Understanding South Asian Minorities In Hong Kong

People of South Asian descent are a large, varied and increasingly visible part of Hong Kong’s population. Most have found ways of prospering despite social and economic obstacles and widespread discrimination. Focusing on three important groups—Indians, Pakistanis, and Nepalese—Erni and Leung explore the cultural histories of South Asians in Hong Kong and their experiences at school and at work. The book then discusses how far South Asians’ legal rights are protected by recent anti-discrimination legislation, how they are presented in mainstream media, and how they in turn have made creative use of the media in their efforts to secure recognition as full members of society. Written in an accessible style and drawing on a range of case studies, Understanding South Asian Minorities in Hong Kong is intended primarily for university students and general readers. It will also be of interest to scholars in a wide variety of disciplines, including sociology, social work, media studies, anthropology, history, and cultural studies. At a time when minority rights come increasingly under scrutiny, this book will also be essential reading for advocates, politicians and policy-makers. “This is a comprehensive book on South Asians in Hong Kong. Its examinations of important issues affecting the community are well researched, well argued and supported. The inclusion of personal stories and vignettes also adds a sense of ‘living history.’ This book will certainly enhance the readers’ understanding of Hong Kong’s multicultural background, the advantage of a pluralistic society, and the steps towards further racial integration.” —York Y. N. Chow, Chairperson, Equal Opportunities Commission, Hong Kong “This is a striking example of cultural studies at its best: boldly interdisciplinary, smartly argued, engagingly written, and with a provocative set of policy recommendations to top it all off. Erni and Leung’s nuanced analysis of the politics of racism with respect to ethnic minorities in Hong Kong is a ‘must read’ for anyone interested in critical multiculturalism.” —Gilbert B. Rodman, University of Minnesota “For understanding the situation of South Asians in Hong Kong, this book is absolutely essential reading. It explores not only South Asians’ lives and histories in Hong Kong, but also Hong Kong laws, mass media, and educational policies as these affect South Asians. This book will be a valuable resource for years and decades to come.” —Gordon Mathews, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Second and third generation South and Southeast Asian minorities in Hong Kong, being marginalized from mainstream social and political affairs, have developed an ambivalent sense of belonging to their host society. Unlike their forefathers who first settled in Hong Kong under British colonial rule, these younger generations have spent their formative years in the territory. As such, they have increasingly engaged in the public and political realms of society, partly in response to the territory’s rapid political changes. Leung discusses and analyses the complex and diverse engagement of migrant and minority youths in Hong Kong - and their struggle for recognition, while desiring to 'be-long' to a place they call home. Some are joining the calls for democratic changes in the territory. In particular, she argues that much of this struggle can be seen in minorities’ involvement in creative sectors of society. While it will be of especial interest to scholars with an interest in Hong Kong, this book presents a compelling case study for anyone interested in the dynamics of migrant and minority engagement in the creative sector as a strategy for engagement.

"Second and third generation South and Southeast Asian minorities in Hong Kong, being marginalized from mainstream social and political affairs, have developed an ambivalent sense of belonging to their host society. Unlike their forefathers who first settled in Hong Kong under British colonial rule, these younger generations have spent their formative years in the territory. As such, they have increasingly engaged in the public and political realms of society, partly in response to the territory's rapid political changes. Leung discusses and analyses the complex and diverse engagement of migrant and minority youths in Hong Kong - and their struggle for recognition, while desiring to 'be-long' to a place they call home. Some are joining the calls for democratic changes in the territory. In particular, she argues that much of this struggle can be seen in minorities' involvement in creative sectors of society. While it will be of especial interest to scholars with an interest in Hong Kong, this book presents a compelling case study for anyone interested in the dynamics of migrant and minority engagement in the creative sector as a strategy for engagement"--

"Through a first-of-its kind qualitative exploratory study, Bibi Arfeen elucidates the multifaceted complexities and dynamics that contribute to successful higher education-to-work transition among South Asian Ethnic Minority (EM) youths in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's recent expansion of higher education has given rise to budding academic and career aspirations amongst South Asian ethnic minority youths hoping to achieve upward social and economic mobility. Yet, existing bodies of scholarly work have yet to conceptualise the key determinants that drive an adaptive transition for these youths. This book challenges the widely held assumption that an undergraduate degree is a panacea to job acquisition and security as transitions are actively shaped by larger social, cultural and economic trajectories potentially influencing the capabilities of ethnic minority youths. In light of their lived experiences, this book foregrounds the voices of ethnic minority youths to gauge an understanding of their higher education-to-work transitions by placing the job-preparatory and job-seeking stages as the basis of the inquiry. Suggesting implications for institutional and public policymaking for the inclusion and empowerment of EM youths, this book will appeal to scholars interested in minority studies and graduate employment, EM youths, university administrators and counsellors, NGOs working with EM communities as well as policy makers"--

