Chinese Migration Goes Global
With his study for the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, Peter Kwong draws attention to the growing problem of illegal Chinese migrants and the exploitative conditions in which most of these workers must live. Kwong argues that individual governments’ attempts to strengthen border control and criminal sanctions will have no significant effect as long as the demand for cheap migrant labor fuels human trafficking. A first step to solve this problem could be the integration of illegal labor into trade unions to raise working conditions and, in the long run, prevent social instability. More importantly, according to the author, China should address the issue at an international level. The narrow domestic focus of national politicians keeps smuggling prices high and wages low: only by cooperation with China can the problem be solved on both the emigrant and immigrant sides.
