ETHNICITY IN A HOUSING ESTATE IN HONG KONG
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The companion article provides a description of ethnic stereotypes in Hong Kong, indicates social distance between ethnic groups as perceived by Teochiu, and generally discusses interethnic interaction. Within the housing estate studied, the Teochiu are clearly the most insulated in that they are a sizeable minority with long established friend and kinship networks. But this does not mean that there is little or no interaction with other groups. Resettlement has caused an increase in the frequency of interethnic interaction, although it is doubtful whether this has led to an increase in the intensity of such relationships, particularly between Teochiu and non-Teochiu. There is daily contact and interaction between all ethnic groups. Squatters were randomly moved into the estate so that there is no concentration of a particular ethnic group on a certain floor or in a particular block of the estate. Thus one's neighbors are likely to be of a different ethnic group. Some families have developed reciprocal helping relationships with nearby neighbors which involves looking after children and providing assistance with household matters. There is constant interethnic interaction in the marketplace, although people will often buy food or other items from a shop managed by someone of the same ethnic group if it is convenient.
The work place is another arena of interethnic interaction in that virtually everyone, regardless of occupation, has work colleagues who are of another ethnic group. There is no positive correlation, however, between the frequency of such interaction and the likelihood that such contact will develop into close friendship. Most Teochiu that I know who work in factories state that they have non-Teochiu friends at work, but they further indicate that these friends are not close friends. It is clear from my own observations that few efforts are made to meet with non-Teochiu friends outside of the work place, aside from random meetings in the housing estate. Some individuals do of course have close friends who are of a different ethnic group but these are exceptions in that most close friendships are formed with people of the same group. Among Teochiu it is very likely that many close friends will be from one's village or nearby village in China: this is a function of the dense friendship networks that have developed within the estate.
Thus there is a constant inter-mixing between ethnic groups, but for most residents who immigrated to Hong Kong these relationships are of secondary importance. Interethnic interaction is much