Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Vancouver Chinese Advertising Marketing Media Association, in contrast
to the Toronto Chinese community, 'People will spend more disposable
income here, like in restaurant and retail or entertainment or real estate.
They have more money, cash' (Fong 1997). DJC Consultants (1995) noted
that the new immigrants 'have great spending power' and 'have a taste for
luxury durable goods'. Home electronics are popular purchases, and an
entertainment room that includes wide-screen television and surround
sound is a widely available desideratum of the million dollar homes con-
structed for the new market. A marketing survey of Vancouver residents was
summarized by a local columnist as follows: 'A typical Chinese-Canadian
consumer in Greater Vancouver is an affluent, educated person under 40
who pays cash for a BMW or Mercedes, owns a [detached] residence, enjoys
dining out and is a frequent traveller' (Chow 1995).
In this chapter we investigate this stereotype and its geography of wealth
creation. To what extent is this inventory of wealth being reproduced
through business activity in Canada? Is there an even trans-Pacific playing
field, so that the abundant skills and business experience of millionaire
migrants prove readily portable across a global isotropic plain barely dis-
torted by national borders? This was the government view in establishing
the Business Immigration Programme as a means to leaven entrepreneurial
skills and raise the pace of economic development in Canada. Just how suc-
cessful then are the 'cosmopolitan capitalists' as they enter the Canadian
business market? Is the notion of entrepreneurs
sans frontières
verifiable in
their commercial ventures?
'Many People Here Are Only Working for their Pocket Money'
2
When I began my first round of interviews with wealthy migrants from East
Asia in 1997 I shared the common view of government, the media and
popular opinion concerning not only the wealth of the millionaire migrants,
but also the portability of their economic acumen to Canada. These 24
exploratory interviews were held in the homes - mostly new houses - of
economic migrants from Hong Kong and Taiwan living primarily in
Vancouver's upscale westside neighbourhoods of Shaughnessy, Kerrisdale,
Oakridge and Arbutus/Mackenzie Heights. The interviews were accessed
through several entry points into the community: an 'English as a second
language' class, some clients of a professional working with immigrants,
church contacts, a list from an immigrant-serving NGO, and referrals from
friends and neighbours. What they revealed confirmed once again how
cherished preconceptions can be overturned by the insubordinate practice
of fieldwork, how field research is so stimulating because its outcomes are
so frequently unexpected and subversive to armchair theory.
