The Diaspora Han Chinese continue to live primarily in cities. In a number of countries, particularly the westernized nations, many of them are businessmen. Their businesses range from small shops to international corporations. They live in a wide variety of houses, ranging from small apartments to costly mansions. Most of them have retained their traditional Chinese diet.
Rice continues to be their staple food and they generally prefer to use chopsticks as utensils.
During the Japanese occupation of China during World War II, a nationalist movement began to grow among the Han Chinese who lived outside their homeland. The members of this movement began to support China vigorously. When the Communists took over China in 1949, many of the Diaspora Han Chinese supported the revolution not because they agreed with Communist ideology, but because they desired strong leadership and unity for their motherland. As a result, they became a source of concern for the governments of the countries in which they lived. Because the Diaspora Han Chinese had supported the Communist takeover of China, the government officials feared that they would also support Communist revolutions in their new homelands.