Cross‐border ‘Traffic’: Stories of dangerous victims,pure whores and HIV/AIDS in the experiences of mainland female sex workers in Hong Kong

Abstract: In recent years, dramatically increasing numbers of mainland Chinese women have entered Hong Kong to engage in sexual labour. Public discourses on the threat of HIV/AIDS increasingly locate these women's bodies as sites of danger, colluding with pre‐existing imaginations of mainland rural women as ignorant, desperate and deceptive in representing these women's penetration of Hong Kong's border as a primary means of infection of the Hong Kong body. Drawing on state, media and popular representations, and the narratives of female sex workers themselves, this paper examines the interwoven bio‐medical, gendered, sexual and cross‐border relationships that intersect in the experiences of mainland Chinese sex workers in Hong Kong. I argue that while images of disease and danger have been used to regulate these women's bodies, mainland female sex workers challenge these images by drawing on other popular stereotypes of mainland women as pure, feminine and traditional. Although images of the related but still ‘other’ figure of the mainland Chinese woman are powerful mechanisms for the regulation of these women's bodies, mainland female sex workers skilfully use inherent tensions in those images in resisting that control and in struggling to achieve their own personal and economic goals.     

Working overseas: Seafarers’ remittances and their distribution in Kiribati

Abstract: Remittances sent home by seafarers employed on international merchant and fishing ships are a significant income component for the Kiribati economy, with immediate benefits for families and communities. This paper explores the strategies used and the amounts sent by seafarers to their family members by drawing on different data sets, such as remittances data kept in the form of allotment lists by employment agencies, and comparing these with interview responses from seafarers and their families. Remittances are spread throughout extended families and communities firstly via direct allotments sent to individual bank accounts, and secondly through channels of family and community obligations. This paper shows that the general flow of seafarers’ remittances into Kiribati is continuous and has increased over the years with more people engaged in seafaring employment. Families, however, were found to be dependent on individual decisions made by seafarers of how to share their remittances. Kiribati has no institutionalised social welfare system, and as a consequence remittances function as a private safety net for seafarer families.     

Developing a family engagement plan for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander STEM students in higher education: A review and critique of the literature

This paper reviews and critiques the literature on family engagement programmes in higher education, from the perspective of issues that may affect the design of programmes serving Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students and their families. While there is compelling research suggesting that increasing students' family members' engagement with higher education will benefit students, it is unclear whether the concept of family engagement as it is conceived in western educational contexts can be universally and unproblematically applied in Pacific contexts. Recommendations for best practices in family engagement programme design highlight communication efforts with parents that can be characterised as fundraising and ‘friendraising’, but do not address issues specific to the experiences of under‐represented groups in higher education. Drawing on the literature and experiences of indigenous and other under‐represented students, and incorporating insights from literature on decolonising methodologies, we present considerations for authentic and culturally responsive family engagement for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students, families and communities.     

Refocusing on China: The Case of Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa

We know little about the location decisions of large Chinese conglomerates and how this relates to their restructuring in a dynamic Asia­Pacific environment. This case study of one of Hong Kong’s latest conglomerates, Hutchison Whampoa, begins with the company’s decision to remain in Hong Kong after 1997. Restructuring has been carried out primarily by acquiring new enterprises in its existing specialised areas of retail, manufacturing, telecommunications, media and services and reducing interests in property, energy, finance and investment. This has been accompanied by its expansion into southern China where it has focused on infrastructure development, steps which have built on its Chinese credentials — clan origins and personal connections.     

The Spatial Impact of Language Policies on the Marginal Bids for English Education in Hong Kong

In 1997 the government of Hong Kong reformed its policy on the language medium for teaching at the secondary‐school level and removed schools' right to choose their own medium. Among the 404 public and “aided” secondary schools in Hong Kong, the government allowed only 100 to use English as the medium for teaching and required the remaining 304 to use the native language, Chinese. The authors assess the spatial impact of the policy reform and estimate the bid function for English‐language schools. The results show that the 1997 policy reform shifted parental preferences from public to private education and increased the marginal bid for proximity to private English schools by 2 percent. Following the reform, homeowners were willing to pay, on average, HK $8,400 for each additional 100 metres closer to a private English school.     

