19-21 December, 1994
University of Hongkong, Hongkong

THE ISSCO CONFERENCE 

In 1993, the International Society for the Studies of Chinese
Overseas (ISSCO) was established in response to the rising
tide of overseas Chinese studies. In November 1992, a first
worldwide conference on the subject was held in San Francisco,
then, at the end of 1993, a regional conference in Shantou (PR
China) followed. Last December, the University of Hong Kong
was responsible for the first general ISSCO conference, held
on its campus, which is built against a steep cliff on Hong
Kong Island. There was no other way to the (excellent) lunches
and dinners for the nearly 200 participants except to descend
about ten staircases; one of those lodged in Robert Black
College counted 170 stairs to be ascended from the conference
floors.

By Leo Douw and Frank Pieke

This was the ideal conference for establishing and renewing
contacts. The atmosphere was easy-going and relaxed, there was
ample time between sessions, and even though presentations and
discussions were lively and often intense one could easily
move from one panel to another. The main problem was the
getting hold of papers. Because none had been distributed
beforehand and the obligatory number of copies was only 50,
there was a continuous rush on papers, and it was easy to miss
one. Never the less, the written programme and address list
did a lot to compensate for this.
The 'shopping' character of the conference was reinforced by
the large number of topics and themes, and the large diversity
in the backgrounds and competence of the speakers. There were
nearly 160 papers distributed over 53 panels. The organizers
had intended to emphasize comparative perspectives,
concentrating on the past half century. The most systematic
effort at comparison had been taken by Karen Harris, who
shared her two presentations on the ethnic Chinese in South
Africa with Jan Ryan on the Australian Chinese, and Frank
Pieke on the Dutch Chinese. Most of the other papers were not
as systematic, even though some panels made lots of
comparisons, like those on the theme 'Chinatown Re-Oriented'.
More important as a background to the presentations was the
importance attached to the ethnic migrant communities in North
America and Australia. In his keynote speech, Prof. Wang
Gungwu mentioned 'the migrant upgrading by the developed
industrial countries in the West, as perceived by Southeast
Asians of Chinese descent,... particularly in North America
and Australasia' as the central fact in Chinese migration
history over the past fifty years. The sensitivities that
remain were more articulately present in the Li Ka-hsing
Distinguished Lecture by Prof. Tien Chang-lin from Berkeley,
University of California, who suggested that there are still
obstacles confronting ethnic Chinese who wish to enter higher
education in the United States. It may be no coincidence that
about 35% of the presentations was on the ethnic Chinese in
North America and Australia, a remarkably large number. If one
adds the sessions on European and Japanese ethnic Chinese, it
becomes obvious that the emphasis in the contemporary overseas
Chinese studies has shifted somewhat away from the ethnic
Chinese communities in Southeast Asia.
The latter were given ample treatment in the main themes of
the conference, economic change, migration, political
participation in the host countries, popular culture and
ethnicity, and family structure and gender issues. The
comparative intentions of the conference came out best in the
papers which treated the Southeast Asian ethnic Chinese
communities categorically, like those by Prof. Gary Hamilton
and Dr. Numasato Ichiro. Some, but in fact surprisingly few,
papers were also presented on what must surely be poised to
become a hot topic in the near future, the booming links
between the ethnic Chinese abroad and the PR China. Relatively
little was available on Hong Kong and Taiwan. Apparently, the
IIAS Programme on International Social Organization in East
and Southeast Asia: The Functions of Qiaoxiang Ties and Other
Informal Linkages During the Twentieth Century, which the
undersigned are preparing, is in the vanguard of overseas
Chinese studies.
By and large, the First ISSCO Conference has shown how dynamic
and many-sided overseas Chinese studies are at present. They
offer rich opportunities for studies in the Humanities. During
the final session a decision was taken to organize general
ISSCO conferences once every three years, and regional
conferences more often. The next two regional conferences will
be held in Taipei and Xiamen respectively. The ISSCO is
experiencing some difficulty finding financial support. It is
to be hoped that this can be solved without much resort to big
business funding.