Chinese in Fiji
Encyclopedia
The Chinese
diaspora
in Fiji consists a small, but influential, community in the multiracial society that makes up modern day Fiji
. In the early 2000s their numbers were estimated at around 6,000, or a little over half of one percent of Fiji's population
. The most recent estimation puts the population at 8,000 making the concentration of Chinese in Fiji at around one percent. Around 80% of Chinese in Fiji speak Cantonese as their native language and around 16% speak Shanghainese
as their native language. Chinese in Fiji also speak the local Fijian language
. Chinese in Fiji have a strong Buddhist background and some retained Confucian traditions. There are also a considerable number of Fijians who are of partial Chinese extraction, being descended from marriages between Chinese and indigenous Fijians
. For electoral
purposes, Chinese people are counted as General Electors
, an omnibus category for Fijian citizens not of indigenous, Indian
, or Rotuma
n descent, which is allocated three seats in the 71-member House of Representatives
.
. He later returned to China, before bringing his relatives and some others to settle in Fiji, in connection with the gold rush. Later arrivals came looking for sandalwood
and beche-de-mer
. According to Dixon Seeto
, the current President of the Chinese Association of Fiji, the first shops in rural areas of Fiji were opened by Chinese merchants.
Chinese people were enfranchised for the first time in 1964. The former European roll was redefined to include other minority groups and renamed the General Electors
roll. Despite being only a splinter of the electorate, General Electors were then allocated 10 of the 36 seats in the Legislative Council
, as the legislature
was then known, though this figure has gradually been reduced since independence in 1970.
Around a thousand Chinese settled in Fiji in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and in February 1995, the Fijian Cabinet
approved a plan to allow up to 7000 Hong Kong
Chinese to immigrate to Fiji. Conditions included payment of F$30,000 to the government, and investment of F$100,000
in government-approved projects. Many of these invested in restaurants, retailing, and market gardening (mostly in Kalabu, Tamavua, Delaivalelevu, Vikoba, Sawani and Waibau), and have intensified horticulture
around Suva
. A further wave of Chinese has arrived since the late 1990s, many of them from the northern part of China. Many of the more recent immigrants have opened bakeries and other food outlets in Fijian villages, creating employment for local people, says Fiji Times
editor Samisoni Kakaivalu.
The exact date of Moy Ba Ling's arrival is not known, but on 17 September 2005, the Chinese community celebrated the 150th anniversary.
drug laboratory, with a value estimated at close to F$1 billion
, in 2004, raised public concerns about the activities of some of the more recent Chinese immigrants. The activities of a few of them, says Fiji Law Society
President Graeme Leung
, have unfairly stigmatized the Chinese community in the eyes of the public.
On 4 October 2005, Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel
Orisi Rabukawaqa
said that the Army had uncovered an immigration scam. Almost seven thousand Chinese
nationals, he claimed, had entered Fiji illegally since 2003. He alleged that bribery in the office of the Registrar General had resulted in massive falsification of documents, with Chinese immigrants being falsely identified as ethnic Fijians
. Military investigations showed that illegal immigration was related to increasing rates of prostitution
, gambling
, money laundering
, and illegal fishing
.
On 6 October, Justice Ministry Chief Executive Sakiusa Rabuka challenged the Military to substantiate its allegations, telling the Fiji Village news service on 9 October that the allegations made by the Military were "baseless." Only one case had been found, he said, of an Asian national trying to change his birth certificate.
As more evidence came to light, however, the local Chinese community called for a crackdown on corruption in the immigration service. Government-appointed Senator Kenneth Low, who is also President of the Chinese Business Association in Fiji, alleged on 8 November that corrupt immigration officials were granting Fijian citizenship
to illegal Asian immigrants for money and sex, and called on the government to establish a commission of inquiry into illegal immigration.
Dixon Seeto spoke out on 15 December against violent attacks made against Chinese market gardeners and farmers. Both men and women were being assaulted by youths seeking cash, he claimed, when bringing their produce to the market at around 3 or 4 a.m. He called for more police
patrols to prevent such attacks.
Pio Wong
, Senators
Kenneth Low
and James Ah Koy
, Peter Lee ( former long serving General Manager of Coca Cola Fiji and currently heading Fiji's largest conglomerate - Carpenters ) and prominent lawyer Graeme Leung
. At the 150th anniversary celebrations, Fiji's Vice-President, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi
, paid tribute to the contribution the Chinese community has made to Fiji. "The Chinese community has never been a large one but their influence has been felt far beyond their numbers," he said.
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
in Fiji consists a small, but influential, community in the multiracial society that makes up modern day Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
. In the early 2000s their numbers were estimated at around 6,000, or a little over half of one percent of Fiji's population
Demographics of Fiji
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Fiji, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
. The most recent estimation puts the population at 8,000 making the concentration of Chinese in Fiji at around one percent. Around 80% of Chinese in Fiji speak Cantonese as their native language and around 16% speak Shanghainese
Shanghainese
Shanghainese , or the Shanghai language , is a dialect of Wu Chinese spoken in the city of Shanghai and the surrounding region. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. Shanghainese, like other Wu dialects, is largely not mutually intelligible with other Chinese varieties...
as their native language. Chinese in Fiji also speak the local Fijian language
Fijian language
Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 450,000 first-language speakers, which is less than half the population of Fiji, but another 200,000 speak it as a second language...
