Immigration In Singapore Research Articles

When experiencing discrimination predicts greater outgroup affiliation: The role of intergroup mobility in moderating rejection-(Dis)identification patterns

Research has documented how groups cope with perceived discrimination by enhancing their identification with their minority ingroup and reducing their identification with the majority outgroup. However, these patterns have not been consistent across contexts nor examined in relation to discrimination encountered online. Through a survey of PRC Chinese immigrants in Singapore, we examine how online perceived discrimination relates to attitudes toward the Singaporean host society via both ingroup and outgroup identification. We also test the role of intergroup mobility, the perceived level of opportunity ingroup members have to form relationships with dominant outgroup members, as a moderator of these relations. Results show that PRC Chinese immigrants who perceived more discrimination online identified more strongly with both their PRC Chinese ingroup and the Singaporean host society outgroup. In turn, greater PRC Chinese and Singaporean identification related to more positive attitudes toward Singaporeans. Moreover, intergroup mobility moderated these associations, such that the PRC Chinese who perceived greater mobility were more likely to strengthen their identification with Singaporeans as their online perceived discrimination increased. We argue that intergroup mobility beliefs may play a key role in shaping defensive responses to perceived discrimination.

The Role and Influence of Chinese Immigrants in Singapore in Diplomacy with China

The relationship between Southeast Asian countries and China has always been an academic concern. Some scholars define it as the rational choice and wisdom of small countries to survive in the cracks of the struggle between big powers. As a predominantly Chinese country, the relationship between Singapore and China has always been the focus of discussion and research. This paper focuses on the characteristics of Singapore's Chinese predominance and analyzes the role of Singaporean Chinese in the changing relations between the two countries. This includes the influence of clan organizations and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Singapore-China relations. This paper finds that Chinese organizations have played a key role in cultural and political exchanges between the two countries. CSCCs and chambers of commerce have played an active role in the attitude of Chinese Singaporeans towards China. However, the attitudes and perceptions of Chinese Singaporeans are also affected by the social environment and political situation.

The Identity Dilemma of Chinese Immigrants in Singapore from the Perspective of Intercultural Communication and Identity Negotiation: A Case Study of the Chinese Language Movement of Singapore Chamber of Commerce

This paper is based on the background of many Chinese immigrants to Singapore in recent years. Singapore is a multicultural country. The Chinese identity in Singapore is also influenced by multiple factors such as history and culture. This paper studies the causes and status quo of the identity dilemma of the Chinese in Singapore, which provides a reference for China's research in this field and promotes the development of China-Singapore relations. This study is based on the intercultural communication theory and the consultative identity theory, using case analysis to draw the conclusion that the current Singaporean Chinese are faced with a dilemma in the identity process, and put forward suggestions on this phenomenon: Singaporean Chinese should actively negotiate to carry out innovative development on the basis of protecting the fundamental development of identity culture. Understanding and helping Singaporean Chinese to form an identity and value system is conducive to promoting the positive development of China-Singapore relations under the background of globalization.

