This book describes the mechanisms by which the PRC state "asserts cultural authority over an increasingly mobile population" (p. 3). Chapter one, which discusses internal migration in reform China, focuses on the changing function of the household registration (hukou) system. Given the author's focus on state hegemony, the analysis seeks to show the nature of state surveillance under the changing circumstances of the household registration system and internal migration. The state assertion of cultural authority is not only internal but also overseas. This is described in chapter two, which deals with international migration from China. One indication of this, the author argues, is the Chinese state authorities' role in encouraging new migrants to form regional and global federations of Chinese associations. While this is true, it should also be noted that most Chinese migrants still see themselves
展开▼
