Routledge Studies in Asian Diasporas, Migrations and Mobilities. Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge [an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group], 2018. xiii, 307 pp., (Tables, graphs, figures.) US$140.00, cloth. ISBN 978-1-138-21805-5.
Chinese Transnational Migration in the Age of Global Modernity focuses on the experiences of Chinese immigrants in the Oceania region, mainly in New Zealand and Australia, and their ongoing negotiations with “home.” Inspired by the author’s personal experiences as an immigrant to New Zealand from China’s one-child generation, and echoing strongly with Chinese immigrants with similar transnational experiences elsewhere, this book presents findings from both quantitative and multi-sited qualitative research. The author proposes “a non-linear approach for examining Chinese migrant mobility” (14) by arguing that the conceptualization of “home” of Chinese immigrants should be analyzed as a dynamic process that transcends the boundaries of “a physical territory” or “a geographical dwelling” (4). Factors such as regulations of immigrant-receiving countries, individual motivations to pursue educational or professional opportunities, and priorities to provide support and care to the elderly weigh significantly in the decision-making processes of individuals and families involved in transnational migration. As a result, family members are often spatially scattered yet emotionally and financially connected in these loose yet resilient networks.
Besides an introductory and a concluding chapter, the book consists of six major chapters presenting research findings. It is well structured and written with great clarity. Chapter 2 discusses the social and political background of migration between China and New Zealand by meticulously tracing policy changes in both countries since the late 1980s. Since China’s implementation of a series of policies to promote broader cultural and economic exchanges with the capitalist world in 1978, the country has experienced an unprecedented acceleration of international emigration. In New Zealand, the government has gradually developed a neoliberal immigration regime in favour of skilled and business immigrants over family and social immigrants (47). Such policy changes have increased difficulties for Chinese immigrant families to settle together as a household. Chapter 3 reviews key literature related to the concept of transnationalism and its influence on recent studies on topics such as return immigrants, second-generation migrants, and citizenship. Chapters 4 and 5 present the findings of the qualitative research, highlighting how the one-child family structure influences the decision-making processes of transnational Chinese families and their conceptualization of home and belonging. Chapters 6 and 7 analyze the data collected from online surveys and government-provided statistics. Without limiting the study scope between China and New Zealand, the book also highlights the experiences of the Chinese immigrants involved in Trans-Tasman immigration due to the relatively close ties between New Zealand and Australia—a special feature of transnational immigration in Oceania. As the author points out, many Chinese families have adopted the strategies of “astronauting” to maintain family ties in China as well as in their new home in New Zealand/Australia. The book acutely captures the growing trend of return immigrants to China in pursuit of professional advancement while financially supporting their family members living overseas as a result of China’s economic boom in the past three decades. Many immigrants experience a mismatch between their citizenship and cultural identity, as many hold New Zealand passports for practical reasons while still feeling a deep sense of cultural and ethnic belonging as “Chinese.”
The strength of this book lies in its successful combination of macro- and micro-level analysis to understand Chinese transnational immigration experiences. The case of Oceania is by no means only relevant to the region of study; instead, it exemplifies broader trends of Chinese transnational migration between China and other immigrant-receiving countries in the West such as Canada and the United States. However, my criticisms of the book mainly concern the qualitative research findings. While the book provides engaging narratives from interlocutors discussing their transnational lifestyle and the assorted emotions it brings forth, further contextualizing these narratives in the socio-cultural contexts of China and New Zealand/Australia seems necessary to facilitate deeper understandings of these immigrants’ experiences.
On the one hand, one wonders what kind of socioeconomic status made immigration possible for these Chinese in the first place and how adopting a transnationally mobile lifestyle has affected the social and symbolic capital of those who decide to return to China. This is particularly relevant to China’s one-child generation involved in transnational migration, as the one-child policy has cultivated a relatively privileged generation with the resources and ambitions to join the global elite (Vanessa Fong, Only Hope: Coming of Age Under China’s One-Child Policy, Stanford University Press, 2004). As the book tends to categorize Chinese transnational immigrants as China’s “middle class” by default, it is necessary to further contextualize the concept of “middle class” in Chinese society, as many scholars have contested the notion of the middle class as a coherent group defined by income level or occupation (John Osburg, Anxious Wealth: Money and Morality Among China’s New Rich, Stanford University Press, 2013). On the other hand, one also wonders how these Chinese immigrants perceive their life in the social milieu of New Zealand/Australia beyond the Western-style education opportunities and the widely perceived less-polluted natural environment. Allowing more attention for the experiences of Chinese immigrants in New Zealand/Australia as minority groups or “people of colour” can potentially provide more insights on their conceptualization of “home and belonging.”
Without further challenging the perceived dichotomy between “the East” and “the West,” the book uses several quotes from interlocutors that seem to reinforce a hierarchy between China and New Zealand/Australia, as some describe their immigration destination countries as having a “more advanced” education system, or a “more natural” environment. As presented in the book, the Chinese immigrants of the study are not only pursuing a better life by adopting an internationally mobile lifestyle featured by frequent border-crossing and flexible transnational networks, they also seem to aspire to a commonly perceived “modern life.” These idealized perceptions of “the West” are widely circulated and accepted in countries such as China in the age of global modernity, and in some cases, become a major motivation for many Chinese to migrate. How Chinese immigrants’ dichotomous views of the differences between China and New Zealand/Australia are constructed, shape their expectations before migration, and influence their decisions for return deserves further consideration.
Mingyuan Zhang
University of Western Ontario, London, Canada