行政院國家科學委員會專題研究計畫 成果報告
加拿大台灣移民太空人家庭中女性之調適過程中的角色及
地方認同之研究 (II)
研究成果報告(精簡版)
計 畫 類 別 ： 個別型 計 畫 編 號 ： NSC 95-2415-H-002-023- 執 行 期 間 ： 95 年 08 月 01 日至 96 年 07 月 31 日 執 行 單 位 ： 國立臺灣大學地理環境資源學系暨研究所 計 畫 主 持 人 ： 姜蘭虹 計畫參與人員： 碩士級-專任助理：李宜蓓 碩士班研究生-兼任助理：黃禮強 報 告 附 件 ： 國外研究心得報告 出席國際會議研究心得報告及發表論文 國際合作計畫研究心得報告 處 理 方 式 ： 本計畫可公開查詢中 華 民 國 96 年 07 月 25 日
加拿大台灣移民太空人家庭中女性之調適過程中的角色
及地方認同之研究 (II)
(Immigrant Taiwanese women in the process of adapting to life in Canada:
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Lan-Hung Nora Chiang (姜蘭虹) Department of Geography National Taiwan University Background
In the past twenty years, large numbers of Taiwanese citizens have immigrated to the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, and Latin America.
Reasons for out-migration/emigration of middle-class families: Rapid economic growth in thel980’s,fearofpoliticalinstability,an increasein personalincome,and relaxation of travel restrictions in 1989.
Introduction of economic business migration programs by various countries – “capital-linked migration”.Children’seducation,lifestyleand cross-Strait tension are most frequently mentioned in surveys.
‘Circulatory movements’predominateratherthan permanentmigration,asin earlier migration waves.
‘Iwo fung’(moving like a swarm of bees, on the bandwagon)
Total number of Taiwan-born: 45,930 (64.1%) and 15,570 (22.0%) in Vancouver and Toronto respectively, as recorded in 2001 Census.
Low sex ratio (more females than males among immigrants from Taiwan to Canada). The largest age groups are 15-24 (more males than females) and 35-54 (more females than males).
Prevalence of transnational families, whereby wives and children live in the countries of immigration, while husbands work in different parts of the world (Chee 2005). Review of pertinent literature
‘Astronauthusbands’:A term firstused to referto immigrantsfrom Hong Kong,who kept their jobs and businesses in Hong Kong while their families lived in Australia and Canada. Thedevelopmentof‘astronauthouseholds’,whereonefamily memberreturns to East Asia to maximize their earnings while the rest of the family remain in Canada, has a range of implications that go well beyond a narrowly defined economic strategy. (Ley and Waters 2004)
“Transnationalism’istheprocessby which immigrantsforgeand sustain multi-stranded social, economic, and political relations that link together their societies of origin and settlement…many immigrantstoday build socialfieldsthatcrossgeographic,cultural, and politicalborders”(Basch,Schiller,and Szanton 1994:6).
Transnational community: Participants are often bilingual, move easily between different cultures, frequently maintain homes in two countries, and pursue economic, politicaland culturalintereststhatrequiretheirpresencein both [places].”(Portes1997: 812). Chiang coined theterm ‘dan qima ma’(單棲媽媽)forwomen’srolesin
Australasia. (2004, 2006). It aims to reconstruct and illuminate the roles and
experiencesofmigrantwomen who havebeen ‘hidden’asdependentsofmalemigrants through qualitative studies.
Previous studies on transnational practice have ignored the role that gender plays in different cultural contexts, which should include the home and host societies. Methodology
Sensitive micro-level field research, with multi-method methodologies in destination (gateway) cities, using census statistics and surveys as background.
Fieldwork is given an ethnographic interpretation with participant observation allowing theresearcherto sharethe‘emotions,experiences,and significance’ofmigration. Formulating new research emphasis in the field…
Part I: In-depth interviews with 30 women in Toronto and Vancouver in summer 2005 and spring 2006, respectively.
Part II: 3 repeat interviews and 5 first interviews in Toronto; 2 repeat interviews and 20 first interviews in Vancouver in summer 2006. (30 in all)
Total number of Interviews and interviewees: 55 respondents constitute the sample of Part I and Part II studies.
Taiwanese associations in Canada: Dove Intercultural Society. Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Society; Greater Vancouver Taiwanese-Canadian Association; Formosa Cultural Foundation; Tzu-chi Foundation. Snowball sampling used for these organisations.
Research questions
Part I: Impact of transnationalism on family relations and gender roles.
Thirty women from ‘astronaut’familieswereinterviewed in Toronto and Vancouver, using a semi-structured questionnaire, ethnographic interviews and participant observation methods. It was found that migration has not only liberated them from traditional familial roles in Taiwan, but has enabled them to build new social networks that play an important role in their new lives.
