irregular emigration from fuzhou: changes and nature sheng lin associate professor, sociology...
TRANSCRIPT
Irregular Emigration from Fuzhou:
Changes and Nature
Sheng Lin
Associate Professor, Sociology Department
University of Fuzhou, China
Outlines:
Introduction
Three Irregular Emigration Stages Why the Emigration Patterns Changed?
Conclusions
1. Introduction:
Golden Venture (New York, USA) ， 1993
Dover Tragedy (Dover, UK), 2000
Morecambe Bay Cockling Disaster (Morecambe,UK),2004
Fuzhou, Fujian province
According to Survey of Fuzhou Overseas Chinese (Fuzhou Qiaoqing diaocha, 2005-2006)
The top 10 destinations:
the United States, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Canada, Britain, Burma,
Argentina and Germany.
New destinations are explored with high speed:
The number from 1996 to 2006: 102 146
Speed of gaining rate in ten years: 43.4%
Between 40% and 50% of Fuzhou New Migrants go abroad irregularly( Zhuang,2006).
2.Three Stages of Irregular Emigration: Diachronic perspective is lacked.
Three stages: first stage, intermediate stage, and current stage.
First stage: who can go and who can not
Story of LJ, first batch of emigrants
Emigration way and time (self financed study,1987)
His impression of Japan came from his uncle
Money taken: 15,000+5,000 yuan
Social status: Wan Yuanhu (people who had over 10,000 yuan, 萬元戶 ), but he still needed to borrow money from his business friends
His social role in his family: 24 year old son, single, carefree
Story of LP, who can not go
More than half one year after LJ
Transportation fee: 11,400 yuan
Social status: demobilized from the army and worked for 3 years
First Stage: Emigration Limited to the New Rich Who also have relatives abroad
Money was very important because : First, pioneers endured the higher cost because they were not
sure about the situations of destinations and so many doubts existed. (fee:15,000+5,000 Yuan to 11,400 Yuan)
Second, emigration fee was not affordable for people then. Pioneers were more likely to be people who had less social
burden, like single man. They have relatively good job like chefs, doctors, and suscessfu
l businessmen. The migration history in their community increases their
propensity to emigrate.
Intermediate Stage: Villagers Were Crazy for Emigration
The easiest period for people to go abroad because money was not a question any more, though the fees increased (remittances and enrichment of payment tactics).
Irregular migration set out to attract so much attention: many arresting criminal accidents or tragedies happened.
All groups and classes were involved (indebted gamblers, bankrupts, criminals/or people conducting socially deviant behaviour, including people with higher social status such as teachers, officials).
Inscription of parks, Monumental Archway （牌樓）
“ 金鵬展翅前程萬里，鯉躍龍門名揚千秋”
“ 縈思異邦勤勞美德昭日月，懷念家鄉愛國豪情壯山河”
Migrants are generous in making donations so that their names will appear conspicuously on monument set up in their honour.
• Their conspicuousness is to such an extent that they inscribe their donors' n
ames on the back of the each seat of theater
An oft-told story about funeral:
“…Guests should give their hos
ts cash or presents. But the
host returned all of these
things, and also gave each
guest a red envelope
containing $50 to express his
gratitude. It was estimated
that the total cost of the
funeral exceeded one million
RMB. ”
Funerals have become the most important and the “happiest” moment
in their lives, even when compared to their wedding ceremonies
Children have no intention to study because they are waiting to emigrate overseas as their parents have
(At the gate of internet café)
Current Stage: Migratory Waves Calm Down, Diversified and Legalization.
Migration clam down, even there are a few emigrants choose to return home.
Diversified: People shift to developing countries that are easier to access, and can earn more money. Their employment in destinations is not simply labour. The cost of emigration is lower.
Legalization: No irregular emigrants leaving by boat. All kinds of documents, fake or authentic, become indispensable for successful emigration.
3.Why the Emigration Patterns Changed?
First, government’s unyielding attitudes towards irregular migration from China, transit countries and destination countries lead to the calming down and changes of emigration.
Second, the current emigrants have more resources than their precursors in terms of economic background, migration networks and transportation fees supports.
Third, new communication technologies and modern mass media result on the emigration gradually levelling off.
Fourth, the young who are the major force of the emigrants become independent as influenced by the modernization and urbanization of villages.
Last, new opportunity in their native places caused by China’s booming economy leads to changing attitude towards emigration.
4.Conclusions
The nature of Fuzhou irregular emigration: development motivated emigration.
Changes of Fuzhou irregular emigration should be understood by fundamental changes taking place in Chinese society and world ( new communication technologies, urbanization of China, global financial crsis etc.).
Continuing irregular emigration is upgrading itself with respect to emigration process and composition of potential emigrants.
