Charting the state of social cohesion in Hong Kong

China Quarterly

Volumn , Issue 187, 2006, Pages 635-658

  Chan, Joseph ^a   Chan, Elaine ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

SOCIAL BEHAVIOR; SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION; SOCIAL ORGANIZATION;

ASIA; CHINA; EURASIA; FAR EAST; HONG KONG;

EID: 33749049582     PISSN: 03057410     EISSN: 14682648     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0305741006000415     Document Type: Article

References (70)

1. The Canadian government was one of the first countries to pioneer the concept of social cohesion and the idea was included as part of its official agenda to promote multiculturalism in the 1990s. M. Sharon Jeannotte, "Social cohesion: Insights from Canadian research," paper presented at the Conference on Social Cohesion, organized by the Faculty of Social Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, 28-29 November 2003.
2. The European Union has allocated huge sums of money to the Structural and Cohesion Funds and the EMPLOYMENT initiative to tackle societal issues that can undermine social cohesion. See M. Sharon Jeannotte, "Social cohesion from around The world: An international comparison of definitions and issues," Paper SRA-309 (Ottawa: Strategic Research and Analysis Directorate, Department of Heritage, 2000).
3. The Council of Europe takes a more positive approach and towards the end of 1990s it established the European Committee for Social Cohesion. See Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni and Stefano Dominioni, "The Council of Europe's strategy for social cohesion," paper presented at the Conference on Social Cohesion.
4. The World Bank and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are also concerned with social cohesion. See Jo Ritzen, William Easterly and Michael Woolcock, "On good politicians and bad policies: Social cohesion, institutions, and growth," World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2448 (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2000).
5. Lars Osberg (ed.), The Economic Implications of Social Cohesion (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003).
6. http://www.info.gov.hk.censtatd/eng/hkstat/fas/labour/ghs/ labour1_index.html.
7. The SARS epidemic first broke out in mid-March 2003. Since it was a new and contagious disease, medical workers were unsure how to treat or contain it, causing an outburst of public panic. By the time the disease was under control at the end of May, more than 1,700 individuals had contracted it, of whom 299 died.
8. According to data collected by the Public Opinion Polling Program at the University of Hong Kong, public support of the chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, dropped from 64.1 in the first survey after the handover in 1997 to 44.2 in April 2004 (100 indicates complete support; 0 a total lack of support). For a more detailed analysis of the Tung administration, see Lau Siu-kai, "The rise and decline of political support for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government," Government and Opposition, Vol. 34, No. 3 (1999), pp. 352-371
9. and Sing Ming, "The problem of legitimacy for the post-handover Hong Kong government," International Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 24, No. 9 (2001), pp. 847-867.
10. For an analysis of the tension between civil society and the government of Hong Kong, see Agnes S. Ku, "Negotiating the space of civil autonomy in Hong Kong - power, discourses and dramaturgical representations," The China Quarterly, No. 179 (2004), pp. 647-664.
11. The Public Opinion Polling Program at the University of Hong Kong reported in March 2004 that 60.5% of respondents agreed to a general election of the next Legislative Council in 2008 (http://hkupop.hku.hk/ chinese/popexpress/public_ele/lc1datatables1.html). It also reported that 62.4% advocated a general election of the chief executive in 2007 (http://pophku.hku.hk/chinese/chinese/popexpress/public_ele/ce1/ datatables1/html).
12. In his policy speech in 2001, the chief executive allocated HK$300 million to set up the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund in an effort to promote cross-sectoral co-operation and build social capital. See www.hwfb.gov.hk/ciif.
13. One of the more comprehensive efforts is provided by the Canadian Council on Social Development for the social cohesion network, the department of Canadian heritage and the department of justice. See Canadian Council on Social Development, "Social cohesion in Canada: possible indicators highlights," Paper SRA-542 (Ottawa: Strategic Research and Analysis Directorate, Department of Heritage, 2000). As impressive as their work is, no attempt is being made to create a social cohesion index.
