Foundation of 100 Years Chinese in the Netherlands
In the Foundation of 100 years Chinese in Netherlands representatives of many local and national (Chinese) Dutch organisations are represented in the Board of the Foundation 100 Years Chinese in the Netherlands. Participating organisations include the “Inspraakorgaan Chinezen” (Organisation Representing the Chinese Community), the Dutch Federation of Chinese Organisations in the Netherlands, the Chinese Sports Federation Netherlands, the Association of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Amsterdam, the Netherlands Hong Kong Society, Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (Dutch association for the catering industry), the branche organisation Chinese-Indonesian enterprises and the Association Netherlands China (Vereniging VNC). The Foundation’s goal is to promote the harmony between the Chinese and non-Chinese in the Netherlands.
Background
For the Chinese community in the Netherlands the focus is on looking back at 100 Years of Chinese in the Netherlands. The diversity of the Chinese community in the Netherlands is great because the Chinese originate from many countries and regions. The interaction between the various groups varies from intense to very little. The anniversary represents an opportunity for the Chinese Dutch to meet each other again or to get to know each other.
The Foundation also intends to involve the entire Dutch community in the celebration. The Chinese community in the Netherlands is often seen as a separate and rather closed group. The events organised on the occasion of the anniversary will increase the visibility of the Chinese community. The Dutch community at large will be able to learn more about the Chinese culture and what 100 Years Chinese in the Netherlands has meant to Dutch society.
At the same time, this retrospective on the history of the Chinese in the Netherlands is also meant as the start of a new phase. The Chinese community in the Netherlands today counts four generations. The younger generations are more integrated into Dutch society and have a better grasp of the Dutch language than the Chinese language of their parents or ancestors. Building on what their parents and ancestors have accomplished in the Netherlands, these young generations are heading for the future with a new and different outlook. A future of more collaboration and exchange between the Chinese and the Dutch.
History
The first Chinese arrived in the Netherlands in 1911. These first settlers were sailors who served on ships bound for Dutch ports and who decided to stay. They found accommodation in lodgings that were run by Chinese near the ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. These lodgings became the seeds of the China towns in both cities.
Over the years the canteens of the lodgings became restaurants and gradually Dutch customers found their way to these establishments as well. A new phenomenon was born in the Netherlands: the Chinese restaurant.
At present there are some 90,000 Chinese in the Netherlands. More than two-thirds of them hail from Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. About 15,000 Chinese in the Netherlands came from Indonesia. A much smaller group came from Surinam, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Today Chinese Dutch(wo)men are represented in all professions of the Dutch economy: from restaurant and shop owner to surgeon, from designer to entrepreneur, from housewife to professor and from soldier to senator.
To coordinate the celebration of 100 Years Chinese in the Netherlands, a foundation was established with the same name.
See also
- Chinese people in the Netherlands
External link
nl: Stichting 100 jaar Chinezen in Nederland zh:荷兰华人百年誌庆基金会 zh-yue:荷蘭華人百年誌慶基金會