In an opinion piece published on August 4, 2026, Charles Chear highlights the shortcomings of current global migration data systems that categorize diverse populations under broad labels such as “Asian” or “Chinese.” Chear argues that this approach misses the nuanced subgroup identities that shape business, culture, and community life.

Countries like France and Norway avoid collecting race and ethnicity data in their censuses to promote national unity and prevent divisions based on skin color. In contrast, nations including the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada collect such data to identify discrimination, improve social safety nets, and address health disparities.

Chear uses the Teochew people, a subgroup from the Chaoshan region of Guangdong province, as an example. In North America and Europe, Teochew individuals are typically recorded simply as “Chinese” or “Asian,” despite many being diasporic migrants from Southeast Asia who identify as Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, or Singaporean.

The article calls for migration data systems to recognize these subgroups to provide a more complete and accurate picture of global migration trends.

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