President Xi Jinping of China has summoned overseas Chinese to pool strengths and contribute to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. This is not new. The People’s Republic of China has frequently called on the 60 million-strong Chinese diaspora to help the motherland, with periodic pronouncements seeking cultural ties, technical expertise and commercial opportunities all couched in aiding the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Most famously, 600,000 overseas Chinese heeded the call and returned from Southeast Asia after the People’s Republic was established in 1949. The grandfather of yours truly was among them, founding schools in Fujian province.
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