Part II: Civic participation issues: reasons for volunteering and nature of volunteering work; meaning ofwomen’scivicparticipation forTaiwanese& hostsociety.Relation of volunteer work to self (joys and pains) and sense of belonging to the host society. Profile of respondents
55 respondents, aged between 40 and 62; arrived between 1969 and 2006, immigrated directly or indirectly from Taiwan. All have been married. Now four divorced, one widowed. 39 (70%) were ‘Dan qima ma’at the time of interview or earlier. Most had two to three children. Half were university-educated;two with Master’sdegree.Most (47, 85%) worked full-time before immigration.
Reasons for migration
Children’s education comes first?
Flexibility and choice in education offered in Taiwan does not compare to the Canadian system. Various bad experiences in their own high schools. Indifference of teachers towards students. Bad experiences in their high schools:
“My daughternoticed unfairtreatmentby theteacherand did notdarespeak up in class.”(Madam Li,Toronto)
“Theteacheronly paid attention to firstratestudents.My son wasallocated to the lower grade class, and had no hope of entering a university untilwemoved to Canada.” (Madam Peng, Toronto)
Unable to get into an accredited university in Taiwan. Global education available for children in Canada.
A betterenvironmentforchildren’shealth?
There were cases where children often got sick in Taiwan, but became much healthier afterimmigrating to Canada.“Itwaspurely accidentalthatwecameto Canada.Wehad never been abroad before, and did not even know where Vancouver was. We just heard from people that the environment was clean and the education system was good here. We had neither friends nor relatives when we first came. We have never been worried about the cross-Strait political tension like many of our friends here were. We just made thedecision to comewithoutthinking aboutitmuch.”(Mr. and Mrs. Yau, Vancouver)
Other complex reasons
Deteriorating social and physical environment in Taiwan. “Chaoticpoliticalenvironment”.
To find aturning pointin one’scareer. To avoid military service in Taiwan. Family reasons; future retirement. ‘God’swill’,‘destiny’(因緣).
Chain migration generated by children who first came as visa students.
The age of schooling for children in Canada is an important factor for deciding when to move. (Easier to move when children are young; have sufficient Chinese education before immigrating)
Commonly not in the labour force
Jobs are hard to find for various reasons: Lack of proficiency in English
Inexperience in the Canadian context
Lack ofincentiveto find work because ofone’sown economicbackground Unwillingness to pay high tax
Unwillingnessto acceptjobsnotcommensuratewith one’seducation level. Somewomen cannotget‘approval’from husband to work.
Difficult to find childcare.
“…whilemany wereambivalentabouttheirspouseworking,some[Chinesemen] believed that because of the feminist movement and the changing economic climate, therehad been changesin thetradition ofmalesbeing thesoleproviders.”(Hibbins 2006: 149)
Like in the case of Southern California (Chee 2005), New Zealand (Ho 2002) and Australasia (Chiang 2004), the consequences of migration are similar in that transnational family life has made it difficult for most of the women to retain their established professional paths, as it would have to go hand-in-hand with their domestic responsibilities, like their previous lives in Taiwan.
“Seven oreightoutoften Taiwan women do notgo to work here.Itdoesnotpay to work in Canada… Abouthalfofwhatyou earn isgoneastax. Incometax in Canada isvery high (‘加拿大萬萬稅’),and thepay you getisnothigh enough to pay for childcare. If you do the same amount of work in Taiwan, you retain more after tax deduction,and thusyou savemore.’’(Madame Yu,Toronto)
A few exceptions…
“It’sreally God’sgiftformeto haveafull-time job in the bank here in Toronto.”(Mrs. Peng, Toronto)
“Ipassed my dentistry examination and stayed in Vancouver;butmy husband could not practiseasapediatrician and returned to Taiwan.”(Mrs.Lin,Vancouver)
“Iam lucky to havethequalificationsnecessary to bean accountant here, but my husband cannotfind ajob.”(Mrs.Yen,Vancouver)
Relation with Husband and Children “Absencemakestheheartfeelfonder.”
“My husband had abusy lifein Taipeiand often travelled to othercitiesin Asia,and had no time for the family even when I was back in Taiwan. In Toronto, I feel that my relationship with my husband has become closer, and he shows more care towards me when Igo back to Taiwan…Inow feelcloseto my son afterweimmigrated becauseI had little time for him when I wastaking careofourbusinessin Taipei.”(Madam Lin, Toronto)
“My work beginseach day at3:00 p.m.when thekidsareoutofschool” “Ihavedecided to spend my fouryearsherehappily,rightfrom thestart.”
