GEJC1020 Lecture 8 Hong Kong and Migration 202425 PDF

1 Lecture 8 The migration hub – cultural diversity and social polarization in Hong Kong Today’s Lecture Part I. Standard Definition of “Hong Kong as Migration Center” Part II: HD (1) Migration under the colonial context Part III: HD (2) Migration out of Cold War context and conflicts Part IV: HD (...

1 Lecture 8 The migration hub – cultural diversity and social polarization in Hong Kong Today’s Lecture Part I. Standard Definition of “Hong Kong as Migration Center” Part II: HD (1) Migration under the colonial context Part III: HD (2) Migration out of Cold War context and conflicts Part IV: HD (3) Migration in neo-liberal era - The Global City: Cosmopolitanism or social polarization? Part V: Conclusion - Mosaic or melting pot? 2  4: Migration of Chinese coolie labour, 1876-1939 Global migration 6. War Source: Breakazine Issue 033 China civil war (1945-1949) Vietnam war (1959-1975) 3 4 SD1: Celebrated cultural diversity and cosmopolitanism  “As Asia’s world city, Hong Kong has much to offer to you as a visitor, whether you are coming here on business or for pleasure: A city of charm: the sophistication of an international city, cultural diversity and cosmopolitan lifestyle are at the very core of Hong Kong’s attractions.” (Tourism Commission, HKSAR) 5 SD2: Hong Kong as a (Chinese) migrant city  香港作為一個移民城市，像我這種因着人生偶然， 在香港出生、成長，然後往返於世界各處的例子 實在多不勝數，甚至可說是一種香港常態。這些 人不論是來自廣東、上海、福建抑或國內其他地 方，都可以帶着自己的文化、方言、信仰和生活 習慣，安然在香港落地生根，不同的生活形式在 香港兼收并蓄，使我們的文化變得更加豐富。  English: Hong Kong, as a migrant city, plenty of people born and grow up here (like author) and then travel across the world, can be considered a common phenomenon. People comes from Canton, Shanghai or other area of mainland … settle here…enriching our culture. Blog of former Financial Secretary http://www.fso.gov.hk/eng/blog/blog100416.htm 6 7 Questions from the SDs  Q1 : ‘Migrants’: only the tourist / business persons? Ethnic migrant groups?  Q2 : Cultural diversity and cosmopolitan lifestyle – true to what extent?  Q3 : People ‘flows’ in and out due to chance (人生偶然) – or some social forces?  Q4: Concerning migration and its impact, what is so special about Hong Kong? 8  Q1: Business and pleasure… Harmonious Cosmopolitanism?  Allan Zeman (盛智文 1949-)  Jewish descent, Germany  Canada  HK 1970s  California Restaurant in Central 1983 – Father of Lan Kwai Fong, Ocean Park chairman 2003-2014  Right of abode HK, renounced Canadian citizenship in 2008 and naturalized as PRC http://www.fasttrack.hk/84094/bravo-allan- citizen zeman/ 9  Q 1: Business or exoticism… Orientalism – polarized view of HK migration?  HK portrayed as a heavenly place for ‘oriental experience’ like yum cha. Sometimes - alcohol, sex and drug...  Old: The World of Suzie Wong (1960s) – A place the west meets with the ‘rest’?  Recent: The HK Psycho 2014  British Banker Rurik Jutting murder cases. 10 Q2 : What does Hong Kong style food tells us about migration? 波仔椰汁咖喱 雞飯 www.openrice.c om HK Style French Toast www.pinterest.com/pin/434245589040327990/ 11 Food culture and migration  Food culture spread with the flows of people and trade.  Localized food, make shift food, i.e. food culture transformed as locals try to replicate / popularize the imported food culture.  ‘Re-invented’ food culture spread again as locals flow to other places.  Hong Kong’s hybrid food culture reflects its status as global migrant hub; reflects also how Hong Kong has long structured as a space of flow (people, capital, goods). 12 Flipping activity 3a. Looking for a place for dinner  Search https://www.openrice.com/en/hongko ng for the following, and write down the no. of restaurants available for:  I: Indonesian; Philippines; II. Japanese, Korean; III. Pakistani, Indian, Nepalese; IV. Singaporean, Thai, Malaysia; V. Vietnamese; VI. All Western (inc. British, French, Italian, America etc.).  Step 1: Click Advanced (search)  Step 2: Click Cuisine and record no. 13 https://www.openrice.com/en/hongkong/explore/recommendations 14 Some puzzles  Puzzle 1: No. of restaurants vs. ethnic population  Commonsensical explanation: logic of market, income…  Puzzle 2: Then, how to explain the relatively higher ratio of Thai and Vietnamese restaurants? (to be addressed later)  What does a lack of ethnic food choice reflect? 15 Q2: Cultural diversity and ethnic food choice? http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20100618/00196_001.html 16 Q3: Hong Kong structured as a space of flow – people free to come (and go) to live a better life? