Chinese in Fiji

Chinese In Fiji

The Chinese diaspora in Fiji is a small but influential community in the multiracial society that makes up modern day Fiji. In the early 2000s their numbers were estimated at around 6,000, or a little over half of one percent of Fiji's population. The most recent estimation puts the population at 8,000 making the concentration of Chinese in Fiji at around one percent. Around 80% of Chinese in Fiji speak Cantonese as their native language and around 16% speak Shanghainese as their native language. Chinese in Fiji also speak the local Fijian language. Chinese in Fiji have a strong Buddhist background and some retained Confucian traditions. There are also a considerable number of Fijians who are of partial Chinese extraction, being descended from marriages between Chinese and indigenous Fijians. For electoral purposes, Chinese people are counted as General Electors, an omnibus category for Fijian citizens not of indigenous, Indian, or Rotuman descent, which is allocated three seats in the 71-member House of Representatives.