The first wave ofTaiwanese migration to the United States involved mostly post-World War II immigrants from the area now ruled byChina (Waishengren), most of whom were not Hakka. Later, the other Taiwanese people, whose ancestors arrived in Taiwan before 1945, including many Hakkas, started immigrating in larger numbers after the 1960s.[4]
It is estimated that there are currently over 20,000 Taiwanese Hakka in the United States.[5]
Some Hakka Americans came fromMeizhou (also calledKaying orJiaying),Guangdong,China, or otherwise have ancestral roots in that area.[2]
A small number of Hakka came to the continental US before the 1882Chinese Exclusion Act. Some Hakka also went to Hawaii, where they consisted a significant minority of the population.
During the 1960s and 1970s, substantial migration of Jamaican Hakkas to the US and Canada occurred.[6][7] MostChinese Jamaicans are Hakka; they have a long history inJamaica. Between 1854 and 1884, nearly 5000 Hakkas arrived in Jamaica in three major voyages, with some of them subsequently going to the United States. Many of these people also haveAfrican ancestry.[8]
A significant minority of early Chinese immigrants toHawaii, and even fewer to theContinental US, were Hakka, and much of the animosity between the Hakka andPunti Cantonese people carried over.[9] In the first half of the 1800s, around 30 percent of Chinese in Hawaii were of Hakka, while only about 3 percent in the West Coast were Hakka.[10] There was a communal ban on intermarriages between the two groups for the first generation of migrants.[11] In the middle of the 19th century, Hakka immigrants in America were excluded from membership in the Chinese organizations.[12] The largest surge of immigration in that century occurred after an 1876 treaty between the US andKingdom of Hawaii led to an increased need for labor.
Chinese revolutionary leaderSun Yat-sen lived in Hawaii for several years during his youth.
Many organizations have been formed to promote Hakka culture in the US. One group is the New England Hakka Association, which reminds its members not to forget their roots. One example is a blog by Ying Han Brach called "Searching for My Hakka Roots".[13] Another group is the Hakka Association of New York, which aims to promote Hakka culture across the five boroughs ofNew York City.[14] In the mid 1970s, the Hakka Benevolent Association inSan Francisco (San Francisco Jiaying Association[2]) was founded by Tu Chung. The association has strong ties with the San Francisco community and offers scholarships to their young members. The most prominent association in Hawaii is the Tsung Tsin Association (崇正會), which was founded inHonolulu in 1918 under the nameNin Fo Fui Kon (人和會館).[15] It provides scholarships to US citizens in Hawaii that are preferably of Hakka background and/or interested in the Hakka culture.[16]
TheAmerican Community Survey reported that 1,350 people in the United States speak Hakka at home.[17] The actual number may be much higher because some respondents just filled out their response as "Chinese". Some Hakka Americans speakMandarin Chinese orCantonese instead.
Anya Ayoung-Chee (born 1981), Trinidadian fashion designer, model and television host
Lisa Biagiotti (born 1979), filmmaker and journalist based in Los Angeles
Shu-Park Chan (1929–2013), Chinese-born electrical engineer who served for many years as a professor at Santa Clara University and went on to found International Technological University and serve as its first president
Steven N. S. Cheung (born 1935), Hong-Kong-born American economist who specializes in the fields of transaction costs and property rights
Liao Zhongkai (1877–1925), American-born, a Kuomintang leader, financier and assassination victim
Cho-Liang Lin (林昭亮, born 1960), Taiwanese American violinist who is renowned for his appearances as a soloist with major orchestras
Dyana Liu (born 1981), Taiwanese-born American actress
Patrick Soon-Shiong (黄馨祥, born 1952), South African surgeon, medical researcher, businessman, philanthropist, and professor at University of California at Los Angeles
Sun Fo Sun Fo or Sun Ke (孫科 1891–1973), courtesy name Zhesheng (哲生), high-ranking official in the government of the Republic of China and the son of Sun Yat-sen, with his first wife Lu Muzhen.
Nora Sun (孫穗芬, 1937–2011), Chinese American diplomat, businesswoman, and granddaughter of Sun Yat-sen
Ching W. Tang (鄧青雲, born 1947), Hong Kong-born American physical chemist
Paul Tseng (1959–2009), Taiwanese-born American and Canadian applied mathematician and a professor at the Department of Mathematics at the University of Washington
Joanna Wang (王若琳), Taiwanese-American singer-songwriter, daughter of renowned music producer Wang Zhi-ping (王治平)
Lianxing Wen (温联星) (born 1968), Chinese seismologist, geodynamicist and planetary scientist
Shing-Tung Yau (丘成桐; born 1949), Chinese-born American mathematician. He was awarded the Fields Medal in 1982
Yiaway Yeh (葉亞威, born 1978), former city councilmember and mayor of Palo Alto, California
Amos Yong (born 1965), Asian American Pentecostal theologian
Katherine Young (1901–2005), American centenarian and alleged oldest internet user
Gene Yu (余靖), United States Military Academy graduate, former U.S. Army Special Forces officer and author, nephew of Ma Ying-jeou
Patsy Yuen (born 1952), Jamaican costume designer and beauty queen
^Lu, Ping-Fang (2015).美國夏威夷檀香山臺灣客家移民社群之建構 [The Construction of Taiwanese Hakka Community in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.] (Doctor). Department of History, National Chung Hsing University.