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPFEupwH02E Source: evchk.wikia.com Q3: many faces of migration in Hong Kong – embedded flow, not ‘free flow’ www.scmp.com www.taipeitimes.com nation.com.pk 18 Our HD Tools  Sociological Imagination  Social History < -- > Macro Institutions < -- > Everyday Life Experiences  Global < -- > Regional < -- > Local 19 Some high definitions  Global capitalism and regional politics (Cold Wars) – diverse pattern:  In-migration of ethnic minorities (UK colonial network  US global network)  Out-migration of ethnic Chinese (19th, 1980s)  Regional migration - more than just push and pull factors at individual level (such as for economic reason):  Vietnamese boat people (refugees, involuntary)  Migration networks (foreign domestic workers)  Local biography – perception of migrant contributions, inequality and cultural diversity? 20 21 Colonial migration network in South Asia – merchant class  Stories of the Parsi (帕西) merchants in Hong Kong  Sir Hormusjee Naorojee Mody (麼地)  Born in Bombay India.  Contributed to the founding of HKU  A street named after him: Mody Street, Tsimshatsui Image: http://zh.wikipedia.org/ 22 Colonial migration network in South Asia – merchant class  Dorabjee Naorojee Mithaiwala  Kowloon Ferry Company 1888 (former of Star Ferry)  The Morning Star Image: http://zh.wikipedia.org/ 23 Colonial migration network in South Asia - merchant class  Jehangir Hormusjee Ruttonjee  The Hong Kong Anti-Tuberculosis Association「香港防癆會」 Ruttonjee Hospital Image: http://zh.wikipedia.org/ 24 Colonial migration network in South Asia – working class  Indian guards – Jardine, Matheson & Co.’s East Gate warehouse.  Sikh from Punjab – colonial police force.  Punjab Muslims (current Pakistan) – British Imperial Army (Kowloon Mosque), police, and correctional.  Lascars – a Persian term : South Asian seaman. Indian Muslims joined British East India Company. [Lascar Row in Central]  Gurkhas – turn HK into training base in 1969/1970 to curb regional communist insurgencies. Nepalese settled around Whitfield Barracks and Shek Kong Barracks in Yuen Long. 25 Colonial migration network in South Asia – working class  Sikh as police officer (vs. hiring locals)  喬寶寶 Gill Mohindepaul Singh (formerly worked in Correctional Services) Image: http://zh.wikipedia.org/ http://www.hkceleb.com/ 26 Colonial migration network in South Asia – working class Punjab Muslims in British Imperial Army Kowloon Mosque before relocation (inside Whitfield Barrack, nowaday TST police station) 27 Colonial migration network in South Asia - working class  Nepal - The Gurkhas stories  Hong Kong Oxfam Trailwalker (initially, training exercise for Gurkhas soldiers) http://paul-cam.blogspot.hk/ Insight into the life of Nepalese in HK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb1vwz8gpr8 Nepali worker in Hong Kong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stGIMm8FM1E 28 Oxfam Trailwalker A defense line? 29 Flipping activity 3b  3b. Identify the occupational patterns for ethnic groups.  Guiding question 1: what are the characteristics of main occupation?  Guiding question 2: gender differences?  Guiding question 3: discuss the possible structural causes? 30 Flipping activity 3c. (optional)  3c. Identify the proportion of ethnic minorities in each districts.  Are these figures evenly distributed?  Distance from Central - CBD?  Use Google Map if you wish to locate the district 31  Colonial policy on multiculturalism  Multicultural policy – lack of until recent – why?  During colonial era, most ethnic groups lived an isolated life, much like the post-War European communities.  A second wave of South Asians came in 1960s-1980s as HK industrialized.  Consequences of colonial policy + post-1997 development - unfortunately, Hong Kong inherited the colonial ‘racialized structure’.  Parcis, Sindhis, Sikhs and Jains: some may be economically relatively better off; Pakistanis and Nepalese: some may suffer the blunt of discrimination especially during economic restructuring in recent years (Law and Lee 2013). Law, K.Y. and Lee, K.M. 2013. “Socio-political Embeddings of South Asian Ethnic Minorities’ Economic Situations in Hong Kong.” Journal of Contemporary China, 22(84), 984–1005 32 Colonial policy on racial discrimination and multiculturalism  United Kingdom: Race Relations Act 1965  Almost none in HK – why?  