Feature: Cultural discussion helps dispel myth around Chinese community in Italy

Chinese and Italian experts gathered on Tuesday at La Sapienza university in Rome to explore the recent developments of Chinese immigrants in Italy, one of the oldest communities that have settled here since the late 1970s.

With an in-depth discussion about the Chinese community with multiple focuses on language, work and media, the conference was aimed at dispelling some "old cliches" about Chinese immigrants that still exist among some Italians.

The conference was organized by Rome-base magazine Piu Culture and the university's Communication and Social Research Department.

"The idea of the Chinese being a 'closed community' is a myth to dispel," Ji Yuan, Chinese director of the multimedia platform Confucius Classroom, told the audience.

"The first generation of Chinese immigrants in Italy was generally people with no knowledge at all of Italian, which is very far from their own language. They were also industrious workers striving to settle down here, so (they) had no time to study," Yuan said.

At that time, the communication with the local society was so minimal that the Chinese immigrants were thus perceived by many Italians as quite detached and withdrawn, as if unwilling to integrate.

However, this impression does not apply to the current reality anymore.

Over 39,000 Chinese businessmen constitute almost one quarter of all non-European traders operating in Italy, according to the labor ministry's data.

Chinese migrants and Chinese Italian citizens also showed an entrepreneurial propensity well above the average, with more than 42,000 small companies distributed mostly in the northern and central industrial districts.

The so-called 'second generation' of Chinese is also a visible part of the Italian society. Some 34,080 pupils of Chinese origin attended Italy's primary and secondary schools in 2011-2012, ranking third among all non-European students, according to a government report.

A sharp increase in the migration inflow from China was detected between 2008 and 2013, despite the long economic crisis gripping the Italian economy.

A 2013 report from the labor ministry said Chinese now constitute the third largest non-European community in Italy with over 304,700 official residents.

Experts at the conference agreed that the Chinese community changed with time along with the Italian society, considering the Zhonghua Language School in Rome a microcosm of this evolution.

Founded by Professor Jiang Zhonghua in 2006, the school was created to teach Chinese language primarily to the children of the first-generation Chinese immigrants.

As language is a crucial part of an individual's identity, the school would help the second generation of Chinese in Italy stay close to their original culture and family values, experts said.

Sissi Hu, 22, was grateful to her mother for making her attend the Zhonghua school, even though it was an extra effort in addition to the Italian education.

"My mother told me I should not forget my Chinese roots, and indeed that school helped me regain my native culture, which is something difficult to achieve when you grow up in another continent," Hu said at the conference.

The girl would like to become an interpreter, a role she feels as quite matching her own identity.

"I think my mother's choice resulted in a great treasure for me, and I will keep maintaining the balance between my two cultures and languages".

Social developments like this would also be benefitial to Chinese immigrants in the workplace, Chinese Italian lawyer Dong Lifang said.

Young Chinese born in Italy are usually very open-minded, and many of them have combined their 'double' cultural identity with training or working experiences abroad, Dong said.

"Professionally, this is a great added value for them, and it is very good for Italy, which needs to be more open in a time when Chinese and other Asian investors are bringing fresh capitals to Europe," she said. Endi