Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Bridging Borders in the Global City: Negotiating Sameness and Difference in Hong Kong’s Skilled Immigrants from Mainland China

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of International Migration and Integration Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Immigration labor in global cities is often framed in a dichotomy of skilled and nonskilled and explained from different perspective. Based on narratives of skilled immigrants from mainland China in postcolonial Hong Kong, this study shifts the focus of attention from generalized dissimilarities between migrant groups determined by the level of skills to commonalities of experience shaped by the broader social and cultural forces of their spatial, economic and political environments. It points to the importance of “border” in shaping the mode of incorporation of skilled migrants to localities in global city. It shows that skilled mainland immigrants in Hong Kong are deeply embedded in an overarching xin yimin (new immigrants) discourse according to which the Hong Kong–China border distinguishes all mainland immigrants from Hong Kong citizens regardless of the level of skills they possess. This discourse is associated with and defined by the cultural meaning of border between Hong Kong and China produced in the colonial past and reproduced in the postcolonial present. Despite being highly educated and skilled, mainland Chinese professionals experienced countless negotiation of sameness and difference in their everyday encountering localities and making place. The stories presented here ask us to rethink the assumptions informing the analytical distinctions between skilled and non-skilled and call for “unifying” skilled and non-skilled migration in global cities methodologically and theoretically.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. All names of interviewees are pseudonyms throughout the paper.

  2. These two schemes, namely the Admission of Talent Scheme and the Admission of the Mainland Professional Scheme, were launched in 1999 and 2001 respectively but unable to attract satisfactory number of applicants due to the high entrance threshold set in qualifications and working experience.

  3. See Annual Report 2008-2009, Hong Kong Immigration Department, http://www.immd.gov.hk/a_report_08-09/eng/ch1/index.htm#b13. Accessed date: 23 June 2010.

  4. Annual Report 2008-2009, Hong Kong Immigration Department, http://www.immd.gov.hk/a_report_08-09/eng/ch1/index.htm#b13. Accessed date: 23 June 2010.

  5. This project, titled “Locating Hong Kong in the Global Landscape of Professional Migrants”, was carried out between 1 October 2007 and 30 June 2009 and was coordinated by Wong Siu-lun, Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong.

  6. All mail survey questionnaires were sent back to the research team directly. The Immigration Department did not take part in this research.

  7. For a detailed outline of the survey finding, see Zheng et al. (2009).

  8. The average length of each interview was about one hour. Mandarin was the language used in most interviews (In five cases when the interviewees were Cantonese speakers, the conversations were conducted in Cantonese). The interviews were conducted by the author and Mr. Ernest Lau, also one of the members of the original survey research. All interviews were tape-recorded with the advance agreement of the interviewees and were subsequently transcribed for analysis.

  9. See Skeldon (1994) “Immigration and Emigration: Current Trends, Dilemmas and Policies”, in McMillen, D. H. and Man, S. W. (eds), The Other Hong Kong Report 1994, Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, pp. 165-186; Siu (1996a) “Population and Immigration: with a special account on Chinese immigrants”, in Nyaw Mee-Kau and Li Si-ming (eds), The Other Hong Kong Report 1996, Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong Press, pp. 325-348.

  10. According to Hong Kong’s Basic Law, children born to Hong Kong permanent residents have the right of abode in Hong Kong. In fear of a sudden flood of people from the mainland that would create enormous pressure on Hong Kong’s housing, education, medical and health services and social welfare, the HKSAR government introduced a “certificate scheme” that stipulated Hong Kong children had no automatic Hong Kong citizenship but had to apply in the mainland for a one-way permit from the mainland authorities. This scheme was declared by Hong Kong’s Final Court of Appeal on 29 January 1999 to be “unconstitutional” in that it was in conflict with the Basic Law. To solve the dispute, the Hong Kong government invited the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the PRC to re-interpret Article 24 of the Basic Law, and the reinterpretation supported the continuation of the quota system as the Hong Kong government had wished. Hundreds and thousands of abode-seekers already in Hong Kong staged protests and appeals in courts but none of these were successful. See Chan (2000)Chan et al. (2000) and Smart and Smart (2008) for detailed documentation and discussion of this dispute.

