Transnational Migrations In The Asia Pacific

This edited collection interrogates the diversity of transnational migration experiences in the Asia-Pacific through the lens of digital ethnography in order to explore the transformative effects digital media plays in these experiences. While there has been work on the various ways in which internet communication technologies (ICTs) particularly mobile communication allows for various forms of connectivity between individuals and groups in this age of hyper (transnational) mobility, there is a scarcity on the way digital media presents challenges, creates agency and alters relationships within the broad umbrella of the transnational migration experience. The authors in this collection– who come from diverse disciplinary backgrounds across social, cultural, education and communication research – present cutting edge cross and trans disciplinary analyses of transnational migration where digital media becomes a creative, if not fundamental avenue, for migrants to develop new strategies for dealing with their cross-border mobilities.

This title provides a much needed theoretical account of socio-cultural and identity issues surrounding middle-class Chinese migration in the changing context of migration policies and issues in Australia and other places. It also offers insights to students studying the current changing face of Chinese migration and provides relevant data to policy-makers, managers and practitioners in the field of immigration and multicultural affairs. This is a cutting edge volume that advances theories, methodologies and policy issues relating to contemporary middle-class Chinese migrants. It reports and discusses multidisciplinary research undertaken in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The book will not only serve as an introductory textbook for students of migration studies, social sciences and China studies, but also as a reference source for those who are interested in learning about recent Chinese migration in Asia and the Pacific.

This edited volume examines the relationship between the nation and the transnation, focusing on transnational communities in the Asia-Pacific region. Setting the book within a theoretical framework, the authors explore a range of themes such as migration, identity and citizenship in chapters on China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Singapore and Cambodia.

Focusing on the issues associated with migrating for work both in and from the Asian region, this book sheds light on the debate over migration and trafficking. With contributions from an international team of well-known scholars, the book sets labour migration firmly within the context of globalization, providing a focused, contemporary discussion of what is undoubtedly a major twenty-first century concern. Transnational Migration and Work in Asia analyzes workers motivations and rationalities, highlighting the similarities of migration experiences throughout Asia. Presenting in-depth case studies of the real-life experiences and problems faced by migrant workers, the book discusses migrants’ relations with the state and their vulnerability to exploitation, as well as the major policy issues now facing governments, employers, NGOs and international agencies.

The term ‘circulatory transnational migration’ best describes the unconventional migratory route of many contemporary Chinese migrants – that is an unfinished set of circulatory movements that these migrants engage in between the homeland and various host countries. ‘Return migration’, ‘step migration’ to a third destination and the ‘astronauting’ strategy are all included within this circulatory migration movement wherein ‘returning’ to the country of origin does not always mean to settle back to the homeland permanently; while ‘step migration’ also does not necessarily mean to re-migrate to a third destination country for a permanent purpose. Liu takes a longitudinal perspective to study Chinese migrants’ transnational movements and looks at their transnational migratory movements as a family matter and progressive and dynamic process, using New Zealand as a primary case study. She examines Chinese migrants’ initial motives for immigrating to New Zealand; the driving forces behind their adoption of a transnational lifestyle which includes leaving New Zealand to return to China, moving to a third country – typically Australia - or commuting across borders; family-related considerations; inter-generational dynamics in transnational migration; as well as their future movement intentions. Liu also discusses Chinese migrants’ conceptualisation of ‘home’, citizenship, identity, and sense of belonging to provide a deeper understanding of their transnational migratory experiences.

Most studies on transnational migration either stress assimilation, circulatory migration, or the negative impact of migration. This remarkable study, which covers migrants from one Jordanian village to 17 different countries in Europe, Asia, and North America, emphasizes the resiliency of transnational migrants after long periods of absence, social encapsulation, and stress, and their ability to construct social networks and reinterpret traditions in such a way as to mix the old and the new in a scenario that incorporates both worlds. Focusing on the humanistic aspects of the migration experience, this book examines questions such as birth control, women's work, retention of tribal law, and the changing attitudes of migrants towards themselves, their families, their home communities, and their nation. It ends with placing transnational migration from Jordan in a cross-cultural perspective by comparing it with similar processes elsewhere, and critically reviews a number of theoretical perspectives that have been used to explain migration.

With the number of Chinese living outside of its borders expected to reach 52 million by 2030, China has one of the most mobile populations on earth, shaping economies, cultures, and politics around the globe. Trans-Pacific Mobilities charts how the cross-border movement of Chinese people, goods, and images affects notions of place, belonging, and identity, particularly in Canada. Drawing on the new mobilities paradigm, contributors explore this phenomenon through five lenses, mapping out historic, cultural and symbolic, highly skilled, family and gendered, and transnational mobilities. This volume offers fresh insights into historical and contemporary Chinese mobilities and issues of transnationalism.