Contact Reduces Transprejudice: A Study on Attitudes towards Transgenderism and Transgender Civil Rights in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the relationship between Hong Kong Chinese people's contact with transgender/transsexual (TG/TS) people and attitudes toward transgenderism and transgender civil rights, based on Allport's Contact Hypothesis. The term transprejudice is introduced to refer to the negative valuing, stereotyping and discriminatory treatment of TG/TS people. Data are presented from a population-based survey with a random sample of 856 Hong Kong Chinese persons aged between 15 and 64, using the Chinese Attitudes towards Transgenderism and Transgender Civil Rights Scale (CATTCRS). Attitudes, assessed on both personal and institutional dimensions, are examined in relation to participants’ gender, age, educational level, religiosity, and previous contact with transpeople. Results suggest that previous contact with transpeople was significantly associated with attitudes reflected in the scale; decreased social distance, decreased social discrimination, and decreased transprejudice, increased awareness of discrimination against transpeople, increased support for equal opportunities, increased support for post-operative transsexual civil rights, and increased support for anti-discrimination legislation. Our findings support the contact hypothesis, that contact has a positive effect on attitudes towards TG/TS persons. We discuss the implications of these findings for public education interventions and public policy, as well as for research.     

What contributes to ethnic minorities’ identification with Hong Kong? The cases of South Asian and Filipino youth

ABSTRACT

The context of Hong Kong has not always been favourable for the integration of ethnic minorities, who face various difficulties in education, employment, and daily life. Research, however, has shown that many minorities, particularly the youth, have developed a fair sense of belonging to the city. To explore this puzzle, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 South Asian and Filipino youth and identified four main factors that may be associated with their local identification. They are (1) experiencing less discrimination, (2) achieving a higher level of sociocultural adaptation, (3) having an inclusive conception of Hong Kong identity, and (4) claiming to have received more social benefits. The findings suggest that the context of Hong Kong is not entirely detrimental for ethnic minorities to develop a local identification. Ethnic minorities themselves are also active agents in the construction of identity. Theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

From ‘be water’ to ‘be fire’: nascent smart mob and networked protests in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

In recent months, masses of Hong Kong citizens have taken part in a remarkable wave of protests, known as the Water Revolution. Ignited by the Hong Kong government’s attempt to pass a bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China, and later in response to numerous incidents of police brutality and human rights abuses, hundreds of thousands of protestors abruptly gathered in various parts of the city to rise up against the encroachment of the incumbent regime. Through novel uses of social media and mobile technology, they acted in concert to confront riot police in wildcat actions. In effect, they exhibit a contemporary type of smart mob, as digitally savvy citizens engage with each other in largely ad hoc and networked forms of pop-up protest. This profile illustrates both the continuity and changes in the recent development of a nascent smart mob in Hong Kong. It fleshes out how its protest repertoires and movement objectives have emerged and evolved vis-à-vis state suppression that has turned the global city of East Asia into a despotic police state. With a focus on changing contours, this profile brings to the fore the pragmatic and temporally emergent properties of the smart mob to consider the widespread and protracted movement in Hong Kong.     

均衡转换中的妥协与坚定--中国香港反腐败经验探析

中国香港反腐败历程中的局部特赦并非无原则的妥协，妥协并不能使施压方满意，反而引起反腐败信号的混乱与公众信心的动摇。从普遍腐败到高度廉洁的纳什均衡转换当中，当局展现的反腐败决心与发出的信号以及公众对反腐败的信心才是关键，坚定而不是妥协才是反腐败的应取之道。     

香港抵御亚洲金融危机是“一国两制”方针的成功实践

１９９８年以来香港特区政府采取了一系列有效措施抵御亚洲金融危机,捍卫了港元与美元的联系汇率制度,维护了香港作为主要的国际贸易中心和金融中心的地位。事实证明：“一国两制”方针是正确的,在香港的实践是成功的     

香港拾荒老人的生存境遇：以社会排斥为视角

本研究基于对96位60岁或以上的拾荒老人的问卷调查和17名老人的深度访谈,揭示了拾荒老人这一特殊群体的基本生活图景,并辨识出他们面对各种不同形式的社会排斥,包括经济排斥（缺乏工作机会与消费能力）、政治排斥（缺乏工会／机构保护其利益）、社会关系排斥（因拾荒而受到歧视或生活孤独）和福利排斥（没有领取社会保障金和无法企及社会福利服务）。     

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.     

香港归侨养老问题及其对策

当下香港归侨群体呈现老龄化趋势,养老问题集中体现出其生存状况,但因历史原因这个群体游离于大陆和香港养老机制之外,他们的晚年养老无法得到必要的保障。文章直面香港归侨养老存在的问题,认为香港归侨社团对归侨养老发挥的仅是帮辅作用,不可能替代政府的强力救助,提出解决香港归侨养老问题的对策建议,以期为今后创新香港特区侨务工作提供有益思考。     

政治多元化与港澳台族群的和平跨居--全球化背景下的华南经济圈研究之三

文化的多样性是一种历史性的力量,族群的政治认同因此具有层次性。香港、澳门回归前后,当地族群的国家认同出现了新的变化。这种变化主要表现在他们国籍选择上,国籍选定成为港澳居民国家认同和政治认同的重要标志。尽管国家认同、政治认同和族属认同的边界有所相同,但在国家整体利益高于族群个人利益的情况下,三者的关系又比较紧密。在香港、澳门《基本法》及“一国两制”、“高度自治”和“港人治港”、“澳人治澳”的原则下,香港人和澳门人的“国家认同”和“政治认同”趋于合一。海峡两岸目前虽然尚未统一,但大陆和台湾同属一个“中国”。在国家的整体利益高于局部利益的前提下,两岸的政治对话应该有利于祖国统一的“国家认同”。在“一国两制”和“高度自治”的框架内,台湾族群可以与港澳地区在相似的社会制度下“和平跨居”,也可以与大陆人民在不同的社会制度下“和平跨居”。港澳台三地之间的族群“和平跨居”,“跨越”的是“国家认同”(中国)下的不同行政地域边界;港澳台与大陆之间的“和平跨居”,“跨越”的是不同的行政地域边界和社会制度边界;而港澳台地区国内族群与国外族群的“和平跨居”,“跨越”的则是不同的国家疆界。港澳台地区的族群的“和平跨居”,将在全球经济交往和族群关系互动中得以实现。     

长期照料服务香港模式的分析与借鉴

近年来,伴随着人口老龄化程度的日益加深,老年人口数量的迅速增长和寿命的不断延长将导致老年人照料负担的加重。如何满足老年人日益增长的照料需求日益成为社会关注的热点。目前内地的长期照料服务体系处于刚刚建立阶段,与体系较为完善的香港相比,起步晚、发展也较为缓慢。文章系统梳理了香港长期照料服务模式的发展历程与现状,分析目前香港长期照料服务模式存在的问题和挑战,并以此为借鉴,提出发展我国长期照料服务体系的原则和愿景。