TNAG-2217-FCO40-3184-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1991 — Page 113

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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