Marrying a taiwanese vietnamese women and cross border marriage networks in the mekong river delta region

THEORETICAL INFLUENCES ...8 Theories of Intermarriage: Push and Pull ...8 Theory of International Migration ...10 Social Network: Positive and Negative Aspects of Social Capital ...15 Re

Copyright by TIEN A TRAN

2007

All Rights Reserved

IN THE MEKONG RIVER DELTA REGION

An Abstract of a Thesis Submitted

in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts

Tien A Tran University of Northern Iowa

July 2007

become a controversial topic in Vietnam since the 1990s In the Mekong Delta, the popular perception is that young Vietnamese women marry Taiwanese husbands as a way for many families to improve their lives and escape from poverty In this thesis I examine the role that families’ socioeconomic background and social networks have on fostering cross-nativity marriages The analysis is focused on the role that marital agencies

(marriage brokers) and kinship networks play as social organizations that facilitate these marriages The analysis is based on a governmental survey of households (n=635)

produced by the Committee for Population, Family, and Children in Vietnam Results

confirm that Vietnamese families’ poverty level is the major factor predicting these nativity marriages Furthermore, results show the effect of social networks on the

cross-family’s socio-economic status and cross-border marriage as well: the lower the cross-family’s socio-economic status the more usage of for-profit marital intermediaries, like brokers Number of daughters married to Taiwanese men also predicted the likelihood that cross-nativity marriages are fostered by the forms of intermediary informal social organizations such as kinship and friendships vis-a-vis marital agencies Thus, empirical evidence is provided that behind the usage of marriage brokers there are powerful economic motives

as well as presence and/or absence of specific forms of social capital

Key words: cross-border marriage, social network

IN THE MEKONG RIVER DELTA REGION

A Thesis Submitted

in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts

Tien A Tran University of Northern Iowa

July 2007

This Study by: Tien A Tran

Entitled: Marrying “A Taiwanese”: Vietnamese Women and Cross-Border

Marriage Networks in the Mekong River Delta Region

has been approved as meeting the thesis requirements for the

Degree of Master of Arts

Date Dr Xavier Escandell, Chair, Thesis Committee

Date Dr Sue A Joseph, Interim Dean, Graduate College

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to acknowledge the contributions of my committee members to this study Without the guidance and support from Dr Xavier Escandell, Dr B Keith Crew, and Dr Kristin Mack, this thesis would not have come to finish I would like to thank the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology and the Graduate College of the University of Northern Iowa that created good academic environment to conduct this thesis to completion In addition, I would like to extend my appreciation to my family, colleagues, and friends who helped me through graduate school and the process of

writing this thesis

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF FIGURES ix

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .1

Research Issue 1

Context 3

Research Questions and Significance of the Study 5

CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL INFLUENCES .8

Theories of Intermarriage: Push and Pull .8

Theory of International Migration .10

Social Network: Positive and Negative Aspects of Social Capital 15

Review of Empirical Studies in the Asian Context 18

International Marriage in Micro, Meso, and Macro Perspectives .18

Recent Studies on Vietnam-Taiwan Cross-Border Marriage .23

CHAPTER 3 INTERMARRIAGE IN THE VIETNAM CONTEXT .27

Economic Change and Increasing Cross-Border Ties .27

A Brief Overview of Vietnam Context 27

Economic Change and Increasing Cross-Border Ties 29

The Mekong River Delta and the Reality of Cross-Border Marriages .30

Economic, Cultural, and Social Conditions of the Region .30

The Reality of Cross-Border Marriages in the Research Areas 31

Initial Assessments 35

CHAPTER 4 METHODOLOGY .40

Data 40

Purposes and Contents of the 2004 CPFC Survey 40

Sampling Procedure 40

Hypotheses of the Study 42

Operationalization of the Variables .44

Elaboration Model in Chapter 5 44

Elaboration Model in Chapter 6 47

Data Description .49

CHAPTER 5 CROSS-BORDER MARRIAGES AND FAMILY’ S ECONOMIC STATUS 58

Determinants of Taiwan-Vietnam Marriage 58

Economic Improvement and Remittances .62

Perceived Economic Change .64

Summary 67

CHAPTER 6 CROSS-BORDER MARRIAGES AND SOCIAL NETWORKS .79

Formation of Cross-Border Marriage Networks 79

Roles of Cross-Border Marriage Networks .81

Summary 87

CHAPTER 7 SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS 94

Summary 94

Implications 98

Limitations and Further Study .100

REFERENCES 103

APPENDIX A: HOUSEHOLD QUESTIONNAIRE .109

APPENDIX B: STATISTICAL DESCRIPTIONS .124

LIST OF TABLES

3.1 Provinces Having the Highest Number of Residency Visas to Taiwan

3.2 Number of Cross-Border Marriages between Vietnamese Women and

4.1 The Number of Vietnamese Women Who Married Taiwanese Men in the

4.3 Comparison of Marital Age between Vietnamese Brides and

5.1 Sex Ratio (Male/Female) in Six Provinces from 1999 to 2003 69 5.2 Knowledge of Cross-Border Marriages in the Community and the Family’s

