The Existing Social Policy in Hong Kong - Essay Example

?Table of Contents Table of Contents Does the existing social policy in HK discriminate against new arrivals from Mainland China? 2 Individualism and post-structuralism 2 HKSAR, Creation of employment opportunities, and the media 3 Neo-liberalism 4 Arrivals from mainland 4 Power is everywhere 5 HKSAR 6 CSSA program 6 HKCSS 7 Social work procedures before handover by the British 7 Impact of immigration 8 Social policy 8 Criticism to the social policy; racial discrimination 9 Conclusion 12 References 12 Does the existing social policy in HK discriminate against new arrivals from Mainland China? The British government was not keen on providing social services to the citizens of Hong Kong. This could have attracted immigrants from the mainland. This gave rise to private sector organizations that were committed to filling this void. The government was disinterested in funding the social service. Moreover, the government discouraged the charity and religious organizations from funding social service in Hong Kong. Individualism and post-structuralism The present state of culture is uneven. The struggle for control and resources has caused the social culture to develop unnecessary rivalry. Political neutrality has been breached in Hong Kong especially after the hand over by the British. The policy in Hong Kong seems to acknowledge political neutrality on the paper but not in reality. The mainland Chinese are discriminated because of fear of backlash politically. The influx is leading to competition for jobs and social services. Locals believe that the rising levels of joblessness are being caused by the increase in mainlanders. Power struggles in Hong Kong makes equality difficult (Knowles & Harper, 2009). The locals believe that mainlanders can take the political power and eventually take over the entire city. In a bid to retain power and control, the locals propagate discrimination among the ethnic minorities and Chinese from the mainland (Robinson, 2001). The social policy and delivery of services has been marked with instability and inconsistency. Minorities have been targeted and the atmosphere created by the British is fast waning. Individualism has been propagated because the self is perceived to be a coherent entity in the society. Delivery of services is dependent on the level on social and economic strata. The natives identify themselves as more deserving and ruling elites. This has fueled selfishness and individualism. HKSAR, Creation of employment opportunities, and the media The media has a central role in the reduction of discrimination. Awareness compaigns that be ran to expose the extreme discrimination and promote equity among the societies in Hong Kong. State and private media should be allowed to function without control from the local authorities. There has been an increase in social welfare (Alan, 2008). The initiatives have increased unemployment. The policy makers are emphasizing on job placements and conventional policies that shall encourage inclusiveness (Tang, 2006). The political system in the city is being structured to facilitate the social welfare. Most of the power elites in Hong Kong are chosen from business community. This has increasingly led to business friendly norms and lessened social discrimination (Chu, 2005). This is expected to increase jobs and reduce discrimination. There has been increased movement from Hong Kong to mainland as people continue to search for jobs. This has led to cross boarder social challenges like separation in families. Hong Kong teenagers can cross the border and access cheap drugs (Alan, 2008). This has been attributed to the number of Hong Kong people arrested in mainland because of various crimes. There is an influx of the number of women leaving mainland to Hong Kong (Chu, 2005). The hospitals in the city have been strained by the increased number of women coming from mainland to give birth. Before the handover, many women crossed the border illegally to give birth in Hong Kong. In doing this, they hoped their children would earn permanent residency. This has become organized business leading to over 60,000 annual births in Hong Kong. There is a perception that the quality of healthcare in Hong Kong is higher than mainland. The one-child policy in china is increasingly discouraging many women from living in the mainland. Statistics show that 40 percent of the women end up being married to the men in Hong Kong. All the CSSA recipients are entitled to a medical charges waiver. The program has helped in the provision of better customer services and transparency. The scheme excludes those present in Hong Kong unlawfully (Chu, 2005). Those present in Hong Kong before 2004 were exempted from requirement of residence. The applicants to CSSA had to have lived in the city for 7 or more years (Alan, 2008). The program offers community living supplements to the old, transport supplement and residential care to the disabled or the sick (Robinson, 2001). The social services in Hong Kong are centered on children, youth, disabled and the elderly. The system has established rehabilitation services and community development. Neo-liberalism In a multicultural set up, the existence of different cultures is supposed to be recognized (Tsang & University of Hong Kong, 2009). The policy makers have