Sisters in Struggle?

One of the characteristics of welfare states in East Asian countries is the influence of Confucian culture (Lee and Ku 2007; Kwon 2005; Holliday 2000; Ku, 1995; Jones 1993). Caring for frail family members is considered to be a family responsibility under the influence of Confucianism, rather than a social issue to be dealt with by the state. By privatising caring responsibility for frail persons, social policies become subordinate to economic policies, which are aimed at economic development. Although Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan share the influence of Confucian teaching, what distinguishes Taiwan from South Korea and Japan in its response to the growing needs for care is its relatively unrestricted policy on semi-skilled migrant domestic care workers. ¹ The care work for frail persons in Taiwan is mainly provided at home by daughters-in-law, the designated caregivers within the traditional family discourse. As the tradition of family care becomes more and more difficult to achieve, a new group of women is made available through the recently formed global care chain, namely migrant care workers. At the intersection of traditional culture and globalised organisation of care work, the number of Taiwanese families that include both daughters-in-law and migrant care workers has been increasing during the last two decades. This chapter investigates the experiences of such families, especially the conflicts, tension, and struggles between Taiwanese daughters-in-law and migrant care workers, how they re-arrange housework, and how they negotiate the tension and conflicts between them.