{"id":361,"date":"2023-11-04T15:33:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-04T15:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/?p=361"},"modified":"2023-12-11T08:22:03","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T08:22:03","slug":"migration-racial-minorities-and-gig-labor-of-visibilities-and-mobilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/migration-racial-minorities-and-gig-labor-of-visibilities-and-mobilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Migration, Racial Minorities and Gig Labor: Of \u201cVisibilities\u201d and \u201cMobilities\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” admin_label=”Header” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||120px|||” custom_padding=”110px|||||” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” z_index=”10″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” positioning=”absolute” vertical_offset=”-40px” horizontal_offset=”-40px” vertical_offset_tablet=”-20px” vertical_offset_phone=”” vertical_offset_last_edited=”on|tablet” horizontal_offset_tablet=”-20px” horizontal_offset_phone=”” horizontal_offset_last_edited=”on|desktop” width=”100%” max_width=”220px” min_height=”220px” border_width_all=”2px” border_color_all=”#d8c8a5″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/\u4e1e\u5104_20230812_1600-1730-12-300×225.jpg” title_text=”\u4e1e\u5104_20230812_1600-1730-12″ show_bottom_space=”off” admin_label=”Image” _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” z_index=”1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_cta title=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90aXRsZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IiIsImFmdGVyIjoiIn19@” button_url=”#” admin_label=”Call To Action” _builder_version=”4.23″ _dynamic_attributes=”title,content” _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h1″ header_font=”Poppins|500|||||||” header_text_color=”#000000″ header_font_size=”50px” header_line_height=”1.2em” body_font=”Montserrat||||||||” body_line_height=”1.8em” background_color=”#ffffff” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”14px” button_text_color=”#000000″ button_bg_color=”#fff0ec” button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”0px” button_letter_spacing=”2px” button_font=”Montserrat|600||on|||||” button_use_icon=”off” button_custom_margin=”30px||||false|false” button_custom_padding=”20px|30px|20px|30px|true|true” positioning=”absolute” position_origin_a=”top_right” z_index=”1″ position_origin_a_tablet=”” position_origin_a_phone=”” position_origin_a_last_edited=”on|desktop” position_origin_f_tablet=”” position_origin_f_phone=”” position_origin_f_last_edited=”on|desktop” position_origin_r_tablet=”” position_origin_r_phone=”” position_origin_r_last_edited=”on|desktop” text_orientation=”left” background_layout=”light” width_tablet=”80%” width_phone=”90%” width_last_edited=”on|phone” max_width=”700px” custom_padding=”20px|20px|20px|20px|true|true” custom_padding_tablet=”|0px||0px|false|true” custom_padding_phone=”” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” header_font_size_tablet=”64px” header_font_size_phone=”40px” header_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” positioning_tablet=”relative” positioning_phone=”” positioning_last_edited=”on|tablet” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9leGNlcnB0Iiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJ3b3JkcyI6IjE4IiwicmVhZF9tb3JlX2xhYmVsIjoiIn19@[\/et_pb_cta][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” transform_scale_tablet=”” transform_scale_phone=”” transform_scale_last_edited=”on|desktop” transform_rotate_tablet=”” transform_rotate_phone=”” transform_rotate_last_edited=”on|desktop” transform_skew_tablet=”” transform_skew_phone=”” transform_skew_last_edited=”on|desktop” transform_origin_tablet=”” transform_origin_phone=”” transform_origin_last_edited=”on|desktop” positioning=”absolute” position_origin_a=”bottom_right” vertical_offset=”-40px” horizontal_offset=”-40px” vertical_offset_tablet=”-20px” vertical_offset_phone=”” vertical_offset_last_edited=”on|phone” horizontal_offset_tablet=”-20px” horizontal_offset_phone=”” horizontal_offset_last_edited=”on|tablet” width=”100%” max_width=”220px” min_height=”220px” border_width_all=”15px” border_color_all=”#a20404″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”5px||5px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”||||||||” text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”2em” text_orientation=”justified” text_font_size_tablet=”15px” text_font_size_phone=”14px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]

