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Transnational Lives
in Global Cities
A Multi-Sited Study of Chinese
Singaporean Migrants
CAROLINE PLÜSS
Transnational Lives in Global Cities
Caroline Plüss
Transnational Lives
in Global Cities
A Multi-Sited Study of Chinese Singaporean
Migrants
Caroline Plüss
University of Liverpool
Singapore, Singapore
ISBN 978-3-319-96330-3 ISBN 978-3-319-96331-0 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96331-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018950052
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights
of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction
on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and
information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication.
Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied,
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maps and institutional affiliations.
Cover image: © royaltystockphoto/GettyImages
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
To Jeremy
Preface
This book is a rare multi-sited study—conducted between 2008 and

2010 in Hong Kong, London, New York, and in Singapore—of how
109 Chinese Singaporean transnational migrants, who lived and were
researched in one these four global cities, experienced their transnational
lives. This study answers the questions if, how and why living in one of
the four global citied differently impinged on the transnational lives of
the Chinese Singaporeans. These questions are rarely addressed in the
scholarship on transnational migrants or on global cities. The Chinese
Singaporeans studied were well-educated, middle-class, and often high-
ly-skilled. The majority of the participants—67 Chinese Singaporeans—
were repeat migrants: they are migrants who have lived in more than
two different societies, possibly in such societies multiple times, and are a
growing but understudied population.
It is my experience with having lived in four different societies—in
Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and now in Singapore—
which sparked my interest in a multi-sited research on people whose
lives stretch across national boundaries. It is often by moving to places
with different characteristics that one more keenly becomes aware
of one’s past and present surroundings. Having myself moved from
Hong Kong to live and work in Singapore, prompted my interest in
Chinese Singaporeans. Since I already knew Hong Kong, London, and
New York, and realized that these cities are among the places to which
Singaporeans may move to in order to (temporarily) live abroad, I
decided to conduct a multi-sited study in all four global cites. This was
vii
viii Preface
to understand if, how, and why transnational lives in global cities may
be differently affected by the characteristics of these cities. Also, I was
intrigued by the question of how one relates again to a society of origin
when one returns to live in this society, after having had lived elsewhere,
and when one has a transnational live. The Chinese Singaporeans stud-
ied were nearly all were Singaporean citizens and had family members in
Singapore, they all had lived in Singapore, and most of the participants
had grown up in Singapore. They had crossed national boundaries to live
elsewhere for work, education, and family, more rarely for friendships
and lifestyle, and also for combinations of these reasons.
Singapore Caroline Plüss

Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Academic Research Fund Tier 1

(RG99/07) of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and
by the School of Law and Social Justice of the University of Liverpool.
My thanks are to the Sociology undergraduate students of Nanyang
Technological University who helped me with transcribing the interview
recordings, and to my Research Associates Ms. Sithi Hawa, Ms. Vivian
Woon, and Mr. Alex Ang for helping with coding these large-scale quali-
tative data, assisting with writing-up coded data and reviewing literature,
in addition conducting interviews in Hong Kong and Singapore. Special
thanks are to my editors at Palgrave Macmillan for their support. My
sincerest gratitude is to all the participants in this research, who made
the time in their often very busy schedules to contribute to generate this
knowledge by sharing their lives, and for providing me with much hos-
pitality. Thanks are due to Sage, and Springer, for enabling me to use
parts of a journal article, and a book chapter, which presented prelimi-
nary findings of this research.
ix
Contents
1 Accounting for Transnational Lives 1

1.1 Introduction 1
1.1.1 Aims and Rationale of this Study 1
1.1.2 The Chinese Singaporean Transnational Migrants 7
1.2 Analytical Framework 11
1.3 Transnational Socialities 15
1.3.1 Forms Transnationality 15
1.3.2 Cosmopolitan Socialities 16
1.3.3 Hybrid Socialities 17
1.3.4 Incongruous Socialities 19
1.3.5 Homogenous Socialities 21
1.4 Chapters 23
References 24
2 (Dis)Embeddedness in Transnational Contexts 31

2.1 Transnational Contexts 31
2.1.1 Education and Friendships/Lifestyle Contexts 32
2.1.2 Work and Friendships/Lifestyle Contexts 34
2.1.3 Family and Friendships/Lifestyle Contexts 36
2.2 Global Cities 38
2.2.1 Researching Global Cities 38
2.2.2 Singapore 39
xi
xii Contents
2.2.3 Hong Kong 42

2.2.4 London 45
2.2.5 New York 47
2.3 Methods 49
2.3.1 Transnational Biographies 49
2.3.2 Multi-Sited Research 52
2.3.3 Sampling 53
References 54
3 Being Chinese in a Chinese Global City: Hong Kong 63

3.1 The Chinese Singaporeans in Hong Kong 63
3.2 Being Chinese and Different at Work 71
3.3 Homogenous Transnational Families in Hong Kong 79
3.4 Ethnicity and Transnational Friendships/Lifestyles 83
3.5 Relating to Singapore 87
References 90
4 In the East and in the West: London 95

4.1 The London Participants 95
4.2 Maneuvering Porous Education Contexts 98
4.3 Cosmopolitanism When Working in a Cosmopolitan City? 112
4.4 Negotiating Individualism in Transnational Families 118
4.5 East–West Friendships/Lifestyles 124
References 131
5 Incongruous Transnational Lives: New York 135

5.1 The Sample 135
5.2 Ruptures at American Universities 138
5.3 Disjunctures in Work Contexts in New York City 149
5.4 Incongruous Transnational Families 158
5.5 Clashing Transnational Friendships/Lifestyles 163
References 171
6 Gendered Transnationalism: Singapore 175

6.1 The Male and Female Participants 175
6.2 Gender in Transnational Education and Friendships/
Lifestyle Contexts 179
Contents xiii
6.3 Gender, Hybridity, and Inequality in Transnational

Work Contexts 204
6.4 Hybridity in Women’s Definitions of the Family 213
6.5 Women’s Embeddedness in Transnational
Friendships/Lifestyle Contexts 221
References 234
7 Conclusions 237
7.1 Transnational Education Contexts 240
7.1.1 International Education in London 241
7.1.2 Incongruities at American Universities 244
7.1.3 Gendered Education Socialities of the Returned
Chinese Singaporeans 246
7.2 Working in Global Cities 250
7.2.1 High Diversity in Hong Kong 250
7.2.2 Cultural Differences in London 254
7.2.3 Inequalities in New York 256
7.2.4 Gender and Work Contexts in Singapore 258
7.3 The Transnational Family 261
7.3.1 Homogenous Families in Hong Kong 261
7.3.2 East–West Families in London 263
7.3.3 Ambiguous Family Relations in New York 264
7.3.4 Gendered Family Socialities in Singapore 266
7.4 Transnational Friendships/Lifestyles 268
7.4.1 Homogenous Friendships and Incongruous
Lifestyles in Hong Kong 268
7.4.2 Incongruous or Hybrid Friendships/Lifestyles in
London 270
7.4.3 Variety in Friendships/Lifestyles in New York 272
7.4.4 Gender and Variety in Transnational
Friendships/Lifestyle Contexts in Singapore 273
7.5 Living in Global Cities: Does It Matter Where I Am? 276
7.5.1 Translational Lives in Global Cities 276
7.5.2 Hybrid Transnational Education Contexts in
London 280
7.5.3 Incongruous Transnational Work Contexts in
London 281
7.5.4 Homogenous Transnational Families in Hong
Kong 282
xiv Contents
7.5.5
Incongruous Transnational Friendships/Lifestyle
Contexts 284
7.5.6 Intersections Among Different Transnational
Contexts 286
7.6 The Importance of Location 289
References 291
Index 297
List of Tables
Table 3.1 Transnational migration trajectories of the Hong Kong

participants 66
Table 4.1 Transnational migration trajectories of the London
participants 99
Table 5.1 Transnational migration trajectories of the New York
participants 139
Table 6.1 Transnational migration trajectories of the Chinese
Singaporean women in Singapore 180
Table 6.2 Transnational migration trajectories of the Chinese
Singaporean men in Singapore 186
Table 7.1 Transnational contexts in the four global cities,
and being repeat migrants 278
Table 7.2 Transnational contexts in the four global cities 285
xv
CHAPTER 1
Accounting for Transnational Lives
1.1 Introduction
1.1.1 Aims and Rationale of this Study

This book is a unique, multi-sited, and qualitative study of the
transnational lives of 109 Chinese Singaporean migrants. These Chinese
Singaporeans were researched within-depth interviews (Patton 2002;
Chase 2005) when they lived in one of four global cities, in the East or
in the West: Hong Kong, London, New York, or back in Singapore.1
Twenty-five participants were studied in Hong Kong in spring 2009, 24
participants in London in summer 2008, 22 participants in New York
in summer 2009, and 38 participants were researched in Singapore
between 2009 and 2010. The latter are Chinese Singaporeans who (tem-
porarily) returned to live in Singapore after having lived elsewhere. This
book addresses the questions if, how, and why living in one of these four
global cities—at the time of research—differently affected the transna-
tional lives of the Chinese Singaporeans. The 109 participants shared
race, had lived in Singapore, had strong links with Singapore, and nearly
1 Two participants researched in London lived in other places in the United Kingdom
and were interviewed when they visited London. They are included in this study because
their experiences provide knowledge on British society. One more participant who lived in
London was researched when she visited Singapore because there had been no time for an
interview in London. One participant researched in Singapore lived both in Singapore and
in Continental Europe.
© The Author(s) 2018 1

C. Plüss, Transnational Lives in Global Cities,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96331-0_1
2 C. PLÜSS
always were Singaporean citizens. They were middle- or upper-mid-

dle-class, well-educated, often had multiple migration experiences, and
if they worked, as the large majority did, they worked in mid- or high-
skilled work.
The questions if, how, and why the transnational lives of a group of
migrants who shared many characteristics, and who lived in one of four
global cities were differently influenced by the characteristics of these cit-
ies, have not yet been answered in the scholarship of migrants (Kusek
2015; Moore 2016) or of global cities (Sassen 2000; Beaverstock et al.
2002). To provide such an answer is important, and very timely: more
and more people in the world cross national boundaries to live else-
where. In 2013 (United Nations’ Department of Economics and Social
Affairs 2013), 232 million people, or 3.2% of the world’s population,
moved to live in another society. Global cities (Sassen 2000; Beaverstock
and Hall 2012) attract disproportionate numbers of migrants. The schol-
arship of global cities (Beaverstock et al. 2002) often explains their char-
acteristics in terms of these cities’ shared role in a globalizing economy:
the ability to operate global networks of exchange. This emphasis results
in that the characteristics of global cities (Kennedy 2004; Ley 2004)
often are viewed as rather being ‘uniformly’ global, and as similarly
impinging on the lives of transnational migrants who live in these cities,
especially if these migrants share social status. Recent research (Moore
2016) shows that transnational migrants who live in different global cit-
ies understand the characteristics of these cities differently. There also
is only little research (Nagel 2005; Kusek 2015) on differences in how
migrants who live in a global city perceive the characteristics of this city.
Furthermore, there exists no known single-authored, and multi-sited
research on the experiences of one group of migrants who lived in one
of four global cities, and who were researched in that respective city. This
book contributes toward filling these significant gaps in the scholarship
of transnational migrants and global cities. Furthermore, this study also
contributes to the scholarship of migrants because high-skilled migration
(Koser and Salt 1997) has accelerated faster than low-skilled migration,
but is less often researched.
I decided to conduct this research on Chinese Singaporean transna-
tional migrants who lived in Hong Kong, London, New York, or back
in Singapore because these cities are places to which Singaporeans often
1 ACCOUNTING FOR TRANSNATIONAL LIVES 3
(temporarily) move or return.2 The selection of these cities also stems

from that I have lived in two of them (Hong Kong and Singapore) and
visited the remaining two (London and New York) for extended peri-
ods. This provides me with contextual knowledge (Davies 2008), which
is especially important for a qualitative and multi-sited study. Multi-sited
research (Falzon 2009) seeks to understand the nuances and complexi-
ties of a phenomenon studied by studying this phenomenon in different
locations. Multi-sited research in four global cities needs a high number
of research participants: one hundred and nine Chinese Singaporeans.
This number provides this book with a large qualitative database.
To understand if there were impacts of living in either Hong Kong,
London, New York, or back in Singapore on the transnational lives
of the 109 Chinese Singaporeans, this book answers the following
questions:
1. Did the 109 Chinese Singaporeans think that their global-city lives
were similar, and similarly impinged on their transnational lives?
2. Did the 109 Chinese Singaporeans think that life in one of the four
global cities had city-specific characteristics, and therefore, differ-
ently influenced their transnational lives?
3. Did the Chinese Singaporeans feel that living in one of these four
cities did not much influence their transnational lives because
other characteristics in these lives were more important to explain
them?
To answer these questions in a fine-grained and encompassing manner,

