Contents
Preface
iii
Glossary
1
Core Module I:
Personal Development
2
Core Module II:
Characteristics of Hong Kong Society
6
Core Module III:
Development of Modern China
11
Core Module IV:
Globalization
17
Optional Module I:
Religion and Life
23
Optional Module II:
Human-Environment Relationship
30
Optional Module III: Relationship between Mass Media and Modern Culture 34
Exemplary Learning Activities
39
Exemplar 1
Core Module I – 2 c
40
Exemplar 2
Core Module II – 1 a
54
Exemplar 3
Core Module II – 1 b
66
Exemplar 4
Core Module II – 1 c
82
Exemplar 5
Core Module III – 1 a
95
Exemplar 6
Core Module III – 1 b
112
Exemplar 7
Core Module III – 2 a
132
Exemplar 8
Core Module IV – 1 a, 1 b
148
i
Exemplar 9
Optional Module I – 3 b
169
Exemplar 10
Optional Module II – 1 a
177
Exemplar 11
Optional Module III – 1 c
182
Exemplar 12
Optional Module III – 1 c
192
ii
Preface
Among its recent proposals for education reform in Hong Kong, the Education
Commission recommends the provision of ‘a broad senior secondary curriculum to
enable students to acquire experiences in various key learning areas, construct a broad
knowledge base and enhance their ability to analyze problems’ (Education
Commission, September 2000). The Integrated Humanities (IH) (S4-5), designed
primarily for students not taking any subjects in the Personal, Social and Humanities
Education Key Learning Area (PSHE KLA), represents a response to this proposal. It
seeks to provide students, particularly those of the science and technology-oriented
streams, with learning experience in the PSHE KLA which seeks to build a broad
knowledge base and a rich repertoire of skills and abilities.
The Supporting Materials on Integrated Humanities (S4-5): Glossary and
Exemplary Learning Activities is part of a series of learning and teaching materials
being developed by the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) for the
implementation of the new subject.
The General Education Centre (GEC) of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University
(HKPolyU) has been commissioned by EMB to prepare this booklet. Authorship is
duly acknowledged in the glossary for the modules as well as in each exemplary
learning activity.
The PSHE Section of the Curriculum Development Institute, EMB has taken up
the responsibility to edit and polish the glossary and the exemplary learning activities
iii
to make them better suit the contexts of local secondary schools.
Schools are encouraged to adapt the materials for educational use according to
their contexts. NO part of the documents shall be duplicated for commercial purposes.
We welcome feedback and suggestions from teachers. Please send them to:
Chief Curriculum Development Officer (Personal, Social and
Humanities Education)
Curriculum Development Institute
Education and Manpower Bureau
13/F Wu Chung House
213 Queen’s Road East
Wan Chai
Hong Kong
or by e-mail to pshe@emb.gov.hk, or by fax on 2573 5299 / 2575 4318.
For further enquiries, please contact the PSHE Section, Curriculum Development
Institute (CDI) on 2892 5735 or 2892 5859.
iv
Glossary
This Glossary is compiled to facilitate teachers’ understanding of the concepts related
to the different modules of the Integrated Humanities (S4-5) Curriculum. It is by no
means an authoritative dictionary on the subject. It is not intended for use by students.
There are terms that have more than one entry in the glossary. When they do, they
carry varied emphases according to their different contexts.
1
Glossary – Core Module I
Core Module I
Personal Development1
Anger
Anger is a responsive emotion, which is based on the belief
that an offence has occurred, together with a desire to punish
the offender for the offence.
Commitment
An engagement or undertaking of an obligation which
restricts one’s freedom of action. Being committed to a
relationship does not imply that one will never give up that
relationship, but it does imply that one will not abandon the
relationship as soon as it becomes unpleasant or ceases to be
personally beneficial. An engagement or undertaking of an
obligation restricts one’s freedom of action.
Consequences
The states of affairs brought forth by one’s action.
Consequences include direct and indirect consequences.
There are different conceptions of consequences, including
intended consequences, actual consequences, and reasonably
expected consequences. The conception of consequences
most relevant to moral appraisal is reasonably expected
consequences.
Duty
What a person is morally required to do (moral duty). What a
person is required to do on the basis of her role or occupation
is also called duty (role duty or occupational duty).
Empathy
The ability of seeing things from another person’s
perspective such that one can fully understand the feeling of
that person. Empathy is not the same as “sympathy”. To be
able to fully understand another person’s feeling does not
mean that we share the person’s feeling. For example, we
may understand why a person is so angry without sharing the
anger of the person.
Envy
Envy is hatred of others because of their possessions,
achievements or virtues.
Equality
Equality does not mean “sameness”. Equality usually refers
to equal political status or equal rights. Men and women, the
rich and the poor, white and black, are of course not the
same, but their differences do not mean that they cannot have
equal political status or rights.
1
This list of glossary is prepared by Dr. YU Kam-por, GEC, HKPolyU.
2
Glossary – Core Module I
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is the decision or act of giving up or avoiding
negative attitudes (such as anger or hatred) toward someone
for something wrong that they have done.
Friends
People with whom one enjoys mutual affection and regard.
Aristotle distinguishes three kinds of friends: friends based
on mutual pleasure, friends based on utility, and perfect
friends. There are two Chinese characters for the term
friends: the character “peng” depicts two strings of shells
(representing material benefits), and the character “you”
depicts two right hands (representing likeness of mind or
affection). The two characters symbolically represent two
different conceptions of friendship.
Golden Rule
A basic moral principle that can be found in almost every
culture (Cf. Browne 1946; Gensler 1996). Two of the best
known formulations of the principle are from Confucius and
Jesus. Confucius said, “Do not do to others what you do not
want others to do to you.” (The Analects, Book XII, Chapter
2) He also said, “Help others to take their stand in so far as
one wishes to take one’s stand. Get others there in so far as
one wishes to get there.” (The Analects, Book VI, Chapter
30). Jesus said, “Do to others what you would have them do
to you.” (Bible, The Gospel of Matthew 7: 12).
Hatred
Hatred is an emotion with an object. It is based on the belief
that someone or something is bad, together with the desire to
hurt, destroy, or at least to remove it from one’s presence.
Informed consent
The ethical principle of obtaining the consent of a person
before doing something to that person. There are three
elements of informed consent: (1) information; (2)
comprehension; (3) voluntariness. Firstly, the person should
be given relevant, accurate, and sufficient information.
Secondly, the person should have enough comprehension of
the information given to her. Finally, the person should make
the choice under no coercion.
Inner conflicts
Inner conflicts arise when there are conflicts among one’s
desires, the satisfaction of one will lead to the frustration of
another.
3
Glossary – Core Module I
Interpersonal
communication
Interpersonal communication is a special form of human
communication. It refers to the process of two persons
interacting with and mutually influencing each other, usually
for the purpose of managing relationships. Interpersonal
communication is to be contrasted with impersonal
communication, where two persons only respond to the roles
of each other, rather than treating the other person as a
unique human being.
Interpersonal
conflicts
Interpersonal conflicts occur in situations where two
persons must divide or share benefits or duties, such that the
gain of one is the loss of another. There are different ways of
ending a conflict: (1) separation (withdrawal); (2) dominance
(one person wins); (3) compromise (each person gives in a
little); (4) integrative agreement (a solution is found that
satisfies both persons’ needs); and (5) structural
improvement (long-term changes in the relationship).
Openness
Willingness to consider new ideas and new options.
Peers
People of similar age, status, interests, etc.
Prudence
Care of one’s own long-term and substantial interest.
Examples of prudence include saving money for use in the
future, refusing to eat delicious but unhealthy food.
Responsible
Willing to accept the consequences of one’s action. A person
who fails to do her/his duty can also be a responsible person
if s/he is willing to take up the consequences of failing to do
her/his duty.
Right
A right is a legitimate interest. The right holder may
rightfully demand from the parties concerned to fulfill their
corresponding duties.
Self-awareness
Self-awareness is a person’s understanding of who he or she
is. Self-awareness can be enhanced by asking yourself about
yourself, asking others for their perception about yourself,
and by carefully observing their interactions with you.
Self-control
The ability of living according to one’s values and standards
of rationality, in so far as one has the capacity to do so.
Self-esteem
Self-esteem means self-affirmation – feeling good about
oneself and approving of oneself. Self-affirmation is a
subjective matter, and it can be excessive or unwarranted.
4
Glossary – Core Module I
Self-love
Self-love means love of oneself. Self-love is not the same as
selfishness, as a person who is selfish may not like or love
herself, and a person who likes or loves herself is more likely
to be kind to other people (that is, less selfish).
Self-respect
Self-respect consists of valuing oneself on the basis of one’s
own conduct and moral integrity. A person cannot have a
high degree of self-respect if she does not regard herself as a
morally good person. Self-respect is not the same as
self-esteem. Self-esteem is a purely psychological idea, but
self-respect is a moral concept.
Sexual double
standard
The belief that a particular behaviour is acceptable for one
gender but not for the other.
Stereotype
An over-simplified mental picture of people on the basis of
limited information about them, such as ethnic origin,
religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender, or even body
size or weight.
Sympathy
The state of being affected with a feeling similar to that of
another person. Sympathy means having a similar feeling as
another person. If another person is happy, one shares the
happy feeling. If another person is sad, one shares the sad
feeling.
Values
One’s principles or standards on the basis of which one
makes choices or decisions. The values of two persons are
different if different items are included or if the priorities
given to the same set of items are different.
Well-being
Well-being is happiness in the broad sense (happiness in the
narrow sense refers to pleasure or pleasant feeling). It is
related to good life and human prosperity.
5
Glossary – Core Module II
Core Module II
Characteristics of Hong Kong Society1
Absolute poverty
It refers to an extreme destitute state in which the
individual lacks necessary subsistence to meet a minimal
level of physical existence. This includes deprivation of
food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, shelter, and
so on.
The Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme
Comprehensive
Social
Security (CSSA) aims at providing a safety net for those proven to
be in need of financial assistance. It is designed to bring
Assistance Scheme
their income up to a prescribed level to meet their basic
needs. It is non-contributory but means-tested.
Democracy
A political system that allows citizens to participate in
political decision-making or to elect representatives to
government bodies. It uses the “majority rule” mechanism,
while at the same time upholding the principle of
protecting “minority rights”.
De-industrialization
A process through which the number of jobs in traditional
industrial sectors (such as raw materials and
manufacturing) declines in absolute terms and also,
compared with the volume of service-sector work in the
economy, in relative terms too.
Deskilling
A process through which firms respond to the threat of
competition and deindustrialization by introducing more
machine-based technologies which can replace the skill
and knowledge of human labor.
Direct democracy
A political system in which citizens make decisions
collectively by means of regular assembly, referendum,
and so on.
Direct discrimination
It occurs when a person is treated less favorably than
another person in comparable circumstances because of a
person’s sex, race, family status, disability, and so on.
Disadvantaged
groups
Groups which are often neglected by society or are rather
helpless. They refer to people who share the same
problems or with the same needs, such as the chronically
ill, the elderly, the unemployed, and so on.
1
This list of glossary is prepared by Dr. Day WONG Kit-mui, GEC, HKPolyU.
6
Glossary – Core Module II
Discrimination
Activities that deny the members of a particular group to
receive resources or rewards which can be obtained by
others. Discrimination can be distinguished from
prejudice, although the two are usually closely associated.
Discrimination refers to the behavioral or institutional
dimension, whereas prejudice refers to the dimension of
understanding. It can be that individuals who have
prejudice against others do not engage in discriminatory
practices against them; conversely, people may act in a
discriminatory fashion even though they have no prejudice
against those subject to such discrimination.
Equal Opportunity
All members of a society should be given the opportunity
and means to develop their potential and capacities which
may be inherently different.
Equality
It refers to the same status, rights and responsibilities being
made available to all members of a society.
Gini Coefficient
It is often used to indicate disparity in household income.
The Gini coefficient takes the value between zero and one.
The larger the value of the Gini coefficient, the greater the
income disparity.
High degree of
autonomy
In accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law, the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enjoy
executive, legislative and independent judicial power,
including that of final adjudication. The Central People’s
Government shall be responsible for the foreign affairs
relating to Hong Kong, the defence of Hong Kong, and the
appointment of the Chief Executive and the principal
officials of the executive authorities of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong People
ruling Hong Kong
In accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law, the
executive authorities and legislature of the Hong Kong
Special Administration Region shall be composed of
permanent residents of Hong Kong. No department of the
Central People’s Government and no province,
autonomous region, or municipality directly under the
Central Government may interfere in the affairs which the
Hong Kong Special Administration Region administers on
its own.
Indirect
discrimination
It occurs when a condition or requirement, which is not
justifiable, is applied to everyone but in practice adversely
affects persons of a particular group.
7
Glossary – Core Module II
Industrial policy
An industrial policy, interpreted in an interventionist way,
refers to a set of policies designed to increase the viability
of the industry. They include replacing sunset industries
with sunrise industries, channeling investment where
long-term profitability to society is highest, active
government participation in the training of workers and the
innovation of products and production processes.
Laissez-faire policy
The policy which is based on the idea that governments
and the law should not interfere with business, finance, or
the conditions of people’s working lives. It assumes the
superiority of a free market economy.
Local community
economy
In contrast to the externally-oriented economic sectors,
local community economy refers to the economic
activities which can promote domestic consumption, create
employment opportunities and highlight Hong Kong’s
unique characteristics. It covers a wide range of activities,
including cultural, recreational, sports, social and personal
services; and there are many players participating, such as
small traders and local domestic helpers. While there is the
view that the key role of local community economy is to
create jobs, other proponents emphasize that its principal
role is to facilitate community self-help through reciprocal
exchange of goods and services in order to provide
alternative means of livelihood beyond employment.
Local identity
The qualities, beliefs, ideas that make people feel that they
belong to the local community and that they are different
from outsiders.
One country, two
systems
With effect from 1 July 1997, the Government of the
People’s Republic of China resumes the exercise of
sovereignty over Hong Kong. Under the principle of ‘one
country, two systems’, the socialist system and policies
will not be practised in Hong Kong. The existing capitalist
system and way of life shall remain unchanged for 50
years.
Patriotism
Passionate identification with a state on the part of its
citizens. If the state is attacked from outside, patriotism
makes the defending soldiers a formidable force.
Governments usually encourage nationalism – not
necessarily hatred of others, but national pride – by holding
parades, highlighting national symbols like the national
flag, presenting the state’s history to schoolchildren, and so
on.
8
Glossary – Core Module II
Pluralistic
The belief that there should not simply be a single standard
or way of life. Rather, it is necessary to accommodate a
variety of opinions, principles, and ways of life.
Polarization of labor
market
A labor market divided between jobs which are well-paid
and secure and those which are not.
Political participation
The various means by which organizations and individuals
influence the nature and content of governmental activities.
The means include expression of public opinions,
organization of rallies, formation of interest groups or
pressure groups, election of political representatives, and
so on.
Positive
non-intervention
While the government follows a hands-off policy in regard
to industries, it intervenes actively in the major sectors of
society, including housing, transportation, public health
and education, in order to nurture a favorable environment
for economic growth and to meet people’s basic needs.
Poverty
It refers to the state of a lack of resources, usually in a
material sense but can also be in a social and cultural sense.
In order words, people can be said to be in poverty not
only when they lack adequate food and shelter, but also
when they lack resources to participate in cultural activities
that are customary in the society to which they belong,
such as giving out red-packets in Lunar New Year in the
case of Hong Kong.
Prejudice
The holding of unfounded ideas about a person or a group
of people; ideas that are resistant to change. When we have
prejudice against others, we tend to find faults with what
they do and select only those pieces of information which
reinforce our basic opinion.
Relative poverty
It defines poverty in relation to the general standard of
living in society and thereby takes the people who are
living below this general standard as poor.
Representative
democracy
A political system in which power is held by citizens and
exercised indirectly through elected representatives who
make political decisions. It is also referred to as indirect
democracy.
Rule of law
The principle that every member of a society, even the
ruler, must follow the law.
9
Glossary – Core Module II
Social security
In a narrow sense, social security refers to the financial
assistance provided for those in need because of illness,
unemployment, accident, aging, and so on. In a broad
sense, social security refers to an institution which ensures
citizens of a fulfilled life. The areas covered include health,
education, housing, work, recreation and culture.
The scheme aims at encouraging and assisting CSSA
Support for
Self-reliance Scheme recipients towards paid employment and self-reliance. It
consists of three components: the provision of personalized
service to help the unemployed recipients to find work; the
provision of community work to help the unemployed
recipients to build up their self-esteem and work habit; and
the provision of an incentive, by disregarding part of their
earned income, to encourage recipients to continue
working.
10
Glossary – Core Module III
Core Module III
Development of Modern China1
Corruption
This term refers to the illegal act of getting money or
material benefits through one’s office and power.
Examples include acceptance of bribery and collecting
extra taxes without permit.
Deng Xiaoping’s
reforms
After Deng Xiaoping came to power in 1979, he no longer
wished to aim at “outperforming the British and the
Americans” in heavy industries. He sought to move from a
“planned economy” to a “market economy” through the
delegation of business management powers. In view of
China’s strengths in human and natural resources, he
emphasized the development of agriculture and light
industries.
Enterprises of the Enterprises of the non-public sector is not yet a legal
concept. In general, it includes collectively-owned
non-public sector
enterprises, private enterprises, Sino-foreign joint equity
enterprises, Sino-foreign cooperative enterprises, sole
foreign investment enterprises, and state-owned enterprises
managed under the contract-management responsibility
system.
Household
Registration System
1
Under this system, the entire population of China falls
under two categories, namely agricultural and
non-agricultural. With no permanent urban residence
rights, rural migrants are not eligible for the wide range of
essential benefits available to urbanites, including
employment, education and social security. As of 1
October 2001, a reform of the system has been introduced
in more than 20,000 urban areas at and below the small
city-level. Urban household registers (hukous) would be
granted to rural residents with a stable job and
accommodation in the city.
This list of glossary is prepared by Mr. TAM Ka-chai, GEC, HKPolyU.
11
Glossary – Core Module III
Household Contract
Responsibility
System
After the third plenum of the 11th Communist Party of
China (CPC) Central Committee held in December 1978,
China’s agricultural economic system came under reform.
The main aspect of the reform is the household contract
responsibility system or “responsibility system” in short.
This means that while land, large-sized agricultural
machines and tools, and irrigation facilities are still
collectively owned, the management rights of land is
separated from ownership, and given over to families who
would run the business. After paying taxes, expenses and
fees, they can decide what to grow, how and when to grow
according to their own situations. In this way, individual
incentives are greatly enhanced.
Laid-off workers
This term is used specifically to refer to people who are
laid off from positions in state-owned enterprises. The
government gives them a certain amount of allowance and
looks for other job opportunities for them. Therefore, the
government does not consider them as unemployed and
treats them differently from the unemployed.
Local official’s
management
deficiencies
Officials below the provincial level are seldom strictly
monitored by the Central People’s Government. Some have
very little understanding of the problems and needs of the
general public, and often lack in management skills.
Migrant population
People who leave their hometown for various reasons and
stay and work temporarily in other places.
Ministry of Civil
Affairs
The Ministry of Civil Affairs is a department of the State
Council. One of its responsibilities is to guide the
democratic election of villagers’ committees and
democratic decision-making, democratic management and
supervision. The ministry promotes openness in village
affairs and builds up democratic political system at
grass-root level. It also attempts to build up neighbourhood
committees in urban areas and promote urban community
development.
National development These strategies are formulated by the Central People’s
Government indicating targets, directions and practical
strategies
ways for the development of the whole country.
Peasant labor
People who leave their rural villages and live and work in
cities as factory workers or customer services providers for
a higher income.
12
Glossary – Core Module III
Planned economy
This mode of economy is the opposite of “market
economy”. The government plans and influences the
demand and supply of goods and services, so that the
expected development can be obtained. The government
manipulates and controls prices through administrative
orders and the power of government departments. As a
result, goods in demand may still be sold in a low price but
goods with a large supply may be sold in a high price.
Relationship between
the cadres and the
general public
Chinese government officials at the foundation level are
commonly called cadres. Corrupt and incapable cadres
have poor relationship with the common people, hurting
authority of the government as well as the common good.
Social security
system
The systems and policies which aim to maintain a
minimum standard of living among the general public. The
provisions include minimum wage, medical insurance,
old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, etc.
Socialist Market
Economy
In October 1984, the 3rd plenum of the 12th CPC Central
Committee affirmed that China’s socialist economy is
based on public ownership and a planned market economy.
On 23rd October 1985, Deng Xiaoping said to foreign
visitors, “There is no fundamental contradiction between
socialism and the market economy. The question is the
kind of method we should use to effectively increase
productivity.” When Deng Xiaoping visited the Southern
provinces at the beginning of 1992, he further pointed out
that neither more planning nor more market freedom
constitutes the basic difference between socialism and
capitalism. Planning alone does not equate socialism;
capitalism also has its own planning. Similarly, the market
economy alone does not equate capitalism while socialism
also has elements of the market economy. Planned
economy and market economy are simply economic tools.
13
Glossary – Core Module III
Special Economic
Zone
In July 1979, the CPC Central Committee and the State
Council imposed special policies and foreign trade
privileges on two provinces – Guangdong and Fujian,
where trial “Export Zones” were established. In March
1980, they were formally named Special Economic Zone
(jingji tequ). On 26th August in the same year, the 15th
Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress
designated Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou in Guangdong and
Xiamen in Fujian as Special Economic Zones, in order to
attract foreign capital and modern technology and
management methods. In April 1988, the State Council
approved the designation of Hainan Province as a Special
Economic Zone.
State-run enterprise
These enterprises are wholly owned by the government and
operate under the direct control of government officials.
They set production targets according to the plans and
requirements of the state.
State-owned
enterprise
These enterprises are owned by the state but their daily
operations are left to the management staff. They are
allowed their own production plans and financial budgets.
After satisfying the financial requirements of the state, they
can re-invest their profits to pursue development goals set
by themselves.
State-owned
enterprise reforms
State-owned enterprises came into existence because of the
planned economy. But, given new market conditions,
significant changes must be taken over management style,
structure and development strategies of these enterprises.
Reforms began with the delegation of management powers
to staff members who are in charge. Later, further reforms
were introduced to fight the problems of heavy debts,
immense social responsibilities and redundant personnel.
These reforms will continue as the problems in these
enterprises will not go away with China’s entry into the
World Trade Organization.
Surplus work force
When people who want to work outnumber the available
positions, many will not be able to find jobs and become
part of the surplus work force.
Three
Theory
Represents The Three Represents theory, put forward by former
President Jiang Zemin, refers to that the CPC represents the
development trends of advanced productive forces, the
orientations of an advanced culture, and the fundamental
interests of the overwhelming majority of the people of
China.
14
Glossary – Core Module III
Township and Village
Enterprises
Township and Village Enterprises (TVEs) (xiangzhen
qiye) began in early 50s. It was the sideline business of
peasants’ association (nongye she). After 1958, it was
separated from the agricultural sector and developed into a
composite industry within the rural economy called brigade
enterprises (shedui qiye). On 1st March 1984, the CPC
Central Committee and the State Council replaced brigade
enterprises with TVEs. Participants in these enterprises are
usually peasants. They mainly involve in labor-intensive
production, and the TVEs are the main source of extra
income. In addition, TVEs are important because they
absorb rural labor.
TVEs are collectively or privately owned without direct
governmental control. They have high flexibility and
strong adaptability. They are involved in industry,
commerce, transportation, construction and restaurants, etc.
Unbalanced regional
development
Since the 1980s, economic development in China is always
strong in the coastal cities in the east. Comparatively
speaking, inland and western regions have moved much
slower. As a result, there is a huge gap between the living
conditions of coastal cities and the inland.
Unchecked flow of
population
When too many peasants rush to the cities, all available
jobs are quickly filled. Those who become unemployed
remain however, and cause problems of public order and
hygiene.
Villagers’ Assembly
It is composed of villagers aged 18 and above of the
village. The villagers’ committee is accountable to it. The
villagers’ assembly audits every year the work report of
the villagers’ committee, and evaluates the villagers’
committee members’ work.
Villagers’ Committee
Villagers’ committees are grassroots mass autonomous
organizations
for
villagers’
self-administration,
self-education and self-service in the exercise of
democratic
election,
democratic
decision-making,
democratic administration and democratic supervision.
Village officials
This refers to members of the villagers’ committees,
especially the chairpersons.
15
Glossary – Core Module III
Villagers’
Representatives
Villagers’ representatives, one for every 5 to 15
households, are selected by villagers living in large villages
or villagers living far from each other. Villagers’
representatives shall keep a close contact with villagers,
reflect in time villagers’ opinions, proposals and demands.
They discuss and decide on the matters authorized by the
villagers’ assembly.
16
Glossary – Core Module IV
Core Module IV
Globalization1
(Anti-)Americanism
Americanism denotes the influence of the American way
of life and adoption of American values by other countries
because of the success and power of the United States.
Anti-Americanism
denotes
the
resistance
to
Americanization in order to maintain or assert one’s own
social, cultural and national identities.
Civil Society
It is society and activities outside of government and its
activities. It can serve as a check and balance for
government power. Important elements of civil society are
non-government media, non-governmental organizations
and the private sector of the economy.
Complex
Interdependence
It denotes the complex economic relationship among
countries in the world. Developed countries export capital
and technology to less developed countries. The latter
exports cheaply manufactured consumer goods or spare
parts to the former. Oil producing countries export oil to
other countries and import from them all kinds of goods
and services. There is an international division of labour,
reliance upon each other and cooperation for common
benefit.
Cosmopolitanism
It indicates the pluralistic ways of life and social values of
highly developed cities or regions, in which international
economic and cultural activities take place. These
cosmopolitan cities are multi-cultural and are inhabited by
people from different countries, and good examples are
Hong Kong, Shanghai and New York.
Cultural Conflict
This is a theory for the analysis of present international
cultural and political development. Cultural conflict arises
as a result of misunderstanding or intolerance between
people of different cultural background, each cherishing
their own way of life and values. The worst is the “clash of
civilizations” between Western, Confucian and Islamic
civilizations.
1
This list of glossary is prepared by Dr. Stephen SZE Man-hung, GEC, HKPolyU.
17
Glossary – Core Module IV
Cultural Imperialism
This is manifested in the dominant role played by western,
especially American commercial culture in the world. Its
success is indicated by the prevalence of American
consumer and entertainment culture all over the world, e.g.
McDonald’s, Hollywood movies and Disney. This form of
commercial culture possesses economy of scale and can
influence social forms, value systems and economy of
small countries, eroding local cultures.
Cultural Resistance
It is the social movement or attitudes which react against
the dominant cultural, economic and political roles played
by Western countries, especially the United States.
Resistance is achieved by emphasizing and strengthening
local cultural, social and political identities.
Decolonization
It is a process through which countries or regions that were
colonies in the past have to undergo to get rid of elements
of colonization, such as the lack of political democracy,
imbalance in the distribution of power and economic
wealth. The process of decolonization includes
democratization, liberalization of the economy,
amelioration of social and economic discrepancies, and the
development of local cultural, social and political
identities.
De-regulation
In face of globalization, countries in support of this process
advocate that countries in which aspects of the economy
under state control or management have to be liberalized
and embrace the mechanism of the free market. This
process leads the economy to international and free
competition. Joining the World Trade Organization
(WTO), the People’s Republic of China has to withdraw
subsidies to industries, open up the market (e.g. insurance,
banking, industrial and agricultural products etc.) to all
members of the WTO in open competition. This policy
facilitates common sharing in the international market, but
can be harmful to the development of some local
industries.
Dualism (dualistic
development)
It is seen in the great difference between developed rich
countries and underdeveloped poor countries, and also in
the discrepancies between the rich and the poor in large
cities of poor countries. This uneven development is the
cause of political and social conflicts.
18
Glossary – Core Module IV
Empowerment
It is a process through which people who are oppressed,
under-privileged
or
discriminated
against
gains
understanding of their situation, and are able to find
peaceful ways to assert and exercise their rights.
Free trade
Globalization often emphasizes the removal of all trade
barriers and the promotion of free import and export of
goods among states. This is part of open and free
competition among states.
Global Ethics
To avoid conflicts among civilizations, it is suggested that
a world ethics, based on necessary minimum common
human values, basic attitudes and irrevocable rules, should
be developed. It has to be affirmed by all religions despite
their dogmatic differences, and subscribed to by
non-believers. It is hoped that this global ethics can
achieve consensus and peace in the world community.
Global Solidarity
This is an attitude and orientation of activity which
sympathizes with, help and support people who are
adversely affected by the process of globalization. It is
based on the understanding that our well-being should not
build upon the suffering of others.
Globalization
It is a process through which people around the globe
become more connected to each other than ever before.
Information and money flow more quickly than ever.
Goods and services produced in one part of the world are
increasingly available in all parts of the world.
International travel is more frequent. International
communication is commonplace. This phenomenon is
called globalization. Nation-states begin to lose their full
force of control over their politics, economy and culture.
Great economic and political powers are concentrated in
the hands of developed countries, especially the United
States.
Grassroots
It denotes the common people in a society, who are ruled
subjects. They are neither powerful nor rich, and often are
ignored, under-privileged and discriminated against by the
establishment.
19
Glossary – Core Module IV
Hegemony
It denotes the predominance of a state strong in economic