“Iam much happierhere(Vancouver)than in Taiwan,sinceIdon’tneed to pleasemy mother-in-law.”
There are sad stories like:
“When thefamily firstcameto Canada,thehusband visited hishousehold in Canada often. However, the number of visits reduced over the years, and he stopped sending money. Later, the husband got a girlfriend in Taiwan or Mainland China, and wanted a divorce.”(Madam Lin,Toronto)
“Itisnotfairforthechildren to stay with oneparentatatime”(Madam Huang, Toronto)
“Ican no longerleavemy child with thehomestay, and I decided to stay behind after visiting him,even though Ilostsomemoney by taking early retirement.”(Madam Peng, Toronto)
“Ithink ourESL teacherisused to hearing thatsomeofusneed to ask forleavesof absence when our husbands are visiting from Taiwan.”
“When my husband comesback to usin Canada,hewantsto makesurethatthehouse isin good shape,and thatthechildren arewelltaken careof.”
“When Igo back hometo Taiwan,Ifeellikean ‘intruder’in my own family [in Kaohsiung].”
“Ifeelguilty fornottaking careofmy husband when hewasillin Taiwan.”
Severalwomen in Vancouvermentioned:“My husband sleepsallthetimeforthefirst few daysto getoverjetlag.”
“Istilllovehim and Ihaveno hatred towardshim;butheisno longer sending me money.” (Madam Chiang,divorced,Toronto)
Immigrant women were stoic and persevering in all kinds of situations –learning to drive, acquiring a new language, shovelling snow in winter, volunteering in religious organisations, taking care of young children, taking their children to maths, piano and language classes, and teaching Mandarin on the weekends.
The wives and kids go to see the husbands more often than the husbands go to visit their family in Canada.
The women adapt to the host country well in general.
“My planscannotcatch up with changes.”(計劃趕不上變化)
“Ihavealwaystold my friendsthatIhavehad agood immigration experience.” “Itisbetternotto immigratebecauseofthehigh priceonepays.”
“Istilldon’tknow ifIhavedonetherightthing…” “Idon’tknow whereIwilllivein thefuture…”
“Canadaand Taiwan areboth my homes…IfeelthatIhavefallen in lovewith two men atthesametime.”
Circular spouses.
Recreation and social activities
Participation in various women’sassociations. Line dancing, choir, hiking, mah-jong.
Visits from other women who reside in Taiwan. Learning English.
Meeting new friends from Canada and other Asian countries. Volunteering work: Reasons and types
Building Asian Solidarity: Asian Night Market (多倫多夜市). Building a good name for the Taiwanese people.
Help raise visibility of Taiwanese: The Taiwanese Cultural Festival, attended by 70,000 people (Canada Sun),wasawarded “bestculturalevent”in Canadaforthesixth timein 2006.
Cultural preservation: Weekend Chinese Schools; flower arrangement.
Cultural preservation: Oral history project (Greater Vancouver Taiwanese-Canadian Association)
To practise and learn English.
Building self-esteem, to kill time, to meet new friends, for fun, finding meaning in one’slife.
partofCanadian society’,‘to giveback to thesociety’.
To help the Canadian Government: fund-raising for schools, meals on wheels program, recycling,providing a‘food bank’,homelesssheltersand sign language
‘clubs’/get-togethers.
To help the Canadian Government: helping new immigrants from different nationalities, election campaigns, working for congressmen.
Helping other Taiwanese immigrants adapt upon arrival.
Helping other(Chinese)immigrantsto adapt:“FormosaEvergreen SeniorCitizen Centre, boy scouts, Green Club, Chung-chiao (中僑, Vancouver).
Religious reasons: preaching Christianity, Formosan Christian fellowship;
‘Home-grown’organisations: Tzu-chi Foundation (慈濟), Buddhist Light (彿光山), Dharma Drum Mountain (法鼓山).
Helping immigrant women: Dove Cultural Society, Lifeline 6180 (樂於幫你,Toronto), church. Professional reasons: Building a bridge between the Taiwan and Canadian
Governments.
“Can you tellmewhataretheimportantqualitiesofavolunteer?” ”Haveyou encountered any difficultiesin yourvolunteering work?”
Discussion and Conclusions
Chinesewomen wereactiveand they wereagentsofchange…valuekeepersand transformers [and] did not fit the stereotype of traditional Chinese women. (Djao, 2003; reviewed by L. H. Chiang)
Connection between ‘old-timers’and ‘new immigrants’. Asian/TaiwaneseWomen became‘Cultureshapers’.
Through volunteering, they have demonstrated a sense of self and belonging, and a will to be part of the Canadian society.