Hei Yuen White Pak<\/strong>
PhD Student, Department of English, National Taiwan Normal University<\/strong><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”||||||||” text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”2em” text_orientation=”justified” text_font_size_tablet=”15px” text_font_size_phone=”14px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]

Taking a social justice perspective and juxtaposing race studies, labor studies and media studies, Lisa Yuk-Ming Leung investigates the struggles confronting racial minority gig workers in Hong Kong, especially the case of Pakistani food deliverers, as well as their strategic resistance. In this talk, Leung endeavors to demonstrate multiple layers of visibilization and mobilization that racial minority gig workers are subjected to, but simultaneously engaged in, in their struggles against racialized social injustices. On the one hand, Leung probes into the fast expanding digital economies, food delivery platform in particular, to see whether such economies could alleviate some structural inequalities or indeed create new layers of injustice; on the other, she maps out how gig workers avail themselves of the digital platforms as a form of resistance as well as solidarity.<\/p>\n

\u200bLeung has divided the talk into several parts to tease out the injustices and strategies facing racial minority gig workers, especially Pakistani food deliverers in this case. She first introduces her recent research on these gig workers\u2019 struggles and \u201cadded precarities\u201d which are germane to the decades-long deep-seated racism. In order to trace the footprints, Leung historicizes and contextualizes these racialized precarities with the demographic and colonial setup in Hong Kong. Later, by proposing the framework of visibilization and mobilization, she illustrates different layers of precarities confronting racial minority gig workers. Being a minority, however, is not only a status of exploitation but also an identity of gaining resonance within the community. Leung delves into the formulation of minority as a lens of enquiry and method.<\/p>\n

\u200bTo begin with, Leung reviews the scholarship on the relation between gig labor and digital economies. Studies have been conducted to critique how the algorithmically dominated digital management has intensified new forms of exploitation and obliterated and belittled gig workers\u2019 labor value. Due to the widespread of platformed economies, digital labor is \u201cspatially dispersed and disembodied\u201d by algorithmic laboring and as \u201cfungible\u201d or \u201cdisposable\u201d commodities. In terms of food delivery sector, it is considered a low-end, menial job taken up by mostly migrant workers because the racial\/ethnic majority is prone to get rid of. Migrant gig workers are likely to bear the brunt of rampant exploitation because of their fragile citizenship status and thus lack of bargaining power. In the face of exploitative practices, they are more susceptible to work stress, occupational and metal health risks.<\/p>\n

\u200bLeung brings in other research that historicizes the deeply entrenched racism in Hong Kong to illuminate the daily discriminatory acts faced by the migrant gig workers and showcase migrant workers\u2019 tactical resistance to the racial majority. Colonialization is often attributed to the mass transport and vassalization of colored people, creating a \u201csurplus population\u201d. Migrant laborers have long been deprived of rights in favor of accumulating capital and thus become easy targets for discrimination and exploitation, such as unequal pay and layoffs. Being relegated as \u201csurplus population,\u201d they often take up menial and low-end jobs to uphold the capitalistic society. In the face of injustices, they resist through individualized strategies and collective organized protests.<\/p>\n

\u200bFollowing the overview of past scholarship is the core of Leung\u2019s talk: racial minority, particularly Pakistani, food deliverers in Hong Kong during the pandemic. From 2019 to 2020, the food delivery platform in Hong Kong boomed and the number of food deliverers increased almost twofold. However, their mobile bodies became the spot of negative criticisms, including unwholesome behavior or even virus carriers. Leung argues that such disease panic has transformed into racial panic from which most racial minority food deliverers have suffered. Leung conducted a research on how South Asian food deliverers perceived their situations and positioned themselves in terms of job satisfaction and security by carrying out surveys and interviews.<\/p>\n