this book develops and applies a new analytical framework, which this
chapter explains.
It is well known that what characterizes the transnational lives of
migrants (Basch et al. 1994) is that these lives span across the boundaries
of different societies, or nations, in which these migrants live and lived.
These cross-border connections are cultural, social, economic, and/or
political. Transnationality (Levitt and Glick Schiller 2004) means that
when migrants think about their life in one society, they also consider
2 I gained this knowledge in a pilot study (Plüss 2009) that I conducted for this large-
scale, and multi-sited research. The participants in the pilot study and in this book are dif-
ferent persons.
4 C. PLÜSS
their life elsewhere, and vice versa. The result is that migrants experi-
ence transnational simultaneity, i.e., they make time-space compressions.
These time-space compressions are the migrants’ simultaneous relating
to characteristics of different places, societies, or regions. Time-space
compressions also is an important concept in the scholarship of globali-
zation (Held 2004). Although the scholarship on transnational migrants
is bourgeoning (Portes et al. 2007; Khagram and Levitt 2008), this
research mostly pertains to migrants who lived in a small number of soci-
eties, typically two. Studies of transnational migrants who have lived in
more than two societies are much rarer (D’Andrea 2007; Ossman 2013).
Furthermore, research on the lives of transnational migrants mostly stud-
ies these lives in a small number of transnational contexts, such as the
migrants’ transnational work contexts (Castells 2000; Beaverstock 2005),
transnational education contexts (Bai 2008; Kim 2012), transnational
family contexts (Cooke 2007; Ho and Bedford 2008), or transnational
lifestyle contexts (D’Andrea 2007). When migrants’ experiences in sev-
eral transnational contexts are studied, such research usually focuses on
two such contexts: transnational education and work contexts (Waters
2007; Pritchard 2011), transnational education and family contexts
(Nukaga 2013; Rutten and Verstappen 2014), transnational work and
family contexts (Nowicka 2006; Salaff and Greve 2013), or transnational
work and friendships/lifestyle contexts (Kennedy 2004; Beaverstock
2011).
This scholarship certainly offers much insight into the lives of trans-
national migrants, but researching only one or two transnational con-
texts of migrants does not fully account for their transnational lives:
these lives include more transnational contexts, and intersection among
these contexts. This book, with its new analytical framework, stud-
ies four transnational contexts (as they apply), and intersections among
them. The contexts studied are the Chinese Singaporean’s transna-
tional contexts of education, work, family, and/or friendships/life-
style.3 Furthermore, this research considers that the majority of the 109
3 The military context of male Singaporeans, who are required to serve this mandatory
service in Singapore (see Chapter 2), is not included as a transnational context in this
study: this service only pertains to Singapore. When male participants found that their mil-
itary experiences were relevant for their transnational lives, these experiences are explained
as they pertained others of the men’s transnational contexts, which are mostly those of
education and/or work.
Chinese Singaporeans—67 participants—were repeat migrants (Kau and

Sirmans 1976; Borjas 2015): migrants who have lived in more than two
different societies, and may have lived in some of these societies more
than once.4 Migrants, including highly-skilled migrants (Sklair 2001;
Nowicka 2006), do not necessarily wish to, or are unable to settle per-
manently in a society to which they have moved: the migrants often help
to fill temporary skill shortages, and then need to move to live and work
elsewhere. Furthermore, repeat migrants (Takenaka 2015) are a growing
segment of the world’s population, and are globally under-researched.
Providing knowledge on repeat migrants adds to the importance and
timeliness of this book.
This study also provides new insight into global city-life. As already
alluded to, global cities are frequently researched in terms of their shared
economic role: as command hubs of global exchanges in a globalizing
economy (Beaverstock et al. 2002). As a result, the characteristics of
global cities often are explained in similar ways. For instance, pertain-
ing to highly-skilled migrants, research on global cities (Beaverstock and
Hall 2012) stresses that these cities seek to attract highly-skilled people
from different parts of the world, to have the expertise to operate net-
works of global exchange, and that these cities attract these profession-
als by offering attractive work opportunities, good prospects for career
advancement, easy access to information and expertise, and an interna-
tional and multicultural milieu. For instance, Ley (2004, 160) finds that
global cities have gentrified inner-city areas inhabited by ‘highly-edu-
cated dwellers’ who often like to live with other such people from differ-
ent societies, and that these areas promote a ‘cosmopolitan’ lifestyle with
access to the international media, ethnic restaurants, and a ‘cosmopoli-
tan’ architecture which draws on an ‘international design menu.’ These
emphases result in that the lives of highly-skilled migrants in global cit-
ies frequently are explained as being influenced by these shared glob-
al-city characteristics (Kennedy 2004; Beaverstock 2005, 2011). On the
other hand, global cities (Moore 2016) have differences in their cultures,
4 Repeat migrants are also called ‘serial migrants’ (Ossman 2013) or ‘multiple migrants’
(Takenaka 2015), and include ‘circular migrants’ (Onwumechili et al. 2003) and migrants
who are called ‘global nomads’ (D’Andrea 2007). ‘Circular migrants’ (Onwumechili et al.
2003) are migrants who return several times to live in one society, after having lived else-
where, and ‘global nomads’ (D’Andrea 2007) are people who temporarily reside in several
societies.
6 C. PLÜSS
histories, and locations. Living in a global city also is found to be very

differently experienced by different social classes (Kusek 2015) and/or
ethnicities (Nagel 2005).
To answer the questions if, how, and why living in Hong Kong,
London, New York, or back in Singapore impinged differently on
how the 109 Chinese Singaporeans experienced their transnational
lives, when they lived and were researched in one of these four global
cities, the data of this book are the Chinese Singaporeans’ entire
transnational biographies. These biographies are migrants’ subjective
and retrospective accounts of their experiences with living in different
places and societies, and interacting with different people and collec-
tivities in them. This study generated the 109 transnational biogra-
phies with qualitative, in-depth, and face-to-face interviews in the four
cities (see Chapter 2). It is important to have data on entire trans-
national biographies to understand the present lives of transnational
migrants: past experiences in other societies influence how transna-
tional migrants relate to the society in which they live (Castles 2004),
and present experiences impinge upon how migrants recast their past
(Phoenix 2008). The aim of this book is not to find out ‘how things
really were’ in the Chinese Singaporeans’ entire transnational lives.
For this, a longitudinal study is appropriate. Rather, this book seeks
to explain the Chinese Singaporeans’ ‘present’ transnational lives—
when they lived in one of the four global cities—to understand if,
how, and why living in these cities differently impinged on how the
Chinese Singaporeans understood their ‘present’ transnational lives.
To do so, this research also considers how the Chinese Singaporeans
assessed how their ‘present’ transnational lives were influenced by
experiences that they had earlier when they had lived elsewhere, in
one or several other societies. Working with data of entire transna-
tional biographies adds to the importance and timeliness of this book:
such data are globally very sparse (Kahanec and Zimmerman 2010).
Conducting a multi-sited research in four global cities, researching
migrants’ four transnational contexts of interaction (and intersections
of these contexts), studying multiple migration experiences, and tak-
ing into account the Chinese Singaporeans’ entire transnational biog-
raphies means that this book incorporates the suggestion (Guarnizo
and Smith 1998) that to understand transnational lives, it is important
to explain how and why several characteristics pertaining to these lives
influence them.
1.1.2 The Chinese Singaporean Transnational Migrants

The 109 Chinese Singaporeans were racially Chinese, had significant
links with Singapore, and had lived in Singapore. Nearly all participants
were Singaporean nationals, had family members in Singapore, and most
participants grew up in Singapore. These strong links with Singapore
explain why these participants are referred to as ‘Chinese Singaporeans.’
All participants were at least bilingual (speaking English, and to differ-
ent degrees Mandarin, which are the two languages in which Chinese
Singaporeans are schooled in Singapore, see Chapter 2). Nearly all par-
ticipants were well-educated, middle- or upper-middle-class, and when
they worked at the time of research, most participants worked in mid-
or high-skilled professions. The Chinese Singaporeans also comprised of
education migrants (especially in the London sample), a smaller number
of married female participants who moved with their families to live else-
where and who were homemakers, a few participants who were unem-
ployed, and a few participants who had retired. The participants in this
study were male or female, and mostly single or married. A few partic-
ipants were divorced. Their ages ranged from the early twenties to their
late sixties. They lived in one of the four global cities in which they were
studied for different time periods, ranging from one year to decades.
Very few participants lived in a society for less than one year during their
entire transnational migration trajectories.
The Chinese Singaporeans most often crossed national boundaries
several times to live elsewhere. This was most frequently for work, fol-
lowed by family reasons, education, and then by friendships/lifestyle
reasons. Participants also often moved to live in another society for com-
binations of these reasons, such as family and work, work and lifestyle, or
less often, for education and work. A small number of male participants
moved from abroad to (temporarily) live in Singapore to serve their two
years of mandatory military service. These men were in their late teens or
early twenties. For clarity, the Chinese Singaporeans in this study are all
referred to as migrants. According to the United Nations (Anderson and
Scott 2017) they qualify as migrants because during their transnational
migration trajectories, the Chinese Singaporeans nearly always lived
in different societies for longer than one year, and only very rarely for
less than one year. The latter would qualify them as switchers (Anderson
and Scott 2017). Few of the 109 participants were both migrants and
8 C. PLÜSS
switchers. To use both terms to refer to the same participants would be

confusing.5
There are common trends in the 109 transnational migration tra-
jectories. Most participants had grown up in Singapore until their late
teens or early twenties, and many of them then moved abroad for uni-
versity studies. These societies nearly all were English-speaking and west-
ern. Several participants, especially in London, were researched then. A
few participants, when they had been very young, had moved with their
families from Singapore to live and school in another society, mostly
in Asia. Some of these young participants then had returned to school
in Singapore, with or without their parents. They then moved abroad
again, once or several times, for university studies, and/or work, and
may have returned to live in Singapore in between living in one or sev-
eral societies abroad. A few such participants were researched in Hong
Kong, London, New York, and Singapore. Very few participants in this
study had been born in other societies than Singapore. They had moved
to Singapore for schooling (with or without their parents), or for work
(and became Singapore nationals), and then moved abroad again, to
work in one or several societies. More rarely, this small number of partic-
ipants returned to work in Singapore in between these overseas national
boundary crossings. Such participants were researched in London, Hong
Kong, and in New York.
Many participants also first moved abroad to work in western or east-
ern societies. Such participants were researched in London, Hong Kong,
and New York. They then may have (temporarily) returned to live and
work in Singapore, often to be near their parents to take care of them,
or more rarely, to have help from their families with child rearing, and/
or receiving emotional support. Such participants were researched in
Singapore. Many of these returned participants then moved again to
work in other societies in the East or the West. They may have returned
to live and work in Singapore, and then moved again to work in one or
several societies abroad. Many such repeat migrants were researched in
all four global cities.
5 In the scholarship of migration, migrants who temporarily live in another society are
commonly referred to as ‘sojourners’ (Ley and Kobayashi 2005) or ‘transmigrants’ (Yeoh

and Willis 2005). The term ‘immigrants’ (Zhou 2014) is used to refer to migrants who
have moved to settle in another society for good.
A few more participants moved several times to English-speaking

western societies to study at university. They may had temporarily
returned to work in Singapore in between these studies to finance them.
Such participants were researched in London and in Singapore. Other
Chinese Singaporeans first moved abroad with their spouse (and possibly
children), to the East or the West, and they had worked (or not) in these
societies. They possibly lived in several societies abroad, and it was not
uncommon that they temporarily returned with their spouse, and possi-
bly children, to live and possibly work in Singapore in between living in
different societies abroad. Such participants were researched in all four
cities.
There are also participants in this book who had moved from
Singapore to work and/or study in English-speaking western societies,
and who continued to live in the same or different societies abroad to
work. Such participants are included in the Hong Kong, London, and
New York samples. A few male participants had returned to live in
Singapore from abroad to serve the two years of mandatory military ser-
vice. They then often moved to work abroad again, possibly returned
to Singapore to work and to be near their parents, and then moved
again elsewhere. A few such participants were studied in the three over-
seas sites and in Singapore. The 109 Chinese Singaporeans’ crossings
of national boundaries to live elsewhere, including returning to live in
Singapore, were not always for work, studies, and/or family alone. Often
such movements also were for friendships/lifestyle reasons.
The participants are representative that middle-class and mid- and
high-skilled Singaporeans relatively often move to temporarily live
in other societies (Yeoh and Willis 2005; Ho 2008). The Singaporean
government and employers in Singapore (Yap 1994) encourage
Singaporeans to spend time living abroad, to study and/or to work,
to gain overseas exposure: familiarity and connections with different
people, societies, and cultures. The Singaporean government (Kor 2010)
stresses that such overseas experience increases the global connectiv-
ity of Singapore by building and maintaining links with different places
and societies, and that this helps Singapore’s global exchange of knowl-
edge and resources. What also contributes to Singaporeans temporarily
moving to study and/or work in other societies, especially to English-
speaking western societies, is that international companies (Ye and Kelly
2011) and other organizations in Singapore often require Singaporean
applicants for high-skilled work to have overseas experience. With the
10 C. PLÜSS
globalization of the economy, there are increasing demands, especially