Most of their civic participation are characterised by social embeddedness among
Taiwanese immigrants. Bonding with Canadianstook placein more‘westernised’types ofvolunteering work;‘Outward-looking in’approach.Cosmopolitan experience
through volunteering. Apart from not being able to find satisfactory employment, husbands generally cannot cope with all the challenges of settling into a new land as easily as their wives. Some of them did not stay long enough to acquire citizenship. They travelwith their‘MapleCards’.
With regardsto theirchildren,somemarried men felt“increasing statusvulnerability” (Hibbins 2006: 151), since they were absent from their families for long periods of time, engaged in transnational business. In the future, there should be more studies of
‘astronauthusbands’,who aremostlikely living and working in Taiwan,whiletheir wivesand children stay in Canada,and ‘dan qi pa pa’(househusbands).Thereisalso a
need to know theneedsofthe‘1.5 generation’and the second generation in the ‘astronaut’households.Further studies needed on the role of social organisations on family lives. Return migration or circular mobility?
Comparisons with other diasporic Chinese communities in the last twenty years need to be made.
________________________
From slides of a paper “Transnational Lives of Taiwanese Women in Canada: An
加拿大台灣移民太空人家庭中女性之調適過程中的角色
及地方認同之研究
出席國際會議心得報告及發表論文
報告人： 姜蘭虹
計畫主持人在 95/08/01~96/07/31 期間，共參加下列 5 場國際會議
參加會議名稱：Conference on “Continuity and Change in the Asia Pacific U.S. Region: 1970-2007”,
主辦單位：East-West Center
會議地點、日期： Honolulu, Hawaii, August 24-27, 2007. 論文名稱及摘要:
Australian Educational Experience for Young Taiwanese Immigrants Abstract
This paper addresses the question of whether young Taiwanese Immigrants get the most out of their Australian Education. Starting in the late 1980’s, Taiwanese families moved to developed countries mainly for geopolitical reasons, along with the desire to invest in children’s global education, and a quest for clean and safe environment in Australia. Successive census shows a concentration of young immigrants between 15-24 in the age-structure of immigrants. In this research, a questionnaire survey of 100 young first generation Taiwanese, including 30 ethnographic interviews, were conducted in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth in 2003-2005. Their selected fields of study and universities are greatly influenced by their parents who are mainly concerned with the prospects of future employment. Supplementary education in Chinese, private tutoring in English, mathematics, and computer science are commonly arranged by the family, thus taking their time away for extra-curricular activities in the Australian school system. Young children also come back to Taiwan for Chinese education during the school holidays. The role of the study mothers in ‘astronaut families’ are critical in ensuring a ‘Taiwanese-Australian’ education for the 1.5 generation of Taiwanese immigrants.
Keywords: Taiwanese immigrants, 1.5 generation, Australian education, supplementary education, study mothers,
參加會議名稱：21st Pacific Science Congress 主辦單位：Pacific Science Association 會議地點、日期：Okinawa, Japan, June 13-17. 論文名稱及摘要：
Transnational Lives of Taiwanese Immigrant Women in Canada: An Appraisal (with I-Pei Lee)
Abstract
Despite increasing interest in the study of Taiwanese immigrants, the underlying concept and methodology remain gender-blinded. The major questions raised for this research are 1) how female immigrants cope with the ensuing difficulties in the new environment and 2) how their civic participation affect their own lives. Fifty-five Taiwanese women were interviewed in Toronto and Vancouver, in 2005~2006, using a semi-structured questionnaire, ethnographic interviews and participant observation methods. Most of the middle-class women being studied in this research had careers in Taiwan prior to immigration, but have now become full-time housewives and ‘study mothers.’. Most of them belong to “astronaut families”where the husbands have returned to Taiwan to make a living, while the wives and children reside in Canada. As they are not in the labour force, they spend their time on their kin in Canada and Taiwan, and engage in volunteering work in the host country. Immigrant women were stoic and persevering in all kinds of situation. The wives and kids go to see the husbands more often than the husbands go to visit his family in Canada. Despite years of immigration to Canada, Taiwanese women’s civic participation is characterized by social embeddedness at this stage.
