Tag: Alina Chen

Presenter(s): Nikki Irvine

Faculty Mentor(s): Matthias Vogel & Alina Chen

Poster 186

Session: Global Engagement ARC

The issues facing the Uyghur minority in China are pervasive, yet severely underreported, which is why our group decided to research this topic. The Uyghur minority Muslim group, located in Northwestern China, is facing persecution by the Chinese government. The Chinese government has painted a fear-based narrative to its citizens that the minority group is a significant terrorist threat. The government has been detaining the Uyghur minority groups in internment camps where they are forced into “re-education” programs/detention camps, which include physical and mental torture. China has vehemently denied the allegations, but surveillance in Xin Jiang and reports from journalists who have been granted access to report there has shown otherwise. By synthesizing multiple academic articles, available statistics, and journalists’ reports, we hope to paint a more comprehensive picture of what is happening to the Chinese Uyghur minority and what some potential solutions may be.

Presenter(s): Lauren Garcia

Faculty Mentor(s): Matthias Vogel & Alina Chen

Poster 183

Session: Global Engagement ARC

In this presentation, we will be exploring the topic of birth tourism, specifically regarding mothers from China. Birth tourism is where pregnant women come to the United States for the purpose of giving birth on U.S. soil so that their child will be granted U.S. citizenship. The 14th Amendment allows birth tourism to act as a “constitutional loophole” for immigration. Many people have voiced mixed feelings and concerns about this, primarily after the discovery of a major “maternity hotel” in Southern California. This has sparked much debate on whether or not the phenomenon should to be restricted or if it is simply another form of immigration Chinese mothers use to give their children a brighter future as citizenship in the United States opens up countless opportunities. We will discuss reasons why Chinese mothers leave their country and we will explore why Chinese mothers deem the U.S. to hold some of the “best opportunities” for their children. In the current political climate, immigration is a much- discussed topic and our exploration of this form of immigration aims to bring increased awareness around birth tourism which is often disputed as “unworthy” out of ignorance and often hidden from public view.