How Media, Travel, and Language Shape Chinese Identity Across Southeast Asia

Researchers wanted to know how younger people of Chinese descent in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand feel about their heritage. They built a model that looks at four things: how much Chinese media they watch, whether they like big screens, how often they travel to China, and how well they speak Chinese. These pieces together might explain their sense of Chinese culture.

To gather data, the team used an online survey platform and asked participants to fill out a questionnaire. They received 1,298 completed replies from people who are at least second‑generation Chinese in the three countries. The analysts ran a one‑way ANOVA test, a stepwise regression, and a mediation analysis using a statistical tool with 5,000 resamples to check their ideas.

The numbers showed a clear ranking: Malaysians of Chinese background reported the strongest connection to Chinese culture, followed by Singaporeans, while Thais of Chinese descent felt the weakest link. Watching Chinese shows and making trips to China were the most reliable predictors of that connection across all three places. Knowing Chinese only mattered for the Malaysian group. Preference for large screens did not show a steady pattern. The analysis also found that exposure to Chinese media acted as a bridge linking trips to China and language skill to the overall cultural sense.

These findings point out that consuming Chinese media and actually visiting the country are key ways people keep their heritage alive. Because each nation shows different results, programs aimed at preserving culture should be tailored to local contexts. By mixing media habits with personal factors, the study gives a fuller picture of how Chinese identity forms in Southeast Asia.