What the Chinese in britain need is a prominent figure who could serve as their role model

A British parliamentary Home Affairs Committee report once stated: "For ethnic minorities to be fully integrated into British society, they must be represented in every walk of life."

Luo Jie / China Daily

The report, published in 1985, went on to warn the government that there were still a number of obstacles standing in the way of the Chinese community's integration into wider British society.

At present, although a greater percentage of the Chinese community hold higher education degrees than any other race in Britain (including white), the community is still highly under-represented in publicly visible fields, especially the arts and politics.

So why has the Chinese community fallen behind their black and South Asian counterparts in their integration into these areas, particularly politics?

Historically the Chinese in Britain have had very little contact with government or politics. Ever since the first arrivals in the first half of the 19th century, the government has consistently underprovided for and neglected the Chinese population.

This neglect has been partly facilitated by the Chinese themselves, although it is important not to fall into the long-established trap of believing the Chinese were aloof and exclusive, isolating themselves from society.

However, it is also foolish not to mention the traditional Chinese mentality that has undoubtedly hindered their impact on British politics. As a quiet population prone to enduring hardships rather than complaining, they have rarely raised their grievances with the authorities.

The government, viewing their infrequent use of government services as an indicator of satisfaction with quality of life - when in reality it is caused by a number of reasons including language difficulties and preference for self-reliance - has failed to address the problems affecting the Chinese community.

As far back as the 1980s there were official reports stressing the need for help, emphasizing that absence of demand from the Chinese for particular services was by no means indicative of an absence of need. The government ignored this information for the most part, continuing to use the Chinese inability to access services as an excuse for inaction. Only recently has it begun rectifying the situation.

Just as the government did little to make the variety of services available known to the Chinese community, in the same way political parties did little to involve them in politics.

This is partly due to the structure of the Chinese population. In a study carried out in the mid-1980s it was estimated that 90 percent of the Chinese in Britain were involved in the catering trade, and this has had far-reaching consequences on the development of the British-Chinese community.

Demographically, it has led to two separate types of Chinese dispersal. A sparse smattering of Chinese households in almost every town and village in Britain as individual families attempt to avoid competition, and also heavily concentrated communities in large cities forming Chinatowns.

The political impact of this has been considerable; since only 2001 has the Chinese population exceeded 2 percent in any one area. Although nationwide numbers are relatively large, the Chinese do not possess a significant vote in any one area.

In comprising only a tiny minority of any one constituency and proportionally unlikely to vote, the Chinese have been susceptible to being overlooked and ignored by the political parties.

While these factors explain the low voting figures, they do not explain the noticeable lack of Chinese willing to pursue a career in politics. Asked about Chinese absence in the political world, most, if not all, British Chinese politicians will mention the traditional Chinese preference for self-reliance and making money in an established profession.

Not only have the second- and third-generation Chinese achieved proportionally the best academic results of any ethnicity, but they are also among the most likely to go into the established professions out of any racial group.

Yet it is this desire for a stable job with a good salary that is leading to an absence of young Chinese willing to enter the relatively unstable, low-paid world of politics.

The high proportion of young Chinese entering the professions is also caused by a tendency to avoid publicly visible employment. This is by no means a newly acquired characteristic.

Historically, at least until very recently, the Chinese community was marginalized first in the laundry trade and then the catering industry. These labor intensive industries are, significantly, unobtrusive in nature. In the past, the Chinese have "kept their heads below the parapet" so as not to attract any unwanted attention or discrimination.

Disappointingly, the level of racism the Chinese community continues to suffer is high. In 2004, it was found that the Chinese were more likely to suffer racial harassment and racially motivated property damage than any other ethnic minority group.

In my own research conducted last year, 70 percent of my interviewees had suffered some form of racial discrimination. This trend is exacerbated by the Chinese unwillingness to report or even discuss their experiences among friends.

However, despite these problems, in recent years the rise of British-Chinese politicians shows some promise. In the 2005 general election, there was only one Chinese candidate, yet five years later in the 2010 election there were eight.

And in 2010, Thomas Chan became the first Chinese mayor in Britain, while last year, Helen Chuah was inaugurated as mayor of Colchester. At the same time there are younger Chinese politicians coming through the ranks, among them Steven Cheung who ran for the European Parliament in 2009 at the age of 19.

As for the future, I have no doubt that the Chinese community will successfully integrate into British politics. Over time, the mentality of British-born Chinese will naturally evolve and depart from the more traditional views held by the original settlers. No longer feeling obligated to pursue the traditional paths of Chinese employment, they will be freer to choose occupations outside the professions.

The government has the power to facilitate and accelerate this process if it makes greater efforts to reach out to the community. Promisingly, in the 2010 election a bilingual leaflet was published in Chinese - specifically written to address the concerns of the Chinese community.

Basic attempts have also been made at translating party manifestos into Chinese. Of course these are only the very first steps in a long process, and must be built upon to avoid a scenario in which some members of the Chinese community are left behind.

Furthermore, unless checked, racism will continue to be a powerful deterrent to those considering a role in politics. The knowledge that in becoming a visible figure in the community he or she will probably suffer some form of harassment is enough to convince many young Chinese people to steer clear of politics. It is a national embarrassment that the problem exists in our society to such an extent and far more has to be done to educate people in this respect.

A high profile British Chinese figure within British politics or in fact within British society as a whole is desperately needed. He or she would provide a role model from whom future generations could learn and of whom the Chinese community could be proud.

In addition, simply the presence of a Chinese face on television screens and in newspapers that did not conform to a pre-existing stereotype would raise awareness of this diverse community among the wider population.

Archie Preston is the author of research on Chinese involvement in British politics at the University of Cambridge.