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Article
Publication date: 9 April 2018

Victor Wong and Tat Chor Au-Yeung

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the youth narratives of Mr Leung Chun-ying, the Chief Executive (CE) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the youth narratives of Mr Leung Chun-ying, the Chief Executive (CE) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government between 2012 and 2017, which steered the directions of youth policies in Hong Kong.

Design/methodology/approach

Informed by the ideational school of institutionalism, a qualitative documentary study was conducted to analyse the policy addresses, speeches, and blog posts delivered by the then CE, which were all available on the website of the HKSAR Government. It was through a thematic analysis of the database that themes and sub-themes were generated for the discussion. Representative verbatim quotes are used for illustrating some of the youth policy ideas and discourses promoted under the Leung’s regime.

Findings

The findings suggest that the governing youth narratives could be categorised into two interrelated themes: behavioural patriotism and economic opportunism. The notions of youth development constructed in the narratives of Leung shape the definition of youth-related problems and solutions in relation to national identity and global competition.

Research limitations/implications

This study focusses on the previous term of HKSAR Government that cannot fully reveal the extent of policy continuities and changes. Yet, it could outline the overall picture and address the shortcomings of Hong Kong’s current youth policies viewed from both normative and cognitive perspectives. Methodological and analytical implications can be drawn for further studies on policy ideas and discourses.

Originality/value

The paper has two major contributions; the first of which is the illustration of an analytical framework connecting contents, tools, and justification of policies for capturing the dynamics and complexities of youth policies. Second, the findings of this study develop a critical understanding of neoliberal youth policies in both economic and moral senses that pose new challenges to young people and policy makers.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 38 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

From Human to Post Human Security in Latin America: Examples and Reflections from Across the Region
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-253-9

Article
Publication date: 5 September 2016

Victor Zheng and Siu-Lun Wong

The Li & Fung Group, a century-old, family-controlled multinational group of companies based in Hong Kong, seems to be an exception to the traditional perception of Chinese family…

Abstract

Purpose

The Li & Fung Group, a century-old, family-controlled multinational group of companies based in Hong Kong, seems to be an exception to the traditional perception of Chinese family business. The aim of this paper is to explore why this company can overcome the fatalism that “family business could not pass on over three generations”.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper will use in-depth case study as key methodology for exploring key research question of family business sustainability. Archival data, including company registration records, newspaper reports, biographical materials and company annual reports, etc., are major secondary data that will be used for qualitative analysis.

Findings

The important findings in this paper is that the authors can identify key ways for solving family conflict and business continuity. Through in-depth study, the authors argue that because Li & Fung can effectively adopt the “pruning the family tree” mechanism and “listing and de-listing” mechanism during critical stages of succession and development, it has flourished for over a century and is therefore a model for other Chinese family businesses to follow.

Research limitations/implications

Because the authors did not conduct personal interviews with the family members of the company, the authors do not have “insiders’ view” on the company development. Also, it is a century-old company, and many historical data cannot be obtained, so some of the developments would not be fully explained and understood.

Practical implications

It can let family business owners, staffs working in family business and professionals serving family business know better that although there are negative sides of family business, their positive sides should not be underestimated. If a proper mechanism can be rightly executed, its negative side could be large reduced, whereas its positive side could be better enhanced.

Social implications

This paper can offer insightful implication to the society that family business, in fact, is highly dynamic. It not only creates jobs by offering services and producing goods but stimulates economic development as family the fertile ground for breeding entrepreneurship.

Originality/value

There is no analysis in the academia in exploring the Li & Fung Group’s development from the perspective of leadership and ownership competition. So, the originality of this paper is very high.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 1998

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/09513559710156724. When citing the…

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Abstract

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/09513559710156724. When citing the article, please cite: Victor C.W. Wong, Sammy W.S. Chiu, (1997), “Health-care reforms in the Peopleʼs Republic of China: Strategies and social implications”, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 10 Iss: 1/2, pp. 76 - 92.

