Cross-Border Intimacies: Affect and Emotions in Marriage Migration Between China and Taiwan

Since the early 1990s, growing economic ties between China and Taiwan have opened the door to migration and increased contact between their populations. Yet, the unresolved question of Taiwan’s sovereignty continues to shape not only political relations but also the everyday experiences of those who cross the Strait. This talk examines what it means to build long-term, cross-border family relationships in a highly politicised environment where migrants from mainland China are often viewed with suspicion. Focusing on the intimate lives of mainland Chinese migrants married to Taiwanese citizens and living in Taiwan, the presentation explores how love, family, and belonging are negotiated under pressure, and how these personal experiences both reflect and influence the wider emotional and political climate in Taiwan.

 

Bio: Lara Momesso is an Associate Research Fellow at the Institute for Area and Migration Studies at the University of Lancashire and a Research Associate at the Centre of Taiwan Studies at SOAS University of London. Situated within migration studies and socio-cultural anthropology, Lara’s research explores migrants’ identity, intimacy, integration, and political participation. Her wider research interests include refugee and asylum seeker integration, ethnic Chinese identity-making and self-representation in Britain, lifestyle migration in China, and cultural intelligence. Her monograph, published by Manchester University Press in 2025, draws on nearly two decades of ethnographic fieldwork with mainland Chinese marriage migrant communities in Taiwan. Working at the intersection of academia, policy and public engagement, Lara also hosts several podcasts aimed at fostering a more nuanced understanding of migration issues and Taiwan. More information: https://www.lancashire.ac.uk/academics/lara-momesso

 

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