\u200bUnsurprisingly, Leung\u2019s findings are in line with the literature review. Food deliverers attribute the discriminatory demeanor to the deep-seated racism and feel \u2018trapped\u2019 in this sector as some of them are descendants of three to four generations of South Asian settlers in Hong Kong. In the case of Hong Kong, Leung argues that \u201cthe migrant gig labor, such as food delivery workers, obscure the diverse citizenship status of the minority labor force. In fact, such terminology might also run the risk of reinforcing their \u2018liminal\u2019 state, hence rendering them perpetually \u2018otherized\u2019.\u201d Leung attempts to tease out the various layers of minoritization through the lens of visibilization and mobilization.<\/p>\n

\u200bRacial minority workers, Leung illustrates, are often minoritized not only by the ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong but also by themselves. Due to the failure of the government\u2019s equalitarian policies to secure their educational and job opportunities, racial minority workers have long suffered \u201cperpetual and spiraling poverty,\u201d social disenfranchisement, and daily discrimination, nurturing \u201cself-minoritization\u201d\u2014\u201cstrong kinship network that has strengthened their self-sufficiency and ethnic bonding, and detachment from government assistance, knowledge of civic rights and interaction with the Chinese majority.\u201d As the rapid development of technology puts educational and professional expertise in the first priority, racial minority workers, who do not receive much tertiary schooling, could only take up menial work types which are publicly visible but yet often devalued or rendered invisible not only ontologically but also historically. Racial minorities have been structurally absent in Hong Kong history or referenced with derogatory connotations.<\/p>\n

The minoritization and historical invisibilization by the Hong Kong government come hand in hand with what Leung terms \u201chypervisibilization\u201d in mainstream media discourses. Mainstream media more often than not \u201csensationalizes and radicalizes the stereotypes on racial minorities\u201d called as \u201cplatformed racism\u201d by many scholars. Those representations further solidify the racial and cultural stereotypes of the culturally homogenized Chinese majority. Leung articulates how racial minority workers are exposed to \u201cracialized surveillance\u201d on digital platforms through the lens of devisibilization and hypervisibilization\u2014highly visible in public spaces while invisible in the face of racial biases and abuses.
To further elaborate on the concept of (in\/de\/hyper)visibilization, Leung brings mobility\/mobilization into discussion. By focusing on the (bodily) movements over physical spaces, Leung proposes \u201cmobile (traps of inclusion)\u201d where racial minority workers \u201care lured into the appified expanse of food delivery business, only to be abused by exploitative management and racist acts, online and offline. The lure is also about the illusive sense of flexibility and autonomy in organizing one\u2019s work hours online, as well as physical freedom on the motorbike that many become conditioned and even addicted to.\u201d What is behind the scenes is that their bodily movements are strictly monitored and controlled by the food delivery platform where routes are designated. In fact, South Asian workers have a lower sense of socio-economic mobility than their Chinese counterparts.<\/p>\n

In spite of being deprived of visibility and mobility, according to Leung\u2019s research, racial minority workers make use of these two elements to mobilize solidarity. Food deliverers organized the first strike in 2021 through social media to protest against the decrease of wages, harsh points system, and freezing of accounts. The strike gained visibility on mass media, which Leung terms \u201ctactical reverse visibilization\u201d or \u201chypervisibilization\u201d as various forms of individual to collective resistance. Such tactics proved to be an effective form of resistance against the company\u2019s devisibilization. Food deliverers mobilized workers\u2019 support through online communities based on \u201cracial bonding and abstract kinship loyalty\u201d which further tied them together. This affective bonding facilitated the organization of protests and strikes. From Leung\u2019s interviews, South Asian migrant workers confessed that they would use protests and demonstrations to vent their discontents and demand for changes. Leung argues that \u201cthe racial minority leaders possess \u2018solidarity capital\u2019 that afforded them to breach the algorithmic, spatial, ethnic differences to engage in movement mobilization.\u201d<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ make_equal=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.03)” z_index=”10″ custom_padding=”140px|60px|60px|60px|false|true” custom_padding_tablet=”40px|40px|40px|40px|true|true” custom_padding_phone=”20px|20px|20px|20px|true|true” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23.1″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cardo||||||||” text_text_color=”#2a2a2a” text_font_size=”48px” text_line_height=”1.4em” text_orientation=”right” custom_margin=”|-130px|30px||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”|0px|||false|false” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”36px” text_font_size_phone=”30px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” text_text_align=”right” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” text_text_align_tablet=”left” text_text_align_last_edited=”on|tablet” text_text_align_phone=”left” sticky_enabled=”0″]

