Abstract
This thesis is a historical analysis of the Chinese immigration to Oslo from the late 1960s to the early 1990s. It aims to identify the four main different waves of the Chinese immigration to Oslo — first wave (the 1960s – the 1970s): Chinese seamen working on Norwegian ships settled down in Norway; second wave (the mid-1970s – the 1980s): The families of the seamen immigrated as family reunification; third wave (the late 1970s – the 1980s): Chinese cooks immigrated as skilled workers; and fourth wave (the mid-1980s – the early 1990s): Chinese students who stayed and settled down. The history of Chinese immigration to Oslo is rather short when compared to other Western European countries such as Britain, France and the Netherlands. Yet, the Chinese migratory route to Oslo is diverse in spite of its short history. To better understand how these waves happened in their particular timeframes, it is important to recognize the diverse factors that caused different groups of Chinese people to arrive in Oslo in different periods. The causes, processes and perpetuations of Chinese immigration to Oslo are the main subjects that this study has examined. In order to collect the main sources for this thesis, I have chosen oral history and textual analysis as the methodological approach. With a comprehensive discussion and presentation of my collected historical evidence, I have demonstrated how the history of Chinese immigration is well embedded with the immigration history in Norway. The goal of the study is to provide a larger perspective of the immigration history in Norway and to present a group of immigrants that does not get much attention in Norwegian society today. Even though the number of Chinese immigrants is relatively insignificant in comparison to other immigrant groups in Norway, there are many things that is unknown regarding the Chinese community, including their history, culture and their adaptation to mainstream society. Hence this study has not only aimed to provide the initial start for more academic study on Chinese in Oslo or even in Norway, but has also aimed to strengthen the general Norwegian knowledge of Chinese immigrants.