Clubbing Together

A group of Chinese expats recently set up the EuroChina Club in Paris, part of a broader effort to promote integration and exchange between China and the West. The Euro-China Club is the first pan-European institution aimed at overseas Chinese from diverse backgrounds, with its members including figures in the media, business and politics.

In the UK, two similar institutions – Conservative Friends of the Chinese and Chinese for Labour – are designed to foster cooperation between those of Chinese descent and the UK’s two largest political parties. Packed with aspiring politicos, with a handful of these actually securing election at the local level, the former institution recently celebrated Conservative candidate Alan Mak’s election as the UK’s first MP of Chinese ethnic origin.

The new Euro-China Club, headed by Buon Tan in Paris and Thomas Chan in London, is a further initiative aimed at bringing overseas Chinese communities, generally perceived as standing aloof from mainstream society, into the political, social and cultural spheres of their adopted countries.