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12 International Society for The
TH

Study of The Chinese Overseas

(ISSCO)

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2025
On
“CHINESE OVERSEAS IN A CHANGING WORLD:
GLOBAL NETWORKS,LOCAL REALITIES”

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences UM
4th November 2025

Honoured Sponsors and Partners,
Distinguished Guests,

Selamat datang (Welcome!), and a very good morning to all distinguished guests,
colleagues, and friends. 187

1. We gather at a time when the world is in flux — economically, politically, and
morally. The patterns of migration, belonging, and identity that once seemed stable
have become fluid. What we study today is not just the history of movement, but
the reshaping of humanity itself — how individuals and communities navigate
borders, forge belonging, and contribute to societies in constant transformation.
2. The story of the Chinese overseas is, at its core, a study of adaptability and
resilience — a mirror of how civilisation survives through reinvention. In this lies a
deeper question: how do we, as scholars and as societies, adapt to a world where
change is the only constant?
3. In today’s era of global disruption, the challenge is not the lack of knowledge —
it is the lack of wisdom in applying it. Migration, identity, and integration are no
longer confined to one ethnicity or region; they have become universal struggles
of belonging and survival.
4. We face a rising tide of xenophobia, digital tribalism, and cultural fragmentation,
as communities retreat into comfort zones of similarities.
5. If scholarship does not confront these realities head-on — if it merely observes
rather than engages — it risks irrelevance. The study of diasporas must therefore
move from documentation to direction: to offer insights that heal divides, inform
policy, and inspire new forms of coexistence.
6. The global stage is being reshaped by power competition, economic recalibration,
and technological acceleration. The movement of people — whether driven by
opportunity, displacement, or choice — reflects the underlying forces of inequality,
geopolitics, and survival.
7. In this context, the experience of the Chinese overseas offers a living laboratory:
how networks evolve across continents, how economic dynamism coexists with
cultural negotiation, and how individuals maintain identity amid global flux. It is