Lecture Series
A different kind of immigration: Chinese spouses in Taiwan
Monday, July 1, 2013, 6 pm, KWZ, Room 0.606
Prof. Wan-Ying Yang
Department of Political Science, National Chengchi University, Taipei
Chinese spouses have been classified into a special category of immigrants, essentially different from any other kinds of immigrants in Taiwan. Taiwanese nationalism defines mainland spouses as “outsiders,” whereas the patriarchal system incorporates them into the society by forcing them to act as dependent “insiders” of the household. Their status of “outsiders within” is constructed in multiple ways through different national citizenship projects by different administrations. As will be shown, Chinese marriage migrants are vulnerable, embedded and caught in the political gulf between China and Taiwan, and their legal status are subject to change as the link between the two sides across the strait fluctuates.