Being Indian in post-colonial Hong Kong: Models of ethnicity,culture and language among Sindhis and Sikhs in Hong Kong

Using data from four focus groups, this paper examines the ways in which Hong Kong Sindhis and Sikhs talk about ethnic identities and their relationships to culture and language. It finds that in all the groups, a range of different ‘cultural models’ (Gee, 1999 Gee, James Paul. 1999. An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method, London: Routledge.  [Google Scholar]) of ethnicity, culture and language are drawn upon, with the same participants sometimes using several different models as they position themselves within the group discussions. However, the data also suggest that there may be a tendency for the two communities to foreground different models of ethnicity. Specifically, Sikh participants tend to draw more on an essentialist model of ethnicity than do the Sindhis, while the Sindhis seem to be more prepared to draw on more flexible models of the relationships between identity, culture and language.     

香港港口与城市发展

开埠之初就被定位为“自由港”的香港,是“以港兴市”的典型例子,港口的发展为香港经济的起飞和就业作出了巨大的贡献;而香港的产业发展以及与内地的区域合作,又促进了港口的繁荣,并使得香港成为国际航运中心。但目前,在金融海啸、珠三角产业转型、内地港口蓬勃发展等因素的影响下,香港港口的发展前景不容乐观。本文在回顾香港港口与城市发展关系的基础上,深入探讨了香港港口业务增长放缓的原因,并提出着力发展航运服务业,是香港航运中心转型升级、提高香港城市竞争力的重要方向。     

Post-handover identity: contested cultural bonding between China and Hong Kong

This study examines the formation of Hong Kong identity and its cultural articulation in Chinese identity in the post-handover years. Surveys of Hong Kong identity conducted between 1996 and 2016 demonstrate a set of interlinked yet contradictory findings: (i) the coexistence of both cultural pride in and resistance to cultural icons that represent the Chinese state; (ii) weakening correlations between China and Hong Kong regarding cultural affiliation; and (iii) the growing significance of cultural resistance to China by people who love Hong Kong. The survey results indicate the prevalence of an ambivalent identity in post-handover Hong Kong with regard to the coexistence of opposing attitudes toward Chinese identity. These results provide evidence of the complex cultural bonding between China and Hong Kong in the development of the China–Hong Kong relationship since the handover in 1997.     

Cross-border retirement migration plan in Hong Kong middle-aged adults

The purpose of this study was to determine factors affecting cross-border retirement migration plans in Hong Kong using a life-course model as the framework. Data were based on a representative random sample of 1867 adults aged between 45 and 59, who were interviewed in person in 2001. About 6.7% of these respondents planned to migrate to Mainland China after retirement or when they become older. Those who planned to migrate to Mainland China (n=126) were more likely to be male, to be employed in white-collar occupations, to have attained higher levels of education, and to possess non-self-occupied properties, but less likely to live with adult children than those who did not plan to migrate at all (n=1699). The Government must examine and anticipate the socio-economic impact of this future retirement migration on Hong Kong and formulate measures to effectively reduce its negative consequences.     

Assisted homeownership, investment and their roles in private property price dynamics in Hong Kong

Hong Kong not only has one of the most institutionally-involved housing markets, but also one of the most developed stock markets in the world. In the meantime, the function of real estate has become increasingly important, yet increasingly vague at the same time. This paper attempts to explore the significant factors in the price adjustments of residential properties. It is found that while most market fundamentals are not significant in explaining property price movements, the roles of investment concerns and of government policy changes in assisted homeownership (HOS) are much more critical in this regard. On the one hand, real estate prices are driven more by investor demand, rather than by user demand; and residential properties are used to hedge against price risks in the stock market, instead of against inflation. On the other hand, while the upgrading hypothesis is confirmed in this study, the situation of Hong Kong turns out to be a bit different from the Singapore experience. As the production of HOS flats is suspended until further notice, the resale HOS market has managed to pull a fraction of homebuyers from the private sector. This particular finding shows that the government’s decision to suspend HOS flat production and sale in Fall 2002 has not accomplished what was intended to achieve. Instead, this leads to several implications, which are then discussed.     

