Migrant Transnationality and Its Evolving Nature: A Case Study of Mainland Chinese Migrants in Australia

Both transnationality and its evolving nature have been the persistent themes of many studies. However, they have often been considered separately, producing insufficient evidence to explain why migrants and their communities have acted in transnational ways and how transnationality repeatedly acts on diasporic identity. This article will use the data collected in the Chinese community in Australia to explore the correlation between the transnationality of individual migrants and the evolving nature of their diasporic identities. The discussion will outline and analyze various transnational activities that have taken place in the community since the early 1990s, focusing on their form, content and trajectory, as well as their organizational structures and meaning. The article will conclude with an explanation about why community members initiate the transnational activities, what goals they have set for their transnational lives and how transnationality and their identity are correlated.