Hong Kong and the globalisation of the Chinese diaspora: a geographical perspective

This study examines the processes of spatial restructuring in the Hong Kong–South China region. The paper analyses urban‐rural interaction in a historical and transnational context. Based on detailed census data collected in 1961 and 1996, this study traces the origins of the Hongkongers and maps out their spatial distribution according to their native place identities. The heightened population movement between the rural hinterland in the South China region and the Hong Kong metropolis is inseparable from territorial organisation on the Chinese mainland. The great spatial mobility demonstrated by the Hongkongers, or, their ‘refugee mentality’ as it is known, is found to be deeply rooted in their marginal sub‐ethnic identity in the nation. A systematic analysis of spatial data reveals that the diasporic landscape developed in Hong Kong has been polarised by the élite English and Shanghainese speakers on the one end and the Kejia people on the other end. Despite the processes of globalisation, the great spatial mobility of the Hong Kong sojourners and the diasporic landscape they have created have been effectively shaped by their place‐based ethno‐linguistic identities. If the transnational movement of people is considered an important component of globalisation, then this study reinforces the importance of locality and contests the fashionable notion of globalisation as a ‘placeless’ phenomenon. The seemingly displaced empire of Chinese diaspora capitalism, in which Hong Kong has played a crucial part, has remained grounded by pre‐existing place‐specific conditions.     

Governing climate change in Hong Kong: Prospects for market mechanisms in the context of emissions trading in China

Hong Kong continues to struggle over which environmental governance approach is in its best interest while fulfilling its environmental obligations. With regard to climate change, Hong Kong's approach is characterised by a passive form of governance that is highly dependent on China's national policy directions. This is reflected, for example, in Hong Kong having not set its own mitigation targets. Market mechanisms have received little attention in developing a city‐wide climate change strategy. A transformative impulse, China's national emissions trading scheme, may provide momentum to a market‐based approach. However, the necessary conditions for such a market mechanism to be successfully implemented in China remain relatively undeveloped. This raises question about early participation by Hong Kong. Direct benefits are likely to be limited, due to Hong Kong's economic structure and weak demand for emissions reduction. Besides, there are regulatory barriers to enforcing emissions targets and/or recognising emissions allowances and credits from China. We therefore argue that nationwide emissions trading may, at this time, present more challenges than opportunities for Hong Kong to leverage its efforts on climate change mitigation. An alternative is to promote voluntary emissions trading that will require active involvement and leadership by businesses.     

China’s transport and communications firms: transforming national champions into global players

China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) exposes its state‐owned maritime, aviation and telecommunications operators to unprecedented competition. This development raises a series of critical issues about China’s transition from a state‐planned regime towards a real market economy. How will China’s leading state‐owned firms in deep‐sea container shipping, air passenger transport and telecommunications respond to the dilemma posed by the World Trade Organisation and to what extent has Hong Kong been involved in China’s transport and communications restructuring process? These broad issues are addressed by examining progress on the Chinese Government’s post‐1993 plans to restructure each of the key state enterprises in sea‐land transport, air transport and telecommunications. Specifically we are concerned with the degree to which China’s national champions in these transport and communications arenas have been remade into global players. Particular attention is paid to the role of Hong Kong in this transformation since its return to China in 1997. Our studies show that China has transformed its national champions into a global players in container shipping. The process may be beginning to happen in air transport but has yet to get underway in telecommunications.     

Selection for adaptation in multipurpose trees and shrubs for production and function in agroforestry systems

Summary With the greater uniformity in site conditions in cultivated fields and higher levels of inputs (soil amendments and labour) for modern agroforestry systems, selection and breeding for optimal tree adaptation to site conditions and management practices call for strategies radically different from those for plantation forestry. Furthermore, specific requirements for the most efficient growth resource sharing arrangements between the tree and its companion crop call for evaluation both above-ground and below-ground tree growth characteristics in much greater details than has been the case for forestry practice.Specific adaptations in tree-soil relations are highlighted. Tree ideotype profiles are defined for a valuable fodder species (Calliandra calothyrsus) and a valuable timber species (Grevillea robusta). Results from half-sib progeny testing experiment on C. calothyrsus in alley farming system indicate differential adaptedness to frequent cutting for fodder production among the families after 6 cutting cycles (over a period of 2 years). If this differential response to frequent cutting among genotypes is confirmed, phyllomorphs which are more tolerant to this management practice could be selected for further improvement research.Excavation of 2 trees per family within G. robusta half-sib progeny testing experiments at two locations in Kenya provided the base for studying (a) variations in root growth patterns and (b) correlations between stem and root growth patterns in the background of efficient soil resource sharing strategies and of potentials for indirect selection for root growth characteristics. Analyses based on 7 categories of root growth and 7 categories of stem growth patterns involving 94 families selected in Australia and 60 families selected from landraces in Kenya indicate (a) insignificant variation among families in root growth patterns and (b) non existent or weak correlations between stem and root growth pattenrs.     

