「移民二代」特別話題
在過去幾十年,有一些人為了更好的發展機會,移民去到了國外。
而如今,他們的子女,卻對中國這個遙遠而又親切的國度心生嚮往……
最近,咱們Global Times和一些「移民二代」聊了聊。
所謂「移民二代」,就是指那些從小和父母一起移民出國(甚至直接在國外出生)、獲得外國國籍並在國外成長與接受教育的年輕華人們。
中國於他們,像是一個遙遠的故鄉,既陌生又熟悉。
但是……近幾年來,選擇回到中國發展的「移民二代」卻急劇增加。
和當年離開的父母不同,他們非常看好中國的發展現狀,對祖國的未來也充滿信心。
「80後」法國華裔後代李和成,從小生長在法國海外省留尼旺島:
從23歲來北京學習中文,他在中國已經待了快10年。
是什麼原因讓他回來,中國和海外有何不同?
一起來聽聽李和成追夢中國的故事——
小檔案
李和成從小生長在法國留尼旺島,他中國的背景來自父親這一方,爺爺奶奶都是中國人,爺爺1934年就來到留尼旺島上尋求機會,奶奶則是島上的第三代華人移民。
李和成的名字是爺爺起的,因為從小受到法式教育,李和成的父母都不會說中文。2008年李和成來到中國求學,先後在北京語言大學,清華大學學習中文和工商管理碩士。苦學中文之後,李和成才知道自己的中文名字怎麼寫,怎麼讀。
為什麼選擇回中國?
李和成說他苦學中文,回到中國發展,第一個原因是自己的來源。「我覺得我們的根在中國。我覺得至少我的一半是來自中國的,所以我就想探索這一半的我。」
第二個原因李和成坦言,是商業的原因。
「現在中國這麼發達,機會這麼多,所以很多外國人,不管他們是不是華人都想來中國發展。」
中法差異
李和成現居上海,說到中國和留尼旺的差別,他說「差別很大」。
「中國節奏很快,生活方便,要什麼就可以找到什麼。很方便就可以在網上找到需要的產品和幫助。」
第二,他覺得中國很安全,尤其是現在世界上很多國家都不安全。
唯一讓李和成感到「有點擔心」的是環境問題。因為患有哮喘,李和成對外界環境要敏感一些,但是他相信,這個問題「會很快被解決。」
對中國未來的期待
他認為中國將來肯定會重新回到世界第一的位置,強調「重新」兩個字,是因為「中國幾百年前本來就是世界第一。」
對於中國的未來,李和成也做出了大膽的預測。他認為中國將來不僅會是一個很大的市場 ,更關鍵的是這個市場會引起很多新的想法,新的行業,新的產品。他說雖然最近幾十年中國人習慣於引進和學習西方新的產品,潮流和想法,但是這個局面已經開始反轉。
「中國現在有很多新的行業,新的實踐,可以讓國外學習的。比如說信息技術,手機支付。」這些中國引領的技術已經讓他的國外朋友感到「不可思議。」
French-born Chinese returns to China, finds success with start-ups
Editor's Note 編者按
Decades ago, many Chinese people spared no efforts and expense to immigrate to developed countries in order to pursue a better life and more job opportunities. Their foreign-born offspring, however, are now attracted by China's rapid development and surging economy in order to realize the Chinese Dream their parents never had. The Global Times recently interviewed several "third-culture" (foreign-born) Chinese who have recently returned to China for work. Sidney Cheung is our first interviewee.
幾十年前,為了更好生活和前途,一批中國人苦心竭力移民到發達國家。如今,他們海外出生或長大的「移二代」孩子輩逆著父母年輕時闖蕩的腳步、選擇「回流」中國發展,追求著他們父輩不曾想過的中國夢。我們採訪了幾位這樣的外籍華裔,今天的故事主角是李和成——
JS Cheung-Ah-Seung was born in southern France and grew up on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. It is 10,000 kilometers from France, pretty much the same distance from China. His father is ethnically Chinese and his mother is French.
80後的李和成出生在法國的留尼旺島, 父親是法籍華人,母親是法國人。島上居住著4%的華僑,但是基本都不會說漢語了。
Cheung-Ah-Seung's Chinese name, Li Hecheng, was given to him by his grandfather, who arrived on the island as a 14-year-old. Growing up in a purely French educational system, Cheung-Ah-Seung couldn't read or write his name in Chinese until 2008, when the 23-year-old came to China specifically to learn Chinese.
Many foreigners who live in China only expect to stay for a year or so before returning home or moving on to the next country. But for Cheung-Ah-Seung, he intended to spend at least as much time in China as he already had abroad."Because I am half-Chinese half-French, I've spent 23 years of my life in France, so I have to now spend at least 23 years in China,"he told the Global Times.
李和成的名字他爺爺給起名的,因為他父母已經不會說中文了。他小的時候都不會念這個字,直到2008年的時候,23 歲的他來中國學習中文後再知道怎麼念自己的名字。現在他在中國已經待了近10年,並且很確定將繼續待下去。
「因為我有一半的中國血統,我在法國待了23年,那麼我在中國至少也要待23年。」李和成說。
Though his family, while living on the island, held on to some traditional Chinese roots such as cooking and celebrating Chinese festivals, his first encounter with real China was in 1997, at the age of 12, when they traveled here. The trip became a turning point in his life, as it was then that he made the decision to someday live and study in China.
