Foreigners seldom qualify for naturalization in China. But what’s the relationship between government policy and Chinese attitudes about whether foreigners should be eligible for citizenship?
The World Values Survey is a mammoth global research project. In the most recent wave, running from 2005 to 2008, respondents were asked about the importance of four factors in deciding whether or not a person should have citizenship conferred upon him. They were having ancestors from the country, being born in the country, adopting the customs of the country, and obeying the laws of the country. One blogger refers to these factors pithily as blood, soil, culture, and law.
It turns out that on all four factors Chinese attitudes fall in the middle of the pack. In comparison to other countries, Chinese don’t have extreme views about whether ancestry (39.3%), birth (38.4%), culture (44.1%), or obedience to the law (78.2%) is “very important” to be considered for citizenship. Chinese attitudes appear less restrictive than government policy.
Blood
Is it “very important” that a person have ancestors from the country to be considered a citizen?
| Mali | 74.1 |
| Morocco | 66.9 |
| Egypt | 63.9 |
| Burkina Faso | 61.6 |
| South Africa | 61.1 |
| Thailand | 57.1 |
| India | 56.6 |
| Jordan | 54.2 |
| Ghana | 52.9 |
| Indonesia | 51.6 |
| Ethiopia | 51.3 |
| Mexico | 50.3 |
| Malaysia | 50.1 |
| Vietnam | 47.3 |
| Georgia | 46.2 |
| Rwanda | 46.1 |
| Zambia | 42.8 |
| Cyprus | 41.3 |
| China | 39.3 |
| Uruguay | 37.6 |
| Poland | 37.5 |
| Turkey | 34.4 |
| Chile | 33.4 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 26.9 |
| Bulgaria | 26.6 |
| Spain | 25.3 |
| South Korea | 24.6 |
| Serbia | 24.0 |
| Ukraine | 22.9 |
| Argentina | 21.2 |
| Moldova | 20.8 |
| Slovenia | 19.4 |
| Brazil | 18.5 |
| Romania | 17.9 |
| Italy | 14.6 |
| United States | 14.1 |
| Australia | 11.3 |
| Taiwan | 10.2 |
| Germany | 9.6 |
| Finland | 9.4 |
| Norway | 6.7 |
| Andorra | 4.9 |
| Switzerland | 4.5 |
| Sweden | 3.3 |
Soil
The next table shows the percentages of respondents in each participating country who deemed it “very important” that a person be born in the country if he or she is to be entitled to citizenship.
| Mali | 68.5 |
| South Africa | 67.8 |
| Ghana | 67.7 |
| India | 66.3 |
| Zambia | 63.0 |
| Malaysia | 60.1 |
| Thailand | 59.4 |
| Egypt | 58.6 |
| Mexico | 58.5 |
| Jordan | 58.3 |
| Indonesia | 56.9 |
| Ethiopia | 53.9 |
| Rwanda | 52.3 |
| Morocco | 51.0 |
| Burkina Faso | 48.9 |
| Chile | 47.5 |
| Georgia | 45.5 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 44.1 |
| Uruguay | 43.2 |
| Vietnam | 42.6 |
| Poland | 40.4 |
| Spain | 39.2 |
| China | 38.4 |
| Cyprus | 37.5 |
| Turkey | 34.3 |
| Italy | 32.1 |
| Moldova | 31.9 |
| Serbia | 28.4 |
| Ukraine | 28.3 |
| Bulgaria | 26.9 |
| Romania | 25.5 |
| United States | 25.3 |
| Argentina | 24.9 |
| Brazil | 23.5 |
| Slovenia | 22.9 |
| South Korea | 20.5 |
| Andorra | 17.7 |
| Taiwan | 16.0 |
| Australia | 15.7 |
| Finland | 15.7 |
| Germany | 11.4 |
| Switzerland | 8.4 |
| Norway | 7.9 |
| Sweden | 5.0 |
Culture
The following table shows the percentages of respondents in each participating
country who deemed it “very important” that a person adopt the customs of the
country to become a citizen of it:
| Georgia | 83.6 |
| Mali | 73.3 |
| Egypt | 68.7 |
| Morocco | 68.4 |
| Australia | 68.0 |
| Ghana | 66.5 |
| Thailand | 65.0 |
| Turkey | 63.6 |
| Vietnam | 63.4 |
| Jordan | 61.9 |
| Indonesia | 61.9 |
| Malaysia | 60.4 |
| South Africa | 59.4 |
| Burkina Faso | 59.4 |
| United States | 59.4 |
| India | 58.4 |
| Mexico | 58.2 |
| Zambia | 56.8 |
| Ethiopia | 53.9 |
| Germany | 53.4 |
| Bulgaria | 53.3 |
| Chile | 50.3 |
| Slovenia | 48.2 |
| Spain | 47.2 |
| Rwanda | 46.8 |
| Finland | 46.6 |
| China | 44.1 |
| Uruguay | 43.3 |
| Cyprus | 43.0 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 42.8 |
| Switzerland | 42.1 |
| Taiwan | 39.9 |
| Ukraine | 39.5 |
| Moldova | 38.5 |
| Norway | 36.7 |
| Romania | 35.7 |
| Poland | 34.7 |
| Italy | 34.7 |
| Argentina | 33.6 |
| Serbia | 33.5 |
| Andorra | 30.4 |
| South Korea | 27.1 |
| Brazil | 26.3 |
| Sweden | 24.1 |
Law
Is it “very important that a person obey the laws of the country to be considered a citizen?
| Sweden | 95.6 |
| Norway | 93.5 |
| Australia | 93.1 |
| Finland | 88.4 |
| Switzerland | 87.6 |
| Taiwan | 86.7 |
| United States | 85.0 |
| Georgia | 84.6 |
| Germany | 83.5 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 83.2 |
| Indonesia | 82.9 |
| Turkey | 82.4 |
| Bulgaria | 82.1 |
| Mali | 81.7 |
| Mexico | 80.8 |
| Ghana | 80.4 |
| Romania | 78.7 |
| China | 78.2 |
| Burkina Faso | 78.1 |
| Vietnam | 78.0 |
| Italy | 77.7 |
| Jordan | 77.3 |
| Egypt | 76.9 |
| Malaysia | 74.8 |
| Morocco | 74.6 |
| Uruguay | 74.1 |
| South Africa | 72.9 |
| Chile | 71.3 |
| Slovenia | 71.2 |
| India | 70.9 |
| Zambia | 70.4 |
| Moldova | 68.1 |
| Poland | 68.1 |
| Ethiopia | 64.7 |
| Argentina | 63.5 |
| Rwanda | 62.1 |
| Ukraine | 58.7 |
| Cyprus | 58.2 |
| Spain | 58.1 |
| Serbia | 55.0 |
| Thailand | 54.4 |
| Andorra | 49.4 |
| Brazil | 43.5 |
| South Korea | 40.4 |
Hat tip to The Audacious Epigone
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