5.3 The Percentage of the Self-Reported Perception of Family’s Economic Status before Cross-Border Marriage within the Research Areas 71 5.4 Occupation and Income of Vietnamese Women before Marriage 72 5.5 Cross-Border Marriage Motivations and Marriage Procedure 73 5.6 Remittances and Perceived Economic Change through

5.8 The Relationship between Perceived Having Family’s Economic Change

with Expected Economic Improvement and Marriage Motivations 76

5.9 Logistic Regression Coefficients Showing the Logged Odds of a Family

Perceived Economic Change after the Daughter Married a Taiwanese Man 77 6.1 The Percentage of Intermediate Types for Cross-Border Marriages 89 6.2 For-Profit Marriage Agencies versus Non-Profit Marriage Intermediaries 90

6.3 Self-Reported Perception of Family’s Economic Status before Having

Cross-Border Marriage and Types of Intermediaries 91 6.4 Logistic Regression Coefficients Showing the Logged Odds of Choosing

For-Profit Agencies within the Cross-Border Marriages 92

4.4 Analytical Model of Predicting the Usage of For-Profit Marital Agencies

7.1 Probabilities of a Marriage Using For-Profit Marital Agency by

Self-Reported Perceived Family’s Economic Status before

Cross-Border Marriage, Controlling for Bride’s Age at Marriage 102

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Research Issue With more than half of the world's population, the Asia-Pacific Region has become one of the world's major exporting areas of international migrants There is a great deal of migration within and into the region (Hugo 2005) Migration flows mainly occur from developing to more economically developed countries as a result of a set of push and pull factors (Massey 1998) By the 1980s, international migration had become pervasive not only to Japan but also to newly industrialized countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand (Massey 1998) In this new migration flow, the Philippines, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam are the main exporting countries (emigration countries) South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Brunei are the ports of destination, becoming thus new immigration countries (Hugo 2003) Migration in the region is related to the

increasing industrialization and economic growth in Asia Numerous immigration scholars interested in labor market dynamics have studied this trend (e.g., Chin 1994; Piper 1997; Fan and Huang 1998; Espiritu 1999; Wang and Chang 2002) One of the consequences of this industrialization is the displacement of rural farmers to urban settings This has triggered the intensification of migration of undocumented workers, many of whom are women (Hugo 2005)

One key social and understudied phenomenon resulting from the presence of female labor migrants abroad is the rise of international marriages A significant

proportion of these women marry male partners residing in the host countries (Piper 1997) The economic conditions surrounding these marriages abroad can be considered

as a “pull” factor, an incentive for many young women to leave their sending

communities For example, since the 1980s, Japan has become the country with the highest number of international marriages involving females from the Philippines, China, and other South-Eastern Asian countries In 1970, 2,108 female migrant partners arrived

in Japan This number increased rapidly and reached 20,026 in 1990 In 2004 the

number of South Korean men who married foreign Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipinos, and Thais female partners reached 25,594; more than double the number who did it in 2002 (Hugo and Nguyen 2006) Likewise, Taiwan has experienced a net immigration flow of more than 160,000 female immigrant partners a year, an annual rate that has increased rapidly in recent years (Wang and Chang 2002: 94)

The increase of international marriages among Asian women raises a number of important issues For example, this migration has fostered the emergence of transnational networks between sending and receiving countries The study of these networks is key to understanding not only the flow of remittances and information about jobs and

opportunities but also as facilitations of cross-border marriages (Hugo and Nguyen 2006)

I argue that the institutionalization of a transnational profit-oriented industry gradually has become a profitable business of marriage intermediary agencies Echoing the work

of numerous scholars, I characterize this industry as the result of a process of

commodification of marriage (see Wang and Chang 2002; Do 2003) Thus, I examine this process of commodification of marriage by focusing on the role that these

transnational networks have as facilitations of cross-border marriages Before I explain

in more detail the research design, data operationalization, and key hypotheses, a brief contextualization of this project is in order

Context Since 1986, international migration in Vietnam, especially cross-border marriages

increased considerably as a result of the economic reforms, called Doi moi 1 (renovation) The government of Vietnam launched a set of controlled measures towards market

liberalization reforms (Khuat 2003) These reforms produced a positive impact on the overall socio-economic development of Vietnam For example, in the year 2000, the GDP per capita reached $375 (US dollars) The GDP growth rate increased from 5.8 in

1998 to 7.1 in 2000 (GSO 2000) This growth paralleled a considerable rise of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam

According to the statistics of the Vietnamese Planning and Investment Ministry,

between 1998 and 2005, Taiwan became the largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with investments reaching $7.93 billion for the 2005 fiscal year Taiwanese manufactures, mainly in the apparel and footgear industries, prominently employ female workers In this context, Vietnamese female workers have gradually considered Taiwanese men as acceptable husbands and potential partners The number of Vietnamese women marrying foreign Taiwanese men increased considerately, about more than twenty times higher between 1994 and 2004 I argue that the economic development experienced by Vietnam

sets the larger context in which these cross-border marriages occurred as a certain degree

of economic development triggered the Vietnamese and Taiwanese migration flow As

“world systems theory” agues, international migration is not as a product of individual or household decisions, but a structural consequence of the expansion of markets within a global political hierarchy (Massey 1998: 41; see also Sassen 1988; Morawska 1990)

