National Survey Data Shows Nearly 3 Out Of Every 4 Chinese Americans Have Experienced Racial Discrimination In The Past 12 Months

The overwhelming majority of Chinese American citizens vote. They care deeply about issues facing the U.S. society, and they want better relations and more collaboration between the U.S. and China, including:

Chinese Americans are not homogenous. While often stereotyped as a “model minority”, many face disadvantages or hardships in health and economics and need better support from policies and services, including:

“The Chinese American population is one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the United States, yet it remains underrepresented in politics and policy, and underserved in healthcare, education, and social services,” noted Gary Locke, Committee of 100 Chair, Former U.S. Ambassador to China, and current President of Bellevue College in Washington. “This important collaboration between Committee of 100 and Columbia University brings a critical and deeper understanding of the real experiences of Chinese Americans, not the stereotypical assumptions assigned to a  ‘model minority’ group. Moreover, it highlights that this is a group that is both politically active and engaged. These findings are certain to influence economic, social, and political policies to help improve the well-being of the entire Chinese American community.”

“As Dean of the Columbia School of Social Work, says Dr. Melissa Begg,  I often reflect on the fact that much suffering is caused by policies that we have ourselves created;  but if we created these policies, then we can fix them. This initiative has deepened our understanding of the many challenges faced by Chinese Americans today – including experiences of discrimination and risk of mental illness. These critically important findings now make it possible for us to create clear and informed policy – policy that leads to equity. I want to thank the Committee of 100 for their partnership, as well as the researchers involved in this study, led by Dr. Qin Gao, for focusing on an extremely important topic.”

“These survey results are the outcome of more than a year of collaboration between researchers from the China Center for Social Policy at Columbia University School of Social Work, Committee of 100, inputs from a stellar advisory group and contributions from more than 100 community organizations across the country,” said Dr. Qin Gao, Professor and Director of the China Center for Social Policy at Columbia University’s School of Social Work and lead researcher on this project. “This innovative approach, which allowed us to survey local and hard-to-reach communities, enabled us to obtain a large, diverse national sample of the Chinese-American community. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such distinguished colleagues to help shed light on the unique challenges and opportunities facing Chinese Americans and to inform policy and practice that can help this community thrive.”

Zhengyu Huang, President of Committee of 100 noted, “This collaboration with Columbia University marks the first in what I hope will be a long partnership in gathering and analyzing quality data related to the Chinese American community. The findings from this survey are certain to influence many conversations around the power of disaggregated data. For example, the vast majority of Chinese Americans believe that the U.S. should work to find ways to collaborate with China on economic issues. The majority of them see the current U.S.-China relationship as negative and needing improvement. As we delve more deeply into the data in the coming weeks and months, I am confident that the findings will have real impact in our efforts to work towards a more inclusive and equitable society for all.”

Additional Survey Findings 

To read the executive summary and view the data slides, click here.

On Thursday, April 27 from 7:00-8:30 PM Eastern, the results of the survey will be discussed during an online panel event open to the public. Free registration for “The Fight for Representation: The State of Chinese Americans Survey” can be found here.

Survey Methodology 
The State of Chinese Americans Survey questionnaire included 77 questions across six modules: Demographics, Racial and Cultural Background, Health, Economic Activities and Insecurity, Social Engagement, and Political Engagement. Two open-ended questions in the survey asked respondents to describe their experience with racial discrimination and coping mechanisms, and the impact of U.S.-China relations in their daily lives. The nationwide survey was conducted online in English, simplified Chinese, and traditional Chinese, and invited the participation of all adults self-identifying of Chinese-ethnic origin and living in the United States. No incentives were provided for survey participation.

Study participants were recruited through community outreach in partnership with more than 100 organizations throughout the country. Given the lack of a complete and reliable national sampling frame of Chinese Americans, this study used a non-probability sampling method with targeted subgroup recruitment efforts focusing on a set of key demographic characteristics for diverse representation. Special efforts were made to recruit participants in geographical areas where Chinese Americans are underrepresented. To ensure sufficient sample sizes for the harder-to-reach individuals with lower levels of income, education, and English proficiency, roughly one-third of the partner organizations were specialized in community engagement, resource provision, and housing. The remaining two-thirds were affiliated with advocacy, commerce, culture, religion, and various professions.