14. For a comprehensive review of the definitions of social cohesion, see Jeannotte, "Social cohesion," and Caroline Beauvais and Jane Jenson, "Social cohesion: Updating the state of the research," CPRN Discussion Paper No. F/22 (Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks, 2002).
15. To Berger-Schmitt, societal cohesion involves two analytically distinct "societal goal dimensions": Reduction of disparities and social exclusion, and strengthening of social capital. Regina Berger-Schmitt, "Social cohesion as an aspect of quality of societies: Concept and measurement," EuReporting Working Paper No. 14 (Mannheim: Centre for Survey Research and Methodology, 2000), p. 8.
16. The Government of Canada's policy research sub-committee on social cohesion defines social cohesion as "The ongoing process of developing a community of shared values, shared challenges and equal opportunity within Canada, based on a sense of trust, hope and reciprocity among all Canadians." Quoted in Jane Jenson, "Mapping social cohesion: The state of Canadian research," CPRN Study No. F03 (Canada: Canadian Policy Research Networks Inc., 1998), p. 4. According to Jenson, the French government has adopted a similarly process-oriented definition.
17. The Council of Europe seems to regard social cohesion as both a means and an end to minimize social exclusion, "the rights deficit," the influence of American culture, as well as the gap between information-rich and information-poor societies. See Jeannotte, "Social cohesion," pp. 87-91.
18. The Canadian Council on Social Development has devised a set of social cohesion indicators for Canada. These can be grouped broadly under two categories: Conditions favourable for inclusive social cohesion, including economic conditions, life chances and quality of life; and socially cohesive activities such as willingness to co-operate, and social and civic participation. See Canadian Council on Social Development, "Social cohesion in Canada."
19. Beauvais and Jenson, "Social cohesion: Updating the state of the research," p. 23.
20. Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000).
21. Paul Bernard, "Social cohesion: A dialectical Critique of a quasi-concept?" SRA-491/CPRN (Ottawa: Strategic Research and Analysis Directorate, Department of Canadian Heritage, 1999/2000), pp. 2-3.
22. A few definitions of social cohesion are indeed suffused with the concept of democratic stability and social well-being. See Jeannotte, "Social cohesion," p. 87
23. Battaini-Dragoni and Dominioni, "Council of Europe's strategy for social cohesion," p. 6
24. European Union, First Report on Economic and Social Cohesion 1996 (Luxembourg, 1996), p. 14.
25. For a detailed discussion of the rationale behind the criteria by which we have defined social cohesion, see Joseph Chan, Benny To and Elaine Chan, "Reconsidering social cohesion," Social Indicators Research, No. 75 (2006), pp. 273-302.
26. We define social cohesion positively, i.e. we try to capture socially cohesive feelings and behaviours. While we are fully aware that not having social cohesion may bring about inequality, exclusion, conflicts and the like, these negative phenomena are indicative of social non-cohesion rather than social cohesion and warrant a separate analysis. A more detailed examination can be found in our "Social cohesion and governance problems in Hong Kong," unpublished manuscript, September 2005.
27. Horizontal social cohesion is not to be confused with the concept of "social capital," which Putnam refers to as "features of social organization such as networks, norms and trust, that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefits." Robert D. Putnam, "The prosperous community - social capital and public life," American Prospect, No. 13 (1993), p. 36. Social capital focuses primarily on the individual and the group level, while social cohesion concerns society as a whole. Moreover, it is conceivable for a group to be highly cohesive, and thus rich in social capital, and yet be antagonistic to other groups and thus detrimental to social cohesion.
28. Our findings are comparable to previous findings. It has been reported that 64.4% of respondents claimed to have a strong sense of belonging to Hong Kong and 72.8% were proud of being Hongkongers; see Lau Siu-kai, "Political culture: Traditional or Western," in Lau Siu-kai, Lee Ming-kwan, Wan Po-san and Wong Siu-lun (eds.), Indicators of Social Development: Hong Kong 1997 (Hong Kong: Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999), p. 138.
29. More recently, a survey conducted in 2004 reported that 96% of respondents claimed that Hong Kong was their home and that 79% wished their children to regard Hong Kong as their home. Policy 21, The University of Hong Kong and Centre for Civil Society and Governance, Biennial Opinion Survey on Civic Education (2004) Executive Summary.
