No Authority Is Beyond Challenge

The Decline of Authority: Phenomena and Factors

Recent years have seen a decline in the authority of Hong Kong's political, economic and social leaders. The media have made it their business to ridicule and vilify public figures, exercises which the general public accept with great relish. Demonstrations have become more frequent and violent in some cases. Young people's respect for headmasters and teachers has diminished tremendously — in secondary schools it is not surprising to find students hurling swear words at teachers, and in the universities the vice-chancellors have found it increasingly difficult to maintain the dignity and image that their predecessors used to enjoy.

Prof. S.K. Lau of the Sociology Department of The Chinese University of Hong Kong sees substantial links between the decline in authority and problems brought about by 1997. With the change of government in 1997 new figures will inevitably emerge to assume power and leadership, and existing leaders will either be phased out or have to change their roles. The erosion of authority and diminution of respect for leaders are thus quite anticipated.

Taking the community as a whole, people are generally better educated nowadays and possess a more defined notion of freedom and democracy and in that way are more ready to challenge political and social leaders. On the other hand, during the past decade or so, the cleavage between the rich and the poor has grown even wider than before, and people of the lower classes have become increasingly aware of social injustice and their limited chances for personal growth. And then the wealthy are now more prone to flaunt their wealth. Conflict thus arises, and those in the lower strata are apt to think that their `betters' achieve eminence by sheer luck or inheritance and therefore undeserving of their approval and respect.

The decline in authority means that there is no more absolute authority within the social framework which is beyond challenge. What come with this phenomenon are various kinds of social conflict, and in particular political conflicts. Anytime a major issue crops up it stands a good chance of being politicized nowadays.

It is the opinion of Prof. Lau that such conflicts may yet have their positive implications. He believes that, if properly managed, the conflicts may help to facilitate social reintegration by strengthening social and family awareness and enhancing people's aptitude to push for their rights through concerted efforts.

The years immediately leading up to 1997 are a crucial, exceptional time for Hong Kong. The development of Hong Kong hinges on a number of factors which are yet undefined: how Hong Kong will face up to the one-country, two-systems reality, whether there will be a steady, stable transition, and so on. But in that way, Hong Kong is also offering to sociologists a rare occasion for the development and verification of social theories which will eventually benefit the community as a whole.

In early 1994 Prof. Lau launched a research project on social changes in Hong Kong during the last few years of British rule. Involved in the project are academics from a number of tertiary education institutions in Hong Kong as well as scholars from Yale University: Prof. Wong Siu-lun, Mr. Lee Ming-kwan, Prof. Helen Siu, Dr. Lui Tai-lok, Dr. Ng Chun Hung, Ms. Wan Po-san, and Dr. Thomas W.P. Wong. The project is financed with a $1.2 million grant from the Research Grants Council.

In what ways is a better understanding of social changes in the next few years relevant to the interest of the citizens of Hong Kong?

Academically speaking, there are very few precedents of colonies being returned to countries from which they were taken. This is why Hong Kong is academically interesting, and Prof. Lau proposes to tackle the issue from the following angles:

(a) The political conflict, cultural change, and changes in the identity, rights and obligations of the Hong Kong citizen that will appear after the end of colonial rule;

(b) The problems that will occur under the one-country, two-systems arrangements, for example, Hong Kong's relationship with China, and problems that will surface when the Chinese mode of management/government is being introduced into Hong Kong;

(c) How social changes in Hong Kong will be oriented after socialist China resumes sovereignty;

(d) The progress of democratization in Hong Kong.

Great as it is, the academic value of this research project is far outweighed by the project's social significance. The researchers, being Hong Kong citizens or Hong Kong-belongers, are deeply concerned with social stability and growth in the territory. They hope that, through their research, they could identify factors that are conducive to social reintegration which will in turn bring about a more solidary society, serve as new bases of community belongingness, and enhance community well-being.

Prof. Lau and his colleagues have divided the project into a number of sub-projects which will, at different levels, study problems related to decline in authority, social conflicts and social reintegration:

(a) Social and political leaders — the decline in authority of social and political leaders and the social factors contributing to such a phenomenon;

(b) Popular culture — how the media react to and reflect rapid changes in society and how they reflect decline in authority and social conflicts. It is expected that through a study of the changes in the form and content of the media, the mentality, behaviour and inter-personal relationships of Hong Kong citizens, and the uniqueness of Hong Kong culture may be better understood;

(c) Education — the equity of the educational system in Hong Kong, the authority of the teacher, the standard of education, and the role of the intelligentsia;

(d) Religion — the activities of various religions in Hong Kong in recent years, people's sense of religiosity, the possible correlation between a heightened sense of the religious and the decline in authority, the possibility of religious authority becoming the new dominant authority in society, and the relationship between a heightened faith in religion and changes in cultural ethos;

(e) The petite bourgeoisie — how do members of the petite bourgeoisie view Hong Kong in transition, and how do they view their own role in this process. In the past the lower middle class nurtured a Hong Kong dream, one in which the streets of the territory were strewn with gold and opportunities were boundless. The study will chart changes in this dream.

Materials for this study will be gathered by means of questionnaires, personal interviews, site research, and collection and analysis of documentary data. The project is still in its conceptual and preliminary data collection stage and is expected to take three years, that is, until 1996, to complete. Prof. Lau himself is chiefly responsible for the study on the ethos of the Hong Kong people, and a large-scale questionnaire has begun in May 1994.