做出這個決定的時候,李和成只有12歲。1997年的時候,12歲的李和成和家人來中國旅行,在中國國內坐了14次飛機,去了大部分的城市。這是他和中國最早的接觸,也是從這個時候他下定決心要再來中國,學習中文,在中國生活。
He recalls that what really impressed him during that first trip to China was the "optimism" of the country and its people. Walking down the developing city streets, he was struck by just how bustling it all was, night and day.
"I felt the power of all these people brought together and the fact that it seemed that there would be no limit," he said."In Europe, everybody feels yesterday was better and that tomorrow will be worse and worse. But in China, you could feel this energy that everybody is thinking tomorrow is going to be better and better."
「我看到路上有很多自行車,有很多人在工作,夜以繼日。我感到很多積極的力量讓你相信明天會更好。但是在歐洲,每個人都覺得昨天才是最好的,對未來有點悲觀。」 他說。
In 2008, he went to Beijing to study Chinese at Beijing Language and Culture University and receive a master's degree of business administration at Tsinghua University. "Because I wanted to be in a country where everybody around me thinks and believes the future will be better than the past."
Today, he lives in Shanghai and has launched several businesses in food and beverage, strategy business consulting and commerce trade between France and China. This year he launched a new business, La Qute Sucre: introducing the clair, a traditional French pastry, to the Chinese, which he expects will be a big hit given the Chinese newfound love of baked goods and sweet cakes.
2008年的時候,李和成重新回到北京,在北京語言大學學了一年的中文,後來又在清華大學讀了工商管理碩士。現在他在上海創業,最新的項目是將法國的閃電泡芙帶到中國。
One of the biggest differences he has found between living in China and on Reunion Island ishow efficient and streamlined China has become.
"Everything goes extremely fast," he said. "You can find everything you want online and have it delivered to your home."
說到中國和留尼旺島上生活的區別,他覺得中國的節奏很快,變化很快,在中國生活很方便。
He said most ethnically Chinese adults his age back on Reunion Island would only dare travel to other parts of France such as Paris or other nearby European countries; few that he knew had traveled to China and even less would be willing to live here.
"Most ethnically Chinese [on the island] have a very hard time adjusting to China. They are attracted to some aspects of the country, but they don't see themselves living there. Everything [in their life] is in France, so they don't see themselves starting from scratch in China," he said.
李和成說大部分的島上的華裔青年,會去歐洲國家,有的也會來到中國,但是不會久居,最後都會回到島上,或者回到法國。
「大多數華裔都很難適應在中國生活,他們太習慣於法國文化了。他們也許會被中國文化吸引,但是無法想像在中國生活,因為不願意放棄在法國的基礎,到中國從零開始。」
His family have been unusually supportive of his life-changing move, especially his grandfather, who was extremely happy to see one of his relatives returning to China.
對於他的這個決定,家人都很支持,甚至有點「崇拜」,覺得他自學中文,在中國創業很勇敢。尤其是李和成的父親和爺爺對他的這個決定非常開心。
「他們一直夢想著有一天自己的後代能夠回到中國。雖然,我的母親有些難過,因為我要遠走他鄉,並且可能長期待在中國了。」
His grandfather was just 14 years old when he went to Reunion Island from South China's Guangdong Province in search of prosperity. It is also where he married Cheung-Ah-Seung's grandmother, one of the island's third-generation Chinese residents.
李和成的中國背景主要是來自父親這一塊,他爺爺和奶奶都是中國人。爺爺是在中國廣東出生的,14歲的時候在30年代來到法國留尼旺島。奶奶是中國華僑,在留尼旺島已經是第三代了。
His grandfather first found work as a manual laborer, then later started up his own business. Now his family of Reunion Island are involved in a variety of sectors: logistics, transportation, banking, construction equipment trading and even real estate.
李和成說爺爺來法國的時候,正值中國的環境比較複雜,法國留尼旺島剛剛被開發,百廢待興,工作機會非常多。因為天他爺爺初來留尼旺的時候因為不會說法語,需要靠勞動力才能生存, 基本上做快遞的工作,生活的壓力很大。之後爺爺開始創業,建立了一個物流公司,在這個基礎上家族開始從事了物流,運輸,房地產開發相關的事業。
He is happy that his family is doing well in France, but feels confident that"China is once again becoming the next first economy of the world. I say again because, a few hundred years ago, China was the first country in the world. Now China is getting back to that position,"he said.
雖然在島上有著自己的家族事業,李和成還是想回到中國發展,因為自己的根在這裡。「吸引我回來的還是來源,我們的根在那裡。我一直覺得至少我的一半是來自中國的,所以我一直想探索這一半的我。 跟我的祖國去創造新的聯繫。」
另外一個原因是他深信,中國將來會重新成為世界第一的國家。在這裡他多次強調了「重新」這兩個字。
「我強調重新這兩個字,是因為中國幾百年之前本來就是第一。我一直在等待中國回到原來的高度,將來中國不僅僅會是一個很大的市場,更關鍵這個市場會引領很多新的行業,想法,產品,實踐,出口到國外。」
He also expressed his enthusiasm that China is now exporting its original technology, businesses, ideas and products everywhere in the world instead of relying on the West for such innovations. He specifically cited Chinese mobile payment apps as having impressed many of his friends and family back in France.
他說一直以來中國人習慣看到國外來的新的產品,新的流行到中國,但是這個趨勢已經開始反過來了,比如信息技術,手機技術,行動支付等,讓他的很多外國朋友感到「不可思議」。