not been keen in encouraging positive acceptance of the new entrants. Ethnic minorities in the city include recent immigrants coming from mainland in china. The city has mixed ethnic backgrounds who are not Hong Kong Chinese. Mainland China is considered to be the major source of immigrants to Hong Kong. Recent arrivals from mainland have been particular target by the discrimination in Hong Kong. The number of immigrants from mainland China has been growing from 54000 annually to over 300,000. These immigrants have difficulties with language and cannot speak in English. Arrivals from mainland In 2000, over 3.7 million tourists from mainland China visited Hong Kong. However, the discrimination of mainland Chinese has continued to affect Hong Kong’s largest industries negatively. In a bid to maintain its status as a hub for multinationals, Hong Kong is trying to ensure that regional cultures are embraced. The government of Hong Kong has allowed the graduates from mainland work in Hong Kong. This is a revealer of the changing attitude of the Hong Kong towards the immigrants from mainland China (Robinson, 2001). This has raised fears that locals shall lose job opportunities. Racial discrimination has affected the Hong Kong tourisms industry (Teitelbaum & Asher, 2005). The government wants to increase the number of tourism arrivals from the mainland China. The tourists from mainland China constitute the largest number. Social community organization study indicated that, out of 83 people from eight ethnic minority groups, 32 percent have experienced job rejection. About 30 percent have suffered from accommodation rejection while 30 percent talked about police discrimination. Power is everywhere Foucault urges that power is everywhere and comes from everywhere. Power is not an agency. Therefore, it cannot be used as a tool for coercion. He argues that truth is a regime within different societies. The theory suggests that power can be a tool of production (Robinson, 2001). This arguments refutes the concept that power is used to coerce minorities to behave in a certain manner. The government of Hong Kong believes that minority groups and Chinese from mainland must cooperate with local authorities. The government has been accused of surveillance and punishment to the minority group. According to Foucault, power transcends politics. Therefore, the government of Hong Kong does not necessarily need to use power to instill social order (Robinson, 2001). Many minorities’ members have been imprisoned because of petty offenses. The government should differentiate power from structure. This means that the state officers need to focus on changing behaviors rather than using surveillance, school discipline and administrative systems that control populations. The social programs in Hong Kong exempt Chinese from mainland and minority groups (Deleuze et al, 2006). HKSAR This initiative was intended to pursue free trade and protect the movement of goods and other assets which are intangible assets. The administrative region was charged with the role of ensuring that laws on taxes are approved and public interests are addressed. The powers of the HKSAR legislative council was in charge of trade and culture. Through the administration, minorities and Chinese from mainland were perceived to be unfairly targeted. New arrivals continue to cause problems from 2004 even after the new laws were established to protect the locals. The people in power appear to be more concerned with self preservation. The concept of neo-liberalism has become the obvious aftermath of the end of the British rule. The desire for self preservation and competition for resources has sparked a wave of racism between mainland and Hong Kong Chinese. After 1997, the residents of Hong Kong began to change their attitude towards Chinese from mainland. The cross border activities left many without jobs in Hong Kong city. This has caused leaders to use institutions to use power to control people in a certain ways. CSSA program The introduction of CSSA was meant to give the residents of Hong Kong access to special favors compared to other immigrants. The enforcement of CSSA is said to have caused many residents to become lazy as they had access to many fee resources. The government of Hong Kong is relatively small while the new arrivals continue to increase. Many immigrants feel discriminated. However, the policy on paper pledges equal chances to all. The HKSAK has been accused to extreme surveillance and punishment. The government appears to be using power to ensure law and order. This has been manifested by the number of prisoners in the city. According to Foucault, power is everywhere. Therefore, controlling societies with surveillance can end up being counterproductive. HKCSS The Hong Kong council of social service is an organization providing assistance and guidance to welfare agencies and non-governmental social services (Chu, 2005). The social service is known to represent government and non-governmental organizations in developing policies. Through HKCSS, often recognizes NGOs. This council is committed to ensuring the social skills of the social workers are developed (Alan, 2008). This happens through facilitating forums, conferences, workshops and seminars. The councils have opened resource and training programs. Social work procedures before handover