Details

Journal of Management in Medicine, vol. 12 no. 4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-9235

Article
Publication date: 3 October 2016

Victor Zheng and Siu-lun Wong

The paper aims to explore the road to independence of the less-fortunate women in early Hong Kong society and their means in passing of wealth after death. In the 1970s, about 400…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to explore the road to independence of the less-fortunate women in early Hong Kong society and their means in passing of wealth after death. In the 1970s, about 400 Chinese wills from the 1840s to the 1940s were dug up on a construction site in Hong Kong. One-fourth of these were from women who had held a substantial amount of property. How they obtained this property intrigued us because, at that time, women were seen as subordinate to men and excluded from the labor market. Why they had wills led to further questions about Hong Kong society of that time and the role of women in it.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis of this paper is based on archival data gathered from the Hong Kong Public Records Office. These data include 98 women’s wills filed from the 1840s to the 1940s and a 500-page government investigation report on the prostitution industry released in 1879. The former recorded valuable information of brief testators’ family and personal life history, amount of assets, and profolio of investment, etc. The latter included testimonials of brothel keepers and prostitutes and their life stories and the background of legalizing prostitution in early Hong Kong. Apart from basic quantitative analysis on women’s marital status, number of properties, nature of wills and number of brothels, qualitative analysis is directed to review the testator’s life of self-reliance, wealth accumulation and reasons of using wills for arranging wealth transmission after death.

Findings

In this paper, the authors found that because the colonial government declared prostitution legal, and only women could obtain employment by becoming prostitutes or brothel keepers, they earned their own livelihood, saved money and finally became independent. However, because these professions were not seen as “decent”, and these women were excluded from the formal marriage system, intestacy could cause problems for them. Through their socio-business connections, they became familiar with the Western concept of testate inheritance. So, they tended to use wills – a legal document by which a person assigns someone to distribute his or her property according to his or her wishes after his or her death – to assign their property.

Research limitations/implications

Because only archival data are chosen for analysis, the research results may lack generalizability. Follow-up researches to examine whether the studied women acquired their wealth through their own work or simply as gifts from others are required.

Originality/value

This paper explores the understudied women’s life and method of estate passing after death in the early Hong Kong society. It fills the academic gap of women’s contribution to Hong Kong’s success and enriches our understanding on the important factors that could attribute women’s real independence.

Details

Social Transformations in Chinese Societies, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1871-2673

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 July 2012

Victor Wong

The purpose of this paper is to critically discuss state inaction on and NGO responses to the hidden problem of youth disengagement in the form of social withdrawal.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to critically discuss state inaction on and NGO responses to the hidden problem of youth disengagement in the form of social withdrawal.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on data drawn from six focus groups of social workers working with youths experiencing the problem of social withdrawal and another 30 individual interviews with service users having had this vulnerable background.

Findings

Substantiated with empirical findings, the paper argues that young people in social withdrawal characterized by their socially avoidant behavior and deprivation of an engagement status as a worker, student or trainee are largely invisible to the state because of the latter's insensitivity to the heterogeneity and diversity of disengaged youth and reproduction of the anti‐social notion of at‐risk youth. A flexible and tailor‐made strategy initiated by an NGO is argued to be more effective in meeting the needs of silently‐disengaged young people.

Originality/value

This paper critically examines state inaction on the problem of youth disengagement in the form of social withdrawal and argues the importance of adopting a flexible and tailor‐made strategy with regard to both outreaching and service provision efforts.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 32 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2005

Victor Wong and Sammy Chiu

This article discusses the reasons and discourses adopted by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (Hong Kong SAR Government), with Mr Tung Chee Hwa as the Chief…

Abstract

This article discusses the reasons and discourses adopted by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (Hong Kong SAR Government), with Mr Tung Chee Hwa as the Chief Executive, in preparing young people to become more mature and responsible. In the Hong Kong context this means they should be willing to fulfil community obligations and opt for consultation rather than confrontation should individual or community rights be sought. Confucianism, named after Confucius (551‐479 BCE), has been and still is a vast and complicated system of philosophies, morals, rituals, and ideas, which for well over 2,000 years has informed and inspired the thinking and practice of countless people in Chinese societies and Asian countries in all important areas, including the economy and the polity (Tu, 1998a; Berthrong & Berthrong, 2000; Yao, 2002). Put simply, the goal of Confucian life is to create a peaceful world, with its ethical emphasis placed on the cultivation of the self and the promotion of harmonious and respectful relations with other people in different spheres of human activities.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 25 no. 10/11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2006

