Europe’s new bildungsbürger? Chinese migrants in search of a pure land

Abstract

The recent wave of the emigration of well-to-do Chinese from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been attracting attention. Like earlier migrants, these individuals go abroad to seek a better life-but they no longer define that as higher income, better welfare, or even better education. Rather, these migrants pursue better environmental quality, safer food, and a more relaxed environment in which to raise a children. Although the wealthiest of these lifestyle migrants, who move to North America, Australia, or New Zealand, have attracted the most attention, middle-class migrants have been taking advantage of lower-cost residence-for-investment schemes. This article explores the motivations ofsome ofthe twenty thousand Chinese who moved to Hungary between 2013 and 2017 and argues that the country ‘sofficial xenophobia and law-and-order policies make it a more, rather than less, desirable destination for those Chinese pursuing a “European lifestyle.” This migration wave represents a turn in the long history ofhow Chinese migrants interact with the world and relate to China, a turn that requires more attention in the studies ofChinese overseas. Simultaneously, it sheds light on how cosmopolitanism and global mobility can coexist with support for the new global populism.