【Patron分享：讀者回應】唐人街現象：回應「阿斯嘉計劃」與青年作家沐羽 (Patreon)

I watched your interview with 沐羽 - 【堅離地傾・沈旭暉 070🇹🇼】青年作家沐羽：「阿斯嘉計劃」離開香港，才能記下真香港的一切.

You mentioned about Chinatown in U.S.  I agree with you that Chinese should assimilate to the new world regardless they move to Taiwan or oversea in US, Canada, or anywhere else.

There are at least four reasons for Chinese immigrants living in US want to live close to each other in so call Chinatown:

1) language barrier - Chinese immigrated who do not speak English feel a sense of belonging to live in community in which they can access information and talk to neighbors who also speak their language.  It is not easy to live in a new world when you do not speak the mainstream language. 

2) safety - discrimination toward Asians exist everywhere in US. Living in community with mostly Chinese means that you are lesser likely to be attacked verbally or physically by others. Chinatowns are safe haven for immigrants or port of entry to get a strong footing before moving out to suburbs.

3) convenience - I found most of the Chinatown in US cities are located close to downtown and have accessible public transits that connect them easily to other parts of the cities. You also can find grocery stores and book stores that sell things that are familiar from home country.

4) political power - No matter where we live and work, there is always a political force around us.  When people live together, you can potentially elect your own representative/senator who can speak on your behalf in the political arena. 

I want to share the above with you because it is not easy to assimilate in a new world. Even American born Chinese are often not viewed as Americans but often viewed as foreigners because of our physical features.

It is sad to see what is taking place in Hong Kong.  It is bad enough for others to mistreat Chinese. It is worst for your own people to mistreat your own brothers and sisters.

How to encourage our future generation to preserve our language and heritage is the question to pursue as more Hong Kongers living oversea.