Abstract
This article explores the emergence of new career patterns for Chinese workers in the context of the emergence of a global labour market. An empirical survey of 49 ships moored in Hong Kong Harbour and primarily crewed by Chinese seafarers is reported on, drawn from ships owned by Chinese state-owned companies, foreign-owned China-based ships or foreign-owned ships. Replacing the centralized, politicized job-allocation and promotion system, Chinese seafarers can be distinguished into three groups; `traditional' seafarers (employed by state-owned companies), `transgrants' (employed by state-owned companies or crewing agencies but mainly working on foreign-owned ships) and `freemen' (self-employed, working for both national and foreign-owned ships).
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