michael Sun, the recent court case brought by the TCA addressing hate speech might indicate that despite some level of localization, Chinese remain in a state of “in-betweenness,” wedged between China and South Africa, and between white and black, and South Africa continues to struggle with issues of national identity and belonging.