THOUSANDS of Chinese women come to America every year as tourists in order to give birth on U.S. soil. According to Time:

The U.S. is one of the few nations where simply being born on its soil confers citizenship on a newborn. That policy has spawned a birth-tourism industry, in which pregnant foreigners flock to American hospitals to secure U.S. passports for their babies. Although the foreign couple can’t acquire U.S. nationality themselves, once their American-born offspring turn 21 they can theoretically sponsor their parents for future U.S. citizenship. Another perk: these American-born kids can take advantage of the U.S. education system, even paying lower in-state fees for public universities, depending on where they were delivered. (California is a popular birth-tourism destination because of its well-known university system.)

— Comments —

Steve writes:

I actually have a friend who is seriously considering this option.  His wife is pregnant now.  He and his wife wanted to have two kids, but were stuck with the restriction of the one-child policy.  Very recently, things loosened up in China, so it is now possible for them to have two in China, but they are still thinking about having the kids born in the U.S., even though it will cost about $40K a head and require the non-English speaking wife to be stuck in a facility in CA for several months each time.

The thing is, when I think about it, I don’t really see anything wrong with this.  I can’t fault their decision making process.  I also don’t see how this hurts the U.S.  The only people who can afford to do something like this are extremely well off.  They are the cream of the crop from China.  Their kids could potentially get a cheaper ride to public schools in CA someday.  Fair enough.  However, these folks also contribute significant cash to the economy just by having the babies born in the U.S.  Then, their kids will be U.S. citizens subject to lifelong world-wide U.S. income tax (not to mention possibly state taxes if they try to own property in the U.S.).  They are likely to have high incomes and pay a lot of taxes.  Additionally, they are likely to bring significant wealth earned abroad into the U.S., because it is generally a more comfortable place to live.

As long as the border with Mexico is essentially open and whites fail to procreate at replacement levels, I absolutely think a stream of high net worth, motivated East Asians benefits the U.S.  I frankly don’t understand how some “traditionalist” websites can repeatedly cite lower IQ and higher crime/delinquency rates for blacks and browns and then just ignore these same figures for East Asians.  The fact is they perform significantly better than whites by the numbers.  The kids that come from China through this particular method are likely to be even more exceptional than the average East Asian (who will be more exceptional than “Asians” overall).  East Asians, also tend to have more traditional ideas about gender roles and they (at least the Koreans and Chinese) have very high rates of being more than nominally Christian.  In short, even though granting citizenship through location of birth alone is a ridiculous idea, these are not the anchor babies you should be worried about if you really care about preserving Christian civilization.

Laura writes:

A major reason why traditionalists speak of the IQ differentials between whites and blacks or Hispanics is that whites are often blamed for the relative lack of achievement of nonwhites. There will always be a great range of cognitive ability, but our society is unique in refusing to recognize that reality and for harboring unrealistic ambitions for those of lower ability, fostering envy and racial grievances against whites, who are believed to have deliberately denied nonwhites opportunities.

Secondly, the cognitive strengths of East Asians are not necessarily to the benefit of whites. Many East Asians outcompete whites in college admission and, fantastically enough, benefit from a system of racial preferences, a system which East Asians themselves will probably never as a group oppose. The people who endowed our universities hardly thought of themselves as creating opportunities for the Chinese. American institutions now belong to the world, which does not return the generosity. America is the Big Educational Grab Bag.

A majority of Asian voters voted for Obama and I think it’s fair to assume that Asians will always tend to go with the political party that offers the most racial favoritism for nonwhites. In a recent survey of Asian Americans, only 35 percent say there is no racial discrimination against them. Think about that. Most Asians here think they are victims of whites in some way, albeit most say mildly. Obviously, their sense of victimhood is nothing like that of blacks, but it is still there on some mild level. A majority of Asian Americans voted for the pro-abortion, pro-homosexuality president. So much for the supposed Christian values of Asians as a group. Perhaps you could point to a single Chinese activist group that is fighting for traditional Christian values in the public sphere. Do you see the Chinese campaigning against same-sex “marriage”? I think they don’t really care because they rightly see that as part of something that is not their culture.

The Chinese don’t identify on a deep level with American or European society anymore than most whites Americans identify with China. Like all racial groups, they have a sense of their own distinctive historic identity. That’s only natural. As whites become a minority in this country, they face nonwhite groups who are allied in their distance and estrangement from European, white civilization. If there is a war or major conflict with China, the United States will have many millions of Chinese patriots within its borders. Different nations have different interests and they often clash. That is a basic fact of history.

I disagree, by the way, that the Chinese have more traditional ideas about sex roles. Communism was hardly conducive to domesticity. Chinese women tend to be ambitious and a great deal of pressure is placed on Chinese girls to succeed. East Asians and Americans have different approaches to child-rearing. The mass influx of Asians has changed the temper of American schools. Whites do not place the same value on rote, test-centered learning and intense educational competition. Chinese students almost uniformly have no interest in Western literature and their parents think it’s a waste of time. In general, the Chinese are less individualistic and impulsive. They do not need to be taught the same level of restraint in the sexual realm because they are naturally less inclined to promiscuity and passionate feeling. Thus Chinese parents don’t have the same worries white parents have in these areas. It’s a clash of cultures. The Chinese are generally hard-working and well-behaved. There is nothing wrong with their participation in America as a minority. It’s a question of numbers and the numbers are too high. We have only begun to feel the effects of this mass influx of Asians because the majority of Asian immigrants are children.

