Racial Harassment and violence have been a feature of the life of Chinese-speaking populations within England for many years. This has been exacerbated by the relative isolation and sparsity of the Chinese-speaking populations within the UK.

In spite of this, the community is assumed by public policy to be ‘doing well’. A typical official view is given by the Cabinet Office report (2003) which observes that

‘the Chinese, on average, are doing well and often out-performing Whites in school and in the labour market. Their success shows that there are no insuperable barriers to successful economic and social integration’ (p.1)

This seriously flawed statement reproduces the myth of successful Chinese integration in British society. In reality, as much of the limited research undertaken to date shows, many Chinese people live harrowing, isolated lives in deprived conditions, lacking integration within their own community let alone wider society.

So far, UK Chinese people’s experience of racial harassment and violence is yet to be fully researched. To date, no study has adopted a mixed method of research (incorporating both quantitative and qualitative approaches) to assess the nature and extent of UK Chinese people’s experiences of racial harassment and violence. This research project aims to take such an approach.

Research by Professor Gary Craig and others, University of Hull, Nottingham Trent University and University of Leeds

Expected publication date: October 2008