top of page
Overseas Chinese Day
This portal was curated by:
​

OVERSEAS CHINESE DAY

Overseas Chinese Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated in the Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan). It is dedicated to the people of Chinese birth or descent who currently live outside the Greater China Area (i.e. China and Taiwan).
In the Chinese language, there are several terms used to denote overseas Chinese. For example, the term Huáqiáo refers to the citizens of China/Taiwan residing in other countries, while the term Huáyì refers to ethnic Chinese residing in countries other than China.

Overseas Chinese Day was created to commemorate the establishment of the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) in 1926. The OCAC is a Taiwanese government institution that serves as an informational, economic, cultural and educational exchanges organization between the Republic of China and the overseas communities. It aims to establish close ties with all ethnic Chinese who live in foreign countries and identify with Taiwan.

Overseas Chinese Day in Taiwan is celebrated on October 21. Celebrations are also held by Chinese communities all over the world. Most overseas Chinese are residing in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar etc.), there also are large Chinese communities in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, and some European countries.
DATABASES
Overseas Chinese Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated in the Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan). It is dedicated to the people of Chinese birth or descent who currently live outside the Greater China Area (i.e. China and Taiwan). In the Chinese language, there are several terms used to denote overseas Chinese. For example, the term Huáqiáo refers to the citizens of China/Taiwan residing in other countries, while the term Huáyì refers to ethnic Chinese residing in countries other than China. Overseas Chinese Day was created to commemorate the establishment of the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) in 1926. The OCAC is a Taiwanese government institution that serves as an informational, economic, cultural and educational exchanges organization between the Republic of China and the overseas communities. It aims to establish close ties with all ethnic Chinese who live in foreign countries and identify with Taiwan. Overseas Chinese Day in Taiwan is celebrated on October 21. Celebrations are also held by Chinese communities all over the world. Most overseas Chinese are residing in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar etc.), there also are large Chinese communities in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, and some European countries.
Across a narrow alley from the Suyuan Association, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA), the oldest and largest Chinese American association founded in 1883, flies its ROC flag proudly. "I don't agree that changing to the PRC flag is the general trend. They (Suyuan Association) simply pursue a different political vision from ours," Eric Ng, President of CCBA, told the BBC. Most newly established Chinese-American groups fly the PRC flag, and across the country the PRC flag has become more and more ubiquitous in America's Chinatowns, as several older associations in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco changed over.
The ROC was founded in 1912 in China. At that time, Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule as a result of the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, by which the Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan. The ROC government began exercising jurisdiction over Taiwan in 1945 after Japan surrendered at the end of World War II. The ROC government relocated to Taiwan in 1949 while fighting a civil war with the Chinese Communist Party. Since then, the ROC has continued to exercise effective jurisdiction over the main island of Taiwan and a number of outlying islands, leaving Taiwan and China each under the rule of a different government. The authorities in Beijing have never exercised sovereignty over Taiwan or other islands administered by the ROC.
Taiwan,[II] officially the Republic of China (ROC),[I][h] is a country in East Asia.[20][21] It shares maritime borders with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. The main island of Taiwan has an area of 35,808 square kilometres (13,826 sq mi), with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanised population is concentrated. The capital is Taipei, which, along with New Taipei and Keelung, forms the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Other major cities include Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan and Taoyuan. With 23.45 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries in the world.
Population movement contains crucial implications to political entities. Remote areas, including overseas Chinese settlements, became sovereign shelters whenever political turmoil arose. Located peripherally, however, these regimes or political parties pursued legitimacy in a variety of ways. This article examines the use of collective memory by the Taiwan's government under the Kuomintang (KMT, i.e., Nationalist Party) to link overseas Chinese communities during the Cold War era. Meanings and interpretations of the past were negotiated. The KMT regime redefined "Chineseness" by including along with it a tone of anti-communism, weaving it into the collective memory of overseas Chinese communities. The study examines various efforts made by the ROC government, including holiday celebrations, language and educational programs, baseball games, and overseas Chinese right of franchise. Nationalism, now without challenge, emerged as the central motif in the efforts of the ROC government. The clash between the overseas Chinese on one side, and the "motherland" in Taiwan on the other, was combined with a dynamic, interest-concerned model of creation of memory. In this model, forms of expression reflected official interests, expanding or defending cultural and political spaces.
Visit our special guest curator
"Open Database..."
Related Portals:
 
Related Portals:
 
bottom of page