Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
model need not produce assimilation with the disappearance of immigrant
difference, but rather a process of integration where both newcomer and
host societies are re-configured. Ethnic Chinese migrants and capital did not
of course encounter empty space but a landscape and society cultured by the
impress of a century of European settlement upon aboriginal land. The
meeting of Asia and Europe led to some initial friction, as two separate con-
structions of place and identity competed for pre-eminence. But the longer-
term outcome has been the construction of a hybrid city. Even though the
frenzied era of business immigration has passed, and some of the wealthy
Hong Kong and Taiwanese immigrants have returned to Asia (at least for
now), a substantial new wave of younger, skilled workers from the Mainland
has joined those from Hong Kong and Taiwan who remained to consolidate
Vancouver's new-found role and identity as geographical gateway to and
from Asia Pacific.
