Chinese people in Belgium

Single male sailors who wished to reestablish their lives in a foreign country made up the first Chinese living in Belgium. Beginning in the 1950s people from the New Territories of Hong Kong began to settle Europe.^[4] They moved due to a lack of jobs in Hong Kong and political developments in Mainland China.^[5] Chinese people arrived until the end of the 1960s.^[6]

 

Since 1994, Belgium had 3,463 persons with Mainland Chinese citizenship, including 1,788 females and 1,675 males; and 489 persons with Republic of China (Taiwan) citizenship, including (278 females and 115 males).^[7] However, as of 1998 most Chinese in Belgium originated in Hong Kong. Prior to 1997 were counted as "British" when they arrived, and by 1998 many had naturalized as Belgian citizens. Therefore, they were not counted as ethnic Chinese people living in Belgium. Pang Ching Lin (彭靜蓮, Pinyin: Péng Jìnglián), author of "Invisible Visibility: Intergenerational Transfer of Identity and Social Position of Chinese Women in Belgium," stated that therefore there is a lack of records specifically tracking Chinese people, and therefore there is an element of invisibility.^[6]

In 2008, De Morgen reported that the total of Han Chinese living in Belgium are estimated to be around 30.000.^[2]

In 2017, there are 12.155 Chinese foreigners in Belgium.^[8] That number is only counted for those who are from the People's Republic of China and aren't counted to those who are naturalized. Ethnic Chinese people from other countries such as Hongkongers, Taiwanese and Chinese Singaporeans are not counted as well.

As of 2020, Vedia estimates the number of ethnic Chinese in Belgium at around 40.000.^[3]

There are multiple Chinese organisations in Belgium, but they do not regularly cooperate with one another. They sometimes cooperate during some political events supported by the Mainland Chinese government and during the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Chinese New Year.^[9]

 

• Xavier Chen (1983), footballer
• Dion Cools (1996), footballer
• Dong Fangzhuo (1985), footballer
• Nadine Hwang (1902–1972), pilot
• Chaiyapol Julien Poupart (1990), model and actor
• Angeline Flor Pua (1995), model
• Bolis Pupul (born 1985 or 1986), musician
• Han Suyin (1916–2012), physician and author
• Lianne Tan (1990), badminton player
• Yuhan Tan (1987), badminton player
• Lu Zhengxiang (1871–1949), diplomat and Roman Catholic priest
• Steven Wong (1988), BMX cyclist

• Belgium–China relations
• Chinese diaspora
• Immigration to Belgium

• Liu Huang, Li-Chuan. "A Biographical Study of Chinese Immigrants in Belgium: Strategies for Localisation" (Part IV: Chinese Migration in Other Countries: Chapter 13). In: Zhang, Jijiao and Howard Duncan. Migration in China and Asia: Experience and Policy (Volume 10 of International Perspectives on Migration). Springer Science & Business Media, April 8, 2014. ISBN 940178759X, 9789401787598. Start p. 207.
• Pang, Ching Lin (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven). "Invisible Visibility: Intergenerational Transfer of Identity and Social Position of Chinese Women in Belgium." Asian and Pacific Migration Journal. December 1998 vol. 7 no. 4 433-452. DOI 10.1177/011719689800700402 .