Employment

The 1990s began with unprecedented market conditions for labour: unemployment rates were reaching their highest level in over 50 years, participation in the labour market had fallen to historically low levels and net emigration was widespread across all occupations. It seemed that things could only get better. While some did benefit from the limited growth that took place in the nineties, many did not. The greater inequality generated during the 1980s was fanned by the deregulation of the labour market and remained undiminished throughout the following decade. The marked reduction in manufacturing employment in the 1980s continued into the early 1990s negatively impacting Maori and Pacific Island men and women in particular. Increasingly post‐secondary school education became necessary to gain entry into regular work and those with little formal education and few work skills fell further down the queue. These changes are closely allied to the processes of globalisation which is already exercising considerable influence on the employment opportunities of New Zealanders.     

Place,identity and immigrant communities: The organisation of the Yulan Festival in post‐war Hong Kong

Abstract: In the process of migration, some traditions persist while others do not. The Yulan Festival, also known as the Ghost Festival, continues to be observed by different subethnic Chinese migrant groups in Hong Kong for a variety of reasons. Although the festival organisation accentuates subethnic distinctions, paradoxically it also enables different groups to integrate into the larger community. The activities articulate various meanings of ‘place’– as ‘ancestral place’ on the mainland where
the rituals are believed to originate, as the specific locality/neighbourhood in Hong Kong where the festival is held, and Hong Kong as a whole. This article, based on interviews with Chiu Chow and Hoklo participants, shows how they think of the different meanings of ‘place’, which in turn reflects the way they make sense of the process of migration.     

不同品种芸薹属蔬菜吸收累积镉的差异

采用温室土培盆栽试验方法,研究北京地区普遍种植的18种十字花科芸薹属蔬菜在模拟镉污染土壤上吸收累积镉的特征,结果表明：在土壤镉浓度为20mg/kg时,芸薹属不同类蔬菜及同类蔬菜的不同品种之间吸收和累积镉能力存在显著差异,大白菜北京小杂55地上部镉含量最高,达61.4mg/kg,而芥蓝香港白花中只有18.6 mg/kg,两者之间相差3倍以上;不同品种蔬菜地上部吸镉量和对土壤镉的富积系数也差异显著,最高吸镉量是最低吸镉量的5倍,大白菜北京小杂55的富积系数高达3.07,而芥蓝香港白花和菜薹金秋红2号只有0.93和0.97,均小于1。在镉污染的蔬菜地上选择种植低积累镉的蔬菜品种是生产符合食品安全农产品的重要措施。     

Application of Ecological Restoration and Sustainable Design Concept in Hong Kong Wetland Park

Wetland park has become an important content of urban landscape design in China, and it is urgent to explore the ways of ensuring scientifi c planning and design and successful implementation of the planning and design in the preparatory stage and the late habitat management and monitoring stage. Taking Hong Kong Wetland Park for example, this paper reviewed the successful design concepts and scientifi c management practices on the basis of sorting out its planning, construction, management and monitoring experience, to provide useful references for the planning, design and management of wetland park in other regions.     

城乡居民信息资源可获得性差异及其影响因素分析

信息资源作为农业生产首要要素,也是城乡融合发展的重要领域。在进一步加快城乡融合发展的进程中,了解城乡信息资源可获得性情况,具有重要的理论价值与现实意义。本研究基于全国31个省市自治区（除港、澳、台）的3296份城乡居民调研数据,对国内城乡信息资源可获得性差异及影响因素进行实证分析。研究结果表明,中国城乡居民信息资源可获得性差异较大,差异指数呈现出西部地区大于中部地区大于东部地区。城乡居民信息资源可获得性普遍受到性别、文化程度、家庭收入水平、网络接入以及信号强度因素的显著影响。应结合不同区域发展现状需求、不同居民特征,通过建立完善信息资源获取渠道、制定具有针对性的信息资源应用推广对策措施来加速推动城乡信息资源融合发展。     

Study on Spatial Structure of Traditional Villages from the Perspective of Clanism