A History of Forgetting

A History of Forgetting Elizabeth Wijaya (bio) REMAPPING THE SINOPHONE: THE CULTURAL PRODUCTION OF CHINESE-LANGUAGE CINEMA IN SINGAPORE AND MALAYA BEFORE AND DURING THE COLD WAR BY WAI SIAM HEE Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2019 REMAPPING THE SINOPHONE: THE CULTURAL PRODUCTION OF CHINESE-LANGUAGE CINEMA IN SINGAPORE AND MALAYA BEFORE AND DURING THE COLD WAR BY WAI SIAM HEE Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2019 What does it mean to remember an absence? Many of the films analyzed and listed in the filmographies of Hee Wai Siam's Remapping the Sinophone are doubly lost: both materially absent and barely present in film canons and popular memory. Even some of the films that have survived or have recently resurfaced and have been restored, such as Blood and Tears of the Overseas Chinese (Cai Wenjin, 1946) and Spirit of the Overseas Chinese (Wan Hoi-Ling, 1946), having already been once-forgotten, currently still have limited visibility as they can only be accessed at film archives or during special screenings. In Hee's Remapping the Sinophone: The Cultural Production of Chinese-Language Cinema in Singapore and Malaya before and during the Cold War, the status of whether a film is extant or nonextant is not always marked because Hee's concern is less with listing the material disappearances of the films than with tracing the causes and effects of the disappearances from the cultural histories of Chinese-language cinema. Through foregrounding lost but important films or rediscovered films and the debates surrounding their production, the ambition of Remapping the Sinophone extends to reclaiming the history of early Chinese-language cinema in Singapore and Malaya and positing the importance of this history for Sinophone and Cold War cinema studies. Remapping the Sinophone presents an indictment of forgetting and a call to remember that which has been obscured by historical and [End Page 197] geopolitical forces. The author argues that Mandarin and Chinesetopolect cinemas from Singapore and Malaya (1927 to 1965) have been neglected within academic discourse, cultural memory, as well as contemporary debates on inclusion and exclusion in cultural productions framed as Sinophone/Chinese-language. Hee is concerned that early Chinese-language cinema has been overlooked not only in Singapore and Malaysian cinema history but also in histories of Chinese-language cinema. This forgetting encompasses the films themselves as well as the debates on the term "Chinese-language cinema" in Singapore and Malaya in the 1950s. Hee's project of "remapping" the terrain of the Sinophone occurs alongside a recovery of the Singapore and Malayan roots of the "Sinophone" and "Chinese-language" debate as well as the Cold War context of the making and forgetting of this oeuvre that is further marginalized within the already marginalized cinemas of Singapore and Malaysia. In terms of the timeline covered in the book, 1927 was the release year for New Friend, the first locally produced film in Singapore, while 1965 was the year of Singapore's independence after separation from Malaysia and the last year in which the director Yi Shui made a film. In Hee's telling, 1965 was a crucial year of beginnings and endings, when Singapore's independence coincided with the end of Yi Shui's dream of the acceptance of the hybridized "Malayanised Chinese-language" cinema. The first chapter of the book begins with a debate over two non-extant films: New Friend (1927) directed by Guo Chuwen, and Leila Majnun (1934) directed by Balden Singh Rajhans. Hee argues that unlike what Latent Images by Uhde and Uhde claimed, New Friend (1927), rather than Leila Majnun (1934), was the first locally produced film in Singapore. Both films, though materially lost, remain significant in the entangled memory and legacy of Singapore and Malaysian cinema. The chapter continues with characteristically detailed research on the historical evidence pertaining to the production and release of New Friend. Hee ties the fate of New Friend to that of Chinese immigrants in Singapore and Malaysia, arguing that the neglect of New Friend reveals the "double rejections" of "Chinese immigrants in Singapore and Malaysia" by "national ideologies in their homeland and by postcolonial concerns in a new country" (45). For Hee, this double rejection is not...

Social media use and anti-immigrant attitudes: evidence from a survey and automated linguistic analysis of Facebook posts

ABSTRACT Social media has a role to play in shaping the dynamic relations between immigrants and citizens. This study examines the effects of threat perceptions, consumptive and expressive use of social media, and political trust on attitudes against immigrants in Singapore. Study 1, based on a survey analysis (N = 310), suggests that symbolic but not realistic threat perception, is positively associated with anti-immigrant attitudes. The consumptive use of social media and political trust is negatively related to anti-immigrant attitudes. Moderation analyses suggest that consumptive social media use has negative consequences for individuals with increased symbolic threat perception and high political trust. But is there a correspondence between consumptive and expressive use of social media in terms of predicting prejudicial attitudes? Study 2 benchmarks the survey findings against participants’ opinion expression via Facebook posts (N = 146,332) discussing immigrants. Automated linguistic analyses reveal that self-reported survey measures correlate with the expressive use of social media for discussing immigrants. Higher anti-immigrant attitudes are associated with higher negative sentiment, anger, and swear words in discussing immigrants. The findings highlight the need to pay attention to the combined influence of social media use and individual political beliefs when analyzing intergroup relations.