in organizations working internationally (Nowicka 2006), to have inter-
national work and/or education experience to obtain high-skilled and
high-paid employment and to achieve fast career paths. The 109 partic-
ipants in this study also are representative that with accelerated condi-
tions of globalization, especially with the spread of neoliberalism (Hardt
and Negri 2004), more and more people in the world (have to) cross
national boundaries to live elsewhere. This book also includes education
migrants because moving to another society for education has become a
significant part of transnational migration. For example, in 2004 (Kim
2012, 456) an estimated 2.7 million students were studying abroad,
and in 2002 (Florida 2007, 11), the fees paid by international students
at American colleges and universities were close to thirteen billion US
Dollars.
A competitive education, in which young and middle-aged
Singaporeans acquire good English-language skills, exposure to English-
language media in Singapore, and Singapore’s prosperity and high devel-
opment provide many Singaporeans with skills and resources to study,
work, and live in other places and societies. Singapore is the only soci-
ety in Asia in which English is the main language, the world’s most
desired second language, and often the language of international busi-
ness. In 2008 (Department of Statistics Singapore 2009), when this
research began, 180,000 Singaporean citizens and permanent residents
lived abroad. They were 4.95% of Singapore’s ‘native’ population of
3,642,700 citizens and permanent residents in that year.6 Contemporary
Singapore is a highly developed city-state, with a small land area. It is
an island (Department of Statistics Singapore 2018) of just under 720
square kilometers, with a total population of 5.6 million people in 2018.
Singapore’s economy strongly relies on upgrading the skills of its pop-
ulation and on attracting high-, mid-, and low-skilled migrants from
abroad to fill temporary work shortages, all to achieve Singapore’s eco-
nomic emphases on service, research, and development, and to assure
that Singapore is a high-performing city-state in which it is attractive to
live (see Chapter 2 for characteristics of the four global cities).
6 This number (Department of Statistics Singapore 2009) is based on the entry and exit
records of Singaporeans. Included in the count are Singaporeans who lived abroad for a
cumulative period of at least six months during the year preceding the count.
The results of this study show that living in one of the four global
cities—Hong Kong, London, New York, or Singapore—rarely lead to
that the Chinese Singaporeans experienced their transnational contexts
as cosmopolitan (Delanty 2006). Rather, living in one of these cities
foremost resulted in the that the Chinese Singaporeans experienced a
sense of transnational dis-embeddedness. Although there was variety in
the perceptions of the Chinese Singaporeans of the characteristic of the
global city in which they lived, there also were discernible differences in
how they perceived that the characteristics of these cities impinged on
their transnational lives.
1.2 Analytical Framework
This book puts forth a new analytical framework to answer in encom-
passing and fine-grained ways if, how, and why ‘presently’ living in
either Hong Kong, London, New York, or back in Singapore differently
impinged upon how the 109 Chinese Singaporeans experienced their
transnational lives. This framework was developed inductively, using
grounded theory (Charmaz 2013). Grounded theory compares data
with analytical ideas to achieve a fit. The challenge with developing this
new analytical framework was that there was high variety in how Chinese
Singaporeans experienced their ‘present’ transnational lives. However, it
is important to account for the perceptions of people and collectivities of
their circumstances (Berger and Luckman 1991) because they can have
different interpretations of similar events, leading to different projects
and actions. Therefore, to understand the great variety in how ‘present’
global-city life influenced (or not) the Chinese Singaporeans’ perceptions
of their transnational lives, my analytical framework needed to be very
general. As Chapter 2 explains, no single theory beyond structure-agency
theory (Bourdieu 1984; Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992) was used in
this research to explain this variety. A central idea in this new framework
to account for, analyze, and explain the Chinese Singaporeans’ ‘pres-
ent’ transnational lives—which involved their different transnational
contexts (those of education, work, family, and/or friendships/life-
style), and intersections among these contexts—is to emphasize differ-
ent forms of time-space compressions when the Chinese Singaporeans
accounted for their different transnational contexts, and intersections
among these contexts. This book distinguishes between cosmopolitan,
12 C. PLÜSS
hybrid, incongruous, or homogenous time-space compressions. They are

explained in the next section of this chapter.
To operationalize the idea of different forms of time-space com-
pressions to understand if, how, and why ‘presently’ living in one of
the four global cities of research—in Hong Kong, London, New York,
or back in Singapore—impinged on how the Chinese Singaporeans
understood their transnational lives this new framework uses the ideas
of embeddedness and dis-embeddedness (Portes and Sensenbrenner
1993; Kloosterman and Rath 2001) in transnational contexts, builds on
Bourdieu’s (1984, 1986) ideas of the convertibility of three forms of
capital into each other, and uses the concept of socialities (Wittel 2001;
Kennedy 2004). Embeddedness or dis-embeddedness in a context of
interaction (Portes and Sensenbrenner 1993; Kloosterman and Rath
2001) is strongly related to one’s access to the resources of this context:
embeddedness means having access to the resources of this context, and
dis-embeddedness means having little or no such access. Both concepts
imply that this (non)access to resources is based on one’s relations with
the members of a context.7
Bourdieu’s structure-agency theory (Bourdieu 1984; Bourdieu and
Wacquant 1992), especially his ideas (Bourdieu 1984, 1986) of the
convertibility of three forms of capital into each other, help to render
the idea of (dis)embeddedness even more empirically embedded. These
three forms are cultural, social, and economic capital. Cultural capi-
tal (Bourdieu 1986, 245) is the signaling and practicing of a context’s
required cultural characteristics—including language, education, qualifi-
cations, cultivation, knowledge, prestige, or taste—that the members in
this context require in order to judge people and/or collectivities who
wish to access resources of this context as having legitimate competence
to be given this access. Signaling and practicing (by exercising agency)
7 The term embeddedness is linked to that of integration (Remennick 2003; Anger and
Strang 2008), but I find embeddedness more appropriate for this study. Integration usually
refers to immigrants in a new society (Remennick 2003; Anger and Strang 2008) and indi-
cates that the immigrants have achieved a desired fit with the characteristics of this society,
and therefore are given access to its resources. The 109 Chinese-Singaporeans researched
in this book were not immigrants, who are migrants who move to another society and plan
to stay for good, and possibly to take on citizenship. The participants in this study mostly
crossed national boundaries to live elsewhere for shorter time periods (usually for several
years). The term ‘embeddedness’ is not linked to an intention to stay in a place and/or
society for good.
legitimate competence or showing and enacting cultural capital (which is

a structure) in a context of interaction, conveys to members of this con-
text that one endorses this context’s aims and values and therefore can
be admitted as a member of this context. If one can signal and practice a
context’s required cultural capital, one can build social relations with the
members of this context, which is social capital (Bourdieu 1984, 1986).
Social capital refers to social relations that provide access to a context’s
cultural (e.g., information, training, or certification), social (e.g., friend-
ships, help, or manpower), economic (money or resources directly con-
vertible into money), and/or political resources. Having access to these
resources, based on one’s social relations with members of a context, by
signaling and practicing required similarities with these members, results
in embeddedness in this context.
Important for this study is that that these three forms of capital can
be converted into each other (Bourdieu 1984, 1986). The scholarship
of transnational migrants has many examples (Girard and Bauder 2007;
Plüss 2013) showing how these migrants use and convert cultural,
social, and/or economic capital that they had acquired in one society
to build new cultural capital to access new resources in a new society.
Transnational migrants, who are connected to different places and soci-
eties, often wish to (continue to) access (future) resources in different
places and societies in which they live and lived. This framework empha-
sizes that to access resources in a transnational context, which spans
contexts of interaction in different places and societies, one needs to
simultaneously relate to, intersect and/or combine, and signal and prac-
tice constituent contexts’ definitions of cultural capital. This serves to
build or maintain social relations with the members of these contexts and
provides access to these contexts’ resources. When transnational migrants
simultaneously relate to, attempt to intersect and/or combine, and signal
and practice their contexts’—in different places and societies—definitions
of cultural capital, they compress time and space, or experience transna-
tional simultaneity (Levitt and Glick Schiller 2004).
Instead of working with cultural and social capital separately, to
account for how one gains or maintains access to the resources in a trans-
national context, this new framework emphasizes that this access depends
on one’s ability to signal and practice constituent contexts’ dominant
and required definitions of appropriate practices of socialities. This book
takes socialities, also called sociabilities (Glick Schiller et al. 2011), as
14 C. PLÜSS
important characteristics to account for how the Chinese Singaporeans

were (dis)embedded in their different transnational contexts, and in
intersections of these contexts. This study’s new framework views pat-
terns of similarities and differences in this (dis)embeddedness—when
the Chinese Singaporeans were researched in one of the four global
cities—to express if, how, and why ‘presently’ living in one of the four
cities differently impinged on the Chinese Singaporeans’ transnational
lives.
Socialities (Wittel 2001; Kennedy 2004) are contextually embed-
ded social relations of trust, collaboration, and exchange, which
provide access to the resources of a context, and therewith produce
embeddedness in this context. Socialities (Kennedy 2004) are based
on shared experiences, frames of references, ambitions, and/or life-
styles of the members of a context of interaction. Socialities can be
long lasting or short term. To further operationalize the four forms
of time-space compressions—cosmopolitanism, hybridity, incongru-
ity, or homogeneity, as they are explained in the next section of this
chapter—as fine-grained and encompassing features of the Chinese
Singaporeans’ (dis)embeddedness in their transnational contexts,
and in intersections of these contexts, this book views these time-
space compressions as the Chinese Singaporeans’ simultaneous relat-
ing to, attempting to intersect and/or combine, and signaling and
practicing dominant and required definitions of appropriate prac-
tices of socialities of their different contexts of interaction, in differ-
ent places and societies. These contexts, and intersections between
them, form the transnational contexts of the Chinese Singaporeans.
As the next section of this chapter shows, these different forms of
time-space compressions reflect the Chinese Singaporeans’ proclivities
to have experienced (dis)embeddedness in their respective transna-
tional contexts, in intersections of these contexts, and to think of self,
others, places, and societies in certain ways. To account for the pos-
sible impacts of living in one of the four global cities on the Chinese
Singaporeans’ transnational lives, this study crystallizes the patterns
of similarity and differences in how the Chinese Singaporeans—when
they were researched in one of the four global cities—compressed
time and space in their different transnational contexts, and in intersections
of these contexts.
1.3 Transnational Socialities
1.3.1 Forms Transnationality

The scholarship of globalization (Held 2004) views time-space
compressions as one of the main characteristics of processes of globali-
zation, or of the increasing interconnectedness in the world: what is
happening in one place, society, or region influences what happens in
other places, societies, or regions. When explaining the main features
of these time-space compressions, the scholarship of globalization dis-
tinguishes between four characteristics: cosmopolitanism (Beck 2007;
Calhoun 2008), hybridity (Hannerz 2000; Nederveen 2004), incongru-
ity (Huntington 1996; Appadurai 1990), and homogeneity (Tomlinson
1999). This book uses these four forms of time-space compressions to
characterize four ways in which the Chinese Singaporeans could feel (dis)
embedded in their transnational contexts, and in intersections of these
contexts. As explained, these time-space compressions are the Chinese
Singaporeans’ simultaneous relating to dominant and required defini-
tions of appropriate practices of socialities in the Chinese Singaporeans’
different transnational contexts (those of education, work, family,
and/or friendships/lifestyle), and in intersections of these contexts.
Chapters 3–6 crystallize how and why the Chinese Singaporeans,
when they lived in one of the four global cities, related in different ways
(in cosmopolitan, hybrid, incongruous, or homogenous ways) to their
transnational contexts, and to intersections of these contexts. Chapter 6
also considers gender differences of the Chinese Singaporeans because
its sample is large enough to do so. This crystallization in Chapters 3–6
explains how and why the Chinese Singaporeans felt (dis)embedded in
their different transnational contexts, and in intersections of these con-
texts, when they lived in one of the four global cities. Comparing the
patterns of similarities and differences in this (dis)embeddedness is the
main analytical feature of this book in order to reveal if, how, and why
global-city life in the four different cities impinged differently upon how
the Chinese Singaporeans experienced their transnational lives. Such an
influence is especially clear if similarities in how the Chinese Singaporean
transnational migrants experienced their respective transnational
lives—transnational contexts and intersections among these contexts—
can cut across differences among the Chinese Singaporeans. Such dif-
ferences include age, gender, occupation, length of residency in a global
16 C. PLÜSS
city, and transnational migration trajectories (including being a repeat

migrant or not). Chapter 7 crystallizes these patterns of similarities and
differences to answer the overarching questions of this book: if, how, and
why living in different global cities influenced how a group of migrants,
with many similar characteristics, experienced their transnational lives.
Selected literature on migrants’ experiences of the four forms of trans-
national contexts, and of the characteristics of the four global cities, is
reviewed in Chapter 2. The section below comments on how different
forms of transnational socialities—when transnational migrants simulta-
neously relate to dominant and required definitions of appropriate prac-
tices of socialities of their (different) contexts of interaction, in different
places and societies—account for the (dis)embeddedness of transnational
migrants in their transnational contexts or spaces.
1.3.2 Cosmopolitan Socialities

