Following the state-owned enterprises: Chinese expatriate construction workers in Zambia

Chinese expatriate workers in Africa remain an under-researched and poorly understood group despite their large numbers. Based on data collected through interviews and participant observations during 2013 and 2014 among Chinese expatriate construction workers employed by a large-scale Chinese state-owned construction enterprise in Zambia, this article offers an analysis of their migration experience as it relates to the context of China’s growing economic involvement with Africa. This paper further argues that Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Africa function as transnational social organizations to promote Chinese expatriate workers’ migration to Africa and provide them social support and care when they experienced difficulties during their sojourn. In this way, the patron–client relationship was formed between Chinese SOEs and Chinese expatriate workers, paralleling the existing employment relationship.

Where do overseas Filipinos intend to retire? The case of Filipinos in Chugoku region, Japan

Migrants nearing retirement age face issues and challenges distinct from those of migrants in their working age. Yet, their well-being has not been fully addressed because of lack of data. Drawing from the results of a survey of Filipinos residing in the Chugoku region in Western Japan ( n = 481), this study contributes to the literature on the aging-migration nexus by exploring migrants’ anxiety toward retirement and intended country of retirement. The results have crucial implications not only on migrants’ plans for retirement but also on the provision of social protection in both the host and the origin countries.

Re-examining the middle-class thesis: Class profiles of families employing migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong

To what extent is employing migrant domestic workers (MDWs) a middle-class practice in Hong Kong? I drew quantitative data from the Population Census and a representative household survey to test the middle-class thesis. The results show that a significant proportion of the families that currently employ or had ever employed MDWs were not from middle-class backgrounds. As the practice of hiring MDWs spread to families from lower socio-economic background, it may be expected that the working and living conditions of MDWs may deteriorate due to the fewer resources of these families.

“Move backward to make a step forward”: Understanding the migration of the highly educated to Sorong City, West Papua, Indonesia

Highly educated people are mainly concentrated in big cities or metropolitan areas. However, some of them choose to move to less developed regions. Using information from in-depth interviews of 15 highly educated migrants that recently moved to Sorong City, a small city in easternmost Indonesia, this study examines the narratives behind their spatial movements. The findings show that promising career development is a critical factor in their migration decision-making process. Although most of them faced difficulties with the limited living amenities in Sorong city, the migrants managed to improve their employability and accelerate their social mobility. However, some migrants expressed their intentions to remigrate from the city in the future. This situation indicates the lack of migrants’ social integration and the challenges in the human capital accumulation in the region.

Conceptualizing religious asylum: Security, religiosity, and subjective well-being of Christian asylum-seekers in Hong Kong

This article proposes the concept of religious asylum to examine how Christian asylum-seekers utilize religion to cope with their emotional experiences, induced by a sense of insecurity, during prolonged displacement. Drawing from interviews and ethnographic observations of people seeking asylum in Hong Kong, this research determines that asylum-seekers use religion to redefine their positive sense of self beyond their current situation, which is central to the construct of well-being. While religion supports asylum-seekers going through psychosocial distress and suffering, this discussion on religious asylum shows how asylum-seekers utilize the religiously inflected space to make the experience of prolonged displacement meaningful.

Hakka migrant hometown associations: Development and social network patterns

This study sought to review the development of Hakka migrant hometown associations and to explore the social network patterns of these associations. To better understand migrant associations in different contexts, research was conducted in various countries or regions. The study examined the relationships between and among associations from an organizational perspective. Using the criteria of density and centralization, the social network patterns are classified into four network types: (1) hierarchical, (2) clique, (3) peer-to-peer, and (4) formative. According to the findings, the network characteristics of different associations enable Hakka associations to flourish in the immigration countries and preserve Hakka culture.

Civic engagement and self-empowerment of second-generation Vietnamese in Czechia

The first cohort of Czech second-generation Vietnamese has only recently reached adulthood. Raised by Czech nannies, they received early socialization into Czech society, while Vietnamese culture remained unfamiliar. With this childhood experience, the generation grew into young adulthood questioning their identity/identities. Caught between social and normative pressures from both the Vietnamese community and Czech society, the formation of associations by second-generation Vietnamese can be a means to respond to their disadvantaged position. Based on in-depth interviews with leaders of these associations and participant observation of their activities, the article examines the goals and activities of second-generation associations (SGAs) and compares them with first-generation immigrant organizations. SGAs are shown to fill the gap of parents as key role models of socialization in Czech society and as platforms to enhance the self-confidence and sense of social responsibility of second-generation Vietnamese in Czechia.

Remittances and the financial capabilities of migrant households in the Philippines

This exploratory mixed methods study sought to determine the financial capabilities of remittance-receiving households from two rural municipalities in the Philippines: San Nicolas in Ilocos Norte province and Moncada in Tarlac province. The broader concept of financial capabilities not only looks at people’s financial literacy but also their financial inclusion (access to financial products) and financial functionings (actions on finance). Quantitative household surveys and qualitative data gathering methods that fall under a rapid qualitative inquiry (RQI) design were employed. Results and findings show that more remittance households from San Nicolas saved, invested, and did business in their hometown compared to counterpart migrant household respondents from Moncada. Differences in migrant households’ levels of financial literacy, as well as the geographic make-up and economic activities of the two municipalities, may help explain why one municipality had more migrant investors, savers, and entrepreneurs over the other.