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Being the biggest continent in the world, Asia contains about 60 % of the worlds population and growing each year. Though China, and India are two of the most populated countries in the world, having about 30 % of the worlds population, there are about two-fifths of the countries that have less than five million habitant's. Though forty-two different countries make up this great continent, much of the similarities are family values. Customs and traditions might be different, however, western ideas and influences have wiped out many of those customs and created new ones in most of the countries in Asia.
Even in comparison from country to country, the new ways and ideas are similar. The basic Asian family would be the same as in any family in comparison to the rest of the world. Patriarchy families are more popular amongst many Asian families. It is believed that the man is in charge of the house in most if not all the countries in Asia. However, there is some form of equality between men and women in Asia. Some countries have more equal rights than others.
Some countries such as the Middle East countries give very minimal rights to women. Even a great country like the United States doesnt have full equality between men and women. Because of urbanization, western ideas and influences are reaching the average Asians. Asians are moving into cities with phenomenal speed. In an article by Michael Sivy of Time International Magazine, Malaysia's Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim states, Today, half of all Malaysians live in cities. Sivy adds, the result is an irreversible change in the family structure that has prevailed in Asia for thousands of years.
The urbanization of these families helped to promote further growth in all aspects. It has converted the extended family into a nuclear one, says Richard Robison, director of the Asia Research Center at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. Because of this new change, people are relying less on the family, which in turn is creating new relationships between old and young and women and men. The change has promoted a lot of social change and economic change in many of these countries, such as Malaysia. By urbanization, many of these people are being influenced by the modernization and western technological advancements. These influences include democracy, education, communication, economical developments, medical advancements, employment, and individualism.
Though individualism is present, family values are treasured. Unity is preserved and family name is heavily cherished. Asians strongly believe that problems must be kept within the family, and that problems are a blemish upon the family name as quoted by Lien Roberts, a Vietnamese mother. Immigration is also very popular amongst Asians. Many immigrate to democratic places such as the United States, Great Britain, and Canada. Many believe before they emigrate, that their new land will be much better than the one they currently occupy.
Just in the Greater Toronto Area, there are about 380, 000 Chinese-Canadians as reported by Tony Wong from The Toronto Star. As reported by Mr. Wong, China is the major source of immigration to Canada. However, China isnt the only place where immigration comes from. Place such as Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and even India, Mauritius, and Jamaica also has emigrants to Canada. Three point four percent of the entire population of the United States is Asian and each year, that number is getting greater and greater.
Because the United States gives them a better opportunity for growth, much if the Asia's immigration goes here. After battling racism for about a century, the Asian population in the United States is the fastest growing ethnic group in the country. Today, Asian Americans are the fastest-growing U. S. minority, increasing at fifteen times the rate of non-Hispanic whites, and doubling in just the past ten years.
The growth is phenomenal. Sociologist James M. Henslin states that most of the population is concentrated in major cities such as, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. However, even though they are in a distant land, they often preserve their customs and traditions while also taking on things from the American Culture.
In an article written by Julie Zhou, a Chinese immigrant who is currently a student explains that she is determined for [herself] that [she] would fit into American society while still displaying the positive influences of [her] culture. Things such as clothes, music and shopping didnt interest her as she explains in this article. Most importantly, she values the understanding of her parents that told her it was okay to be like that. Chinese culture recognizes that personal achievements outside the classroom is pursuits such as academic activities and community service lead to a well-balanced life. Qualities such as honesty and good judgment contribute to a peaceful life.
Important aspects such as social involvement and willingness to make sacrifices contribute greatly to success. Balance, peace and success are the very foundation stones on which we lay our culture, is what Miss Zhou believes in. Many Chinese people if not all, also believe in this philosophy. The opportunity that lies in the United States is so much greater than that of countries such as China.
With Communism in China and a recession in Japan, immigration one way Asians can escape and come to a place such as the United States to expand. In an article written by Karen Ma in Time International Magazine, she tells a story of an immigrant of Hong Kong named Eric Tsang that came to the United States seven years ago, with nothing but $ 3, 000 in his savings account and a sister here that gave him a place to live. He worked as a busboy in a New York City Chinatown restaurant eleven hours [a] day, six days a week, and clear[ed] plates, emptying the garbage and scrubbing toilets. However, today, he not only owns part pf that restaurant, but is planning a second. He and his wife own their home and are already preparing their two young children for college. By working hard and saving, Eric became very successful.
The American dream became reality for this immigrant. Most immigrants from Asia tend to show similar characteristics as Eric. They all work hard, and conserve their money, hoping one day to own a house and run a business, giving them extra money to send their children to college and helping them live an easier life than themselves. In an interview with my father Kwok Kwong Lee, he explains the similarities between him and Eric. He first talks about his childhood in China.
He didnt have much food to eat, and never had a full meal when he was a kid. In order to have a better life, him and several of his friends got together and decided to smuggle into Hong Kong, then a British Colony. They practiced everyday for months. The swim he tells me was 7 hours long. It was really tiring after 6 th hour, but we saw how close we were and was determined to get to land, he explains.
After a year in Hong Kong, he immigrated to the United States in 1973. His aunt and uncle lived here, so he lived with them. He worked in his uncles restaurant until the restaurant closed down. He made $ 600 a month, but since he didnt really have any expenses, he just saved it up.
He went back to Hong Kong to marry my mother and filed an application for her immigration to the United States. He had a partnership in a restaurant for several years before selling his share of the company. After that, he worked at the Silver Palace restaurant in Chinatown for a couple of years. My father bought the house were living in now in 1987, but decided to rent it out to have it bring in more money.
This was a 3 -family house in Sheepshead Bay, so the price was high. However, this was a great neighborhood and my parents didnt want my sister and I to grow up in Chinatown, so he bought it for $ 325, 000. About 8 years ago, my father opened up a fish market in Chinatown. He works from 4 A. M. to 7 P.
M. , 6 days a week. However, he doesnt complain at all. Two years ago, he bought a brand new Nissan Maxima. My father worked very hard through all these years in the United States, but he never complained.
He wanted to make sure that his family didnt have to suffer what he suffered when he was in China. He made sure we had a place to live in, clothes to wear, and food to eat. This is the same in all Chinese families. Most immigrants suffered too much in their own countries, not only China. No matter how hard they work here, it is still easier than working in their own country.
Asians own many stores and delis today. Many Koreans own grocery stores and delis. Another group of Asians that own grocery stores are Arabs. Not just only grocery stores and delis, but many newsstands as well. Chinese people also own many grocery stores, and many take out restaurants. In any neighborhood in New York City, one will always find at least one store owned by Asians.
Asian Americans, the fastest-growing ethnic group in the U. S. , are an industrious, highly educated and successful immigrant community. Their members become brilliant engineers, capable physicians, and instinctive entrepreneurs. Moreover, they rarely depend on public welfare because of the strength of their Confucian ethic is stereotype that is accepted widely.
However, in a report made by the Asian American Studies Center, part of the University of California, Los Angeles, shows a startling gap between rich and poor members of the Asian-American community. It also shows that the Southeast Asians are at the bottom of the economic ladder, and that 30 % of all Southeast Asian families are on welfare the highest rate of any ethnic group. It clearly shows that Asian Americans are not all powerful and do experience problems as any other group does, proving the stereotype to be false. The reports also show that: In 1989, nearly 15 % of Southeast Asian Americans lived below the poverty line of $ 12, 674, a rate 1 times greater than that for whites. For every Asian household with an annual income of $ 75, 000, there is another with an income below $ 10, 000. Even though this...
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