Beck (2007) defines a cosmopolitan definition of an appropriate prac-
tice of sociality of a context of interaction as requiring openness to dif-
ferences among its members, so that they can pursue shared interests.
Calhoun (2008) explains that a cosmopolitan definition of an appropri-
ate practice of a sociality stresses that one views self and others as citizens
of the world, so that there is community among the members of a con-
text to realize common aims. Glick Schiller et al. (2011) think that a cos-
mopolitan practice of a sociality requires that one relates to other people
and collectivities who are different from oneself by practicing inclusive
social relations. The scholars (Glick Schiller et al. 2011) stress that a cos-
mopolitan definition of a sociality enables the members of a context of
interaction to coexist with differences, which commonly stem from eth-
nicity, religion, gender, or class. Delanty (2006), in turn, finds that a
cosmopolitan sociality of a cosmopolitan context of interaction requires
its members to be reflexive about self and others to be able to include
differences.
These core characteristics of a cosmopolitan, dominant, and required
definition of an appropriate practice of sociality, and of a cosmopolitan
context of interaction, indicate that when transnational migrants signal
and practice cosmopolitan transnational socialities, constituent contexts’
dominant and required definitions of appropriate practices of socialities
are cosmopolitan too. This is because one can only simultaneously relate
to, intersect and/or combine, and signal and practice different contexts,’
dominant and required definitions of appropriate practices of social-

ities—when signaling and practicing a cosmopolitan transnational defi-
nition of an appropriate practice of a sociality—if constituent contexts’
dominant and required definitions of appropriate practices of socialities
are cosmopolitan too. The emphasis on inclusiveness in cosmopolitanism
provides transnational migrants who build a cosmopolitan transnational
sociality with proclivities to have high access to the resources of relevant
contexts, to feel embedded in them, and to devaluate people and collec-
tivities who do not have cosmopolitan, dominant, and required defini-
tions of appropriate practices of socialities.
The scholarship on transnational migrants, especially of highly-skilled
and often-moving professionals from a dominant race (Kennedy 2004;
Beaverstock 2005), finds that these migrants have cosmopolitan work,
and often related friendships/lifestyle socialities, and experience their
transnational work and related friendships/lifestyle contexts as cosmo-
politan. These ‘cosmopolitan’ socialities have been criticized (Yeoh 2004;
Calhoun 2008) for not being inclusive of several forms of differences,
especially of people’s material differences. For instance, Ley (2004, 160–
61) thinks that the ‘cosmopolitanism’ of highly-skilled, and often-mov-
ing transnational professionals serves the global expansion of free trade,
or neoliberalism, and is detached from the realities of people and col-
lectivities who are not such professionals. Yeoh (2004) and Calhoun
(2008) criticize such professionals’ ‘cosmopolitan’ socialities for being
elitist constructs and a surface rhetoric: they only pertain to the ‘world
openness’ of these highly-skilled, often-moving professionals. Similarly,
Berger (2002) criticizes that cosmopolitanism can be wrongly attributed
to be the sociality of people who are in fact a homogenous transnational
elite. ‘Cosmopolitan’ transnational work and friendships/lifestyle social-
ities also have been criticized (Guarnizo et al. 2003; Van Bochove et al.
2010) for wrongly being viewed as ‘cosmopolitan’ because these sociali-
ties are not linked to cosmopolitanism, but to living in different global or
metropolitan cities, and are detached from these cities’ specific histories,
cultures, and locations.
1.3.3 Hybrid Socialities

Hybridity in processes of globalization or transnationalization (Hannerz
2000; Nederveen 2004) means compressing time and space by using
and combining elements of different contexts, in different places and
18 C. PLÜSS
societies, dominant and required definitions of appropriate practices of

socialities. This combining produces a new, mixed, or hybrid definition
of a transnational practice of a sociality. Such a hybrid definition is a ‘cul-
tural crossover’ (Faist 2000, 211). An example of a hybrid, dominant,
and required definition of an appropriate practice of sociality is Desi cul-
ture (Suniara 2002). This is a minority youth culture of Americans with
origins in South Asia. Desi culture mixes elements from ethnic traditions
with elements from American mainstream youth culture. A definition
of an appropriate practice of a sociality in this hybrid lifestyle context
requires this cultural mixing. Mixing elements of cultures with origins
in different continents results in partial acceptance of this youth culture
by people with origin in South Asia, and in American mainstream youth
culture, and provides some access to the resources of these people and
collectivities.
Hybrid transnational socialities and hybrid time-space compres-
sions also have been researched in transnational work contexts (Plüss
2011; Joseph 2013). These often are the work contexts of people and/
or collectivities who work internationally. Such work contexts’ hybrid
definitions of appropriate practices of socialities require ‘transcultural
experience’ (Castles and Davidson 2000, 139) or transcultural knowl-
edge of people and collectivities in different places or regions to com-
petently work with them. For instance, such a hybrid, dominant, and
required transnational definition of an appropriate practice of a work
sociality can value people’s ability to act as ‘cultural intermediaries’
(Savage and Bennett 2005, 3): to know several cultural repertoires, to
be able to work in and with different cultures, and to translate between
these cultures.
People and collectivities who compress time and space in hybrid
ways—by simultaneously relating to, intersecting and/or combining, and
signaling and practicing dominant and required definitions of appropri-
ate practices of socialities of different contexts of interaction, in different
places and societies—include elements of these contexts’ definitions of
appropriate practices of socialities in their hybrid definition of an appro-
priate practice of a sociality. This inclusion explains why signaling and
practicing a hybrid definition of an appropriate practice of a sociality can
provide people with some access to the resources of the contexts they
relate to, and with some embeddedness in these contexts. This is espe-
cially so if these contexts’ definitions of appropriate practices of sociali-
ties are hybrid too: the intermingling of elements from different cultures
in hybrid definitions of socialities renders these definitions porous.

However, this does not mean that if contexts of interaction in different
places and societies have hybrid, dominant, and required definitions of
appropriate practices of socialities, this necessarily results in that trans-
national migrants, with a hybrid transnational sociality, have high access
to the resources of all of these contexts, and experience high embedded-
ness in them. Transnational migrants often find that what is hybridized
in different contexts’ hybrid definitions of appropriate practices of soci-
alities can be quite different (cf. Anthias 2001). These differences can
account for that transnational migrants, when they compress time and
space in hybrid ways, do not have much access to the resources of (all)
involved contexts, and do not experience high embeddedness in all these
contexts. Hybrid transnational socialities are different from cosmopolitan
ones: hybridity values certain mixes of characteristics of appropriate prac-
tices of socialities of different contexts, whereas cosmopolitanism more
generally values inclusiveness in definitions of appropriate practices of
socialities.
1.3.4 Incongruous Socialities

The scholarship of globalization (Appadurai 1990; Huntington 1996)
also finds that the characteristics of processes of globalization, or of time-
space compressions that ‘span the world,’ are incongruous. Transnational
migrants experience incongruous transnational socialities when their
attempts to simultaneously relate to, intersect and/or combine, and sig-
nal and practice dominant and required definitions of appropriate prac-
tices of socialities, of their different contexts of interaction in different
places and societies, fail. This can be because these definitions are starkly
different or incompatible, or because transnational migrants object to
such definitions. Incongruities may be so high that they do not enable
transnational migrants to simultaneously signal and practice definitions
of appropriate practices of socialities in their transnational contexts, or
in intersections of such contexts. This then results in that transnational
migrants have no (or very little) access to the resources of some of their
contexts in their transnational spaces, and experience dis-embeddedness
in them. The scholarship on globalization (Huntington 1996) finds that
incongruities in definitions of appropriate practices of socialities of con-
texts in different regions stem from that these definitions are those of
different civilizations or cultures, which evolved differently, in different
20 C. PLÜSS
locations. Appadurai (1990) posits that processes of globalization them-

selves create more differences in the world: this is because people, ideas,
the media, technology, and finance move differently to different loca-
tions, and concentrate differently in them. This then contributes to that
transnational migrants experience incongruities or ‘ruptures and disjunc-
ture’ among definitions of appropriate practices of socialities of different
contexts of interaction in different places, societies, or regions.
The large scholarship on migrant (non)integration (Nee and Sanders
2001; Alba and Nee 2003; Snel et al. 2006; Waldinger and Lichter
2007) indicates that migrants’ cultural distance from the mainstream of
the society to which they moved, and non-acceptance of the migrants’
characteristics, can make migrants unable or unwilling to signal and prac-
tice new mainstream definitions of dominant and required appropriate
practices of socialities. These migrants then commonly seek to access
resources among their co- or like-ethnics in the society to which they
have moved, and possibly elsewhere, as the migrants can signal and prac-
tice these definitions of dominant and required appropriate practices
of socialities. Experiencing high incongruities among dominant and
required definitions of appropriate practices of socialities in transnational
contexts means that migrants experience dis-embeddedness in such
contexts. It is not often that transnational migrants signal and practice
incongruous transnational socialities. Giddens (1991, 186) provides an
answer: such incongruities hinder people from experiencing a continuous
narrative of self, which is disturbing to people because this could lead to
experiencing ‘self-fragmentation.’
The scholarship of transnational migration (Jackson et al. 2004)
has well established that crossing national boundaries to live elsewhere
entails the refashioning of one’s social relations, identifications, and
perceptions. Migration is an agent of change, and migrants most likely
have to relate to novelty when they move to live in a new society. Such
changes can produce a plurality of visions among migrants, can render
their socialities ‘on the move’ or ‘mobile’ (Wittel 2001, 70–71), or ‘liq-
uid’ (Bauman 2005), and can make the migrants emergently reflexive
(Archer 2007) about what they wish to attempt to achieve, where, possi-
bly when, and how to realize what is most important to them. Most peo-
ple (Stevenson 1997) view their cultures—including their views of self,
others, places, and societies—as linked to their nations. Furthermore,
migrants who lived in different societies often experience incongruities
between their own understandings of dominant and required definitions
of appropriate practices of socialities, and such definitions of people and

collectivities who did not live in different societies (Onwumechili et al.
2003). Such incongruities can lead to that migrants develop tentative
or ambiguous views of self, others, places, and societies. Furthermore,
migrants can resist their devaluation in a new society to which they
moved to lessen their social and psychological strain (Ramaswami and
Leu 2005; Chan and Plüss 2013) by devaluating those who devalued
them. Or migrants in a new society may use passing (Goffman 1961): to
appear to (temporarily) fit with a context’s dominant and required defi-
nition of an appropriate practice of a sociality to gain a surface accept-
ance, and some access to this context’s resources. One more such coping
strategy with incongruity is cocooning (Giddens 1991; Blau and Brown
2001), or hiding one’s characteristics, to prevent becoming attributed
with having an inappropriate practice of a sociality and to have some
access to a context’s resources.
1.3.5 Homogenous Socialities