The phenomenon of Vietnamese women marrying Taiwanese men has become a pervasive topic in Vietnam, especially in the Mekong River Delta Region Female

immigration from the Mekong River Delta Region to Taiwan paralleled the increase of

international marriages involving the two countries In 2003, according to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Ho Chi Minh City, 73,000 Vietnamese women received

partner visas to migrate to Taiwan (TECO 2003) More specific, 7,300 Vietnamese women, from rural areas in the Mekong River Delta Region2, migrated to Taiwan via marriage to Taiwanese men (GSO 2003)

These international marriages between Vietnamese women and Taiwanese men have created a lot of attention in the media as well as academic interest among

sociologists in Vietnam and abroad (Do 2003; Tran 2004; Phan 2005) For example, Tran (2004) examines the push and pull forces causing the Vietnamese – Taiwanese cross-border marriages and its consequences for the economic status of Vietnamese families Phan (2005) first shows that these processes of intermarriage meet two different goals: 1) Taiwanese men are able to find marriage partners and 2) through these

2

Mekong River Delta region, located in the South of Vietnam, consists of twelve provinces Those are An Giang, Bac Lieu, Ben Tre, Can Tho, Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Long An, Dong Thap, Soc Trang, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, and Vinh Long

marriages, Vietnamese women improve their life and family well-being Do et al (2003) further provide a comprehensive analysis of Vietnamese-Taiwanese marriages These authors point out that organized and commercial marriage from developing to developed countries involved some degree of trading and exploitation of working class and poor Vietnamese women These previous studies have mainly focused on economic factors as well as the negative aspects of cross-nativity marriages in the context of Vietnam

In this study, I examine the role that social networks have in the formation and development of cross-border marriages I argue that particular aspects of social capital play a significant role in the process of intermarriage between Vietnamese women and Taiwanese men In this process, marriage intermediaries are considered central actors, in

“bridging” and facilitating these marriages, thus connecting the supply and demand I have identified two types of social networks related to marriage intermediaries: 1) the

for-profit marital agencies such as marital brokers and 2) the non-profit kinship,

friendship, and community resources involved in cross-border marriages I focus my analysis on the role that marital agencies (marriage brokers) and kinship networks play as social organizations that facilitate these cross-border marriages Furthermore, I examine the role that families’ socioeconomic background and social networks have in facilitating cross-border marriages The analysis is based on a CPFC 2004 survey of households

(n=635) funded by the Committee for Population, Family, and Children in Vietnam

Research Question and Significance of the Study

As mentioned above, the goal of this project is to examine the role that social networks play in the formation of cross-border marriages between Vietnamese women

and Taiwanese men More specific, this research explores the roles that marital

agencies and kinship, friendship networks have in facilitating cross-border marriages With these objectives in mind, the research intends to answer the following questions: What are some of the push and pull factors involved in the process of intermarriage between Vietnamese women and Taiwanese men? What types of social networks

operate in this process of cross-border marriage? What are the roles of marital agencies

in the process of this cross-border marriage?

Cross-border marriage is not a new research topic in social sciences (Tran 2004; see also Constable 2003; Scholes 1999; Thai 2005) Many of these studies examine international marriages through the lenses of migration and transnationalism (e.g.,

Appleyard 1989; Vertovec 1999; Wildsmith, Gutmann, and Gratton 2003; Jones 2005), examining the issues of race and ethnic relations (e.g., Lee 1988; Kalmijin 1993; Harris and Ono 2005), and focusing on the impact of socioeconomic factors on migrant families (e.g., Burgess 2004; Meng and Gregory 2005; Hugo 2005) The present research builds upon these previous studies and examines the roles that social networks have in the process of international marriage

Within the social network literature, some studies have examined the role of profit agencies (Wang and Chang 2002; Do 2003; Phan 2005) This literature, however, has considered only the formal for-profit sector while ignoring the more informal non-profit networks, such as the community and family resources available to Vietnamese women in the sending region but also upon arrival in Taiwan The main contribution of this study is the systematic analysis, not only of the for-profit sector, but also the

for-transnational networks resulting from community and family cross-border ties I argue that these two types of networks are key not only to understanding the increase of cross-border marriages but also their impact on the sending communities I further argue that the Vietnamese family’s economic status before marriage is an important predictor in explaining what kind of informal networks families employ as well as the motivation and aspiration for such cross-border marriages

By using data from a large survey produced by the Vietnamese government (Tran 2004), the findings of my study shed light on the forces operating in cross-border

marriages In recent years, popular perception and Vietnamese media have characterized these international marriages as an important social problem International marriages have become part of a public debate and scrutiny related to issues of persecution, sexual abuse, and women’s trading and networks of prostitution My research addresses some

of the misconceptions about the causes of international marriages between Vietnam and Taiwan, and thus points some misrepresentations of why these marriages occur in the first place

CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL INFLUENCES This study is focused on social capital and the economic conditions involved in cross-border marriages The theoretical framework and literature review are organized as follows: 1) theories of intermarriage, 2) theories of international migration, with a

specific focus on neoclassical economic theory, new economics of migration theory and feminist scholarship, and 3) theories of social capital and networks In the following pages, I will examine previous studies on intermarriage and migration

