Returning to their roots

New immigrants

While older Singaporeans look back and reflect on their roots in China, new immigrants are planting theirs in Singapore as part of a global migration surge.

SFCCA's Phua said that unlike earlier groups of overseas Chinese who became Singaporeans, new immigrants from China are "much wealthier, with a number having moved to Singapore due to investment migration".

Zhuang said that new migrants, who arrived in Singapore after China opened up, differed in their views on China from earlier groups.

Having seen or experienced the economic growth firsthand, they formed their own views of China's system, he noted.

This group continues to maintain strong ties with their Chinese relatives back home, with some migrants holding substantial business in China as well.

"They see themselves more as global Chinese, with strong connections to China, rather than as 'Straits Chinese'," Zhuang said. Straits Chinese are defined as the descendants of early Chinese immigrants to Southeast Asia who blended Chinese traditions with Malay and British cultures.

"They view transnational mobility — and even returning to China — as a normal way of life and career development, representing a departure from the traditional immigrant mindset of (returning to their roots)," he added.