"Shenggang Qibing” (W) produced in Hong Kong and focused on the mercenaries of the Guangzhou-Hong Kong nexus further stirred the sentiments. Real or fictional, the alien and criminal images of recent immigrants were reinforced in the public mind.
Concluding remarks
The specific tensions between native Hong Kong residents and recent immigrants can be seen as structurally created in this historical juncture. The dilemma of Liang Daxin serves to illuminate the nature of two societies worlds apart but nevertheless interlocked. To explain the tensions, one may rest the argument precisely on this paradoxical relationship. Recent immigrants have crossed two societies that are socially and economically wide apart and at the same time undergoing drastic changes in political culture and institutions. There are constant redefinition of roles, goals, and rules of behaviour. The gap between the world of rural migrants in Guangdong and urban Hong Kong has its historical roots. Though Hong Kong and Guangdong societies might not have been totally unfamiliar with each other before 1949, three decades of collectivization virtually froze the social horizons of the rural population in the delta and restricted their exposure to modern industrial discipline, an asset Hong Kong has surged ahead with,
Economic reforms since the late 1970s unleashed the energies of ambitious rural youths who are desperately anxious to give themselves a chance before another political lid is imposed. They come to Hong Kong precisely to look for that opportunity. To them, Hong Kong is not an unfamiliar place. The constant flow of relatives as well as the media communicated that Hong Kong society is basically Cantonese. But the complex nuances of Hong Kong's social ethos have hardly been experienced. Many recent immigrants find the rhythm and texture of social life in Hong Kong perplexing and frustrating — the latter are apparently Chinese but not quite so. Social ethos is constructed by prominent actors in the social and political landscape. I think the rate of transformation in Hong Kong's physical landscape symbolizes the society's floating outlook. Growing up with it, the local population
13
"Shenggang Qibing” (W) produced in Hong Kong and fo- cused on the mercenaries of the Guangzhou-Hong Kong nexus further stirred the sentiments. Real or fictional, the alien and criminal images of recent immigrants were reinforced in the pub- lic mind.
Concluding remarks
The specific tensions between native Hong Kong residents and recent immigrants can be seen as structurally created in this his- torical juncture. The dilemma of Liang Daxin serves to illuminate the nature of two societies worlds apart but nevertheless inter- locked. To explain the tensions, one may rest the argument pre- cisely on this paradoxical relationship. Recent immigrants have crossed two societies that are socially and economically wide apart and at the same time undergoing drastic changes in political cul- ture and institutions. There are constant redefinition of roles, goals, and rules of behaviour. The gap between the world of rural migrants in Guangdong and urban Hong Kong has its historical roots. Though Hong Kong and Guangdong societies might not have been totally unfamiliar with each other before 1949, three decades of collectivization virtually froze the social horizons of the rural population in the delta and restricted their exposure to modern industrial discipline, an asset Hong Kong has surged ahead with,20
Economic reforms since the late 1970s unleashed the energies of ambitious rural youths who are desperately anxious to give themselves a chance before another political lid is imposed. They come to Hong Kong precisely to look for that opportunity. To them, Hong Kong is not an unfamiliar place. The constant flow of relatives as well as the media communicated that Hong Kong society is basically Cantonese. But the complex nuiances of Hong Kong's social ethos have hardly been experienced. Many recent immigrants find the rhythm and texture of social life in Hong Kong perplexing and frustrating — the latter are apparently Chi- nese but not quite so. Social ethos is constructed by prominant actors in the social and political landscape. I think the rate of transformation in Hong Kong's physical landscape symbolizes the society's floating outlook. Growing up with it, the local population
Page 30Page 31
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.