30. When asked whether "hard working" describes a value common to the people of Hong Kong, our respondents rated it 8.21 on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 referring to "definitely not" and 10 "definitely yes"). It is the second highest score among 12 value items.
31. 46.4% agreed and 30.2% strongly agreed that individuals who work hard will eventually make it in Hong Kong.
32. Robert Wuthnow, "United States: Bridging the privileged and the marginalized?" in Robert D. Putnam (ed.), Democracies in Flux: The Evolution of Social Capital in Contemporary Society (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 71.
33. Data come from the World Values Study 1995, cited in Eva Cox, "Australia: Making the lucky country," in Putnam, Democracies in Flux, p. 349.
34. Data come from the World Values Survey 1990, cited in Peter A. Hall, "Social capital in Britain," British Journal of Political Science, No. 29 (1999), p. 432.
35. Data collected in 1997 and cited in Bo Rothstein, "Sweden: Social capital in the social democratic state," in Putnam, Democracies in Flux, p. 320.
36. Respondents in another survey reported trust in their family and in people that they know, such as friends, relatives, neighbours and colleagues, as well as professionals such as doctors, judges, professors and lawyers. They are, however, very suspicious of people that they do not know, which reflects a low level of general trust. Lau Siu-kai, "Attitudes towards political and social authorities," in Lau Siu-kai, Lee Ming-Kwan, Wan Po-san and Wong Siu-lun (eds.) Indicators of Social Development: Hong Kong 1999 (Hong Kong: Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001), p. 79.
37. A telephone survey conducted by The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups reported that 23.1% of all respondents took part in organized volunteer work and 62.7% have made donations through organizations. The Hongkong Federation of Youth Groups. A Study on Social Capital with Regard to Giving, Volunteering and Participating (Hong Kong: The Hongkong Federation of Youth Groups, 2002), pp. 18, 30.
38. A similar finding on organized volunteering (22.4%) is reported in a telephone survey commissioned by the Agency for Volunteer Service. See Chung Ting-yiu Robert, Pang Ka-lai Karie and Law Wai-yan Candy, Study on Public's Reception and Perception of Volunteer Services (Hong Kong: The University of Hong Kong Public Opinion Programme, 2002), p.55.
39. Adults aged 21 and above only. Independent Sector, Giving and Volunteering in the United States (2001); see http://www.independentsector.org/PDFs/GV01keyfind.pfd.
40. Institute of Voluntary Research, UK, http://www.ivr.org.uk/ nationalsurvey.htm.
41. As a percentage of population aged 15 or above. From 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, http://www.givingandvolunteering.ca.
42. Household data, Independent Sector, Giving and Volunteering in the United States.
43. Data come from the 1997 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating. Quoted in Andrew Jackson et al., "Social cohesion in Canada: Possible indications (HIGHLIGHTS)," SRA-542 (Ottawa: Strategic Research and Analysis, 2000), p.72.
44. A telephone survey in 2001 found that 24.2% of the respondents claimed to have joined at least one organization. The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, A Study on Social Capital with Regard to Giving, Volunteering and Participating (Hong Kong: The Hongkong Federation of Youth Groups, 2002), p. 46.
45. However, when compared with membership in the last 20 years, the overall trend seems to be on the rise. Ian Holliday and Waikeung Tam, "Social capital in Hong Kong." East Asia: An International Quarterly, Vol. 19. Nos. 1/2, pp. 144-170.
46. Everett Carll Ladd, The Ladd Report (New York: The Free Press, 1999), p. 133.
47. Timothy Ka-ying Wong, "The changing public perception of the chief executive," in Lau Siu-kai (ed.), The First Tung Chee-hwa Administration: The First Five Years of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 2002).
48. A survey conducted in 1999 reported that people have higher confidence in the judiciary system, the police and the ICAC than other public institutions. Ho Kwokleung. "Popular support for effective governance," in Lau, Lee, Wan and Wong, Indicators of Social Development: Hong Kong 1999, p. 45.
49. Data collected in 2001. Trust in Public Institutions, p.12. A research study by MORI Social Research Institute on behalf of the Audit Commission, UK, http://www.mori.com/sri/pdf/final/pdf.
