Chinese Migrants in Metropolitan Cities Abroad: Reconsidering Agency, Interactions, and Belonging

At the interface of Chinese diaspora studies, migration studies, and urban studies, this introduction argues for a shift towards city-based migration studies. The city is understood here not as a self-contained social cosmos, but as a globally and socially embedded urban level that opens up a more flexible perspective on the unfolding of migration processes at the micro, meso, and macro levels. It begins with a brief overview of recent trends in Chinese diaspora studies, global migration and urbanisation trends, and debates in critical geography on multi-scale urban theories. Then, it raises the question of the empirical feasibility of such an approach and argues for conceptualising migrants’ agency as a starting point for migration research, rather than pursuing a policy-driven, normative approach. Finally, it presents the five empirical contributions to this Special Issue. They are based on fieldwork in Paris, Berlin, Manchester (UK), Mexico City, Lagos, Gaborone, and Windhoek

Reclaiming the Neighbourhood. Urban redevelopment, citizen activism, and conflicts of recognition in Guangzhou

This study examines social interventions into the everyday life of residents, families, and communities during a redevelopment project in an old town neighbourhood of Guangzhou. It further analyses how citizen activism unfolds in response to these redevelopment interventions. To better understand contention over the renewal of an old town neighbourhood – beyond negotiation of compensation for economic losses – the study is structured by a recognition-theoretical model of social conflict following Axel Honneth and Nancy Fraser

Editorial

The restructuring of Chinese cities has produced new spatial forms such as glittering and globally-oriented Central Business Districts, iconic architecture, forests of skyscrapers, development zones, shopping malls, suburban villas, university cities, and cultural clusters. Many Chinese cities have launched comprehensive entrepreneurial strategies to boost their role in intense intercity competition. While promoting entrepreneurial discourses, cities are also presenting themselves not only as economic and metropolitan centres but also as “world-class cities”; they have recently begun to discover their local cultural heritage as an asset in pursuing this strategy. Images of “world-class” cities were promoted in particular during special events such as the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, the World Expo in Shanghai, and the Asian Games in Guangzhou in 2010. According to Ananya Roy, such strategies of “worlding” the cities of the Global South, or more broadly, the twenty-first-century metropolises, go beyond conceptualisations of Third World Urbanism that place the mega-city and its slums at the centre of the creation of urban futures

Chinas "missing girls": statistische Unterzählung oder Maskulinisierung der chinesischen Gesellschaft?

"Ähnlich wie Indien, Südkorea und Taiwan weist auch die VR China eine zunehmend männlich dominierte Geschlechterrelation bei den Geburten auf. Hinzu kommt eine vergleichsweise hohe Sterblichkeitsrate weiblicher Säuglinge. Auf Grundlage der Auswertung von Zensusdaten (1982, 1990 und 2000) zeigt der Beitrag langfristige Tendenzen der Geburtenentwicklung und der Säuglingssterblichkeit aus geschlechtsspezifischer Perspektive auf und diskutiert ihre möglichen Ursachen und Wirkungen. Als Ursachen kommen u.a. in Frage: Staatlich kontrollierte Bevölkerungspolitik, Stadt-Land-Unterschiede und patriarchalische Denkmuster, nichtregistrierte Mädchen und statistische Unterzählung. Wirkungen sind möglicherweise in Form einer Zunahme der Zahl unfreiwilliger Junggesellen in Armutsgebieten und von Frauen- und Kinderhandel zu erwarten. Abschließend sollen die gesellschaftstheoretischen Implikationen dieser komplexen Dynamik von demographischer Steuerung, kulturellen und technologischen Faktoren in China skizziert werden." (Autorenreferat

