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Ecology / Environmental Studies

Ecology / Environmental Studies

American women have lived in Hong Kong, and in neighboring Macao, for nearly two centuries. Many were changed by their encounter with Chinese life and British colonialism. Their openness to new experiences set them apart both individually and as a group. Equally, a certain "pedagogical impulse" gave them a reputation for outspokenness that sometimes troubled those around them. Drawing on memoirs, diaries, newspapers, film, and other texts, Stacilee Ford tells the stories of several American women and explores how, through dramatically changing times, they communicated their notions of national identity and gender. Troubling American Women is a lively and provocative study of cross-cultural encounters, shedding light on the connections between the histories of Hong Kong and the US, on the impact of Americanization in Hong Kong, and on the ways in which Hong Kong people used stereotypes of American womanhood in popular culture. Troubling American Women will appeal to students and scholars in history, gender and cultural studies and to all readers with an interest in the encounter between China and the West.

In this pioneering study, Sheilah Hamilton shows that, from the earliest days of British rule, the colonial administration introduced harsh legislation to control Chinese watchmen who were employed to protect the fledgling colony's property in the absence of an effective public police force. She examines the growth in different Hong Kong Government departments of what would now be regarded as 'hybrid' police and argues that the existence of such posts within the civil service resulted in greater social control of the local Chinese community at minimal extra expense. Amongst the topics of private security explored are the impact of the few private security personnel engaged by local Chinese organizations such as the Nam Pak Hong, Tung Wah Hospital and Po Leung Kuk; the evolution of the District Watch Force from a force engaged in purely local security duties to an arm of the Hong Kong Government involved in non-security matters such as controversial sanitary inspections; and the unique system of village guards and scouts in the New Territories. A particular focus is the early maritime security problems and the internal security forces of Hong Kong's shipping companies. A final chapter compares the situation in Hong Kong and explores the similarities and differences with Shanghai during the period.

Urban Studies / China