Transition in Hong Kong Family Tradition and Culture
Introduction
Hong Kong is considered as a primarily and mainly a Chinese society. 98% of the Hong Kong’s over all population (6.2 million) are all Chinese origin. That is the reason why, the citizens of the country had acquired the traditional culture into the various aspects of their personal life, social relations and their institutional arrangement in the entire society[1]. Most of the citizens from Hong Kong are immigrants from China that have carried the Chinese cultural tradition from the different part of China, more specifically from the Guangdong Province. Ninety percent of Hong Kong Chinese are Cantonese[2].
But the fact that the country has been under the rule or government of British, as well as other improvement and modernization phenomenon such as industrialization, urbanization and transformation during the past three decades, the country has become one of the most extremely Westernized and cosmopolitan city in the Asia. It had influence the country to have a dual culture, having Traditional Chinese and modern Western culture coexist, in expressing each and every part of their society[3].
The country has been a Colony of British from one and half centuries. The British were the one who presented the country’s administrative-legal framework within which the Chinese carry out their day by day lives and make living out of it[4].
Even though, the traditional Chinese is still highly visible in Hong Kong, the radical change in the social aspect of the country due to industrialization, modernization as well as globalization has inescapably brought about the deterioration of many traditional Chinese cultures, values and norms, of many aspects of life, more specifically in the family aspect[5]. A universal attribute and quality that is shared by all the Chinese societies in the world is the significant and vital place that is set and given to the family, which is also considered as the most essential institution in the society[6]. But there have been many studies as well as according to the observation of the citizen of the said country that shows that like other countries that are facing the stage of improvement and growth, there have been many changes that are happening to the current family system of the said country, leaving the traditional Chinese familism behind.
The Traditional Chinese Familism
There is a big difference between the traditional Chinese familism from the Western one, in terms of parenting style as well as relationships and bonds. In terms of relationship and bonds, the traditional Chinese familism shows a strong bond between the parents and the children. Children have the obligation to show reverence as well as respect towards their parents. In terms of parenting, the traditional Chinese is much more controlling and restrictive than the West. Evaluation of the parents about their children is an important matter. Due to the said fact, parents are more ready to apply negative labels to their children when their children disappoint them by doing bad or disgraceful things[7].
Another important characteristic of the traditional Chinese familism in Hong Kong is that female or the mother is the one that is in responsible of the housework. The result of the Harmony House shows that it is important for the female to be a home-nurses than the male, thus, housework are considered as extra works for the male. Another thing, is that it has also showed that female spend their 4 – 6 hours for daily housework in average, while the male spend half to one hour[8].
Another factor that is important about the traditional Chinese familism, is that the family is just like any kinship system that gives its member the distinct rights, responsibilities and duties that is entitled of obligations[9].
Majority of the family in Hong Kong are nuclear family. During 1991, there were total of 61.6% of nuclear family in the entire family population, or a total of 1, 582,215 families[10]. The said statistics shows the family culture of the traditional Chinese of strong family bonding and relationship. The said relationship include support and care for the old members of the family as well as financial and other aspect support for siblings regardless of their age.
Transition in the Family System of Hong Kong
The world is changing over night. Everyday, there are new technologies and innovations that are invented and applied in different aspects and fields of the world. Change is an inevitable thing, and the world is facing a speedy or hasty constant change. Change is driven by different factors, such as, influence, development, technology, innovation and the needs to adapt to the current situation of the world.
It has been stated in the previous part of paper that Hong Kong has been one of the most developing countries in Asia; the country has improved itself in terms of tourism, health and government. In fact it has been one of the shopping capitals of the world. But there are consequences in any change or development. The culture of the country had been starting to change based on the studies that are conducted to the families in Hong Kong. It has been observed that the traditional Chinese family customs are now considered as history. There have been many family traditions and customs that are now starting to vanish.
Female or Mother is Responsible for the Household Works
The traditional Chinese family systems demonstrates that female members of the family, more especially, mothers are the one that is responsible for the different household chores or household works. This is the opposite of the fact that male members of the family are responsible for the financial aspect or need of the family.
The said tradition has been part of many family systems of many societies in the world, it shows the male ego, where in the girls or the women are destined to be a housekeeper or a caregiver for their children and old parents. It has been part of the Hong Kong family custom for a long period of time, but due to many reasons, it has begun to change during past few years.