"Reads like a crazed cross between Watership Down and Nineteen Eighty-Four." --The Guardian "Every book of Fforde's seems to be a cause for celebration." -- Charles Yu, The New York Times Book Review on Early Riser A new stand-alone novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Early Riser and the Thursday Next series England, 2022. There are 1.2 million human-size rabbits living in the UK. They can walk, talk, drive cars, and they like to read Voltaire, the result of an Inexplicable Anthropomorphizing Event fifty-five years before. A family of rabbits is about to move into Much Hemlock, a cozy little village in Middle England where life revolves around summer fetes, jam making, gossipy corner stores, and the oh-so-important Best Kept Village awards. No sooner have the rabbits arrived than the villagers decide they must depart, citing their propensity to burrow and breed, and their shameless levels of veganism. But Mrs Constance Rabbit is made of sterner stuff, and her and her family decide they are to stay. Unusually, their neighbors--longtime resident Peter Knox and his daughter, Pippa--decide to stand with them . . . . and soon discover that you can be a friend to rabbits or humans, but not both. With a blossoming romance, acute cultural differences, enforced rehoming to a MegaWarren in Wales, and the full power of the ruling United Kingdom Anti-Rabbit Party against them, Peter and Pippa are about to question everything they had ever thought about their friends, their nation, and their species. An inimitable blend of satire, fantasy, and thriller, The Constant Rabbit is the latest dazzlingly original foray into Jasper Fforde's ever-astonishing creative genius.

This book discusses the notion of “Hong Kong as Method” as it relates to the rise of China in the context of Asianization. It explores new Hong Kong imaginaries with regard to the complex relationship between the local, the national and the global. The major theoretical thrust of the book is to address the reconfiguration of Hong Kong’s culture and society in an age of global modernity from the standpoints of different disciplines, exploring the possibilities of approaching Hong Kong as a method. Through critical inquiries into different fields related to Hong Kong’s culture and society, including gender, resistance and minorities, various perspectives on the country’s culture and society can be re-assessed. New directions and guidelines related to Hong Kong are also presented, offering a unique resource for researchers and students in the fields of cultural studies, media studies, postcolonial studies, globalization and Asian studies.

This book, stemming from an international conference, mainly explores the “private sphere” of minority cultures. To date, insufficient attention has been paid to ethnic minorities’ sense of subjecthood, e.g. their construction and articulation of self-understanding formed through lived experiences, sensibilities, emotions, sentiments, empathy, and even tempers and moods. Social misunderstanding, not to mention stereotyping, mystification and discrimination, often stems from neglecting the surprising and enlivening texture of minorities’ emotional world. Taking the important cue of the “affective turn” in cultural theory in recent years, the contributors address questions such as: what are the representations of affective/emotional energies and intensities surrounding the ethnic figures/strangers in visual culture (e.g. passivity, shame, anger, joy, empathy, charm, belonging, etc.)?; how do ethnic minorities respond to these visual narratives, and how can their self-representation through visual discourse reveal and transform their lived experiences?

This edited book is uniquely set in the context of Chinese societies. It deals with the issues of inclusive education in a Chinese context and examines inclusion from the experience of Hong Kong schools. Like other countries, in Hong Kong, inclusive education has been promoted through Integrated Education (IE) and the Whole-School Approach (WSA). Recently, the government has introduced the induction of Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) in each Hong Kong school to help diverse students, especially students with special educational needs (SEN) and to develop inclusive teaching and learning practices. This book is one of the first to examine the influence of contextual and Chinese cultural factors in the field of inclusive education, in regard to how schools support students with diverse learning needs and SEN. It also offers an account of context-specific measures towards promoting inclusive education. This book will help scholars and school practitioners in Asia in particular and in the West, in general, develop a comprehensive understanding of context-specific inclusive practices in education for students with diverse learning needs.