Defanging public discontent in an authoritarian regime: grassroots volunteering and immigration in Singapore

ABSTRACT While the reliance of hybrid regimes on tools of democratic consultation has been well-documented, public participation in policy implementation is less studied. This article examines the role of citizen-volunteers in its implementation of Singapore's migrant integration policy. The state's paradoxical empowerment of its citizens to participate in policy delivery neutralises public dissent over immigration policy in two ways. Firstly, volunteers are portrayed as desirable citizens who contribute constructively to society, contrasted to anti-government critics who simply complain about government policy. Secondly, volunteers' recruitment of new citizens into their ranks undercuts anti-foreigner claims that immigrants are not contributing to Singaporean society.

Precarious Talent: highly skilled Chinese and Indian immigrants in Singapore

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the challenges that highly skilled immigrant workers face and their strategies of adaptation. We employ the term “precarious talent” to capture an often neglected aspect of skilled migration. Using both survey data and interviews on skilled Chinese and Indian immigrants in Singapore, we find that these migrants confront varying degrees of employment insecurity and settlement uncertainty in an era of neoliberal globalization, contrary to the common perception of “foreign talent” as a privileged group. We also find that skilled immigrants actively use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to mitigate precarity: they use the Internet and social media to access timely job information, sustain social contacts across national borders, and adapt to life and work in the host society. However, the ability to effectively cope with precarity depends on their own socioeconomic status, context of reception, and homeland development. We discuss theoretical implications of our findings.

Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in First and Second-Generation Indians: The Singapore Indian Eye Study

Population-based data investigating generational differences in the risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk determinants are rare. We examined the 6-year incidence of CVD and its risk factors in first- and second-generation ethnic Indians living in Singapore. 1749 participants (mean age [SD]: 55.5 [8.8] years; 47.5% male) from a population-based, longitudinal study of Indian adults were included for incident CVD outcome. Incident CVD was defined as self-reported myocardial infarction, angina pectoris or stroke which developed between baseline and follow-up. CVD-related risk factors included incident diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity and chronic kidney disease (CKD). For incident CVD outcome, of the 1749 participants, 406 (23.2%) and 1343 (76.8%) were first and second-generation Indians, respectively. Of these, 73 (4.1%) reported incident CVD. In multivariable models, second-generation individuals had increased risk of developing CVD (RR = 2.04; 95% CI 1.04, 3.99; p = 0.038), hyperlipidemia (RR = 1.27; 95% CI 1.06, 1.53; p = 0.011), and CKD (RR = 1.92; 95% CI 1.22, 3.04; p = 0.005), compared to first-generation Indians. Second-generation Indians have increased risk of developing CVD and its associated risk factors such as hyperlipidemia and CKD compared to first-generation immigrants, independent of traditional CVD risk factors. More stratified and tailored CVD prevention strategies on second and subsequent generations of Indian immigrants in Singapore are warranted.

Acculturation-mediated parental aspirations of Indian immigrants in Singapore

This study investigates the role of acculturation process in shaping the aspirations of the first generation Indian immigrants in Singapore for their children studying at the pre-university level. Data was collected through qualitative interviews with twelve parent pairs. Parents aspired for quality education, academic excellence, professional success and financial security for their children. The role of parents’ acculturation process was evidently seen in shaping parents’ aspirations in response to the demands of the environmental differences between India and Singapore. This influence was mainly reflected in their specific aspirations, or reasons for having certain aspirations as a manifestation of their behaviour, values and/or beliefs which changed upon migration.

The acculturation experiences of Asian immigrants in Singapore

ABSTRACTThis study aims to understand the acculturation experiences of Asian immigrants to Singapore. A qualitative exploratory study using focus group discussions was conducted among 40 permanent residents and new citizens. Each of the seven focus groups had an average of six participants and lasted 1–2 hours. Immigrants described Singaporean culture as a blended culture featuring multiracialism. Their acculturation strategies were influenced by the way they were perceived and treated by the host society, based on their country of origin and whether they had been members of a minority community there. Although the respondents valued multiracialism, they also faced challenges in maintaining interethnic contacts. Implications for further enhancing existing acculturation models are discussed.