Keywords: transnational lives, split household, Taiwanese women, civic participation, Canada
參加會議名稱：21st Pacific Science Congress 主辦單位：Pacific Science Association 會議地點、日期：Okinawa, Japan, June 13-17. 論文名稱及摘要：
The Meaning of Second Homes to Middle-Class Taiwanese Women: A Feminist Perspective (with Ya-Lien Chen and Yu-ling Song)
Abstract
Second home ownership is becoming more common in Taiwan as living standards rise and accommodation demands change. In this study,weuse‘second home’asanother‘home’to understand middle-class women’sexperienceofhomein a different context. The association of ‘home’ with women and femininity is so
commonplace that it is often considered natural. The‘masculinist’notion ofhomehas excluded women’sconsideration ofwhatan ideal home would be. By conducting interviews of ten middle-class women we found that second homes help release pressure from both outside and inside the home. On the other hand, second homes can also satisfy their images of the ideal/perfect home, and affirm their social status. A deep-seated and seemingly ‘natural’association isstillimplicated in second home choice and management to fulfill family needs. The second home is not necessarily a place possessed by women, but just another traditional home. Through this qualitative study, the voices of women, who make an effort to be liberated through their endeavors to reconstruct personal space and to deal with constraints, are heard.
Keywords: second home, home, feminism, middle-class women, Taiwan 參加會議名稱：AAG Annual Meeting
主辦單位：Association of American Geographers 會議地點、日期：San Francisco, CA., 19-21 April. 論文名稱及摘要：
‘Astronaut Families’: Transnational Lives of Middle-Class Taiwanese Married Women in Canada
Abstract
Despite increasing interest in the study of Taiwanese migrants, the underlying concept and methodology remain gender-blind. Invisible from the Census are the women who emigrated with their husbands, leaving behind their adopted country to make a living elsewhere. Most of the middle-class women studied in this research had careers in Taiwan prior to emigration, but became full-time home-makers and study mothers upon arrival in the host country. The major questions raised for this research are 1) How do these Taiwanese women become‘dan qimama’1 (lone mother) in the host country? 2) How do they cope with the ensuing difficulties in the new environment? 3) How do their relationships with their family, especially with their husbands, change during the process of adaptation? Thirty women from ‘astronaut’families were interviewed in Toronto and Vancouver, using a semi-structured questionnaire, ethnographic interviews, and participant observation methods. It was found that migration has not only liberated them from the traditional familial roles in Taiwan, but has enabled them to build new social networks that play an important role in their new lives.
Keywords: transnational lives, circulatory spouse, split-household, Taiwanese, Canada
參加會議名稱：AAG Annual Meeting
主辦單位：Association of American Geographers 會議地點、日期：San Francisco, CA., 19-21 April. 論文名稱及摘要：
The Mobility and Attachment of Displaced Residents under Urban ‘Redevelopment” Projectsin Shanghai’(With Yu-ling Song and Si-ming Li) Abstract
This research aims to elaborate the community relationships of residents displaced by redevelopment projects after their relocation through a comparative research based on two databases. One is a survey of 1200 Shanghai households conducted in 2006; the other is 10 in-depth interviews of Shanghai displaced residents in 2004 and 2005. The paper draws on the concepts of “place” developed in structurationist geography to understand the community relationship after relocation. Three interrelated aspects structuring community relations are analysed: first, the redevelopment and relocation planning of Shanghai in a globalization context; second, the everyday life of the displaced residents; and third, their personal experiences and emotions in place. We find that traditional community relationships are replaced by services provided by the estate management company, and the displaced residents are generally satisfied regarding their day-to-day life. The conditions of buildings and the convenience of transportation and everyday life are the most important factors affecting residentialsatisfaction.Theimagination ofbeing a“Shanghaicitizen”and “living in theinnercity” and the discourse of“the city periphery now istheinnercity ofthefuture” makethedisplaced residentsfeelbettereven though they actually reside in the suburb. They look forward to enjoying the beautiful living of Shanghai citizen sometimes in the future.
Keywords: displaced residents, community relationship, place attachment, everyday life, Shanghai
加拿大台灣移民太空人家庭中女性之調適過程中的角色
及地方認同之研究
出席國際會議心得報告及發表論文
報告人： 姜蘭虹
計畫主持人在 95/08/01~96/07/31 期間，共參加下列 5 場國際會議
參加會議名稱：Conference on “Continuity and Change in the Asia Pacific U.S. Region: 1970-2007”,
主辦單位：East-West Center
會議地點、日期： Honolulu, Hawaii, August 24-27, 2007. 論文名稱及摘要:
Australian Educational Experience for Young Taiwanese Immigrants Abstract
This paper addresses the question of whether young Taiwanese Immigrants get the most out of their Australian Education. Starting in the late 1980’s, Taiwanese families moved to developed countries mainly for geopolitical reasons, along with the desire to invest in children’s global education, and a quest for clean and safe environment in Australia. Successive census shows a concentration of young immigrants between 15-24 in the age-structure of immigrants. In this research, a questionnaire survey of 100 young first generation Taiwanese, including 30 ethnographic interviews, were conducted in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth in 2003-2005. Their selected fields of study and universities are greatly influenced by their parents who are mainly concerned with the prospects of future employment. Supplementary education in Chinese, private tutoring in English, mathematics, and computer science are commonly arranged by the family, thus taking their time away for extra-curricular activities in the Australian school system. Young children also come back to Taiwan for Chinese education during the school holidays. The role of the study mothers in ‘astronaut families’ are critical in ensuring a ‘Taiwanese-Australian’ education for the 1.5 generation of Taiwanese immigrants.