There are many phenomenon that shows that the traditional Chinese familism in terms of full responsibility of women in housekeeping or house works. There are more and more women who are joining the labor force. In 1991, there are more than 1 million out of the total of 2.8 million of employed citizen of the country are female[11]. During the period of 1986 up to 2005, the participation of women in the labor force had increased in the entire age bracket, except those from aged 15-24 and 60& above. In 2005, the number of female in the labor force has increased by a total of 622,000, which is considered as more than double than the recorded increase for the male labor force in the same period. In addition to that, the number of the male who participates in the labor force has decrease, mainly in the young person groups aged 15-19 and the older person aged 60 and above[12].
The growth of the number of maid servant in Hong Kong is another sign of the diminishing family tradition of the country with regards to the role of the female members of the family to take care or nurse other family member, more especially the mothers. In fact during 1996, there have been a total of more than 80,000 imported domestic maidservants[13] that are from different part of the world, but more specifically in the Philippines. The said condition is the effect of the involvement of females, or mothers in the labor force.
The increase of employed women in the labor force has a great impact that had helped to change the family culture in Hong Kong. It had an effect to the overall family decision-making process as well as the differentiation of the sex role within the family[14].
Another important impact of the said situation to the family system is the intact or close bond and relationship between the parents and the children, if both of the parents are into their work, there’s a big possibility that they will be lacking in time to spend with their children.
The Nuclear Structure of Family
Nuclear family is the most used nuclear family structure in Hong Kong; this is again, part of the culture of close family ties that have been adapted from the traditional Chinese familism. It is the structure of the family that is more extensive than the extended family. When a child marries, he or she, together with his or her new family will live together with their parents, together with other siblings. As a matter of fact, the nuclear family structure is still the most used structure in Hong Kong, next are the stem family, the extended family, the single person and the rest. As a matter of fact, the percentage of the nuclear family has increased in 1991[15].
But according to the Census & Statistics Department of Hong Kong (1991, p. 59), the number of the vertically extended nuclear families or known as the three-generation families has stood at 10.7% of all the household in the country, making it decrease from 13.6% during 1981[16]. The average household size of Hong Kong from 1991 has dropped from 3.4 persons to 3.0 of 2006[17].
There have been many factors that are associated to the decrease of the vertically extended nuclear families. One of the primary reasons is the fact that there are many families who are moving to another town, and those families are made up of young couples and their children. There are many reasons why family move to a new town, one of this is their conflict to their parents or conflict of their husband or wife to their in-laws. Another reason is the development of other town that gives the family the security about their financial needs[18]. The family will have to move to another town for a job. It can also be associated with the increasing relationship between mainland China and Hong Kong. The number of the cross border marriage has increased from 17.9% in 2001 to 36.3% during 2004[19].
Conclusion
Although, there have been many changes that have happened in the family system of Hong Kong. Such as the size of the person in each family and more primarily the role of female inside the house, it is not fair to say that the traditional Chinese familism is already a history. Just like what have mentioned in the previous part of the paper, change is inevitable, it is a need for any group, association and nation in order to cope to the fast changing track of the world. Without change, there will be no improvement and development in the world. The reason why, the world is taking advantage of different technologies and innovation, is because the first human or our predecessors were not afraid for a change, and took advantage of the opportunity to evolve.
The said situation is just like the case of the transition of the culture and customs of the families in Hong Kong. The change of the role of the women in the society is just a sign of equal rights that is implemented in the country. It shows freedom and justice. On the other hand, the freedom is also related to the decrease of the number of person that are involved in a family, it only shows that the citizen of Hong Kong are ready to face whatever challenges they will encounter on their own.
It is not true that the traditional Chinese familism is no longer practice, in fact according to the study of Professor Ming-kwan, he had found out that the citizen of the said country are still aware that they children has an obligation or responsibility about their parents, together with their support to their siblings[20]. All of the said results signifies that the most important aspects of the traditional Chinese familism are not yet forgotten, neither not yet a history.
