In addition, the fusion and conflict between partners in transcultural marriage can provide a unique case for scholars to study transcultural communication, which can help people understand how to effectively communicate in a diverse cultural environment, promote the formation of transcultural identity, and promote cultural integration through appropriate communication strategies.

In the video, the woman refers to her parents' upbringing of her, with her words highlighting a more collectivist tendency, compared to her husband's more individualistic tendency. Throughout the video, the two engage in transcultural communication, understand each other's positions, express their love, and ultimately reach reconciliation. This dialogue shows the collision and fusion of Chinese and Western cultural differences in daily life.

According to Spencer-Oatey (2010), rapport management can be affected by three different factors. In terms of face sensitivities in the case, Lee emphasised on maintaining her face to be considerate for Garry and other people, while she also expressed her need for being herself. Garry on the other hand, put importance on prioritising personal need, but also maintained Lee’s face by acknowledging her emotional needs and encouraging her to be herself. From the sociality rights and obligations aspect, Lee reflected on her obligations as different identities as ‘team leader, partner, family member, daughter’ that she needed to consider others first. Garry emphasised on his rights to express his feelings and thinking for himself, but also his obligation to take Lee’s emotional needs into account as her partner. The interactional goals of Lee and Garry are mutual as expressed by them to address the ‘argument’. Lee and Garry used different approaches, as Lee expressed her feelings verbally more, while Garry seeked more body contact with Lee.

At the same time, transcultural marriage itself is a process of value conflict, which includes traditional family values, the emotional connection model and the concept of husband and wife role reconstruction. This often leads to different shifts in the identities of both parties. This identity shift is not just a clash of cultures, but a negotiation of intimacy and family responsibilities (Robinson, 2007).

Lee pointed out that she has multiple identities. As for value, she said she is ‘ a team leader, a partner, a family member and a daughter’. These identities limited her as a person who needs to ‘consider other people first’. She believes this is why she argued with her husband, because her education allowed her to consider the collective good and the good of others, and her own feelings were expendable in the process. But her husband pays more attention to his own feelings. In this transcultural context, Lee chose to understand her husband and began to consider her own identity. Clearly, her identity has shifted in the interaction (Bowe et al., 2014).

2. How do you think an individual's identity would affect their interpretation of the actions and intentions of others in transcultural relationships?

Zihan Ye 1522016

Jinchi Liu 1495415

Qingrui Kou 1431757

Yuchuan Lin 1378758