在香港美國人 | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| 85,000 (2018) | |
| Languages | |
| American English,Cantonese | |
| Religion | |
| Protestantism · Catholicism · Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Chinese Americans,Hong Kong Americans,Americans |
| Americans in Hong Kong | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 在香港美國人 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 在香港美国人 | ||||||||||
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| Ethnicity in Hong Kong |
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The United States consulate estimates there are about 70,000Americans in Hong Kong as of January 2023[update], a drop from 85,000 since its 2018 estimate; no census by any US government organization has ever been attempted.[1] They consist of both native-bornAmericans of various ethnic backgrounds, including Chinese Americans andHong Kong Americans, as well as former Hong Kong emigrants of Chinese descent to the United States who returned after gainingAmerican citizenship. Many come to Hong Kong on work assignments; others study at local universities. They form a large part of the greater community ofAmericans in China.
The first Americans in Hong Kong were missionaries; their presence was noted as early as 1842, after the lifting of the ban on proselytisation due to the outcome of theFirst Opium War.[2] In 1949, with theCommunist victory in theChinese Civil War, many American missionaries began to depart China for Hong Kong; they were formally expelled in the mid-1950s. At the same time, though, American missionaries in Hong Kong began to play an important role in implementing US policy there, participating directly in the distribution of aid and the recommendation and processing of refugees seeking to immigrate to the United States.[3] However, the United States government itself was ambivalent towards the presence of Americans in Hong Kong; PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower once suggested restricting visas for Americans in Hong Kong to those who "really had an obligation" to be there, and indicated his reluctance to provide emergency evacuation to American citizens there in the event of an invasion by China.[4]
Since thetransfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, Americans have arguably surpassed the British as the major non-Chinese influence. There are more Americans than Britons living in the territory, and 1,100 American companies employ 10% of the Hong Kong workforce; the former head of theHong Kong General Chamber of Commerce,Eden Woon, was the first American to hold the position (1997–2006) in the territory's history. In addition, ships of theUnited States Navy formerly made from 60 to 80 port visits each years, although China ended this in 2019 after the American government passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act into law.[5] The US Department of State estimated in 2004 that there were 45,000 American citizens living in Hong Kong.[6]
In recent years, there has also been an increase in Chinese Americans coming to Hong Kong as exchange students or to work for a short time, or even to settle permanently. For example, as recently as the 1960s, virtually allexchange students at theChinese University of Hong Kong wereEuropean Americans, but in recent years, Chinese Americans have become one of the largest, if not the largest, demographic exchange student group.[7] The trend of increasing Chinese American migration to Hong Kong has been especially notable in the entertainment industry, the earliest and most famous exemplar of the trend beingBruce Lee; in later years, actors such asDaniel Wu and singers such asCoco Lee, facing the perception of entertainment executives that Asians could not appeal to American audiences, went to Hong Kong in an effort to improve their career prospects.[8] However, this type of return migration has not been practical for those in all professions; for example, Chinese Americans interested in going to Hong Kong as missionaries often faced barriers from church hierarchies.[9] Additionally, Chinese-Americans often face stereotypes that they speak Chinese poorly, do not understandHong Kong culture, and view themselves as superior due to their American upbringing.[10]
