Source: http://www.CRNTT.com   2015-05-02 00:56:35

The latest data show that the Chinese population in the US reached 4.52 million; 4.347 million regarded themselves as "Chinese people" and 173 thousand as "Taiwanese people". The Chinese are the largest ethnic group among the Asians in the US, and the second largest ethnic group after the Mexicans among all the minorities. The general economic condition of the Chinese people was at the medium-low level among the Asians, but the education level was significantly higher than the US overall level.

May is the annual "Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month" in the US. The US Census Bureau released a report on Asians’ situation in the United States. Up to 2013, there were a total of 19.44 million Asians, which were nearly 6 percent of the entire population and the fastest-growing ethnic group. Among the Asians, the largest ethnic group was the Chinese, followed by the Filipinos (3.65 million), Indians (3.46 million), Vietnamese (191 million), South Koreans (1.77 million), and Japanese (143 million). The Chinese people living in America have increased rapidly, from 4.01 million in 2011 to 4.35 million in 2013.

The economic situations of different Asian ethnic groups differ greatly in the US. In 2013 the Indian group, being the richest, had a median annual household income of over $100,000 whereas the Bangladeshi had only $51,000. The Asian median annual household income was $72,472, and the median annual income of Chinese families was $68,435, lower than the overall Asian standard. The Chinese poverty rate of 15 percent was also higher than the overall poverty rate of 12.7 percent of the Asians. Fifth three percent of the Chinese had occupations in management, business, and science or arts-related fields, 20 percent in sales or clerical work, and 17 percent in the service industry.

Asians had a relatively high level of education. Among those 25 years old or older, 51.3 percent had at least a bachelor degree, of which 52.7 percent were Chinese, much higher than the overall level of 30 percent for the Americans. More than a quarter of the Chinese had postgraduate qualifications, much higher than the overall level of 1 in 9 for the Americans.

In recent years, the rapid growth of the Asian population was mainly due to the rapid increase in the immigrant population. This also included the Chinese. Among the 4.52 million Chinese, 2.73 million were born outside the US, meaning that 60 percent of the Chinese in the US were immigrants. Among the 2.73 million Chinese born outside the US, 1.62 million were already naturalized US citizens when polled, and 1 in 7 were new immigrants admitted to the US after 2010.

Asian populations are mostly concentrated in the state of California; they number 6.14 million, followed by 1.76 million in New York and 1.31 million in Texas. The distribution of Chinese is basically the same.

US President Barack Obama issued a public announcement on April 30 declaring May as this year's "Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month." He pointed out that in this month, Americans commemorate the preservation of Asian-Pacific American’s tradition of courageously pursuing hopes and dreams in the New World, and celebrate the important impact of the Asian-Pacific American communities on American progress.

Obama praised the contribution made by the Asian-Pacific Americans in the building of America, beginning with Chinese railroad workers in constructing the American Transcontinental Railway. He said that in 1965, 50 years ago, the US adopted the Immigration and Nationality Act ending the arbitrary and outdated unfair restrictions on immigrants, and opened the door to new opportunities for more Asian-Pacific immigrants. He acknowledged the unbalanced development of the current Asian-Pacific Americans, and recognized that there was still unfairness and discrimination. He said that he wanted to try to help the growth of the Asian-Pacific American community, and urged the US Congress to enact a comprehensive immigration reform.