There is a fourth view in the scholarship of globalization (Tomlinson
1999), and of transnationalism (Portes 2004): that (migrants’) time-
space compressions, or practices of dominant and required definitions of
appropriate practices of socialities of contexts of interaction in different
places and societies, can be homogenous. Tomlinson (1999) finds that
the increasing interconnectedness of the world results in that people, col-
lectivities, places, and societies become more similar, at least in certain
regards: Globally spreading characteristics come to absorb local ones,
and this creates more sameness or homogenization in the cultural, social,
economic, and/or political characteristics of contexts of interaction in
different places and societies. Reasons for this are the ‘global’ spread of
neoliberalism (Kennedy 2004), associated consumer culture (Tomlinson
1999), and the values placed on democracy (Sen 1999), and/or individ-
ualism (Elliot 2007). The global media (Stevenson 1997) also contrib-
ute to the spread of these values. The homogenizing influences of such
‘global’ characteristics can provide transnational migrants who have these
characteristics with proclivities to be judged to have appropriate practices
of socialities in contexts of interaction in different places and societies
that are quite similar.
If transnational migrants simultaneously relate to, intersect and/or
combine, and signal and practice homogenous definitions of appropriate
22 C. PLÜSS
practices of socialities of different contexts of interaction in different

places and societies, they engage in homogenous time-space compres-
sions. Homogeneity, or low degrees of incongruities among such con-
texts’ definitions of appropriate practice of socialities, provide people and
collectivities who simultaneously signal and practice them with high access
to the resources of these contexts, with high embeddedness in these con-
texts, and provide these people and collectivities (Ramaswami and Leu
2005) with proclivities to homogenize, if not essentialize, their views of
self, others, places, and societies. Homogenization in these views (Blau
and Brown 2001, 228) provides transnational migrants with proclivities to
judge people, places, and societies with ‘same-other’ or ‘us-them’ distinc-
tions. Such homogeneous views (Cox 2004; Hacking 2005) are a basis
to stereotype, hierarchize, and exclude people and collectivities with dif-
ferences from access to the resources of contexts that have homogenous,
dominant, and required definitions of appropriate practices of socialities.
For example, the scholarship of transnational ethnic economies
(Bonacich 1973; Chau and Yu 2001) shows that people and collectivities
in transnational ethnic communities have homogenous transnational defi-
nitions of appropriate practices of socialities, and engage in homogenous
time-space compressions, because when these migrants moved to live in a
new society, their access to mainstream cultural, social, economic, and/or
political resources was blocked: Migrants often are ethnic minorities and
newcomers when they move to a new society, and can become attrib-
uted in mainstream education (Fong 2011; Kim 2012), work (Waldinger
and Lichter 2007), family (Lomsky-Feder and Leibovitz 2010), and/
or friendships/lifestyle contexts with not having dominant and required
definitions of appropriate practices of socialities. To access resources and
experience embeddedness in a new society, and possibly elsewhere, these
migrants build homogenous socialities in same- or like-ethnic contexts.
Such homogenous socialities can be understood (Faist 2000, 216) as ‘the
product of transferred capital, differential [negative] treatment, and sub-
sequent organization of the [minority] newcomers to overcome disad-
vantages and discrimination to exploit new opportunities.’ Being able to
engage in homogenous time-space compressions provides migrants with
high access to the resources of their transnational contexts, with high
embeddedness in them, and is likely to lead these migrants to strengthen
homogenized or essentialized views of self, others, places, and societies.
1.4 Chapters
This chapter explained the aims of rationale of this book, outlined
its relevance for the scholarship on transnational migrants, global cit-
ies, and repeat migrants, and put forth a new analytical framework
which serves to explain transnational lives in more encompassing,
and empirically-embedded ways, than it is usually done in the schol-
arship of transnationalism, processes of transnationalization, transna-
tional migrants, and of such migrants in global cities. Emphasis is on
the Chinese Singaporeans’ different forms of transnational socialities,
which this framework views as core characteristics of their transna-
tional (dis)embeddedness. Chapter 2 is a literature review of the dif-
ferent forms of transnational experiences of migrants who have—as far
as possible—similar characteristics when compared with those of the
Chinese Singaporeans. Furthermore, Chapter 2 presents key character-
istics of the four global cities of this book’s multi-sited research. Next,
Chapter 2 presents the methods used in this research, especially by
focusing on transnational biographies, and multi-sited research, as well
as the sampling procedures used to identify, and select, the Chinese
Singaporeans transnational migrants in each of the four global cities.
Chapters 3–6 crystallize the patterns of similarities and differences in
the Chinese Singaporeans’ transnational (dis)embeddedness in their
different context of interaction—those of education work, family,
and/or friendships/lifestyle—in intersections of these contexts, and
take into account the Chinese Singaporeans’ transnational biographies
(including being repeat migrants or not), to account for the transna-
tional (dis)embeddedness of the Chinese Singaporeans when they
lived in one of the four global cities. The concluding Chapter 7 more
fully answers this book’s questions if, how, and why living in one the
four global cities differently impinged on the Chinese Singaporeans’
transnational (dis)embeddedness, and comments on if there were dif-
ferences between Chinese Singaporeans who were repeat migrants, or
not. The concluding chapter outlines the relevance of the results of
this study for the scholarship of transnational migrants, migrant (non)
integration, race and ethnicity, processes of transnationalization, and
to some extent, for the scholarship of global cities.
24 C. PLÜSS
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CHAPTER 2
(Dis)Embeddedness in Transnational
Contexts
2.1 Transnational Contexts
This section is a brief overview of the literature on the (dis)embeddedness
of migrants in the four transnational contexts studied in this book: edu-
cation, work, family, and/or friendships/lifestyle contexts. In this liter-
ature (e.g., Khagram and Levitt 2008), migrants’ (dis)embeddedness
in transnational friendships/lifestyle contexts often is studied together
with such (dis)embeddedness in other forms of the migrants’ transna-
tional contexts. Therefore, my literature review in this chapter comments
on migrants’ (dis)embeddedness in transnational friendships/lifestyle
contexts, as this (dis)embeddedness is researched together with the
migrants’ experiences in others of their transnational contexts, which are
those of education, work, or family. As far as possible, I selected liter-
ature on transnational migrants who have similar characteristics when
compared with those of the 109 Chinese Singaporeans of this book’s
multi-sited research in Hong Kong, London, New York, or Singapore
(see Chapter 1): being asian and/or Chinese, being middle-class, living
in global cities (especially in the four global cities of this research), hav-
ing lived in western and English-speaking societies and in Asia, crossing
national boundaries relatively often to live elsewhere, having retuned
to live in a society of origin, coping strategies, and migrants’ different
forms of time-space compressions (cosmopolitan, hybrid, incongru-
ous, or homogenous time-space compressions, see Chapter 1) in their
transnational contexts.
© The Author(s) 2018 31

C. Plüss, Transnational Lives in Global Cities,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96331-0_2
32 C. PLÜSS
2.1.1 Education and Friendships/Lifestyle Contexts

A prominent theme in the literature on the (dis)embeddedness of edu-
cation migrants from Asia, who moved for university studies to English-
speaking and western societies (Szelényi and Rhodas 2007; Fong 2011;
Kim 2012), is that these migrants were dis-embedded in their transna-
tional education and friendships/lifestyle contexts, and experienced these
contexts as incongruous. University students from the People’s Republic
of China in the United States (Fong 2011) saw a descent in their status
in the West: they had middle-class status in China, but in America, they
struggled with higher costs of living, lived in overcrowded accommoda-
tions shared with other students and people from the People’s Republic
of China, and were exploited by their landlords and part-time employers.
To cope with such downward constitution in friendships/lifestyle con-
texts in America, and dis-embeddedness in these contexts, the students
signaled and practiced homogeneous transnational friendships/lifestyle
socialities: these socialities were rooted in China, and shared with stu-
dents and other people from the People’s Republic of China in the
United States. The research in psychology (Cottrell et al. 2007, 215–18)
of what people value in other people in education, and friendships/life-
style contexts emphasizes ‘trustworthiness,’ ‘cooperativeness,’ ‘honesty,’
‘dependability,’ and ‘similarity attractiveness.’ This aids in explaining why
the students from the People’s Republic of China befriended other peo-
ple from China in America. Szelényi and Rhodas (2007) find that stu-
dents from the People’s Republic of China who studied at universities in
the United States, related to their dis-embeddedness in American educa-
tion and lifestyle contexts, in which the students were confronted with
criticism of China, by rejecting it. They reasoned that what was most
important to them in their studies in the United States was to acquire the
skills to improve conditions in China, including those of their families.
Therewith, these students diminished a negative impact of incongruities
in their transnational education and lifestyle contexts on their identities.
Similarly, Chinese-Malaysian students (I 2016) at universities in London
experienced dis-embeddedness, and incongruities, in their transnational
education contexts: they lacked the required cultural capital to signal
and practice British mainstream, dominant, and required definitions of
appropriate practices of education, and friendships/lifestyle socialities.
These students (I 2016, 6) were also not much concerned with building
socialities with British and other students in London to achieve the
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Heiligenwaldensteinin sievä kaupunki ja valtio on yksi noita

nukkekuningaskuntia, jotka yhä muodostavat osan Saksan
valtakuntaa. Se oli joutunut Preussin ylivallan alle jokseenkin
myöhään — tuskin viisikymmentä vuotta ennen sitä kaunista
kesäpäivää, jolloin Flambeau ja isä Brown tapasivat toisensa
istumassa kaupungin puistossa oluen ääressä. Sota ja nyrkkivalta oli
riehunut siellä miesmuistoisista ajoista, niinkuin kohta saamme
nähdä. Mutta jos sitä tarkemmin katseli, ei voinut päästä tuosta
lapsellisesta vaikutuksesta, mikä on Saksan viehättävin puoli, ja
johtuu noista nukkemaisista iso-isän valtioista, joissa kuningas
näyttää yhtä kodikkaalta kuin kokki. Saksalaiset sotilaat
lukemattomien vartiokojujensa ääressä näyttivät omituisilta,
saksalaisilta leluilta, ja linnan sileäharjaiset muurit, jotka aurinko
kultasi, muistuttivat enimmän piparikakkua. Sillä ilma oli säteilevän
kaunis. Taivas oli niin preussinsininen kuin itse Potsdam saattoi
vaatia, mutta se muistutti sitä hehkuvaa ja tuhlaavaa värinkäyttöä,
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Harmaaoksaiset puutkin näyttivät nuorilta, sillä niiden terävät neulat
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ne lapsen sekasotkuiselta piirustukselta.
Huolimatta jokapäiväisestä ulkonäöstään ja yleensä
käytännöllisestä elämänkatsomuksestaan, ei isä Brownin luonteesta
kuitenkaan puuttunut romanttista vivahdusta, vaikka hän pitikin
useimmiten ilmalinnansa omana tietonaan. Tällaisen päivän
voimakkaiden, kirkkaiden värien keskellä ja tuollaisen linnan
sankarimaisen etuvarustuksen luona tuntui hänestä kuin hän olisi
joutunut keijukaismaisemaan. Häntä huvitti lapsellisesti, niinkuin
nuorempaa veljeä, tuo kaunis miekkakeppi, jota Flambeau aina
heilutteli kävellessään, ja joka nyt seisoi pystyssä hänen hirvittävän
baierilaisen oluttuoppinsa vieressä. Nyt, vaipuneena uneliaaseen
välinpitämättömyyteensä, huomasi hän tarkastelevansa kuluneen
sateenvarjonsa kömpelöä nuppia, muistellen hämärästi hirviön
luojaa, josta kerrottiin jossain kirjavassa poikien kirjassa. Mutta hän
ei koskaan muodostellut mitään esikuvan mukaan, lukuunottamatta
tarinaa, joka nyt seuraa:
»Ihmettelenpä», sanoi hän, »voisiko tuollaisessa palatsissa sattua

oikeita seikkailuja, jos niikseen tulee. Se on mainio tausta niille,
mutta minusta tuntuu kuitenkin, että siellä iskettäisiin pahvisapeleilla,
eikä oikeilla, hirmuisilla miekoilla.»
»Te erehdytte», sanoi hänen ystävänsä. »Siellä ei ainoastaan

tapella miekoilla, vaan tapetaankin ilman miekkoja. Ja siellä on
sattunut vielä pahempaakin.»
»Kuinka? Mitä te tarkoitatte?» kysyi isä Brown.
»Niin», vastasi toinen. »Minä aioin sanoa että tuo on ainoa paikka
Euroopassa, missä mies koskaan on ammuttu ilman tuliaseita.»
»Tarkoitatteko jousta tai heittokeihästä?» kysyi Brown jokseenkin

ihmeissään.
»Minä tarkoitan kuulaa pään läpi», vastasi Flambeau. »Ettekö
tunne tarinaa tämän maan viimeisestä hallitsijasta? Se oli noita
suuria poliisisalaisuuksia parikymmentä vuotta sitten. Te muistatte
kai, että tämä paikka anastettiin väkisin Bismarckin aikaisimpien
vahvistussuunnitelmien mukaisesti — väkisin kyllä, mutta ei helposti.
Valtio tai se, mikä oli juuri muodostumassa sellaiseksi, lähetti
Grossenmarkin prinssin Oton hallitsemaan sitä keisarin nimessä. Me
näimme hänen kuvansa tuolla taulukokoelmassa — miellyttävän
näköinen vanha herra, jolleivät hänen kulmansa olisi olleet
karvattomat ja jollei hän olisi ollut ryppyinen kuin korppikotka. Mutta
oli seikkoja, jotka vaivasivat häntä, ja minä kerron kohta niistä. Hän
oli erittäin menestyksellinen ja taitava soturi, mutta hänen tehtävänsä
tässä paikassa ei ollut niinkään helppo. Nuo kuuluisat Arnhold
veljekset voittivat hänet monessa taistelussa — nuo kolme
partionkävijää ja isänmaanystävää, joista Swinburn kirjoitti runon,
muistattehan: 'Vuorten sudet, valkoturkit kotkat kruunupäiset
kuninkaina, vaikka väistyy joukko tuhatpäinen, kolme kestää
uupumatta aina.' Tai jotain siihen suuntaan. Todella ei ole ollenkaan
varmaa, että anastus olisi onnistunut, jollei Paul, yksi veljeksistä, olisi
raukkamaisesti, mutta päättävästi, luopunut pitemmästä
puolustuksesta ja paljastaen kaikki kapinan salaisuudet, varmistanut
häviötään ja omaa, lopullista määräystään ruhtinas Oton
kamariherraksi. Senjälkeen kaatui ainoa oikea Swinburnen kolmesta
sankarista, Ludwig, miekka kädessä kaupungin valtauksessa, ja
kolmas Heinrich, vaikka ei ollutkaan petturi, oli kuitenkin kesy ja arka
toimeliaihin veljiinsä verrattuna. Hän vetäytyi jonkunlaiseen
erakkomajaan, kääntyi kristilliseen rauhanoppiin, joka muistutti
kveekarilaisuutta, eikä koskaan enää seurustellut ihmisten kanssa,
paitsi antaessaan kaikki mitä hänellä oli köyhille. Minulle on kerrottu,
että hänet vielä jonkun aikaa myöhemmin sattumalta nähtiin
naapurustossa, valkeassa puvussa, melkein sokeana, hyvin
takkuisine valkeine hiuksineen, mutta kasvoilla hämmästyttävä
lempeys.
»Minä tiedän», sanoi isä Brown. »Minä näin hänet kerran.»
Hänen ystävänsä katsahti häneen aikalailla hämmästyneenä.
»Minä en tiennyt, että te olette ollut täällä ennenkin», sanoi hän.