"China's deep-rooted family culture and the resulting family spirit is one of the basic characteristics of Chinese society that differs from western society," said by Chinese sociologist Fei Xiaotong. German sociologist Max Weber defi nes Chinese society as "family structure society"[1]. And sociologist Fei Zhengqing believes that the villages in China are organized by families. In sociological studies, the traditional villages are divided into three types: single-clan villages with only one dominating family, main-clan villages which are mainly composed of several families, and multi-clan villages where some coequal families live together[2]. The authors believe that traditional villages are organized social communities with kinship as a link. They are products of the family system. There is a close connection between a village's family composition and its space construction. Single-clan village is an introverted spatial organization mode entirely based on kinship, ancestral hall is located in the center and the whole spatial structure grows toward it. Main-clan village is a decentralized family aggregate based on the ties of blood as well as region. And the organization of its village space depends on temples and pavilions where families enshrine and worship ancestors and gods. It owns obvious features of collage and collaboration. M ulticlan village is a collaborative and extroverted complex spatial system led by relationship of colleagues, where large public buildings are taken as the core to organize commercial activities. Its form is similar to the form of small towns. Taking sociological term "family" as the starting point and cases of national historic cultural villages including Hong Village, Zhuge Village, Zoumatang Village, Suzhuang Village and Guoyu Village into further study, this article analyses the correlation between kinship composition and spatial form of villages, tries to reveal the essential structure of traditional space of villages and to provide a new perspective on spatial study as well as basis for preservation of traditional villages.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed: Hong Kong as a Global Metropolis, by David R. Meyer. Globalization and Networked Societies: Urban‐Regional Change in Pacific Asia, by Yue‐man Yeung. Regional Cohesion and Competition in the Age of Globalization, edited by Hirotada Kohno, Peter Nijkamp and Jacques Poot. Employee Benefits and Labor Markets in Canada and the United States, edited by William T. Alpert and Stephen A. Woodbury. The Atlanta Paradox, edited by David L. Sjoquist. The Economics of Sports, edited by William S. Kern. Environmentally Sustainable Economic Development, by Asayehgn Desta.     

Hainan Island

Geographical location Hainan Province is the solely tropical island province of China, administrating Hainan main island,the islets and reefs of Xisha, Nansha, Zhongsha and their surrounding waters. Hainan Province lies in the central part of     

Flexibility and Adjustment: The Hong Kong Watch Industry and Global Change

A case study of the Hong Kong watch industry demonstrates the adaptive flexibility of labor-intensive industrial clusters. The study describes the evolution of industry in Hong Kong, and highlights the unique attributes of the country's economic history which have influenced the structure of production systems in the country. Focusing on the role of global competition, the case study identifies the constraints posed by a labor-intensive flexible production system in the face of continuous technological change in the industry.     

The Changing Organisation of Work in Malaysia’s Electronics Industry

The early growth phase of Malaysia’s electronics industry coincided in the 1970s with high unemployment and accelerated rural­urban migration and a willingness to make considerable concessions to foreign transnationals seeking suitable cheap and passive labour sites. The result was a very rigid exploitation of the labour force. Interviews with a variety of contemporary electronics firms show how this changed in the I 980s and I 990s. Demand for labour increased and unemployment declined, automation removed much of the labour intensity and raised the need for skill and cooperation and commitment of those hired to work in an increasingly sophisticated sector. Wages rose and management practices changed, together with the introduction of flexible production techniques, preventative maintenance and quality control, each of which required considerable employee participation. Despite these changes, both firms and government have resisted attempts nationwide unionisation of the industry.     

Shenzhen in China's Financial Center Networks

Shenzhen, China, aspires to be an international financial center; however, its financial sector occupies an anomalous position in China's networks. The sector is tightly integrated into mainland networks, and Shenzhen's local banks provide access to Hong Kong's networks. Nonetheless, the city's proximity to Hong Kong, the Asia‐Pacific center of financial networks, confers few incremental benefits compared to those received by other mainland centers. The proposed Qianhai financial district, which is to be a laboratory for opening China's capital accounts, does not differentially boost Shenzhen because other financial centers will be allowed to experiment. A network theory of financial centers provides the explanatory framework for interpreting Shenzhen in China's financial center networks. Empirical analyses focus on Shenzhen's network ties with the Mainland and with Hong Kong. Shenzhen's future rests on the capacity of its financial firms to participate in the networks of South China, as well as to operate across the Mainland.