Will New York Become A Chinese City?
12/19/2013
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From the NYT:

Chinese Reshape New York’s Immigration Mix 
By KIRK SEMPLE 3:00 PM ET 
The city’s immigrant population has reached 3.1 million, led by a tremendous growth in the Chinese population. 
Dominicans have been the largest immigrant group in the city since 1990 and currently number about 380,200 residents. But the Chinese, who have held the No. 2 spot for that period, are now close behind, with 350,200. While the Dominican population has grown about 3 percent in the past decade, the Chinese population has grown by 34 percent. China was also the single largest source of legally admitted immigrants in New York City from 2002 to 2011, said the report, which was largely based on Census Bureau data as well other federal and city administrative data. 

Xian Hua Li, in center, was among a group of immigrants granted American citizenship

“China seems to be surging,” Mr. Salvo said. The data, he added, “points to China ultimately becoming the largest source of immigrants to New York.” 
Much of the Chinese immigration, the demographers found, is driven by asylum petitions. More than 40 percent of all Chinese immigrants who were legally admitted in New York between 2002 and 2011 received asylum.


Asylum from what? From having less money than they'd like?

Still, the rate of growth among the Chinese pales in comparison to the Mexicans. In the past decade, the Mexican population has surged by 52 percent, the largest spurt of any group, vaulting them over the Guyanese and the Jamaicans and moving them into third place among the largest foreign-born group in the city.
In the long run, you've got to bet on the Chinese over the Mexicans for taking over New York City. There are a lot more Chinese, they're better at making money, and they like crowded urban life, while Mexicans prefer exurbs, hate public transportation and love large private vehicles, and despise apartment buildings in favor of houses with yards. (In all of the NYT's Carlos Slim-financed hollering for more Mexicans, they've worked very hard to not notice that in a lot of ways related to preferred lifestyle, Mexicans are South Texans.) In contrast, the Chinese supposedly have a word to describe the perfect ambiance of a restaurant: hot, crowded, and noisy.
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