The paradox of academic determinism and adolescent romance in Hong Kong

How do adolescents negotiate romance in an environment that is hostile to it? Why do they seek out and practice romantic engagements despite negative sanctions? This paper addresses these questions by examining how Hong Kong Chinese adolescents narrate and practice romance in the context of academic determinism – the discourse that academic success is the most important determinant of young people’s futures. I discuss how academic determinism shapes their narratives, ideals and practices of romance. I also analyse the paradox of academic determinism – how it simultaneously de-legitimises adolescent romance and fuels young people’s desire for it. By focusing on transactions between young people and their environments, this paper makes a unique contribution towards theorising how young people negotiate and practice romance in the context of academic pressure, adult surveillance and control.     

Social and Psychological Barriers to Private Retirement Savings in Hong Kong

Using a phone survey conducted among Hong Kong workers, we examined the association of institutional, social, and psychological factors with engagement in both private retirement savings and the total amount of savings. Alarmingly, this study demonstrates that approximately 42% of Hong Kong workers do not save privately for their retirement. We found that age, education, number of children, support from spouse and friends, social regulation, perceived financial knowledge, and financial management capacity are associated with engagement in private retirement savings. Among those who saved, age, education, perceived financial knowledge, and financial management capacity are related to the amount of savings. Measures that could increase the social support for retirement savings as well as enhance their financial knowledge and management ability should be developed and implemented so that more workers engage in private retirement savings. A promising policy option for the Hong Kong government is to offer a tax incentive to promote additional savings for old-age income protection.     

香港战略规划要点及对上海建设卓越全球城市之借鉴

通过港澳地区调研发现,"面向未来30年的上海"发展战略研究与"香港2030+"战略规划在研究方法、规划理念、策略导向等方面存在部分趋同性.由于"香港2030+"侧重于空间规划,更多以突破城市当前和潜在发展短板为出发点,其在城市定位选择、具体策略制定等方面对"面向未来30年的上海"发展战略研究具有一定启示意义.同时,香港特区政府中央政策组、香港规划署、香港大学、澳门科技大学的专家也对上海建设卓越全球城市提出一系列建议.     

Rhythmanalysis as a tool in social analysis on ethnicity in Hong Kong

This article applies Henri Lefebvre’s concept of rhythmanalysis to an exploration of ethnicity in Hong Kong. It argues that rhythmanalysis has tended to be used in social geography, architectural research, and cultural studies and has been overlooked as a methodological tool in regard to ethnicity. An historic narrative of ethnic diversity in Hong Kong is contrasted with contemporary transformations. It is argued that rhythmanalysis presents an alternative perspective that can deepen knowledge about enduring social patterns that serve to contextualise ethnicity and ethnic relations in a given space. In conclusion, it is argued that there is a need for greater recognition of ethnic diversity in Hong Kong as a means to assert a more confident and secure local identity.     

Parent-Child Relationships,Parental Relationships and Children's Self-Esteem in Post-Divorce Families in Hong Kong

Abstract

In recent research on post-divorce families in Hong Kong, there has been a shift away from the assumption of pathology, and in favor of a trend of increasing attention to children's resilience and the benefits of a continuous parental relationship. There remains, however, a lack of empirical knowledge to guide social work practices in this area in contemporary Hong Kong. The present study is designed to examine how children's relationships with both parents and the different patterns of parental relationships impact children's self-esteem. Sixty-nine post-divorce families participated in the survey. The findings of a positive impact of quality relationship with both parents supported the promotion of active involvement of both parents. The likelihood of increased parental conflicts, however, makes the co-parental involvement a double-edged sword as far as the children are concerned, while an avoidance/low-conflict pattern of parental relationship is found to be the most beneficial pattern for the children. To enhance the well-being of children, a secure residential parent-child relationship with a noncompetitive nonresidential parent-child relationship is deemed beneficial.     

Recent Developments in Welfare to Work in Hong Kong

Summary

The Asian financial crisis (1997) has created a social care crisis resulting in rising unemployment, poverty, income inequalities and homelessness. Although faced with dwindling public finances, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government had been compelled to tackle these problems. However, it has been attracted to the neo-liberal recipe: changing the subvention system to a block grant, curbing social spending, and tightening eligibility for social assistance. Notably, the introduction of the Intensive Employment Assistance Projects (IEAPs), which are the first welfare to work programs in East Asia, has become a major policy tool. This paper reports on a study of the impact of the projects, one of the key pillars for welfare to work programs. The IEAPs were found to have brought about positive changes in welfare clients' motivation to work and sense of self-reliance. Social workers from both traditional and progressive NGOs have etched, in various ways, their place in the welfare to work programs and contributed to the debate on welfare reform in Hong Kong.     