Theories of Intermarriage: Push and Pull Intermarriages have garnered academic interest periodically since the turn of the century (Aldridge 1978) According to Cahill (1997), cross-border marriage implies the crossing of ethnic, linguistic, religious, racial or national boundaries by a woman and/or a man to conduct an intimate union (p 750) These authors consider marriage as an

important sociological topic, and as such, “marriage does not occur at random; neither does intermarriage, it occurs according to discernible patterns” (Marcson 1951: 75) Marcson (1951) further argues that all societies have rules in which impose prohibitions and restrictions on marriage However, these rules, and their consequences, also create the conditions for cross-border marriage For Marcson, mate selection, whether the country of origin or abroad is conditioned by the differences of value systems across societies (Marcson 1951: 75)

Marcson (1951) proposes two types of intermarriage: permissive and proscribed intermarriage Permissive intermarriage is a marriage of an in-group and an out-group

member These group affiliations are relevant to mate selection, and no taboos exist against such marriages In contrast, proscribed marriage occurs when these groups involve tabooed deviations from the norms governing the selection of a mate Focusing

on permissive intermarriage, Marcson (1951) categorized three types: permissive religious, permissive inter-class, and permissive inter-ethnic marriage Intermarriage thus may be restricted to the extent that cultural differences between the mates exist Marcson also assumes that intermarriage occurred only when the attachments and loyalties to native customs, language, and culture were of insufficient strength to restrict the bonding with out-groups (1951: 77)

inter-In contrast to Marcson, Kalmijin (1998) argues that socioeconomic resources influence the choice of intermarriage Kalmijin (1998) claims that individuals maximize their income and status by searching for a spouse with attractive socioeconomic

resources Thus, based on this proposition, women in a less developed country seek spouses with greater economic resources, often in a more developed country The key point here is that in a competitive environment, women with less socio-economic status become commodities to be chosen by men with greater socio-economic resources

Recent studies have suggested that cross-border marriage processes may be affected by family considerations Baker and Benjamin (1997) focus on immigrant women and find that those in cross-nativity marriages do better in the labor market than those in non cross-nativity marriage Likewise, Eckstein and Weiss (1999) claim that married couples can assist each other upon arrival to a new country and, hence, are able

to catch up faster than single immigrants are They call this process a coordination effect

Theory of International Migration Migration is defined broadly as “a permanent or semi-permanent change of residence” (Lee 1966: 49) As a social phenomenon, migration cannot be understood in a meaningful or practical way without a comprehensive grasp of the dynamic interplay of demographic, economic, social, psychological, and other relevant factors and dimensions (Mangalam and Schwarzweller 1968: 4) Accordingly, Lee (1966) argues that every act

of migration involves an origin, a destination, and an intervening set of obstacles (p 49) Lee points out that the factors influencing the processes of migration are related to four main elements: 1) factors associated with the sending country/area, 2) factors associated with the country/area of destination, 3) intervening obstacles such as climate, distances,

or the cost of transporting household goods, and 4) personal factors (Lee 1966: 50) According to Lee (1966), there is not a constant model to explain the decision of

migration and it is never completely rational Rather, the factors influencing the migrant decision are different among people, whose personal characteristics are different, such as demographic background, economic status, and/or their social position

In recent years, the term “transnationalism” has been used broadly in studies of migration Portes, Guarnizo, and Landolt (1999) argue that transnationalism involves individuals, their networks of social relations, their communities, and broader

institutionalized structures such as local and national governments (p 220) These authors emphasize that transnationalism is the scale of intensity and simultaneity of current long-distance, cross-border activities, which provide the recently emergent, distinctive, and normative social structures and activities (Portes et al 1999: 230)

Steven Vertovec (1999) defines “transnationalism” as resulting from multiple ties and intersections linking people or institutions across the borders of nation-states (p 447) Transnationalism describes a condition in which, despite great distances and

notwithstanding the presence of international borders, certain kinds of relationships have been globally intensified (Vertovec 1999: 447)

In the 1960s, explaining the factors influencing international migration,

neoclassical economic theory raised issues associated with labor market dynamics Authors who are proponents of neoclassical economics claim that international migration

is caused by differences in the supply of and demand for labor (Todaro and Maruszko 1987) A country with a large endowment of labor relative to capital will have a low equilibrium wage, while a nation with a limited endowment of labor relative to capital will be characterized by a high market wage (Todaro and Maruszko 1987) These

differences motivate workers from a low wage or labor-surplus country to move to a high-wage or labor-scarce country (Massey 1998)

Associated with this macroeconomic theory is an accompanying microeconomic model based on individual’s rational choice (Todaro 1989) This theory proposes that individuals are rational actors that decide to migrate as a result of a cost-benefit analysis that leads them to expect a positive net return, usually monetary (Massey 1998) In this theoretical scheme, international migration is conceptualized as a form of investment and diversification (Sjaastad 1962) People then decide to move to whatever country or region they think with be the most adequate to maximize their skills after taking into consideration the investments, such as traveling cost, living cost, labor market, and the

effort involved in learning a new language and culture at the destination In sum, a potential migrant goes where the expected net returns to migration is the greatest (Massey 1998)

