Hong Kong: Migrant Lives, Landscapes, and Journeys (Fieldwork Encounters and Discoveries)

286 Pages·2010·7.06 MB·English

by  Caroline Knowles, Douglas Harper

hong kong
Caroline Knowles is professor of sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, and the
author of Race and Social Analysis.
Douglas Harper is professor of sociology at Duquesne University and the author of Changing
Works: Visions of a Lost Agriculture.
All photographs, with the exceptions of those on pages 222, 250, and 251 (photographers unknown),
are by Douglas Harper, and © 2009 by Douglas Harper
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2009 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2009
Printed in the United States of America
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 1 2 3 4 5
isbn-1 3: 978–0 -226–4 4856–5 (cloth)
isbn-1 3: 978–0 -226–4 4857–2 (paper)
isbn-1 0: 0-226-44856-8 (cloth)
isbn-1 0: 0-226-44857-6 (paper)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Knowles, Caroline, 1954–
Hong Kong : migrant lives, landscapes, and journeys / Caroline Knowles and Douglas Harper.
p. cm.
isbn 978-0-226-44856-5 (cloth : alk. paper ) — isbn 978-0-226-44857-2 (pbk. : alk paper)
1. Hong Kong (China)—Emigration and immigration. 2. British—China—Hong Kong—Social
conditions. 3. Hong Kong (China)—Ethnic relations. I. Harper, Douglas A. II. Title.
ds796.h79a25 2009
305.9′06912095125—dc22
2009007963
o The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National
Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI
Z39.48–1 992.
contents
Acknowledgments ix
Prologue xi
B E G I N N I N G S A N D E N D I N G S xiv
Arriving in Postcolonial Hong Kong 2
Framing Migration 6
Framing Migrants 12
Framing Hong Kong Chineseness 15
Framing Whiteness 16
Framing Empire and After 17
Framing the Investigation 18
Arranging the Dead 22
Soldiering On 27
Drying the Flag 29
M A K I N G N E W L I V E S 36
An Ordinary Life(style) 38
Day-t rip to Shenzhen 45
Inside the Expatriate Bubble 48
Fabricating the City 51
Moving On 59
T H E E N G L I S H B U S I N E SS 62
The Schools and Language Game 64
Trading Places 69
O L D C H I N A H A N D S 78
vi Riding the Waves 80
Managing Dis/L ocation 84
Island Life 86
“Britain Saddens Me” 90
Lifestyle Migration 92
The Baby 93
W O R K I N G G LO BA L SYST E M S 100
Corporate Lives/W ives 102
The United States and the Matrix of Global Dominance 105
“Choosers and Losers” 108
Chungking Mansions 116
Central Kowloon Mosque 123
Indian Food 126
L I F E AT T H E TO P 132
The Peak 134
Ladies Who Lunch 141
Tea? 149
S E R V I CE 154
Serving-C lass Migrants 156
Living inside Others’ Lives 157
Sundays in Statue Square 165
Relationships in the Philippines 171
Routes Out 174
B OYS ’ N I G H T O U T 178
Night and Day in Wanchai 180
Wanchai Warriors 183
The “Girlies” 193
C LU B B I N G 196
Club Scenes 198
United Services Recreation Club 200
Poolside with the Vicar’s Wife 203
Poolside with the Diver 205
“It’s time to pack up and go home” 208
Kowloon Cricket Club 210
O N PAT R O L 216
M I G R AT I O N R E V I S I T E D 226
E N D I N G S A N D B E G I N N I N G S 242
Bringing It All Back Home 244
Joyce 245
Notes 255
Bibliography 263
Index 269
vii
contents
acknowledgments
We warmly thank the British Academy for funding the research and photography
that made this book possible. We also thank Duquesne University, specifi cally the
offi ces of the Provost and the Dean of Liberal Arts, for fi nancial support. Many
thanks to colleagues, friends, and family for support of various kinds, particularly
Claire Alexander and Les Back for their insightful commentary on earlier versions
of this manuscript. Pauline Leonard was coresearcher and guide to Hong Kong in
the early stages of this project. Suzan Harper drew the maps. Most importantly,
we owe a huge debt of gratitude to those many informants who took the time to
tell us about their lives in Hong Kong and who treated us to their gracious hospi-
tality during numerous fi eldwork trips.
This book is the result of a collaborative eff ort: neither of us could have pro-
duced it alone. Douglas Harper’s part of the authorship is about the photographs,
which remain his intellectual property. Caroline Knowles’s contribution is the
writing, improved by Douglas’s editorial suggestions. Two of the six or more peri-
ods of fi eldwork were tackled together with lens and microphone. Responsibility
for all omissions and inadequacies lie squarely with us as coauthors.
Caroline Knowles
Goldsmiths University of London
Douglas Harper
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
May 2008