Hong Kong Mobile: Making a Global Population
Helen F. Siu and Agnes S. Ku
Abstract
This interdisciplinary argues that Hong Kong should strengthen the mobility of its population. “One country, two systems” is a concept not uniquely reserved for post-1997 Hong Kong. Historically, the territory has thrived on being simultaneously part of China and the world. Flexible positioning “at the margins” has made it a node in the crossroads of empires, trading communities, industrial assembly lines, and now global finance, consumption, and media. This essential characteristic, Hong Kong as a “space of flow”, has always been the source of its success. The book shows that a porous border ... More
This interdisciplinary argues that Hong Kong should strengthen the mobility of its population. “One country, two systems” is a concept not uniquely reserved for post-1997 Hong Kong. Historically, the territory has thrived on being simultaneously part of China and the world. Flexible positioning “at the margins” has made it a node in the crossroads of empires, trading communities, industrial assembly lines, and now global finance, consumption, and media. This essential characteristic, Hong Kong as a “space of flow”, has always been the source of its success. The book shows that a porous border in fact has been maintained in the post-war years. Unique institutions developed over the century have absorbed waves of immigrants entering from China. However, the study warns that the population is now aging when compared with other world cities and China's fast growing urban centers. Only with a massive input of young, educated, and diverse human talents can Hong Kong remain a vibrant portal for the creative fusion of capital, goods, services, cultural horizons, aspirations and civic energies.
Keywords:
Hong Kong,
mobility,
population,
China,
porous border,
aging,
urban centers
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2009 |
Print ISBN-13: 9789622099180 |
| Published to Hong Kong Scholarship Online: September 2011 |
DOI:10.5790/hongkong/9789622099180.001.0001 |