Disclosure and Psychological Well-Being of Sexually Abused Adolescents in Hong Kong

The role of disclosure on psychological well-being of adolescents with child sexual abuse experience was investigated in a subsample of 74 disclosers among 800 adolescents recruited in the community in Hong Kong. The results supported that CSA experiences have differential impact on adolescents’ psychological well-being. Family characteristics of the disclosers accounted for only a small amount of the variance in an array of psychological well-being measures. CSA characteristics were robust predictors of disclosers’ sexual eroticism and externalizing behavioral symptoms. Disclosers’ cognitive appraisal of CSA experience and quality of parental attachment were strong predictors of their self-esteem and internalizing behavioral problems. After controlling for the aforementioned factors, negative disclosure experience still significantly predicted lower self-esteem, higher sexual anxiety, more internalizing behavior, and more severe post-traumatic stress disorder responses. Research to understand the factors that generate negative disclosure experiences is needed for developing effective intervention strategies to mitigate the negative consequences of disclosure.     

Ethnicity, cultural disparity and residential mobility: Empirical analysis of Hong Kong

This paper investigates the residential mobility patterns among Hong Kong’s various ethnic groups, grounded on the Spatial Assimilation Theory. The results first show that immigrants in general have contributed the most to the residential movement of Hong Kong’s populace. Nonetheless, disparities in residential mobility patterns have been observed among these immigrants. Wealthier immigrants, for instance westerners, by relocating to non-new town areas of the New Territories, show no signs of acculturation to local Hong Kong community. Also, while public rental housing has managed to relocate and gather ethnical groups, such as new arrivals from the Chinese Mainland and South Asians with permanent residence status, to new town areas in the New Territories (N.T.), the out-migration of private-sector residents from new towns to the outskirt areas of the N.T. has turned these new towns to multiethnic enclaves. For South Asians whom have yet to obtain permanent residence, they appear to have segregated themselves from the locals in urban areas and formed their own ethnic concentrations (i.e. Chungking Mansions in Kowloon). Lastly, the home-moving pattern of long-term Chinese immigrants is very similar to that of local Hong Kong residents, which can be regarded as a sign of assimilation. Policy implications derived from these findings are then discussed.     

台港澳地区青年组织开展民众工作比较研究

青年组织是青年群体活动、成长和发展的集体,也是培育社会资本的重要平台与形式。当代政党和非政党组织的一个共性特征和普遍做法是通过青年组织开展民众工作,广泛吸纳青年社会精英,务实政党民意基础,完成政治社会化过程。通过对台港澳地区相关青年组织的考察,梳理其开展民众工作的具体理念和路径,有益于探寻青年组织深入社会、服务社会的内在规律,对我国其他地区同类型青年组织的发展起到一定的借鉴作用。     

Changing Needs and Changing Service Delivery for Long-Term Care in Hong Kong

Summary

Both the need for and delivery of long-term care in Hong Kong are shaped by the interaction of the traditional and modern. Rapid social change is affecting traditional family structures and roles in care of the elderly, resulting in increased demand for formal care, which to date has been provided mainly by way of residential care. This growth of demand will escalate with rapid population aging in coming decades. In response to this burgeoning demand, current planning is seeking to reshape the established service system and tackle problems in service delivery in ways that will address the bias towards residential care and improve quality of care.     

