NEW YORK, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The estimated number of Chinese-American population in the United States in 2016 stood at 5.08 million, marking the largest Asian group in the country, according to a revised report released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday.
The estimated number of Asian alone or in combination residents in the United States in 2016 came in at 21.4 million, said the report.
May notches the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the United States. On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump proclaimed May 2018 as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
"Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent have contributed immeasurably to our Nation's development and diversity as a people. During Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we recognize their tremendous contributions, which have helped strengthen our communities, industries, Armed Forces, national security, and institutions of governance," the president said in a statement.
Through their industriousness and love of country, our nation has enjoyed the privileges and enrichments of multiple innovations and societal advancements, he added.
In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and contributions of Chinese workers to the building of the transcontinental railroad, completed May 10, 1869.
In 1992, Congress expanded the observance to a month-long celebration that is now known as Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Per a 1997 U.S. Office of Management and Budget directive, the Asian or Pacific Islander racial category was separated into two categories: one being Asian and the other Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander.