and military power over other states in an international
context. The United States is a typical example of a strong
state. It emerged after the Second World War, and
exercises hegemony over other states, forcing them to
comply with its political and economic agenda.
Human Development
Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) measures a
country’s achievements in terms of life expectancy,
education attainment and per capita Gross Domestic
Product. Long term monitoring of the HDI can reveal
whether a society is making substantial progress or whether
globalization serves as a positive or negative factor for
human development.
Imperialism
It denotes the policy of a powerful country to influence,
control, even colonize weaker countries. The 19th century
was the Age of Imperialism, because powerful countries
scrambled for domination over weak ones for raw
materials, cheap labour and outlet for their manufactured
goods.
International
Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an
international organization of 184 member countries as of
June 2003. It was established in 1945 to promote
international monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and
orderly exchange arrangements; to foster economic growth
and high levels of employment; and to provide temporary
financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of
payment adjustment. Critics of IMF often point to the
control of IMF by wealthy states over the economic
development of poorer countries.
Multi-National
Corporations
These are giant corporations whose economic activities
extend beyond one country. They are able to dominate
world market, and some have control over strategic
resources. Their interests are often protected by their host
countries and they support globalization as a means to open
up other countries for their activities.
20
Glossary – Core Module IV
Nation-State
A nation usually refers to a group of people sharing the
same culture, history, language, religion, etc. With the
advent of nationalism, a nation will form its own state. The
national government exercises political sovereignty within
the defined territory and pursues its own social, economic
and political goals. With globalization, the political
sovereignty of nation-states is weakened because of the
emergence of transnational forces like the illegal drug trade
as well as the evolving systems of regional and global
governance.
Neo-Liberalism
It is a form of political thinking which emphasizes the
primary importance of the freedom of the individual and
the autonomy of economic institutions within the market
economy. The neo-liberal ideal of economic globalization
is to allow private capital and the market to determine
economic, political and cultural life.
Privatization
It is a process through which state-owned enterprises are
sold to private owners in the market. It is assumed that this
can render the enterprises less bureaucratic and more cost
efficient. Globalization forces many former socialist
countries to privatize their state-owned enterprises in order
to become more competitive.
Technocracy
It means the rule of the technocrats, or people who possess
new forms of technology. These people are now able to
determine how society develops economically, socially and
culturally.
Technological
Determinism
It is a belief that technology determines economic, cultural
and political development.
Terrorism
It is a belief that surprise attacks can demoralize or frighten
a government or its subjects. Terrorists often attack
civilians of the enemy country since attacks upon military
targets are difficult and can lead to great loss. It hopes to
create social panic or induce political chaos by arousing
discontent and rebellion. Terrorism is rampant in the
present context of globalization and hegemony.
Think Globally, Act
Locally
This is a motto of certain intellectuals and elites. It
prescribes that they understand the nature and significance
of globalization, but they are also able to cope with this
process in the local context.
21
Glossary – Core Module IV
World (Global)
Capitalist System
This means that all nation-states will become one complex
and interdependent system of free enterprises.
World Division of
Labour
This is a form of sharing within the world capitalist system
among nation-states. Generally, developed countries
provide capital and technology, while less developed
countries provide cheap labour, consumer goods and
services.
World Trade
Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the
international organization dealing with the trade rules
between states. At its heart are the WTO agreements,
negotiated and signed by most of the world’s trading states
and ratified by their parliaments. The goal is to help
producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers
conduct their business. The result is to be a more
prosperous, peaceful and accountable economic world.
22
Glossary – Optional Module I
Optional Module I
Religion and Life1
Agnostic
An agnostic is a person who believes that nothing can be
known about the existence of God or about anything except
material things.
Allah
The Islamic name for God in the Arabic language. Used in
preference to the word God, this Arabic term is singular,
has no plural, nor is it associated with masculine or
feminine characteristics.
Apostle
One who was sent by Jesus Christ to preach the Gospel.
Atonement
A Christian Doctrine: referring to the embodiment of
Christ in human form, and the suffering and death of Christ
to atone for the sins of humankind.
Atheist
An atheist is a person who believes that there is no God.
Baptism
(Christianity)
Rite of initiation involving immersion in, or sprinkling or
pouring of water. The rite of Baptism is a sign of spiritual
cleansing by the grace of Christ and of inclusion into the
community of faith.
Buddha
The term Buddha usually refers to Gautama Buddha, the
founder of Buddhism. Buddha literally means a person
who has been enlightened or awakened to ultimate reality
or one who has seen the truth of dharma.
Charismatic
Movement
Characterized by emotional, ecstatic forms of worship in
which speaking in tongues and faith healing are
encouraged. This is a twentieth-century phenomenon.
Protestants and Catholics in the United States, since the
1960s, have been influenced by this movement.
Church
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
1
The whole community of Christians.
The building in which Christians worship.
A particular denomination.
This list of glossary is prepared by Dr. Helena WONG Pik-wan, GEC, HKPolyU.
23
Glossary – Optional Module I
Confession
Contrition; penance.
(i)
One of seven sacraments observed by some
churches whose priest confidentially hears a
person’s confession.
(ii)
An admission by a Christian of wrong-doing.
(iii) A particular official statement (or profession) of
faith.
Creed (Christianity)
Summary statement of religious beliefs, often recited in
worship, especially the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.
Deontology
Deontology is a non-consequentialist ethical theory. The
moral worth of an action does not depend on its
consequences, but on some feature inherent in the action
itself. Deontology is a rule-based morality. It proposes that
an action is right if it conforms to a proper moral rule
(where that rule does not necessarily refer to the
consequences of the action.).
Dharma (Dhamma)
(Buddhism)
Teaching from Buddha, universal law or duty; ultimate
truth. The law or principle underlying social and physical
life in the Buddhist tradition.
Dharma (Hinduism)
Religion or religious duty is the usual translation, but
literally it means the intrinsic quality of the self or that
which sustains one’s existence.
Duhkha (Dukkba)
Suffering; ill; misery; imperfection. The nature of existence
according to the first Noble Truth.
Eschatology
Derived from two Greek words, eschatology means “end”
or “final”. Central to eschatology, therefore, are beliefs
about death, resurrection, the return of Jesus, judgment,
and the Kingdom of God. In both the Old and New
Testaments eschatological writers were concerned with the
ultimate triumph of God over evil.
Eucharist
Communion; the Lord’s Supper; one of the principal
Christian sacraments.
24
Glossary – Optional Module I
Feng Shui
(Geomantic omen)
A term used for geomancy in China, the art of selecting
fortunate sites for buildings and graves in order to bring
fortune or avoid disasters. It is said to have been founded
by a Taoist sage of the fourth century B.C., but it includes
ancient ideas of the Yin and Yang, and the elements. Feng
Shui is based on the notion that human must be in harmony
with the universe, with natural forces, and so with wind
and water.
Gospel
The “good news” of salvation in Jesus Christ. There are
four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) in the New
Testament (Bible) which focuses on the life and teaching of
Jesus Christ.
Gothic
A building such as a Cathedral that is Gothic has a style of
architecture that is distinguished by tall pillars, high
vaulted ceilings and pointed arches. It aims to enhance
believers’ spirituality and relationship with God.
Guanyin
Also, Kannon in Japan. The most famous bodhisattva who
is a compassionate god. Guanyin was originally depicted
in male form in India, but later appeared in female form in
Chinese and South East Asian contexts.
Hajj
Annual pilgrimage to Makkah which each Muslim must
undertake at least once in a lifetime if he or she has the
health and wealth.
Icon／Ikon
Painting or mosaic of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, a saint,
or a Church feast. Used as an aid to devotion. Usually
placed on the main partition in an Orthodox church and is
regarded as a “window onto heaven”.
Iconostasis
Screen, covered with icons, used in Eastern Orthodox
churches to separate the sanctuary from the nave.
Incarnation
Doctrine of the embodiment of Christ as divine in human
form.
Islam
Peace attained through willing obedience to Allah’s divine
guidance.
Karma (Kamma)
Originally referred to proper ritual actions, but also refers
to the effects of intentional actions. According to the Law
of Karma, life is a series of deaths and rebirths determined
by one’s past actions. Literally, what one is now is the
result of what one did in the past and what one is now
affects one’s future lives.
25
Glossary – Optional Module I
Khandha (Skandha)
The five aggregates which comprise the individual ‘Person’
(form, feeling, perception, mental formation and
consciousness). The first one is materialistic while the last
four are mental in nature.
Mahayana
The “Great Way or Vehicle”. Mahayana Buddhism is the
reformed Buddhism that emphasizes the ability of lay
people to achieve spiritual release. It represents the
Buddhist teachings that spread from India into East Asia
and South East Asia. The Bodhisattva Ideal highlights
compassion and wisdom.
Makkah (Mecca)
The sacred city of the Islamic religion where the Prophet
Muhammad was born.
Mudra (Mudda)
Ritual gestures as illustrated by the hands of Buddha
images.
Orthodox
(i)
(ii)
The Eastern Orthodox Church consisting of
national Churches (mainly Greek or Slav),
including the ancient Eastern Patriarchate. They
hold the common Orthodox faith and are in
communion
with
the
Patriarchate
of
Constantinople.
Conforming to the creeds sanctioned by the
ecumenical councils, e.g. Nicaea, Chalcedon.
Passion
The suffering of Jesus Christ leading to his crucifixion.
Pluralism
The simultaneous existence of a number of different world
views in a single social arena. Pluralism is characteristic
of modern societies and is brought about by processes like
urbanization, migration, mass education, the mass media,
all of which gain additional potency under democratic
conditions where the state refrains from enforcing a
monopolistic world view.
Pro-choice movement
A social movement in the United States and Western
countries. It has the support of the feminist movement. It
seeks to defend a woman’s right to choose whether or not
to have an abortion.
Pro-life (right to
life) movement
Originating among Roman Catholics, this movement today
embraces Catholics, Protestants and others opposed to
abortion. They stress that the fetus is a “person”
(potentially) and should have the right to life.
26
Glossary – Optional Module I
Protestant
That part of the Church which has become distinctive from
the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Members
professed (or ‘protested’ – hence Protestant) the centrality
of the Bible and places primary emphasis on faith in Christ.
There are many denominations within Protestant
churches, for example, Anglicans, Baptists, Lutherans and
Methodists.
Qur’an
The holy book of Islam, based on the revelations
Muhammad received.
Rabbi
A teacher of the traditional Torah and learned teacher and
spiritual counselor of a Jewish community.
Ramadan
The ninth month of the Islamic calendar during which
fasting is required from dawn till sunset as ordered by
Allah in the Qur’an.
Redemption
Derived from the practice of paying the price of a slave’s
freedom; the work of Jesus Christ in setting people free
through his death.
Reformation
The Reformation is a periodization retrospectively applied
to those movements for religious reform which began
about 1520 and rapidly posed a challenge to the Roman
Catholic church. The movement led to the formation of the
‘Reformed Church’ in Christianity. The principal aim of the
reformers (for example Martin Luther) is to bring about an
“inner” conversion from ‘false’ to ‘true’ religion.
Reincarnation
(transmigration,
rebirth)
The belief that the soul or a certain power passes after
death into another body and begins a new life. Some
Indians and Buddhists believe that the next life depends
upon the present karma (act).
Religion
In general, it refers to human beings’ relation to that which
they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, or divine. Basic
elements of religion include prayers, rituals, moral belief,
ecclesiastical institution, etc.
Renaissance
Period of the revival of art and literature in the 14th century
Italy. The Italian Renaissance reached its peak in the 15th
and 16th centuries. This Renaissance, literally a rebirth, an
awakening in outlook, brought new significance to
individual expression in arts and literature. Famous artists
of this period include Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519),
Michelangelo (1475-1564), and Raphael (1483-1520).
27
Glossary – Optional Module I
Resurrection
A formal doctrine of Christianity. The raising of Christ
three days after his death, and through him, the future
raising of all believers.
Ritual
A central element in religious life: it is characterized by
regular occurrence at fixed moments in the daily, weekly,
monthly and annual cycles, or in the domestic cycle
(Baptism, marriages and funerals).
Roman Catholic
Referring to that part of the Catholic Church which
acknowledges the Pope in Rome as its head, as distinct
from Orthodox and Protestant Churches.
Sacraments
Sacred signs and rituals which convey God’s grace (for
example, baptism, eucharist, and the rite of ordination).
Sanatan Dharma
Eternal or imperishable religion; also known as Vedic
Dharma. Adherents often prefer this term to Hinduism
since it characterizes their belief in the revealed and
universal nature of religion.
Shiva and Vishnu
Shiva and Vishnu are two great gods of popular Hinduism.
Shiva is the “destroyer” and “Lord of the Dance”. Vishnu,
in contrast, is a god of “preservation” and a savior.
Sin (Christianity)
(i)
(ii)
Act of rebellion or disobedience against the known
will of God. It means doing the wrong thing or not
doing the right thing according to the will of God.
An assessment of the human condition as
disordered and in need of transformation.
Spirituality
At heart, spirituality has come to mean ‘life’. It is a term
which has increasingly come to mean the sacralization of
life. It refers to the interior or immanent life which
experiences relationship with the sacred; wisdom and
knowledge is gained from such experience.
Syncretism
The phenomenon of two or more religions or religious
traditions intermingling so as to produce new religious
syntheses.
Torah (Judaism)
Literally means the law or teaching. The will of God as
revealed in the Mosaic law. It was handed down in both
written and oral form to Moses on Sinai.
28
Glossary – Optional Module I
Trinity
God in Christianity conceived as consisting of three
persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) united in one
substance.
Utilitarianism
The ethical theory that a good or evil action is determined
by its propensity to cause human happiness or unhappiness.
Utilitarianism believes that an action is good if it brings
about maximal happiness (or pleasure) of the largest
number of people. Any action that leads to unhappiness (or
pain of which we have the alternative to avoid) or more
unhappiness than happiness, would be considered bad.
Yoga
Yoga is a form of devotion or worship. It refers to the
union of the soul with the Supreme. As a religious
discipline, it takes many forms. But it always focuses on
physical and mental powers, consciousness raising and
liberation, and ultimately and ideally, on being one with the
Supreme.
29
Glossary – Optional Module II
Optional Module II
Human-Environment Relationship1
Alternative forms of
energy
They are forms of energy to replace fossil fuels. These
include, for example, solar, wind, tidal and hydro power
which are less polluting.
Anthropocentrism
It is a way of thinking that upholds human interests as the
centre of all value considerations. Anthropocentrism in
ecological thinking implies that the protection of
environment is for the sole interests of humankind.
Artificial breeding
‘Artificial’ means of human being. Artificial breeding is a
technology of unnatural reproduction. For example,
through artificial insemination, female animals are made
pregnant and give birth. This measure can save animals
threatened by extinction.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity refers to the variety of the world’s organisms,
including their genetic diversity and the assemblages they
form. The concept is broad, reflecting the interrelatedness
of genes, species, and ecosystems of a given region or the
world.
Carnivores
They are meat-eating animals which hunt for other animals
or scavenge for food. Among mammals, the tiger is a
typical example. Buzzards belong to scavenging bird
carnivores.
Eco-centrism
It is a way of thinking in ecology and environmental
protection which emphasizes the importance of each
ecosystem, and the belief that the protection of
environment should take into account the well-being of
each of these systems over and above human interests.
Thus it is not justifiable to destroy, modify, re-organize or
create any ecosystem to suit the interests of humankind.
Ecological
preservation
It denotes human effort to maintain the balance or stability
of ecosystems, which should continue to exist without
damage, even to become richer.
Ecosystem
It is a functional system where living organisms of a
natural community exist in their living environment. For
example, ocean, desert or rain forest etc, are different
ecosystems. They can usually maintain a kind of balance.
1
This list of glossary is prepared by Dr. Stephen SZE Man-hung, GEC, HKPolyU.
30
Glossary – Optional Module II
Endangered species
When an ecosystem is upset or when it is disturbed by
human activities, the propagation of the organisms within
this system may be threatened. They might fail to
reproduce enough off-springs and become extinct. They are
threatened by extinction.
Environmental
citizenship
The idea of environmental citizenship is first developed
by ‘Environment Canada’, a non-governmental
organization in Canada. The goal of environmental
citizenship is a society where individuals and groups
engage in responsible environmental action on the basis of
knowledge and understanding.
Environmental ethics
Environmental ethics is based on the idea that each
individual is an integral part of a larger ecosystem and that
the future of humankind depends on each person acting
responsibly and positively toward the environment
according to a set of value. It is about making changes in
our daily life and being environmental citizens all day,
every day.
Environmental
taxation
It is a form of taxation imposed against different forms of
pollution for the purpose of protecting the environment.
Environment taxation includes heavy tax on petroleum
products which release exhaust gas, and on sewage which
requires processing.
Extinction
The disappearance of species that cannot be revived. It may
be caused by changes the living environment, presently
often due to the disturbance of human activities.
Food chain
The transfer of energy through a series of organisms in
different tropic levels.
Genetic modified food Genetic modification (GM) is a specific set of technologies
which seeks to alter the genetic makeup of living
organisms. Combining genes from different organisms is
known as recombinant DNA technology, and the product is
“genetically modified” matter or food.
Genetic engineering
It is an advanced technology. In contrast to traditional
breeding, genetic engineering involves taking genes from
one species and inserting them into another in an attempt to
transfer a desired trait or character. It is now possible for
plants to be engineered with genes taken from bacteria,
viruses, animals or even humans.
31
Glossary – Optional Module II
Green philosophy
It holds that humankind is only a member of nature, and
should respect every part and member of nature. We should
not support the exhaustive utilization of natural resources,
but should try our best to protect ecological balance, so that
humankind can live harmoniously with other organisms
and ecological systems.
Herbivores
They are animals which live on plants only. They are also
called plant-eaters. Cattle, sheep and horses are typical
examples. They can become prey to carnivores.
Instrumental value
Instrumental value is defined as the value, or worth, of
something serving as an instrument to satisfying needs and
wants; for example, the instrumental value of biodiversity
is that the mix of micro-organism, plants, and animals
provides ecological services and resources vital to human
welfare. In short, instrumental value says that something
is useful because it is as a means to another end.
Intrinsic value
Something is said to have intrinsic value if it is good “in
and of itself,” i.e., not merely a means to another end.
Omnivores
They are animals which feed on both plants and animals.
Humankind, pigs and bears are typical omnivores.
Overexploitation
In order to achieve economic development and material
wealth, humankind often excessively taps natural resources
like forest, minerals, and fuel, and consequently pollute
and damage nature. Such exploitation of resources can
bring about the extinction of living species.
Over-fishing /
Over-hunting
Animals reproduce themselves to maintain their number.
When people fish or hunt beyond the number that the
animal can replenish, this is over-fishing or over-hunting.
Protected species
Currently, roughly 5,000 species of animals and 28,000
species of plants in the world (whether alive, dead, stuffed,
parts or derivatives; including skin, hair, egg, meat, tooth,
horn, bone, shell, skeleton, gall bladder, bile and scale) are
being protected in order to ensure that international trade in
specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten
their survival. These species are protected by the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora, which is an international
agreement between governments.
Recycling
This is a way of reprocessing waste and scrap materials
into new and useful products.
32
Glossary – Optional Module II
Sustainable
development
Sustainable development is the idea that we should seek
to meet the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Advocates
emphasize
the
interdependence
of
environmental, social and economic systems.
Vegetarianism
It is the belief that people should abstain from eating meat,
either keeping strictly to a vegetable, grains, nuts and fruit
diet. You can also eat eggs, milk, butter and cheese if you
want. Vegetarianism is practised for different reasons such
as environmental friendly attitude, life habits, health
reasons or religious beliefs.
Wildlife
Plants and animals living in the wilderness without human
intervention.
33
Glossary – Optional Module III
Optional Module III
Relationship between Mass Media and Modern Culture1
Advertisement
A means to promote commodities and profitability.
Advertisement is a key source of revenue for the mass
media. Without advertisement, free television like TVB
and ATV will not be able to sustain their operations
financially.
Audience
Recipients of a production or performance, such as a book
or television program. Audience is often considered to be
attracted and passive. In reality an audience can be as
positive as the producers and performers, since it has
personal choice and preference.
Balanced Reporting
A reporting strategy employed by the mass media. Since
objective truth may not always be forthcoming, reporters
would identify and report the different points of view. To
be balanced in this sense is to incorporate, for example,
opposing views.
Consumerism
A culture which evolves around the promotion, sale, and
possession of things.
Consumption
The act of buying things and services. Consumption does
not simply refer to satisfying one’s basic needs like the
need to keep the body warm. It also satisfies symbolic
needs like self-expression, social status or self-identity
(like being a young person in contrast to being an adult or a
child). For example, clothing is not just used to protect our
bodies, but it tells people that we are trendy or that we have
good taste.
Culture
Traditional definition points to achievements in the field of
art, literature, music, etc. However, culture is increasingly
being used to refer to groupings of people and their
particular ways of life. Culture in this sense stands for a
common resource through which members of the group can
communicate and relate with one another meaningfully.
For example, we can talk about university student culture;
within that group of students, they share a common
lifestyle and mode of learning. Among them, a common
language or other ways of communication may be
developed which can be rather meaningless to people
outside of the group.
1
This list of glossary is prepared by Dr. Nicky CHU, GEC, HKPolyU.
34
Glossary – Optional Module III
Culture Industry
A specialized term referring to the employment of mass
production techniques in traditional artistic and creative
activities like music, literature, and drama. According to
two prominent members of the Frankfurt School, Adorno
and Horkheimer, the consequences of the process include
commercial interests overtaking artistic creativity.
Democracy
Assumption of the existence of differences in opinion and
choice of action while exercising political and
socio-cultural power. Based on this assumption, processes
like election are put into effect so that the majority rules
and minority rights are protected.
Fans
Followers of popular “idols”. Sometimes fans show
extreme behaviour like hooliganism and stalking. But, fan
behaviour is not necessarily pathological. Fans can be a
form of active audience, engaging in discussion and
reconstruction of the original performance. For example,
fans of Star Trek, a science fiction television series, explore
various ways of rewriting the space adventure.
Feminism
A belief and a movement for the social, political, and
economic equality of the sexes. There are different schools
of thought within feminism, but they all share the same
belief that in a male-centred society, the female is treated
unequally in areas of education, family, employment,
economic and political activities, the mass media, and the
design and use of public space. Feminism offers the view
that physical differences should not be a reason for treating
the female as inferior to the male.
Freedom of Speech
A basic human right. In Hong Kong it is protected by the
Basic Law. Freedom of speech ensures that voices from
all quarter have equal right to be heard. Freedom of
speech is one of the founding stones of a democratic
society.
Gender
Sexual identity, especially in relation to society or culture.
Sexes like male and female refer to what one is born with.
Gender is a cultural identity with ideas and traditions
about the two sexes. For example, according to traditional
Chinese morality, men should be ambitious and career
minded, but women are confined to the role of looking
after their husbands and families. As time passes and
society changes, views on gender division of labour also
changes. Today most of us accept that man and woman
should have their own career.
35
Glossary – Optional Module III
Globalization
A strategic viewpoint describing the recent integration of
and de-territorialization in economic, social, cultural, and
political activities. Globalization refers to the blurring of
national and region boundaries. Global economic
integration and interdependence is one of the examples.
Identity
The set of behavioural or personal characteristics such as
sex, race, and age, by which an individual is recognizable
as a member of a group. This set of characteristics may not
be something that one is born with. They can be socially
constructed. That is why identity can change depending on
the context.
Ideology
A specific way of seeing reality and/or the social world.
This view may not be true or objective, but it expresses the
collective opinion of a social group. Ideology has a
profound influence on social development.
Idol
A type of performers specific to contemporary popular
culture. The term idol is borrowed from a religious context.
In sharp contrast to a “star” which carries a meaning of
being admirable, mysterious and remote, an idol stands for
a popular performer who is much closer psychologically to
the admirers. A “star” is born and cannot be emulated. An
idol on the other hand encourages followers to imitate a
certain lifestyle and behaviour.
Image
A character projected onto the public to meet social
expectations. An image is never a personal opinion. It
carries with it social meaning and value judgement. An
individual projects different images according to different
social and cultural settings.
Leisure Activity
Free time pursuit away from employment related work.
The rise of industrial society has brought forth a distinct
type of employment which is different from agricultural
labour. For example, in industrial employment there is
distinct division between working hours and off-work
hours. During off-work hours, workers are free to engage
in whatever activities they desire, hence the development
of various forms of leisure activity.
Lifestyle
A way of life or style of living which reflects the attitudes
and values of a person or group.
36
Glossary – Optional Module III
Mass Media
Organizations of public communication based on
information technologies such as printing, cinematic,
electronic, and digital, which reach a large audience. These
organizations are mostly commercial enterprises.
Moral Discipline
Social and cultural norms on behaviour and attitude. They
work as sanctions as well as encouragement to achieve
positive goals.
Objective Reporting
Presentation of truth about an event through the mass
media or other means of public communication. Ideals for
professional reporting may not be easily attained due to
constraints on time and resources. An alternative to
objective reporting is balanced reporting.
Pluralism
A social environment which tolerates distinct ethnic,
religious or cultural groups. It is one of the prerequisites of
a democratic society.
Public Broadcasting
Service
A mass communication organization which is not
commercial in nature. The concept comes from the British
Broadcast Corporation (BBC). The Corporation provides
broadcasting services with the support of public money.
Radio and Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is organized on
a similar principle. With funding from the public purse,
RTHK is mandated to produce programmes for the general
public and not exclusively for commercial gain.
Popular Culture
A way of life closely influenced by the mass media, mass
consumption and entertainment. Examples include pop
music, television, film, fashion, etc.
Popular Music
A form of music closely influenced by the mass media and
dependent on new communicative technologies. In contrast
to classical and folk music, popular music is characterized
by the use of electronic and digital instruments,
contemporary tastes, the idol system, and a high level of
commercialization.
Social Status
A position assumed by an individual within a social
network. Some positions are considered to be higher or
more prestigious than others. The hierarchy of positions
can be based on differences in wealth, professional skills
and family background.
37
Glossary – Optional Module III
Stereotype
A conventional and oversimplified view or opinion about a
group of people or things. A stereotype overlooks
individual characteristics. For example, according to
Chinese tradition, the stereotype for boys is aggressiveness,
and the stereotype for girls is gentleness and passivity.
Individuals are often measured and judged according to
these stereotypes, even though these stereotypes are often
wrong.
Value
A moral principle, standard, or pattern of behaviour
considered to be desirable and worthwhile by a group of
people.
Youth
An identity specific to modern society. Apart from being an
age category or a psychological stage of human
development, youth can be understood as a cultural
identity. As a cultural identity, “youth” is based on a shared
lifestyle and pattern of consumption. It explains partly why
the age-range of youth is rather fluid. More importantly,
youth refers to a common way of life of a group of people.
Youth, in this sense, is defined by a set of common social
context like living or working situation and pattern of
consumption. People who remain within the formal
education system and/or enjoy similar patterns of
consumption like buying pop music CDs, are considered to
belong to the group. The definition of “youth” is inevitably
rather indistinct.
38
Exemplary
Learning Activities
39
Exemplar 1
Core Module I:
Personal Development1
Questions for enquiry:
What expectations do peers hold towards one another? Are these
expectations reasonable? When these expectations are not met, what tensions
do they bring to the relationship?
Suggested time allocation:
A.
Extracts from the Curriculum Framework
Issues
2.
B.
3 periods
Key Points
How do I c. Developing
get along
relationships
with
others?
Suggested questions for enquiry
Values and Attitudes
What expectations do family
members, peers and other members
of society hold towards one
another? Are these expectations
reasonable?
When
these
expectations are not met, what
tensions do they bring to the
relationships? When an intimate
relationship is being built, do
mutual expectations necessarily
grow? Does intimacy imply mutual
commitment? How should one
prepare to go into intimate
relationship?
Honesty, individuality,
equality, trust,
interdependence,
openness, sensitivity,
modesty, empathy,
caring and concern,
cooperation, respect
for self, respect for
others
Objectives
1. To understand the importance and possible pitfalls of mutual support and trust
among friends;
2. To know that there are different kinds of friendship, and to recognize their
limitations;
3. To understand the process of building up friendship and the importance of having
friends;
4. To enhance the ability to select, organize, and use information;
5. To be sensitive to different opinions and engage in rational discussion.
1
Exemplar 1 is prepared by Dr. YU Kam-por, GEC, HKPolyU.
40
Exemplar 1
C.
Learning Activities
Objectives
Knowledge
Skills
Values and attitudes
Periods 1-2: Meaning of
friendship and how to get
along with others
[Activity 1 & 2]
1. Meaning of
friendship
2. Kinds of friendship
3. When to defend
and trust one’s
friends
4. How to get along
with others
Openness to the
views of other
people, ability
to appreciate
different
viewpoints,
rational
discussion,
self-reflection
Honesty, equality, trust,
empathy, caring and
concern
Period 3: Process of
building up friendship and
significance of friendship
in life
[Activity 3]
5. Process of building
up friendship
6. Significance of
friendship in life
Communication
skills, data
analysis and
categorization,
ability to
understand the
feelings of
others, rational
discussion
Equality, cooperation,
respect for self, respect
for others,
individuality, honesty,
interdependence,
sensitivity, empathy
Areas of enquiry
Periods 1-2: Meaning of friendship and how to get along with others
1. The objective of this teaching session is to help students get hold of issues about
friendship, develop their own views, and prepare themselves for in-depth
discussion and enquiry.
2. The teacher invites several students to express their views on:
 What are friends for?
 What is a true friend?
3. The teacher distributes [Source 1] and asks students to complete [Activity 1].
Students are divided into groups to discuss whether one must always be protective
and supportive of one’s friends.
 Supporting and protecting one’s friends:
 Ronald Cheng’s friend did not admit his friendship with Ronald. Do you
think this is a betrayal of their friendship?
 What are Ronald’s views on friendship? How, according to Ronald,
should friends treat each other? Do you think Ronald makes a good
friend?
 Must a true friend be always supportive and protective? How should we
support our friends?
 Is it good or bad to support and protect one’s friends unconditionally and
unreservedly?
 Should we continue our relationship with a friend who has gone astray?
41
Exemplar 1

