Chinese American press
The Chinese American press encompasses media published in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English that serves the needs of new immigrants from China and ethnic Chinese communities in the United States. This press plays a critical role in providing essential information in a familiar language, thereby facilitating the integration of immigrants while helping to preserve their cultural identity. The origins of Chinese-language newspapers date back to the mid-19th century, with the first being the Golden Hills News in 1854, followed by several others that addressed the growing needs of Chinese communities, particularly in California during a time of significant immigration.
Throughout history, these newspapers not only informed local populations but also engaged with broader political movements, such as the Chinese revolutionary efforts in the early 20th century. As the Chinese American community evolved, so did the press, transitioning to more standardized formats and adapting to the sociopolitical climate, including affiliations with various Chinese political factions during the Chinese Civil War. The late 20th and early 21st centuries saw a shift toward bilingual and English-language publications, reflecting demographic changes and the rise of digital media.
Today, while traditional Chinese American newspapers face challenges from online platforms, notable publications like the World Journal and The China Press continue to serve significant roles within their communities, addressing contemporary issues and maintaining a connection to cultural heritage.
Chinese American press
DEFINITION: News media in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English published for new immigrants from China and ethnic Chinese communities in the United States (US)
SIGNIFICANCE: The existence of Chinese-language newspapers and other media gives new immigrants access to necessary information in their native language and fosters greater integration of the immigrant and ethnic communities. Chinese-language news media allow for the strengthening of cultural ties within the milieu of a new culture and for easy assimilation into the mainstream without losing cultural and ethnic identity.
Between 1849 and 1882—when a new federal law forbade Chinese immigration—large groups of Chinese male laborers came to California to work in the mining industry and on the transcontinental railroad. While most worked and sent money to relatives in China, some settled in cities and towns in California and established businesses. The establishment of these new Chinese immigrant communities created a need for information in the Mandarin and Cantonese dialects of Chinese, giving rise to the creation of Chinese-language newspapers. The first such paper was the Golden Hills News, a weekly published by William Howard in San Francisco for a few months in 1854. It was followed by The Oriental, an English and Cantonese weekly published from 1855 to 1857 by William Speer, a Presbyterian missionary who had spent time in China. Although neither of these early papers had Chinese owners, both were edited by recent Chinese immigrants, and a later version of The Oriental was owned by ethnic Chinese.
The first Chinese-owned newspaper was the Sacramento Daily News, published by Ze Too Yune from 1856 to 1858. Although none of these individual enterprises lasted more than a few years, San Francisco and Sacramento consistently had Chinese-language papers throughout the period leading up to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, a law barring the immigration of Chinese laborers for ten years and not allowing Chinese-born residents already in the US to become naturalized citizens. Indeed, despite the racial violence and economic discrimination that the Chinese community suffered in California, a Chinese American press continued to thrive.
Move East and Coverage of the Revolution
With conditions deteriorating for Chinese residents in California after the early 1880s, many immigrants moved to Hawaii, where racial discrimination was not as virulent and work could be found in agriculture. Other immigrants relocated to such midwestern cities as Chicago and St. Louis. Newspapers were published in each place to serve the local Chinese communities. In Chicago, Protestant missionaries and Catholic parishes hired Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking editors to publish newsletters that not only proselytized but also provided much information about the burgeoning nationalist movement that sought to overthrow the imperial system in China during the early twentieth century. Indeed, the revolutionary movement of Sun Yat-sen in China was funded to a significant extent by donations from wealthy Chinese American businesspeople, many of whom learned about the revolution from Chinese American newspapers.
The dual focus on Christian evangelization and Chinese nationalism has continued to color the social and political views of Chinese Americans in larger cities into the twenty-first century. In 1883, the Chinese American, the Chinese American paper with the widest circulation, was launched in New York City. Meanwhile, even after many Chinese Americans had started moving to the Midwest and the East, significant numbers remained in California where papers such as the Chinese Free Press—which was founded in San Francisco in 1903 by Chinese Freemasons—exerted the same influence on public opinion about China’s revolution as their midwestern counterparts.
Chinese Political Influence
By the 1920s, most Chinese American newspapers had standardized their formats along the lines established by mainstream English-language newspapers. News reporting within the papers was arranged under local, national, and international headings, and each issue of the papers had an editorial page. However, during the era of the Chinese Civil War (1927–50), individual papers tended to become formally affiliated with one or the other side of the conflict. Operatives from the Kuomintang and Communist Parties living in the US exerted significant editorial influence on the content of Chinese-language papers. Papers that sided with—and in some cases received funding from—the Chinese Communist Party were routinely monitored and harassed by the federal government during the 1940s and 1950s. New York City’s China Daily News and San Francisco’s The China Weekly were both hounded out of business during the Korean War of the early 1950s.
Late Twentieth Century Trends
Not all Chinese American newspapers during the first half of the twentieth century had strong affiliations with Chinese political parties. To serve the growing numbers of newly naturalized Chinese American citizens and ethnic Chinese who resided legally in the US, independent weekly newspapers arose in many large cities. New York’s Chinese Journal of Commerce (1928–44) focused on issues of interest to Chinese American business owners. The Chinese American Weekly had a similar focus but featured a state-of-the art pictorial section. The Hawaii Chinese News, an English-language paper, was established in 1926 to serve the bilingual Chinese population of the islands. The trend toward English language and bilingual publications continued into the 1960s and 1970s with publications such as Boston’s Sampan and Houston’s Southwest Chinese Journal. These newspapers also featured a strong commercial focus. The 1970s also saw the rise of national Chinese newspapers in the US. Although previous attempts to publish Chinese American newspapers in more than one market had met with limited success, publishers in Taiwan and Hong Kong successfully entered the US national market with publications such as the daily Sing Tao Jih Pao.
Twenty-first Century Markets
The modern market for Chinese American newspapers and bilingual news published in the US by news corporations from China reflects the same trends affecting the American news business in general. In the face of competition from the Internet, long-established newspapers were shut down and those that survived seemed to do so because they invested in a strong online news reporting presence. However, an increase in Chinese immigration to the US beginning in the 1980s led to record numbers of start-up ventures for newsweeklies and Chinese-language magazines. Additionally, China Daily, an English-language newspaper owned and operated by the Chinese government, serves readers in the US through its print and online services, as does CCTV, an English-language television and online news service. The Chinese-language World Journal, published in the US since 1976, remains one of the most influential Chinese-language journals in the US and is widely read in the 2020s in many Chinese American communities. It is published in cities that continue to have large Chinese American populations, such as New York City and San Francisco. However, its influence has waned in the mid-2020s due to its inability to keep pace with digital and social media platforms. The China Press, also known as Qiaobao, founded in 1990, is another example of a Chinese American newspaper still popular in the mid-2020s. The new source leans toward a pro-Chinese Communist Party stance and focuses on news related to US-China relations.
Bibliography
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