Discretionary maternal citizenship: state hegemony and resistance of single marriage migrant mothers from mainland China to Hong Kong

Tuen Yi CHIU

doi:10.1080/13621025.2021.1968685

Discretionary maternal citizenship: state hegemony and resistance of single marriage migrant mothers from mainland China to Hong Kong

Tuen Yi CHIU^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Sociology and Social Policy

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article contributes to the scholarship on marriage migration and citizenship by drawing attention to an under-studied group of single marriage migrant mothers who are widowed, divorced, or separated from their citizen-husbands. It examines the ways in which nation-states regulate the dissolution of cross-border marriages and allocation of citizenship rights to single marriage migrant mothers. Drawing on the experiences of 25 mainland Chinese single marriage migrant mothers, this article unravels the dynamic process of citizenship negotiation between top-down state hegemony and single marriage migrant mothers’ bottom-up resistance to the exclusionary immigration system in Hong Kong by claiming maternal citizenship through state discretion. As the article illuminates how discretion has been used as a strategic mechanism by both the state and single marriage migrant mothers to negotiate the boundaries and substance of citizenship, it offers insights into how the family becomes a critical site where citizenship is experienced, negotiated, and contested.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	936-954
Number of pages	19
Journal	Citizenship Studies
Volume	25
Issue number	7
Early online date	24 Aug 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2021.1968685
Publication status	Published - 3 Oct 2021

Bibliographical note

The author would like to thank Brenda Yeoh, Sohoon Yi, and the reviewers for their thoughtful comments on the earlier drafts of this article, as well as the respondents in this project for sharing their valuable insights and experiences.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Funding

This project is supported by the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore, the Hong Kong Research Grant Council (grant number GRF2120461) and LU Research Seed Fund 102373.

Keywords

Cross-border marriage migration
maternal citizenship
'marrytocracy-based' immigration system
state discretion
marital dissolution
intergenerational precarity

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1080/13621025.2021.1968685

Cite this

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abstract = "This article contributes to the scholarship on marriage migration and citizenship by drawing attention to an under-studied group of single marriage migrant mothers who are widowed, divorced, or separated from their citizen-husbands. It examines the ways in which nation-states regulate the dissolution of cross-border marriages and allocation of citizenship rights to single marriage migrant mothers. Drawing on the experiences of 25 mainland Chinese single marriage migrant mothers, this article unravels the dynamic process of citizenship negotiation between top-down state hegemony and single marriage migrant mothers{\textquoteright} bottom-up resistance to the exclusionary immigration system in Hong Kong by claiming maternal citizenship through state discretion. As the article illuminates how discretion has been used as a strategic mechanism by both the state and single marriage migrant mothers to negotiate the boundaries and substance of citizenship, it offers insights into how the family becomes a critical site where citizenship is experienced, negotiated, and contested.",

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Y1 - 2021/10/3

N2 - This article contributes to the scholarship on marriage migration and citizenship by drawing attention to an under-studied group of single marriage migrant mothers who are widowed, divorced, or separated from their citizen-husbands. It examines the ways in which nation-states regulate the dissolution of cross-border marriages and allocation of citizenship rights to single marriage migrant mothers. Drawing on the experiences of 25 mainland Chinese single marriage migrant mothers, this article unravels the dynamic process of citizenship negotiation between top-down state hegemony and single marriage migrant mothers’ bottom-up resistance to the exclusionary immigration system in Hong Kong by claiming maternal citizenship through state discretion. As the article illuminates how discretion has been used as a strategic mechanism by both the state and single marriage migrant mothers to negotiate the boundaries and substance of citizenship, it offers insights into how the family becomes a critical site where citizenship is experienced, negotiated, and contested.

AB - This article contributes to the scholarship on marriage migration and citizenship by drawing attention to an under-studied group of single marriage migrant mothers who are widowed, divorced, or separated from their citizen-husbands. It examines the ways in which nation-states regulate the dissolution of cross-border marriages and allocation of citizenship rights to single marriage migrant mothers. Drawing on the experiences of 25 mainland Chinese single marriage migrant mothers, this article unravels the dynamic process of citizenship negotiation between top-down state hegemony and single marriage migrant mothers’ bottom-up resistance to the exclusionary immigration system in Hong Kong by claiming maternal citizenship through state discretion. As the article illuminates how discretion has been used as a strategic mechanism by both the state and single marriage migrant mothers to negotiate the boundaries and substance of citizenship, it offers insights into how the family becomes a critical site where citizenship is experienced, negotiated, and contested.

KW - Cross-border marriage migration

KW - maternal citizenship

KW - 'marrytocracy-based' immigration system

KW - state discretion

KW - marital dissolution

KW - intergenerational precarity

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DO - 10.1080/13621025.2021.1968685

M3 - Journal Article (refereed)

SN - 1362-1025

VL - 25

SP - 936

EP - 954

JO - Citizenship Studies

JF - Citizenship Studies

IS - 7

ER -

Discretionary maternal citizenship: state hegemony and resistance of single marriage migrant mothers from mainland China to Hong Kong

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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Discretionary maternal citizenship : state hegemony and resistance of single marriage migrant mothers from mainland China to Hong Kong

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