What’s Maastricht for the Chinese community?

There may be few certainties in life, but one thing we can remain sure about are our chances of finding a Chinese restaurant in almost any big city on this planet. Indeed, you will find some decent ones in Maastricht, too. So, there is no argument about the existence of a Chinese community in Maastricht. But how much do we actually know about them?

According to the latest census, taken by Maastricht municipality on 1 January 2005, there are 531 people with a Chinese background living in Maastricht. In this case, a person who has a Chinese background means a person who has Chinese nationality, or a person with one Chinese parent. On 1 January 2000, the number was 330. “Comparing the two censuses, it clearly shows an increase,” said the research information officer of Maastricht municipality.

So, why is it increasing? Two possible reasons may be the change in China’s policy concerning people transfers and significant economic growth. Ever since China began its socialist market economy experiment it has become easier for Chinese people to travel abroad, not only because of the simplification of the rules and regulations but also because of an improvement in their family budgets.

But it doesn’t provide all the answers to why the Chinese population is increasing in Maastricht. “It’s because Maastricht is a calm and nice place,” says Sam Yuen, a deputy manager of the Chinese restaurant “Wen Chow”, located in Spoorweglaan.

The first generation and the coming generation
Mr Yuen’s parents came to the Netherlands about 30 years ago and then left the restaurant to him and now spend their peaceful golden years in their homeland, Hong Kong. “I spent one year in Hong Kong but that was not my place,” Mr Yuen says. “Hong Kong is a bustling city and everything moves too fast there. I am used to this calm environment.”

Mr Yuen belongs to the second generation of Maastricht’s Chinese community, which means that, although he has a strong Chinese identity, strictly instilled by his parents, he still prefers to live in the Netherlands, where he was born and grew up.

Like all Chinese expatriates around the world, the Chinese in Maastricht are also united by a strong link. Their community not only includes the Chinese in Maastricht but also all the Chinese living in and around the Limburg province.

“The first reason for us to unite is for the education of our children, and the second reason is for the first generation’s sunset years,” says Mr Yuen. The top priority for the group is to run the Chinese school for children.

“We held a Chinese new year party in the MECC this year. It was a big party, we collected entrance fees and also sold Chinese groceries, and all the income was donated to the two Chinese schools, one in Maastricht and one in Venlo,” says Mr Yuen.

And the group also organises sightseeing tours for the older first generation. Many of the first generation are not fully proficient in Dutch and do not have much of a connection with Dutch society. Therefore the group tries to find occasions for them to get together so they don’t become isolated.

Changing identity
There is of course a generation gap in the community. The first generation was eager for their sons and daughters to keep their Chinese language and identity, and of course wanted their grandchildren to keep them too.

But instead of granting the first generation their wish, the new generation is not clinging to its Chinese heritage. “I am part of the second generation and it means I am in a double bind between the first generation and the coming third generation,” says Mr Yuen.

“I think [the increasing loss of Chinese identity] is a tendency, so I don’t want to force the coming generation to keep the Chinese language and identity, but I will be happy if they make up their mind to do so. That’s my honest feeling.”

By Junpei Yoshioka

Source: Crossroads print issue, April 2005