. Chinese in Fiji have a strong Buddhist background and some retained Confucian traditions. There are also a considerable number of Fijians who are of partial Chinese extraction, being descended from marriages between Chinese and indigenous Fijians
Fijian people
Fijian people are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. The Fijian people are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, though the exact origins of the Fijian people are unknown...
. For electoral
Politics of Fiji
Politics of Fiji takes place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. Fiji has a multi-party system with the Prime Minister of Fiji as head of government. The executive power is exercised by the government...
purposes, Chinese people are counted as General Electors
General Electors (Fiji)
"General Electors" is the term used in Fiji to identify citizens of voting age who belong, in most cases, to ethnic minorities. The Constitution defines General Electors as all Fiji citizens who are not registered as being of Fijian, Indian, or Rotuman descent. Also included are citizens who do...
, an omnibus category for Fijian citizens not of indigenous, Indian
Indians in Fiji
Indo-Fijians are Fijians whose ancestors came from India and various parts of South Asia, South-East Asia and Asia itself. They number 313,798 out of a total of 827,900 people living in Fiji...
, or Rotuma
Rotuma
Rotuma is a Fijian dependency, consisting of Rotuma Island and nearby islets. The island group is home to a small but unique indigenous ethnic group which constitutes a recognizable minority within the population of Fiji, known as "Rotumans"...
n descent, which is allocated three seats in the 71-member House of Representatives
House of Representatives (Fiji)
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. It is the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone has the power to initiate legislation...
.
History
The history of Chinese people in Fiji dates to the 1850s, when Moy Ba Ling, also known as Houng Lee, reached Fiji in a sail boat from Australia and settled in LevukaLevuka
Levuka is a town on the eastern coast of the Fijian island of Ovalau, in Lomaiviti Province, in the Eastern Division of Fiji. It was formerly the Capital of Fiji. At the census in 2007, the last to date, Levuka town had a population of 1,131 , about half of Ovalau's 8,360 inhabitants...
. He later returned to China, before bringing his relatives and some others to settle in Fiji, in connection with the gold rush. Later arrivals came looking for sandalwood
Sandalwood
Sandalwood is the name of a class of fragrant woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and unlike many other aromatic woods they retain their fragrance for decades. As well as using the harvested and cut wood in-situ, essential oils are also extracted...
and beche-de-mer
Bêche-de-mer
Bêche-de-mer can refer to:* Bislama; Vanuatu Pidgin English* Sea cucumber...
. According to Dixon Seeto
Dixon Seeto
Dixon Seeto is a Fijian businessman and political leader of Chinese descent. He is President of the Fiji Islands Hotel and Tourism Association and of the Chinese Association of Fiji...
, the current President of the Chinese Association of Fiji, the first shops in rural areas of Fiji were opened by Chinese merchants.
Chinese people were enfranchised for the first time in 1964. The former European roll was redefined to include other minority groups and renamed the General Electors
General Electors (Fiji)
"General Electors" is the term used in Fiji to identify citizens of voting age who belong, in most cases, to ethnic minorities. The Constitution defines General Electors as all Fiji citizens who are not registered as being of Fijian, Indian, or Rotuman descent. Also included are citizens who do...
roll. Despite being only a splinter of the electorate, General Electors were then allocated 10 of the 36 seats in the Legislative Council
Legislative Council
A Legislative Council is the name given to the legislatures, or one of the chambers of the legislature of many nations and colonies.A Member of the Legislative Council is commonly referred to as an MLC.- Unicameral legislatures :...
, as the legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
was then known, though this figure has gradually been reduced since independence in 1970.
Around a thousand Chinese settled in Fiji in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and in February 1995, the Fijian Cabinet
Cabinet (Fiji)
Fiji has the Westminster system - executive authority is vested nominally in a President, but exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is formally appointed, but not chosen, by the President: the President must appoint as Prime...
approved a plan to allow up to 7000 Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
Chinese to immigrate to Fiji. Conditions included payment of F$30,000 to the government, and investment of F$100,000
Fijian dollar
The dollar has been the currency of Fiji since 1969 and was also the currency between 1867 and 1873. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively FJ$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
in government-approved projects. Many of these invested in restaurants, retailing, and market gardening (mostly in Kalabu, Tamavua, Delaivalelevu, Vikoba, Sawani and Waibau), and have intensified horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
around Suva
Suva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...
. A further wave of Chinese has arrived since the late 1990s, many of them from the northern part of China. Many of the more recent immigrants have opened bakeries and other food outlets in Fijian villages, creating employment for local people, says Fiji Times
Fiji Times
The Fiji Times is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869, it is Fiji's oldest newspaper still operating....
editor Samisoni Kakaivalu.
The exact date of Moy Ba Ling's arrival is not known, but on 17 September 2005, the Chinese community celebrated the 150th anniversary.