Trust between friends:
 What would you do if you were a friend of Ronald Cheng?
 Should true friends have complete trust on each other?
 If you come across unfavourable comments on our friends, do we believe
our friends or the unfavourable comments?
4. Each group selects a representative to share with the whole class the conclusions
or views of the group. The teacher might prefer to refrain from comments at this
stage. The teacher can also raise questions to stimulate thinking.
5. Arrange for one member of each group to read an article from [Sources 2, 3, and
4]. Discuss the article within the group and answer the guiding questions in
[Activity 2]. Each group will then report to the whole class.
6. The students discuss the following questions under the guidance of the teacher:
 According to Aristotle, what is the most common kind of friendship among
young people? Do you think Aristotle’s view is accurate on the basis of your
own impression or observation?
 Must friends engage in “give and receive”? If we do not have anything to
give, does it mean that we can be a beneficiary of our friendship without
contributing anything to it? If both sides are to give, would it be too
calculating and not be the right way to get along with friends?
 Should we continue to be friends with someone who has gone astray? If we
turn away from him, does it mean that we are not a good friend? If we do not
turn away from him, is it likely that we will go astray as well?
7. Distribute [Source 5] to students before the end of the lesson.


Arrange for a group of three or four students to be responsible for the
presentation of [Source 5] in the next lesson.
Ask all students to read [Source 5], and prepare for discussion in the next
lesson.
Period 3: The process of building up friendship and the significance of
friendship in life
1. The objective of this lesson is to enhance students’ understanding of the nature of
friendship through reading and analyzing The Little Prince.
2. A group of 3 or 4 students makes a class presentation on friendship as outlined in
[Activity 3].
42
Exemplar 1
3. After the presentation, the teacher encourages students to ask questions or to have
a follow-up discussion.
4. Concluding remarks by the teacher:
 The formation of friendship is a process. There is no such thing as a
ready-made friendship. This is what the fox means by “you cannot buy
friendship at the shops” [Source 5].
 A person very often is regarded as unique and irreplaceable in the eyes of
her/his friends. This is so not because this person is really so special or
unique, but because there is a special relationship there.
 There should be giving and receiving among friends. However, there are
different forms of “giving and receiving. For example, we can give material
support, but we can also give care and concern, honour and gratitude. In
giving, we need to take into account our own ability and our friend’s genuine
need. If we do not do so, we may be exploited by people who claim to be our
friends.
43
Exemplar 1
D.
Teacher’s references
1.
Background Information
According to a number of local surveys, friendship is one of the most popular
topics among young people in Hong Kong.
What are friends for? Young people may come up with very different answers.
Some may say: “Friends are someone that we can make use of”. Some may say:
“Friends are someone whom we are willing to sacrifice for”. Some may say:
“Friends are companions when we engage in entertainment activities”. Some may
say: “Friends are bound by a sense of righteousness”. Such views are both
perceptive, and should be further investigated.
A number of issues related to friendship are worth in-depth enquiry. For
example: (1) Should we make available all the resources we have to help our
friends unconditionally? If we give only when we can take something back, are
we interacting as friends? If we give unconditionally, are we being stupid and
made use of by others? (2) Should we continue to make friends with someone
who has gone astray? If we continue to be his friend, will we go astray as well? If
we turn away from him, are we putting our self-interests above friendship? (3)
Should we make friends with people who are like us or different from us? It is
said that “birds of a feather flock together”, but it is also said that “Friends should
complement each other”. Which saying contains more wisdom? (4) Which is
more important? – friendship or justice? If friendship is more important, does it
mean that we can act unjustly for the sake of friendship? If justice is more
important, does it mean that we should not give special treatment to our friends?
And if we do not give special treatment to our friends, are we treating them as
friends?
There is a valuable discussion on friendship in Books 8 and 9 of Nicomachean
Ethics by the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC). Although the book was
written more than two thousand years ago, the discussion is still fresh today.
Friendship is a subject of perpetual concern, and has a deep root in human nature.
Another source chosen for discussion is The Little Prince by the French writer
Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944). The book is widely known and read
among teenagers and among adults.
44
Exemplar 1
References
Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics, tr. David Ross. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1980.
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics, tr. Roger Crisp. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2000.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. San Diego: Harcourt, 2000.
聖修伯理著，李淑貞譯。《小王子》[中英法對照]。 台北：長宥文化事業有
限公司，2000 [附 CD-ROM]。
The Little Prince [Movie], Paramount Studio, 1974. [ASIN 6300216225]
The Little Prince [Animation], Fast Forward Marketi. [ASIN 6304039891]
Websites
The Little Prince. [Online].
http://www.angelfire.com/hi/littleprince/frames.html
International Little Prince Online. [Online].
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/1916/online.html
The Little Prince. [Online].
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Musee/7550/little_prince/
Fairy Dream. [Online]. http://www.fairydream.net/html/littleprince/
45
Exemplar 1
2.
Suggested answers for Activity 3
1.
The process of building up friendship: Friendship is not “ready made”. To
the fox, friendship is not a commodity that we can buy. Friendship has to be
built up through a process. This process is what the fox calls “taming”.
Through the process of taming, two persons who are previously unconnected
come to have a special relationship. That relationship is called friendship.
2.
The uniqueness of friends: Very often, a person is regarded by his friends as
unique and irreplaceable. This is so not because he is really special and has
uncommon qualities, but because of a special relationship. It is this special
relationship that makes him unique and irreplaceable in the eyes of his
friends.
3.
The significance of friendship in life: An event means very differently with
or without the dimension of friendship. The wheat fields used to mean
nothing to the fox. But as the Little Prince becomes his friend, the wheat
fields begin to remind him of the Little Prince. The colour of the wheat
fields reminds him of the colour of his hair. The wheat fields have become
something dear to him in his mind. If we do not have friends or other people
specially dear to us, life may lose much of its meaning.
4.
Links with personal experience: Encourage students to share their own
experience. For example, would they regard an ordinary gift from a friend as
something unique and to be treasured? Would a piece of music become
specially touching because it has been shared with good friends?
46
Exemplar 1
Student Reading Materials
Source 1
The singer Ronald Cheng Chung-kei has received a number of unfavourable
reports in the newspaper. In February 2000, he was reported to have assaulted
members of an aircrew on a flight from Los Angeles to Taipei. He had been
smoking, singing, brawling aboard the airliner. He was detained by police in
Alaska. Later, he was again reported for drink driving and hit a taxi. Several
times he was reported to have harassed female reporters after drinking rounds. A
number of artists were asked for their views on the incidents. An artist, who used
to be a good friend of Ronald Cheng, said that he did not know Ronald very well.
Ronald Cheng later said that this person was not behaving as a friend. He said
that he had learnt a lot in the process. The several incidents gave him
opportunities to find out who his true friends were. In response to the allegation
that he had harassed female reporters, he said: True friends will fully trust him,
and there is no need to explain anything.
47
Exemplar 1
Student Reading Materials
Source 2
There are …… three kinds of friendship ……. Those who love each other
for their utility do not love each other for themselves but in virtue of some good
which they get from each other. So too with those who love for the sake of
pleasure; it is not for their character that men love ready-witted people, but
because they find them pleasant. Therefore those who love for the sake of utility,
love for the sake of what is good for themselves, and those who love for the sake
of pleasure do so for the sake of what is pleasant to themselves, and not in so far
as the other is the person loved but in so far as he is useful or pleasant. And thus
these friendships are only incidental; for it is not as being the man he is that the
loved person is loved, but as providing some good or pleasure. Such friendships,
then, are easily dissolved, if the parties do not remain like themselves; for if the
one party is no longer pleasant or useful, the other ceases to love him.
Now the usefulness is not permanent but is always changing. Thus when the
motive of the friendship is done away, the friendship is dissolved, inasmuch as it
existed only for the ends in question. This kind of friendship seems to exist
chiefly between old people (for at that age people pursue not the pleasure but the
usefulness) and, of those who are in their prime or young, between those who
pursue utility. And such people do not live much with each other either; for
sometimes they do not even find each other pleasant; therefore they do not need
such companionship unless they are useful to each other; for they are pleasant to
each other only in so far as they rouse in each other hopes of something good to
come. Among such friendships people also class the friendship of a host and
guest. On the other hand, the friendship of young people seems to aim at
pleasure; for they live under the guidance of emotion, and pursue above all what
is pleasant to themselves and what is immediately before them; but with
increasing age their pleasures become different. This is why they quickly become
friends and quickly cease to be so; their friendship changes with the object that is
found pleasant, and such pleasure alters quickly. Young people are amorous too;
for the greater part of the friendship of love depends on emotion and aims at
pleasure; this is why they fall in love and quickly fall out of love, changing often
within a single day. But these people do wish to spend their days and lives
together; for it is thus that they attain the purpose of their friendship.
Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good, and alike in
virtue; for these wish well alike to each other are good, and they are good
themselves. Now those who wish well to their friends for their sake are most
truly friends; for they do this by reason of own nature and not incidentally;
therefore their friendship lasts as long as they are good – and goodness is an
enduring thing ……
48
Exemplar 1
Student Reading Materials
Guiding questions:

What are the major kinds of friendship?

