2006/01/01 by Kam-yee Law, Kim-ming Lee · 3 citations
Social Sciences · #Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy #Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics #Diaspora, migration, transnational identity #Immigration #Mainland China #Social exclusion #Mainland #Rivalry #Political science #Economic restructuring #Citizenship #Globalization #Legitimacy #State (computer science) #Sociology #Development economics #Political economy #Politics #Gender studies #Economy #China #Geography #Economics #Law
paper · doi:10.1080/00472330680000131
openalex publication_date 2006/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Hong Kong is often viewed as a Chinese immigrants' city. This article discusses three interrelated dimensions of the social exclusion of migrants designated as “new” Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong. First, it is argued that globalisation has triggered intense economic rivalry among world cities as they undertake economic restructuring. Second, the political attempts of territorial states to establish their own legitimacy and strengthen their governing capacity are major catalysts that induce the social exclusion of immigrants. Third, the nature and strength of local place-based social identity is vital to determine the difficulties new immigrants face in being included in the host society. After recounting the history of Chinese immigrants and their recent profile in Hong Kong, the article examines the relationships between Hong Kong's economic development and the state's immigration policies, and how Hong Kong's state policies have constructed a form of Hong Kong identity vis-à-vis Mainland Chinese, drawing out the mechanisms that determine the social exclusion of Mainland immigrants since the 1990s. “We asked for workers but human beings came.” Max Frisch(quoted in Hollifield,2000:149)