Concerned with what motivates people to migrate, the new economics of

migration theory developed in the 1970s and 1980s raises a set of new assumptions, which fundamentally challenge the neoclassical economic approach New economic of migration proposes that migration decisions are made, not by isolated individuals, but by larger units of interrelated people - typically families or households – in which people decide collectively how to maximize, not only their expected income, but also maximize their status (Stark 1991) Lucas and Stark (1985) also point out that people make

decisions to migrate influenced by norms and objective expectations as well as the

economic status of their families and of people around them (such as neighbors and friends) This assumes that decisions for migration are usually determined by family factors such as scarce family income, daily needs, crop insurance, building a house, etc Migration thus becomes a form of insurance and economic diversification, which is frequently determined by the head of the household in cooperation with the rest of the household

The new economics theory claims that the source of the income is what really matters and households have significant incentives in activities and projects that provide access to new income sources Sending a family member(s) abroad is one of those

mechanisms (Massey 1998) Thus, households send members abroad not only to

improve their income in absolute terms but also to increase their resources relative to

other households, and hence to reduce their relative deprivation compared with some reference group(s) (Stark and Taylor 1991) In these activities, the role of women has become more significant in recent decades triggering a reconfiguration of gender

relations and power dynamics within the household (Pessar 1984; Curtis 1986; Espiritu 1999)

Gender scholars argue that migration improves women’s social position and creates emancipation Migration increases participation in wage employment, gives more control over earnings, and creates greater participation in family decision making for women (Pessar 1984) For example, in a study of the effects of employment patterns on gender relations among contemporary Asian immigrants in the U.S., Espiritu (1999) found that the patriarchal authority of Asian men, particularly those in the working class, has been challenged due to the social and economic losses that they suffered in their transition to the status of men of color in the U.S (p 628) The recent growth of female-intensive industries in the U.S has enhanced the employability of some Asian immigrant women over that of their male counterparts and has positioned them as co-providers, or even primary providers, for their families

In this context, international migration has triggered the flow of transnational marriages Many scholars have drawn attention to transnational marriage in relation to the issue of “trafficking” (Glodava and Onizuka 1994; Simons 2001; Constable 2003) Constable (2003) claims that transnationalism is highly relevant to the topic of

correspondence courtship and marriage between western men and Asian women (p 216)

As a result, transnational marriages through correspondence are known as “mail-order”

marriages Glodava and Onizuka (1994) define the term “mail-order brides” as women who find their spouses through the mail (p 2) According to these authors, the marriage process may be initiated by an introduction service agency (such as brokers or a marital company) or by a friend or relative and they claims that these brides are “victims of unequal political and economic relationships between developing and industrialized nations and between the sexes on a worldwide scale” (Glodava and Onizuka 1994: 4) Glodava and Onizuka (1994) argue that it is these inequalities lead to the issue of

exploitation The male spouses feel they have bought the mail-order wife, and therefore, they own her and have power over her (p 5)

This definition, however, has faced many reactions from alternative feminist perspectives Constable (2003) disagrees with Glodava and Onizuka when these authors place the issue of women trafficking in related to “mail-order brides” and argues that women are not necessarily duped or seduced into the relationships Constable (2003) argues that these women are usually aware of the risks involved in meeting people

through correspondence and they plan to deal with them accordingly (p 71) She further agues that when Asian women marry American men they are not always acting on

absolute economic motivations These women sometimes just want to get rid of the traditional norms of their families and communities (Constable 2003)

Migration researchers, in both neoclassical and new economics of migration, as well as feminist scholarship, have mainly focused on the economic, demographic, social, and psychological factors to interpret the phenomenon of international migration Recent theoretical interest in migration calls attention to the important function of social

networks in the process of international migration (Fawcett 1989) Social networks have become important social structures that determine and shape international migration Central to this idea of social networks is the notion of social capital

Social Networks: Positive and Negative Aspects of Social Capital

The concept of “social capital” was mainly elaborated in the writings of Bourdieu, Loury, and Coleman (Portes 1998) Pierre Bourdieu (1986) defines social capital as “the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance or

recognition” (p 248) Building upon Bourdieu’s definition, Portes (1998) points out that Bourdieu’s treatment of the concept is instrumental, focusing on the benefits accruing to individuals by virtue of participation in groups and on the deliberate construction of sociability for the purpose of creating this resource (p 3) In regard to the functions of social capital, Portes (1998) distinguished three basic functions of social capital: a) as a source of social control, b) as a source of family support, and c) as a source of benefits through extra-familial networks These functions are considered as sources of network-mediated benefits beyond the immediate family (Portes 1998) Thus, Portes sees that social capital can produce regimes of exploitation and can be sovereign of constrain the social and economic emancipator for many migrants For example, social networks can constrain as well as facilitate women’s incorporation in the labor market Bonacich and Appelbaum (2000) show how the apparel industry in Los Angeles (mainly characterized

by migrant sweatshops) is the result of particular migrant social networks, which are key

to understanding the hiring and referral system

Another definition of social capital was introduced by Glenn Loury (1977) which designated a set of intangible resources in families and communities that help in

promoting social development among young people This concept captured the

differential access to opportunities through social connections for minority and minority youth Coleman (1990) further defines social capital by its functions as a variety of entities with two elements in common First, they all consist of some aspect of social structures Second, they facilitate certain action of actors within the structure

non-Applying the social capital approach, some studies have pointed out the

significant role played by networks in the process of international migration Massey (1998) claims that migrant networks are sets of interpersonal ties that connect migrants, former migrants, and non-migrants in origin and destination areas through ties of kinship, friendship, and shared community origin (p 43-44) Networks make international

migration extremely attractive as a strategy for risk diversification or utility

maximization He argues that the first migrants who leave for a new destination have no social ties to draw on, and for them migration is more costly However, after the first migrants have left, the potential costs of migration are substantially lowered for friends and relatives left behind (Massey 1998) For this point, Massey (1998) explained

because of the nature of kinship and friendship structures, each new migrant creates a set

of people with social ties to the destination area People, therefore, tend to move to areas where they have relatives, friends or members of the same community for social support (Hugo 1975)

