Diffusion in transnational political spaces: political activism of Philippine labor migrants in Hong Kong Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde der Philosophischen Fakultät der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg i. Br vorgelegt von Stefan Rother aus Ravensburg SS 2012 Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Jürgen Rüland Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Heribert Weiland Drittgutachter: Prof. Dr. Gregor Dobler Vorsitzender des Promotionsausschusses der Gemeinsamen Kommission der Philologischen, Philosophischen und Wirtschafts- und Verhaltenswissenschaftlichen Fakultät: Prof. Dr. Hans-Helmuth Gander Datum der Fachprüfung im Promotionsfach: 26. August 2012 Table of contents List of Acronyms .................................................................................................................................................... v 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Part I: Theoretical background and approach .................................................................................................... 7 2. Labour migration, transnationalism and International Relations Theory ............................................... 8 3. Transnationalism in migration studies .................................................................................................. 21 3.1. Transnational social fields ................................................................................................................. 22 3.2. Transnational social spaces ............................................................................................................... 30 4. Transnational political spaces ............................................................................................................... 40 5. Methodology, case selection, and data collection ................................................................................ 55 Part II: Case Study .............................................................................................................................................. 61 6. Nation-States and the migration industry – the political-legal framework for transnational political spaces .................................................................................................................................................... 62 6.1. The nation-state and the governance of migration ................................................................................ 62 6.2. The Philippines: role model for “best practices” or unscrupulous “labour broker”? ............................. 65 6.3. Comparison: Indonesia – a case of “bad practice?” ................................................................................ 79 6.4. Hong Kong – the “global city” as the cradle of Philippine migrant activism ........................................... 85 6.5. Summary/Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 97 7. The migrants and civil society ............................................................................................................. 103 7.1. Political space in the Philippines: Party lists, civil society and the split of the Philippine left ........ 103 7.2. On any given Sunday: Private, public and political spaces in Hong Kong ....................................... 112 7.3. Hong Kong-based activism .............................................................................................................. 114 7.3.1 “The “grassroots cluster” ................................................................................................................ 115 7.3.2 “The “NGO cluster” ......................................................................................................................... 133 7.3.3 Same, same, but different? Differences in advocacy between the two clusters ............................ 137 7.4. The Philippine-based members of the two clusters ........................................................................ 141 7.4.1 “The “grassroots cluster” ................................................................................................................ 141 iii 7.4.2 “The “NGO cluster” ......................................................................................................................... 146 7.5. The clusters go global: Competing strategies and parallel events at the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) .............................................................................................................. 151 7.5.1 “The “NGO cluster”: The Peoples’ Global Action on Migration, Development and Human Rights (PGA) ..................................................................................................................................................... 151 7.5.2 “The “grassroots cluster”: International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees (IAMR) .................. 155 Part III: Conclusion, Annex, References .................................................................................................. 159 8. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 160 9. Annex: Deutsche Zusammenfassung .................................................................................................. 168 10. List of References and Interviews ....................................................................................................... 172 References .................................................................................................................................................... 172 List of Interviews .......................................................................................................................................... 193 iv List of Acronyms ADWU: Asian Domestic Workers Union AFP: Armed Forces of the Philippines ALP: Alliance of Progressive Labour AMC: Asian Migrant Centre AMCB: Asian Migrants Coordinating Body AMEND: Alliance for Migrant Workers and Advocates to Amend R.A. 8042 AMIHAN: National Federation of Peasant Women APC: Inter-Governmental Asia-Pacific Consultations on Refugees, Displaced Persons and Migrants APL: Alliance of Progressive Labour APMM: Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants APMMF: Asia Pacific Mission for Migrant Filipinos (now APMM) APWLD: Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development ASEAN: Association of South East Asian Nation ASL: Association of Sri Lankans in Hong Kong ATIK: Alliance of Turkish Migrants in Europe ATKI-HK: Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers in Hong Kong BKPTKI: Keanggotaan Badan Kordinasi Indonesia (coordination authority for the placement of Indonesian migrant workers) BNP2TKI: National Agency for the Protection and Placement of Indonesian Migrant Workers CCOFW: Consultative Council on Overseas Filipino Workers CEDAW: Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women CFO: The Commission on Filipinos Overseas CMA: Center for Migrant Advocacy CMR: Coalition for Migrants’ Rights COMELEC: Commission on Elections COWA: House of Representatives’ Committee on Overseas Workers' Affairs CPP: Communist Party of the Philippines CSD: Civil Society Days of the GFMD DFA: Department of Foreign Affairs DPA: Deep Penetration Agent ECMI: Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People v EU: European Union FADWU: Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions FDGHU: Filipino Domestic Helpers General Union FDH: Foreign Domestic Helpers FDW: Foreign Domestic Worker FEONA: Far East Asia Nepalese Association FMWG: Filipino Migrant Workers Group FMWU-HK: Filipino Migrant Workers’ Union FOT: Friends of Thai GABRIELA: General Assembly Binding Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality, Leadership, and Action GATS: General Agreement on Trade and Services GCIM: Global Commission on International Migration GFMD: Global Forum on Migration and Development GMA: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo GWP: GABRIELA Women’s Party HDH: Helpers for Domestic Helpers HKCTU: Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions HLD: High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development IAC: International Advisory Committee IAMR: International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees ICB: International Coordinating Body of the IMA ICC: International Criminal Court ICMC: International Catholic Migration Commission ICOFVR: International Coalition for the Overseas Filipinos' Voting Rights IDWA: Indian Domestic Workers Association ILC: International Labour Conference ILO: International Labour Organization ILPS: The International League of Peoples' Struggle IMA: International Migrants’ Alliance IMWU: Indonesian Migrant Workers Union IOM: International Organization for Migration IR: International Relations ISS: International Social Service ITC: The International Tribunal of Conscience vi KOTKIHO: The Hong Kong Coalition of Indonesian Migrant Workers Organization LegCo: Legislative Council of Hong Kong MFA: Migrant Forum in Asia MFWM: Mission for Migrant Workers (since 2006; before: Mission for Filipino Migrant Workers) MI: Migrante International MOU: Memorandum of Understanding MRI: Migrants Rights International NCCP: National Council of Churches in the Philippines NCS: New Conditions of Stay ND: National Democratic (movement) NGO: Non-Governmental Organisation NPA: New People’s Army (also CCP-NPA) OAV: Oversees Absentee Voting OEC: Overseas Employment