Scalar politics,language ideologies,and the sociolinguistics of globalization among transnational Korean professionals in Hong Kong

This paper argues that the sociolinguistics of globalization is accompanied by a constitutive scalar politics. Based on ten interviews with Korean professionals in Hong Kong, we report that Korean migrants’ use and experience of English is characterized by competing language ideologies we identify as: Pragmatic English/Perfect English, Multilingualism/English Only, and Global Language/Local Language. Tensions within these ideologies were revealed as respondents referenced the contexts of their daily lives as intersecting sets of geographic, temporal, and social scales. We discuss how sociolinguistic relations associated with the transnational lifecourse, hybridizing identity, and racialization were imagined in ways that re‐negotiated these scales to serve the interests of the participants and provide coherence to their communicative practices. Sociolinguistic relations both reference scales and constitute them. We conclude that attending to scales and scalar politics provides a better explanatory framework for the ways the uneven linguistics markets of globalization are negotiated by transnational subjects.     

Private space, shared space and private housing prices in Hong Kong: An exploratory study

This exploratory study examines the relationship between internal space, shared space and private housing prices. Housing floor area is an ambiguous concept in Hong Kong because it covers a possible exaggeration of the amount of ‘private space’ exclusively enjoyed by the owner and an unidentifiable portion of ‘public space’ shared with other owners within the development. Using hedonic pricing models, this study has found that different distributions between private and shared space command different values from the housing buyers. Shared communal space generally exerts a downward pressure on housing prices. The buyers are willing to pay more for the private space and some desirable forms of communal space. A higher willingness-to-pay for the desirable attributes such as clubhouse indicates that the Hong Kong people are increasingly concerned about the quality of living space in the built environment. This study suggests a need of further research into the exact measurement and the different forms of housing space rather than simply taking the stated floor space figures for granted.     

Sick building syndrome and perceived indoor environmental quality: A survey of apartment buildings in Hong Kong

The outbreak of a highly communicable disease, SARS, in Asia in 2003 has revealed the health risk of living in a high-density environment. To show the important connection between human health and environmental quality, this study surveys the prevalence of sick building syndrome (SBS) among apartment residents and their evaluation of indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Based on a sample of 748 households living in Hong Kong, two interesting findings are revealed: (1) nasal discomfort was the commonest home-related SBS symptom despite the absence of any central ventilation system in apartment buildings; (2) noise, rather than ventilation, was the major IEQ problem perceived by residents. Our statistical analysis further showed that residents with SBS symptoms were less satisfied with their IEQ than those without. That is, despite a positive evaluation of specific IEQ criteria with respect to the building residents lived in, if they reported feeling SBS related symptoms, the overall IEQ evaluation of their building could still be negative. This perception bias gives rise to a sample selection problem in measuring perceived IEQ, which has implications on housing management practices and the formulation of a healthy housing policy.     

Indonesian Chinese in Hong Kong: re-migration,re-establishment of livelihood and belonging

This paper describes the re-migration and adjustment of Indonesian Chinese to living in Hong Kong and their cultural belonging to Hong Kong, China, and Indonesia. Known in China as guiqiao or ‘Returned Overseas Chinese’, these were Chinese who re-migrated from Indonesia to mainland China in the 1950s and 1960s. By the early 1970s, many were allowed to migrate to Hong Kong. Although arriving with very little money, many have succeeded in establishing a fairly good life in Hong Kong, although there are also many who survive on low incomes. This paper discusses the experiences of the Indonesian Chinese in relation to local and transnational belonging, the perception of homelands, and the re-establishment of a Southeast Asian lifestyle in Hong Kong.     

Comorbid mood and adjustment disorders among pathological gamblers seeking treatment in Hong Kong

Research findings on comorbidity and pathological gambling are non–existent in Chinese communities. The objectives of this study were to: (a) determine the prevalence of comorbid mood and adjustment disorders among pathological gamblers seeking treatment in Hong Kong; (b) compare demographic profiles and clinical features in pathological gamblers with and without comorbid mood and adjustment disorders; and (c) explore the association and temporal relationship between pathological gambling and comorbid mood and adjustment disorders. Assessment instruments included demographic data, BSI, SCID-I, ASI and LIFE-RIFT. Results showed that about two-thirds (63.7%; n = 128) of 201 participants reported lifetime comorbid psychiatric disorders. Most common comorbid disorders were mood disorders (29.4%; n = 59) and adjustment disorders (20.9%; n = 42). Pathological gamblers with comorbid mood or adjustment disorders showed more severe levels of psychopathology, impairment in psychosocial functioning and gambling problems. This study is important because it is the first scientific comorbidity study among pathological gamblers in a Chinese context.