engleski

Transnational Social Spaces: The Case of Chinese Migrants in Hungary

The paper discusses the relevancy and the applicability of transnational social spaces framework (Faist, 2000) for the study of the new Chinese immigrants in Central and South-Eastern Europe. The first part of the paper presents parts of Thomas Faist's work concerning transnationalization. Faist distinguishes three types of transnational social spaces: transnational kinship groups, transnational circuits and transnational communities with the corresponding mechanisms of integration - reciprocity, exchange and solidarity. The second part of the paper describes Chinese migration waves to Europe highlighting the differences between Western and Eastern European countries and between "old" and "new" immigrants. Following Pál Nyíri's research, the characteristics of the new Chinese migration to the Republic of Hungary are presented. Today there are between 15.000 and 20.000 Chinese immigrants in Hungary and they are one of the largest immigrant groups. Chinese in Hungary developed various forms of transnational activities and they are often described as the most transnational immigrant group. In the last part of the paper the attempt of applying Faist's typology of transnational social spaces to the Chinese community in Hungary is made. Finally, some implications for the study of Chinese immigrants in the Republic of Croatia are discussed, e.g. the relevance of the Hungarian experience and the difficulties in the study of the "closed" community. Faist's ideal types should be further modified and adjusted for the research of the particular cases.

transnational social spaces; Chinese migrants; Republic of Hungary

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