Keywords: Taiwanese immigrants, 1.5 generation, Australian education, supplementary education, study mothers,
參加會議名稱：21st Pacific Science Congress 主辦單位：Pacific Science Association 會議地點、日期：Okinawa, Japan, June 13-17. 論文名稱及摘要：
Transnational Lives of Taiwanese Immigrant Women in Canada: An Appraisal (with I-Pei Lee)
Abstract
Despite increasing interest in the study of Taiwanese immigrants, the underlying concept and methodology remain gender-blinded. The major questions raised for this research are 1) how female immigrants cope with the ensuing difficulties in the new environment and 2) how their civic participation affect their own lives. Fifty-five Taiwanese women were interviewed in Toronto and Vancouver, in 2005~2006, using a semi-structured questionnaire, ethnographic interviews and participant observation methods. Most of the middle-class women being studied in this research had careers in Taiwan prior to immigration, but have now become full-time housewives and ‘study mothers.’. Most of them belong to “astronaut families”where the husbands have returned to Taiwan to make a living, while the wives and children reside in Canada. As they are not in the labour force, they spend their time on their kin in Canada and Taiwan, and engage in volunteering work in the host country. Immigrant women were stoic and persevering in all kinds of situation. The wives and kids go to see the husbands more often than the husbands go to visit his family in Canada. Despite years of immigration to Canada, Taiwanese women’s civic participation is characterized by social embeddedness at this stage.
Keywords: transnational lives, split household, Taiwanese women, civic participation, Canada
參加會議名稱：21st Pacific Science Congress 主辦單位：Pacific Science Association 會議地點、日期：Okinawa, Japan, June 13-17. 論文名稱及摘要：
The Meaning of Second Homes to Middle-Class Taiwanese Women: A Feminist Perspective (with Ya-Lien Chen and Yu-ling Song)
Abstract
Second home ownership is becoming more common in Taiwan as living standards rise and accommodation demands change. In this study,weuse‘second home’asanother‘home’to understand middle-class women’sexperienceofhomein a different context. The association of ‘home’ with women and femininity is so
commonplace that it is often considered natural. The‘masculinist’notion ofhomehas excluded women’sconsideration ofwhatan ideal home would be. By conducting interviews of ten middle-class women we found that second homes help release pressure from both outside and inside the home. On the other hand, second homes can also satisfy their images of the ideal/perfect home, and affirm their social status. A deep-seated and seemingly ‘natural’association isstillimplicated in second home choice and management to fulfill family needs. The second home is not necessarily a place possessed by women, but just another traditional home. Through this qualitative study, the voices of women, who make an effort to be liberated through their endeavors to reconstruct personal space and to deal with constraints, are heard.
Keywords: second home, home, feminism, middle-class women, Taiwan 參加會議名稱：AAG Annual Meeting
主辦單位：Association of American Geographers 會議地點、日期：San Francisco, CA., 19-21 April. 論文名稱及摘要：
‘Astronaut Families’: Transnational Lives of Middle-Class Taiwanese Married Women in Canada
Abstract
Despite increasing interest in the study of Taiwanese migrants, the underlying concept and methodology remain gender-blind. Invisible from the Census are the women who emigrated with their husbands, leaving behind their adopted country to make a living elsewhere. Most of the middle-class women studied in this research had careers in Taiwan prior to emigration, but became full-time home-makers and study mothers upon arrival in the host country. The major questions raised for this research are 1) How do these Taiwanese women become‘dan qimama’1 (lone mother) in the host country? 2) How do they cope with the ensuing difficulties in the new environment? 3) How do their relationships with their family, especially with their husbands, change during the process of adaptation? Thirty women from ‘astronaut’families were interviewed in Toronto and Vancouver, using a semi-structured questionnaire, ethnographic interviews, and participant observation methods. It was found that migration has not only liberated them from the traditional familial roles in Taiwan, but has enabled them to build new social networks that play an important role in their new lives.
