Global Taiwanese: Asian Skilled Labour Migrants in a Changing World

Review\n"Global Taiwanese is a thoughtful study of skilled labour migration and Asian identity in the twenty-first century that suggests new ways of looking at culture and ethnicity, and challenges the notion that we are seeing the end of globalization. It is also a very enjoyable read!" -- Anne-Wil Harzing, Professor of International Management, Middlesex University London\n"Fiona Moore’s writing goes straight to the heart of the many puzzles posed by the flexible but confounding mix of multiple identities performed by the Taiwanese which can be simultaneously local, national, and global. Her narrative is original and lucid, handling the troublesome analytic problems surrounding multiple identities with ease, making them both plain and concrete. In a phrase, Global Taiwanese is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand identity in an increasingly global world." -- John Van Maanen, Emeritus Professor of Organization Studies, MIT, and author of Tales of the Field\n"In a time of unprecedented migration, mobility, and changing workplace demographics, Fiona Moore’s ethnographic study of the Taiwanese diaspora is a ‘must read’ for anyone interested in gaining a nuanced understanding of culture and identity in today’s complex globally networked communities." -- Mary Yoko Brannen, Honorary Professor of International Business at Copenhagen Business School, and Professor Emerita at San Jose State University\nIn Global Taiwanese, Fiona Moore explores the different ways in which Taiwanese expatriates in London and Toronto, along with professionals living in Taipei, use their shared Taiwanese identities to construct and maintain global and local networks.
Based on a three-year-long ethnographic study that incorporates interviews with people from diverse backgrounds, generations, and histories, this book explores what their different experiences tell us about migration in “tolerant” and “hostile” regimes.
Global Taiwanese considers the implications in leveraging their Taiwanese ethnic identity for both business and personal purposes. As people become increasingly mobile, ethnic identity becomes more important as a means of negotiating transnational encounters; however, at the same time, the opportunities it offers are rooted in local cultural practices, requiring professionals and other migrants to develop complex social strategies that link and cross the global and local levels.
With rich ethnographic detail, this book contributes to the understanding of the migrant experience and how it varies from location to location, how migration more generally changes in response to wider socioeconomic factors, and, finally, of the specific case of Taiwan and how the distinctive nature of its diaspora emerges through wider discourses of Chineseness and pan-Asian identity.