scholarly journals Inter-Group Relations and Support for Democratization: Evidence from Hong Kong

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tak Huen Chau ◽  
Junyan Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
University Students ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Observational Evidence ◽  
Group Relations ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
Ordinary Citizens

What drives ordinary citizens to participate in costly pro-democracy endeavors? Conventional theories of democratization emphasize the economic or political conflicts between citizens and elites. This article suggests a different mechanism of mobilization based on inter-group relations. We argue that as a pro-majoritarian institution, democracy may be sought after by members of a disenfranchised majority as a way to protect their interests and identity against perceived economic or political threats posed by certain minority outgroups. We evaluate this argument by drawing evidence from Hong Kong, a city that has recently witnessed major waves of pro-democracy uprisings. Two experimental studies on local university students reveal that subjects' attitudes toward the mainland Chinese visitors and immigrants are causally related to their support for democratization. Observational evidence from surveys and elections further shows that pro-democracy attitudes are stronger in areas that recently experienced a large influx of mainland Chinese. These findings underscore the powerful role of group-based sentiments in episodes of democratization.

Hong Kong University Students’ Normative Beliefs about Aggression toward Police during Social Protests 2019–2020: The Role of Ecological Risks and Future Orientation

2021 ◽  
pp. 001112872110141
Author(s):  
Jian-Bin Li ◽  
Catrin Finkenauer
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
University Students ◽  
Community Violence ◽  
Future Orientation ◽  
Ecological Risks ◽  
Normative Beliefs ◽  
Poor Family ◽  
Social Protests ◽  
Delinquent Peers

We examined the association between normative beliefs about aggression toward police (NBAGG→P) and participation in social protests during 2019–2020 and use of aggression among 1,025 Hong Kong university students. We also investigated the role of ecological risks (i.e., distrust in institutions, exposure to community violence, poor family monitoring, poor university discipline and affiliation with delinquent peers) and future orientation in NBAGG→P. The results showed that NBAGG→P was related to more participation in social protests and use of aggression. Ecological risks (except for poor family monitoring) and a positive future orientation were related to more and less NBAGG→P, respectively. Moreover, the “distrust in institutions and NBAGG→P” link was stronger for students with more, rather than less, positive future orientation.

scholarly journals A New Home for New Immigrants? A Case Study of the Role of Soka Gakkai in the Integration of Japanese and Mainland Chinese Immigrants in Hong Kong

Religions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 336
Author(s):  
Ka Ng
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Chinese Immigrants ◽  
Spiritual Support ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
The Social ◽  
Soka Gakkai ◽  
Migrant Integration ◽  
Mainland Chinese Immigrants

In the discussion of migrant integration into local settings, most scholars agree on the positive linkages between religion and the construction of ethnic identity. However, beyond church and mosque, there appears to be a gap in the research of the roles played by other religions in the process of migrant integration. This paper attempts to fill this gap by studying the role of a new religion Soka Gakkai (SG) in the integration of Japanese and Mainland Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong. I argue that the social and spiritual support and the ideas of a “big family” and individual empowerment (i.e., empowering oneself to overcome challenges) are important resources for immigrants when starting a new life in Hong Kong. However, the controversial image of SG might also have negative effects on SG members’ effort at integration.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Cognitive Behavioral Group Prevention Program for Mainland Chinese University Students in Hong Kong

2020 ◽  
pp. 104973152096218
Author(s):  
Jia-Yan Pan ◽  
Shengquan Ye ◽  
Petrus Yat-Nam Ng ◽  
Lucy Lu
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
University Students ◽  
Prevention Program ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Cognitive Behavioral ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
Behavioral Group ◽  
Chinese University Students ◽  
Experimental Group

Purpose: This study developed a culturally appropriate cognitive behavioral group prevention program for Mainland Chinese university students in Hong Kong and tested its effectiveness. Method: A total of 74 Chinese students were recruited and randomly assigned to an 8-week cognitive behavior prevention program (experimental group) or a waiting list control (WLC) group. Results: Compared with the WLC group, participants in the experimental group significantly reduced psychological distress, acculturative stress, negative emotions, and negative thoughts and increased positive emotions, positive thoughts, and postmigration growth, with medium to large effect sizes. Upon immediate completion of the program, about 46% and 30% of the participants in the experimental group and WLC group, respectively, were classified as non-at-risk cases for developing mental health problems. Discussion: The positive intervention effects and clinical implication of cultural adaptation of cognitive behavioral group therapy to Chinese students are discussed.

Social Identity and the Linguistic Intergroup Bias: Exploring the Role of Ethnic Identification in the Context of Intergroup Relations Between Hong Kong and Mainland China

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Chan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Intergroup Relations ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Intergroup Bias ◽  
Ethnic Identification ◽  
Antisocial Behaviors ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Survey Experiments ◽  
Linguistic Intergroup Bias

Two survey experiments examined how linguistic intergroup bias (LIB) varies according to ethnic identification within a homogenous ethnic group (Hong Kong citizens). Study 1 showed that Hong Kong citizens who identified as “Hongkonger” used more abstract expressions to describe prosocial behaviors of the in-group (Hong Kong citizen) and antisocial behaviors of the out-group (Mainland Chinese); those who identified as “Chinese” exhibited less LIB. Study 2 found similar results for a context based on location of behaviour (in Hong Kong vs. in China) rather than the nationality of the protagonist. The combined evidence suggests that LIB can have an important intragroup as well as intergroup dimension.

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