Keywords: transnational lives, circulatory spouse, split-household, Taiwanese, Canada
參加會議名稱：AAG Annual Meeting
主辦單位：Association of American Geographers 會議地點、日期：San Francisco, CA., 19-21 April. 論文名稱及摘要：
The Mobility and Attachment of Displaced Residents under Urban ‘Redevelopment” Projectsin Shanghai’(With Yu-ling Song and Si-ming Li) Abstract
This research aims to elaborate the community relationships of residents displaced by redevelopment projects after their relocation through a comparative research based on two databases. One is a survey of 1200 Shanghai households conducted in 2006; the other is 10 in-depth interviews of Shanghai displaced residents in 2004 and 2005. The paper draws on the concepts of “place” developed in structurationist geography to understand the community relationship after relocation. Three interrelated aspects structuring community relations are analysed: first, the redevelopment and relocation planning of Shanghai in a globalization context; second, the everyday life of the displaced residents; and third, their personal experiences and emotions in place. We find that traditional community relationships are replaced by services provided by the estate management company, and the displaced residents are generally satisfied regarding their day-to-day life. The conditions of buildings and the convenience of transportation and everyday life are the most important factors affecting residentialsatisfaction.Theimagination ofbeing a“Shanghaicitizen”and “living in theinnercity” and the discourse of“the city periphery now istheinnercity ofthefuture” makethedisplaced residentsfeelbettereven though they actually reside in the suburb. They look forward to enjoying the beautiful living of Shanghai citizen sometimes in the future.
Keywords: displaced residents, community relationship, place attachment, everyday life, Shanghai
加拿大台灣移民太空人家庭中女性之調適過程中的角色
及地方認同之研究
Immigrant Taiwanese women in the process of adapting to life in
Canada:
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NSC
95-2415-H-002-023-國外研究心得報告
(Field report)
報告人： 姜蘭虹
My fieldwork took place in Vancouver and Toronto, where Taiwanese immigrants are concentrated. Although Statistics Canada (2003) recorded populations of 45,390 (64.1%) and 15,570 (22.0%) Taiwan-born respectively in the two cities of Vancouver and Toronto, many have returned according to unofficial sources. Altogether fifty-five women were interviewed between 2005 and 2006. A semi-structured questionnaire was designed for carrying out in-depth interviews on various places and occasions, such as in their homes, places of worship, Taiwanese associations, the Chinese schools that their children attended, restaurants, and coffee shops. As I have been an immigrant and an ‘astronaut’at different times of my life, it makes it easy for me to grasp the meanings of immigrant experience even in a relatively short period of time. Being a woman also helps, as I can spend time freely with the interviewees in various circumstances. I often felt welcome as a university professor from Taiwan, and found it easy to communicate with women who are well-educated. Several times, I found that knowing friends in common with the interviewee led to a trusting relationship, on top of their ‘sympathy’towards me for making a long journey from Taiwan to visit immigrants for my research.
after speaking informally to several women. First enquiries were made in Taiwanese associations such as the Tzu-chi Foundation, Dove Intercultural Society (Toronto), Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Society (Vancouver), and Taiwanese churches. All the interviewed women headed their homes, usually living with their children, while the fathers live in Taiwan. In most cases, the children are still in school, either studying in universities, or in primary, junior or senior high schools. The analysis will be based on ethnographic interviews that look into the subjective experiences of the mothers of astronaut households from an insider’sperspective, giving voice to the immigrants and focusing on the self-assessment of their adaptation process.
Tables 1 & 2 summarize the details of my respondents in Toronto and Vancouver. The women were between 40 and 62, and arrived between 1969 and 2006, directly from Taiwan. Most of them had lived in large cities such as Taipei, Kaohsiung, Keelung, and Chungli. They were all married at the time of the interview, but two were divorced; and all had a high level of education (the majority were university educated, with one holding a Degree from a Medical University and one with a Master’s degree from the United States). Most had worked before coming to Canada, holding jobs ranging from professional and managerial work to entrepreneurs or helping in the husband’sbusiness. Most of them had two to three children. Depending on their years spent in Canada, their children’sages ranged from three to over twenty.