50. Data collected in 1995. Neal Ryan, "Public confidence in the public sector," discussion paper prepared for the Office of the Auditor General of Western Australia (2000), http://www.audit.wa.gov.au/pubs/ public_confidence.pdf.
51. Lau Siu-kai and Kuan Hsin-chi, "The attentive spectators: Political participation of the Hong Kong Chinese," Journal of Northeast Asian Studies, Vol. 14, No. 1 (1995), pp. 3-24.
52. Putnam, Bowling Along, pp. 296-349.
53. Ibid.
54. Social capital makes up part of our definition of social cohesion, but there are others who use the two concepts synonymously, such as The World Bank. See http://www1.worldbank.org/prem/poverty/scapital/home.htm.
55. The burgeoning of advocacy groups in the United States has led one scholar to call it "the advocacy explosion." See Theda Skocpol, "Advocates without members: The recent transformation of American civic life," in Theda Skocpol and Morris P. Fiorina (eds.), Civic Engagement in American Democracy (Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press and New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1999). It has also been shown that advocacy groups more easily gained access to testify in congressional hearings and got media coverage about their work than traditional organizations.
56. Jeffrey M. Berry, "The rise of citizen groups," in ibid. At the community level, activists focus on local issues that affect their daily lives, and their involvements are mostly issue-based and ad-hoc.
57. Sidney Tarrow, "Mad cows and social activists: Contentious politics in the trilateral democracies," in Susan J. Pharr and Robert D. Putnam (eds.), Disaffected Democracies: What's Troubling the Trilateral Countries? (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000).
58. The small-group movement is flourishing in the United States, where 40% of all Americans belong to some small group that meets regularly. Popular small groups include Sunday school classes, bible study groups and self-help groups. Robert Wuthnow, Sharing the Journey: Support Groups and America's New Quest for Community (New York: The Free Press, 1994), pp. 47, 65 and 76.
59. Wuthnow's study also found that among the 60% of Americans who do not belong to any small groups, over half have a circle of friends from who they can get help if necessary. Wuthnow, Sharing the Journey, p. 183.
60. His other study reported that most Americans, especially women, enjoy the support of families and friends. Robert Wuthnow, Loose Connections: Joining Together in America's Fragmented Communities (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998), pp. 204-205.
61. It was found that more people indicated trust in doctors, judges, professors, lawyers and journalists than trade unions and religious leaders. Lau Siu-kai, "Attitudes towards political and social authorities," p. 79.
62. It can be argued that opposing Article 23 was not the only reason for people to take to the streets. However, it was the main objective of the protest organizer. The Article 23 Concern Group was not the organizer of the 1 July protest, but it endorsed it and its core members took part in it.
63. Margaret Ng was returned by the Legal Functional Constituency. Audrey Eu, Alan Leong, and Ronny Tong were returned by geographical direct elections. Audrey Eu was an incumbent, while Alan Leung and Ronny Tong ran for the first time.
64. The term was coined by Lau Siu-kai to mean "normative and behavioural tendency of an individual to place his familial interests above the interests of society and of other individuals and groups, and to structure his relationships with other individuals and groups in such a manner that the furtherance of his familial interests is the overriding concern." Lau Siu-kai, Society and Politics in Hong Kong (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1982), p.72.
65. The structural problem of Hong Kong's political system has been pointed out by a number of scholars. See, for example, Eliza W. Y. Lee, "Governing post-colonial Hong Kong: Institutional incongruity, governance crisis, and authoritarianism," Asian Survey, Vol. 39, No. 6 (1999), pp. 640-659
66. Ian Scott, "The disarticulation of Hong Kong's post-handover political system," China Journal, No. 43 (2000), pp. 29-53.
67. Lau Siu-kai and Kuan Hsin-chi, "Hong Kong's stunted political party system," The China Quarterly, No. 165 (2002), pp. 1010-28.
68. Ian Scott and Joan Y.H. Leung, "Dysfunctional elections and the political system in Hong Kong," Asian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 12, No. 2 (2004), pp. 1-28.
69. Albert Cheng was a host of probably the most popular phone-in programme in Hong Kong until shortly before the LegCo elections. He secured 73,424 votes in Kowloon East, higher than three other incumbents who ran in the same constituency.
70. Wuthnow, Loose Connections.