ABSTRACT

Most of the Chinese who are living in Britain were originally from Hong Kong. Most arrived from the early 1960s, due to the collapse of traditional agriculture in the rural New Territories of Hong Kong and the links and opportunities which Britain offered. Chinese people are dispersed in small groups across Britain and are mainly involved with the restaurant and catering trade. Chinese takeaways are to be found in most towns. It is not possible to find the exact statistics of the Chinese community in Britain because the Census reports only show country of origin. For Chinese people everywhere, education is the ‘golden rice bowl’ to social mobility and wealth. The chapter concentrates on several case studies of British-Chinese families in the Greater Manchester area. These several case histories leave us with one word to describe the children in these families: heroic. They suffer the external slights of racism with dignity and courage.