International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Race Discrimination (ICERD) applicable to HK since 1969.  First race discrimination consultation paper 1997 – shelved. Effort renewed in 2004.  Racial Discrimination Ordinance (《種族歧視 條例》) – came into effect only recently in July 2009. 33 Ethnic Minority in HK – issue of integration: language and education  a focus on individual effort? Caught between cultures- Vivek https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgedWsYI0eY 34 Flipping activity 3d.  Identify the patterns of acceptable social distance for each ethnic group as answered by local ethnic Chinese.  Guiding question: implication of ‘work’, ‘landlord/tenant’, ‘becoming relative’, ‘schooling’? E.g. economic relation vs. social relation - why?  What are the implications?  Housing mobility, social mobility etc. 35  Cosmopolitanism? Problems = failure of ‘assimilation’?  Dominant view – language issues. I.e. Investment in welfare, education etc.  Ku and Chan (2011): blaming the victims? Racialized problem within occupational structure. E.g. job interview language (For Chinese: English, for EM-Chinese) Ku, Hok-bun and Kam-wah Chan. 2011. “Racism and Social Inequality: The Work and Employment of the South Asian Ethnic Minority.” P.135-166 in Stephen Wing-kai Chiu and Siu-lun Wong (edited) Hong Kong Divided? Structures of Social Inequality in the Twenty-First Century. Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. 36 37 3 recent waves Conflicts arose from Cold War and rapid decolonization: 1) Chinese refugee  Chinese Civil War 1953 Shek KM fire  Impact on housing, social policy.  So called refugee mentality of the ethnic Chinese. (economic animal) Tiu K.L. KMT refugee camp 2) Vietnamese Boat People  1970s-1980s  200,000 passing HK, + 1000 remains.  Largest humanitarian mission of Hong Kong. Heavy load.  Increasingly: mixed political refugee vs. economic refugee  https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Svm1TVa5BGE 1988 3) Recent years  2015: 9,900 asylum seeker, mainly from South Asian.  Hong Kong is signing party of The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 《聯合國禁止酷刑公約》.  Hong Kong is NOT signing party of Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 《難民地位公 約》.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOEokI-isbY  Refugee contribution to HK’s globalization (Gordon Mathews) http://travel.cnn.com/hong-kong/life/inside-chungking-mansions-expert-gordon-mathews- 098440/ (2011 interview; recent visit 2017 – changing and further decline) 41 42  Hong Kong transformed into a global city  Human flow embedded in the new globalized structure of the society.  Under globalization:   capital disembedded from local (flexible).   concentration of economic activity in ‘global city’.   ‘Brain’ of regional economy. Control hub of production. Headquarters and back office. Service industry (symbols manipulation).   quest for flexible labor.   Time space compression cultivating new form of ‘transnational surplus labor’. Sassen, S. 2011. Cities in a world economy (4th edition). Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Pine Forge Press. Sassen, S. 1991. The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 43 Two global cities and two migration circuits - New direction of migrant flow: from UK as colonial core to US as global core (role of IMF) International Monetary Fund and Philippines, Indonesians 44 Rising foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong from the early 1980s. hongwrong.com/domestic-helpers/ 45 Current situation of foreign domestic workers in HK  Number of foreign domestic helpers in 2013 Country Number Total (%) Philippines 164,628 51.3 Indonesia 149,034 46.4 Thailand 2,710 0.9 Others 4,616 1.4 Total 320,988 100 CSD, 2014 46 New form of ethnic enclave – temporary (not permanent), temporal, flexible, in space where fluid capital also flows. 47 Hong Kong as global city  Feminization of labor market – outsourcing of domestic duties to overseas.  New migrants workers are not allowed to permanently reside. Rather, to stay temporarily (policy to enforce such).  Often recruits only single sex migrant worker to prevent formation of ‘family’.  New gap preventing (qualified) migrant labor flows to knowledge economy.  Racialization of labor market.  