References

  • Anderson, J., & O’Dowd, L. (1999). Border, border regions and territoriality: contradictory meanings, changing significance. Regional Studies, 33, 593–604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Backer, H. (1983). Life in the cities: the emergence of Hong Kong man. China Quarterly, 95, 469–479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beaverstock, J. (1996a). Subcontracting the accountant! Professional labor market, migration, and organizational networks in the global accountancy industry. Environment and Planning A, 28, 303–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beaverstock, J. (1996b). Migration, knowledge and social interaction: expatriate labor within investment banks. Area, 28(4), 459–470.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beaverstock, J. (2002). Transnational elites in global cities: British expatriates in Singapore Financial District. Geoforum, 33(4), 525–538.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burns, J. P. (1987). Immigration from China and the future of Hong Kong. Asian Survey, 27(6), 661–682.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, E. (2000). Defining fellow compatriots as “Others”—national identity in Hong Kong. Government and Opposition, 35(4), 499–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, J. M. M., Fu, H. L., & Ghai, Y. (Eds.). (2000). Hong Kong’s constitutional debate: conflict over interpretation. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, Y. (2001). The uninvited guests: a preliminary exploration of the images of mainland immigrants in Hong Kong films in the 1980s. In J. X. Wu & Z. W. Zhang (Eds.), Reading Hong Kong popular cultures, 1970–2000 (pp. 195–200). Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doyle, J., & Nathan, M. (2001). Wherever next? Work in a mobile world. London: The Industrial Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Draguhn, W., & Goodman, D. S. (2002). China’s communist revolutions: 50 years of the People’s Republic of China. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewers, M. C. (2007). Migrants, markets and multinationals: competition among world cities for the highly skilled. GeoJournal, 68, 119–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Findlay, A. M., & Li, F. L. N. (1998). A migration channels approach to the study of professionals moving to and from Hong Kong. The International Migration Review Fall, 34(3), 682–703. Fall 1998.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Findlay, A. M., Li, F. L. N., Jowett, A. J., & Skeldon, R. (1996). Skilled international migration and the global city: a study of expatriates in Hong Kong. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 21, 49–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fung, A. (2004). Postcolonial Hong Kong identity: hybridising the local and national. Social Identities, 10(3), 399–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gittings, J. (2005). The changing face of China: from Mao to market. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ho, Elaine lynn-Ee (2011). Migration trajectories of “Highly Skilled Middling Transnationals: Singaporean Transmigrants in London”. Population, Space and Place. Issue 1, pp. 116–129.

