Abstract

The advent of the internet has led to the globalization of cultural images of Chinese identity. Online Chinese immigrants’ associations, in conjunction with Chinese-language electronic media, offer various and often competing images of Chinese ethnic and cultural identities. The multiple representations of Chinese identity in the various media formats provide options for individuals to negotiate their identity and belonging in different contexts. This paper examines the roles that the internet plays in influencing ethnic identity among Chinese immigrants in the province of British Columbia, Canada. I argue that the array of images offered by online Chinese-language media websites and virtual communities create more options for individual Chinese immigrants to negotiate and redefine their ethnic and cultural identities in relation to other Chinese and non-Chinese immigrant groups.

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