‘Diaspora at home’: class and politics in the navigation of Hong Kong students in Mainland China’s Universities

Xu, Cora Lingling

Abstract

This paper draws on ‘diaspora at home’, a concept that encapsulates the unique dynamics between Hong Kong and mainland China, as an analytical tool to explore the cross-border experiences of 23 Hong Kong students at 11 universities in mainland China. It empirically ascertains how the made and imposed claims and identifications of these Hong Kong students resulted in inclusion and exclusion as their interactions with their mainland peers and institutions deepened. Specifically, it highlights how their ‘diaspora at home’ status offered exclusive access to privileged higher education opportunities, preferential treatments and opportunities for upward social mobility. Meanwhile, such a status also resulted in an overwhelming sense of political liability as they unwittingly became ‘political tokens’ and suspected political subjects amid the increasingly tense political atmosphere between mainland China and Hong Kong. This paper pinpoints the relevance of class and politics in understanding how diasporic groups engage with higher education.

Citation

Xu, C. L. (2023). ‘Diaspora at home’: class and politics in the navigation of Hong Kong students in Mainland China’s Universities. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 32(2), https://doi.org/10.1080/09620214.2019.1700821

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 2, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Dec 6, 2019
• Publication Date: 2023-05
• Deposit Date: Aug 26, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 6, 2021
• Journal: International Studies in Sociology of Education
• Print ISSN: 0962-0214
• Electronic ISSN: 1747-5066
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 2
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09620214.2019.1700821
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1294016
• Related Public URLs: https://eprints.keele.ac.uk/7327/