Uneasy Reunions: Immigration, Citizenship, and Family Life in Post-1997 Hong Kong

Migrating to reunite with family members is one of the most common forms of migration in the world today. This book focuses on the family reunion migration that takes place between mainland Chinese wives and their Hong Kong husbands in post-1997 Hong Kong. Despite sharing one formal citizenship status (that of the Peoples Republic of China) and strong similarities of culture, ethnicity, and history, mainland Chinese wives wait for periods of up to ten years to join their husbands and other family members in Hong Kong. Once there, they experience significant social and economic marginalization. Nicole Newendorp follows the paths these immigrant women take: from marriages to Hong Kong men and long periods of waiting, to the downward mobility and familial struggles they face in Hong Kong. When these immigrant women seek help from Hong Kong social workers and other government officials, they receive an education in the qualities of civility idealized in Hong Kong discourses of belonging. Throughout, the author focuses on the ways in which ideologies of membership are constructed in Hong Kong, and how these normative ideals influence mainland Chinese immigrants everyday experiences of inclusion and exclusion in Hong Kong.

Author: Nicole Newendorp
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 04/09/2008
Pages: 312
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.29h x 6.34w x 0.86d
ISBN: 9780804758130

Review Citation(s):
Reference and Research Bk News 08/01/2008 pg. 206
Choice 04/01/2009

About the Author
Nicole Newendorp is a Lecturer on Social Studies at Harvard University. This is her first book.