ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses that there is a gap in socio-economic status between Taiwanese migrants and local Chinese people, which hinders their interaction. Although more than a million Taiwanese have moved to China in the past two decades, the phenomenon of Taiwanese migrants in China is often assumed to be the result of firm relocations in traditional industry, not as a phenomenon of population movement. Taiwanese migrants are relatively resourceful and hold higher social status than most local Chinese people. While most Taiwanese migrants are also ethnic Chinese, it is surprising that they do not mix with the Chinese people. The ethnic gap between immigrants and the host society is usually regarded by default as the crucial factor for explaining the integration barrier. The chapter provides a good opportunity to combine research on social mobility and migration. While the research on social mobility is still ethnocentric, research on migration ignores the influence of class factors.