by the British The history of social rights in Hong Kong is rooted in the Chinese history. The government was perceived to have unstoppable power in the Chinese dynasty (Chu, 2005). The Chinese government gives citizens rights and not privileges. Though the sentiments are beginning to wane, the citizens in the mainland have not accepted this reality. In Hong Kong, people cannot fight for what the government is bound to do (Knowles & Harper, 2009). From 1997, the social work processes began to change. The citizens have become empowered to participate in the programs that address societal concerns. After the British government left, Hong Kong turned social work into a smaller but effective system. This led to better organization and decentralization. According to HKCSS, 75 percent of the social work was funded by social welfare department in 2006. This is a government department for providing care and services to communities like child welfare (Alan, 2008). The social security system has been described as laissez-faire. It is dependent upon the economic growth. The integration of mainland and China has led to exposure to dangerous foods (Knowles & Harper, 2009). Education system in Hong Kong is used to prepare the social workers. Workers in Hong Kong must have a degree in social sciences. Impact of immigration Immigrants make unusual challenges in Hong Kong. The government has been using systemic force to instill fear and order. This touches on language and labor. Immigrants settle on lower socioeconomic area in the city. Immigrants from the mainland have to develop coping strategies in Hong Kong before settling. The ethnic minorities and immigrants below 15 find it difficult to settle in the schooling system entry levels in various subjects. Most of the immigrants from mainland get low skill jobs within the city. However, professionals are required to have work visas from local employers (Knowles & Harper, 2009). Hong Kong lacks a formal policy with regard to the multicultural set up. The heterogeneous society in the city attracts racial and economic prejudice. The legislative council has been promoting inclusiveness and diversity through respect and mutual understanding. Social policy New arrivals have a problem affording fees for international schools. The adequate funding the government of Hong Kong gives is based on the integration premise. A special emphasis is placed on learning Chinese more than the native language. The education authorities have continued to resist calls by the ethnic minorities to introduce a second language in the curriculum (Knowles & Harper, 2009). This has caused a decline in the rates on the participation in the education system. The after primary school less students is continuing to enroll in the secondary and tertiary levels. There is little effort to incorporate minorities into the education system by embracing multiculturalism. An increasing number of language teachers are being hired. Criticism to the social policy; racial discrimination Racial discrimination, although denied is a major problem in Hong Kong. The discrimination against the mainland immigrants is systemic rather than personal (Knowles & Harper, 2009). This means the challenge is complex. The victims have accepted the discrimination and even deny its existence. Racial discrimination refers to restriction or exclusion based on national, racial or descent with a purpose of impairing their recognition. In Hong Kong, the policy makers assume that a superior education system is the solution to the challenge of racism or discrimination. The elderly or children go through double discrimination in Hong Kong. They only get lower cadre levels of employment. Provision of equal opportunities in the nation is likely to promote social responsibility. The new arrivals in the nation are said to cause of competition for resources (Alan, 2008). Some of the social problems include family separation because of unfaithfulness. Hong Kong has been accused of benefiting from social skills from mainland Chinese but refusing to share the responsibilities that come with pollution (Teitelbaum & Asher, 2005). The migration has assisted in offsetting the city’s extremely low birthrate (Robinson, 2001). This comes from the aging population. This means that the recent immigrants from mainland add certain benefits to the Hong Kong government. Hong Kong offers better housing and many Chinese from the mainland are willing to spend weekends in the city (Alan, 2008). In turn, students from Hong Kong are considering because of affordable services like education. There is increased cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong which could lead to union of the city and mainland (Robinson, 2001). Hong Kong is considering equality as a source for improved services and diversity in terms of consumer base. This has increased innovation and productivity (Knowles & Harper, 2009). The policy makers in the city are acknowledging that an equitable society is likely to lead to enhanced reputation for the city. Discrimination and selective social policies have caused the city to have decreased creativity and breath of skills (Teitelbaum & Asher, 2005). The Chinese from the city are being urged to perceive discrimination as morally wrong. Hong Kong heavily depends of the global market place (Alan, 2008). Many investors are having