»Ehkäpä te tiedätte tästä asiasta yhtä paljon kuin minäkin. Niin,
sellainen oli tarina Arnholdeista, ja hän on viimeinen eloon jäänyt
heistä. Niin, ja kaikista niistäkin, joilla oli osansa
murhenäytelmässä.»
»Tarkoitatteko, että ruhtinaskin kuoli aikaisemmin?»
»Niin», toisti Flambeau, »ja siinä onkin kaikki, mitä me tiedämme.

Tiedättekö, että kun hänen loppunsa alkoi lähestyä, oli hänellä
tuollaisia hermokohtauksia, joita tyranneilla useinkin on. Hän teki
vartion päivällä ja yöllä linnansa ympärillä monikertaiseksi, niin että
kaupungissa näytti olevan enemmän vartiokojuja kuin taloja, ja
epäilyttävät henkilöt ammuttiin armotta. Hän oleskeli melkein aina
pienessä huoneessa, joka oli aivan keskellä muitten huoneitten
muodostamaa ääretöntä sokkelokäytävää, ja tänne pystytti hän
jonkunmoisen keskusmajan pahvista, joka oli vahvistettu teräksellä
kuin vankila tai panssarilaiva. Muutamat sanovat, että sen lattian alla
oli maassa salainen luola, juuri niin suuri, että hän sopi sinne, ja että
hän haudan pelosta oli valmis menemään tähän haudankaltaiseen
paikkaan. Mutta hän meni vielä pitemmälle. Kansa oli riisuttu aseista
jo kapinan kukistumisen jälkeen, mutta nyt vaati Otto, mitä hallitus
hyvin harvoin vaatii, aivan kirjaimellista aseista riisumista. Sen
toimittivat hyvinjärjestetyt virkamiehet tavattomalla
perinpohjaisuudella ja ankaruudella pienellä ja tutulla alueella, ja
siinä määrin kuin inhimillinen tarkkuus ja tieto voi olla varma jostakin,
oli prinssi Otto vakuutettu siitä, ettei kukaan voinut tuoda
leikkipistooliakaan Heiligenwaldensteiniin.»
»Inhimillinen viisaus ei voi koskaan olla varma sellaisista

seikoista», sanoi isä Brown, katsellen puitten punertavia silmikoita
yläpuolellaan, »vaikkapa vain määrittelyn ja selonsaamisen
vaikeuden vuoksi. Mikä on ase? Ihmiset ovat tappaneet toisiaan
viattomimmillakin talouskaluilla, teekattiloilla, ehkäpä teekupeillakin.
Jos te näyttäisitte entisajan englantilaiselle revolveria, epäilen minä,
olisiko hän tuntenut sen aseeksi, tietysti ennenkuin se pamahti
hänen edessään. Ehkäpä joku toi muassaan tuliaseen, joka oli niin
uutta mallia, ettei se ollut tuliaseen näköinenkään. Ehkäpä se oli kuin
sormustin tai sellainen. Oliko kuula millään lailla merkillinen?»
»Siitä en ole koskaan kuullut», vastasi Flambeau, »mutta minun

tietoni ovat katkonaisia ja olen saanut ne vanhalta ystävältäni
Grimmiltä. Hän oli hyvin taitava salapoliisi Saksan palveluksessa ja
hän aikoi vangita minut. Minä vangitsin hänet sensijaan ja me
vietimme monta hauskaa hetkeä pakinoiden. Hän oli täällä
toimittamassa tutkimuksia prinssi Oton asiassa, mutta minä en
muistanut kysyä häneltä mitään luodista. Grimmin mukaan oli tapaus
tällainen.»
Hän piti hiukan väliä kulauttaakseen yhdellä vedolla suurimman

osan mustasta oluestaan ja jatkoi sitten:
»Kysymyksessä olevana iltana odotettiin prinssin tuloa ulompiin

huoneihin, koska hänen tuli ottaa vastaan vieraita, joita hän tosiaan
tahtoi tavata. Ne olivat geoloogisia asiantuntijoita, joiden tuli tutkia
vanhaa kysymystä, oliko näissä ympärillä olevissa vuorissa kultaa.
Tämän tarinan perusteella — kerrotaan — oli vanha kaupunkivaltio
kauan aikaa pitänyt yllä luottoaan, ja oli saattanut neuvotella
naapuriensa kanssa suurien sotajoukkojen lakkaamattoman
pommituksen alaisena. Tähän saakka ei sitä koskaan ollut löytynyt
huolimatta perin tarkoista tiedusteluista, joiden avulla…»
»Joiden avulla saataisiin täysi varmuus lelupistooleista», sanoi isä

Brown hymyillen. »Mutta mitä kuuluu veljestä, joka oli petturi? Eikö
hänellä ollut prinssille mitään kerrottavaa?»
»Hän pysyi aina väitteessään, ettei hän tiennyt mitään», vastasi

Flambeau, »sillä se oli ainoa salaisuus, jota hänen veljensä ei ollut
kertonut hänelle. Varmuudella voi vain sanoa, että huhua kannattivat
suuren Ludwigin kuollessaan lausumat katkonaiset sanat, kun hän
katseli Heinrichiä ja osoitti Paulia, ja sanoi: Ettehän ole kertoneet
hänelle…» kykenemättä sanomaan lausettaan loppuun. No niin,
lähetystö etevimpiä geoloogeja ja mineraloogeja Parisista ja
Berlinistä oli siellä komeimmissa ja huolitelluimmissa puvuissaan,
sillä ei ole muita ihmisiä, jotka niin mielellään näyttelevät
kunniamerkkejään kuin tiedemiehet, niinkuin jokainen, joka on ollut
Royal Society'n iltakutsuissa, hyvin tietää. Seura oli loistava, mutta
oli jo myöhäinen, ja vähitellen tuo kamariherra — tehän näitte hänen
kuvansa: tummakulmainen, vakavasilmäinen mies, ajatukseton
hymy huulillaan — kamariherra huomasi, että siellä olivat kaikki
muut, muttei prinssiä. Hän haki läpi kaikki ulommat salit, mutta
muistaen sitten ruhtinaan omituiset mielijohteet ja pelon, kiiruhti hän
sisempään huoneeseen. Sekin oli tyhjä, mutta kesti jonkun aikaa,
ennenkuin rautatorni saatiin auki. Kun se aukeni, oli sekin tyhjä. Hän
astui sisään ja kurkisti kuoppaan permannon alle; se näytti
kammottavan syvältä ja sitä enemmän hautamaiselta — Näin hän
tietysti kertoi. Mutta juuri hänen siellä ollessaan kuului huutoa ja
melua ulkopuolella olevista huoneista ja käytävistä.
Ensin kuului kaukaista jyskettä ja huutelua jostain kaukaa metsän

reunasta linnan takana. Sitten läheni se sekavana hälinänä, jossa
jokainen sana hukutti toisen. Sitten kuului kamalan selviä sanoja,
jotka lähenivät, ja lopuksi hyökkäsi huoneeseen mies, joka kertoi
uutisen niin nopeasti kuin sellaisen uutisen voi kertoa.
Otto, Heiligwaldensteinin ja Grossenmarkin ruhtinas, lepäsi

sumenevan hämärän syvyydessä metsässä linnan takana, kädet
pystyssä ja kasvot kuuta kohti. Veri vuosi hiljaa hänen puhkaistusta
ohimostaan ja leuastaan, mutta se olikin ainoa osa hänessä, mikä
liikkui ja eli. Hän oli puettu täyteen valkeankeltaiseen
sotilaspukuunsa, niin kuin vieraita vastaanottaakseen, paitsi että
hänen vyönsä tai ritarinauhansa oli irti ja oli rypistyneenä maassa
hänen vieressään. Ennenkuin ennätettiin nostaa hänet, kuoli hän.
Mutta kuolleena tai elävänä oli hän arvoitus — hän, joka aina oli ollut
piilossa sisimmässä huoneessa ja joka nyt lepäsi ulkona märässä
metsässä, aseetonna ja yksin.
»Kuka löysi hänen ruumiinsa?» kysyi isä Brown.
»Eräs hovissa palveleva tyttö, Hedwig von se tai tämä», vastasi

hänen ystävänsä, »joka oli ollut metsässä kukkia poimimassa.»
»Oliko hän poiminut niitä?» kysyi pappi, katsellen aivan

välinpitämättömästi oksakiehkuroita yläpuolellaan.
»Kyllä», vastasi Flambeau. »Minä muistan erikoisen selvästi, että

kamariherra, tai vanha Grimm, tai kuka se lie ollutkin, kertoi kuinka
kamalalta tuntui, kun he kiiruhtivat sinne hänen huutaessaan ja
näkivät tytön keväisiä kukkia kädessään kumartuneena tuon… tuon
verisen ruumiin yli. Oli miten hyvänsä, mutta pääasia on se, että
ennenkuin apu ehti, oli hän kuollut, ja uutinen siitä piti saattaa
linnaan. Hämmästys, jonka se synnytti, oli suurempi kuin hovissa
tavallisesti on hallitsijan kaatuessa. Ulkolaiset vieraat, etenkin
kaivosasioitten tuntijat, olivat hurjimman epäilyn ja kiihkon vallassa,
samoinkuin monet tärkeät preussilaiset virkamiehet, ja nyt alkoi jo
tulla selville, että aarteenhakusuunnitelma oli paljon tärkeämpi kuin
yleensä oli luultu. Asiantuntijoille ja virkamiehille oli luvattu suuria
palkintoja tai kansainvälisiä etuja, ja muutamat väittivätkin, että
ruhtinaan salaiset hommat ja ankara sotilaallinen suojelustila
johtuivat vähemmän kansan pelosta, kuin yksityisen tutkimuksen
salaamisesta, joka…»
»Oliko kukissa pitkät varret?» kysyi isä Brown.
Flambeau tuijotti häneen.
»Mikä merkillinen henkilö te olettekaan!» sanoi hän. »Juuri niin

sanoi ukko Grimm. Hänen mielestään oli ilkeintä se — ilkeämpää
kuin veri ja luoti — että kukkien varret olivat aivan lyhyet, taitettuina
juuri kukintojen alta.»
»Tietysti», sanoi pappi. »Kun täysikasvuinen tyttö poimii kukkia,

jättää hän paljon vartta. Jos hän repii ainoastaan kukinnot, niinkuin
lapset, näyttää siltä kuin…»
Hän epäröi ilmaista mielipidettään.
»No?» kysyi toinen.

