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professional and managerial talent triggered by the 1997 issue
has driven up the salaries of employees in the modern service
sectors, particularly those in upper middle-class jobs. The
organized actions of the civil servants have also led to
substantial pay hikes for employees in the public sector. The
decline in the importance of the traditional manufacturing
industries and their relocation in China to take advantage of the
cheap labor there have put a brake on the improvement of the
wages of the workers. Under these circumstances, the decision of
the government lately to allow the import of foreign labor serves
to bring out into the open the growingly strained relation
between capital and labor.
Changes in the structure of the economy have resulted in the
domination of large corporations in many sectors. The Hong Kong
dream of a hardworking and frugal person eventually becoming a
prosperous entrepreneur has become increasingly just a dream. The
slow-down of the economy will further dampen people's hope about
their chance of economic success. The gradual appearance in Hong
Kong of a layer of super-rich people who are addicted to conspicuous consumption and crass materialism constantly reminds
those in the lower strata of the economic divisions in society.
As a result, certain manifestations of class consciousness and
discontent with the gap between the rich and the poor are
inevitable.
The findings from the 1988 survey by Thomas Wong provide some
evidence on the incipient class discontent in Hong Kong.
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That