Taiwanese Migrants in China
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ABSTRACT Title of Document: RE-MEDIATING IDENTITIES IN THE IMAGINED HOMELAND: TAIWANESE MIGRANTS IN CHINA Shu-Ling Huang, Doctor of Philosophy, 2010 Directed By: Professor Linda Steiner Philip Merrill College of Journalism This dissertation analyzes the identity formation and transformation of Taiwanese migrants to China in light of globalization. Combining migrant studies and media studies, it explores how the identities of Taiwanese migrants are shaped and reshaped through the ongoing interactions of mediated communication and lived experience in the place of adoption. Against the linear model of assimilation, three discourses on transnationalism argue for the pluralization and deterritorialization of identities among contemporary migrants, including continuous home-country loyalty, diasporic hybrid identities, and cosmopolitan consciousness. However, this case study also encounters historical particularities, such as the opposition of Taiwanese and Chinese identities in Taiwan, Taiwanese migration to their imagined homeland, and China’ authoritarian media system. While attending to these issues, I analyze the migration patterns of Taiwanese migrants, their use of the media in China, and the relations between mediation and identity. Primarily based on in-depth interviews with 68 Taiwanese migrants conducted in 2008, I found that Taiwanese migrants’ spatial and upward mobility upon migration contributes to their class distinction and outsider mentality in China. Moreover, despite different settlement plans, migrants tend to see their migration as sojourning. Mental isolation from Chinese society, along with distrust of the Chinese news media, makes migrants heavily dependent on Taiwanese news media for information. They also utilize such communication tools as SMS and the Internet to forge and maintain Taiwanese-only social networks and interpersonal communications. As for entertainment media, migrants prefer foreign and Taiwanese media products to Chinese ones. Much of their transnational communication is sustained through the use of illegal means, such as satellite TV and pirated videos. Everyday experiences—lived or mediated, local or transnational—enable migrants to renegotiate their own similarities with and differences from the Chinese. A kind of Taiwanese consciousness based on pride develops among migrants. Nevertheless, as far as national identity is concerned, Taiwanese migrants remain divided, although they have also become less nationalistic and more realistic. RE-MEDIATING IDENTITIES IN THE IMAGINED HOMELAND: TAIWANESE MIGRANTS IN CHINA By Shu-Ling Huang Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2010 Advisory Committee: Professor Linda Steiner, Chair Distinguished University Professor George Ritzer Professor Emeritus Ray E. Hiebert Associate Professor Scott L. Kastner Dr. Kalyani Chadha © Copyright by Shu-Ling Huang 2010 Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the contributions of the many people who made this dissertation possible. I deeply am indebted to my advisor, Dr. Linda Steiner, whose mentoring has been invaluable, both academically and personally, to my doctoral study. Since we met in 2006, Linda has been a loyal reader, a rigorous reviewer, and a supportive counselor to me. I thank her for investing so much time and faith in me, for guiding me toward becoming a thoughtful researcher, and for enthusiastically helping me during the job-search process. I hope to become as good an advisor to my students as Linda has been to me. I also wish to thank my dissertation committee members: Dr. George Ritzer, Dr. Ray E. Hiebert, Dr. Scott L. Kastner, and Dr. Kalyani Chadha. Dr. Ritzer’s seminars in sociology led me to the fields of globalization and cultural theories. My dissertation and other work have benefited greatly from conversations with him. Dr. Hiebert’s and Dr. Chadha’s expertise in international communication and Dr. Kastner’s knowledge of cross-Taiwan Strait relations have also improved this dissertation. My thanks also go to the late Dr. Michael Gurevitch, who served on my C&E committee. His brilliant comments during my defense remain vivid in my mind. Dr. ii Maurine H. Beasley and Dr. Carol L. Rogers are wonderful teachers. My cohort, Ray Gamache, Wenjing Xie, Eric Easton, Rafael Lorente, and A.R. Hogan have been good companions. I would also like to express my gratitude to those people who generously helped me during my field research in China. Most of my informants and interviewees did not know me, but they were willing to share their thoughts and resources with a stranger. Without their kind assistance, I would not have been able to finish this dissertation. This dissertation was supported by the Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship and the Graduate Student Summer Research Fellowship, both administrated by the Graduate School at the University of Maryland; the Study Abroad Fellowship, awarded by the Ministry of Education of Taiwan; and the Hiebert Journalism International Travel Award, provided by the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at Maryland. Finally, I want to thank my family for their support. My father has always given me the greatest freedom to do whatever I want to do. My husband, Ming-sho, is the best partner I could have in my life. I cannot remember how many times he flew from Taiwan to Maryland to keep me company over the past five years; his sacrifices allowed me to concentrate on and complete my doctoral study. This dissertation is dedicated to my mother, who passed away in 1998. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................ii Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………iv Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………………1 Fractured Identities and Double Consciousness in Taiwan……………………….14 Going Westward to the “Big Land”……………………………………………….22 Chinese Media System: Reforms within the Party Line…………………………..28 Organization of the Dissertation…………………………………………………..38 Chapter 2: Mediated Communication and Migrant Identities………………………....43 Communication, Identity, and Globalization……………………………………...43 Mediation and Migrant Identities………………………………………………….51 Chinese Transnationalism and its Divergence…………………………………….69 Contextualizing Reception Research……………………………………………...77 Research Subjects and Methods…………………………………………………...82 Chapter 3: Forming a Cosmopolitan Class? Career, Life, and lifestyle………….…....96 iv Who Are Taiwanese Migrants in China?.................................................................97 Spatial Mobility and Upward Mobility…………………………………………..108 Being Global Nomads and Adventurers………………………………………….112 Distinction and Virtual Segregation…………………………………………...…118 Work-life Disjuncture and Home Connections…………………………………..133 Chapter 4: Media Reception—Local Communications, Transnational Contents…….145 Media Overload or Media Scarcity?....…………………………………………..146 News Media: Transnational Connections with Home……………………...……154 Negotiating Between Two (Undesired) Media Systems………………………....168 Entertainment Media: Multiple Sources…………………………………………174 Chapter 5: Re-negotiating Taiwanese Identity through Chinese News………………184 Reading News: Information, Meaning, and Identity…………………………….185 The Sichuan Earthquake: Undesired Media Effects..............................................189 The Beijing Olympics: Belonging, Exclusion, and Outsiders…………………...196 Tainted-milk Incident: Class and Identity………………………………………..208 Chapter 6: Trust—Social Networking and Information Exchange…………………...218 Information Ambiguity, Social Alienation, and Interpersonal Communication…222 Community Websites: Online Sharing and Offline Networks…………………...226 v Authentication, Distinction, and Solidarity……………………………………...231 Social Grouping and Networking………………………………………………..241 Watching Out for Each Other and Mutual Help…………………………………248 Chapter 7: Growing Taiwanese Consciousness, Fractured Identities………………...259 Identity of Difference…………………………………………………………….259 Encountering Cultural Similarities and Differences……………………………..263 Continuous Fractured Identities………………………………………………….272 Chapter 8: Conclusion………………………………………………………………...288 Dual Mobility, Transient Mentality, and No Sense of Place ……………………..289 Media Use: the Taiwanese Media Sphere………………………………………..294 Growing Taiwanese Consciousness, Conflicting Identities……………………...297 Re-examining Migrant Transnationalism………………………………………..301 Conclusion and suggestions…………………………………………………...…308 Appendices……………………………………………………………………………...312 References………………………………………………………………………………324 vi Chapter 1: Introduction On May 12, 2008, a devastating earthquake struck Southern China so violently that people in Bangkok about 2,000 miles away could feel the tremors. One Taiwanese businessman close to the epicenter told a Taipei newspaper in a telephone interview that the disaster put local television out of service; but he kept updated about the news via Taiwanese satellite channels. This man was quoted as saying, “it’s strange that I have to watch Taiwan’s TV for information about the earthquake on the mainland” (Hu et al, 2008). He might not be alone. Months later, I happened to be seated next to a Taiwanese expatriate family in a Shenzhen restaurant when conducting field research. Noticing the little boy’s Taiwanese accent of Mandarin Chinese, I asked whether they came from Taiwan. The mother confirmed and added that her son