The role of the Chinese Diaspora in China's recent economic success has created a myth that their relations with China is natural and primordial, and that regardless of their base outside China and generation of migration, the Chinese Diaspora are inclined to participate enthusiastically in China's social and economic agendas. By focusing on Guangdong, this book seeks to dispell such a myth, and argues that not all Chinese diasporic communities are the same in terms of mentality and orientation, and that their connections to the ancestral homeland vary from one community to another.

1. Introduction 2. Patterns and Impacts: Guangdong and Its Different Diasporic Groups 3. Waning Ancestral Ties: Singaporean and Malaysian Chinese 4. Facing the South China Sea: Panyu Before 1978 5. Transformation: Panyu Since 1978 6. Remote in the Mountains: Xinyi Before 1978 7. Still Poor: Xinyi Since 1978 8. Conclusion

Yow Cheun Hoe is Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.