After data collection was completed, statistical weights were created using the post-stratification raking method. The raking method is commonly used in survey research to adjust for nonresponse and sampling biases. The method involved calibrating the sample statistics so that the sample approximates the national Chinese American population on the known distribution of key demographic characteristics including gender, age, education level, English proficiency, U.S. citizenship, income level, and census region based on the 2020 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates. All results reported are with the statistical weights applied.

Partnerships
Columbia University and Committee of 100 are proud to have partnered with over 100 community, professional, and advocacy organizations across the country in rolling out this survey. Additionally, the research team completed a successful pilot study of the survey last summer, with the help of the Chinese-American Planning Council, Chinese American Women in Action, the Community Youth Center of San Francisco, and the U.S. Heartland China Association.

Committee of 100 and Columbia University would like to thank each of the partners who helped distribute the survey to their respective audiences to help gain responses.

Premier Partners   
1990 Institute, Alliance for Families with Developmental Needs, Asian American Donors Program, Asian American Government Executives Network, AsAmNews, Asian American Women Artists Association, BeChinatown, Biing-Huei Su, The Carter Center, Chicago Chinese Forum, The China Project, Chinese American Association of Greater Chicago, Chinese American Citizens Alliance – Boston, Chinese American Citizens Alliance – Portland, Chinese American Citizens Alliance – Seattle, Chinese American Citizens Alliance National, Chinese American Museum DC, Chinese American Pioneer Heritage Committee, Chinese American Women in Action, Chinese Heritage Foundation, Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc., Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, Columbia Business School, Community Youth Center of San Francisco, Deloitte, Friends of Children with Special Needs, George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations, Henry Tom, Institute for China-America Studies, Kaiming Head Start, Museum of Chinese in America, OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates National, OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates San Diego, Overseas Student Service Corp., Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association, UCI Chinese Alumni Chapter, UCSF Asian Health Initiative, United States Heartland China Association, The U.S.-China Perception Monitor, World Journal, Wu Yee Children’s Services.

Affiliate Partners   
1882 Foundation, Alliance of MN Chinese Organizations, API Council, Asia Society, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Asian Columbia Alumni Association, Asian American Business Development Center, Asian American Unity Coalition, Asian Pacific American Libraries Association, Asian Real Estate Association of America, Asian Women for Health, Asians Fighting Injustice, Association of Asian American Investment Managers, Association of Chinese American Scientists and Engineers, Brooklyn Public Library, CAAM Chinese Dance Theater, Cal Alumni Association, Carlsbad Chinese-American Club, Chinatown Partnership, Chinese Adoptee Alliance, Chinese American Association for Autistic Community, Chinese American Association of Lexington, Chinese American Association of Minnesota, Chinese American Citizens Alliance – Houston, Chinese American Citizens Alliance – Las Vegas, Chinese American Citizens Alliance – Oakland, Chinese American Citizens Alliance – San Antonio, Chinese American Citizens Alliance – San Francisco, Chinese American Community Health Services, Chinese American History Group, Chinese American WWII Veterans, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association NY, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association Georgia, Chinese Health Initiative of San Mateo County, Chinese Historical Society of America, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, Colorado Asian Pacific United, Crossings TV, DC Talk Story, Global China Connection, Greater Austin Asian Chamber, Hope Chinese School, Hua Yuan Science and Technology Association, KTSF 26 News, MinKwon Center for Community Action, Monte Jade West, NAPABA, New York Chinese Cultural Center, New Jersey Chinese-American Chamber of Commerce, Shaolin Hung Mei Kung Fu, South Coast Chinese Cultural Association, South Cove Community Health Center, The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), University of Minnesota China Center, Upper Manhattan Asian American Alliance, US-China Business Council, US-China Peoples Friendship Association–Minnesota Chapter, Utah Chinese Association, Veterans for Peace, You May US.

Further Acknowledgment
Committee of 100 and Columbia University are grateful for the participation and support of the Advisory Group members on this project, whose knowledge and expertise across the fields of academia and civic engagement served to guide the project’s development and implementation: