Anti-mainland feeling fuels Hong Kong radical groups

Significance The violence was the worst Hong Kong has witnessed since protesters clashed with police during the 2014 'Umbrella Protests' which demanded greater political autonomy from mainland China. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong's top political official, swiftly denounced the violent attacks on police officers and journalists and vowed to prosecute instigators. Impacts Local outbreaks of violent protesting will have little impact on tourism or international business in the short term. Public anger will prompt the chief executive's administration to distance itself from mainland Chinese authorities. China will support some measures that lessen Hong Kong anger over the impact of Chinese tourism, such as further curbs on visitor numbers. Pro-localisation forces will seek greater representation in the Legislative Council elections slated for September 2016.

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 473-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Ling-hsing Chang ◽  
Jim Q. Chen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of Chinese culture on the information ethics perception gaps between Chinese and American students. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative approach, this study utilizes Kohlberg’s Cognitive Moral Development model and an open-ended questionnaire to measure and analyze the gaps among information ethics perceptions of students from Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, and the USA, and to assess the extent to which the gaps are influenced by Chinese culture. Findings Students’ perceptions of intellectual property, information accuracy, privacy, and accessibility (PAPA) are deeply influenced by national culture. Sub-cultures have significant impact on the perceptions. Political systems, history, and legal environment may also play a role in the differences of PAPA perceptions among the three Chinese societies. The study also revealed that accuracy and intellectual property are the most deficient areas of moral developments in both Chinese and American samples. Research limitations/implications The sample sizes from Hong Kong and the USA were relatively small due to resource and time constraints. In addition, the subjects from Hong Kong and the USA were a little bit older than the subjects from Taiwan and Mainland China due to the fact that universities in HK and USA tend to have more non-traditional students than in universities in Mainland China and Taiwan. Second, the questionnaire is a limited means of studying moral reasoning because the results are likely to reflect espoused theory rather than theory-in-use. Practical implications The educational implication of this study calls for a renewed approach to educate students on the importance of information ethics for the sake of sustained economic development. Originality/value The novelty of this research lies in its interpretation of students’ PAPA perceptions and fresh insights from a Chinese guanxi perspective.


Significance The strike is a major escalation of the months-long anti-government protest movement, causing serious economic disruption for the first time and setting a precedent. The government’s suspension of a controversial bill allowing extradition to mainland China has failed to satisfy activists and a significant section of the public. Police today continue to clash with protesters in several locations around the city, resulting in arrests, serious injuries and destruction of public property. Impacts Use of mainland Chinese military riot police is now realistic. The longer protests continue, the more opportunities there are for miscalculation or radical tactics on both sides that deepen animosities. Limited mainland intervention as a last resort still seems more likely than a risky attempt to intimidate using overwhelming force.


Subject The Hong Kong Legislative Council election 2016. Significance A ban on pro-independence activists standing for election, the conviction of student activists on criminal charges and the declaration of several pro-Beijing candidates for the 2017 chief executive election raise long-term concerns about Hong Kong's institutional health. Impacts Student activism will strengthen, leading to greater polarisation of Hong Kong society. Announcement of multiple candidates acceptable to Beijing implies the most competitive Chief Executive election since the handover. Hong Kong's economy will probably remain sluggish over the next year.


Subject The impact of Beijing introducing national security legislation for Hong Kong. Significance China’s central government is using a process that bypasses Hong Kong’s legislature to pass a law that criminalises ‘sedition’ in Hong Kong and allows mainland state security organs to operate there. This will reduce the scope of political freedoms and autonomy in Hong Kong. Impacts Activist and confrontational factions within the protest movement will probably gain more influence over moderate elements. A legislative election on September 6 is likely to proceed as planned; opposition candidates will probably do well. Western governments, firms and NGOs will feel pressure to lower their stakes in Hong Kong. Mainland Chinese firms will probably fill the vacuum, tying Hong Kong’s economy more closely to the mainland’s. Regional cities such as Singapore, Tokyo and Taipei will probably benefit.


Subject The demands set out by anti-government protesters in Hong Kong. Significance Mass protests have forced the government to withdraw an unpopular bill allowing extradition to mainland China. However, the protesters’ agenda has broadened to include four more demands: repudiation of the government’s designation of the protests as ‘riots’; amnesty for all protesters; an independent probe into the police’s use of force; and universal suffrage for the selection of Hong Kong’s chief executive. Impacts Investigations, trials and lawsuits will drag on for years, poisoning the political atmosphere and hindering cooperation between camps. Hong Kong’s independent judiciary may be a moderating influence. Replacing Lam would not be a fresh start; the process would spotlight Hong Kong’s lack of democracy.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi Hung Leung ◽  
Yan Mu

PurposeThe rates of emotional distress have risen in many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study assessed the emotional distress of adolescents and young adults in Hong Kong and mainland China in the first year of the pandemic and tested whether spirituality was a protective factor against this emotional distress.Design/methodology/approachCross-sectional data were collected in two samples of students aged 17–25 in Hong Kong (N = 503) and 13–20 in mainland China (N = 649). Participants completed the Spiritual Health and Life Orientation Measure (SHALOM) to evaluate their spiritual health (personal-communal, environmental and transcendental domains) and the short form of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) to assess their emotional distress.FindingsBased on the DASS-21 scores, there was a high rate of adolescents and young adults categorized as showing extremely severe symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in both Hong Kong and mainland China. Structural equation modeling showed that in both the Hong Kong and mainland China samples the personal and communal and environmental domains of spiritual health were significantly and negatively correlated with all three forms of emotional distress. However, transcendental spiritual health was uncorrelated with psychological distress in Hong Kong and positively correlated with psychological distress in mainland China.Research limitations/implicationsThe high rate of severe emotional distress in this sample of adolescents and young adults under COVID-19, and the fact that not all aspects of spiritual health protected again psychological distress are cause for concern, with implications for government, education systems and students.Originality/valueHealthy spirituality can be found among youths who are upbeat, self-confident, optimistic and constructive and have also been shown to have a higher quality of life in the form of mental, physical and psychological health. The present study is the first study to examine the spiritual and mental health of high school and university students under the impact of COVID-19 in mainland China and in Hong Kong.


Subject Mass protests in Hong Kong. Significance Chief Executive Carrie Lam has agreed to shelve a bill to allow extradition from Hong Kong to mainland China, after a wave of huge street protests. The bill’s opponents argued that it would erode Hong Kong’s judicial independence and could be used to prosecute critics of the Beijing government. Impacts China will sometimes handle political enemies in Hong Kong through extra-judicial detentions. Lam will be a much-damaged leader and lawmakers of both political camps will feel emboldened to challenge her initiatives. Lam is unlikely to resign unless Beijing weighs in, which would happen behind closed doors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 1539-1560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Cheung ◽  
Xin Guo ◽  
Xiaorui Wang ◽  
Zhuang Miao

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the key factors affecting Mainland Chinese students pursuing a Master of Education degree in Hong Kong on their study abroad decision and return intentions. Design/methodology/approach The current study employed a mixed-methods approach to investigate factors that affect Mainland Chinese students pursuing MEd degrees in Hong Kong. Participants were first invited to fill out a questionnaire. After collecting and analyzing the survey data, in-depth interviews with a selected group of students were carried out by the research team to obtain useful qualitative data to triangulate the survey findings. A purposeful and convenience sampling method, carried out through the personal network of the research team, was used to recruit MEd Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong to participate in the current study. Findings The findings provided compelling evidence that Hong Kong was an attractive study destination to this particular group of MEd Chinese students. The findings also indicated that academic factors were more important than social, cultural and economic factors when it came to choosing their study destination. In contrast to previous studies, participants expressed a much stronger desire to return home upon graduation. The three most influential predictors of their decision to return were the lack of a Hong Kong teaching certificate (r=+0.36), the opportunity to contribute to their hometown (r=+0.31) and the inclination to be closer to family and friends (r=+0.20). Originality/value While a number of studies have been carried out to study why Mainland Chinese students chose Hong Kong as their study destination to pursue their teacher training degree, none of these studies focused exclusively on fee-paying MEd Chinese students. Hong Kong is facing keen competition from both traditional host countries and emerging host countries to recruit students from Mainland China. It is therefore crucial to understand the needs of these Mainland Chinese students in a competitive, globalized, tertiary education market, as the satisfaction of students, in the form of positive discussion among alumni, promotes a university’s reputation and sustains its advantage in attracting students.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26
Author(s):  
Yingtong Lai ◽  
Aijia Li

Purpose Previous research has documented the ways that migration contributed to the rise of Hong Kong as a global city by the early 1990s. Much academic attention has been paid to the causes of labor migration and issues related to the adaptation of migrant workers in Hong Kong. Based on a review of such studies, the purpose of this paper is to describe three representative groups of migrant workers in Hong Kong and discuss how research on migrant workers in Hong Kong has provided new insights to the global city literature and to the study of development and migration. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews published works regarding migrant workers in Hong Kong since 1996. Discussion focuses on three representative groups: high-skilled immigrants from developed countries, low-skilled migrant workers from less developed regions and mainland Chinese immigrants. Findings Findings suggest that the migration patterns and challenges of the adaptation of migrant workers in Hong Kong correspond largely to the social polarization thesis proposed by global city literature. However, Hong Kong is unique compared to core global cities in the USA and Western Europe due to its special power relationship with mainland China and its colonial history, which have a significant impact on immigrants’ decision to migrate and their post-migration integration. Originality/value This review paper provides a better understanding of migration and development, and highlights new factors that contribute to reasons for migration and challenges of integration for migrant workers in the host society.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 312-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiu Chung Wong ◽  
Jason K.H. Chan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the emergence of civil disobedience (CD) movements in Hong Kong in the context of the notion of civil society (CS). Design/methodology/approach The paper begins by rigorously defining the notion of CD, as well as the concept of CS and tracing its development in Hong Kong over the past several decades. By using a model of CS typology, which combines the variables of state control and a society’s quest for autonomy (SQA), the paper aims to outline the historical development of CD movements in Hong Kong. It also discusses the recent evolution of CS and its relationship with CD movements, particularly focusing on their development since Leung Chun-ying became the Chief Executive in 2012. Finally, by using five cases of CD witnessed in the past several decades, the relationship between the development of CS and the emergence of CD in Hong Kong has been outlined. Findings Four implications can be concluded: first, CD cannot emerge when the state and society are isolated. Second, the level of SC and the scale of CD are positively related. Third, as an historical trend, the development of SQA is generally in linear progress; SQA starts from a low level (e.g. interest-based and welfare-based aims) and moves upwards to campaign for higher goals of civil and political autonomy. If the lower level of SQA is not satisfied, it can lead to larger scale CD in future. Fourth, the CD movement would be largest in scale when the state-society relationship confrontational and when major cleavages can be found within CS itself. Originality/value This paper serves to enrich knowledge in the fields of politics and sociology.


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