East Asians in the United Kingdom
      | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| London, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, Edinburgh | |
| Languages | |
| British English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese, and many others | |
| Religion | |
| Buddhism, Roman Catholicism, Anglican, Protestant, Islam, Shinto, Non-religious, others | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Asians |
British Orientals are people described as Chinese or other in the British census, and primarily originate from countries in East and Southeast Asia, such us the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, Japan, and Thailand. Although they originate from Asia, these people are not classed as British Asians because in United Kingdom official usage, Asian almost exclusively refers to people from South Asia, such as those from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
Today, the largest number of Orientals live in the Greater London area, and many are recent immigrants.
The name "Oriental" is derived from the term Orient, which means The East. The term 'British Oriental' is rarely if ever used. This is largely a simple matter of usage, but may be partly because it is felt to be redolent of Orientalism.
Subgroups
British Chinese
The first settlement of Chinese people in the United Kingdom dates from the early 19th century. In particular were port cities such as Liverpool and London; particularly the Limehouse area in East London, where the first Chinatown was established in Britain and Europe.
Today, most of the British Chinese are people or are descended from people who were themselves overseas Chinese when they entered the United Kingdom. The majority are from former British colonies, such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and also other countries such as Vietnam. People from mainland China and Taiwan and their descendants constitute a relatively small proportion of the British Chinese community.
British Filipino
The United Kingdom only had a small population of Filipinos until the late 20th century. The number started to grow in the 1970’s when immigration restrictions on Commonwealth citizens meant that employers had to find workers from other countries. The National Health Service (NHS), hotel and catering industry and clothing manufacturers started to recruit Filipinos. According to the UK Department of Employment, 20,226 work permits were issued to Filipinos between 1968 and 1980. Some 47% of the work permits were issued for those who came to work in hospitals and welfare homes as hospital auxiliaries, catering workers and to nurse-trainees. The second biggest category of work permits were for chambermaids, followed by catering and waitering staff. The NHS started to recruit more Filipino nurses in the 1990s to make up a shortfall in local recruitment. A large number of Filipinos have also arrived as caregivers and work in public & private nursing homes.
British Japanese
The first Japanese settled in the 1960s, mainly for business and economic purposes. In recent decades this number has been growing; including immigrants, students, and businessmen. Parts of the United Kingdom, in particular London, have significant Japanese populations; such as Golders Green and East Finchley North London. There are currently just over 100,000[citation needed] British Japanese, mostly in London[citation needed].
British Korean
Since immigration restrictions were relaxed in 1989, the British Korean population has grown rapidly to over 50,000, and most of them - some say as many as 20,000 - live in New Malden. Kingston and Merton are the two London boroughs with the largest Korean communities. There are also many Korean students living temporarily in Britain. In terms of culture, the Korean Festival is the one of the biggest festivals celebrating Korean Culture in Europe. The free annual event normally takes place on August and is organised by the Korean Residents Society. It takes place in Fairfield Recreation Ground in Kingston-upon-Thames (in south-west London).
British Singaporean
British Malaysian
Notable people
See also
- Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong
- Asian American
- Asian Canadian
- Asian Argentines
- Asian Australians