What is the most common kind of friendship among young people?
What are the reasons?
[Source: Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics, tr. David Ross. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1980, Book VIII, Chapter 3.]
Source 3
Differences arise also in friendship based on superiority; for each expects to
get more out of them, but when this happens the friendship is dissolved. Not only
does the better man think he ought to get more, since more should be assigned to
a good man, but the more useful similarly expects this; he says a useless man
should not get as much as he should, since it becomes an act of public service and
not a friendship if the proceeds of the friendship do not answer to the worth of the
benefits conferred. For he thinks that, as in a commercial partnership those who
put more in get more out, so it should be the same in friendship. But the man who
is in a state of need and inferiority makes the opposite claim; he thinks it is the
part of a good friend to help those who are in need; what, he says, is the use of
being the friend of a good man or a powerful man, if one is to get nothing out of
the friendship?
At all events it seems that each party is justified in his claim, and that each
should get more out of the friendship than the other – not more of the same thing,
however, but the superior more honour and the inferior more gain; for honour is
the prize of virtue and of beneficent person, while gain is the assistance required
by inferiority.
Guiding questions:



Must a friend engage in both giving and receiving?
If two persons are friends and one is much better off than the other,
should the one who is better off give more and let his friend share the
things he has?
Can a person who receives help from his friend be said to have also
contributed in some way?
[Source: Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics, tr. David Ross. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
Book VIII, Chapter 14.]
49
Exemplar 1
Student Reading Materials
Source 4
If one accepts another man as good, and he turns out badly and is seen to
do so, must one still love him? Surely it is impossible, since not everything can
be loved, but only what is good. What is evil neither can nor should be loved;
for it is not one’s duty to be a lover of evil, nor to become like what is bad; and
we have said that like is dear like. Must the friendship, then, be forthwith
broken off? Or is this not so in all cases, but only when one’s friends are
incurable in their wickedness? If they are capable of being reformed one should
rather come to the assistance of their character or their property, inasmuch as
this is better and more characteristic of friendship. But a man who breaks off
such a friendship would seem to be doing nothing strange; for it was not to a
man of this sort that he was a friend; when his friend has changed, therefore,
and he is unable to save him, he gives him up.
Guiding questions:


If a friend has gone astray, should we continue to be friends with him?
If we refuse to continue our relationship with a friend who has gone
astray, are we being too self-centred and not treating him as a friend?
[Source: Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics, tr. David Ross. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
Book IX, Chapter III.]
50
Exemplar 1
Student Reading Materials
Source 5
Section 21 of The Little Prince. An electronic version of the book is available in
the following websites:
The Little Prince. [Online].
http://www.angelfire.com/hi/littleprince/frames.html
International Little Prince Online. [Online].
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/1916/online.html
The Little Prince. [Online].
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Musee/7550/little_prince/
Fairy Dream. [Online]. http://www.fairydream.net/html/littleprince/
51
Exemplar 1
Activity
Activity 1
Refer to Source 1 and answer the following questions:
1.
Do you agree that Ronald Cheng’s friend has betrayed him by not
admitting their friendship?
2.
What would you do if you were Ronald Cheng’s friend?
3.
How should we support our friends? Must a true friend be always
supportive and defensive?
4.
How should friends treat each other according to Ronald Cheng? Do
you think Ronald makes a true friend given his views on friendship?
5.
Should true friends trust each other?
6.
Should we refuse to believe unfavourable reports about our friends?
7.
Is it a good thing to defend one’s friends without reservation?
8.
Should we continue to be friends with someone who has gone astray?
Activity 2
Refer to Sources 1 – 4 and answer the following questions:
1.
Is your way of treating your friends different from what Aristotle
suggests? Please illustrate with examples.
2.
Do you disagree with anything Aristotle says about friendship? Why?
3.
Has your opinion on the Ronald Cheng case undergone any changes?
Reflect on possible reasons for the changes.
52
Exemplar 1
Activity
Activity 3
Refer to Source 5 and answer the following questions:
1.
What does the fox mean by “tame”? How is a person tamed? What is
the difference between being tamed and not being tamed? What has
taming to do with friendship? Do you agree that making friend with
someone is like going through the process of taming?
2.
What, according to the fox, makes one person regard another as “unique
in all the world”? Why does the Little Prince regard his rose as unique
in the world? Do we regard our friends as special and irreplaceable for
similar reasons?
3.
What does the colour of the wheat fields mean to the fox? What has this
to do with making friend with the Little Prince? Do you think an object,
a place or a piece of music will acquire special meaning because of the
friendship between two persons? Please illustrate with examples.
4.
Which part of the dialogue between the Little Prince and the fox
impresses you most? Illustrate with your personal experience.
53
Exemplar 2
Core Module II:
Characteristics of Hong Kong Society1
Questions for enquiry:
1. What channels of political participation do Hong Kong people have within
the HKSAR?
2.
Under the existing system, are there adequate means for Hong Kong
people to redress their grievances?
Suggested time allocation: 4 periods
A.
Extracts from the Curriculum Framework
Issues
1. What are
some of
the
pluses
and
minuses
of Hong
Kong
society?
Key points
a. Political
participation
Suggested questions for enquiry
Values and attitudes
What channels of political participation
do Hong Kong people have within the
HKSAR? Do Hong Kong people have
equal opportunities in political
participation? What factors influence
Hong
Kong
people’s
political
participation? What is the impact of the
implementation of “one country, two
systems” and “Hong Kong people
ruling Hong Kong” on political
participation? Under the existing
system, does government respond to
the demands of the general public in a
positive way and are there adequate
means for Hong Kong people to
monitor the government and redress
their grievances?
Equality, freedom and
liberty, common good,
mutuality, justice,
equal opportunities,
due process of law,
plurality, democracy,
participatory, critical,
appreciation, empathy,
caring, positive,
adaptable to changes,
with a respect for
others, for rule of law
and for fair play
B.
Objectives
1.
To understand what politics is, and what is meant by political participation;
2.
To know what channels of political participation do Hong Kong people have, and
examine their possibility and limitation;
3.
To increase students’ understanding of the Hong Kong community, to build a
sense of belonging and active participation.
1
Exemplar 2 is prepared by Dr. Helena WONG Pik-wan, GEC, HKPolyU.
54
Exemplar 2
C.
Learning Activities
Objectives
Knowledge
Area of enquiry
Period 1: Getting to know
your community
[Activity 1]
1.
What is political
participation
Periods 2-3: Case selection 2.
& possible ways to solve
community problems from a
citizen’s point of view
The positive elements
of the community and
areas that need
improvement
Period 4: Action and
reflection
Existing channels of
political participation,
and their effectiveness
in solving community
problems
Period 1:
1.
3.
Skills
Field
observation,
interview,
questionnaire
survey,
group
discussion,
debate, data
collection from
newspapers,
skills for
political
actions
Values and attitudes
Democracy, justice,
equality, common
good, mutuality,
participatory, critical
Getting to know your community
Grouping: Teacher divides the whole class into several groups. Groups can be
formed on the basis of districts in which students reside. Students who do not fit
into any group can form one group focusing on the community in which the
school is located. If most students are living near the school, students can form
groups freely and focus their study on the same community. (To speed up the
grouping process, the teacher can collect students addresses in advance and
prepare a grouping list.)
2.
Group discussion: After deciding on a community, students are encouraged to
share their feelings and opinions about that community. The attached worksheet
[Activity 1] can be used to help formulate their understanding of their
community. The discussion, hopefully, helps to increase knowledge of the
community and strengthen students’ sense of belonging.
55
Exemplar 2
3.
Group discussion: Exploring ways of improving the community.
Ask students to use the worksheet [Activity 1] to list all the problems that need
improvement in the community. There is always room for improvement. For
example, environmental issues (such as collection and treatment of garbage,
recycling, noise pollution), sanitation (market hygiene condition), transportation
(such as zebra crossing, pedestrian subway, routing and frequencies of
bus/mini-bus services), security (police patrol, street lighting, crime prevention),
community facilities (such as parks, swimming pools, shopping mall, sport
centres….), and town planning.
4.
Ask students to do [Activity 2].
Period 2: Case Selection
1.
Each group briefly reports its findings.
2.
Select one issue to be dealt with. It may be the most important issue as perceived
by students, or an issue that is capable of being solved with limited time and
resources. Certain issues are important, yet it may take a much longer time or
resources to achieve improvement. The teacher should guide students to make a
decision.
3.
Focus on the issue selected: Identify possible solutions.
Period 3: Problem solving - Possible ways of solving community
problems from a citizen’s point of view
1.
Continue the discussion began in period 2. Focus on possible ways of solving
community problems from a citizen’s point of view.
2.
To compare which options are better and workable.
3.
Teacher should introduce existing channels of political participation on the
community level and territory-wide, including:
56
Exemplar 2

Expressing opinions / commenting on policies and making demands
through writing letters to government officials or through the mass media
(such as newspapers, radio phone-in program, TV, magazines, or press
conference).
Direct contact: Make an appointment to meet District Council members,
legislators, or government officials. Contact the office of political parties for
help.
Advocacy and mobilization: Organize exhibitions, distribute handbills, and
launch signature campaigns.
Other protest activities: petitions, sit-ins, gatherings, marches, and

demonstrations.
Elections and campaigns: Help with campaign activities and vote.



4.
Teacher assists students to compare which strategy is better and understand the
effectiveness and limitations of existing political participation channels. Students
should also be helped to formulate their action plans. There needs to be
allocation of duties among students.
Period 4: Action and Reflection
1.
Report the progress of political participation projects.
2.
Was the action conducted smoothly? Did students encounter any difficulties or
obstacles?
3.
Evaluate the effectiveness of political participation and formulate possible
follow-up action plans.
4.
We may not be able to solve the problems on the community level as government
policy may be involved. Teacher needs to guide students to explore the limitation
of participation on the community level, and identify other possible areas that
students may have to work on. If necessary, teachers can also inform students of
the two-tier political structure in Hong Kong.
57
Exemplar 2
D.
Key concepts
1. What is politics?
 In general, politics involve the use of power by one person or a group of
persons in order to influence the behaviour of another person or a group of
persons. It involves the making of a common decision for a group of
people, that is, a uniform decision applying in the same way to all members
of the group.
 There are various definitions of politics: it is the exercise of power and

authority, the formation of public policies, the authoritative allocation of
limited resources etc. Political phenomena include: power struggle,
bargaining, lobbying, debate, judgement, voting ……
Politics exist in every society, and it exists everywhere.

“Politics is who gets what, when, how.” (Harold Lasswell)
2. What is political participation?
Political participation is the act of taking part in the formulation, passage
or implementation of public policies. This broad definition applies to the
activities of any person (or organization), whether an elected politician, a
government official or an ordinary citizen, who is active in any way in the
production of public policy within a political system.
3. The purposes of political participation:

Political participation promotes or defends the interests of the participant.
Whether a person will participate depends upon his/her assessment of the
anticipated benefits and costs, and of his/her power to attain the
objectives.

The process of participation calls upon the participants’ general moral,
social and political awareness, and empowerment.


A communitarian view justifies participation by its contribution to the
common good.
To fulfill the duties of a citizen (registered as voters, and voting).
58
Exemplar 2
4. Modes of political participation:
Political participation comprises a number of ‘modes’:

Voting.

Canvassing and campaigning in elections.

Active membership in a political party.

Active membership in a pressure group.

Contacting officials, politicians on specific matters.

Sending letters, faxes, or emails to government bureau to express opinion




on specific policy issues.
Expressing political/policy ideas via the mass media.
Membership in government advisory committees. (In Hong Kong, they
are almost all appointed by the Chief Executive.)
Taking part in community activities (involving working with others for a
community objective, such as housing, environment, transportation).
Taking part in protest activities, including petitions, marches, boycotts,
strikes, even political violence. They can be regarded as forms of political
participation. But few people in liberal democracies take part in or support
political acts involving violence.
59
Exemplar 2
E.
Teachers’ References
References:
Axford, Barrie et. al. “Political Participation” in Politics: An Introduction.
London: Routledge, 1997, Chapter 4, pp.109-137.
Bogdanor, Vernon ed. “Political Participation” in The Blackwell Encyclopaedia
of Political Science. Oxford: Blackwell Publisher, 1991, pp.461-462.
Cheng, Joseph Y. S. ed. Political Participation in Hong Kong: Theoretical
Issues and Historical Legacy. Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong
Press, 1999.
Loh, Christine and Civic Exchange. Getting Heard: A Handbook for Hong
Kong Citizens. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2002.
梁恩榮、劉傑輝合著。
《政治教育在香港：理論與實踐》
，增訂本二版。香
港：香港基督徒學會，1999。
羅永祥、陳志輝著。
《香港特別行政區施政架構》
。香港：三聯書店，2002。
Websites:
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s
Republic of China. [Online]. http://www.info.gov.hk
Citizens Party. [Online]. http://www.citizensparty.org
Democratic Alliance for
http://www.dab.org.hk
Betterment
of
Hong
Kong.
The Democratic Party. [Online]. http://www.dp.org.hk
The Frontier. [Online]. http://www.frontier.org.hk
The Hong Kong Progressive Alliance. [Online]. http://www.hkpa.org.hk
Liberal Party. [Online]. http://www.liberal.org.hk
60
[Online].
Exemplar 2
Activity
Activity 1
Worksheet : Getting to Know your Community
What are the positive elements of my community?
I live in this community (name of district?) ____________________________
I love the district where I am living in because:
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Improving my Community
To help improve your community, list all the problems you have observed that
may need to be worked on:
Community problems may include: environment issue (such as garbage
collection and treatment, recycling, noise pollution, air pollution),
hygiene (market sanitary conditions), transportation (such as zebra
crossing, pedestrian subway, routing and frequencies of bus/mini-bus
services), security (police patrol, street lighting at night, crime
prevention), community facilities (such as parks, swimming pools,
shopping malls, sport centers ……), and town planning.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
61
Exemplar 2
Activity
Activity 2
Homework／Activity
Students are urged to organize a field trip to study the needs of their
community after class so as to amend the lists they have prepared in class. In
the process, they collect more information about their community.
Data collection methods:
1.
Informal interviews or simple surveys with family members and
neighbors.
2.
Information through the Internet and newspapers. Newsletters published
by the local district may be useful for this purpose.
3.
Interviews with members of the District Council or community pressure
groups.
62
Exemplar 2
Activity
F.
Further Suggestion for Teaching Activities:
If some of your students have already covered the topic of “community study” at
junior forms, you can modify the above materials and restructure your teaching
activities. You can speed up the process of learning and teaching by focusing on the
functions, effectiveness, and limitations of community political participation, and
demonstrate how community level participation can yield results on a higher level.
See the following two examples.
Activity A: Interview District Council members, district branches of the
political parties, or activists of community organizations.
Explore the following issues:
1.
Over the past 2 years, what has the interviewee done that is/are relevant to
the community’s interests? (Students are required to explore the policy
contribution of the interviewee. This kind of information can be sometimes
found in political handbills distributed by candidates who seek re-election.)
2.
How did s/he achieve that goal? Through what channels? Did s/he
encounter any difficulties and resistance? Ask the interviewee to share
her/his experience on both successful cases and failed cases.
3.
If there are more than one political party in the community, students are
advised to interview both offices. Check if there is any difference in their
policy positions.
4.
Record the interview, and present major points in class.
63
Exemplar 2
Activity
Activity B : Case Study
Assuming that your community is facing the following problem, how would you
solve the problem? What are the existing political participation channels that can
be used to help solve the problem?
You are living in a large residential area and there is a highway cutting
across the area. The heavy traffic on the highway has created serious
noise pollution problems. Many people believe that building a
soundproof shield along the highway can help to reduce the noise level.
You are invited to attend the residents’ meeting to provide advice, what
would you do?
1.
Will you attend the residents’ meeting? Explain why.
2.
If you decide to attend the residents’ meeting, what would you suggest as
solutions to the problem? Which of the following channels of political
participation would you recommend to the community? Explain why.
You can consider the following channels of participation:
 Make a phone call to a radio phone-in program to raise the issue.
 Write a letter of complaint to the editor of a newspaper.
 Make a phone call to complain to a government department/bureau.
 Write a letter of complaint to a government department/bureau.
 Make direct contact with a government official.
 Write a letter of complaint directly to the Secretary for the Environment,




Transport, and Works.
Contact the District Council member in your district and ask for help.
Contact the elected legislator in your area and ask for help.
To launch a residents’ signature campaign.
Others: ___________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
64
Exemplar 2
Activity
3. If you are suggesting more than one action, do you need to set priorities for
these actions? How would you do that?
4. Which of the above channels is the most effective? Why?
65
Exemplar 3
Core Module II:
Characteristics of Hong Kong Society1
Question for enquiry:
What was the impact of economic growth in the past on the issue of poverty?
Suggested time allocation: 2 periods
A.
Extracts from the Curriculum Framework
Issue
Key Points
1. What are b. Economic
some of
development
the pluses
and wealth
and
distribution
minuses of
Hong
Kong
Society?
Suggested Question for Inquiry
How developed is Hong Kong and what
are the indications? What are the factors
contributing to Hong Kong’s emergence
as an international trading and financial
centre? What is the economic policy of
the HKSAR government? What was the
impact of economic growth in the past
on the issue of poverty? What
challenges have surfaced in the
restructuring of our economy? Is the
development toward a ‘hi-tech’,
knowledge-based economy the right
direction, and will it help improve the
uneven distribution of wealth?
Values and Attitudes
Equality, freedom and
liberty, common
good, mutuality,
justice, equal
opportunities, due
process of law,
plurality, democracy,
participatory, critical,
appreciation,
empathy, caring,
positive, adaptable to
changes, with a
respect for others, for
rule of law and for
fair play
B.
Objectives
1.
To understand the life of the poor in Hong Kong;
2.
To analyze the different definitions of poverty;
3.
To analyze the relationship between economic growth and poverty.
1
Exemplar 3 is prepared by Dr. Day WONG Kit-mui, GEC, HKPolyU.
66
Exemplar 3
C.
Learning Activities
Objectives
Knowledge
Area of enquiry
Skills
Values and
attitudes
Period 1: Life of the poor
and the definitions of
poverty
[Activity 1]
1. The life of the poor
2. Different definitions of
poverty
Data collection;
comparing and
analyzing data
Empathy,
caring,
positive
Period 2: Discrepancy
between rich and poor in
Hong Kong
[Activity 2]
3. The problem of
discrepancy between the
rich and the poor in Hong
Kong
4. The social reality as
reflected in related figures
Interpreting and
analyzing data
Empathy,
caring,
positive,
critical
Period 1: Life of the poor and the definitions of poverty
(Students are required to search for related materials and launch a debate in the
second period, the motion is “Poor people are lazy people.”)
Ask students to read [Sources 1 to 2], then complete [Activity 1].
Period 2:
Disparities between rich and poor in Hong Kong
Ask students to read [Source 3 to 6], then complete [Activity 2].
67
Exemplar 3
D.
Teacher’s References
 The Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient are often used to indicate disparity
in the household income.
 The Lorenz curve is obtained by plotting the cumulative percentages
household income against the cumulative percentages of the number
households, starting from households with the lowest income. A specimen
the Lorenz curve is shown in Fig. 1. For an absolutely equal distribution
of
of
of
of
income, the Lorenz curve would be a line of equality (the straight line AB).
The degree of income disparity is reflected by the extent to which the Lorenz
curve is concave against the line of equality. In other words, the closer the
Lorenz curve is to the line of equality, the smaller is the degree of income
disparity.
 The Gini coefficient, which takes a value between zero and one, is calculated
by taking the area ABC between the Lorenz curve and the line of equality and
dividing it by the total area ABD below the line of equality. A value of 0
indicates absolute equality in the household income distribution, or every
household has an equal share of the total household income. A value of 1
means complete disparity when one household earns the total household
income and the remaining households earn nothing. The Gini coefficient of
the household income distribution of Hong Kong in 2001 was 0.525, which
was slightly higher than that of 0.518 in 1996.
68
Exemplar 3
B
100
Cumulative % of 80
household income
Line of Equality
60
C
40
Lorenz
Curve
Fig. 1 Lorenz curve
20
0
[Source:
A
0
D
20
40
60
80
100
Cumulative % of no. of households
Census and Statistics Department. Panel on Financial Affairs of Legislative Council
2001 – 2002 papers – Household Income and Gini Coefficient Information Note.
November 2001
<http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr01-02/english/panels/fa/papers/fa1108cb1-346-01e.pdf>]
69
Exemplar 3
Student Reading Materials
Source 1: Life of the poor in Hong Kong
A.
Case 1
Collect dripping water and cut cost
Mrs Tse, 52 years old and living in Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate, heaves a long
sigh whenever she recalled her loss of the job as a part-time domestic helper
because she arrived late for work after having queued up for charity rice. This
means an income loss of $3,000 per month. Her family of three then relies solely
on her husband’s income of less than $5,000 per month as a night-watcher in a
building. Under such harsh conditions, she has to cut expenses in every way.
She admits that she tries hard to spare money every day. Now, she uses kerosene
burner to replace coal gas for cooking, collects dripping water from the tap with a
pail, and only uses electric lights after dark to save water and electricity. Furniture
pieces and the electric fan in her home are all collected from dumped articles.
[Source: Apple Daily, 31 December 2001]
70
Exemplar 3
Student Reading Materials
B.
Case 2
Sick but refrain from consulting a physician; medicine on credit
Granny Mak Shun is 71 years old. She and her husband have no other income but
their monthly Old Age Allowance of $1,410 from the Government to meet the
public housing rent and other daily expenses. They dare not consult a physician,
even if they are sick. Fortunately, a Chinese medicine shop allows her to delay
payment of consultation fees and obtain herbal medicine on credit. Their staple
diet is vermicelli at $2.50 per bag and each bag is enough for 4 meals. Their daily
expense for food is $20 and pork with preserved vegetables is a fixed item.
[Source: Apple Daily, 31 December 2001]
71
Exemplar 3
Student Reading Materials
C.
Overview
The poor’s ten ways to save money:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Gather for use what others have thrown away
Use kerosene burner
Collect dipping water into the pail for use
Isolate oneself from relatives and friends to avoid expenses
Walk instead of use public transport; take a bus instead of the MTR
Queue up for charity rice
Consult doctors who offer free consultation services
8.
9.
10.
Buy cheap good from the mainland
Buy cheap food during closing time in the wet market
Hand-wash the laundry
72
Exemplar 3
Student Reading Materials
Monthly income of the low income families being interviewed
Amount
No. of families
Percentage
$1,999 或以下
9
12.7%
$2,000 - $3,999
9
12.7%
$4,000 - $5,999
20
28.2%
$6,000 - $7,999
13
18.3%
$8,000 - $9,999
12
16.9%
$10,000 or above
8
11.3%
Total
71
100%
[Source: Society for Community Organization]
73
Exemplar 3
Student Reading Materials
Source 2: Definitions of Poverty
Speech by the Secretary for Health and Welfare, Dr E. K. Yeoh, in the ‘Motion
of Thanks’ in the Legislative Council on November 1, 2000
A.
To begin with, no universally agreed definition of poverty exists. It can include:
unacceptable deprivation
-
low monetary income and consumption
lack of basic needs
low human development in terms of education, health and nutrition
risk and vulnerability, voicelessness and powerlessness etc.
Whereas the first three definitions focus more on material and financial
resources, the latter two are much broader and incorporate the more
fundamental issues which need to be addressed in dealing with poverty.
In applying the narrower definition of poverty which relates only to monetary
income and conception, three approaches are generally adopted:
- Abject poverty with its focus on minimum subsistence. The World Bank sets
this at US$1-2 a day per person;
- Relative poverty which concentrates more on equitable distribution of
income. One example is the percentage of the population below half of the
median per capita household income. But this implies that even in the
wealthiest of countries, there will always be a sector of the population in this
category; and
- Budget Standards which is based on a list of the goods and services which
have the elements of meeting basic subsistence levels.
[Source:
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Press release. 1 November
2000 <http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200011/01/1101233.htm>]
74
Exemplar 3
Student Reading Materials
B. Minutes of First Meeting held on 12 June 1996, Legislative Council Panel on
Welfare Services Subcommittee on CSSA Study
At the request of the Chairperson, Miss Eva LIU (Head, Research & Library
Services) introduced the concept of poverty line which was adopted
internationally, and quoted the definition by the European Union as an example
which was ‘persons, families and groups of persons whose resources are so
limited as to exclude them from the minimum acceptable way of life in the
Member State in which they live’. The excluded were defined as those whose
incomes fell below 50% of average disposable income in that country.
[Source:
Legislative Council. Legislative Council Panel on Welfare Services Subcommittee
on CSSA Study – Minutes of First Meeting, 12 June 1996
<http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr95-96/english/panels/ws/cssas/minutes/cs120696.htm>]
C.
Professor Nelson Chow’s criteria to define poverty
Professor Nelson Chow of the Department of Social Work and Social
Administration of the University of Hong Kong set the criteria to define poverty
in 1985, including:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Does every family member have a bed of his/her own?
Does the family have a TV set?
Does the family have a refrigerator?
Do family members consult private doctors when they are sick?
Does the family go out for feasts to celebrate special events?
6.
Does the family, other than festival time, usually have expensive food
in their meals?
Does the family send gifts to congratulate friends and relatives?
Does the family give out red-packets in Lunar New Year?
Does the head of the family dine out with friends?
7.
8.
9.
[Source: Professor Nelson Chow]
75
Exemplar 3
Activity
Activity 1
Discussion:
1. According to Source 1, how is the life of the poor like? What are the
difficulties they face?
2. Source 2 lists out some definitions of poverty. Which one do you find
most reasonable/unreasonable? Why?
3. Do those cases mentioned in Source 1 match the different criteria of
poverty?
Extended activity:
Try to talk with you parents or elder relatives and find out the difficult life in
the past; or try to empathize the lives of the poor people in the past through
films or TV programmes (e.g. Below the Lion Rock). What are the similarities
and differences between ‘being poor’ in the past and at present?
76
Exemplar 3
Student Reading Materials
Source 3:
Percentages of total income of ten income groups in Hong
Kong from 1991-2001
Ten Groups*
1991
1996
2001
Group1 (lowest)
1.3
1.1
0.9
Group 2
3.0
2.6
2.3
Group 3
4.0
3.6
3.4
Group 4
5.0
4.6
4.4
Group 5
6.1
5.7
5.6
Group 6
7.4
7.0
7.0
Group 7
9.0
8.5
8.8
Group 8
11.4
10.6
11.1
Group 9
15.5
14.5
15.3
Group 10 (highest)
37.3
41.8
41.2
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
*
All households are divided into 10 decile groups according to their level of
income, with the first decile group being the 10% of households earning the
least, the second decile group being the 10% earning the next least, and so on.
[Source:
Census and Statistics Department. Panel on Financial Affairs of Legislative Council
2001 – 2002 papers – Household Income and Gini Coefficient Information Note.
November 2001
<http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr01-02/english/panels/fa/papers/fa1108cb1-346-01e.pdf>]
77
Exemplar 3
Student Reading Materials
Source 4:
^
Gini coefficient^ in Hong Kong, 1971-2001
Population census or by-census
Gini coefficient
1971
0.430
1976
0.429
1981
0.451
1986
0.453
1991
0.476
1996
0.518
2001
0.525
The higher the Gini coefficient shows that the discrepancy between rich and
poor in that region is more serious.
[Source:
Census and Statistics Department. Panel on Financial Affairs of Legislative Council
2001 – 2002 papers – Household Income and Gini Coefficient Information Note.
November 2001
<http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr01-02/english/panels/fa/papers/fa1108cb1-346-01e.pdf>]
Source 5:
Gini coefficient of different countries and regions
World Bank publishes periodically economic indicators for countries and
regions, including their Gini coefficients. Please visit the homepage of World
Bank on data about poverty
(http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/data/index.htm) and find from the part
‘Country Level Indicators’ a section on ‘Estimates of inequality’. From there
you can download the file containing most updated ‘World Development
Indicators’ (2002), where Gini coefficients of different countries and regions
can be found.
78
Exemplar 3
Student Reading Materials
Source 6:

