Tahiti’S

Chinese

French Awareness of Difficult Problem

Prom Our Own Correspondent

Papeete, July 24.

A PROPOSAL which emanated recently from Paris, that facilities should be provided for the naturalisation of Chinese residents in French Oceania, has caused a stir.

There is strong opposition to the proposal on the part of the French, the Tahitians and the French- Tahitians. They have pointed out that, in Tahiti, the Chinese main tain their own community, and do not mix. As one leading Tahitian businessman says: “They stay with their own race. A Chinaman will always be a Chinaman. Anything that resembles a Chinaman is another Chinaman!”

Deputy Pouvanaa a Oopa has announced that he is strongly opposed to the naturalisation of the Chinese, whose continued pre sence menaces the future of the Territory. He is looking forward to the day when all Chinese will be shipped away from Tahiti—just as, a few years ago, they were shipped away from Samoa. He and M Coulcn, Concillor of the French Union, have made strong represen tations on the subject to the French Government.

Editorial Note

In 1946 there were 48,000 French and Tahitians in French Oceania, and 6,385 Chinese, whose numbers had grown from 3,989 in 1926. While there is considerable intermarriage between French and Polynesians, there are very few Chinese-Tahitian unions. Chinese born in Tahiti have no local status; they are subject to naturalisation laws, just as if they were bom abroad. The Chinese are industrious and thrifty, and a large proportion of the artisan services and retail distribution is in their hands.

When the Germans held Samoa, they had about 4,000 Chinese lab ourers there. When New Zealand took over in 1914, repatriation com menced. By 1931, there were only yib lett. When war came in 1939 and repatriation ceased, 600 re mained. After 1945, repatriation again - Now > there are about 150 in Samoa and most of them, for various reasons, will be t 0 remain - About half of them have married Samoans; and there is a small, but growing and influential community

of Chmese-Samoans.

k T £ hi , tiar Chinese community ciif llke J h . at of New Guinea—it is self-contained, almost segregated,

commercially important, and its re patriation does not now appear to be either economically or politically practicable.