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Books reviewed in this article:Lynn Pan (ed.), The Encyclopedia of the Chinese OverseasLynn Pan, Sons of the Yellow Emperor: A History of the Chinese DiasporaSharon K. Hom (ed.), Chinese Women Traversing Diaspora: Memoirs, Essays, and Poetry

This study is an attempt to follow the Chinese emigrant in the different regions of the Ocean, to survey with him the historical, political, social and economic set up of his adopted country, to recall his wilfulness of overcoming the obstacles he faces, the temptations to form a separate social entity and his hesitations before finally adopting the nationality of his new country

Lary reviews THE CHINESE DIASPORA: Space, Place, Mobility and Identity edited by Laurence J. C. Ma and Carolyn Cartier.

Fast-paced economic growth in Southeast Asia from the late 1960s until the mid-1990s brought increased attention to the overseas Chinese as an economically successful diaspora and their role in this economic growth. Events that followed, such as the transfer of Hong Kong and Macau to the People's Republic of China, the election of a non-KMT government in Taiwan, the Asian economic crisis and the plight of overseas Chinese in Indonesia as a result, and the durability of the Singapore economy during this same crisis, have helped to sustain this attention. The study of the overseas Chinese has by now become a global enterprise, raising new theoretical problems and empirical challenges. New case studies of overseas Chinese, such as those on communities in North America, Cuba, India, and South Africa, continually unveil different perspectives. New kinds of transnational connectivities linking Chinese communities are also being identified. It is now possible to make broader generalizations of a Chinese diaspora, on a global basis. Further, the intensifying study of the overseas Chinese has stimulated renewed intellectual vigor in other areas of research. The transnational and transregional activities of overseas Chinese, for example, pose serious challenges to analytical concepts of regional divides such as that between East and Southeast Asia. Despite the increased attention, new data, and the changing theoretical paradigms, basic questions concerning the overseas Chinese remain. The papers in this volume seek to understand the overseas Chinese migrants not just in terms of the overall Chinese diaspora per se, but also local Chinese migrants adapting to local societies, in different national contexts

THE CHINESE INTELLECTUAL DIASPORA, WHICH HAS GROWN SINCE THE 1989 TIANANMEN SQUARE VIOLENCE, IS WRESTLING WITH FACTIONALISM AND A CRISIS OF MEANING HAUNTINGLY SIMILAR TO THE CRISIS THAT THEIR PREDECESSORS FACED 100 YEARS AGO. TODAY'S CHINESE INTELLECTUAL EXILES ARE UNLIKELY TO HAVE A MAJOR ROLE IN THEIR COUNTRY'S POLITICAL LIFE UNLESS THE SYSTEM IS FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED.

In the summer of 1997, two issues involving diaspora Chinese captured headlines across the United States. The first was the return of Hong Kong to Chinese control after more than a century of British rule; coverage of this issue focused not only on the future of human rights in Hong Kong, but also on the close economic linkages between Hong Kong and China and on the importance of Hong Kong to China's economic future. The second was the scandal involving alleged illegal contributions of foreign funds to the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States. Senate hearings in the cases of both parties centered on political contributions funneled through wealthy diaspora Chinese entrepreneurs. Republicans tried especially hard to demonstrate that China had orchestrated an attempt to illegally influence the US political system, using diaspora Chinese as intermediaries. To the consternation of a great many Chinese living in the United States, the proceedings raised questions regarding the loyalty of diaspora Chinese and their connections with China, as well as reviving stereotypes of shadowy and mysterious connections among ethnic Chinese.

Problems and prospects for China's exiles, particularly those involved in the 1989 protest movement. Some reference to Eastern Europe's impact on China.