Interpreting the Gini coefficient
Study of income distribution have to be performed with great care, so as
not to overlook some relevant factors, including the effect of social
mobility of individual persons in the population over time. For example,
some households falling in the low income decile groups in 1996 might
have moved up the social ladder to a higher income decile group in 2001.
Their positions in the low income decile groups might have been replaced
by households newly formed by persons who have just entered the labour
force.

Furthermore, care should be taken to note the structural changes in an
economy and the consequential transformation to occupational patterns.
Over the past decade, rapid structural transformation in the Hong Kong
economy has led to a strong and increasing demand for managers,
administrators, professionals and associate professionals, and hence faster
increases in salaries and wages for people working in these jobs than those
working in other jobs which require lower level of knowledge and skill.
Income disparity thus widens as a consequence of such variations in salary
increases. It should be noted that a certain degree of income disparity is
rather common in the more economically advanced countries or territories.

The use of the Gini coefficient only serves to indicate different trends in the
disparity of income distribution among households. The effects of taxation
and social benefits on the distribution of household income, which tend to
reduce the disparity of income, have not been considered. No account is
taken of the intangible income received by the lower income households in
the form of Government spending in housing, health and education. The
economic benefits of such welfare services in alleviating the apparent
disparity in household income distribution should not be underestimated.
79
Exemplar 3
Student Reading Materials

Finally, it should be noted that there is no direct relationship between the
extent of poverty and the Gini coefficient. An increase in the Gini
coefficient implies rising income disparity which does not necessarily
indicate worsening of the poverty situation. For example, when the rich
become richer while the poor also become richer, the Gini coefficient may
still increase as there may be differential degree of improvement in income
for different groups of people. Hence, reference should also be made to
other income statistics in addition to the Gini coefficient (e.g. median
monthly household income, monthly household income per capita and
percentage distribution of monthly household income by decile groups of
domestic households) in order to get a clear understanding of the poverty
situation of an economy.
[Source: Census and Statistics Department. Panel on Financial Affairs of Legislative Council
2001 – 2002 papers – Household Income and Gini Coefficient Information Note.
November 2001
<http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr01-02/english/panels/fa/papers/fa1108cb1-346-01e.pdf>]
80
Exemplar 3
Activity
Activity 2
Discussion:
1. How did the disparities between the rich and the poor change in Hong Kong
over the past few decades?
2. According to Source 6, could Gini coefficient reveal clearly the disparities
between the rich and the poor in a region? Why?
3. What are the factors accounting for the changing gap between the rich and
the poor in different periods in Hong Kong? Does it have any relation with
economic restructuring?
4. Are disparities between the rich and the poor a necessary phenomenon in
times of economic development?
Debate
Motion: ‘Poor people are lazy people.’
81
Exemplar 4
Core Module II:Characteristics of Hong Kong Society1
Questions for Inquiry:
Are there different kinds of discrimination in Hong Kong? To what extent
do the social reforms and policies of the government guarantee equal
opportunities?
Suggested time allocation: 2 periods
A.
Extracts from the Curriculum Framework
Issue
1.
Key Points
What are
c. Social policy
some of the
and equal
pluses and
opportunities
minuses of
Hong Kong
Society?
Suggested questions for enquiry
Is Hong Kong a place of
opportunities? Does hard work
promise
success?
Is
it
important to have a society
with integrity and uprightness?
Are there different kinds of
discrimination in Hong Kong?
To what extent do the social
reforms and policies of the
government guarantee equal
opportunities
and
fair
distribution of wealth?
Values and attitudes
Equality, freedom and
liberty, common good,
mutuality, justice, equal
opportunities, due process
of law, plurality,
democracy, participatory,
critical, appreciation,
empathy, caring, positive,
adaptable to changes, with
a respect for others, for
rule of law and for fair
play
B.
Objectives
1.
To help students to become aware if they are holding any prejudices or
stereotyped views on gender;
2.
To understand the meaning of discrimination and equal opportunities;
3.
To examine how existing laws can protect people from different forms of
discrimination.
1
Exemplar 4 is prepared by Dr. Day WONG Kit-mui, GEC, HKPolyU.
82
Exemplar 4
C. Learning Activities
Objectives
Knowledge
Skills
Values and attitudes
Area of enquiry
Period 1: Understanding
the meaning of equal
opportunities
[Activity 1 & 2]
1. Concepts of gender
stereotypes,
discrimination and equal
opportunities, as well as
how they are connected
Period 2: Examining
2.
existing antidiscrimination legislation
[Activity 3 & 4]
3.
Period 1:
1.
The rights and
responsibilities under
existing
anti-discrimination
ordinances
Adequacy of existing
ordinances to protect
people from different
forms of discrimination
Analyzing
survey results,
Group
discussion, Case
analysis
Equality,
freedom, equal
opportunities,
plurality, critical
Case analysis,
Essay writing,
Group discussion
Due process of
law, participatory,
empathy, caring,
positive, with a
respect for others,
for rule of law
and fair play
Understanding the meaning of equal opportunities
To gauge students’ perception of gender by means of a questionnaire survey
[Activity 1], and to enable them to see if they hold any prejudices or
stereotyped views on gender.
2.
Help students understand the connection between stereotyping, discrimination
and equal opportunities through case analysis [Activity 2] and group
discussion.
83
Exemplar 4
Period 2:
Examining existing anti-discrimination legislation
1.
Ask students to visit the web site of the Equal Opportunities Commission
(EOC) (http://www.eoc.org.hk) and find the definitions of discrimination and
anti-discrimination ordinances.
2.
Use [Activity 3] to arouse student interest in the existing legislation. After they
have obtained some knowledge about the existing legislation, discuss whether
we should enact laws to stop discrimination on other grounds.
3.
Conduct a case analysis [Activity 4] and write a letter of complaint to the Equal
Opportunities Commission. This helps students understand the rights and
obligations under the existing legislation.
D.
Key Concepts
Gender stereotypes
Fixed and general images, characteristics, etc. that a lot of people believe to
represent males and females. For example, females are believed to be emotional,
dependent and indecisive while males are believed to be non-emotional (logical
and rational), independent and decisive. It follows that males are believed to be
more suitable to be leaders. The flaws of gender stereotyping lie in its
disregarding individual differences. Stereotyped beliefs may also lead to
discriminatory practices and practices which deprive people of the opportunity to
fulfill their potentials.
Equal opportunities
Equality of opportunities means giving everyone the means to develop their
potentials and capacities which may be inherently different. The purpose of equal
opportunity legislation is to enable all individuals to have an equal opportunity to
make for themselves the lives that they are able and wish to have, consistent with
their duties and obligations as members of the society, without being hindered in
or prevented from doing so by discriminatory practices.
Prejudice
The holding of unfounded ideas about a person or a group of people, ideas
that are resistant to change. When we prejudice against others, we tend to find
faults with what they do and select only those pieces of information which
reinforce our basic opinion.
84
Exemplar 4
Discrimination
Activities that deny to the members of a particular group resources or rewards
which can be obtained by others. Discrimination can be distinguished from
prejudice, although the two are usually quite closely associated. Discrimination
refers to the behavioral or institutional dimension, whereas prejudice refers to the
dimension of understanding. It can be the case that individuals who are prejudiced
against others do not engage in discriminatory practices against them; conversely,
people may act in a discriminatory fashion even though they are not prejudiced
against those subject to such discrimination.
Direct discrimination
Direct discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favorably than
another person in comparable circumstances, because of a person’s sex,
pregnancy, family status, disability, and so on. For example, if a person is rejected
for a job because the employer wants to hire a person of another sex. However, if
a person’s sex is a genuine occupational qualification for the job, it is then not
unlawful. For example, a retirement home may want to hire female attendants to
help with providing intimate care to female retirees. This is not the same as an
employer thinking that males are not suitable as clerks or women as managers.
Indirect discrimination
Indirect discrimination occurs when a condition or requirement, which is not
justifiable, is applied to everyone but in practice adversely affects persons of a
particular sex or family status, those who are disabled, and so on. For example, if
an employer penalizes an employee for not working overtime because s/he is not
able to do so as s/he is a single parent and need to take care of young children. If
the employer cannot prove that the overtime requirement is justified, then this can
be an act of indirect discrimination.
Anti-Discrimination Ordinances
In July 1994, the independent legislator Anna Wu tabled a private bill in the
Legislative Council to urge the Hong Kong government to promote equal
opportunities. Wu’s Equal Opportunities Bill aimed to prohibit discrimination on
a range of grounds including sex, race, disability, age and sex preference. The
government considered the scope of the Bill too wide and finally decided to enact
legislation against discrimination on the grounds of sex and disability. The Sex
Discrimination Ordinance and the Disability Discrimination Ordinance came into
effect in 1996. The third ordinance, the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance
brought into operation by the government at the end of 1997. According to the
three ordinances, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person on the grounds of
sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability, and family status. The legal protection
covers the following areas: employment, education, provision of goods, facilities
or services, disposal or management of premises, eligibility to vote for and to be
elected or appointed to advisory bodies, participation in clubs, and activities in
government.
85
Exemplar 4
E.
Teacher’s References
1.
Supplementary Information 1 [For Activity 1]
It’s hard for men to have female bosses or to receive financial support from
their wives. Men have conservative ideas about gender roles
Nowadays many women are managers making higher salaries than men do.
However, according to a research sponsored by the Equal Opportunities
Commission, boys find it unthinkable to have female bosses or to receive
financial support from their wives. Commission chairperson Anna Wu Hung-yuk
and some psychologists worry that male students are still deeply affected by
gender stereotyping. This limits a boy’s choice of future career, it also weakens
his ability to solve problems.
Different views held by male and female students
The research was done by the Department of Social Work and Social
Administration of the University of Hong Kong. A total of 8,380 students in
Primary Four, Form 1, Form 4 and Form 6 were surveyed and it is found that
boys’ thinking is more stereotyped than female classmates. Boys perceive certain
subjects such as physical education, mathematics and computer as masculine
while girls classify these subjects as neutral. However, both boys and girls think
that art, music and dancing are suitable for girls while football, martial arts and
volleyball are suitable for boys.
The research puts certain questions specifically to senior students (Form 4
and Form 6). The result is that boys and girls have very different opinions on the
following five statements. Female students generally agree or feel neutral with
them, but male students strongly disagree and find them unthinkable:

Women can be the bosses of men;

Men receive financial support from their wives;

Girls take the lead in dating;

Boys learn domestic science or childcare;

Men should do as much housework as women.
86
Exemplar 4
Commission chairperson Anna Wu Hung-yuk believes that gender
stereotyping no longer affects females. They are able to break stereotypes.
However, males are more conservative and limit themselves in the choices of
behaviours, school subjects and future careers. This will affect their personal
growth and may even lower the efficiency of human resources allocation. Clinical
psychologist Ms. Eugenie Leung Yeuk-sin is worried about the influence of
gender stereotyping on males. She points out that boys still believe in the fairy
tale in which the princess would live happily with the prince. Boys cannot accept
the reality that the princess can earn a living all by herself.
Psychologists are worried about boys
Ms. Leung explains that when one is not affected by gender stereotyping, one
can adapt to the environment more easily; on the contrary, when a conservative
male finds himself in love with an outstanding female or when he has female
bosses, he will not be able to adapt to it. This will affect his job performance and
his ability to communicate with others.
Ms. Wu Hung-yuk adds that there are stereotypes about disadvantaged
groups. This observation has been substantiated by a survey of textbooks.
According to the survey, only 30% of the 60,000 characters in textbooks are
female, less than 5% are the elderly, 3% are of other racial groups, and 0.1% are
disabled people. They are presented as weaker members of society who need help.
[Source: Ming Pao, 16 April 2002]
87
Exemplar 4
2.
Supplementary Information 2 [For Activity 4]
The EOC successfully resolved a case by conciliation where Freddy was
discriminated against by his school on the ground of disability.
What the EOC did
When Freddy’s parents brought their complaint to the EOC, we took
immediate action. The school principal was interviewed and a visit was made to
the school. The school principal claimed that it was for safety reasons that the
wheelchair was not allowed to be unloaded in the school carpark and that the
corridors were too narrow for the use of a wheelchair. He also said that Freddy
using the staff toilet would cause inconvenience to the teachers.
EOC investigators found that the corridors in the school were wide enough
for both wheelchair and students and there was no question of obstruction. As to
the use of the staff toilet, the teachers had no objection at all to Freddy using it.
The school principal and the parents agreed to sit down and resolve their
differences. A conciliation meeting was called and our conciliator helped the
parties to find common grounds and reach settlement. The school now provides
facilities to assist Freddy and other students who have a disability. Freddy’s
parents are happy with the arrangements. Conciliation yields a win-win situation
for all concerned.
What the law says
Under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, it is unlawful to discriminate
against a person on the ground of disability. An educational establishment should
not discriminate against a student with a disability by denying or limiting that
student’s access to any benefit, service or facility provided by the school, unless
the provision of which would impose unjustifiable hardship on the school.
[Source: EOC News, Issue No. 10, April 1999, p.8.]
88
Exemplar 4
Activity
Activity 1
Questionnaire survey
Ask students to fill in the following questionnaire.
To what extent do you agree with each of these statements? Choose one of the
following options:
a. Strongly agree
d. Disagree
b. Agree
e. Strongly disagree
c. Neutral
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Girls are emotional.
Girls are tidy.
Boys are independent.
Boys are decisive.
Computer is a masculine subject.
Music is a feminine subject.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
It is more suitable for boys to do science subjects.
It is more suitable for girls to do arts subjects.
Boys should learn domestic science or childcare.
Boys should always take lead in dating.
Boys should do as much housework as girls.
Boys should protect girls.
Boys don’t cry.
It is unthinkable that men receive financial support from their wives.
Having a female boss is just as good as having a male boss.
89
Exemplar 4
Activity
Discussion
Based on the survey results, discuss:
1.
To what extent are we influenced by gender stereotyping?

How many students agree with more than half of the stereotyped
views expressed by the above statements?



Which of the stereotypes are held by most people?
Are there any differences between the opinions of male and female?
What are they?
Which group of students, male or female, tend to have stronger
stereotyped views of gender roles?
2.
What are the problems of gender stereotyping?

Do the stereotypes accurately describe the traits of every individual?

Do they exaggerate the differences between male and female?

Should male and female be confined to the stereotyped roles?

3.
In what ways do gender stereotypes lay the ground for sex
discrimination?
How should we view gender roles if equal opportunities are to be
promoted in our society?
90
Exemplar 4
Activity
Activity 2
[Translated from:
新婦女協進會、平等機會委員會合編。《工作上的性別歧視與兩性平等漫
畫冊》，1997，頁 5-7。]
91
Exemplar 4
Activity
Discussion
1. Is the hiring decision fair and acceptable?
2. Can the decision be explained by gender stereotyping?
3. Does it violate the principle of equal opportunities?
4. Does it involve any discrimination?
92
Exemplar 4
Activity
Activity 3
Quiz
-
Are they discriminatory acts?
Do they represent direct discrimination or indirect discrimination?
Are the discriminatory acts unlawful?
1. Only hire female for the post of secretaries.
2. Refuse to hire a blind person even though s/he is the best qualified
person for the job. The company fears that hiring a blind person may
damage corporate image.
3. Require applicants for the post of physical exercise teacher to have a
height of 170cm.
4. Hire a female counselor at a shelter home for battered women.
5. Give a student a lower grade because s/he cannot comply with the
usual school attendance expectations due to periodical-hospital-based
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
treatment for diabetes.
Reject a divorced person’s application for a credit card.
Refuse to hire those aged over 40 as salespersons.
Refuse to let out an apartment to a newly arrived family.
Call Indian people “ah cha” and Filipino domestic helpers “bun mui”.
Withhold a teacher from promotion after his/her sexual orientation is
exposed.
Discussion
-
Should we pass legislation against discrimination on the grounds of age,
race and sexual orientation?
What are the costs and benefits of passing these laws? Consider it from
the perspectives of those who are discriminated against, of the
organizations, employers and the society as a whole.
93
Exemplar 4
Activity
Activity 4
Freddy suffered from a disorder which, after a corrective surgery,
compelled him to use a wheelchair for 18 months. When he went back to
school, he was laughed at and called “a cripple” by some classmates. As he
was not allowed to use the staff toilet which was next to his classroom, he
had to struggle with the help of some classmates to the boy’s toilets upstairs.
After a few days, his primary school principal notified him of the decision to
suspend him from school for as long as he needed to use his wheelchair. The
principal claimed that the wheelchair would block the corridors and cause
inconvenience to other school members. Freddy stopped going to school. He
felt very upset and his self-esteem was adversely affected.
[Modified from a case published in Equal Opportunities Commission News, Issue No. 10,
April 1999, p.8.]
Task
Suppose you are a family member of Freddy, and you find the
principal’s decision unreasonable. Write a letter of complaint to the Equal
Opportunities Commission stating why you think this is a case of
discrimination. You should also state your expectation of the school that
would facilitate Freddy’s learning and would rebuild his self-esteem.
94
Exemplar 5
Core Module III:
Development of Modern China1
Questions for enquiry:
What are reasons for migrant workers? What problems do migrant workers
bring? How can the issue of migrant workers and the resulting problems be
tackled?
Suggested time allocation: 2 periods
A.
Extracts from the Curriculum Framework
Issues
Key points
1. How desirable a. Rural reform
are the current
and urban
strategies of
development
China’s
economic
development?
Suggested questions for enquiry
What paths has China undertaken in
economic development since the
establishment of the People’s Republic
of China? What are the differences
between planned economy and market
economy? What is socialist market
economy? What progress has China’s
economic reform made since 1978?
What rural reform has the government
launched? What are the factors that
drive China to develop township and
village enterprises? What are the major
characteristics of China’s urbanization
and city reforms? What are reasons for
migrant workers? What problems do
migrant workers bring? How can the
issue of migrant workers and the
resulting problems be tackled? How can
the divergences between urban and rural
areas be narrowed?
Values and attitudes
Patriotism, sense of
belonging, solidarity,
equality, freedom and
liberty, equal
opportunities,
human rights and
responsibilities,
human dignity,
common good
B.
Objectives
1.
To understand the general situation of Chinese peasantry;
2.
To analyze the problems of China’s recent economic development;
3.
To discuss the social problems created by migrant workers and the possible
solutions to these problems.
1
Exemplar 5 is prepared by Dr. PANG Lai-kwan, Assistant Professor of Department of Modern
Languages and Intercultural Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
95
Exemplar 5
C.
Learning Activities
Objectives
Knowledge
Area of enquiry
Periods 1-2: Reasons of the 1. General situation of
migrant workers
Chinese peasantry
phenomenon
2. Reasons behind the
[Activity 1 – 4]
phenomenon of migrant
workers
a Who are migrant
workers?
b Why do they choose to
be so?
3. Potential problems migrant
workers are facing in the
urban areas
Periods 2-3: Government’s 4.
policy
[Activity 5 – 7]
Periods 1-2:
Possible ways and policy
to solve the problems of
migrant workers
Values and
attitudes
Skills
Data
collection,
group
discussion,
analyzing
picture, table
analysis,
understanding
data
Equality, equal
opportunities,
human dignity
Analyzing
photograph,
criticizing
essay, group
discussion
Equality,
freedom and
liberty, equal
opportunities,
human rights
and
responsibilities,
human dignity,
common good
Reasons for the migrant workers phenomenon
1.
This unit starts with the general situation of Chinese peasantry and investigates
into the reasons for the phenomenon of the migrant workers. Students will form
groups before class to collect, from sources such as newspaper, magazine, books
and TV, at least three pieces of information about Chinese peasantry.
2.
Discuss in class, basing on the collected information, the following:



