At the crossroads of sociology and international relations, this interdisciplinary and comparative research article explores how the COVID-19 outbreak has impacted China–Europe relations. Unfolding the critical moments of the COVID-19 outbreak, this article characterizes the evolution of China–Europe relations with regard to the facemask. This simple object of self-protection against the coronavirus strikingly became a source of contention between peoples and states. In the face of this situation, we argue that the facemask is the prism through which to illustrate (1) the transnational links between China and its overseas population, (2) the changing social perceptions of China and Chinese-looking people in European societies, and (3) the advent of China’s health diplomacy and its reception in Europe. Comparing two European settings—France and the United Kingdom (UK)—the common denominator appears to be the reduced trust, if not outright distrust, between individuals and communities in the French and British contexts, and in Sino–French and Sino–British relations at the transnational level. Combining critical juncture theory and (dis)trust in international relations as our analytical framework, this article examines how the facemask became a politicized object, both between states and between Mainland China and its overseas population, as the epidemic unfolded throughout Europe. Adopting a qualitative approach, our dataset comprises the analysis of official speeches and statements; press releases; traditional and social media content (especially through hashtags such as #JeNeSuisPasUnVirus, #IAmNotAVirus, #CoronaRacism, etc.); and interviews with Chinese, French, and British community members.
This article explores the migration choices of Chinese–Taiwanese couples who have met in a third country as students and formed transnational and cross-cultural families. Being subject to three sets of regulations (those of China, Taiwan and the third country) has put these couples in a more restrictive situation in negotiating their life choices and mobility. Using qualitative data, this article elucidates the migration trajectories of these couples, the conflicts they face, how they negotiate conflict areas and the strategic use of marriage in a third country to be together. This article finds that the conjugal lives of these transnational couples cannot completely disengage from institutionalized cross-Strait relations and state ideologies which eventually push them to stay in a third country rather than return to either of their countries of origin.
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