LIVING

Already there are numerous second-generation Chinese-Catalans. Fanglu Lin’s parents are from the island of Taiwan, and have been here for more than 30 years. They own a Chinese restaurant, Son Hao, at 66 Carrer Muntaner in l’Eixample. Like many Chinese residents in Spain, Fanglu Lin has taken a Spanish name—Monica—to make it easier for locals to address her. She speaks four languages—Catalan, Castilian, Mandarin and English. “Young Chinese people my age study something so they don’t have to go into the restaurant business,” she said. “That’s a very hard way to earn a living.”

Twenty-five years old, Lin has a degree in Business Administration and, like many Catalans her age, is currently in search of a job in a tight economy. She is having a hard time finding a position in her field, but she said her difficulty has nothing to do with being Chinese. “I’ve never felt discriminated against, I’m just one more Catalan. I’ve never felt that being Chinese gave me either an advantage or a disadvantage.”

On the other hand, some Chinese people here feel that Catalan society has a long way to go before it is ready to accept their presence and wholly integrate them. They feel like anything except ‘one more Catalan’. “I’ve decided that it doesn’t matter how long I live here, integration would never happen for me,” said Heidi Tsai, 39, a Chinese-American classical musician who is married to a Catalan and has lived here seven years.

“I can speak the language and hold a job, but that doesn’t feel like integration. You’re always the Chinese person who’s speaking Catalan. It doesn’t matter what you achieve, you’ll be judged by the way you look. When you judge people by how they look and refuse to treat them on any other basis that’s the beginning of a dangerous road.”

Sushan Qu, 29, came to Tarragona 10 years ago with her parents. She holds a degree in Political Science from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and works as a mediator between the ajuntaments of Badalona and Barcelona, and the Chinese community. “The problem is that people continue to be discriminated against for their physical appearance. This can really hurt. A person can be very integrated here and speak well, but still be labelled in the street as ‘Chinito’.”