Between sovereignty and capitalism:The historical experiences of migrant Chinese

Abstract

The present moment is one of high visibility for diasporic and migrant communities. Indeed, they are often celebrated as cosmopolitan, in-between communities who are self-starters and drivers of success of the countries from which they or their ancestors emigrated. Yet to this day, there are entire classes of immigrants who occupy a desperate niche in the economic and political system of nation-states that is a kind of purgatory. It is estimated that about 100,000 Chinese are smuggled out of China every year by triads and other snakeheads under the most dangerous conditions that makes human smuggling during the early twentieth century seem benevolent. The conditions of work in the sweatshops are numbing and unhealthy, and the intermittent raids by the authorities make their lives full of terrifying suspense. © 2009 Hong Kong University Press, HKU. All rights reserved.