3.
What do you think about the general living situation of the inland farmers?
What are their biggest problems?
If you were a farmer, how would you improve your live?
Use [Source 1] to prompt students’ interest into enquiring: Who are these
migrant workers? Why do they choose to be so?
96
Exemplar 5
4.
Use [Sources 2 to 4] explain that the phenomenon of migrant workers is largely
a result of the increasing gap of income between rural and urban population, so
that many labor power in the rural areas decide to go to the urban area to work
and seek higher pay.
5.
Teacher may use a map of China to show the directions of flow of migrant
workers.
6.
With reference to the examples of migrant workers jammed in train stations
during Lunar New Year, those living in locked quarters, and those being
suspected of theft, teacher can ask students about their own impressions of
migrant workers.
7.
To examine the problem migrant workers faced in the cities, students can refer
to the statistics provided by [Source 5]. Teacher can invite students to questions
why so many of migrant workers are manual labourers. Teacher should also
introduce the problems of how household registration system in China confines
the career development of peasant in a city [Source 6].
Periods 2-3:
Government’s policy
1.
Teacher first summarizes the social problems migrant workers might have
created. Using [Source 7] students are invited to discuss how government can
use social policy to solve the problems.
2.
Micro-policy: According to [Source 8], discuss how the government can protect
the migrant workers through specific social policies.
3.
Macro-policy: According to [Source 9], investigate the government’s
macro-economic plan that might or might not ultimately solve the migrant
workers problem.
97
Exemplar 5
D.
Key Concepts
Uneven economic development
Since the 1980s, China’s economic development is basically lead by cities along
the coast. Inland areas developed in a much slower pace. It causes the increasing
gap of the living standard between the areas along the coast and areas in the
inland.
Mobile population
Due to different reasons individuals leave the areas of his or her permanent
residence and move to other areas for temporary residence.
Surplus labor
When a place offers more labor power than what is needed, there will be some
people who cannot find a job.
Household registration system
Under this system, the entire population of China falls under two categories.
With no permanent urban residence rights, rural migrants are not eligible for the
wide range of essential benefits available to urbanites, including employment,
education and social security. It is very difficult for an individual to transfer his
or her household (hukou) registration from one category to another in the past.
98
Exemplar 5
E.
Teachers’ References
Background Information
The economic development in different parts of China has been uneven in
recent years. The skyrocketing living standard of the residents living along the
coast is a direct result of the opening up and reform policies. Comparatively,
some regions of the inland stay stagnant. Since the 1980s, attracted by the
higher salary in the cities and propelled by the lack of jobs at home, many
rural inhabitants of China’s interior, particularly those poor peasantry, has
traveled long distance to the urban areas for temporary jobs. They created a
massive mobile population, the migrant workers. Many of them do not have
permanent resident status in the cities, so they have to leave their younger and
older family members at home. During certain days such as Lunar New Year,
these migrant workers would all travel home and later back to their work
place, creating tremendous traffic problems in China every year. Nonetheless,
their contribution to the development of China in the last two decades has been
significant. They sacrificed their family, and sometimes health, to provide
cheap labor for the rapid development of the city. But a number of social
problems also arise. They are often exploited by the employers and have no
job securities and benefits. Without much social protection, they often run into
industrial accidents. On the other hand, the urban residents hold biased views
to these migrant workers, seeing them as causes of corruption and heavy
burdens to the urban social system.
For more details about the phenomenon of migrant workers, see
鄔滄萍編。《改革開放中出現的最新人口問題》。北京：高等教育出版社，
1996，第二章。
Woon, Yuen-fong. “Labor Migration in the 1990s: Homeward Orientation of
Migrants in the Pearl River Delta Region and Its Implications for Interior
China” in Modern China, Vol. 25, No. 4, October 1999, pp.475-512.
99
Exemplar 5
Student Reading Materials
Source 1
The photo illustrated here is copyright protected
and hence cannot be reprinted here. For the
photo, please refer to the hard copy of this
booklet which has been distributed to all local
secondary schools.
[Source: Yazhou Zhoukan, Vol. 16, No. 11 (11 – 17 March, 2002)]
Copyright of Photo:
REUTERS/China Photo ASW/RCS CHINA YUEYANG Photo by CHINA
PHOTO. REUTERS 2002. REUTERS NEWS PICTURE SERVICE
20/02/2002
100
Exemplar 5
Activity
Activity 1
Discussion
1. Who are these people in the picture?
2. What are they doing?
3. The caption of the picture is: “New Hopes for New Life.” What does it
mean?
4. Assume you are one among them. A reporter is asking you for your feeling,
what would be your answer?
101
Exemplar 5
Student Reading Materials
Source 2
The income of Chinese citizen is on a constant rise along with the rapid economic
development of the country. More and more Chinese people are entering the
middle class, and there are less and less households of poverty. However, a new
situation is seen recently, that there is a wider gap between the income of the
urban population and rural population.
There are many reasons for this …... [D]ue to the different paces of economic
development, those living in the eastern part usually have a higher income when
compared to those in the western part and the central regions. At the same time,
those living in the urban areas are also usually richer than their rural counterpart.
[Translated from: 中國人口信息網，<http://www.cpirc.org.cn/>]
Source 3
According to official estimation, half of the migrant workers in the whole
country now concentrate in the Pearl River Delta. Most of them came from the
Sichuan province. There will be 3.1 million migrant workers travelling east and
south after the Lunar New Year, with an 8% increase compared to the last year.
The province claims that there are 4.6 million Sichuaness migrant workers,
among them 2.6 millions would travel home during this Lunar New Year. If
these data are accurate, 500,000 more Sichuan youths will become new migrant
workers this year. Many of them will go to Guangdong, Shanghai, Fujian, and
Beijing to look for jobs.
[Translated from: Yazhou Zhoukan, Vol. 16, No. 11, March 11, 2002, p.30.]
102
Exemplar 5
Student Reading Materials
Source 4
The living standard of urban and rural population continued to improve. The
annual per capita disposable income of urban households was 7,703 yuan in
2002, a real increase of 13.4 percent …... The per capita net income of rural
households was 2,476 yuan, a real increase of 4.8 percent.
[Source: National Bureau of Statistics. Statistical Communique 2002. 28 February 2003
<http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newrelease/statisticalreports/1200303120088.htm>]
Activity
Activity 2
Discussion
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Who are those leaving their home to go to cities to find jobs?
According to what you know about China’s rural environment, what might
be their reasons of leaving home?
How do we call these people?
Where do they usually go?
Why are they attracted to these areas?
103
Exemplar 5
Student Reading Materials
Source 5
%
Mobile population /流動人口
W
ho
les
/其
他
er
s
Ot
h
in
g生
產
工
人
tu
r
服
務
人
員
M
an
uf
ac
vi
c
Se
r
&
ale
fe
s
Pr
o
es
/
/批
零
貿
易
Re
ta
il
Cl
e
rk
/職
員
/ 經
理
Urban resident / 城市居民
M
an
ag
er
sio
na
ls
/
專
業
技
術
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Career Distribution of Shanghai’s Mobile Population and Urban Residents in 1995
[Source:
蔡昉編。
《2000 年中國人口問題報告：農村人口問題及其治理》
。北京：社會科學文獻
出版社，2000，頁 90。]
Activity
Activity 3
Discussion
1.
2.
3.
What do the two categories “mobile population” and “urban resident”
mean in this graph?
What are the careers occupied by most members of the “mobile
population”?
What are the careers occupied by most “urban residents”?
104
Exemplar 5
Student Reading Materials
Source 6
In 1958, the National People’s Congress passed the first Household
Registration Law in China, restricting the rural population to enter the city,
and also to confine the inter-city moving population…. The rural residents
have rural household, while the city people have city household. In the village
the rural household is combined with the land, so that those peasantry with
household registration can work in the agriculture and become farmer. For
those living in cities, the urban household is combined with his/her labor and
livelihood. The government will take care of his/her food and social benefits if
s/he has urban household registration. They can work in government’s
enterprises. They will be arranged jobs through central distributions after
fulfilling one year of military duty.
[Translated from: 人民網，<http://www.people.com.cn/>]
Activity
Activity 4
Discussion
Based on Source 6, explain the differences of the two groups’ occupation
patterns as shown in Source 5.
105
Exemplar 5
Student Reading Materials
Source 7
Caption of the billboard: “Strengthening the management of the mobile
population, promoting the economic development of the Capital”
Activity
Activity 5
Discussion
1.
Where would this billboard be shown?
2.
What might the slogan mean by “strengthening the management of the
mobile population”?
3.
What are the relationships between “the management of the mobile
population” and “economic development”?
106
Exemplar 5
Student Reading Materials
Source 8
…… To ensure the stability of our country when transforming from a rural
country to an urban one, a permanent institution specialized in managing the
movements of migrant workers should be established. (This institution should
have the functions such as scientific research on the migration directions and
social demands of migrant workers, educating and providing social security
means to them, as well as managing the Household Registration System.) As
China is a populous agricultural country, migrant workers are an important social
group that should not be neglected during this critical period of social
transformation. Since both the education standard and the living standards of
migrant workers are relatively low, it is obvious that they are an underprivileged
group. Both the difficult livelihood and the unpredictable migration patterns of
migrant workers are factors affecting the order and stability of society. The
managing of the migrant workers concerns four areas. First, to establish
specialized official organizations to take care of their needs. Second, to provide
education and training. Third, to protect their rights and wages. Fourth, to
establish an archive and an effective system for migrant workers’ social security.
Establishing a specialized institution and including the management of migrant
workers as a part of the routine schedule of the government are necessary
measures to protect the rights and to upgrade the qualities of migrant workers.
Under this situation of disorder and disorientation, many of the migrant workers
cannot receive vocational education, and there is no protection to their wages.
Governmental commitment is essential to guarantee migrant good education that
is best for the workers and for the government. Without the intervention of the
government, the right of the migrant workers to enjoy a stable livelihood cannot
be protected.
[Translated from:
敖繼紅。《把關注社會弱勢群體的口號落到實處》。人民網，2003 年 3
月 3 日 <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/>]
107
Exemplar 5
Activity
Activity 6
Discussion
1.
According to the writer, what are the problems migrant workers now
facing?
2.
What does the writer suggest?
3.
Do you think if the ideas are practical or not?
4.
If yes, how to implement this idea; and if no, any counter proposal?
108
Exemplar 5
Student Reading Materials
Source 9
6. Questions related to the coordination of development of regional
economies
There have been speedy developments in different parts of China since the
reform. Compared to the past, every region of the country is prospering.
However, due to the differences in their conditions and starting points, some
regions have developed faster than the others, thus widening the regional
differences. This issue has attracted much social attention recently. It is very
timely and necessary for the Proposal to set as the first strategy to highlight
and solve the problems of regional disparities …… It is going to take some
time to solve these problems. Fundamentally, allowing better areas to
develop faster is beneficial to the country’s overall economy, and therefore
also to the less developed areas. The eastern areas should use the favorable
conditions in their region to continue to develop their strengths, so that their
economic energy will also continue to increase. At the same time, the country
should consider how to support the less developed areas in the central and
western regions, so that these regions can develop their own economies and
eradicate poverty.
Translated from: 李鵬。《關於制定國民經濟和社會發展“九五”計劃和 2010 年遠景目標建
議的說明》
（1995 年 9 月 25 日）
。載於人民網，中國共產黨第十四次全
國代表大會，
<http://www.people.com.cn/GB/shizheng/252/5089/5106/index.html>
109
Exemplar 5
Activity
Activity 7
Discussion
1.
Is the phenomenon of migrant workers a direct result of Government’s
macro economic plan?
2.
Can government’s macro economic blueprint help solve the problem?
3.
Should the government reform the household registration system to
solve the problems of migrant workers?
4.
How can the government help to increase farmers’ income?
110
Exemplar 5
Activity
Assignment/Extended Activity
Debate
Motion: ‘Migrant workers do more good than harm to the country’s social
and economic development’
(Main arguments for the motion: solve the surplus labor problem in rural
areas, increase the productivity in urban areas, and help alleviating poverty)
(Main arguments against the motion: security problems, deteriorating rural
economy, agitating conflicts between rural and urban population, social
benefits of migrant workers)
Writing task
Write, in the first person of a migrant worker, a diary or a letter in about
100 words, expressing the problems and expectations of these workers
working or looking for works in the city.
(This assignment can help the teacher see how much the student
understands the general situation of migrant workers.)
111
Exemplar 6
Core Module III:
Development of Modern China1
Questions for enquiry:
What are the factors that prompt state-owned enterprises to launch reforms?
What are the effects of these reforms?
Suggested time allocation: 2 periods
A.
Extracts from the Curriculum Framework
Issues
Key points
Suggested questions for enquiry
Values and attitudes
1. How
desirable are
the current
strategies of
China’s
economic
development?
b. The reform of
state-owned
enterprises,
enterprises of
the
non-public
sector and
China’s entry
into the World
Trade
Organization
(WTO)
What are the factors that prompt
state-owned enterprises to launch
reforms? What are the effects of
these reforms? How does the
government
handle
the
unemployment problem brought by
the
state-owned
enterprises
reform? What are the roles played
by enterprises of the non-public
sector in China’s economy? Why
did China join the WTO? What are
the opportunities and challenges
brought by China’s entry into the
WTO as a developing country?
What are the opportunities and
challenges facing Hong Kong
following our country’s entry into
the WTO? What are the roles
played by Hong Kong economy in
our
country’s
economic
development?
Patriotism, sense of
belonging, solidarity,
equality, freedom and
liberty, equal
opportunities, human
rights and
responsibilities,
human dignity,
common good
B.
Objectives
1.
To know the historical background and importance of state-owned enterprises;
2.
To understand the problems faced by state-owned enterprises in recent years and
ways to carry out reforms;
3.
To investigate the effectiveness of state-owned enterprise reforms and discuss
the unemployment problem caused by these reforms.
1
Exemplar 6 is prepared by Mr. TAM Ka-chai, GEC, HKPolyU.
112
Exemplar 6
C.
Learning Activities
Objectives
Knowledge
Skills
Value & Attitudes
Period 1： Historical
background of stateowned enterprises, the
necessity to carry out
reforms and reform
methods up to the
mid-1990s
[Activity 1]
1. China’s development
strategies before and
after the reforms
2. Difficulties faced by
state-owned enterprises
and the necessity to carry
out reforms
Integration,
comparison and
analysis of data,
collection of data
Patriotism, sense of
belonging, solidarity,
equality
Period 2： Ways to
reform state-owned
enterprises and the
problem of laid-off
workers
[Activity 2]
3. The unemployment
problem caused by
state-owned enterprise
reforms
4. The living conditions of
those workers laid off by
state-owned enterprises
Analyze and
discuss data
Equal opportunities,
human dignity,
human rights and
responsibilities,
common good
Area of enquiry
Period 1: Historical background of state-owned enterprises and the
need for reforms
1. Before class, students should read the historical background and the part on
state-owned enterprises. [Source 1]
2. [Source 2]: Introduce the features of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). These
“special features” are the products of history and the reasons for reform when
China turns to a socialist market economy.
3. [Sources 3 & 4]: Analyze the economic problems brought about by SOEs since
the 1950s, including the shortage of commodities and slack economic growth.
Help students understand the necessity for reform.
113
Exemplar 6
Period 2: Ways of SOEs Reforms and the Problem of Laid-off workers
1. [Source 5]: Introduce China’s reform strategies since it adopted the opening up
and reform policies, and briefly describe their effectiveness.
2. After seventeen years of SOEs reforms (1978-1995), enterprises have attained a
high degree of autonomy. Many have become more profitable and are less reliant
on the state. Because of market competition, the SOEs have to upgrade the quality
of their products by improving management and introduce technology innovations.
They have to increase sale, cut down on costs, enhance market share and
ultimately, make more profits. But problems have continued to plague SOEs even
today, such as financial losses, slow growth rates, heavy debts and social costs
[Sources 6 & 7]. Use [Source 8], the reform of the Kunming Pharmaceutical
Corporation, to illustrate how SOEs deal with the problems.
3. Teachers should highlight successful reforms undertaken by some SOEs, and also
explain the failure, such as the closing down of many small-scale enterprises and
those with heavy debts. [Source 9] brings out the fact that many enterprises have
been sacking redundant workers in recent years. [Source 10] describes the living
conditions of laid-off workers. Teachers should explain to students that laid-off
workers have made significant contributions to the country and should not be held
responsible for the poor performance of enterprises. Neither should they be seen
as social burdens. Students are encouraged to take a sympathetic attitude towards
their suffering and try to figure out how the government and the people can help.
114
Exemplar 6
D.
Key Concepts
State-owned Enterprises
These enterprises are still owned by the state but their daily operation is left to
the management staff. They develop their own production plans and financial
budgets. After satisfying the financial requirements of the state, they are free to
invest their profits to pursue further goals of development set by them.
State-owned Enterprise Reforms
State-owned enterprises came into existence because of the planned economy.
But because of new market conditions, significant changes must take place in
management, structure and strategies. Reforms began with the delegation of
management powers to staff. Later, further reforms were introduced focusing on
the heavy debts, the high cost of social responsibilities and redundant personnel.
Redundant Personnel
When the profit margins of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are low, or when
SOEs are losing money, cutting staff has to be considered. Workers whose
workload is consistently light and who make little contribution to the enterprise
have to be laid off. The government refers to these people as “surplus personnel”.
Laid-off Workers
This term often refers to people who are laid off from state-owned enterprises.
The government gives them a certain amount of subsidies and looks for other job
opportunities for them. The government does not consider them unemployed and
treats them differently from those who are unemployed.
115
Exemplar 6
E.
Teacher’s References
1.
Supplementary Information 1
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have been the backbone of the Chinese
economy since 1949. In the pre-reform period (i.e. before 1978), SOEs accounted
for nearly 80% of China’s gross industrial output and more than 90% of the state’s
revenue came from SOEs. As SOEs are products of mandatory economic planning
in the past, they often suffer from substantial deficits. Huge amounts of subsidy
are needed. To keep the SOEs going, making them a heavy burden to the state. To
quicken China’s economic progress and to build a healthy economic structure in
order to meet the challenges of the World Trade Organization, SOEs must be
reformed thoroughly. In order to reduce the debts and improve the structure of
these enterprises, many workers would have to be dismissed. As the social
security system for the unemployed is not yet well developed, the livelihood of
laid-off workers is threatened, and may lead to instability in China. The Chinese
government must address these issues.
For more information about the problems facing state-owned enterprises
since the 1990s, see the following reference:
王勛。
〈90 年代的中國國有企業改革〉
。出自鄭宇碩編，
《中國評論一九九八》
。
香港：中文大學出版社，1999。
116
Exemplar 6
2.
Supplementary Information 2 (for Period 1)
Social Burdens of State-owned Enterprises
Under a planned economy, SOEs perform many social security functions,
including provision of pensions, medical care and housing.
1. Pension
The pension system of SOEs has many shortfalls. First of all, current
employees have to bear sole responsibility for paying the pensions of retirees.
The ratio of retirees to working staff of many SOEs sometimes reaches 1:1.
Second, there is no independent unit responsible for the administrative duties
of distributing the pension funds. Management staffs of enterprises have to take
care of this as well. In some cases, extra administrative personnel are needed,
leading to an increase in expenditure. Third, in order to guarantee the basic
living standard of retired employees, many enterprises have to draw from
operation funds in order to keep up with inflation.
2. Medical Care
Enterprises have to cover all the medical expenses and the sickness
allowance of employees. In addition, enterprises have to reimburse 50% of the
medical expenses of workers’ family members. Many SOEs run their own
hospitals and clinics, providing one-third of total hospital beds in China.
These health care institutions employ 1.4 million medical workers, which
account for one-third of the country’s total number of medical personnel.
These hospitals and clinics mainly serve the employees of their respective
enterprises and their families. These resources might be underused.
117
Exemplar 6
3. Housing
SOEs have been responsible for the building, the allocation and the
maintenance of houses for their employees, but this system have many
drawbacks. First, funding has to be found to build houses and allocate them
among employees. Managers often find their workload increasing, making it
impossible for them to concentrate on the business of the enterprises. Second,
some enterprises, especially those without sufficient capital for housing, tend
to use funds otherwise targeted for capital construction and technological
renovation projects, thus affecting production.
Redundant Workers
In the 1990s, SOEs had redundant staff of over 10 million people, or 12% of
the total work force in the sector. The large number of redundant workers shows
that such enterprises are not profitable or efficient. With state-owned enterprise
reforms, the problem of redundant worker worsens because of the following
reasons:
1. To lower costs and increase efficiency, laying off workers is inevitable.
2. Automation, computerization, and other advances in science and technology
means that more state-owned enterprise employees will be laid off.
[Adapted and translated from: 王勛。〈90 年代的中國國有企業改革〉
。出自鄭宇碩編，
《中國
評論一九九八》
。香港：中文大學出版社，1999。]
118
Exemplar 6
3.
Supplementary Information 3 (for Period 2)
Solutions to problems encountered by SOEs
Debt
Solutions
Lack of financing 1. Banks restructuring SOE assets by turning debts into
channels
equity holding.
2. Foreign investors buying out SOE debts.
3. Workers buying SOE shares, to generate capital and
reduce debts.
Poor management
1. Merging healthy enterprises with problematic ones.
2. Allowing long failing and poorly managed enterprises
to declare bankruptcy.
Lack of further 1. Concentrating future investment in large-scale and
investment from the
critical enterprises, while allowing small, failing
state
enterprises to become private, with no further
government investment.
Pension
1. Establishing pension funds that pool together resources
from enterprises, individuals and the state under a
unified management.
2. Changing the official retirement ages from 60 to 65 for
men and from 55 to 60 for women.
3. Investing pension funds for reasonable return.
Medical Care
1. Divorcing medical care institutions from the enterprises
and make them responsible for their own finances. In
this way, they can also serve the community better.
2. Building a socialized medical insurance system.
Housing
1. Providing housing by monetary distribution, rather than
mortar and bricks.
2. Commercializing housing in cities in the long term,
hence encouraging workers to buy their own home.
[Adapted and translated from: 王勛。〈90 年代的中國國有企業改革〉
。出自鄭宇碩編，
《中國
評論一九九八》
。香港：中文大學出版社，1999。]
119
Exemplar 6
4.
Supplementary Information 4 (for Period 2)
A Package for Redundant Workers
China is implementing what has come to be known as the three-allowance
policies. First, when a SOE dismisses its workers, the state provides for the
workers’ basic needs; second, the laid-off workers are entitled to unemployment
allowance if they are not re-employed within a specified period (usually three
years); third, in case they cannot find employment within the prescribed period,
the government would provide a basic living allowance. A consistently
unemployed person inevitably sinks into living conditions of a much lower
standard.
In the course of reform, a special status of “laid-off workers” is created, which
could be seen as a transitional arrangement. Though these workers do not go to
work, they still maintain their status as employees with the enterprise, and still
enjoy parts of the wages and allowances. The enterprise also offer “re-training
programmes” to assist them find employments elsewhere. The package is
obviously made for the sake of social stability.
Still, the package remains a huge financial burden on the enterprises.
Unemployment insurance is contributed to by workers, enterprises and provincial
governments. If the enterprise is not making a profit, it cannot provide for the
laid-off workers. Provincial governments too live on very stringent budgets,
finding it difficult to develop long-term solutions.
[Adapted and translated from: 鄭毓盛。《國企改革，要除掉社保包袱》。香港經濟日報，2002
年 4 月 9 日。]
120
Exemplar 6
Student Reading Materials
Source 1
The Concept and Development of State-owned Enterprises
From “State-run Enterprise” to “State-owned Enterprise”
“State-owned enterprises” is a new concept, reflecting the changes brought
about by the reforms by the end of the 1970s. These enterprises were once called
“state-run enterprises”. The “state-run enterprises” were not just owned by the
state. They were directly operated by the state. At the time, the management staff
simply carried out plans and orders of the state. They did not have the power to
formulate business strategies, let alone set their own production and profit goals.
With the reforms, the idea of the planned economy is abandoned. Business
operation is entrusted to the management staff. These enterprises still
state-owned, but are no longer operated by the state.
[Source:
陳文鴻、朱文輝。
〈市場化抑或私有化？──中國國有企業改革的策略與走向〉
。
出自王耀宗編，《神州五十年：香港的視野》
。香港：牛津大學出版社，2000。]
National Development Strategies and the Role of State-owned Enterprises
When the People’s Republic of China came into being in 1949, China was
suffering from a very backward economy, with the industrial sector providing
only 12.6% of the national income. Among advanced industrialized countries, the
industrial sector generally accounted for about 50% of the GDP. So China had to
improve the backward economic structure as soon as possible, to speed up
industrialization, and increase heavy industries in the entire industrial structure.
The party and the government decided to give top priorities to the development of
heavy industries as an essential part of their economic strategies.
121
Exemplar 6
Student Reading Materials
The government wanted to complete the industrialization of China within a
short time. In order to ensure that all state resources would be effectively
channeled to heavy industries, they opted for a planned economy which replaces
market demands by administrative order, and used surpluses from agriculture and
light industries to subsidize heavy industries. As a result, many huge state-run
enterprises were established in big cities and every industrial centre.
The effectiveness of the strategy is obvious. From 1952 to 1978 industries’
share in national income rose from 19.5 to 49.4%, most of which could be
attributed to state-run enterprises. During this period, production of state-run
enterprises also increased 17.15 times, and its share in gross industrial output
value rose from 40.5% to 80.8%. The growth of heavy industries was thrice that
of light industries.
However, by 1978, China had begun to adopt the opening up and reform
policies and implement a series of reforms. Many state-owned enterprises lost
government subsidies and were plunged into difficulties. Since heavy industries
have lower degrees of flexibility, and all the technical facilities had been set up to
cater to a planned economy, they had difficulties in meeting market demand.
State-owned enterprises are now known to be backward and poor in management.
In the late 1990s, non-state-owned enterprises in China flourished. As these
enterprises are products of a market economy, they have a better sense of the
market and greater flexibility, posing much threat to the state-owned enterprises.
With China joining the WTO, the influx of foreign investments would make the
situation even more competitive. To cope with the new business environment,
state-owned enterprises must be reformed thoroughly.
[Adapted and translated from:
林毅夫、蔡昉、李周。
《中國的奇蹟–發展戰略與經濟改革》
。香港：中文大學出版社，1995。
林毅夫、蔡昉、李周。《中國國有企業改革》
。香港：中文大學出版社，1999。]
122
Exemplar 6
Student Reading Materials
Source 2
Worker B: The sole responsibility of SOEs
is to carry out production as ordered by the
government. We take no consideration of
resources, pricing, providers and markets.
All these are determined directly by the
state. We only need to fill the production
quota as laid down by the state and ensure
that we reach the set targets. We do not
Worker A: We never worry about
not having enough outlets for our
products. We do not care about the
product variety. Nor do we bother
about improving their qualities.
Upgrades and innovation? These
are not our concerns! We survive,
and we’ll be fine.
care about what to produce or production
cost. Nor do we bother about profits.
Should there be losses, we ask the state for
compensation.
Worker C: SOEs are like
miniature
societies.
The
enterprises look after our well
being, provide us with housing,
medical benefits, children’s
education
and
retirement
pensions. Generally we are
employed for life.
123
Exemplar 6
Student Reading Materials
Source 3
An emphasis on heavy industrial development for a prolonged period
means gross shortage of daily necessities and very small rise in income. From
1953 to 1978 the average annual income of workers in China was below US$200.
The income of farmers grew even less. Farmers benefited less from the expansion
of heavy industries. Many are still suffering from absolute poverty – a problem
China has to face even today.
[Adapted and translated from: 林毅夫、蔡昉、李周。
《中國國有企業改革》
。香港：中文大學
出版社，1999，頁 42。]
Source 4
The economic development of the mainland had been lagging behind that
of developed countries and the gap was growing wider. In the early 1980s the
mainland’s per capita GNP was US$300, about 2.3 % of the U.S., and 3% of
Japan. Compared with other developing countries/regions which were once on a
similar level of economic development, the mainland also seemed backward.
From 1956 – 1973, Asia’s “Four Little Dragons” – South Korea, Singapore,
Hong Kong and Taiwan – enjoyed GDP growth of 10%, 13%, 7.9% and 11%
respectively.
[Adapted and translated from: 林毅夫、蔡昉、李周。
《中國國有企業改革》
。香港：中文大學
出版社，1999，頁 42。]
124
Exemplar 6
Student Reading Materials
Source 5
Rights
to manage
financing
and
resources
Right to
give

