Social Conflicts in Hong Kong, 1975-1986

Social Conflicts in Hong Kong, 1975—1986: Trends and Implications This study aims to research into social conflicts in Hong Kong since the mid-1970s when the territory began to undergo significant economic, social and, eventually, political changes. Such changes have affected the political culture of local Chinese and the way they perceive the role of government as the provider for their needs and the solver of their problems. The study is premised on the assumption that any transformation in the political values and attitudes of the people would have been reflected in their behaviours and actions, and attempts to capture such changing behaviours and actions through an observation of the pattern of social conflicts that occurred during the period of change. The study has revealed that in general, people have become more willing to agitate, by way of conflict, for an improvement in the quality of life and in their political and civil rights. Most of the social conflicts identified are sectoral or localized ones, indicating that sectional and local interests have increasingly been articulated within the social arena, requiring responses or interventions by the public authorities. More issues are likely than in the past to be susceptible to articulation in the form of social conflict targetted at the polity, reflecting a changing interface between society and polity that carries with it changing demands and expectations.