The Developmental Migration State in East Asia: Towards Policy Convergence?

Since the late 20th century, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan have all expanded and diversified their migration policies in response to demographic and labor market pressures. Despite distinct but deeply entwined institutional dynamics and historical legacies, this panel examines the drastic similarities observed in recent migration trends, asking: are the three countries converging towards a developmental migration state, defined by a proliferation of different statuses each linked to specific performance and demographic criteria? Chien discusses Taiwan’s new “mid-skilled workers program”, examining the state’s interventions on the concept of skill to justify new pathways to residency for migrants in certain industries. Chen, meanwhile, opens the ‘black box’ of the state to show how the Taiwanese state’s organizational structure leads to ministries pursuing uncoordinated and sometimes conflicting policies towards migrants. Meanwhile, Lee looks towards programs aimed at some of the most highly privileged migrants, showing how Korea’s immigration by investment program survived serious political challenges. Due to jus sanguinis citizenship policies, all three countries are also home to multigenerational communities facing exclusion and conditional access to rights. Centering the subjects most affected, Silverman presents fieldwork examining the attachments and aspirations of children of immigrants (COI) in Japan. Finally, Tian uses the case of revisions to Japan’s guestworker regime to look at how policy changes have impacted the activities and orientations of civil society actors, some of the most active proponents for migrants’ rights in all three countries.