CHINESE

The community of ethnic Chinese in Panama began to form in the latter half of the 19th century. The first group of Chinese labourers arrived in the country on 30 March 1854 by way of Canada and Jamaica to work on the Panama Railroad. By the early 20th century, they had already come to play a crucial role in other sectors of the economy as well; they owned over 600 retail stores, and the entire country was said to depend on provisions from their stores.

The community faced various challenges, including a 1903 law declaring them as "undesirable citizens", a 1913 head tax, a 1928 law requiring them to submit special petitions in order to become Panamanian citizens, and the revocation of their citizenship under the 1941 constitution promulgated by Arnulfo Arias. However, their citizenship was restored in 1946 under the new constitution which declared all people born in Panama to be citizens.

As of 2003, there were estimated to be between 135,000 and 200,000 Chinese in Panama, making them the largest Chinese community in Central America; they are served by thirty-five separate ethnic representative organisations. Their numbers include 80,000 new immigrants from mainland China and 300 from Taiwan; 99% are of Cantonese-speaking origin, although Mandarin and Hakka speakers are represented among newer arrivals. In the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, many mainland Chinese fled to Panama by way of Hong Kong on temporary visas and short-term residency permits; estimates of the size of the influx ranged from 9,000 to 35,000.

Today most groceries stores, bakeries, hardware stores and laundromats are owned and run by the Chinese. The Chinese in Panama are a very important and strategic mission field, because many of them represent un-reached people groups from mainland China.