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HELEN E. SIU
December 1980," 80 percent of the menial jobs in restaurants were given to the "green stamp aliens." They were also taking short-term work in construction sites which were dangerous and shunned by local workers. Out of 165 work-related deaths from January 1979 to August 1980, 70 percent were immigrants who had come to Hong Kong for fewer than three years. Many work-related injuries occurred within the first six months of immigration. Not only were recent immigrants getting the most undesirable jobs, but also they were systematically paid less than local workers. 18 Public opinion was blunt: these people should be grateful that they were here; if they did not like their treatment, they should go back to China where they belonged; Hong Kong had its hands full already.
In a word, the recent immigrants had become the scapegoat for social ills connected with political uncertainty and economic panic faced by a population defensive of what it had gained. The media played up the image of “Ah Chan,” the ignorant and vulnerable “mainland boy." Social gossip generated a prejudiced view that most of the young aliens were lazy because they were fed with "socialist" education. The same survey (1982) shows that 51 percent of the respondents considered recent immigrants to have problems in learning their jobs and that they were not able to match the efficiency of Hong Kong workers. At a more personal level, over 50 percent of them were unwilling to share living space with these immigrants and 45 percent expressed their reluctance to choose them as spouses. Furthermore, prejudice built around the impression that the immigrants were political activists fleeing political prosecution and were therefore potential trouble-makers. The public soaked in the daily newspaper accounts of the activities of "the Canton Boys," gangs formed by recent illegal immigrants. They were described as overly bold and brutal in conducting their business. In October 1984, a court case concerning a series of jewellery robberies confirmed the fears of the general public. Two of the leaders of a new immigrant gang had actually recruited 'mercenaries' from China to conduct the robberies. The Hong Kong police had a difficult time tracing these criminals because they stayed in Hong Kong only for a short time, and were shielded by underground networks that extended well beyond Hong Kong's social and political boundaries. A movie
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12
HELEN E. SIU
December 1980," 80 percent of the menial jobs in restaurants were given to the "green stamp aliens.” They were also taking short-term work in construction sites which were dangerous and shunned by local workers. Out of 165 work-related deaths from January 1979 to August 1980, 70 percent were immigrants who had come to Hong Kong for fewer than three years. Many work- related injuries occurred within the first six months of immigra- tion. Not only were recent immigrants getting the most undesir- able jobs, but also they were systematically paid less than local workers. 18 Public opinion was blunt: these people should be grate- ful that they were here; if they did not like their treatment, they should go back to China where they belonged; Hong Kong had its hands full already.
In a word, the recent immigrants had become the scapegoat for social ills connected with political uncertainty and economic pan- ic faced by a population defensive of what it had gained. The media played up the image of “Ah Chan,” the ignorant and vul- nerable “mainland boy." Social gossip generated a prejudiced view that most of the young aliens were lazy because they were fed with "socialist" education. The same survey (1982) shows that 51 percent of the respondents considered recent immigrants to have problems in learning their jobs and that they were not able to match the efficiency of Hong Kong workers. At a more personal level, over 50 percent of them were unwilling to share living space with these immigrants and 45 percent expressed their reluctance to choose them as spouses. Furthermore, prejudice built around the impression that the immigrants were political activists fleeing political prosecution and were therefore potential trouble-makers. The public soaked in the daily newspaper accounts of the activi- ties of "the Canton Boys," gangs formed by recent illegal immi- grants. They were described as overly bold and brutal in conduct- ing their business. In October 1984, a court case concerning a series of jewellery robberies confirmed the fears of the general public. Two of the leaders of a new immigrant gang had actually recruited 'mercenaries' from China to conduct the robberies. The Hong Kong police had a difficult time tracing these criminals because they stayed in Hong Kong only for a short time, and were shielded by underground networks that extended well beyond Hong Kong's social and political boundaries. A movie
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