I Am Not a Tourist: What it means to be British Chinese
‘An important new voice’ DAVID YIP, actor
‘This book sorely needed to be written, uncover[ing] startling and important truths.’ YUAN YANG, MP and author
‘A vital resource’ PEYVAND SADEGHIAN, actor and writer
What does it mean to live in a society that doesn’t truly see you?
Though UK citizen, Daisy J. Hung is regularly mistaken for a tourist, asked where she’s really from or greeted with Ni hao on the assumption she speaks Mandarin. These experiences serve as a reminder that, no matter how she moves through the world, she is often seen as an outsider.
I Am Not a Tourist asks what it means to be British Chinese today and live at the intersection of cultures, examining social, historical and political factors that have got us here. Fighting narrow and dehumanising stereotypes, of Chinese people excelling at school, or being devoid of original thought or leadership, or having authoritarian parents, Daisy encourages readers to interrogate their assumptions and interpretations of ‘Chinese’ identity.
In the wake of the upsurge of anti-Asian racism, triggered by the racialisation of the COVID-19 pandemic as the ‘China virus’, ‘China plague’ and ‘Kung flu’, I Am Not a Tourist exposes the ongoing racism and inequalities that British Chinese communities face, and forms an urgent call for change.
‘If you’re looking to expand your understanding of the community, this book is an essential addition to your reading list’ LORD SONNY LEONG CBE
*Audiobook narrated by Katie Leung (Harry Potter)
‘I AM NOT A TOURIST is an important and poignant insight into the British Chinese community, often coined the silent minority. Thank you for giving us a voice and a seat at the table. A brilliant read’ HELEN TSE MBE, author of Sweet Mandarin -
‘The compelling complexities of the British Chinese experience – an ethnic diaspora group so often reduced to twee exotic irrelevance (as much by ourselves as anyone else) – are vividly and thoroughly explored in Daisy J. Hung’s seminal game-changer of a book. Lovingly researched, passionately examined and shot through with very real personal reflections’ DANIEL YORK LOH, actor, writer and director -
'At a time when so many want to deny British minorities their Britishness, Daisy Hung's heartfelt book pleads with us to look beyond ethnic stereotypes and appreciate our interlocking histories. I learned so much from it.’ ANGELA SAINI -
'Brilliantly researched and interwoven with incisive and many moving personal anecdotes, asking what it is to reclaim one’s rich and hybrid identity, the necessity of being the insider and outsider, and to acknowledge what it is to value one’s heritage while resisting to conform to stereotypes and labels.’ JENNIFER WONG, poet -
‘Daisy J. Hung has the great gift as a writer to not only listen but to be able to weave into her narrative the core and intent of what she has heard, with genuine honesty and truth. An important new voice in our East and Southeast Asian community in Britain’ DAVID YIP, actor -
‘To have one’s unique experience included in a collection like this makes the diaspora experience feel like a collective journey – that for all our individuality we are a rich community of contributors to British life’ CHIPO CHUNG, actor and activist -
‘In these troubling times, identity is of paramount importance. Growing up, I lacked any real nuanced reflections of people like me, of British and East Asian heritage. This book is a much-needed work’ LUCY SHEEN, actor, writer and filmmaker -