Postage Stamps as Windows on Social Changes and Identity in Postcolonial Hong Kong

The chapter establishes the context for the specific gender and sexual subjectivities that the Indonesian migrant women in this study found desirable during their stay in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, public attitudes toward LGBT people tend to be accepting. This allows migrant workers to make room for their same-sex intimate behaviors and relationships. The chapter discusses the social changes in Indonesia, including the anti-LGBT sentiment, and the raids on gay and lesbians in the country. The chapter also addresses the changing notions of family and womanhood given the fact that millions of Indonesian women left to work overseas.

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Organising Discontent: NGOs for Southeast Asian Migrant Workers in Hong Kong

Asian Journal of Social Science ◽

10.1163/156853103322895351 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 31 (3) ◽

pp. 478-510 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Amy Sim

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

World War Ii ◽

Migrant Workers ◽

Humanitarian Aid ◽

Foreign Workers ◽

Social Changes ◽

World War ◽

Border Community ◽

Catalytic Role

In the five decades after World War II, diverse non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have proliferated in different parts of the world to address a variety of issues ranging from humanitarian aid to human rights. At the same time, the volume of vitriolic criticisms levelled against them have also risen. This paper seeks to identify the types of changes NGOs are able to bring about in society. By adapting and applying David Korten's (1990) typology of NGOs, the author undertakes a comparative analysis of NGOs in Hong Kong that are involved with the improvement of foreign workers' rights and welfare. The argument is that the different strategies adopted by the NGOs have wrought social changes in diverse ways, from the provision of welfare assistance to the mass mobilisation of workers, in both sending and receiving countries. This is an example of the catalytic role of NGOs in contributing to a trans-border "community of sentiment" (Appadurai, 1990).

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Post-Imperialism: The Postage Stamps and Postal History of Hong Kong, 1842-1997

10.7190/shu-thesis-00172 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Adam Gilbert

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Postage Stamps ◽

History Of

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Making Sense of Participation: The Political Culture of Pro-democracy Demonstrators in Hong Kong

The China Quarterly ◽

10.1017/s0305741008000052 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 193 ◽

pp. 84-101 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Francis L. F. Lee ◽

Joseph M. Chan

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Political Culture ◽

Large Scale ◽

Political Activism ◽

The Political ◽

Political Environment ◽

Social Changes ◽

Making Sense ◽

Opinion Expression ◽

Important Means

AbstractA wave of large-scale demonstrations from 2003 to 2006 has given rise to a new pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and raised important questions about the political activism of the Hong Kong public. This study aims at achieving a better understanding of the cultural underpinnings of Hong Kong people's protest participation (and non-participation). Following a tradition of constructivist analysis which sees culture as a set of shared and more or less structured ideas, symbols, feelings and common senses, this study examines how participants in the pro-democracy protests make sense of their experiences and the ongoing political and social changes in Hong Kong. It shows that the 1 July 2003 demonstration has indeed empowered many of its participants, but feelings of efficacy became more complicated and mixed as people continued to monitor changes in the political environment and interpret the actions of others. At the same time, beliefs and ideas that can be regarded as part of Hong Kong's culture of de-politicization remain prevalent among the protesters. The findings of the study allow us to understand why many Hong Kong people view protests as important means of public opinion expression and yet participate in them only occasionally.

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Comparing classifier use in 1995 and 2010 early child Cantonese to explore social change in Hong Kong

Chinese Language & Discourse ◽

10.1075/cld.5.1.04li ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 79-97 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hui Li ◽

Eileen Chin Mei Wong

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Social Change ◽

Young Children ◽

Social Changes ◽

Early Child ◽

General Classifier

This study compared and analysed the classifier usage in two cohorts: the 492 Cantonese-speaking young children tested in 1995 (Tse & Li, 2011), and the 143 children tested in 2010 (Li &Tse, 2011). The results indicated that: (1) the 1995 and 2010 cohorts shared the same 8 most commonly used classifiers, 個 go3, 隻 zek3, 架 gaa3, 杯 bui1, 把 baa2, 嚿 gau6, 張 zoeng1, 間 gaan1; (2) Two top 10 classifiers were found in the 2010 cohort: 支 zi1, and 部 bou6; (3) both cohorts overused the general classifier 個 go3; and (4) both cohorts overused 隻 zek3 and 嚿 gau6 to replace sortal classifiers and even to replace the general classifier 個 go3. The pragmatic features and the associated social changes were discussed to understand the minor changes in classifier use between 1995 and 2010 cohorts.

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Znaczenie kolejnych lokalizacji przystani promów na wyspie Hongkong na tle przemian społecznych i kształtowania się lokalnej tożsamości

Politeja ◽

10.12797/politeja.14.2017.46.14 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 14 (1(46)) ◽

pp. 329-351

Author(s):

Małgorzata Osińska

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Public Space ◽

Social Changes ◽

The Public ◽

Spatial Practice ◽

The Social ◽

The Government ◽

The City ◽

Rights To The City ◽

Second World

The meaning of Piers’ locations at Hong Kong Island in the background of social change and the process of shaping of local identity The aim of this paper is to understand the meaning of the Star Ferry and Queen’s Pier locations for the process of shaping Hong Kong identity and why unlike in previous similar cases, the latest removal of the Star Ferry and Queen’s Pier met with resistance from Hong Kong citizens. Looking at Piers of the saga from the historical perspective, it is found that spatial practice of the pre‑Second World War (WWII) piers was a mirror of a colonial and racially segregated city. The public space in the commercial heart of Hong Kong that housed the previous generations of piers was not accessible to the Chinese community, thus denying them rights to the city. It was only after WWII when the Government carried out further reclamation to meet the needs of an industrialising economy that inclusive public spaces were conceived in the commercial heart, enabling the general public to enjoy the city. Therefore when the Government decided to remove this very first public space in the political and economic heart of the city to conceive further reclamation for restructuring the economy, the citizens were determined to defend it. Piers were a physical and mental border of the two worlds, the edge of the city. With the social changes after WWII they were transformed into symbolic centres with a crucial meaning for shaping of the Hong Kong identity.

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