»Näyttää melkein siltä kuin olisi hän temponut ne hätäisesti,
selittääkseen siellä olonsa — koska hän kerran oli siellä.»
»Minä tiedän mitä te ajatte takaa», sanoi Flambeau melkein

nyreästi. »Mutta tämä ja kaikki muutkin epäluulot taittuivat yhdessä
kohdin — hänellä ei ollut asetta. Olihan hänet voitu murhata monella
lailla, niin kuin te sanotte — hänen omalla sotilasvyölläänkin, mutta
meidän on selitettävä, kuinka hänet ammuttiin, eikä miten hänet
murhattiin. Ja sitä me emme todella osaa. Tyttöä tutkittiin hyvin
säälimättömästi, sillä, sanoakseni totuuden, oli hänkin
epäilyksenalainen, vaikka hän olikin vanhan, petollisen kamariherran
Paul Arnholdin veljentytär ja kasvatti. Mutta hän oli hyvin haaveileva
luonteeltaan ja hänen epäiltiin ihailevan perheensä muinaista
vallankumouksellista intoa. No, olipa miten hyvänsä, mutta niin
haaveellinen ei kukaan saata olla, että kuvittelisi suuren luodin
ammutuksi miehen pääkalloon käyttämättä pyssyä tai pistoolia. Ja
pistoolia ei ollut, vaikka olikin kaksi laukausta. Minä jätän ratkaisun
teille, ystäväni.»
»Mistä tiedätte, että kaksi laukausta oli ammuttu?» kysyi pieni

pappi.
»Hänen päässään oli vain yksi haava», sanoi Flambeau. »Mutta

hänen vyössään oli toinen kuulanreikä.»
Isä Brownin sileä otsa rypistyi äkkiä.
»Löytyikö toinen kuula?» kysyi hän.
Flambeau säpsähti hiukan.
»Ei minun muistaakseni», sanoi hän.

»Jatkakaa! Jatkakaa! Jatkakaa!» huusi Brown yhä kiivaammin
tavattoman uteliaisuuden vallassa. »Älkää pitäkö minua
epäkohteliaana. Antakaapa minun miettiä tätä hetkisen.»
»Hyvä», sanoi Flambeau nauraen ja lopetti oluensa.
Hiljainen tuulenhenki heilutteli puiden puhkeavia oksia ja toi

taivaalle vaaleanpunaisia ja valkeita pilviä, jotka tuntuivat tekevän
sen sinisemmäksi ja koko värikkään ympäristön oudommaksi. Ne
olivat kuin keruubeja, jotka lensivät kotiin jonkunlaiseen taivaalliseen
lastenkamariin. Linnan vanhin torni, Lohikäärme-torni, seisoi siinä
yhtä omituisena kuin oluttuoppi, ja yhtä kodikkaana. Mutta tornin
takana kimmelsi metsä, jossa mies oli maannut kuolleena.
»Kuinka tuolle Hedwigille sitten kävi?» kysyi pappi viimein.
»Hän on naimisissa kenraali Schwartzin kanssa», sanoi

Flambeau. »Epäilemättä olette te kuullut hänen elämänurastaan,
joka oli hyvin romanttinen. Hän oli kunnostautunut jo ennen
urotöitään Sadowan ja Gravelotten luona. Todella kehosi hän rivistä,
mikä on hyvin tavatonta pienimmissäkin Saksan…»
Isä Brown oikasihe äkkiä:
»Kohosi rivistä!» huusi hän ja suipensi suutaan kun viheltääkseen.

»Hyvä, hyvä! Mikä omituinen juttu! Mikä omituinen tapa murhata
mies; mutta minä luulen, että se oli ainoa mahdollinen. Mutta ajatella
niin kärsivällistä vihaa…»
»Mitä te tarkoitatte?» kysyi toinen. »Millä lailla tappoivat he

miehen?»
»He tappoivat hänet vyöllä», sanoi Brown huolekkaasti ja jatkoi
sitten, kun Flambeau väitti vastaan: »Niin, niin, minä tiedän kaikki
luodista. Ehkäpä minun pitäisi sanoa, että hän kuoli vyön tähden.
Minä tiedän, ettei se merkitse samaa kuin sairaus.»
»Minä arvelen», sanoi Flambeau »että te olette saanut jotakin

päähänne, mutta se ei kuitenkaan vedä luotia ulos hänen päästään.
Minä selitin äsken, että hänet olisi helposti voitu kuristaa. Mutta
hänet oli ammuttu. Kuka? Mitenkä?»
»Hänet ammuttiin hänen omasta määräyksestään», sanoi pappi.
»Tarkoitatteko että hän teki itsemurhan?»
»En sanonut, että hänen oman toivomuksensa, vaan hänen oman

määräyksensä mukaan», vastasi isä Brown.
»No mikä on sitten teidän mielipiteenne?»
Isä Brown nauroi.
»Minä vietän nyt vapaa-aikaani, eikä minulla ole mitään

mielipiteitä. Mutta tämä paikka tuo mieleeni vanhoja satuja, ja, jos
teitä huvittaa, kerron teille sadun.»
Pienet, punertavat pilvet, jotka olivat kuin pehmeää pumpulia,

olivat riidelleet kullatun piparikakkulinnan tornien huipuille, ja versoa
vien puiden ruusunpunaiset lapsensormet näyttivät kurottautuvan ja
ojentautuvan tarttuakseen niihin. Sininen taivas alkoi punertaa illan
tullen, kun isä Brown taas yht'äkkiä alkoi puhua.
»Yö oli synkkä ja sade tippui hiljaa puista rypäleisinä pisaroina,

kun Grossenmarkin ruhtinas Otto astui kiireesti ulos linnan
takaovesta ja kulki nopeasti metsää kohti. Eräs lukemattomista
vartijoista tervehti häntä, mutta hän ei huomannut sitä. Hän ei
tahtonut itsekään tulla huomatuksi. Hän oli tyytyväinen, kun suuret
puut, harmaina ja sateesta liukkaina, sulkivat hänet piiriinsä. Hän oli
tahallaan valinnut linnansa hiljaisemman puolen, mutta sielläkin oli
hänen mielestään liikaa väkeä. Mutta nyt ei ollut aikaa virallisiin tai
diplomaattisiin keskusteluihin, sillä hän oli lähtenyt ulos äkillisen
mielijohteen vallassa. Kaikki nuo juhlapukuiset diplomaatit, jotka hän
jätti jälkeensä, eivät merkinneet mitään. Hän oli äkkiä huomannut,
että hän voisi toimittaa asiansa ilman heitäkin.
»Hänen suuri intohimonsa ei ollut kuoleman ylvästä pelkoa, vaan

inhottavaa kullan himoa. Tuon tarinan takia kullasta oli hän jättänyt
Grossenmarkin ja anastanut Heiligenwaldensteinin. Vain sen, eikä
minkään muun takia oli hän lahjonut petturin ja kukistanut sankarin;
sen takia oli hän yhä uudelleen kuulustellut kamariherraansa,
kunnes hän oli tullut siihen päätökseen, että kavaltaja, tuntien
tietämättömyytensä, todella puhui totta. Sitä varten oli hän, kuitenkin
hiukan vastustellen, maksanut ja luvannut rahoja, arvellen
voittavansa sitä enemmän, ja sitä varten oli hän varustautunut ulos
sateeseen palatsistaan, niinkuin varas, sillä hän oli keksinyt toisen
tien päästä sydämensä halun perille huokeammalla.»
Kaukana kiemuroivan vuoristopolun päässä, jota pitkin hän kulki,

pylväsmäisten kallionkielekkeiden keskellä, kaupungin yli
kumartuvan vuorenhuipun laella oli erakkomaja, tuskin muuta kuin
lohkareiden ympäröimä luola, jossa kolmas mainioista veljeksistä oli
kauan piillyt maailmalta. Hänellä, arveli prinssi Otto, ei kai ollut
mitään todellista syytä olla ilmaisematta kullan löytöpaikkaa. Hän oli
tiennyt jo kauan sitten, missä sitä oli, eikä kuitenkaan pyrkinyt
ottamaan sitä haltuunsa, ei silloinkaan, kun hänen uusi askeettinen
uskontonsa oli eroittanut hänet onnesta ja huvituksista. Totta kyllä
hän oli entinen vihollinen, mutta hän saarnasi nyttemmin rauhaa.
Joku ystävällinen sana tai vetoaminen hänen periaatteisiinsa
saattaisi hänet kai ilmaisemaan salaisuutensa. Otto ei ollut pelkuri,
huolimatta sotilaallisista varovaisuustoimenpiteistään, ja joka
tapauksessa oli hänen ahneutensa voimakkaampi kuin hänen
pelkonsa. Eikä pelkoon ollutkaan paljon syytä. Siitä lähtien kun hän
oli varma, ettei koko ruhtinaskunnassa ollut minkäänlaisia aseita, oli
hän sata kertaa varmempi, ettei niitä ollut kveekarin pienessä
erakkomajassakaan kukkulalla, missä hän eli ruohoista kahden
vanhan maalaispalvelijan kanssa, kuulematta muuta ihmisääntä
vuosikausiin. Prinssi Otto katseli ilkeästi hymyillen kirkasta, tasaista
lamppuryhmää alapuolellaan. Sillä niinkauas kuin silmä kantoi, vilisi
siellä hänen ystäviänsä jääkäreitä, eikä hänen vihollisillaan ollut
hyppysellistäkään ruutia. Jääkäreitä oli rivittäin niin lähellä
vuoristopolkuakin, että hänen päästämänsä huuto saisi sotilaat
ryntäämään vuorta ylös, siitä puhumattakaan, että metsässä ja
kukkuloilla kulki vartiostoja säännöllisten välimatkojen päässä.
Jääkäreitä oli niin kaukana tiestä, välimatkan pienentäminä, virran
takanakin, ettei vihollinen voinut mitään kiertotietä pujahtaa
kaupunkiin. Ja palatsin ympärillä oli jääkäreitä pohjoisen oven,
eteläisen oven, läntisen oven ja itäisen oven luona, pitkin seiniä
ketjussa. Hän oli turvassa.
Se kävi yhä selvemmäksi, kun hän nousi kukkulalle ja näki kuinka

alaston hänen vanhan vihollisensa pesä oli. Hän tapasi hänet
pienellä, tasaisella kalliolla, äkkijyrkänteen yläpuolella. Takana oli
musta luola, jonka vihreät ruusupensaat peittivät, niin matala, että
tuntui melkein uskomattomalta, että mies voisi päästä sinne sisään.
Sen vastapäätä oli rotkon seinä ja avara, mutta sumea näköala
laaksoon. Pienellä kivipermannolla seisoi vanha pronssinen jalusta,
taipuen suuren saksalaisen Raamatun painon alla. Sen pronssiset
tai kupariset ha'at olivat muuttuneet vihreiksi korkean paikan
syövyttävissä tuulissa, ja Oton mieleen tuli ajatus: Ja vaikka heillä
olisi aseet, olisi ruoste ne jo raiskannut! Nouseva kuu valaisi
himmeästi huippuja ja rotkoja ja sade oli lakannut.
Kirjatelineen takana, katsellen yli laakson, seisoi hyvin vanha mies

valkeassa puvussa, joka verhosi hänet yhtä jäykkänä kuin kalliot
hänen ympärillään, mutta hänen valkeat hiuksensa ja vapiseva
äänensä tuntuivat väräjävän tuulessa. Hän luki nähtävästi
jokapäiväistä tekstiään palvellen Jumalaansa. »He luottivat
hevosiinsa…»
»Hyvä herra», sanoi Heiligenwaldensteinin ruhtinas, aivan

tavattoman kohteliaasti. »Tahtoisin mielelläni puhutella teitä.»
»… ja vaunuihinsa», jatkoi vanha mies voimattomasti, »mutta me

tahdomme turvata sotajoukkojen Herraan…»
Hänen viimeiset sanansa häipyivät kuulumattomiin, mutta hän

sulki kirjan kunnioittavasti ja ollen melkein sokea, teki hapuilevan
liikkeen ja tarttui kirjanalustaan. Heti syöksyivät hänen palvelijansa
ulos matala-aukkoisesta luolasta ja tukivat häntä. Heillä oli paksut,
valkeat viitat kuten hänelläkin, mutta heidän hiuksissaan ei ollut tuota
jäistä hopeaa, eikä heidän piirteissään tuota pakkasen puremaa
hienoutta. He olivat talonpoikia, kroatteja tai unkarilaisia, leveine,
karkeine kasvoineen ja räpyttelevine silmineen. Heti ensi hetkestä
vaikutti jokin häiritsevästi ruhtinaaseen, mutta hän luotti
rohkeuteensa ja diplomaattiseen kykyynsä. »Minä luulen, ettemme
ole tavanneet toisiamme sittenkuin tuon kamalan pommituksen
aikana, jossa veliparkanne kuoli.»
»Kaikki minun veljeni kuolivat», sanoi vanhus katsellen yhä
laaksoon päin. Sitten, kääntäen hetkiseksi Ottoa kohti lakastuneet,
hienopiirteiset kasvonsa, talvisten hiuksien pyrkiessä lankeamaan
hänen kulmilleen kuin jääkynttilät, lisäsi hän: »Näettehän, minäkin
olen kuollut, minäkin.»
»Toivon, että te ymmärrätte», sanoi ruhtinas, pyrkien puhumaan