  • Hopkins, K. (Ed.). (1971). Hong Kong: the industrial colony. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kofman, E., & Raghuram, P. (2005). Gender and skilled migrants: into and beyond the work place. Geoforum, 36, 149–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang, G., & Smart, J. (2002). Migration and the ‘Second Wife’ in South China: toward cross-border polygyny. International Migration Review, 36(2), 546–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Law, K.-Y., & Lee, K-m. (2006). Citizenship, economy and social exclusion of mainland Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 36(2), 217–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leung, H-c. (2004). Politics of incorporation and exclusion: immigration and citizenship issues. In A. S. Ku & N. Pun (Eds.), Remaking citizenship in Hong Kong: community, nation and the global city. London: RoutledgeCurzon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, F. L. N., Jowett, A. J., Findlay, A. M., & Skeldon, R. (1995). Discourse on migration and ethnic identity: interviews with professionals in Hong Kong. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 20, 342–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lieberthal, K. (1995). Governing China: from revolution through reform. New York: W.W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lim, A. (2008). Transnational feminist practices in Hong Kong: mobilisation and collective action for sex workers’ rights. The Asian Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 9(4), 319–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma, E. K.-w. (1999). Culture, politics and television in Hong Kong. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathews, G. (1997). Heunggongyahn: on the past, present, and future of Hong Kong identity. Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, 29(3), 3–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonogh, G., & Wong, C. (2005). Global Hong Kong. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDowell, L. (1983). Towards an understanding of the gender division of urban space. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 1, 59–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagel, C. (2005). Skilled migration in global cities from ‘Other’ perspectives: British Arabs, identity politics, and local embeddedness. Geoforum, 36, 197–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohmae, K. (1990). The Borderless World: Power and Strategy in the Interlinked Economy. New York: Ballinger Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ong, A., & Nonini, D. M. (Eds.). (1997). Ungrounded empires: the cultural politics of modern Chinese transnationalism. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paasi, A. (2003). Boundaries in a Globalizing World. In K. Anderson, M. Domosh, S. Pile, & N. Thrift (Eds.), Handbook of cultural geography. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peixoto, J. (2001). The International Mobility of Highly Skilled Workers in Transnational Corporations: The macro and micro factors of the organizational migration of Cadres. International Migration Review, 35(4), 1030–1053.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pieke, F. (1999). Introduction: Chinese migrations compared. In F. Pieke & H. Mallee (Eds.), Internal and international migration: Chinese perspective. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pratt, M. L. (1992). Imperial eyes: travel writing and transculturation. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Price, M., & Benton-Short, L. (2007). Immigrants and world cities: from the hyper-diverse to the bypassd. GeoJournal, 68, 101–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, V., & Carey, M. (2000). Peopling skilled international migration: Indian doctors in the UK. International Migration, 38(1), 90–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salt, J., & Findlay, A. (1989). International migration of highly skilled manpower. In R. Appleyard (Ed.), The impact of international migration on developing countries (pp. 159–180). Paris: Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sassen, S. (1991). The global city. N. J. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sassen, S. (1995). On concentration and centrality in the global city. In P. Knox & P. Taylor (Eds.), World cities in a world system (pp. 63–78). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sassen, S. (2001). Global cities and global city-region: a comparison. In A. Scott (Ed.), Global city-regions: trend, theory, policy (pp. 11–32). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharistanian, J. (1987). Introduction: women’s lives in the public and domestic spheres. In J. Sharistanian (Ed.), Beyond the public/domestic dichotomy: contemporary perspective on women’s public lives (pp. 1–10). New York: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siu, H. F. (1986). Immigrants and social ethos: Hong Kong in the nineteen eighties. Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of Royal Asiatic Society, 26, 1–2. and 12–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siu, H. F. (1996a). Remade in Hong Kong: weaving into the Chinese cultural tapestry. In T.-T. Liu & D. Faure (Eds.), Unity and diversity. Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siu, Y.-M. (1996b). In N. Mee-Kau & L. Si-ming (Eds.), The other Hong Kong Report, 1996. Hong Kong: the University of Hong Kong Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skeldon, R. (1994). Immigration and emigration current trends, dilemma and policies. In D. H. McMillen & S. W. Man (Eds.), The Other Hong Kong Report 1994 (pp. 165–186). Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sklair, L. (1997). Social movements for global capitalism: the transnational capitalist class in action. Review of International Political Economy, 4(3), 514–538.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smart, A. (2003). Sharp edges, fuzzy categories and transborder networks: managing and housing new arrivals in Hong Kong. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 26(2), 218–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smart, A., & Smart, J. (2008). Time–space punctuation: Hong Kong’s border regime and limits on mobility. Pacific Affairs, 81(2), 175–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, P. J. (2004). World city network: A global urban analysis. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willis, K., Yeoh, B., & Fakhri, S. M. A. K. (2002). Transnational elites. Geoforum, 33(4), 505–507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wills, K. D., & Yeoh, S. A. (2002). Gendering transnational communities: a comparison of Singaporean and British migrants in China. Geoforum, 33(4), 553–565.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yeoh, B. S. A., & Khoo, L.-M. (1998). Home, Work and Community: Skilled International Migration and Expatriate Women in Singapore. International Migration, 36(2), 159–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yeoh, B. S. A., & Willis, K. (2005). Singaporean and British transmigrants in China and the cultural politics of “contact zone”. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 31(2), 269–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, V., Wong, S. L., & Wang, C. (2009). Absorbing professionals from mainland China to enhance Hong Kong’s Role as a financial center. Hong Kong Journal of Social Sciences, 36, 1–30.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

This research was part of the output from a larger project on professional migrants in Hong Kong funded by Hong Kong Research Grant Council (RGC code: HKU 7013-PPR-4). The author would like to thank Wong Siu-lun for his support and academic input to the early stage of this research and Mr. Ernest Lau for his efficient research assistance. Harriet Evans read early drafts and offered constructive comments. The most gratitude goes to the interviewees who shared with us their stories without which this paper will not be possible.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages, University of Westminster, London, UK

    Cangbai Wang

Authors
  1. Cangbai Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cangbai Wang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wang, C. Bridging Borders in the Global City: Negotiating Sameness and Difference in Hong Kong’s Skilled Immigrants from Mainland China. Int. Migration & Integration 13, 565–581 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-012-0236-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-012-0236-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation