Hyphenated-Chinese in China: Western-born second generation overseas Chinese’s ethnic “return” migration by Nathalie Mingboupha School of East Asian Studies The University of Sheffield A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2018 1 2 Abstract This thesis focuses on Western-born second generation overseas Chinese who “return” migrate to China, their ancestral homeland. Inscribed within the larger social processes and dynamics of Chinese contemporary society, this research aims to understand how their “homecoming” and socio-cultural integration experiences in the parental homeland’s society leads to the re-evaluation of their ethno-cultural identity(ies) and ethno-national attachments. My research uses a qualitatively-driven multimethod design. Data collection primarily consisted of semi-structured in-depth interviews with 58 ethnic remigrants in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as a variety of document analyses. Guided by the concept of social anchoring, this study thus sheds light on the role of ethnicity in channeling migration and in restructuring the remigrants’ identities in their ancestral country. By examining how this group of highly-skilled migrants’ definitions of self and home evolve along with their transition from being a racial minority in their birth country to a cultural minority in their ethnic homeland, this thesis uncovers the multi-layered experiences of socio- cultural integration (and lack thereof) that trigger unexpected identity questioning, as evidenced by remigrants’ social networks and every day interactions in the homeland. By exploring their integration experiences and overall migration journey, I find that many are in fact paradoxically integrated in China, causing them to experience various forms of emotional in-betweenness and double disconnection challenging the boundaries of their ethno-cultural identities. 3 Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to thank Dr Yu Chen who supervised me through this PhD, for her invaluable insight, kind support, and availability. Thank her for commenting on my drafts, for making clear and reliable suggestions that helped me improve the structure of my writing, and for her words of encouragements that pushed me to complete this thesis. I am also grateful to Dr Mei Zhang, my second supervisor, for letting me work at my own pace while at the same time, making sure that I completed my doctoral training. I owe thanks to Dr Marjorie Dryburgh and Dr Ziyi Wei, for trusting me to work as a Teaching Assistant for their modules. This not only allowed me to breathe in-between writing sessions, but it also helped me build confidence and gave me a glimpse of what awaits me after the PhD. I also wish to thank Dr Markus Bell who after listening to one of my presentations, pointed out the lapses of my research. The comments were harsh, and it took me some time to recover from those, but they were probably some of the most helpful comments I had had, and they forced me to rethink aspects of my research with more self-assurance and helped me strengthen the areas in which I was lacking. I would like to thank Dr Seung Young Kim for answering my million questions about academia in general. Our conversations always enlightened me and made me laugh. I am also thankful to the CEFC (French Centre for Research on Contemporary China) and the EFEO (École Française d'Extrême-Orient) for granting me funding to conduct short- term fieldwork research in China. Without the CEFC and the EFEO’s support, I wouldn’t have been able to collect data for my research, and this thesis may not have been seen the light. A special thanks to all the kind souls I met at the conferences I attended. I am sure we will meet again, and perhaps even collaborate in the future on some interesting projects. Another word of appreciation goes to my friends Viviane and Elsa on the other side of the globe, for their encouraging words throughout my PhD even when I ghosted them a few too many times. I also want to salute my PhD colleagues at SEAS with whom we 4 hung at the research room. Most special thanks to Qiunan Li, for reading my drafts and for the many book suggestions. They always seemed to be unrelated to my research at first, but in the end, they allowed me to see the bigger picture and search beyond my comfort zone. But most of all, thank you for being the person I could return to at the end of the day. We started our PhDs together and we supported each other through it all. I would like to thank all my research participants, for showing interest in my research, and for willingly sparing me some of their time in their busy schedule to conduct long interviews, but also for sharing their personal experiences with me, and trusting me with their own stories. Final thanks and deepest gratitude to every single member of my family. In these four years, so many good and bad things happened, and despite the distance, we stood strong as a family. Thank you all for supporting me financially, for encouraging me, and for allowing to focus on my PhD. Mom, Dad, Sis, Bro, Guillaume, and the two munchkins born during my PhD, thank you. You always asked me when I’d be done with my “homework”, and today I can finally tell you that yes, I finished my “essay”. 5 6 Table of Contents Chapter One – Introduction .................................................................................................................... 13 1.1. Background .................................................................................................................................. 13 1.2. Motivations .................................................................................................................................. 15 1.3. Research questions ................................................................................................................... 16 1.4. Theoretical framework and data sources ......................................................................... 19 1.5. Terminology clarification and scope of work .................................................................. 20 1.6. Contributions and limitations ............................................................................................... 25 1.7. Thesis structure ........................................................................................................................... 27 Chapter Two – Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 31 2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 31 2.2. Causes of second generation ethnic “return” migration ............................................ 32 2.2.1. Economic motives ............................................................................................................ 33 2.2.2. Socio-ethnic push and pulls ......................................................................................... 36 2.2.3. Why do people stay? ...................................................................................................... 40 2.2.4. Summary .............................................................................................................................. 41 2.3. Processes and facilitators encouraging ethnic “return” migration ......................... 42 2.3.1. Policies directed at overseas coethnics ................................................................... 42 2.3.2. Meso-level migration networks .................................................................................. 50 2.3.3. Summary .............................................................................................................................. 52 2.4. Ethnic “return” and identity changes ................................................................................. 52 2.4.1. Marginalization ................................................................................................................. 53 2.4.2. Ethnic identity changes after remigrating .............................................................. 58 2.4.3. Global hierarchy of nations .......................................................................................... 62 2.4.4. Summary .............................................................................................................................. 64 2.5. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 64 Chapter Three – Theoretical Framework............................................................................................ 67 3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 67 3.2. Socio-cultural integration theories ..................................................................................... 68 7 3.2.1. Theoretical debates on socio-cultural integration .............................................. 68 3.2.2. Indicators of socio-cultural integration ................................................................... 77 3.2.3. Applications to, and limitations to the Chinese context ................................... 82 3.2.4. Summary .............................................................................................................................. 84 3.3. Social networks and