Recent controversies
A 357-kilogram heroin bust in 2000 and a SuvaSuva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...
drug laboratory, with a value estimated at close to F$1 billion
Fijian dollar
The dollar has been the currency of Fiji since 1969 and was also the currency between 1867 and 1873. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively FJ$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
, in 2004, raised public concerns about the activities of some of the more recent Chinese immigrants. The activities of a few of them, says Fiji Law Society
Fiji Law Society
The Fiji Law Society is the official body that registers and regulates the activity of all lawyers in Fiji. Devanesh Sharma was elected to replace Graeme Leung as President of the Fiji Law Society on 9 September 2006, and as such he holds membership ex officio on the Judicial Service Commission...
President Graeme Leung
Graeme Leung
Graham Everett Leung is a Fijian lawyer and former President of the Fiji Law Society. He was also Chairman of the Electoral Commission, and was named as Judge Advocate of a Court Martial panel to retry 20 soldiers convicted mutiny in relation to the Fiji coup of 2000, but a number of complications...
, have unfairly stigmatized the Chinese community in the eyes of the public.
On 4 October 2005, Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Orisi Rabukawaqa
Orisi Rabukawaqa
Orisi Rabukawaqa is a Fijian career soldier. As of early 2006, he holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and is one of two official spokesmen for the Military, the other being Major Neumi Leweni....
said that the Army had uncovered an immigration scam. Almost seven thousand Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
nationals, he claimed, had entered Fiji illegally since 2003. He alleged that bribery in the office of the Registrar General had resulted in massive falsification of documents, with Chinese immigrants being falsely identified as ethnic Fijians
Fijian people
Fijian people are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. The Fijian people are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, though the exact origins of the Fijian people are unknown...
. Military investigations showed that illegal immigration was related to increasing rates of prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, and illegal fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
.
On 6 October, Justice Ministry Chief Executive Sakiusa Rabuka challenged the Military to substantiate its allegations, telling the Fiji Village news service on 9 October that the allegations made by the Military were "baseless." Only one case had been found, he said, of an Asian national trying to change his birth certificate.
As more evidence came to light, however, the local Chinese community called for a crackdown on corruption in the immigration service. Government-appointed Senator Kenneth Low, who is also President of the Chinese Business Association in Fiji, alleged on 8 November that corrupt immigration officials were granting Fijian citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
to illegal Asian immigrants for money and sex, and called on the government to establish a commission of inquiry into illegal immigration.
Dixon Seeto spoke out on 15 December against violent attacks made against Chinese market gardeners and farmers. Both men and women were being assaulted by youths seeking cash, he claimed, when bringing their produce to the market at around 3 or 4 a.m. He called for more police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
patrols to prevent such attacks.
Prominence
Well-known persons of whole or partial Chinese descent include Cabinet MinisterCabinet (Fiji)
Fiji has the Westminster system - executive authority is vested nominally in a President, but exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is formally appointed, but not chosen, by the President: the President must appoint as Prime...
Pio Wong
Pio Wong
Pio Iowane Wong is a Fijian politician of indigenous and Chinese descent. He served in the Cabinet from 2004 to 2006 as Minister for Local Government, Housing, Squatter Settlement, and the Environment....
, Senators
Senate (Fiji)
The Senate of Fiji is the upper chamber of Parliament. It is the less powerful of the two chambers; it may not initiate legislation, but may amend or veto it. The Senate's powers over financial bills are more restricted: it may veto them in their entirety, but may not amend them...
Kenneth Low
Kenneth Low
Kenneth Mang-Kwong Low is a Fijian businessman and political leader of Chinese descent. He unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary election of 1999 as a candidate for the General Voters Party for the Western Central Communal Constituency...
and James Ah Koy
James Ah Koy
Sir James Michael Ah Koy, KBE is a Fijian of Chinese and Fijian descent. He is Executive Chairman of Kelton Investments, the IT service provider Datec Group Ltd., Honorary Consul of the Republic of Georgia to Fiji and a board director of forty-six companies. He served as a Cabinet Minister in...
, Peter Lee ( former long serving General Manager of Coca Cola Fiji and currently heading Fiji's largest conglomerate - Carpenters ) and prominent lawyer Graeme Leung
Graeme Leung
Graham Everett Leung is a Fijian lawyer and former President of the Fiji Law Society. He was also Chairman of the Electoral Commission, and was named as Judge Advocate of a Court Martial panel to retry 20 soldiers convicted mutiny in relation to the Fiji coup of 2000, but a number of complications...
. At the 150th anniversary celebrations, Fiji's Vice-President, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi
Joni Madraiwiwi
Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi is a Fijian lawyer, politician and was the Vice-President of Fiji from 2004 to 2006. He was sworn in on 10 January 2005, following his nomination by President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo and his subsequent approval by the Great Council of Chiefs on 15 December 2004...
, paid tribute to the contribution the Chinese community has made to Fiji. "The Chinese community has never been a large one but their influence has been felt far beyond their numbers," he said.
External links
- Changing fortunes in new homeland (New Zealand Herald article, 10 December 2005)