been reluctant to invest in Hong Kong because of the nature of market investment in the city. The city plays a significant role in China and entire Asia. The firms are positions in an environment of the cultural diversity (Alan, 2008). in attracting human capital, the government of Hong Kong has had to develop strategies that make it easy to ethnic minorities and the recent immigrants to participate in the participate in the economic growth. New immigrants have been discriminated by the residents of Hong Kong (Knowles & Harper, 2009). In Hong Kong, organizations are established on the basis of birth place and family ties. The communities are also deeply religious. The city is increasingly spending money on unemployment (Tang, 2006). This means that the government has to rethink on strategies of becoming socially competitive. This has led to a major restructuring of the labor market in the city. The production is being shifted to mainland China. Hong Kong has not embraced social welfare like most industrialized nations. The government of Hong Kong is introducing reforms that aim at market-friendly net of social safety. The government has been responding to the aging. The transfer to China affected the economic growth of Hong Kong causing low growth (Tang, 2006). Therefore, Hong Kong has been exempted from social security reforms from Beijing. Hong Kong has a shortage of information technology workers. The problem is expected to intensify in future. The social security aims at becoming competitive and attractive globally. Many IT companies continue to shun Hong Kong because of discrimination (Knowles & Harper, 2009). Some of the important companies are shifting to Singapore because of racial discrimination. The quality of schooling is different for different societies. This means ethnic minorities and Chinese from mainland have access to poor services and have difficulties in choosing the schools to attend. The same challenge extends to employment opportunities and unavailability of access to services (Teitelbaum & Asher, 2005). Discriminatory treatment has led to a social service that is based on power or influence (Tsang & University of Hong Kong, 2009). The social and political rights of the immigrants from mainland are infringed systemically. The essence of social cohesion is to incorporate new immigrants from mainland in China (Tang, 2006). The social integration policies aim at addressing the needs of the underprivileged groups. The social work practices in Hong Kong are community based (Teitelbaum & Asher, 2005). However, the process in still evolving and participation is a major aspect in the process. The previous laws in Hong Kong have caused poverty and alimentation of the immigrants (Knowles & Harper, 2009). However, the fears are said to be unfounded. Chinese professionals from mainland are taken treated like any other foreigners. Therefore, they are not allowed to take the lower cadre jobs in Hong Kong (Alan, 2008). According to comprehensive social security assistance, the levels of discrimination have lessened. The scheme has led to a shift in the aging population leading to a sense of laxity. The low levels of education among minorities, poverty and little power disqualify them from quality social services like accommodation (Knowles & Harper, 2009). The political rights of the minorities are not guaranteed given that public officers insist that Chinese from mainland need to cooperate with locals. Conclusion The local authorities in Hong Kong are beginning to appreciate cultural diversity as a way of branding the city. Immigrants make valuable contributions in the Hong Kong economy. The multicultural approach aims at decreasing the levels of discrimination towards mainland Chinese professionals or immigrants. Ethnic minorities have been denied equal opportunities leading to a detachment in all levels of employment. The government does not have to use coercion when dealing with immigrants. The immigration policy has been accused of propagating the systemic discrimination. The same has extended to public transport, accommodation and public health. Mainland Chinese people have difficulties getting accommodation, getting property and politically participating in events. The education and law enforcement agencies need to embrace and inclusive approach to social services. References Alan T.K. Wan (2008). Wage Earnings of Chinese Immigrants: A Semi-Parametric Analysis. Asian Network for Scientific Information. Chu, C. Y. (2005). Foreign communities in Hong Kong, 1840s-1950s. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Deleuze, G., Hand, S., & Foucault, M. (2006). Foucault. London: Continuum. Knowles, C., & Harper, D. A. (2009). Hong Kong: Migrant lives, landscapes, and journeys. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Robinson, K. A. (2001). Michel Foucault and the freedom of thought. Lewiston, N.Y: E. Mellen Press. Tang, K. -L., & Chinese University of Hong Kong (2006). Racial discrimination in Hong Kong: Prevalence and impact. Hong Kong: Dept. of Social Work, Chinese University of Hong Kong. Teitelbaum, M., & Asher, R. (2005). Chinese immigrants. New York: Facts On File. Tsang, C., & University of Hong Kong (2009). Implementation of CSSA policy in Hong Kong: An assessment from the persectives of the frontline caseworkers. (Hub Collection. HKU Theses Online. Read More