A team player pursuing its own dreams: rights-claim campaign of Chinese migrant spouses in the migrant movement before and after 2008

Abstract

Building on political opportunity theory, this chapter problematises the existing understanding of the migrant movement in Taiwan with a focus on the converging of interests existing within the Alliance of Human Rights Legislation for Immigrants and Migrants (AHRLIM), an umbrella organisation of advocacy groups for migrants and immigrants in Taiwan. Highlighting the role and strategies of the Marriage Association of the Two Sides of China (MATSC) within the alliance, and highlighting the emerging political opportunities as a consequence of the change of the ruling party in 2008, this chapter argues that the migrant movement in Taiwan should be understood not as a unified entity but as a conglomeration of sometimes conflicting interests.