Conclusion:<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”1.8em” text_orientation=”justify” max_width=”600px” module_alignment=”center” custom_padding=”||34px|||” text_text_align=”justify” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]

To conclude, Leung teases out the precarities and injustices facing the racial minority gig workers as well as their tactical resistance through the lens of visibilization and mobilization. Due to deeply entrenched and structural racism, South Asian gig workers confront with everyday discrimination and different layers of (in\/de)visibilization even though they are highly visible and indispensable in the public spaces. In the face of injustices in times of pandemic, these gig workers were able to mobilize solidarity for organized protests, revealing \u201ctactical reversed visibilization\u201d and \u201cmobilization\u201d as various forms of resistance.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”70px||70px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/\u4e1e\u5104_20230812_1600-1730-12-scaled.jpg” title_text=”\u4e1e\u5104_20230812_1600-1730-12″ _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Comments” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” saved_tabs=”all” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text content_last_edited=”off|desktop” _builder_version=”4.16″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Bellefair||||||||” header_2_text_color=”#000000″ header_2_font_size=”48px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” header_2_font_size_tablet=”42px” header_2_font_size_phone=”34px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9jb21tZW50X2NvdW50Iiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiPGgyPiIsImFmdGVyIjoiIENvbW1lbnRzPC9oMj4iLCJsaW5rX3RvX2NvbW1lbnRzX3BhZ2UiOiJvbiJ9fQ==@[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_comments show_avatar=”off” show_count=”off” _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” form_field_background_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” form_field_text_color=”#000000″ form_field_focus_background_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” title_font=”Bellefair||||||||” title_text_color=”#000000″ title_line_height=”1.2em” form_field_font=”Montserrat|600||on|||||” form_field_font_size=”11px” form_field_letter_spacing=”3px” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”11px” button_text_color=”#fff0ec” button_bg_color=”#000000″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”0px” button_letter_spacing=”2px” button_font=”|700||on|||||” button_custom_padding=”20px|30px|20px|30px|true|true” border_radii_fields=”on|0px|0px|0px|0px” border_color_all_fields=”#000000″ border_width_bottom_fields=”1px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” button_bg_color__hover=”#ff4e00″ button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”on|desktop”][\/et_pb_comments][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Related Articles” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”70px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” max_width=”750px” header_2_font_size_tablet=”48px” header_2_font_size_phone=”36px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]

Related Articles<\/h2>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.23″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Cardo|700|||||||” text_text_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.06)” text_font_size=”120px” text_line_height=”1.2em” header_font=”Poppins||||||||” custom_margin=”-120px|||-120px|false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”-90px|||-60px|false|false” custom_margin_phone=”-70px|||-40px|false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” text_font_size_tablet=”80px” text_font_size_phone=”60px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]

Related<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_blog fullwidth=”off” posts_number=”3″ include_categories=”current” show_thumbnail=”off” show_more=”on” show_excerpt=”off” show_pagination=”off” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”Cardo|700|||||||” header_font_size=”22px” header_line_height=”1.4em” meta_font_size=”12px” meta_line_height=”1.8em” read_more_font=”|600||on|||||” read_more_text_color=”#ff2a38″ read_more_font_size=”12px” read_more_letter_spacing=”4px” read_more_line_height=”1.8em” text_orientation=”center” border_color_all=”#e6e6e6″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_blog][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hei Yuen White PakPhD Student, Department of English, National Taiwan Normal UniversityTaking a social justice perspective and juxtaposing race studies, labor studies and media studies, Lisa Yuk-Ming Leung investigates the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1080","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tarn-report"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":743,"href":"https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361\/revisions\/743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transit-asia.chss.nycu.edu.tw\/tarn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}