Bibliography
Chan, Hoiman and P. L. Rance Lee “Hong Kong Families: At the Crossroads of Modernism and Traditionalism,” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 26, no. 1 (2002): 83 – 91
Cheung, Yuet, “Family, School Peer and Media Predictors of Adolescent Devian Behavior in Hong Kong.” Journal of Youth and Adolescent 26, no. 5 (1997): 569 – 580
Family Structure in Hong Kong. All Experts, China & Hong Kong, 2005, accessed 13 February 2008, available from http://en.allexperts.com/q/Ch ina-Hong-Kong-19 1/Family-structure-Hong-Kong.htm; Internet
HKCSS. Background Information. Family & Community Service in Hong Kong, 2007, accessed 13 February 2008; available from http://www.hkcss.org.h k/download/folder/fc/fc _eng.htm; Internet
Ming-kwan, Lee. Hong Kong’s Family Trends and Their Policy Implications. Hong Kong Polytechnic University, accessed 13 February 2008; available from http://www.cpu.gov.hk/english/documents/con ference/20001124mklee.pdf; Internet
Sussman, Marvin B. and S. Roma Hanks, Intercultural Variation in Family Research and Theory: Implications for Cross-National Studies. Haworth Press, 1996
Women’s Commission WoC, Women and Men in Hong Konh. Census and Statistics Department, 2006, accessed 13 February 2008; available from http://www.women.gov .hk/download/woc-18-06-key -sta tistics2006-e.pdf; Internet
[1] Yuet Cheung, “Family, School Peer and Media Predictors of Adolescent Devian Behavior in Hong Kong,” Journal of Youth and Adolescent 26, no. 5 (1997): 569
[2] Hoiman Chan and P. L. Lee Rance “Hong Kong Families: At the Crossroads of Modernism and Traditionalism,” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 26, no. 1 (2002): 83
[3] Yuet Cheung, “Family, School Peer and Media Predictors of Adolescent Devian Behavior in Hong Kong,” Journal of Youth and Adolescent 26, no. 5 (1997): 569
[4] Hoiman Chan and P. L. Lee Rance “Hong Kong Families: At the Crossroads of Modernism and Traditionalism,” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 26, no. 1 (2002): 83
[5] Ibid.
[6] Marvin B. Sussman and S. Roma Hanks, Intercultural Variation in Family Research and Theory: Implications for Cross-National Studies (Haworth Press, 1996), 55 – 56
[7] Yuet Cheung, “Family, School Peer and Media Predictors of Adolescent Devian Behavior in Hong Kong,” Journal of Youth and Adolescent 26, no. 5 (1997): 569
[8] Family Structure in Hong Kong, (All Experts, China & Hong Kong, 2005, accessed 13 February 2008); available from http://en.allexperts.com/q/Ch ina-Hong-Kong-19 1/Family-structure-Hong-Kong.htm; Internet
[9] Marvin B. Sussman and S. Roma Hanks, Intercultural Variation in Family Research and Theory: Implications for Cross-National Studies (Haworth Press, 1996), 56, cited from Chow, 1990
[10] Hoiman Chan and P. L. Lee Rance “Hong Kong Families: At the Crossroads of Modernism and Traditionalism,” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 26, no. 1 (2002): 83
[11] Marvin B. Sussman and S. Roma Hanks, Intercultural Variation in Family Research and Theory: Implications for Cross-National Studies (Haworth Press, 1996), 61
[12] Women’s Commission WoC, Women and Men in Hong Kong (Census and Statistics Department, 2006, accessed 13 February 2008), available from http://www.women.gov.hk/ download/woc-18-06-key -sta tistics2006-e.pdf; Internet
[13] Marvin B. Sussman and S. Roma Hanks, Intercultural Variation in Family Research and Theory: Implications for Cross-National Studies (Haworth Press, 1996), 55 – 56
[14] Ibid.
[15] Hoiman Chan and P. L. Lee Rance “Hong Kong Families: At the Crossroads of Modernism and Traditionalism,” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 26, no. 1 (2002): 83
[16] Marvin B. Sussman and S. Roma Hanks, Intercultural Variation in Family Research and Theory: Implications for Cross-National Studies (Haworth Press, 1996), 61
[17] HKCSS. Background Information (Family & Community Service in Hong Kong, 2007, accessed 13 February 2008); available from http://www.hkcss.org.hk/download/folder/fc/fc_eng.htm; Internet
[18] Marvin B. Sussman and S. Roma Hanks, Intercultural Variation in Family Research and Theory: Implications for Cross-National Studies (Haworth Press, 1996), 61
[19] HKCSS. Background Information (Family & Community Service in Hong Kong, 2007, accessed 13 February 2008); available from http://www.hkcss.org.hk/download/folder/fc/fc_eng.htm; Internet
[20] Ming-kwan, Lee. Hong Kong’s Family Trends and Their Policy Implications. (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, accessed 13 February 2008); available from http://www.cpu.gov.hk/englis h/documents/con ference/20001124mklee.pdf; Internet
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