Singaporean? Chinese? Singaporean-Chinese? What?

We just found out yesterday from 2 friends at prayer meeting that in the french vocab, there is no term for the word, "Malay". And we found this out after like half an hour of trying to get a French-Cambodian lady to understand what we are referring to. The conversation went something like:

Kar Wai: What do you call a Malay?
Friend: Malay? Ah! From Malaysia? Malaysien...
Kar Wai: No, I mean like a Malay.
Friend: Oh! The country? Malasie..
Kar Wai: No, no...like I am from Singapore but I am Chinese...or you are from Cambodia, but you are Chinese also..
Friend: No! I am Cambodian. I come from Cambodia!
Kar Wai: Yes, yes, but what is your race?
Friend: Race?
Kar Wai: Yes, like I am Chinese.
Friend: But you are not from China?

(Jodie gets bored and goes to toilet)
More mumbling outside
Jodie returns shortly

Kar Wai: So you see, I was born and raised in Singapore but my race is Chinese.
Jodie: You guys are still at it?!
Friend 2 (also from Singapore): Erm...actually, from what I've read, this concept of race may be a very Singaporean thing. The rest of the world probably just understands what you are as where you come from.

EUREKA!

So you see, we are Chinese coz we live in Singapore and the rest of the Singaporeans think that way. But if you say you are Chinese elsewhere, they automatically think you are from China.

I tested this out on my American friend today. She says that most of the time in the States, since they are, too, an immigrant population, they just ask, "What's your history?". But they will call themselves Americans....pretty much the same way we firmly say we are Chinese, Malay, Indian or Tamil, rather than to automatically say we are Singaporeans (which btw, says something too).

Now I know why every time someone mentions China in the bible study group, everyone looks at me like
I am supposed to know or say something. Most of the time, I just go, "err...ok."

I gotta go find more people to ask. This is getting interesting.

Jo