Along the narrow corridors of Pearl Centre, a busy shopping complex in Singapore's Chinatown, women from China sit outside foot reflexology shops and massage parlors, beckoning customers to come in.
It's a scene Singapore's authorities are trying to contain, and taking steps to end.
Many of the women brought their children to Singapore for a better education, hoping to land jobs to pay the rent and be with them.
But they've come at a hard time.
Singapore is experiencing its worst job market in 17 years. Often lacking English language skills that unlock jobs here, many of the women are forced into the massage business, where "special" sexual services are sometimes just a few dollars away.
"Before I came here, people only showed me pretty pictures of
Singapore," said 38-year-old Wang Min. "But once you're here, not everything is so perfect."
Wang's story is typical of the women, known in the Mandarin dialect of Chinese as "pei du ma mas" or "study mothers."
She left northeast China two years ago and headed to Singapore with her young daughter, hoping to give her only child a good education. Armed with a business degree from Shenyang University, she planned to land a decent job to pay her expenses.
But after months of looking, Wang could only find work as a foot reflexologist, massaging feet for more than 10 hours a day, and complains of frequent discrimination based on her Chinese accent.
Others say that the only work they can get is hard labor and menial jobs, and grumble that Singaporeans generally think of them as prostitutes or else as "gold diggers."
Last month Singapore made the plight of Chinese mothers harder by clamping down on those working in the massage industry, after reports they were providing sexual favors for cash.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said it is now more stringent in granting work permits to Chinese mothers for some service industries, a step that caused about 100 of the women to lobby the Chinese embassy last month to seek to overturn the law.
"The mothers of foreign students who are in Singapore can continue to apply for work passes. However, based on anti-vice feedback, the ministry will be stringent in granting work passes to certain occupations," said a MOM spokeswoman, referring to masseuses and foot reflexologists.
Chinese mothers renewing their work permits will not be affected if they remain with the same employer.
Many take on menial jobs such as food stall helpers or cleaners, which pay about S$800 (US$457) a month, but massage therapists can earn more than S$3,000 a month.
"It took me more than two months to find this job. Back in China, when I was working in a government office, my hands used to be so smooth. See, I've got corns on my fingers now," said Wang, who earns about S$1,500 a month.
In the last few years, Singapore, where 77 percent of the population is ethnic Chinese, has become a popular destination for mainland students largely because of the high standards of education in public schools.
There are an estimated 50,000 foreign students here although they come from a wide range of countries.
MOM said figures for Chinese nationals working in Singapore were unavailable at present.
Massage parlor owners such as Glen Tan are unhappy about the new law that makes it tough to employ Chinese nationals.
"No matter what reason you give them, they [MOM] don't care. It's a downright rejection as long as they are from China. And they would not provide any reasons," said an exasperated Tan.
"Isn't it ridiculous that I can't get Chinese therapists when I'm doing Chinese acupressure massage. When I put out an advertisement, not many Singaporeans are interested."
Tan said that, although MOM taxed him S$240 a month for hiring Chinese workers, he preferred Chinese nationals to locals. "These Chinese therapists are skilled and generally have better work attitudes than Singaporeans," he said.
David Yang, 45, who manages a foot reflexology and body massage shop in Chinatown, said it is now almost impossible to employ Chinese workers.
"It's good that the government is stricter now otherwise things might get out of hand. I've heard of many foot reflexologists who end up providing "extra" services," said Yang, who has two Chinese mothers working for him.
Most Chinese mothers feel that, while there are cases of Chinese women providing sexual favors, the majority do not and it's unfair to label all Chinese women as prostitutes.
"I'm a decent women. I only work and go home to my daughter," said Wang.
Still, the negative stereotype appears to linger among local residents. "You can see them everywhere in Chinatown. It's so obvious, they're all sitting around, scantily-clad," said Peter Lim, 52, who works in an electronics shop in the area.
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