They consist of 'persons of Chinese origin' such as the Hokkiens, Teochews, Hainanese, Cantonese, Hakka, Henghuas, Hokchias and Foochows, Shanghainese, Northern Chinese, etc.' Chinese Singaporeans are defined as the 'Chinese community in Singapore' regardless of their affiliation with the wider global Chinese community.Īs early as the 10th century, there was evidence of Chinese people trading and settling in Singapore and there were also various Chinese records documenting trading activities and Chinese residents on the island from the 10th to the 14th century. The Singapore Department of Statistics defines 'Chinese' as a ' race' or ' ethnic group', as opposed to Malay, Indian and Others under the CMIO model. Many Chinese Singaporeans can trace their ancestry to provinces of southeastern China that mainly include speakers of Hokkien, Teochews and Cantonese. There was only a significant number of Chinese residents permanently settling in Singapore during the early to mid-twentieth century, forming the bulk of the Chinese Singaporean population in existence today. After Singapore became a British colony, there was an influx of male Chinese migrant workers, who would then usually return to their families in China after they had earned enough. Prior to the establishment of Singapore as a British trading port, there was a small population of 120 Malays who were followers of Temenggong Abdul Rahman, and about 20–30 Chinese living on the island. Īs early as the 10th century, there was evidence of Chinese people trading and settling in Singapore, with various Chinese records documenting trading activities and Chinese residents on the island up until the 14th century. Chinese Singaporeans constitute 75.9% of the Singaporean citizen population according to the official census, making them the largest ethnic group in Singapore. Chinese Singaporeans ( simplified Chinese: 新加坡华人/华裔新加坡人 traditional Chinese: 新加坡華人/華裔新加坡人 pinyin: Xīnjiāpō Huárén / Huáyì Xīnjiāpōrén) are Singaporeans of Han Chinese descent.

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