Victor Wong and Loretta Wong

This paper aims to examine the management strategies adopted by older people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) to conceal their positive status in healthcare settings, and their…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the management strategies adopted by older people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) to conceal their positive status in healthcare settings, and their responses taken and means used to cope with the stigmatizing and exclusionary effects as a result of the disclosure of their status by/to healthcare workers.

Design/methodology/approach

Under the auspices of a local NGO in Hong Kong, a total of seven male older PHAs aged 55 or above from pre‐existing HIV/AIDS self‐help groups were recruited for two separate focus groups. A thematic approach was adopted for data analysis and specific themes identification.

Findings

An analysis of the data revealed that older PHAs did exercise their own agency in preventing against and managing stigma in their access to and use of health care services. Two more specific themes around “sign of disapproval” and “discriminatory practice” as barriers to access were also identified.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the small sample size, the pattern of stigmatization experiences and coping strategies cannot claim to be representative of the complete picture of the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.

Originality/value

This is the first exploratory study of the stigmatization and devaluation suffered by older PHAs in healthcare settings in the context of Hong Kong. It also explored in details the pros and cons of the stigma management strategies employed by this vulnerable group of patients. The implications for practice both on the side of healthcare workers and policy makers and that of PHAs were discussed.

Details

Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7266

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 November 2010

Eduardo Roca, Victor S.H. Wong and Gurudeo Anand Tularam

This study seeks to investigate the extent and structure of equity price interdependence among the socially responsible investment (SRI) markets of Australia, Canada, Japan, UK…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study seeks to investigate the extent and structure of equity price interdependence among the socially responsible investment (SRI) markets of Australia, Canada, Japan, UK and USA over the period 1994‐2010.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines the degree of price co‐movement between SRI markets by using a vector autoregression analysis to identify the markets which have significant price co‐movements. Subsequently, a variance decomposition analysis is conducted among the markets which are significantly related in order to determine the extent of interaction between these markets and to identify the markets that are most and least influential.

Findings

The results show that the SRI markets are significantly interdependent and have become more so over the years. The USA and the UK are the markets most linked to others while Canada and Australia are the most influential. However, although the markets are significantly integrated, the level of integration is still at a low level.

Originality/value

This is the first known study to examine price linkages among international SRI markets. This knowledge is important for investors as the benefits from international diversification depends on the extent of linkages between different SRI markets. Such knowledge is also valuable for policymakers and regulators if they are to address international contagion risk between markets. The study found that SRI markets are significantly linked; however, the level of linkages is still at a relatively low level. This implies that there are still significant benefits to be derived by SRI investors through international diversification.

Details

Accounting Research Journal, vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1030-9616

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1997

Victor C.W. Wong and Sammy W.S. Chiu

Analyses the features, strategies and characteristics of health‐care reforms in the People’s Republic of China. Since the fourteenth Central Committee of the Chinese Communist…

990

Abstract

Analyses the features, strategies and characteristics of health‐care reforms in the People’s Republic of China. Since the fourteenth Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party held in 1992, an emphasis has been placed on reform strategies such as cost recovery, profit making, diversification of services, and development of alternative financing strategies in respect of health‐care services provided in the public sector. Argues that the reform strategies employed have created new problems before solving the old ones. Inflation of medical cost has been elevated very rapidly. The de‐linkage of state finance bureau and health service providers has also contributed to the transfer of tension from the state to the enterprises. There is no sign that quasi‐public health‐care insurance is able to resolve these problems. Finally, co‐operative medicine in the rural areas has been largely dismantled, though this direction is going against the will of the state. Argues that a new balance of responsibility has to be developed as a top social priority between the state, enterprises and service users in China in order to meet the health‐care needs of the people.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 10 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

Keywords

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