incentives
A degree of
autonomy, such
as the right to
allocate profits
Right to claim
remaining profits
after giving share to
government
Rights to
raise
salaries
Effects arising from the sharing
of power and profits as outlined
above:
 Managers
and workers
would work harder and use
resources more effectively
in the hope of generating
more profits and income.
 They would give more care
to the productivity of the
enterprise.
 The
enterprises
would
generate more profits.
 Individual income increases.
125
Exemplar 6
Student Reading Materials
Source 6
In 1995, SOEs only accounted for 1.61% of the entire industrial economy.
Their share in gross industrial output value had dropped from 80.8% in 1978 to
33.97% in 1995. Though there was a rise in SOEs production, it was lower than
that of non-state-owned enterprises. On the other hand, SOEs accounted for
63.72% of the net value of fixed assets of industrial enterprises, hiring some
66.52% of the working population, and making up 56.91% of the total sales and
value added taxes.
[Adapted and translated from: 林毅夫、蔡昉、李周。
《中國國有企業改革》
。香港：中文大學
出版社，1999，頁 1-3。]
Source 7
In 1995, there was a rise of 8.2% in SOE industrial production (with regard
to gross industrial output value). At the time, there was 15.2% increase in
collective-owned industrial enterprises, and 51.5% increase in individual-owned
industrial enterprises (including private enterprises), while 37.2% increase in other
types of industrial enterprises.
The retiring working population of SOE is 10.234 million, which was some
23.1% of the entire industrial working population. Retirement pensions and other
benefits reached 603.8 billion, accounting for 15% of the profits earned by the
enterprises. The internal and social burdens of SOEs are greater than
non-state-owned enterprises.
[Adapted and translated from:
中華人民共和國國家統計局第三次全國工業普查辦公室。
《關於第三次全國工業普查主要數
據的公報》
。2001 年 9 月 1 日
<http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/gypcgb/qggypcgb/200203310150.htm>]
126
Exemplar 6
Student Reading Materials
Source 8
Kunming Pharmaceutical Corporation used to be an old SOE with more than
forty years of history. As the planned economy gives way to a market economy,
like other medium- to large SOEs, the Kunming Pharmaceutical Corporation has
to deal with issues such as unclear property rights, intertwinement of government
administration and enterprise management, social burdens, etc. Its debt rose 4%
annually. At its most difficult times, it incurred a high debt ratio of 80.2%.
One of the most remarkable features of the re-structuring of Kunming
Pharmaceutical Corporation is its transformation from “one-share
monopolization” by the state into a multi-holders structure. Of the shares of the
enterprise, 36.8% are owned by the state, while its workers take over 19.5%, and
two other companies 3.4%. The enterprise also takes in 55.19 million from
society, lowers the debt ratio to 64%. These strengthen the enterprise and enable
it to raise capital from outside the government. The role of the government
changes drastically. Previously, it was the mastermind of the enterprise, but now
it is only a shareholder. In the past, the government was the manager of the entire
enterprise, but now the enterprise manages itself and is responsible for its
successes and failures. The government no longer interferes with management
activities and the enterprise is no longer dominated by a few important
individuals, such as the manager or the secretary. Workers have bought shares in
the enterprise, and now are much concerned with its goals, targets, management
and investment strategies and allocation of resources.
After three years of continuous exploration, Kunming Pharmaceutical
Corporation has developed an effective scheme for workers recruitment, training
and appraisal and, punishment and reward. Of the more than 60 members of the
middle management team, 20% have been screened out and replaced with better
staff. Even the senior management team has changed twice in three years. Only
the best can survive such tough competition. People with the best attitude and
ability can ensure an increase in income.
[Adapted and translated from:
《人民日報》（1999 年 12 月 07 日第 2 版）
<http://www.people.com.cn/item/szqh/news/sl/ sl110.html>]
127
Exemplar 6
Student Reading Materials
Source 9
Number of workers in state-owned enterprises nationwide
Year
Number of Workers ( in 10,000 )
1996
7712.1
1997
7280.9
1998
6975.6
[Adapted and translated from:
《中國國有資產年鑑 1996》
、
《中國國有資產年鑑 1997》
、
《中
國國有資產年鑑 1998》
。北京：經濟科學出版社，1997，1998，
1999。]
128
Exemplar 6
Student Reading Materials
Source 10
The Lowliest in Beijing City: a Laid-off Worker
Old Mr. Li initially worked as a supervisor in an enterprise, but was later
sacrificed on the altar of reform. Still in his fifties, he was forced to retire early.
Though he was paid a salary of over 1,000 yuan, he now survives on a few
hundred yuan from retirement pension, which is hardly sufficient for a family of
five. His greatest problem was is the support of his mother who is over eighty and
whose medical expenses take up a large share of his income. Li is too old to get
re-employed. He and his wife can only resort to collecting garbage to support
themselves.
Early in the morning, the Li couple goes out to pick paper scraps, empty tins
and plastic bottles. When night falls, they carry what they have collected to the
garbage collector. They can possibly earn about ten dollars a day. This amount, on
top of the retirement pension, ought to be enough for the couple and their aged
mother. However, as they have to cover the tuition fees of their children, they
need to find other solutions. Because of their tight budget, they cannot always
afford plain rice. They have to do with congee made of maize powder and water.
In the two years since he was dismissed, old Mr. Li has not bought a single
piece of new clothing for his family. Nor has he bought new furniture for the
house. They never have any entertainment – they cannot even spare much time
sitting together to chat since they work from dawn till dusk. After supper, they go
to sleep as soon as possible, because they have to get up early in the morning.
Their children have to help with garbage collecting after school. They can only
study at night. Their study environment is very poor. Their house is illuminated
by a tiny oil lamp. But no matter how hard life is, Mr. Li insists on education for
his two sons. He had not received any proper education, but he knows too well
that his plight is brought about by illiteracy. Education can bring a positive
change to his life. The only way to escape from the dreaded state of poverty is
through studying. Therefore he ensures his sons receive proper schooling.
[Adapted and translated from: 周昭何。<北京市的最低下階層 – 下崗工人>。出自劉錫霖主
編，《問學燕園──香港理工大學學生北京暑期課程文章選
輯》
。香港：香港理工大學通識教育中心，2002。]
129
Exemplar 6
Activity
Activity 1
Refer to Sources 2 – 4, and answer the following questions:
1.
Mr. Chan spends his own money to run a factory. He not only serves
as factory owner, but also general manager directly involved in
running the business. What concerns Mr. Chan most? Compare Mr.
Chan with a SOE manager. Do they have different concerns?
2.
Refer to question (1), account for the differences.
3.
If you were the worker in a situation described in Source 3, how
would you feel?
4.
If you were the farmer in a situation described in Source 3, how
would you feel?
5.
Refer to Source 3, as a worker/farmer, what would you consider to be
the proper measures the government can undertake?
6.
What are the factors which lead to the great disparity between the
mainland of China and other countries/regions in terms of economic
development?
7.
If the situation persists, what impact would it have on the mainland of
China?
130
Exemplar 6
Activity
Activity 2
Refer to Sources 5 – 10, and answer the following questions:
1.
According to Source 6, are SOEs significant in the national economy?
Please explain.
2.
Throughout more than a decade of reforms, and based on Sources 6 &
7, what are the problems which still plague SOEs?
3.
How do the Kunming Pharmaceutical Corporation reform strategies
differ from what have been mentioned in Source 5?
4.
Refer to question (3), can the restructuring of Kunming
Pharmaceutical Corporation solve the problems mentioned in Source
7?
5.
In recent years, has the number of workers employed in SOEs
changed? What has this to do with SOE reforms?
6.
According to Source 10, what sort of changes do laid-off workers
encounter with regard to their wages and living standard? If you were
worker C in Source 2, what would you feel in such tough times?
131
Exemplar 7
Core Module III:
Development of Modern China1
Questions for Enquiry:
What political reforms have been launched in the rural sector? What are
the problems and prospects for political development in China?
Suggested time allocation: 2 periods
A.
Extracts from the Curriculum Framework
Issues
2. What is the
impact of
reform and
opening-up
policies on
China’s future
development?
Key points
a. Political
development
Suggested questions for enquiry
Values and attitudes
How do economic development
and the opening-up policies affect
China’s political development?
What attitude do people living on
the mainland hold towards political
development?
What
political
reforms have been launched in the
rural sector and different levels of
government?
What are the
problems and prospects for
political development in China?
What are the options for political
development in China in the
future?
Patriotism, sense of
belonging, solidarity,
equality, democracy,
freedom and liberty,
equal opportunities,
human rights and
responsibilities,
human dignity,
common good,
sustainability,
mutuality, culture and
civilization heritage
B.
Objectives
1.
To investigate the political reforms now being carried out in Chinese villages;
2.
To investigate the impact of democratization in rural areas and on village
political structures;
3.
To enhance students’ understanding of the village political structures in China.
1
Exemplar 7 is prepared by Mr. TAM Ka-chai, GEC, HKPolyU.
132
Exemplar 7
C.
Learning Activities
Objectives
Knowledge
Area of enquiry
Period 1: Political
reforms now being
carried out in Chinese
villages
[Activity 1]
Period 2: Problems and
prospects of political
reforms in China
[Activity 2]
Period 1:
1.
Values and
attitudes
Skills
1. The objectives, history,
ways and problems of
political reform in
villages
2. The self-governing
village systems
3. The difficulties in
electing and forming
villagers’ committees
Integrate, compare
and analyze data,
collect data,
comprehend short
passages & charts
Patriotism, sense of
belonging,
solidarity, equality
4. The actual running of
villagers’ committees
5. Reasons for reforming
the election process of
villagers’ committees
Analyze data and
discuss
Democracy,
freedom and
liberty, equal
opportunities,
human dignity,
human rights and
responsibilities,
common good
Political reforms now being carried out in Chinese villages
We are dealing with Chinese political reforms at the grassroots level in this
teaching session. Problems encountered in the introduction of a more democratic
system to Chinese villages are also discussed. Ask students to read [Sources 1 to
5], and then complete [Activity 1].
2.
[Source 1] will be made use of in class as a brief introduction to the background
and steps taken by the Chinese government to introduce political reforms in
rural villages.
3.
[Sources 2 & 3] briefly introduce the self-governance bodies formed as a result.
Whether the “villagers’ committee” is an apparatus to tighten governmental
control or to reflect public opinions should be discussed in class.
4.
Teachers can make use of [Sources 4 & 5] to explain possible problems in the
election of villagers’ committee members. What improvement can be taken in
order to achieve a fairer election outcome.
133
Exemplar 7
Period 2:
Problems and Responsibilities of Villagers’ Representatives
1.
Ask students to read [Sources 6 to 8], and then complete [Activity 2].
2.
Use the real life examples in [Sources 6 & 7] to illustrate the actual election
process in villages.
3.
Use [Source 8] to inspire students of the ways to ensure that the elected
villagers’ committees are fulfilling their responsibilities.
D.
Key Concepts
Election
Leaders and representatives are elected through voting. Currently, there
are two different kinds of election in China. The first type has the same
number of seats and candidates. For the second type, the number of candidates
is higher than the number of seats.
Vote
This is the way by which electors show their wishes and indicate their
choices. This is done through ballots or a simple show of hands. The Chinese
government expects villagers to vote anonymously and confidentially.
Sea Election
This is direct election on the village level. Those who register for the
election have the right to vote and the right to stand for election. Each
registered elector has one vote. “Sea Election” is Northeast dialect with “sea”
connoting “big” or “popular”.
Villagers’ Committee
Villagers’ committees are grassroots mass autonomous organizations
which are responsible to manage public affairs and social services in their
areas, mediate civil disputes, help maintain public order and convey residents’
opinions and demands and make suggestions to the people’s government.
134
Exemplar 7
E.
Teacher’s References
The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China promulgated in 1982
introduced administrative reform on the village level. According to article no. 111:
The residents’ committees and villagers’ committees established
among urban and rural residents on the basis of their place of
residence are mass organizations of self-management at the
grassroots level. The chairman, vice-chairmen and members of
each residents’ or villagers’ committee are elected by the
residents. The relationship between the residents’ and villagers’
committees and the grassroots organs of state power is prescribed
by law. The residents’ and villagers’ committees establish
committees for people’s mediation, public security, public health
and other matters in order to manage public affairs and social
services in their areas, mediate civil disputes, help maintain
public order and convey residents’ opinions and demands and
make suggestions to the people’s government.
The above article grants the villagers the right to form “villagers’ committees”,
representing the villagers’ welfare and being responsible for the running of the
grassroots village communities, by free election. Since the 1980s China has
carried out self-governance at the village level by allowing villagers to form
“villagers’ committees”. In 1987, the government promulgated the “Organic Law
of Villagers’ Committees” (trial code), which stipulated that the committees be
formed by villagers through a system of direct election. In 1998, it underwent
further amendments, and the “Organic Law of Villagers’ Committees” includes
the following:
 All villagers over 18 have the rights to vote and rights to stand for
elections;
 Candidates to become villagers’ committee members are nominated

directly by villagers, and there is no upper limit to the number of
nominations;
There shall be a multi-candidate election, secret ballots, open counting
of votes, a private place to mark a vote, and on-the-spot announcement
of the election results.
135
Exemplar 7
Village reforms allow fellow villagers to elect and form a “villagers’
committee” which in turn governs them and represents their interests. Chinese
society, as a result, is becoming more democratic. Yet, as many villagers are not
very educated and know very little about their rights and responsibilities, carrying
out these political reforms is never an easy task. This situation is further worsened
by the conflict between the interests of local cadres and the implementation of a
democratic political system. We are going to study the progress, problems and
prospects of political reforms being carried out in Chinese villages in recent years.
Students will know more about the governance of villages in rural China through
case studies.
For the whole text of the “Organic Law of Villagers’ Committees”, refer to the
Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China website:
http://www.mca.gov.cn/laws/law7.html
For administrative reforms in Chinese villages, please refer to:
陳兆華。〈村民與公民社會〉。出自鄭宇碩編，《中國評論一九九八》。香港：
香港中文大學出版社，1999。
高純。
〈村民與公民社會〉
。
《當代中國研究》
。1997 年，第一期，總第 56 期。
王旭。
〈探求新的民主化模式：鄉村中國的基層民主〉
。
《當代中國研究》
。1997
年，第一期，總第 56 期。
136
Exemplar 7
Student Reading Materials
Source 1:
Political Reforms in Chinese Villages – a Chronology
Late 1950s
The state collectivized rural villages and form people’s communes.
1970s
Since the implementation of reform, China’s economy had undergone drastic
changes. On the level of rural villages, since the 1970s people’s communes had
gradually been replaced by the household contract responsibility system. Farmers
could decide on the use of land resources and modes of production. However,
after the dissolution of people’s communes, questions arose as to who should be
responsible for issues such as birth planning, tax collection, settlement of
conflicts, maintenance of social order, and the development and management of
public facilities. There was need to re-organize the administrative structure at the
rural grassroots level.
1982
In the new constitution promulgated by the National People’s Congress, clause
111 prescribes that all villagers should elect and form “villagers’ committees”
among themselves as self-management bodies.
137
Exemplar 7
Student Reading Materials
November 1987
The “Organic Law of Villagers’ Committees” (trial code) was enacted by the 6th
National People’s Congress and was administered by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The law clearly stipulates that the chairs, vice chairs and committee members of
villagers’ committees are to be chosen by direct elections.
November 1998
At the 9 National People’s Congress, the “Organic Law of Villagers’
Committees” was enacted, which further confirms the self-management nature of
villagers’ committees, and refines the direct election procedure. The law includes
the following:
th

All villagers over 18 have the rights to vote and rights to stand for
elections;

Candidates to become villagers’ committee members are nominated
directly by villagers, and there is no upper limit to the number of
nominations;
There shall be a multi-candidate election, secret ballots, open counting of
votes, a private place to mark a vote, and on-the-spot announcement of
the election results.