Table 1: Details of respondents in Toronto and Vancouver August 14 to September 10, 2006
VT: Volunteer in Toronto; VV: Volunteer in Vancouver No. Year of imm igrat ion Age/Edu cation Occupation before and after immigration. Nature of volunteer work Remark VT1 1984 40/Colleg e degree in social work Social worker/bank clerk Formosan Evergreen Senior Citizen Center
No questionnaire VT2 (T1) 1990 55/Univer sity Real estate business Manager Dove Intercultural Society Interviewed in 2005, 2006,no questionnaire VT3 1985 from S.A. 55/Vocati onal school Air Cargo clerk/housewif e (蓬來文教基金會) Immigrated from S.A. (Dan Chi) VT4 40/Univer sity degree in managem ent, CCC full-time Tzu-chi secretary 6180 Met in 2005; no questionnaire VT5 1988 62/Teach er’s training college Teacher/flower grower; retired Formosan Evergreen Senior Citizen Center
VT6 1983 62/High school
Housewife/foo d preparation
Tzu-chi (Dan Chi) VT7 (T3) 1996 50/Univer sity Entrepreneur/p art-time entrepreneur 6180, Taiwan’s women’s organization, Tzu-chi Interviewed in 2005 VT8 (T8) 40/1 997 40/Univer sity degree Social worker/house wife
Association for Cancer Patients/6180 life line (training and counseling)
Interviewed in 2005, 2006
No. Year of imm igrat ion Age/Edu cation Occupation before and after immigration. Nature of volunteer work Remark VV1 1999 40~45/Un iversity, M.A. System analyst/same
Boy scout (Helping other immigrants to adapt Employed fulltime VV2 1998 50-54/Un iversity Trade/Housew fie
Green Club Dan chi
VV3 1995 52/Univer sity Commerce/Sel f-employed Parent association, TCCS, Chung Chiao, Tzu-chi, Chung Hua, Community service, Hua Ren Parent, Green Club (to meet friends; learn while doing) Dan chi VV4 1999 55-59/Un ivrersity Financial manager/Hous ewife Chung-chiao, Tzu-chi (pay back to society) VV5 1993 46-49/Un
iversity
Housewife/sa me
Nursing home, TCCS, Green Club, school, election (to become a part of Canadian society; to learn English Husband head of Green Club VV6 1999 51/Univer sity Secretary, insurance/Hou sewife Flower arrangement, church, school (Contribute to societal causes; Religion) Dan Chi VV7 1988 55-59//U niversity Nurse/Housew ife Nursing home, pre-school, foodbank (to kill time, to know more about Canadian society)
Former Dan chi
VV8 1991 46-49/Un iversity
Banker/Banker Chinese Woman
Entrepreneur Association ( to enhance one’s profession)
VV9 1995 40-45 /vocation al school Housewife/Ho usewife Christian Service (Religion) VV10 1994 55-59/Un iversity China oil administrator Canadian-Taiwanese Assoc. Chung-chiao, TCCS (to kill time; to meet people)
Former Dan chi
VV11 1997 46/Univer sity, M.A. Planning and design consulting firm/Not in labour force
Green Club, Greater Vancouver Regional development;
Presbyterian Church in Vancouver (to meet people; love of nature)
Urban Planning, Chung Hsin U. (friend of Cathy Wong, NPUST) VV12 1994 46/vocati onal school Trade/Housewi fe TCCS; Richmond Community Center (to meet friends,
To pick up new skills.) VV13 1992 55-59/uni versity Telecommunic ations/housewi fe TCCS, Green Club, Richmond Nature Park, Vandusen Garden (to meet people;
to learn new things; for fun) VV14 1974 60+/unive rsity Accountant in the U.S./retired
Hospital service, gift shop; GVTCA (not stay home all the time; for Taiwanese society, oral history project) VV15 1997 50~54/Un iversity Kindergarten headmistress/a ccounting TCCS, church, election campaign (helping other Taiwanese; contribute to society) Dan chi VV16 2006 54/Univer sity Housewife/hou sewife Homemakers union in Taiwan, Tzu-chi in U.S. and Canada (Religion; pay back to society;
Former Dan Chi (2
learning) VV7 1981 50/Univer sity (music) Vancouver Formosa Academy/part-time in father’s business
(Taiwan cultural festival, Vancouver Chamber Choir, conductor, Vancouver Chinese Singers
,Help raise Taiwan’s visibility in Canada) VV18 1969 55-59/Un iversity Retired from employment benefit consulting/tech nician part-time work
Taiwan cultural festival, Kidney Foundation fund-raising, fundraising for council member (To promote Taiwan culture; To back up Canadian-Taiwan relationship) VV19 1997 55-59/Un iversity High-school teacher/house wife Meals on Wheels (Practice English; learn about aging population) VV20 1994 46-49/Un iversity Accountant, home-made ice cream shop/part-time work in Salvation Army
Over ten kinds of volunteer work.
(Preaching Christianity to new immigrants, and helping them to get driving license, recyling, foodbank, sign language activities;
help promote Taiwanese culture; Religion; Enjoy work of volunteer) Divorced; has deaf child VV21 2000 48 Research assistant/house wife
TCCS, Tzu Chi Interviewed in summer, 2005 VV22 2001 46 Import-export trade/self-empl oyed Tzu-chi Interviewed in summer 2005 8 interviewed in Toronto (3 repeats); 22 interviewed in Vancouver (2 repeats).
