Based on research conducted in Hong Kong between January and July 2004, as part of “The Hong Kong Remigration Project” (HKRP), this book explores the psychological experiences of remigrant populations and tests the Cultural Identity Model (CIM) of Cultural Transitions. This model recognizes four possible identity profiles of returnees, which are summarized below.
The book has two core objectives. First, the author wants to report and analyze data collected by the HKRP; with this objective, the book carries on a dialogue with a broader theory of cultural transitions. It examines where the experiences of Hong Kong people are different from and overlap with those of returnees of other nationalities. The second objective is to narrate stories of the many returnees interviewed by the author (a cross-cultural psychologist). Therefore, the book offers a more revealing account of the lives of the returnees. The author hopes the book will be welcomed by returnees looking to understand their experiences and find ways to address the changes in their lives.
The book is organized into eleven chapters, with four appendixes in which the reader can examine the questionnaires utilized for the project and benefit from clear explanations of the various methodologies adopted in the research; moreover, there are helpful descriptions of the quantitative analysis utilized in the project and a table with the demographics of the interviewees. These latter sections will be especially valuable for graduate students investigating related topics.
In the first chapter, the author briefly discusses the history of Hong Kong identity since 1841—the year of the cession of Hong Kong to the British Crown. The book argues that “Hong Kongers” have had a multilayered identity (British, Chinese, Hong Kong, or a mix thereof), to which other identities have been added lately—Australian, American, Canadian, and now “returnee.” The book investigates the configuration of returnees’ identities. By asking returnees such questions as whether they feel at home once back in Hong Kong and whether the transformation of their identities led them to a new global transnational identity (p. 35), Sussman tries to pinpoint the identity changes they undergo.
In chapter 2, the author surveys theories about the internal struggles of people with competing cultural identities, showing how art, literature, and social sciences have approached and explained such a phenomenon. Today such competing identities are found mostly among immigrants, while once they were a characteristic of geographical proximity between communities. Chapter 3 introduces the psychological model of repatriation. It clarifies the debate within social sciences over theories of transnationalism applied to immigration, particularly the concept of fluid citizenship and sense of belonging.
Chapter 4 describes in detail the results of the study, gives examples of pre- and post-departure strategies that individuals adopt, and introduces the identity profiles established by the CIM. Chapters 5 to 9 present these profiles—additive (those who experience layering of identities), subtractive (those who experience a shift away from their own culture), global (those who have already migrated several times and consider themselves as cultural beings not attached to any specific place), and affirmative (middle-aged migrants who had not adapted well overseas and are highly motivated to return home and stay). These four profiles were developed from interview narratives and questionnaire responses that revealed remigrants’ opinions on schooling, housing, interpersonal relations, family, and workplace life. In chapter 11, the author shows that her results are not static and urges further monitoring of Hong Kongers’ identity in light of the increased interactions between Hong Kong and the mainland.
Chapter 10 argues that Hong Kongers may be characterized as pragmatic remigrants (with additive identity), while repatriation for Westerners is described as more stressful, because of the opposing foundational cultural philosophies of the East and the West. In other words, while harmonious compromise is what Confucius taught Easterners, Aristotle taught an “either-or” approach to self and to cultural identities to Westerners, who consequently do not deal well with negotiating new identities after remigration. More reference to psychological studies on cognitive developments in distinct cultures, acknowledgment of alternative views to the clear-cut division between all encompassing Easts and Wests, and the addition of more specific examples would increase the clarity and impact of this chapter.
In sum, the book is indeed valuable interdisciplinary reading for scholars of migration. It aims to be more than a psychological study and is important for research on migrants’ identities, since it gives agency to remigrants themselves by treating meaningful aspects of their lives (personal relationships, social expectations, family planning to readapt, etc.) and creatively using different tools to do so (literature, fiction, art, as well as social scientific methods).
