The formation of multigenerational Chinese immigrant families in New Zealand
At the macro-level, the high number of new Chinese immigrant families from China in New Zealand is largely due to the critical social, economic, and political shifts in China since the 1980s as well as the introduction of the Immigration Act 1987 in New Zealand, which abolished the ātraditional originā preference that favoured British immigrants.
First of all, China's international opening-up and economic reforms in the 1980s largely fuelled the growth of foreign investments within its territory, which further sped up the integration process of the Chinese economy into the world. This is especially the case after China officially joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 and its both state and private capital investments later on became increasingly visible overseas (Liu, 2018; Zhou, 2017). This changed social and economic environment made the freedom of international movements possible for many Chinese nationals. The freedom mentioned here is twofold. The first is economic freedom and the second is political freedom. The economic reform that contributed to the rapid growth of the economy in China made it financially viable for many Chinese nationals to afford migration-related costs. In addition, China's economic development provided a solid foundation for China's subsequent rising prominence on the international stage and its geopolitical power and fast integration into the international community. On one hand, this dynamic has a significant impact on the immigration patterns of new Chinese immigrants. Increased numbers of Chinese nationals directly obtained residency from their immigration destination countries as skilled or business immigrants who did not need to go through transitional stages of immigration. On the other hand, international migration has been increasingly seen by the Chinese authorities as a means to enhance China's integration into the world economy (Liu & Dongen, 2016; Zhou, 2017).
The political freedom of emigration came from the changing attitude of the Chinese Government towards international emigration. Before the reform, the Cold War geopolitics that were characterised by East-West/socialist-capitalist confrontations led China to pursue strict border control and be a close society with rare contact with the West until the late 1970s. Overseas travel was only possible if officially sanctioned. These controls blocked nearly all direct international emigration for Chinese nationals (Luo et al., 2003; Xiang, 2003). There were no official channels to link China with immigrant-receiving countries (Liu & Norcliffe, 1996). Nevertheless, this situation started to change in the late 1970s after Mao's communist regime was overturned by the new leadership, Xiaoping Deng and the country's isolationist policy began to fall apart. After Deng came into power, he started the economic reforms and open-door policies in 1979. This enabled the market-oriented economic system to emerge and forced China to shift its foreign policy as well as to seek improvements in Sino-West relations. As a consequence, China started to open to the outside world.
During this time, there were also significant changes in the Chinese Government's perspectives on emigration and the strict border control was lifted. The year 1978 was the first time that the Chinese Government allowed students and scholars to study overseas, with the expectation that they would return to China (Gittings, 1989; Luo et al., 2003). The year 1981 was the time that the Chinese Government started to recognise self-financed overseas study, which produced a wave of student migration and led many to permanently settle in many immigration host countries (Luo et al., 2003; Xiang, 2003). Throughout the early 1990s, a series of policies that aimed at relaxing border controls were also enforced. The official trigger for the increasing migration flow was the Emigration and Immigration Law of 1985. This law guaranteed the right of Chinese citizens to travel outside China and allowed those who wished to leave the country for personal reasons to do so (Liu & Norcliffe, 1996; Skeldon, 1996). The political ideology that viewed international emigration as a political ābetrayalā was also on its way out during this period of time (Xiang, 2003, p. 22), and international emigration was starting to be accepted as a matter of individual choices.
All the advancements of China were accompanied by ever increasing geographical mobility of its nationals. Starting from the late 1990s, international migration has become a growing phenomenon in China. Moreover, these advancements not only resulted in an increase in the country's emigration flow but also impacted Chinese people's choice of immigration destinations. There was increasing Chinese immigration taking place towards new settler societies in North America and Australasia compared to those of traditional immigration destinations for the Chinese population in Southeast Asia (Skeldon, 2004). Very recently, China's economic boom also drew its diasporic population back to the homeland and engendered many bilateral and multilateral movements between China and many other different societies. Therefore, it is important to recognise that the fast-developing economy of China and the country's social and political transformation produced great means of mobilisation for Chinese international immigration, including immigration to New Zealand (Liu, 2018).
Apart from the China factor, the presence of the new Chinese immigrant families in New Zealand is also derived from the pull factors exerted by this immigrant-receiving country. As a traditional immigrant-receiving country, the introduction of the Immigration Act 1987 in New Zealand opened the country to a much wider range of immigrants. This irrevocably led to profound changes in New Zealand's immigrant source countries and had a major impact on both the size and characteristics of the Chinese population in New Zealand (Trlin, 1992). This proactive immigration policy aims to recruit talent and economic investment. The policy was refined further with the introduction of a points-based selection system in November 1991. The distinguishing feature of New Zealand's immigration policy from the late 1980s onwards has been a consistent emphasis on encouraging the intake of both skilled and business immigrants (Bedford et al., 2005). Apart from focusing on attracting skilled and business immigrants, New Zealand immigration policy also accommodated the family needs of the immigrants to a certain degree. New Zealand permanent residents or New Zealand citizens were allowed to bring their partners, dependent children, and older parents to the country based on sponsorship.
At the micro-level, searching for āgreener pasturesā is a significant feature of new Chinese immigration from China. A better lifestyle and living environment, an advanced educational system, and sometimes the securing of foreign passports have propelled this migratory movement (Eng, 2006; Skeldon, 1996; Skeldon, 2004). These factors had become major motivations to propel not only individual immi...