sovinnollisesti, »etten minä ole tullut tänne teitä kiusaamaan kuin
menneitten riitojen kauhea haamu. Emme puhu siitä, mikä siinä oli
oikeaa tai väärää, mutta siinä oli yksi kohta, jossa emme koskaan
olleet väärässä, koska te aina olitte oikeassa. Sanottakoon teidän
perheenne toiminnasta mitä hyvänsä, niin ei kukaan hetkeäkään
kuvitellut, että teitä liikuttaisi tuo kullan paljous. Te olette itse
antaneet todisteen siitä, että…»
Vanha mies pitkässä valkeassa viitassaan oli tähän asti katsellut

häntä tuijottaen vesistävillä sinisillä silmillään, kasvoillaan väsynyt
viisaus. Mutta kun sana »kulta» oli lausuttu, ojensi hän kätensä kuin
pysäyttääkseen jotain ja käänsi pois kasvonsa vuoria kohti.
»Hän on puhunut kullasta», sanoi hän. »Hän on puhunut

luvattomasta asiasta. Estäkää hänet puhumasta.»
Otolla oli preussilaisen luonteen viat ja tavat. Hänen mielestään

menestys ei ollut sattuma, vaan ominaisuus. Hän käsitti itsensä ja
kansalaisensa valloittajakansaksi, joka kukisti kukistumaan tottuneita
kansoja. Sen vuoksi sattui yllätyksen liikutus vaikeasti häneen ja esti
häntä valmistautumasta seuraavaan, mikä kauhistutti ja jäykistytti
hänet. Hän oli avannut suunsa vastatakseen erakolle, mutta vahva,
pehmeä kääre, mikä yht'äkkiä kiedottiin hänen päänsä ympäri,
sammutti sanat hänen kurkkuunsa. Se tapahtui juuri neljäkymmentä
sekuntia ennen, kuin hän huomasi, että nuo unkarilaiset palvelijat
olivat tehneet sen, vieläpä hänen omalla sotilasvyöllään.
Vanhus palasi taas väsyneesti suuren, pronssisen kirjatelineensä

luo, käänteli lehtiä, kärsivällisyydellä, jossa oli jotain kamalaa,
kunnes hän löysi Jaakopin epistolan ja alkoi lukea:
»Kieli on pieni elin, mutta…»
Jokin tuossa äänessä sai ruhtinaan äkkiä kääntymään ja

kiiruhtamaan alas samaa vuoripolkua, jota hän oli tullut. Hän oli
puolivälissä palatsin puutarhojen ja vuoren välillä, ennenkuin hän
yrittikään irroittaa kuristavaa vyötä kaulansa ja leukansa ympäriltä.
Hän kiskoi kiskomistaan, mutta se oli mahdotonta, miehet, jotka
olivat solminneet sen, tiesivät, mitä mies voi tehdä käsillään
edessäpäin ja mitä hän voi tehdä käsillään päänsä takana. Hänen
jalkansa olivat vapaat juoksemaan kuin antiloopin vuoristossa,
hänen kätensä olivat vapaat tekemään minkä liikkeen, tai antamaan
minkä merkin hyvänsä, mutta hän ei voinut puhua. Hän oli mykkä.
Hän oli tullut aivan linnaa ympäröivän metsän rajalle, ennen kuin
hän tuli ajatelleeksi, mitä hänen sanaton tilansa tarkoitti ja mitä sen
tuli tarkoittaa. Vielä kerran katsahti hän jurosti kirkasta, säännöllistä
lamppujen valaisemaa kaupunkia allaan, ja hän ei hymyillyt enää.
Hän huomasi ajattelevansa aikaisempaa mielentilaansa murhaavalla
ironialla. Niin kauas kuin hänen silmänsä kantoivat, vallitsivat hänen
ystäviensä pyssyt, joista jokainen oli valmis ampumaan hänet
kuoliaaksi, jollei hän vastannut tunnussanaan. Jääkärit olivat niin
lähellä, että metsän ja vuoriston läpi kulki säännöllisiä vartiostoja;
senvuoksi oli turhaa piiloutua metsään aamuun saakka. Jääkäreitä
oli järjestetty niin lähelle, ettei mikään vihollinen voinut hiipiä
kaupunkiin kiertotietä; siksi olikin turha koettaa palata sinne
kaukaisempaa tietä. Hänen huutonsa saisi sotilaat syöksymään
kukkuloita ylös. Mutta hän ei tulisi päästämään huutoa.
Kuu oli noussut hopeisin sätein, ja taivas näkyi kirkkaina, sinisinä

läikkinä linnaa ympäröivien mustien kuusten oksien välistä. Jotain
outoja, höyhenien tapaisia kukkia — sillä hän ei koskaan ennen ollut
huomannut sellaisia — kirkasti ja kalvensi kuunvalo äkkiä, ja ne
näyttivät kuvaamattoman haaveellisilta ryhmittyneinä kuin ryömien
puitten juurien ympärille. Ehkäpä oli hänen järkensä hämmentynyt
tuon luonnottoman ahdingon vuoksi, mikä vaivasi häntä, mutta hän
tunsi, että tuossa metsässä oli jotain määrättömän germaanista, kuin
haltijatartarinoissa. Hän tunsi puolilla ajatuksillaan, että hän oli
kulkeutumassa lähemmäksi peikon linnaa — hän oli unohtanut, että
hän itse oli peikko. Hän muisti kysyneensä äidiltään, oliko kodin
rauhaisassa puistossa karhuja. Hän kumartui poimiakseen kukkia,
aivan kuin ne suojelisivat noituudelta. Varsi oli vahvempi kuin hän
luuli ja taittui heikosti rasahtaen. Kun hän alkoi huolellisesti kiinnittää
sitä vyöhönsä, kuuli hän huudon:
Kuka siellä? Sitten muisti hän, ettei vyö ollutkaan paikoillaan.
Hän koetti huutaa, mutta ääntä ei tullut, Kuului toinen varoitus ja

sitten pamahti laukaus, ja sitten oli kaikki taas hiljaista.
Grossenmarkin ruhtinas lepäsi hyvin rauhallisena taikapuiden
keskellä, eikä enää tehnyt pahaa kullalla eikä teräksellä. Kuun
hopeakynä piirsi vain jälkiä sinne tänne hänen univormunsa kirjaviin
koristeihin, tai hänen otsansa vanhoihin ryppyihin. Olkoon Jumala
hänen sielulleen armollinen.
Vartija, joka oli ampunut saamiensa ankarien määräysten mukaan,

juoksi luonnollisesti paikalle löytääkseen saaliinsa jäljet. Hän oli
Schwartz niminen halpa sotilas, vaikkei sittemmin tuntematon
ammatissaan, ja hän löysi virkapukuisen rotevan miehen, jonka
kasvot olivat käärityt jonkinmoiseen naamioon, joka oli tehty hänen
omasta sotilasvyöstään, niin ettei näkynyt muuta kuin avonaiset
kuolleen silmät, jotka lasimaisesti kimaltelivat kuun valossa. Luoti oli
mennyt siteen läpi ohimoon; senvuoksi oli siteessäkin luodin reikä,
vaikka luoteja olikin vain yksi. Luonnollisesti, vaikkei tahdikkaasti, otti
Schwartz pois salaperäisen silkkinaamion ja heitti sen ruohikkoon, ja
sitten näki hän, kenet hän oli ampunut.
Seuraavasta emme voi olla varmoja. Mutta minä olen taipuvainen

luulemaan, että haltijatarinat sittenkin elivät metsässä, niin kamala
kuin tapaus olikin. Oliko nuori neiti Hedwig jo aikaisemmin tuntenut
sotilaan, jonka hän pelasti, ja jonka kanssa hän sittemmin meni
naimisiin, vai tuliko hän vain sattumalta paikalle, ja aikoiko heidän
tuttavuutensa sinä yönä, emme saa koskaan tietää. Mutta me
tiedämme luullakseni, että tuo Hedwig oli sankaritar ja toivoi
saavansa miehekseen sellaisen, joka myöskin tavallaan tuli
sankariksi. Hän toimi reippaasti ja viisaasti. Hän kehoitti vartijaa
menemään takaisin paikalleen, missä ei mikään voinut saattaa häntä
vahingon yhteyteen; hän oli vain yksi noista monista velvollisuutensa
ja tehtävänsä tuntevista vartijoista. Tyttö jäi ruumiin luo ja nosti
hälyytyksen, eikä vahinkoa voinut millään lailla lukea hänenkään
syykseen, koska hänellä ei ollut, eikä saanutkaan olla tuliaseita.
»Niin», sanoi isä Brown varovasti nousten. »Minä toivon, että he

ovat onnellisia.»
»Minne te menette?» kysyi hänen ystävänsä.
»Minä menen vielä kerran katsomaan tuota kamariherraa, tuota

Arnholdia, joka petti veljensä», vastasi pappi. »Minä ihmettelen
kuinka… Minä ihmettelen onko mies vähemmän petturi, kun hän on
ollut kaksinkertainen petturi?»
Ja hän mietiskeli kauan valkotukkaisen, mustakulmaisen miehen

kuvan edessä, jolla oli hieno kaunisteltu hymy suupielissään, mikä
näytti muodostavan vastakohdan hänen silmiensä tummalle uhmalle.
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Transnational Lives in Global Cities A Multi Sited Study of Chinese Singaporean Migrants 1St Ed Edition Caroline Pluss Full Chapter PDF

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Transnational Lives in Global Cities A Multi Sited Study of Chinese Singaporean Migrants 1St Ed Edition Caroline Pluss Full Chapter PDF

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Transnational Lives in Global Cities: A

Multi-Sited Study of Chinese

Competition and Compromise among Chinese Actors in

Multi-Layered Diplomacy in a Global State: The

Global Security in Times of Covid-19 : Brave New World?

Music Cities: Evaluating a Global Cultural Policy

Gender, Family, and Adaptation of Migrants in Europe

Transnational Perspectives on Latin America: The

Finding Home in Europe: Chronicles of Global Migrants

Open Cities | Open Data: Collaborative Cities in the

ISBN 978-3-319-96330-3 ISBN 978-3-319-96331-0 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018950052

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

Cover image: © royaltystockphoto/GettyImages

This book is a rare multi-sited study—conducted between 2008 and

Singapore Caroline Plüss

This study was funded by the Academic Research Fund Tier 1

1 Accounting for Transnational Lives 1

2 (Dis)Embeddedness in Transnational Contexts 31

2.2.3 Hong Kong 42

3 Being Chinese in a Chinese Global City: Hong Kong 63

4 In the East and in the West: London 95

5 Incongruous Transnational Lives: New York 135

6 Gendered Transnationalism: Singapore 175

6.3 Gender, Hybridity, and Inequality in Transnational

Table 3.1 Transnational migration trajectories of the Hong Kong

Accounting for Transnational Lives

1.1.1 Aims and Rationale of this Study

© The Author(s) 2018 1

always were Singaporean citizens. They were middle- or upper-mid-

(temporarily) move or return.2 The selection of these cities also stems

To answer these questions in a fine-grained and encompassing manner,

Chinese Singaporeans—67 participants—were repeat migrants (Kau and

histories, and locations. Living in a global city also is found to be very

1.1.2 The Chinese Singaporean Transnational Migrants

switchers. To use both terms to refer to the same participants would be

commonly referred to as ‘sojourners’ (Ley and Kobayashi 2005) or ‘transmigrants’ (Yeoh

A few more participants moved several times to English-speaking

globalization of the economy, there are increasing demands, especially

hybrid, incongruous, or homogenous time-space compressions. They are

legitimate competence or showing and enacting cultural capital (which is

important characteristics to account for how the Chinese Singaporeans

1.3.1 Forms Transnationality

city, and transnational migration trajectories (including being a repeat

1.3.2 Cosmopolitan Socialities

dominant and required definitions of appropriate practices of social-

1.3.3 Hybrid Socialities

societies, dominant and required definitions of appropriate practices of

in hybrid definitions of socialities renders these definitions porous.

1.3.4 Incongruous Socialities

locations. Appadurai (1990) posits that processes of globalization them-

of appropriate practices of socialities, and such definitions of people and

1.3.5 Homogenous Socialities

practices of socialities of different contexts of interaction in different

D’Andrea, Anthony. 2007. Global Nomads: Techno and New Age as

Action Among Contemporary Migrants.” American Journal of Sociology 108

Kusek, Weronika A. 2015. “Transnational Identities and Immigrant Spaces of

Plüss, Caroline. 2009. “Trans-National Biographies and Trans-National Habiti:

Sklair, Leslie. 2001. The Transnational Capitalist Class. Oxford: Blackwell.

© The Author(s) 2018 31

2.1.1 Education and Friendships/Lifestyle Contexts

Heiligenwaldensteinin sievä kaupunki ja valtio on yksi noita

»Ihmettelenpä», sanoi hän, »voisiko tuollaisessa palatsissa sattua