Suchergebnisse

This study examines patterns of return migration as a background to understand the intention among marriage migrants to return to their homeland. In a five-year period beginning in 2014, the author conducted qualitative interviews with Taiwanese immigrant women in Hong Kong who had married Hong Kong men and had arrived between 1965 and 2013, to understand major aspects of their adaptation. Despite successful efforts in developing careers, establishing families, and planting new roots by becoming Hong Kongers over the last few decades, a majority of the immigrants wanted to return to Taiwan to luo ye gui gen (落葉歸根, a falling leaf finds its way to its roots). Apart from regarding Taiwan as homeland and retaining a strong sense of belonging, their desire to re-migrate to a more hospitable environment, to enjoy a better quality of life compared to that of Hong Kong, has been spelled out with narratives. Return migration remains a paradox with regard to married women who have accepted patrilocal residence at the start. Whether returns do take place remains to be seen, as return migration in essence also suggests that migration is impermanent and transnational in nature.

Abstract
Recent literature on new Taiwanese-Chinese immigrants to Western countries has focussed on those who have arrived since the late 1980s — but may not be staying permanently in their host countries — and have adopted a transnational residence pattern which requires them to engage in two or more social fields. Using autobiographical interviews, the author reconstructs the lives of early Taiwanese-Chinese immigrants in three different cities in Canada, and in Guam, an Unincorporated Territory of the US located in the insular western Pacific region. The three major research themes in this study pertain to reasons for and processes of migration, lived experiences, and self-identity. For this study, 46 Taiwanese-Chinese immigrants (24 in Canada and 22 in Guam) were selected from the available samples in the two respective regions where the author conducted extensive fieldwork in 2008-2011. Arriving mainly in the 1960s and 1970s, the early Taiwanese-Chinese immigrants to Canada and Guam survived various hardships, worked or established businesses from which they earned a steady income. Diligence, ingenuity and perseverance, as well as skills in entrepreneurship and social capital brought from Taiwan, served them well in their achievements in their new home countries in Canada and Guam. As young, well-educated university graduates or professionals at the time of immigration, sometimes re-migrating from another country, they developed significant language competency, social skills, and local knowledge in Canada and Guam. Having a strong sense of belonging, and identifying with the countries they have moved to, most of the Taiwanese-Chinese of Canada and Guam who took part in this study have become "permanent settlers" and some have even retired and remained in their host regions enjoying the multi-cultural environment. The current inquiry provides a timely case study of the meaningful diversity that is present among Taiwanese-Chinese permanent settlers, who are different from the transnational or circular migrants commonly found in the last three decades.

AbstractTaiwan‐born business and skilled migrants who settle in Australia have high unemployment rates despite being well educated and fairly affluent. This phenomenon, commonly found in Australia among new Asian immigrants, has seldom been researched. Using qualitative methodologies, including ethnographic interviews and participant observation, this paper examines economic integration of recent Taiwanese business and skilled migrants in three Australian cities: Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. The results indicate that Taiwanese immigrants find it difficult to secure employment, start profitable businesses, and adapt to the host society. The integration challenges include: lack of fluency in English, different social and cultural milieu, lack of familiarity with Australian business culture and labour relations, complex rules and regulations governing the establishment of business enterprises, small size of the market, high taxes, and lack of willingness to take up work not commensurate with their education and economic background. Policy recommendations to foster early integration of skilled migrants from Taiwan are included.

This study proposes to explore trans-border marriage migrants from Taiwan to Hong Kong, which are historically and politically separate entities despite similarities in Chinese culture. An understanding of marriage patterns was obtained from 38 in-depth interviews of Taiwanese women married to Hong Kong men. Patrilocal residence and acceptance of the patriarchal customs was the norm for the early female Taiwanese migrants. While encountering various difficulties in adapting to a different kind of Chinese culture, the early arrivals have successfully made Hong Kong their homes. Through joining various Taiwanese organizations, they have developed female friendship networks over the years. While developing careers, their socio-economic contributions to the Hong Kong society goes beyond the families into which they have married. Despite successful efforts in planting new roots by becoming Hong Kongers over the last few decades, some of the immigrants mentioned returning (luò yè guī gēn 落葉歸根) to Taiwan. Personal connections maintained with their homeland through frequent visits have enabled them to be aware of the latest developments, while trans-border linkages with their parents and siblings in Taiwan have strongly affected their desire to return. A more hospitable environment combined with a better quality of life compared to that of Hong Kong are the main considerations for their intention to leave their host community.