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Overseas Chinese ( ) are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside China. People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the China may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese. The term "Overseas Chinese" can refer narrowly to those of Han Chinese ethnicity, or more broadly, to all 56 recognized ethnic groups in China; Chinese people in the sense of Zhonghua minzu. For example, members of the Tibetan diaspora may travel to China on passes granted to certain Overseas Chinese. In Southeast Asia and particularly in Malaysia and Singapore, the state classifies the Peranakan as Chinese despite partial assimilation into Malay culture. One study on overseas Chinese defines several criteria for identifying non-Han overseas Chinese: there is evidence of descent from groups living within or originating from China, they still retain their culture, self-identify with Chinese culture or acknowledge Chinese origin, although they are not categorized as ethnic Han Chinese. Under this definition, "ethnic minority" overseas Chinese number about 7 million, or about 8.4% of the total overseas population. |