MovieChat Forums > Ellen Wong Discussion > Chinese?

Chinese?

posted 14 years ago by Reket1990
9 replies | jump to latest

BEFORE ANYONE CALLS ME RACIST FOR SAYING ALL ASIANS ARE CHINESE, read what I'm saying.

I KNOW she is identified as Cambodian-Canadian. However, her last name is Wong, which is a Chinese last name. Was just wondering if anyone knows whether she's perhaps ethnically Chinese, or partially ethnically Chinese.

I thought of this because I am part Teochiu-American, and for those of you who don't know, Teochiu is an ethnic group of Han Chinese (yes, China isn't just one big ethnicity, people). The Teochiu ethnicity just happens to also make up nearly 90% of ethnically Chinese in Cambodia, and thus, it made me think.

Please don't just post something like, "She's Cambodian" without explanation because we already know that, and posting along that line just shows that you don't know any further than anyone else.

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[–] carzy_6 14 years ago

Forgive me for asking but are you a little touchy about race?

I had a look around but, apologies, all I can find out is that her parents grew up in Cambodia. Nothing specifically about her race.

---
"Just deal with your girlfriend's cheesy feet. She puts up with your cheesy face." - Jack Dee

[–] seth_21 14 years ago

The only thing a can say is ... Why Care .

[–] nobodyspecialishere 14 years ago

HA
It's one thing to ask if someone is Chinese, it's another to say something like,
"They all look Chinese."

[–] Dash99 14 years ago

I assume her parents are like my dad, hes from Malaysia, but his ancestors are Chinese. A lot of Chinese people migrated from China to South East Asia. We have a Chinese last name as well.

[–] kaisergrendel 14 years ago

I'm actually Chinese and from Malaysia so I can tell you this - there are large communities of Chinese people in virtually all South East Asian countries. Some communities have preserved their identities better than others, particularly Singapore which has a majority of Chinese citizens.

There is also of course interbreeding with the local population but Chinese culture is so overpowering that most of the time the new addition is absorbed into the family. Where I come from the Chinese mostly stick around with other Chinese so the bloodline and heritage are still largely pristine, and I have a Chinese name too. Ellen definitely looks like she has some Cambodian genes in her though.

[–] hagakure-3 14 years ago

"Wong" -- as written in kanji, anyway -- is the single most common surname in the world. So, it would be difficult to try to trace ancestry based on the name alone. If anyone's curious, two other Chinese surnames round out the world's top three: Li (Lee), and Chang (Zhang).