The diverging paths of skilled immigration in Singapore, Japan and Korea: policy priorities and external labor market for skilled foreign workers

This article compares the nature of skilled immigration in Singapore, Japan and Korea. Facing skill‐shortage problems due to economic and demographic transitions, these countries responded to the challenges by adopting different modes of skilled immigration. A comparison of the three countries reveals that they displayed substantial variation in the liberalization of skilled immigration and the incorporation of skilled foreign workers into local labor market. Singapore developed formal and qualification‐centered schemes for employing skilled immigrants with active government involvement. Japan maintained temporary and separate employment tracks for foreign skilled workers under strict national guidance. Korea extended the use of foreign skills as substituting labor to meet immediate labor demands in niche labor markets with less systematic government supervision. This study argues that within largely weak interest politics, the distinctive roles of governments and the varying degrees of formalization of foreign labor market led to the different modes of skilled immigration across the three countries. The comparison in this study implies that compared to the state‐led programs, systematic and formalized schemes in the foreign labor market may lessen the informal penalties imposed for foreignness and thus lead to better economic incorporation.

Immigration in Singapore. Edited by Norman Vasu , Yeap Su Yin , and Chan Wen Ling . Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 217 pp. ISBN: 9789089646651 (cloth). - Migration and Integration in Singapore: Policies and Practice. Edited by Yap Mui Teng , Gillian Koh , and Debbie Soon . Routledge Research on Public and Social Policy in Asia. London: Routledge, 2015.

Immigration in Singapore. Edited by Norman Vasu , Yeap Su Yin , and Chan Wen Ling . Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 217 pp. ISBN: 9789089646651 (cloth). - Migration and Integration in Singapore: Policies and Practice. Edited by Yap Mui Teng , Gillian Koh , and Debbie Soon . Routledge Research on Public and Social Policy in Asia. London: Routledge, 2015.

Immigration in Singapore, written by Norman Vasu, Yeap Su Yin and Chan Wen Ling (eds.)

Immigration in Singapore, written by Norman Vasu, Yeap Su Yin and Chan Wen Ling (eds.)

Beyond co-ethnicity: the politics of differentiating and integrating new immigrants in Singapore

This essay joins the ongoing debates about the role of co-ethnic ties in the making of diaspora identity by examining Singaporean Chinese perceptions of new immigrants from the mainland and the state's strategies in integrating the newcomers. The public discourses on new Chinese immigrants have produced three interlinked narratives: (1) newcomers are socially and culturally different from the mainstream and earlier immigrants; (2) newcomers have intensified the competition for scarce resources; and (3) newcomers are politically attached to China, whose rise as a global power only serves to reinforce such linkages. I argue that co-ethnicity and common cultural heritage play little role in shaping local Singaporeans' view of the new diaspora; instead, political pragmatism and new identity politics that prioritize the nation above ethnicity are the key factors influencing public attitudes and policy options regarding new immigrants. Furthermore, intra-diaspora differences/conflicts have reinforced interracial solidarity and contributed to the nation-building project.

Prevalence of Cataract Surgery and Visual Outcomes in Indian Immigrants in Singapore: The Singapore Indian Eye Study

ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of cataract surgery and factors associated with post-surgical visual outcomes in migrant Indians living in Singapore.Research Design and MethodsWe conducted a population-based study in 3,400 Indian immigrants residing in Singapore−the Singapore Indian Eye Study (SINDI). All participants underwent comprehensive medical eye examination and a standardized interview. Post-operative visual impairment (VI) was defined as best-corrected or presenting visual acuity (BCVA or PVA) of 20/60 or worse.ResultsThe age- and gender-standardized prevalence of cataract surgery was 9.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.9%, 10.7%) in Singapore resident Indians. Post-operative VI defined by BCVA occurred in 10.9% eyes (87/795). The main causes of post-operative VI were diabetic retinopathy (20.7%), posterior capsular opacification (18.4%), and age-related macular degeneration (12.6%). Undercorrected refractive error doubled the prevalence of post-operative VI when PVA was used.ConclusionsThe rate of cataract surgery is about 10% in Indian residents in Singapore. Socioeconomic variables and migration had no significant impact on the prevalence of cataract surgery. Diabetic retinopathy was a major cause of post-operative VI in migrant Indians living in Singapore. Uncorrected postoperative refractive error remains an efficient way to improve vision.