Éditorial

La modernisation des villes chinoises a engendré des configurations spatiales inédites : des quartiers d’affaires étincelants et tournés vers le monde, une architecture emblématique, des forêts de gratte-ciels, des zones de développement, des centres commerciaux, des aires résidentielles périurbaines, des villes universitaires et de nouvelles communautés culturelles. De nombreuses municipalités ont mis en oeuvre toute une gamme de stratégies entrepreneuriales visant à décrocher les premières places dans l’intense concurrence que se livrent les métropoles en Chine. Ces villes se présentent comme des centres économiques et métropolitains mais aussi comme des « villes-monde » ; elles redécouvrent depuis peu l’intérêt de leur héritage culturel local dans le cadre du déploiement de ces stratégies. Différentes représentations de la « ville-monde » ont été promues lors d’événements majeurs comme les Jeux olympiques de Pékin de 2008, l’Exposition universelle de Shanghai, ou encore les Jeux asiatiques de Canton en 2010. D’après Ananya Roy, de telles stratégies de « mondialisation » des villes des pays émergents, ou plus généralement des mégalopoles du XXIe siècle, imposent un dépassement de la conception traditionnelle de l’urbanisme du tiers-monde, considérant la mégalopole et ses bidonvilles comme l’unique possibilité de création des avenirs urbains

Se réapproprier le quartier.

Cette étude porte sur les interventions sociales dans la vie quotidienne des habitants, des familles et des communautés au cours d’un projet de redéveloppement urbain dans le quartier de la vieille ville de Canton. Elle analyse plus particulièrement la façon dont l’activisme des citoyens se déploie en réponse à ces interventions de redéveloppement. Afin de mieux comprendre les conflits portant sur le renouvellement d’un quartier ancien – au delà des négociations de compensations pour les pertes économiques – l’étude est structurée par un modèle théorique des conflits sociaux fondé sur la notion de reconnaissance tel que développé par Axel Honneth et Nancy Fraser

Chinese migrant workers and occupational injuries: A case study of the manufacturing industry in the Pearl River Delta

This paper focuses on the causes and impacts of work-related injuries experienced by migrant workers from manufacturing enterprises in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), a major centre of foreign-invested export industry in China. The paper starts with a brief review of the occupational health and safety legislation in China. The authors analyse a database comprising more than 10,000 cases of injured migrant workers in hospitals in the PRD and in-depth interviews undertaken with injured migrant workers to explore the following questions: how do migrant workers who became victims of occupational accidents describe the conditions, causes and impacts of their work-related injuries? What does this body of knowledge tell us about the gap between the legal situation of occupational health in China and the practical situation of occupational injuries as experienced by migrant workers in the PRD? And how can this knowledge contribute to identifying areas of concern for researchers, policy makers and practitioners? Key findings include the types, frequencies, severity and causes of migrants´ work-related injuries; the current state of occupational safety and preventive measures; medical treatment and related costs (including a discussion of whether migrants tend to return home after these injuries); and health care services, health insurance and compensation for injured migrant workers. The paper concludes with recommendations for further research as well as for policy and programme interventions to prevent risk and promote protection within the broader context of institutional adaptation in the Chinese health system

Binnenmigration in China - Chance oder Falle

In China, there are currently about 221 million internal migrants. Their number is equal to the entirety of international migration. Most of China’s internal migrants migrate from the countryside to the cities (rural-to-urban-migration). The policy brief provides an overview of central aspects of this rural-urban migration. It discusses inter alia the various functions of the household registration system (hukou-system) which is the institutional foundation of rural-urban migration in China, patterns of migration, and working and living conditions of rural migrant workers in the cities. The central question is whether and to what extent internal migration offers an opportunity for the poorer rural population in China

Internal Migration in China - Opportunity or Trap?

In China gibt es derzeit etwa 221 Millionen Binnenmigranten, die zumeist vom Land in die Städte wandern. Damit übersteigt der Umfang der Binnenmigration denjenigen der weltweiten internationalen Migration. Das Kurzdossier befasst sich nach einer Einführung in den Begriff der chinesischen Binnenmigration mit den verschiedenen Funktionen des Meldesystems (hukou-System), das die institutionelle Grundlage der Land-Stadt-Migration in China bildet. Anschließend werden verschiedene Aspekte der Binnenmigration wie Migrationsmuster, Beschäftigungsfelder der Migranten sowie deren Lebens- und Arbeitsbedingungen in den Städten beleuchtet. Im Mittelpunkt steht dabei die Frage, ob und inwiefern die Land-Stadt-Migration eine Chance für die ärmere Landbevölkerung Chinas bietet

Sociology in China or Chinese Sociology? Some Remarks on the Present Stage of Development of Sociology in The People's Republic of China

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