Tsuda (1999) also argues that as a result of improved international

communication and media networks migrants can stay in close touch with those left behind and keep up the news, events, and even television programs back home

According to Tsuda (1999), once general economic push-pull factors that instigate

migration are in place, such transnational connections channel and direct migrants to specific countries because they serve as bridges and links between these countries that enable migration to occur When faced with general economic pressure to migrate, individuals tend to choose countries that have closer relationships with their own

Along these lines, Boyd (1989) argues that networks become a dynamic system in which migration evolves from linkages between sending and receiving countries Some existing studies have revealed the significance of these links in the process of

international migration They consider these links as migrant intermediaries (Wang and Chang 2002; Massey 1998; Fawcett 1989)

Once international migration has begun, Massey (1998) points out that private institutions tend to arise to satisfy the demand created by a growing imbalance between the large number of people who seek entry into developed countries and the limited number of immigrant visas these countries offer He argues that these institutions are often for-profit oriented These agencies promulgate the rules and procedures in contract with migrants to carry out their recruiting or assistance functions (Fawcett 1989)

Related to cross-border marriage networks, Wang and Chang (2002) have attempted to place the issue of international marriage in an institutionalized profit-oriented social context They argue that “the process of international marriage and related activities is

gradually being transformed to enhance profits to various intermediaries, which we call the process of commodification” (Wang and Chang 2002: 95)

In the following pages, I discuss the empirical studies on intermarriage focusing

on micro, meso, and macro factors and the recent research on cross-border marriage between Vietnamese and Taiwanese

Review of Empirical Studies in the Asian Context

International Marriage in Micro, Meso, and Macro Perspectives

In their study on the migrant motivations of rural Chinese women, Fan and Huang (1998) found that peasant women in disadvantaged economic positions are motivated to see marriage not as simply a life event, but as an alternative to their limited social and economic mobility (p 246) The authors argue that women in poor areas are constrained

by their institutional positions, rural origins, and low education and status (p 246) These factors lead them to make the decision to move to seek a better life To deal with these constrains, these women pursue migration by marrying men of more developed countries/ areas Similarly, Piper (1997) found that economic motivation is the main reason leading Filipino women to move to Japan (see also Lieba 2006) Filipino women migrate to Japan to seek high-wage jobs as well as economic opportunities In this case, migration

is supported by their families with the expectation of receiving remittances As a result, getting married to Japanese men is the way these immigrant women legitimate their residential status in Japan (Piper 1997; Lieba 2006)

Focusing on the actual influences of the commodification of marriage and power relations, Hong-Zen (2005) conducted a fieldwork study with the purpose of

micro-exploring the effects of marriage commodification within the foreign family after the bride moved to Taiwan Hong-Zen (2005) mainly examined how the husband’s family referred female migrant spouses to be integrated into the Taiwanese society and how these women used various strategies to escape social controls The results of this study show that female migrant spouses were mainly expected to become good daughter-in-laws To assimilate into the Taiwanese society, these women had to play the role of a good daughter-in-law, a good wife, and a good mother (Hong-Zen 2005) According to Hong-Zen, these women were still able to develop strategies to escape these norms by manipulating intimate relations, delaying the time of getting pregnant, or even

threatening to return to their home country Permeably, they do not have a lot of support from social networks

Related to the male in the host society, Dam (1983) points out that these are men

“who feel they are losing out in the power struggle between sexes and who need to restore their feelings of masculinity, but cannot find partners suitable to this end among peer groups” (p 538) Building upon this point, Piper (1997) argues that men who have less socioeconomic status, such as farmers or low-wage workers, can not find Japanese wives as the result of their socioeconomic condition and/or demographic status (divorce, disability or high age) Accordingly, these men tend to look for brides abroad (Lieba 2006)

Cross-border marriage in the meso perspective focuses on an informal and formal network Hugo and Nguyen (2006), studying cross-border marriage between Taiwanese men and Vietnamese women, found that Vietnamese brides in Taiwan play a significant

role in improving their families’ economic status in Vietnam Therefore, marriage is seen

as a venue for success Cross-border marriage then creates the incentive for other

families in the area to encourage their daughters to get married overseas (Hugo and Nguyen 2006) Thus, cross-border marriage becomes linked to some sort of relative deprivation

Foreign women that cross national boundaries and emigrate to a destination as wives are usually not the final migration (Constable 2003: 216) Constable (2003) argues that once settled in the U.S., many Asian women return abroad for visits with families and sometimes work In addition, they may attempt to help their relatives migrate to the U.S

Similarly, Chin (1994) discovered that most women from China that marry in the U.S., not only improve their own living conditions, but also provide a channel for family members to migrate to the U.S (p 63) These brides, therefore, are sometimes called the