You say East Asians will bring material benefits to the U.S. (by the way, your friends’ child will not pay income taxes unless he lives in the U.S.), the same could be said for almost any colonial invasion. The question is whether those material benefits will favor historic Americans or cause them to be disenfranchised. Basically, that has already occurred. Let’s remember that your friends’ child will be able to bring his parents and other relatives to this country. I hardly question the practicality of your friends’ decision or fault them for choosing this route, but any country that makes citizenship so cheap for foreigners who are likely never to identify deeply with its culture is committing national suicide.

Laura writes:

A couple of other facts about Chinese-Americans from the Pew study linked above:

* They have higher rates of poverty than the American public at large.

*  They have lower rates of religious affiliation. “Overall, 39% of Asian Americans say religion is very important in their lives, compared with 58% of the U.S. general public.”

Steve writes:

Thanks for posting my earlier comment.  Would just like to briefly respond to your responses:

You make a number of valid points.  I do believe that, as whites become a minority in the U.S., East Asians will start to associate more with whites (rather than blacks and browns).  My recollection is that East Asians mostly voted Republican pre-Clinton.  It could happen again.  East Asians also tend to be located in blue states, which probably influences their thinking.

Actual Chinese (the ones mentioned in the article, rather than Chinese Americans) are very pragmatic and they do not really espouse liberal views (contrast with the third generation East Asians brain washed by Berkeley).  They have very limited patience with their own ethnic minorities in China.  Frankly, in a war with China, I wonder if China defeating the current U.S. government might actually be a huge blessing (even though it would never happen).  A China inspired practical government would immediately close its borders and start eugenic policies.  It would have its own vices (forced abortion is one, though my impression is that abortion is still much more common in the U.S. than in China), but at least the Chinese government can make tough decisions for the benefit of the larger society, which is something the U.S. seems incapable of doing.  The collapse (at least a default) in the U.S. will almost certainly happen in our lifetimes, and maybe sooner than even we expect.

East Asians don’t particularly benefit from a system of racial preferences.  With completely blind admissions they would have significantly higher representation at top universities.  They are subject to informal quotas.  In any case, complaining about East Asians outcompeting whites seems to be very defeatist to me.  I think whites and East Asians generally co-exist very well.  Whites have their own intellectual strengths (e.g., inventing lots of stuff).

Chinese media repeatedly and vocally calls out women who are “sheng nv” or left-over women (mainly career women who hit 30 and are still single), strongly encouraging these women to marry.  There is very little in the way of overt feminism here.  Though there is certainly careerism, women are much much more feminine than their U.S. counterparts–and Korea is even better in this regard.  (Full disclosure, I gave up on U.S. women myself after becoming disgusted with their behavior.)

In my college, there were maybe 10% Asians, but about 30-40% of the campus Christian groups were Asian.  If you really believe that 58% of the general public thinks religion is very important to them, please look at this so-called Pope and how warmly he is received by the masses who will continue to desert the pews, because hey, it’s all good and religion doesn’t need to be too serious as long as we all love each other.

Finally, my friend’s child would be subject to worldwide taxes whenever he/she starts working, whether or not he/she is in the U.S.  Believe me, I’m paying U.S. taxes now, in addition to PRC taxes (payroll taxes can’t be offset by PRC taxes).

I still believe that our current demographic picture would be much much worse without East Asians in it.

Laura writes:

Frankly, in a war with China, I wonder if China defeating the current U.S. government might actually be a huge blessing (even though it would never happen). A China inspired practical government would immediately close its borders and start eugenic policies. It would have its own vices (forced abortion is one, though my impression is that abortion is still much more common in the U.S. than in China), but at least the Chinese government can make tough decisions for the benefit of the larger society, which is something the U.S. seems incapable of doing.

Well, I guess we are looking at this from very different perspectives. I would rather not see China impose its inhuman policies on America. The fact that the idea of a Chinese conquest of America does not fill you with horror suggests we will never come close to agreeing.

As far as our “demographic picture,” the low birthrate in Western societies is caused by a loss of a cultural will to survive. Mass immigration of the Chinese is not in any way a solution to that cultural nihilism. Would the Chinese in China like more than half of their population to be non-Chinese? I think not. You are denying the reality of the numbers whites face and the extreme fragility of their culture.

Laura adds:

It’s one thing to enjoy being an expatriate in China, to develop friendships there and an appreciation for Asian culture. That’s all very good.

But it’s another thing altogether to find nothing wrong with the erasure of one’s native culture. The idea that whites and Chinese can share a nation, if that’s what you mean by coexistence, is just hopelessly naive. They are two different peoples. I doubt you would see it the same way if it was a question of a nonwhite country becoming majority white without natives ever agreeing to the transformation. I question that you would have such a hard time seeing why they would object.

