Bay Area ethnic communities (San Francisco, Fresno: transfer, moving, beach)

[green papaya]

Originally Posted by drewjube

Looking around S.F.'s Chinatown you can see a number of buildings, some with PRC flags flying from their roofs, others with ROC flags flying. What's the story?

some fly the Taiwan flag for respect, I heard some Americans are offended when they see a PRC flag flying over a US flag

the Taiwan ROC is more acceptable to fly along side the US flag, they even have a special Politically correct Hong Kong flag

the red communist PRC flag is offensive to some people in a US city, so you rarely see it anywhere unless there is a Chinese consulate or large chinatown in the area

some people told them to take it down at a special event, because they didnt want to see the PRC flag used

[cardinal2007]

This isn't mentioned yet, but San Jose also has a very large Mexican American community concentrated around the East side, over 200,000 people of Mexican descent live in San Jose.

[rah]

Originally Posted by drewjube

Looking around S.F.'s Chinatown you can see a number of buildings, some with PRC flags flying from their roofs, others with ROC flags flying. What's the story?

Originally Posted by green papaya

some fly the Taiwan flag for respect, I heard some Americans are offended when they see a PRC flag flying over a US flag

the Taiwan ROC is more acceptable to fly along side the US flag, they even have a special Politically correct Hong Kong flag

the red communist PRC flag is offensive to some people in a US city, so you rarely see it anywhere unless there is a Chinese consulate or large chinatown in the area

some people told them to take it down at a special event, because they didnt want to see the PRC flag used

LOL

Seriously guys?

Maybe it's because there are Taiwanese people who live in SF, as well as people from mainland China who live in SF.

[Dave Coe]

Originally Posted by silverkris

Ethnic Chinese from different parts of Southeast Asia may hail from various dialect groups, not just Cantonese.

Vietnam - mostly Cantonese

Philippines - mostly Fujian (or Fookianese, as they call it there)

Thailand - Chiuchou

Malaysia - depends on the area; KL is mostly Cantonese, Penang, more Fujian/Hokkien

Singapore - mix of Hokkien (Fujian), Cantonese, Hakka, Chiuchou, etc.

NY Chinatown was traditionally Cantonese, now there are probably more Fujianese.

Why no Northern Chinese?

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by drewjube

Looking around S.F.'s Chinatown you can see a number of buildings, some with PRC flags flying from their roofs, others with ROC flags flying. What's the story?

Well, this goes back to the Chinese Civil War - and in Chinatown, there are communities or associations that are aligned more with the Nationalist (Taiwan), and others that come from the PRC. You have big divisions within the community over "pro-Taiwan" and "pro-PRC". Folks would clash all the time over that. Some of the Chinese immigrants who were persecuted by the Communist regime are very anti-PRC and will express that. Others may have been persecuted by Chiang's regime. Depends.

I think the Kuomingtang (the Nationalist Party, which currently is in power in Taiwan) has/had an office on Stockton Street.

Nancy Pelosi, whose district includes Chinatown, was known for many years to be very critical of the PRC government for human rights matters, and my understanding was that this played very well with her Chinatown constituents. Since she's become more of a national Congressional leader, and with the rise of China's trade with the US, she has pretty much dropped her comments about China, as her focus has changed.

OTOH, US Senator Dianne Feinstein, who was mayor of SF, has been one of the most China friendly politicians in Congress for years, going back to her mayoral days, with Shanghai as SF's sister city, and being friendly with Jiang Zemin when he was Shanghai mayor.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by Dave Coe

Why no Northern Chinese?

You find a lot of them now in the Bay Area - like in Silicon Valley. They just haven't been part of the traditional groups that emigrated outside China say 100-120 years ago.

[Dave Coe]

Originally Posted by silverkris

You find a lot of them now in the Bay Area - like in Silicon Valley. They just haven't been part of the traditional groups that emigrated outside China say 100-120 years ago.

It seems certain regions dominate immigrants. Most Italian Americans especially in NY are Sicilian. Mexicans in the 70s and 80s were from Central Mexico while recent immigrants are from Southern Mexico, Indians are mostly from Gujarat and Punjab. Most Chinese immigrants are from Southern China. I have met a few foreign exchange students from Beijing but overall Northern Chinese are extremely rare.

[dmode]

Originally Posted by Dave Coe

It seems certain regions dominate immigrants. Most Italian Americans especially in NY are Sicilian. Mexicans in the 70s and 80s were from Central Mexico while recent immigrants are from Southern Mexico, Indians are mostly from Gujarat and Punjab. Most Chinese immigrants are from Southern China. I have met a few foreign exchange students from Beijing but overall Northern Chinese are extremely rare.

Indians over on the east coast, who have been around for decades are mostly from Gujarat and Punjab. However, overwhelming majority of Indians in the Bay Area are from South India, specifically from a state called "Andhra Pradesh".

[SFBayBoomer]

Originally Posted by NewbiePoster

Fremont is also full of East Asians. Oakland's "Chinatown" has a strong Vietnamese presence, too. There's a Russian/Jewish enclave in Berkeley/Kensington, and a small Russian community in Walnut Creek, possibly an extension of the one in Sacramento.

Not all East Asians are represented very well. Fremont has a lot of Chinese and South Asians, but only about 1% are Japanese. Keep that in mind if you are hungry for authentic sushi or other traditional Japanese food.

[BroadwayDiva]

There seems to be a lot of Russians in WC :P