“engine” of their families, which means they are the ones who can pull their families out

of China (Chin 1994: 63) Concerning the formation of social networks in cross-border marriage, Wang and Chang (2002) explored the roles of intermediaries between overseas female migrant partners and Taiwanese grooms They claim that with the prospect of high earnings from arranged marriage activities, the number of agents has grown,

creating a vast industry (Wang and Chang 2002) According to Wang and Chang (2002), many different kinds of intermediaries provide international migration services to

prospective female partners and grooms It involves agencies geographically located in the destination and departure countries These marital agencies are usually formed by

either an organized agency and/or an individual agent The organized agencies, in the case of Taiwanese-Vietnamese marriage, arrange marriages for Taiwanese men with young women from Vietnam Some of these organized agencies have branches overseas They then seek potential customers in the both areas to complete the marriage contract (Wang and Chang 2002)

In regard to cross-border marriage at the macro level, a number of recent studies have shown that problems within international marriages are rooted in the lack of social acceptance of these types of marriages, rather than in personal differences between

couples (Piper 1997) Wang and Chang (2002), for example, claim that one of the

factors influencing Taiwanese males’ marriage probability is their relative economic position in the labor market Given the increased participation of the female labor force

in the labor market, Taiwanese men with less economic power and low social status are less likely to find a domestic partner Finding an overseas partner, therefore, has become

a reasonable option for them

Attempting to place the issue of international marriage in the broader context of migration, Piper (1997) conducted a study on Filipino wives in Japan with the purpose of understanding intermarriage as associated with labor market and the interconnectedness

of patriarchal relations ‘at home’ and ‘abroad.’ By interviewing 14 female Filipino

migrant workers who married Japanese husbands, Piper (1997) found that Filipino

immigrant wives in Japan have to face not only gender discrimination but also stigmas related to their country’s lack of economic development

Goodkind (1997) looks at international marriages as the result of gender

imbalances In conducting a study on the phenomenon of migration of Vietnamese women, he points out that in the 1970s and 1980s, given the rapid population growth, U.S – Vietnam War, and excess of male emigration in Vietnam after the war in 1975, Vietnamese women have faced one of the largest national deficits of male partners in the world For these reasons, Goodkind (1997) argues that in Vietnam, men marry later than women do in terms of age, and rapid population growth accelerated sharply in the North3during the late 1950s and early 1960s In addition, the excess of male mortality during the war of reunification, particularly, about 1.2 million Vietnamese died The vast

majority were males (Goodkind 1997)

Interested in global patterns of international marriage, Dang (2006) conducted an analysis to examine the emergence of global households including marriage to foreigners, migrant worker development, and migrant remittances within the economic changing context of Vietnam Dang (2006) found that migration as well as international marriage are increasingly significant factors in Asian economic development and in improvement

of the economic conditions of many poor people within the region In regard to the migrant policies, he points out that current policy dialogues should not ignore migration and its positive role in poverty alleviation There is a need to integrate migration issues into poverty alleviation policies In addition, the economic role that migration plays in local and national development also needs to be recognized (Dang 2006)

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The North of Vietnam was declared independence in September 2nd 1945

Vietnamese- Taiwanese Recent Studies on Cross-Border Marriage

The growth of Vietnamese-Taiwanese cross-border marriages in the last two decades (especially since 2000), has caught the interest of several scholars in Vietnam and Taiwan Wang and Chang (2002) mainly focus on the role that mediating agencies have in cross-border marriages between Vietnamese women and Taiwanese men These authors argue that the process of international marriage and related activities is gradually being transformed to enhance profits to various intermediaries They call this “a process

of marriage commodification” (Wang and Chang 2002: 95) Their study was carried out during two years of fieldwork involving cross-border marriages in Vietnam and Taiwan (from August 1999 to January 2001)

Concerning to the formation of social networks in the process of cross-border marriage, these authors claim that with the prospect of high earnings from arranged marriage activities, the number of agents have grown, thus creating a growing cross-border marriage industry As the cross-border marriage market matures, more and more people enter the market, and therefore, competitive prices and good quality in terms of marriages become the necessary conditions for these businesses to succeed The social networks of individuals are gradually transformed by agents in pursuit of profit (Wang and Chang 2002)

According to Wang and Chang (2002), many different kinds of intermediaries provide international migration services to prospective female partners and grooms It involves agencies geographically located in destination and host departure countries

These marital agencies are usually formed by two types: the organized agency and the individual agent

From the sending country (Vietnam), social science scholars have attempted to find out the motivations of these marriages and the economic consequences as well as the social effects of these cross-border marriages (Do, Glind, Kelly, Kamphusis, and

McArthur 2003; Tran 2004; Phan 2005) Do et al (2003), for example, present an

overview of the Vietnamese and Taiwanese cross-border marriage They argue that poverty is the major reason for international marriage Their results show that most Vietnamese women who married a Taiwanese man reported an economic and personal improvement (Do et al 2003) The economic reasons are related to increasing income, reducing poverty and increasing economic opportunities to their Vietnamese families, and allowing siblings to gain education Results show that the main personal reasons are: having an easier life, willingness to change, and not willingness to marry a Vietnamese man are mainly stated