Steven writes:

You wrote:

But it’s another thing altogether to find nothing wrong with the erasure of one’s native culture. The idea that whites and Chinese can share a nation, if that’s what you mean by coexistence, is just hopelessly naive. They are two different peoples. I doubt you would see it the same way if it was a question of a nonwhite country becoming majority white without natives ever agreeing to the transformation. I question that you would have such a hard time seeing why they would object.

I absolutely mourn the erasure of my native culture.  However, it seems like that has already happened.  My “native culture” is just something I read about in old books.  As you’ve said, we’ve lost the cultural will to survive.  If whites are toast, civilization can at least continue in East Asia (though, if you look at Japan, it also seems like they’ve lost the cultural will).  I agree that the ideal situation in terms of societal harmony would be a majority of ethnically similar people (e.g., white), perhaps with a minority of persons who did not cause major unbalances (e.g., East Asians). I am just looking at the situation now and being practical–the East Asians, particularly rich Chinese bringing in their millions earned abroad, make the numbers much better.  Also, Chinese and other East Asians assimilate with whites pretty well when in proximity–of course, I know you don’t like the idea of racial mixture of any kind, but to each his own.  By the way, “a nonwhite country becoming majority white without natives ever agreeing to the transformation” is what happened in the U.S., Canada and Australia–if we could find another country to try it in, I’d be all for it if we could avoid direct genocide, but again that would require cultural will to survive.

Laura writes:

It’s just not true that I don’t like the idea of racial mixture of any kind. That is a serious distortion of what I have said, here and elsewhere. As I said, it’s a question of whites becoming a minority in their own country. And you still haven’t addressed my question as to whether you think the Chinese would welcome China becoming more than half non-Chinese. The fact that the Indians were conquered does not disqualify whites from calling this their country. The Indians engaged in conquest too. We can reconquer our own country without engaging in genocide.

Diana writes:

I recently discovered your site and I have been perusing it daily ever since. I am so thankful for your writing and it has given me much to think about, particularly with regard to feminism and its impacts.

However, I’d like to offer another perspective on your article, Chinese Women Come to American to Give Birth and its accompanying comments. While I do agree with many of your points about how East Asians emphasize on rote learning and encourage careerism among young women, there is a significant difference between recent Chinese immigrants and Chinese-Americans.

Chinese Americans do not fit the generalizations that you pointed out regarding a lack of interest in Western literature, not participating in PTA meetings, etc. They may have parents that immigrated earlier, they may have been born here, and/or they have had family for generations, but their ways and line of thinking is different than actual Chinese. Some of the most devout Christians I know are Asian-American, and politically they are loyal to the U.S. because it is their home. That is, these Chinese-Americans identify their nationality as American while identifying their ethnicity as Chinese.

I want to point out while that those with Chinese ethnic backgrounds are increasing, but still definitely a minority (less than one percent) in terms of the total U.S. population, which is not the most significant in terms of population takeover. Also, it is true what Steve mentioned– Chinese-Americans do not benefit from racial preferences in academic admissions.

Laura writes:

Thank you for writing.

There are many Chinese who have assimilated well into American life. I do not believe Chinese immigrants are going to take over America anytime soon. However, together with a massive wave of other immigrants from non-European countries, their presence and the continued citizenship give-away America offers to those born on our soil have contributed to the salient fact that white Americans with European ancestry are to become a minority in this country within the next few decades. I am sure you would agree that if the Chinese faced such a situation in their native country, they would be concerned about their future.

Steven responds to Laura:

My apologies if I mischaracterized your take on racial mixture.  That was just my honest impression based on reading the articles you have filed under the “Interractial Marriage” section, which by the way are interesting food for thought.

I think it’s fair to say that none of the East Asian countries are allowing mass immigration from other countries the way the U.S., Western Europe, Canada, Australia, etc. (basically, all the white majority countries except Eastern Europe and Russia) are.  However, if they did allow for such immigration, I believe Chinese would welcome white Americans over people from almost anywhere else.  I’ve never heard of Chinese parents refusing to let their children marry with an otherwise acceptable white person.  I understand that your point is that what the U.S. is doing opening its doors so wide is foolish.  I agree.  However, my point is that, since this is already happening, the growing East Asian population will actually make U.S. civilization better than if it were not there and will delay the day when the U.S. becomes a majority Hispanic country.

I am not condemning the conquest of the New World.  Like most folks who read your site, I’m sure we agree on most of the basics.  I agree we “could” reconquer our own country without engaging in genocide (we could close the borders and a eugenics program could be structured relatively humanely, I think), but I don’t see it happening.  So my comment regarding the benefits of letting in a small number of very wealthy Chinese are more about looking practically at the situation as it is, rather than an ideal that is unlikely to be attainable in the near future.

Laura writes:

I understand. Thank you for your apology.

I don’t know what you mean by humane eugenics, but I don’t think it’s necessary to go into that right now. I will only say that once people begin to think about controlling human population they are engaging in a fundamentally immoral activity.

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