Doing gender and doing transnational class in everyday life. 48 Racialization process by employment agencies. - Racialization process under market fundamentalism  Employer Groups Protest Against Improved Rights for Domestic Workers Member of Liberal Party http://news.now.com/home/local/player?newsId=74916 50 Ethnic group Percentage among Median monthly income (HKD) (2011) ethnic minorities population (2011) (N) Male Female Korean 1.2% (5,209) 45,000 20,000 Japanese 2.8% (12,580) 40,000 21,000 White 12.2% (55,236) 59,000 (all White) 30,000 (all White) Thai, 4.1% (2.5% 12,500 (Thai); 5,000 (Thai); Singapore, Thai+1.6% other 30,000 (Other Asian) 8,000 (Other Asian) Vietnam, Asian) (11,213; 7,038) Malaysia Indian, Nepal , 10.0% (6.3% 25,000 (Indian); 7,330 (Indian); Pakistani Indian+3.7% 12,000 (Nepalese); 8,000 (Nepalese); 10,000 (Pakistani) 10,000 (Pakistani) Nepalese+4.0% Pakistani) (28,616; 16,518; 18,042) Indonesian 29.6% (133,377) 9,300 3,580 Filipino 29.5% (133,018) 9,000 3,580 Census and Statistics Department. 2011. Thematic Report: Ethnic Minorities. Hong Kong: 2011 Population Census Office, Census and Statistics Department. 51  The Global City and The Polarization of Migration Hong Kong’s racialized, gendered economic structure + institutional racism as colonial legacy? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-30173082 52 Understanding Hong Kong Migration through intersectionality of Gender, Ethnic/Race and Transnational Class What’s their (transnational) story?  Further thought: Transnational migrants (workers) live in and connect with multiple communities simultaneously (e.g. ‘phone’ supervision of children).  Living both at ‘home’ and ‘away’, i.e. shaping identities and performances not limited to just one location (e.g. marriage of Pakistanis in HK).  Many migrants experience a fluid condition of identity and meanings towards life. 54 55 Conclusion: Migration and ethnic minorities in HK We learn  How early colonization (UK colonial empire), and post-war decolonization and new global division of labor influenced the pattern of migration in HK.  The intersection of global force: ‘West- East’ and regional order (cold war politics): ‘Hong Kong-mainland’ & ‘Hong Kong- South Asia.  Differential treatment of migrant workers: UK imperial network vs. others under neoliberal regime of globalization. Conclusion: Migration and ethnic minorities in HK  Despite Hong Kong is spatially structured as global hub for flow of people, such flow is influenced by:  HK ethos – cosmopolitanism, shaped by racialized society structures.  An imagination with reference to the ‘Chineseness’ (e.g. appearance, cultural assumption).  Path dependent: structural reasons why (im)migration policy focus on assimilation (melting pot) than multiculturalism (mosaic)…  Global/regional flow structured in local space – geographical location of population. Conclusion: Migration Regime in HK A Racialized and Gendered Migration Regime?  Racialized and gendered structure: incorporation of migrants on the basis of a rigid hierarchy justified by a belief in permanent, unbridgeable differences between the associated groups.  For HK, deep belief in economic rationalism under the logic of capitalism (commodification of labor with limited decommodification policy, vs. other welfare types).  E.g. towards migrant workers, migrant ethnic minorities, involuntary migration – judged by wage, hence, justified treatment? Conclusion: Migration Regime in HK A Racialized and Gendered Migration Regime? Some consequences:  The level of ‘violent hate crime’ against migrant groups remains low, but social exclusion is often hidden or/and result from invisible segregation arrangement. (class activity)  Social exclusion: the case in which the migrant groups excluded, due to constraints, from enjoying the political and social rights as the others in the same society.  ‘Culturalism’ and moral panic triggered by new ‘racialization’ processes in the public sphere, if citizenship subjects, like when ‘the right of abode’ is being discussed. Conclusion: Way out – explore the ‘agency’ of migrants  Recognize ‘migrant’s contribution’.  Appreciating cultural diversity apart from ‘economic value’.  Explore the agency of migrants, striving for a better life chance in different ways.  Oral history study. http://hkhelperscam paign.com/en/ 61 http://hkhelperscam paign.com/en/ 62 Conclusion: Way out – social innovation for ethnic minorities （Translate For Her）Along the Path of Change | Gigi LO (Translate For Her)[閱 歷：社創路上學會的事｜盧善姿] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpLYOve6vuA 63 64