Paper short abstract:

Staying in resident countries is not easy for immigrant talents. This study explores the staying motivations and cognition adaption of immigrant talents from China working in Singapore, Australia, America and Canada through analyzing their personal narratives on line.

Paper long abstract:

Globalization provides opportunity for people to access information, make business and flow across borders freely and live a life they desire. Leaving or staying has been a crucial issue for themselves and their next generations. Staying in resident countries usually is not easy for potential immigrants with knowledge and skills whose origin country is regarded as rising power. Origin country may mean familiarity, chance and possibility but resident country may mean uncertainty, relocation and loneliness. However, this study focuses on bilingual targets from China who work in modern countries, Singapore, Australia, America and Canada for years and devote to becoming citizens in the resident countries. What leads them to make this hard decision and how to persuade themselves to adapt? This study hopes to answer these questions and provide implications to understand mental needs of new immigrants, construct belongingness and promote integration. It selects four typical targets followed by thousands of netizens on Chinese Quora "Zhihu" under the questions and answers about "migration" with discourse analysis. Through analyzing their elaborated personal narratives on early life in China, experience in relocated places and attitudes and views to society and news, it generalizes their staying motivations and the process of self-cognition adjustment. The study argues people who value self-dignity more than substantial conditions embrace basic principle and goodness in minds cherish their new life and make efforts to integrate.