Variation in Prevalence of Myopia Between Generations of Migrant Indians Living in Singapore

To assess the influence of factors related to migration and acculturation on myopia in migrant Indians in Singapore. Population-based cross-sectional study. A total of 3400 Singaporean Indians (75.6% response rate) aged over 40 years participated in this study. Information regarding country of birth, migration age, and language of interview were collected from interviews. Indians born outside of Singapore were defined as "first-generation" immigrants, while Indians born in Singapore were defined as "second-generation (or higher)" immigrants. Refraction was determined by autorefraction and refined by subjective refraction. Ocular biometry including axial length (AL), anterior chamber depth (ACD), and corneal radius (CR) were measured by partial coherence interferometry. Myopia and high myopia were defined as spherical equivalents (SE) of less than -0.5 diopter (D) for myopia, and < -5 D for high myopia, respectively. The prevalence of myopia (30.2% vs 23.4 %) and high myopia (4.8% vs 2.5%) were higher in second-generation immigrants compared with first-generation immigrants. Second-generation immigrants had longer AL (23.50 mm vs 23.37 mm, P = .004) than first-generation immigrants after multivariate adjustment. The excess prevalence of myopia was reduced by 37.5% but remained statistically significant (P = .02) after further controlling for educational level. Among first-generation immigrants, those migrating to Singapore before the age of 21 had significantly higher prevalence of myopia (odds ratio [OR]: 1.85; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.32, 2.59) and longer AL (regression coefficient: 0.27; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.43) than those migrating after 21 years of age. Also, first-generation immigrants interviewed in English had higher prevalence of myopia (OR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.17) than their non-English-interviewed counterparts. The prevalence of myopia among second-generation (or higher) Indian immigrants in Singapore is higher than first-generation immigrants. Country-specific environmental factors may be important for the increasing prevalence of myopia in Asia.

Internet-Usage Patterns of Immigrants in the Process of Intercultural Adaptation

This paper investigates Internet-usage patterns of immigrants, and seeks to identify the correlation between Internet use and intercultural adaptation. The study focuses on mainland Chinese immigrants in Singapore, and was conducted via a nationwide telephone survey. The results show that immigrants tend to change their preferences on Internet use to reflect their residence in the host country. In particular, the longer an immigrant resides in the host country, the less likely they would be to surf their original country's websites and the more likely they would be to communicate with local people via the Internet. More importantly, differences in Internet usage are found to have a significant impact on immigrants' intercultural adaptation. In an online environment, the social communication in the host country is a critical component that can facilitate or impede immigrants' successful adaptation to the host country, whereas ethnic social communication also plays a role at the initial stage of transition.

Migrant Family Drama Revisited: Mainland Chinese Immigrants in Singapore

This paper attempts to unfold drama of mainland Chinese migrant families in Singapore in terms of their gender and generation politics -- interpersonal as well as role conflicts within domestic domain as they were engendered and negotiated during migration process. The better promise of migration for each and every family member was scrutinized -- each time gazing at a different member in context of his or her institutionalized position in family. As it happened divided rather than common interests emerged. Not all benefited from moving. Yet all were convinced of family having made the right move. The social construction of family was further strengthened by transnationalism which reproduced reality of family solidarity through mundane everyday life activities acted out across borders. But when internalized as a construct an ideal family bonded its members -- thus its internal cohesiveness. It also bound and controlled self. Sure there were gains but there were also losses especially on part of less powerful. Globalization and transnationalism have yet to fulfil their promises. (authors)