多元族群视野下的华人特性——美国亚裔六大族群的比较

“The Chineseness” in a Multi-Ethnic Perspective:A Comparative Study of the Six Major American Asian Communities

根据美国最新公布的各族群的普查、统计及抽样等数据与研究成果,对亚裔各族群进行比较分析发现,华裔、印度裔、菲律宾裔、日裔、韩裔和越南裔,在人口构成与地理分布、人口素质与职业构成、个人与家庭收入、企业数量及收益、自营职业状况等方面各有千秋。华裔呈现两极状态:高层次方面,华裔受教育水平、高级职业比例、企业平均收益等指标,都紧随印度裔之后居第二位;在硅谷和美国新经济中,华裔与印度裔相媲美;低层次方面,华裔贫困率高以及高中以下学历者多,都仅次于越南裔;偷渡移民在亚裔中最为突出。此外,华裔族群经济规模较大,自成一体,具有自我生成、自我扩张的能力,能够消化相当数量的移民。亚裔在美国的差异性与他们在亚洲本土的文化差异度没有直接的相关性,甚至大相径庭。这些差异是移民及其后裔在迁徙过程和异国谋生过程中适应环境所做出的不同的理性选择。中华文化与海外华人的独特性等既有观点,经不起客观数据比较的验证。

Based on the census of U. S. population, statistics and some sample surveys, this comparative study of Asian American communities suggests that many differentiations exist among Chinese Americans, Philippine Americans, South Korean Americans, Vietnamese Americans and Japanese Americans in terms of population composition, geographical distribution, population quality, occupations and businesses ; individual and household incomes, enterprises quantity and performance, and the self-imployment. The Chinese Americans have featured two extreme trends. On the one hand, in terms of educational level, proportion of well-paid professional jobs, and enterprise＇ s average profit level, the Chinese Americans are ranked the top two next to the Indian Americans. In Silicon Valley and other fields of U. S. A.＇ s new economy, the Chinese Americans emerge as strong competitors to the Indian Americans. While on the other hand, in terms of poverty rate and low-level education, the Chinese Americans are also ranked the second lowest next to the Vietnamese Americans. Among undocumented Asian immigrants, undocumented Chinese immigrants are the most prominent. Moreover, the economic scale of Chinese American community is large enough to be subsistent and self-sufficient, with a good capacity of incorporating considerable amount of immigrants. These differentiations in the Asian American communities have nothing to do with their cultural differences in native countries, even often with the opposite effect. Such differentiations are originated from their rational choices in the process of migrant environmental accumulation in the USA. The so-called universal ＂uniqueness＂ of Chinese culture and ethnic Chinese can not stand the test of the empirical data.