 Similarly, according to Ron Crocombe, Professor of Pacific Studies at the University of the South Pacific, "There have been more Pacific Islands minister visits to China than to any other country".There were approximately three or four thousand Chinese people living in Tonga in 2001, thus comprising 3 or 4% of the total Tongan population.Chinese Tongans are Tonga's main ethnic minority group, and have been subjected to significant levels of racism, including racist violence, since the late 1990s.