Do et al (2003) also find that in all marriages involving daughters, there are positive economic advantages for the families Families reported a great deal of respect for their daughters The daughters have shown their commitment and love for their families and this makes the families both proud and respected in their communities Many married women abroad reported being happy with their situation, even if only because they fulfilled the duties of their families

Concerning the systems for cross-border marriage between Vietnamese women and Taiwanese men, Do et al (2003) claim that there is a growing concern in Vietnam

that some cross-border marriages may potentially be related to trafficking This concern,

as stated by the Vietnamese authorities, is especially acute in Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong River Delta provinces where a large number of cross-border marriages have occurred through commercial broker services These marital agencies introduced

different partners from different countries with the proposal to set up a cross-border marriage with the intention of gaining profits (Do et al 2003)

Further focusing on the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of

Vietnamese brides, Phan (2005) conducted a survey of 200 Vietnamese women who were applying for a partner visa to Taiwan Phan (2005) found that the cross-border marriages between Vietnamese and Taiwanese involved Taiwanese men with low levels of

education (an average of 9 years of schooling) These men, usually between 40 and 45 years of age, spoke limited English, had low income levels (under $1,000 per month), and lived in rural areas These men reported seeking a wife who was appropriate for their socioeconomic situation On the other hand, the Vietnamese women expected a better life for themselves and their families, and therefore sought economic improvement

through the cross-border marriages (Phan 2005)

Phan (2005) further points out that the marriages between Vietnamese women and Taiwanese men are often not the result of “true love” He argues that despite the absence

of love, these marriages do not end in divorced and/or abusive relationships Only in rare occasions do women involved in cross-border marriages end up in prostitution Phan (2005) points out that female Taiwanese migration to urban areas has made it difficult for men to marry local women Taiwanese men with low socioeconomic status may view

their only choice to get married to a foreign wife These Taiwanese men favor

Vietnamese women because they need a stable family to continue their racial lineage with an Asian woman For Vietnamese wives, they have gradually adapted to new living circumstance and helped their families back home with remittances

Similar to Do et al (2003), Phan (2005) claims that marital intermediary activity plays a significant role in the phenomenon of Vietnamese and Taiwanese marriage It is this movement that has formed a market in which Taiwanese men are the consumers, Vietnamese women are treated as goods, and marital agencies attempt to gain benefits from these marriages

Building upon these studies, this study focuses on examining the role that both formal and informal networks have in the formation and development of cross-border marriages However, I ague these cross-border marriages are also influenced by other social elements, such as cultural exchange, economic development, and political

institutions Addressing these issues, the following chapter presents how economic, cultural, and social transformations influence the cross-border marriages in Vietnam in general and in the Mekong River Delta region in particular

CHAPTER 3 INTERMARRIAGE IN THE VIETNAM CONTEXT Urbanization and industrialization has influenced the way Vietnam deals with the fast changes resulting from economic globalization The changes have occurred not only

in urban areas but also in rural areas as well Ancient villages have now become small cities Farmers who used to be poor are now becoming millionaires through the selling of their lands Industrial parks are being built on former agricultural fields The cultural exchanges between regions and between countries as well as the presence of foreigners have become very common for Vietnamese people

In this chapter, I will contextualize my study by offering a brief overview of the economic, cultural, and social transformations that have occurred in Vietnam, and more specifically, the economic transformations of the Mekong River Delta region These changes are important to understand the formation of cross-border marriages between Vietnamese women and foreign men, specifically men of Taiwanese nationality

Furthermore, I will focus on analyzing the context as well as the reality of this

phenomenon in the six provinces where my study was carried out

Economic Change and Increasing Cross-Border Ties

A Brief Overview of the Vietnam Context

Vietnam is located in the Southeast part of Asia with a population of nearly 83 million (in 2005), of which, about 40.5 million are male and 42.5 million are female (GSO 2005) Vietnam borders China in the north, Laos in the northwest, and Cambodia

in the southwest Vietnam is a tropical country and remains predominantly Confucian

with an emphasis on patriarchal family structure Vietnam has had a long history of fighting for independence From 1945 to 1975, over 1.2 million Vietnamese died in the war for Vietnam’s reunification The vast majority was males and this is one of causes of

a gender imbalance in Vietnam (Goodkind 1997)

Over the last two decades, especially since “Doi moi” in 1986, the economy of Vietnam has achieved a rapid growth particularly in agriculture and industrial production, construction, exports and foreign investment For example, the report of the Prime Minister at the 8th session of the Vietnamese Congress (October 18, 2006) shows that in

2005 the GDP growth rate reached 8.5, the consumer index increased approximately 8.0, 1.6 million new job opportunities were created, and poverty was reduced to 7.0 percent

According to the Vietnamese Planning and Investment Ministry 4, until October 2005 there were 5,774 development projects nationwide with the total foreign direct

investment reaching $49.1 billion Taiwan is the leading country, in terms of

development projects and FDI, with 23.9 percent of all projects and 15.7 percent of all investment capital Singapore and Japan followed with 15.2 percent and 12.2 percent, respectively Vietnam has recently improved in terms of the human development index Among 177 countries in the world, Vietnam moved from the position of 120 in 1995 to the position of 108 in 2005 in the Ranking List of Human Developments Index (UNDP 2005) This growth shows improvements in education, healthcare, and overall standard

of living Along with these achievements, however, Vietnam faces a great deal of social

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