I Am Not a Tourist
‘An important new voice’ DAVID YIP, actor
‘A vital resource’ PEYVAND SADEGHIAN, actor and writer
‘Important and poignant…A brilliant read’ HELEN TSE MBE, author of Sweet Mandarin
What does it mean to exist at the intersection of cultures?
Though a citizen of the UK, 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.
In I Am Not a Tourist, Daisy explores what it means to be British Chinese today, and the 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, she 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
”'Daisy J. Hung unpacks bureaucratic contradictions with intellectual precision and human understanding. This book combines deeply personal narratives with detailed policy analysis to examine what it truly means to navigate British society as an East and Southeast Asian person. A vital resource that challenges oversimplified narratives about migration, nationality and belonging in contemporary Britain” - PEYVAND SADEGHIAN, actor and writer
”'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