在1970和80年代，環太平洋區域的國際遷移呈現大幅度的成長。這些新亞洲 移民中，尤其是來自快速工業化國家的華裔，佔了絕大部份。而且他們與早期的 華人移民型態，其適應過程及對移入地的影響亦有所不同。華人的國際移民不僅 是國際人口遷移的重要環節之一，同時更重塑了全球許多地區的社會與政經情 勢、甚至種族問題。相關的研究及學術活動在移入國相當地活躍。 本文針對戰後華人移民美國、加拿大及澳洲作一初步了解，並嘗試分析其趨 勢、特徵、移入地的政策、及其社會經濟意涵。依序討論了：(1)美國的華人移民 --二次大戰後之移民趨勢、移民的管制與政策；(2)移民加拿大的中國大陸、香 港及臺灣人--其分佈型態及趨勢；(3)移民澳洲的華人--分佈、特徵及移動型 態以及澳洲的臺灣人等三項議題。 當代移往北美與澳洲的華人遷移者，以技術、投資和依親為主要動機，經常 往返於母國與移民國之間，形成了所謂「太空人」家庭，而與以往的移民型態相 異。大量已然移入地主國家的華人，仍然回到母國，對於西方國家所定義的「國 家」及「公民義務」(citizenship)涵義，更產生了重大衝擊。 在香港、中國大陸、臺灣三地的移民中，臺灣向外移民起步得最晚且最集 中。雖然美國、加拿大及澳洲等接納大量華人的國家有著豐富的普查資料，但是 普查卻通常把講中文的人歸在一類，而忽略了其中的差異性，對華人內部的差異 性也無法掌握。為了解華人移民的複雜性、以及這些移民所建立的跨國文化及商 業關係，迫切需要對來自不同地區或國家的移民華人及其所居住之社區從事較徹 底的研究，以彌補傳統依賴普查導向式研究之不足。

　　　　　International migration in the Asia-Pacific Region has grown dramatically in the 1970's and 1980's. Among the new Asian permanent migrants, ethnic Chinese form a major component, originating from the rapidly industrializing countries of Asia. thus differing from the migrants in the early part of the century in their adaptations and impact at the destinations. Statistics and research activities in the host countries have provided a good background in studying the phenomena. This paper represents a preliminary investigation of new Chinese migration from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mainland China to the United States, Canada and Australia. It will discuss 1) trends, characteristics, and policies of Chinese migrants to the United States 2)distribution and trends of Chinese migrants to Canada 3) distribution, characteristics and movement patterns of Chinese to Australia. Contemporary Chinese migrants enter the host country mainly for economic-related reasons and family reunion. Their mobility patterns created "astronaut" families which are different from conventional patterns of migration. Some have even returned to their home countries, and as a result challenges the traditional notions of the state and citizenship. Some differences aomng the Taiwan-born, Hong-Kong born and China-born migrants are observed. Taiwanese migrants in the three countries appear quite recently on the scene, and spatially more concentrated. Since recent census defind migrants by their languages spoken, it lacks an understanding of the differences in ethnicity among the Chinese. To appreciate the complexities of Chinese migrants, their transnational mobility and business relationships, it is necessary to conduct community-based research to supplement macro-level studies using the census.