[Adapted and translated from:
陳兆華。〈村民與公民社會〉。出自鄭宇碩編，《中國評論一九九
八》
。香港：香港中文大學出版社，1999。]
138
Exemplar 7
Student Reading Materials
Source 2 :
Self-governing Bodies in Rural Villages
Overview
China covers a vast geography and has a huge population, the cultures of
which vary among provinces and regions. As it is, there is no uniform blueprint in
the formation of self-governing villagers’ committees. There are wide varieties of
villagers’ committees in different areas.
According to the “Organic Law of Villagers’ Committees” (trial code), the
self-governing structure of a village is divided into two parts: (1) Villagers’
committee: an administrative organization directly elected and accountable to
villagers’ assemblies; (2) Villagers’ assembly: formed and participated in by the
total adult village population, which discusses and decides on matters related to
the welfare of the whole village, and may urge the members of villagers’
committees to resign or make a recall request according to law. The “Organic Law
of Villagers’ Committees” (trial code) also stipulates that it is (1) that calls the
meeting of (2).
Many villagers are quite mobile and often have heavy workloads. Some are
scattered over different areas in a village. It is sometimes difficult to get all of
them into a meeting. Thus, article 21 of the “Organic Law” allows villages with a
huge population to elect a villagers’ representative per 5 – 15 families in order to
discuss and decide on the matters authorized by the villagers’ assembly.
[Adapted and translated from:
高純。
〈村民與公民社會〉
。
《當代中國研究》
。1997 年，第一
期，總第 56 期。]
139
Exemplar 7
Student Reading Materials
Source 3
Functions of Villagers’ Committees:
The villagers’ committee is a grassroots mass autonomous organization for
villagers’ self-administration, self-education and self-service in the exercise of
democratic election, democratic decision-making, democratic administration and
democratic supervision. It shall manage public affairs and social services in their
areas, mediate civil disputes, help maintain public order and convey residents’
opinions and demands and make suggestions to the people’s government. [Article
2, “Organic Law of Villagers’ Committees”]
Specific duties include:
Economy & Production
1. draw up village development plans, as well as annual production plans and
budgets
2. coordinate and provide services to the private economy
3. manage village-owned land, as well as other collectively owned assets and
enterprises
Education & Public Services
1. provide education, public health care, poverty relief, as well as other social
welfare services
Public Administration
1. mediate civil disputes
2. assist the state public security authority to maintain law and order
3. administer, on behalf of the state, tasks related to family planning, tax
collection, state procurement and conscription
[Adapted and translated from:
陳兆華。
〈村民與公民社會〉
。出自鄭宇碩編，
《中國評論一九
九八》。香港：香港中文大學出版社，1999。]
140
Exemplar 7
Student Reading Materials
Source 4
The “Organic Law of Villagers’ Committees” stipulates that:
Article 11
The villagers’ committee chair, vice chair and committee
members are directly elected by villagers. No organization or
individual is allowed to assign, appoint or arbitrarily alter
members of the villagers’ committee.
Article 14
In the election of the villagers’ committee, the candidates are
nominated by villager members with voting rights. The
number of nominees should be greater than the available seats.
Only candidates who obtain more than half of the votes of
villagers will be considered eligible for the seats. There shall
be a multi-candidate election, secret ballots, open counting of
votes, a private place to mark a vote, and on-the-spot
announcement of the election results.
141
Exemplar 7
Student Reading Materials
Source 5
After the election date was announced, the candidates try to attract supporters
and organize support teams for election. How do they accomplish this? Through
connections? Approaching people whom they have confidence in, buying them
cigarettes, and saying, “remember to vote for XXX”. No, not as simple as that. A
candidate would rather have a man stationed at every voting stand, distributing
cigarettes while urging villagers to vote. Some villagers are illiterate, which
makes it hard to keep their votes secret. In other places, however, to ensure that
voting is kept secret, they hire people to fill out voting forms for the illiterates.
But then, of course, there are people who violate the election rules by cheating as
they fill out the forms.
On the day of election, voters must write the name of their preferred
candidate on the voting form, which is then collected and counted. If a candidate
secures more than half of the votes, then s/he is elected. If the number of votes is
equal and the winner cannot be determined at that time, a run-off election should
be held between those receiving an equal number of votes. The candidate that
receives the most votes shall win the election.
In the election process, one of the greatest controversies has to do with ballot
counting. According to the “Zhejiang Province Measures for the Election of
Villagers’ Committees”, the election must take place under the scrutiny of
government officials. Hence every village sends two staff for this purpose.
However, the qualities of these people very often are not up to par. Even with
such direct supervision, there have been problems such as losing count of ballots,
which is only discovered after the announcement of the candidature for the
run-off election.
[Adapted and translated from:
江中月。〈農村選舉：淅江農村村際選舉近距離觀察〉。2002 年 8 月 22 日
<http://www.house2008.com/article.asp?articleid=2144>
高純。〈村民與公民社會〉。
《當代中國研究》。1997 年，第一期，總第 56 期，頁 130。]
142
Exemplar 7
Student Reading Materials
Source 6
The following refers to statistics on the 1997 villagers’ committee elections in
nine counties from three provinces (Fujian, Hunan and Jilin), showing the number
of members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and incumbent office-holders
who get elected or re-elected:
Table 1: Members of CPC who get elected
Total number of
villages covered
Number of villages having
members of CPC as
chairperson of villagers’
committees
Percentage
2969
2479
83.50%
Table 2: Office-holder re-elected
Total number of
villages covered
Number of villages having its
current villagers’ committee
chairperson re-elected
Percentage
2969
2688
90.54%
[Adapted and translated from: 中國農村村民自治信息網，
<www.chinavillage.org/tjfx/tifx18.htm>]
143
Exemplar 7
Student Reading Materials
Source 7
In the case of Guangdong village elections, about 20% of the incumbents
were unsuccessful and accordingly dismissed. In Maoming City, almost every
town has 2 – 3 administrative district party secretaries failing in villagers’
committee elections. A current deputy of the National People’s Congress (NPC)
and party secretary of Datang administrative district in Xinpo Town, Ruan
Qionggui, did not get re-elected, despite the fact that he was the head of the
election committee of the villagers’ committee and had conducted various
election activities. The reasons were obvious enough. Though he had been a cadre
with the administrative district for more than 20 years, and his achievements were
respectable, he alienated himself from the public since he became a NPC deputy.
He reserved an official vehicle for his use only. He spent lavishly on receptions
and squandered away some 100,000 yuan. When people requested for a water
pump in order to soothe the drought, he turned down their requests claiming that
the budget was tight.
Village people are very practical and village elections are fair and reflective
of voters’ preferences. Those with limited abilities, even if they are of the same
clan or lineage, would not be elected. One example is the Gaoling village, where
the Ke clan constitutes 80% of the population. But a Chen became the chair of the
villagers’ committee.
“If grassroots officials are not responsible or their management approaches
are not right, then people inevitably will have complaints. However, as long as
you are capable, fair, people will support you.” According to Su Zhineng, a
villager of Linchen village in Huazhou, there were five officials who got
nominated, and they all receive many votes and were elected to the villagers’
committee. The major reason was that they did an excellent job with water
facilities and road construction, and were transparent in financial matters and
other village affairs. Hence they obtained the support of the villagers.
[Adapted and translated from:
曾勝泉。<廣東直選 – 兩成老村官“下馬”>。轉載自《農民日報》。1998 年 2 月 1 日
<http://www.chinaelections.com/readnews.asp?newsid={CC78396E-3061-4870-A6C4-AB
46D6C167B3}>]
144
Exemplar 7
Student Reading Materials
Source 8
The First Agreement Signed in China by Elected Village Officials:
Village Officials Need to Pay for Their Mistakes
The first election agreement of village officials in China was made in Beiyu
Village of Ruian City in Wenzhou, Zhejiang days ago. The newly elected village
officials promised in the agreement that those who cause serious economic losses
to the village collective during the terms of office should bear civic
responsibilities for compensation.
According to the present legal codes of China and the stipulations of Party
Discipline, village officials who are non-government party members and who
cause serious economic losses for the village collective are not liable if they do
not break the law. But now, Ruian City has introduced “A civic responsibility
system of compensations for misdeeds of villagers’ committee members”.
According to the Wenzhou Daily, in accordance with this responsibility
system, before the election, all candidates should sign a “guarantee paper” and
after being elected an “agreement paper.”
In the words of many villages, this agreement would definitely compel
“village officials” to develop the collective economy. Otherwise, compensations
would be called for.
[Translated from: 《中國新聞網》]
Students can refer to 中國人大新聞網
(http://www.people.com.cn/GB/14576/index.html), where grassroots democracy sub-index
contains news reports on village elections (in Chinese).
145
Exemplar 7
Activity
Activity 1
Refer to Sources 1 – 5, and answer the following questions:
1.
Refer to Source 1, why is it necessary for the Chinese government to
introduce political reforms in rural villages?
2.
Refer to Source 2, use a diagram to indicate the relationship among the
three parties: villagers’ committees, villagers’ assemblies and villagers’
representatives.
3.
Refer to Source 2, which is more powerful, villagers’ committees or
villagers’ assemblies? What impact does this power relationship have on the
self-governance of villagers?
4.
Refer to Source 3, of the following options, which is/are the appropriate
description(s) of the nature of villagers’ committees? Please explain.




Villagers’ committees are the adjuncts of the polity.
Villagers’ committees are consulting organizations.
Villagers’ committees are people’s self-governing organizations.
Villagers’ committees are independent grassroots political
organizations.
5.
Does the election process described in Source 5 correspond with the one
stipulated in the “Organic Law of Villagers’ Committees”?
6.
Refer to Source 5, what needs to be improved in the election process?
146
Exemplar 7
Activity
Activity 2
Refer to Sources 6 – 8, and answer the following questions:
1.
Based on Sources 6 & 7, what is your understanding of (1) party officials
getting elected to villagers’ committees; (2) members getting re-elected?
2.
Refer to Source 7, what factors affect the election and re-election of
villagers’ committee members?
3.
A political analyst suggests, “Villagers’ committee election demonstrates
the spirit of democracy**”. With reference to Source 7, do you agree with
this statement? Please explain.
4.
Refer to Source 8, what is the significance of the village election
agreement?
5.
Refer to Source 8, if ex-villagers’ committee member Mr Ruan had
signed this election agreement, what do you think would have been the
consequences?
**
There is no specific definition for “the spirit of democracy”. Teachers
may define the term with students before the discussion.
147
Exemplar 8
Core Module IV:
Globalization1
Questions for enquiry:
1.
What is globalization?
2.
How do different parts of the world react to globalization? What are the
possible consequences when globalization becomes a big trend?
Suggested time allocation: 3 periods
A.
Extracts from the Curriculum Framework
Issues
Key points
1. What is
a. What is meant
globalization?
by
globalization?
b.The trend
towards
globalization
B.
Suggested questions for enquiry
Values and attitudes
What is globalization? What are the
main features of globalization in
terms of economics, politics and
culture? Will globalization lead to
uniformity? Can the world sustain
diversity under globalization?
Rationality, critical
attitude,
interdependence,
plurality, adaptable
to changes
What are the forces that promote
globalization? How do different parts
of the world react to globalization?
What are the possible consequences
when globalization becomes a big
trend?
Objectives
1. To be able to analyze and synthesize elements in one or more discourses;
2. To understand the nature of globalization;
3. To be aware that people have different understandings of globalization;
4. To comprehend why some people regard the globalization trend as a cause for
worry;
5. To develop the ability to select and judge among confusing and contradicting
information.
1
Exemplar 8 is prepared by Dr. YU Kam-por, GEC, HKPolyU.
148
Exemplar 8
C.
Learning Activities
Objectives
Knowledge
Area of enquiry
Period 1: Different
definitions and
understandings of
globalization
[Activity 1]
Period
2:
consolidated
holistic
understanding
globalization
[Activity 2]
A
and
Period 1:
Values and attitudes
1.
Different
understandings of
globalization
Analysis
Rationality,
critical attitude,
plurality
2.
A comprehensive,
accurate, and coherent
understanding of
globalization
Synthesis
Rationality,
critical attitude,
interdependence
3.
Perspectives held by
different people and
reasons for worrying
about the
globalization trend
Public speaking,
role play, making
comments,
responding to
comments
Critical attitude,
plurality,
adaptable to
changes
of
Period 3: Different
perspectives on
globalization
[Activity 3]
Skills
Different definitions and characterizations of globalization
Students look for definitions or characterizations of globalization on the web or
from books or magazines. Each student or a small group of students chooses a
definition and explains the main points. Instead of reproducing the whole definition,
students highlight the main points in a concise way. The definitions are collected for
further analysis and synthesis in Period 2. Sources 1 – 4 are sample passages that
students could have come up with. These can be used as examples of what they are
expected to do.
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Exemplar 8
Period 2:
Consolidating
and
sharpening
the
understanding
of
globalization
Students search the Internet for pictures or cartoons that are relevant to
globalization. A simple way is to visit the website of google:
http://www.google.com/
enter the keyword “globalization”, and click on the “image” option.
Each student or a small group of students selects one picture, then states what the
picture tells about globalization. The sample pictures in Source 5 suggest what are
expected.
Period 3:
Different perspectives
globalization
on globalization:
A forum
on
The student activity in Period 3 takes the form of a forum. Roles are assigned to
different students, and they have to do preparation before participating in the forum in
this period. Each student is assigned the role of a particular person. Particular persons
who have interesting views on globalization include:




George W. Bush (he thinks globalization is good for the whole world);
Mahathir Mohamad (he thinks globalization is good for the US but not for
countries like Malaysia);
Antony Leung (he thinks globalization is good for Hong Kong);
George Soros (he thinks globalization creates a lot of problems for the world).
150
Exemplar 8
D.
Teacher’s References
Sample Analysis (For Period 1)
1.
Source 1 basically regards globalization as an extension of liberty across
national borders, such that different parts of the world will become one as
benefits and problems are shared across borders. But there is something
unclear about this definition. Whose liberty are we talking about? And the
liberty to do what? Do all people in the world have liberty to choose which
country to live in? Certainly not. So we have to be specific as to the kind of
liberty we are talking about. Are we referring to free trade, or to the free
flow of capital? It is also unclear how liberalization of the market will lead
to the alleviation of poverty in different parts of the world. If globalization is
such a good thing, how do we explain the presence of anti-globalization
movements?
2.
Source 2 regards globalization as “breaking down barriers to free trade”.
This equates globalization with liberalization in world trade. But if so, how
does it necessarily lead to a general increase in human liberty, as claimed in
Source 1. Source 2 further explains why some people resist globalization.
They include domestic protectionists who want to protect local industry and
people who worry that multi-national corporations exploit labour and the
environment in developing countries. The second part of the definition
regards globalization as “integration and convergence on a global scale of all
spheres of human activities”. There is a big gap here. What has liberalization
to do with integration and convergence? How does liberalization lead to
integration and convergence and not plurality and diversity?
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Exemplar 8
3.
Source 3 acknowledges that there are different uses of the term
“globalization”, but points out that the main use of the term refers to
“economic globalization” – growth in cross-border economic activities. But
growth in cross-border economic activities takes various forms with
different implications. We have to consider these forms separately when we
look at the pros and cons of globalization. The World Bank favours greater
openness in international trade and foreign direct investment but has
reservations on greater freedom in capital market flows. The reason (not
stated in the passage, but found in Source 7) is that free capital flows mean
that capital can go wherever there is the highest return. So if a country wants
to spend money to maintain a high standard of environmental protection or
progressive taxation in support of social welfare, it might not be able to do
so as such investment is less profitable. So globalization could mean the
rolling back of the welfare state, and multi-national companies taking away
some of the power of nation-states.
4.
Source 4 considers “globalization” in areas outside the economy. It talks
about the globalization of basic human values and the globalization of
information. These are trends occurring in parallel with the globalization of
capital. The implications should be examined separately. In Source 4, it is
argued that globalization of human rights values together with the
globalization of information helps develop norms for humanitarian
intervention. Here we may notice that the term “globalization” is used in
areas which may or may not be related to economic globalization.
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Exemplar 8
Sample Analysis (For Period 2)
Based on the above passages (Sources 1 to 4), we can say globalization is a kind
of liberalization that stretches across borders. It mainly refers to economic
activities such as international trade, multi-national corporations, and global
capital flows. The free movement of capital means that capital can go wherever
there is the highest reward. The global economy will therefore be further shaped
by capitalist principles. Whether globalization will lead to integration and
convergence is an open question. The free flow of capital does not imply that
capital will be distributed equally in different parts of the world.
The term “globalization” first refers to the globalization of capital, or of the
economy. But the term also refers to trends in other areas of human activities.
For example, with the advancement of communication technology, there is the
globalization of information. Information can be transmitted and shared at a
very low cost and high speed. This kind of globalization has far-reaching
implications also.
153
Exemplar 8
Student Reading Materials
Source 1
World poverty is ancient, yet the hope of real progress against poverty is new.
Vast regions and nations from Chile to Thailand are escaping the bonds of
poverty and oppression by embracing markets and trade and new technologies.
What some call globalization is, in fact, the triumph of human liberty
stretching across national borders. And it holds the promise of delivering
billions of the world's citizens from disease and hunger and want. This is a
great and noble prospect, that freedom can work not just in the new world or
the old world, but in all the world.
We have, today, the opportunity to include all the world’s poor in an
expanding circle of development, throughout all the Americas, all of Asia, and all
of Africa. This is a great moral challenge, what Pope John Paul II called, placing
the freedom of the market in the service of human freedom in its totality. Our
willingness to recognize that with freedom comes great responsibility, especially
for the least among us, may take the measure of the 21st century.
[Source:
George W. Bush. Remarks by the President George W. Bush to the World Bank. 17
July 2001 <http://www.perspectivaciudadana.com/010720/exteriores12.htm>]
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Exemplar 8
Student Reading Materials
Source 2
Globalization is usually taken as the equivalent of breaking down
barriers to free trade, thus drawing reaction from domestic protectionists
and from those who are concerned that unrestrained cross-border trade
may result in multi-national corporations exploiting labour and the
environment in the developing world which has limited bargaining power in
WTO talks vis-á-vis economic powers like the US. Ironically, despite all the
rhetoric about free trade, it was revealed that the US’ stated negotiated
objective – to set up a WTO working party on trade and labour rights – was a
step “to have the WTO enforce core labour standards with trade sanctions”. So
behind globalization are also efforts to create a world of standards and a global
order of some kind ..…. Both the advocates and critics of globalization seem to
share a fundamental assumption about the inevitability of globalization, seeing
globalization as bringing about greater integration and convergence on a
global scale of all spheres of human activities – economic, technological,
cognitive, and even cultural and governmental – so that there is an
anticipated prospect of global order and governance. If such a pretext is
indeed established, we can expect all nations’ systems of governance and
administration to gradually converge.
[Source:
Anthony Cheung. “Globalization versus Asian Values”. In Asian Journal of Political
Science, Vol. 8, Number 2, December 2000, pp. 1-2.]
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Exemplar 8
Student Reading Materials
Source 3
Amazingly for so widely used a term, there does not appear to be any
precise, widely-agreed definition. Indeed the breadth of meanings attached to it
seems to be increasing rather than narrowing over time, taking on cultural,
political and other connotations in addition to the economic. However, the most
common or core sense of economic globalization – the aspect this paper
concentrates on – surely refers to the observation that in recent years a
quickly rising share of economic activity in the world seems to be taking
place between people who live in different countries (rather than in the same
country). This growth in cross-border economic activities takes various forms:
International Trade: A growing share of spending on goods and services is
devoted to imports from other countries. And a growing share of what countries
produce is sold to foreigners as exports. Among rich or developed countries the
share of international trade in total output (exports plus imports of goods relative
to GDP) rose from 27 to 39 percent between 1987 and 1997. For developing
countries it rose from 10 to 17 percent. (The source for many of these data is the
World Bank’s World Development Indicators 2000.)
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Firms based in one country increasingly make
investments to establish and run business operations in other countries. US firms
invested US$133 billion abroad in 1998, while foreign firms invested US$193
billion in the US. Overall world FDI flows more than tripled between 1988 and
1998, from US$192 billion to US$610 billion, and the share of FDI to GDP is
generally rising in both developed and developing countries. Developing
countries received about a quarter of world FDI inflows in 1988-98 on average,
though the share fluctuated quite a bit from year to year. This is now the largest
form of private capital inflow to developing countries.
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Exemplar 8
Student Reading Materials
Capital Market Flows. In many countries (especially in the developed world)
savers increasingly diversify their portfolios to include foreign financial assets
(foreign bonds, equities, loans), while borrowers increasingly turn to foreign
sources of funds, along with domestic ones. While flows of this kind to
developing countries also rose sharply in the 1990s, they have been much more
volatile than either trade or FDI flows, and have also been restricted to a
narrower range of ‘emerging market’ countries.
…… It is crucial in discussing globalization to carefully distinguish between
its different forms. International trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), and
capital market flows raise distinct issues and have distinct consequences:
potential benefits on the one hand, and costs or risks on the other, calling for
different assessments and policy responses. The World Bank generally favors
greater openness to trade and FDI because the evidence suggests that the payoffs
for economic development and poverty reduction tend to be large relative to
potential costs or risks (while also paying attention to specific policies to
mitigate or alleviate these costs and risks).
[Source:
PREM Economic Policy Group and Development Economics Group, The World
Bank Group. What is Globalization. April 2000
<http://www1.worldbank.org/economicpolicy/globalization/ag01.html>]
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Exemplar 8
Student Reading Materials
Source 4
When globalization refers to the economy, people can easily anchor the
conversation in well-known referents: trade, transnational investment,
international currency markets. But when globalization talk turns to political
values and norms, the moorings vanish and the discussion bobs around
uncertainly. For whereas money offers a sort of lingua franca (at least you can
count it), the sharing of norms and values across widely differing cultures seems
less reducible to a common currency. Yet international society affirms basic
human rights in a set of conventions and declarations that constitute what some
refer to as an “International Bill of Human Rights” ..…. [G]lobal society has
developed a set of rules that permit, but do not require, forcible intervention to
stop gross violations of basic security rights. The emergence of these norms has
been shaped fundamentally by two dimensions of globalization. The first has to
do with values, the second with information. A globalization of basic human
values has occurred, such that there seems to be universal consensus that no
culture or political system is justified in curtailing the essential rights of its
people. Though societies differ fundamentally over the meaning of importance of
principles like “free speech” and “gender equality,” they converge on a set of
basic security rights, those that protect people in their physical freedom and
bodily integrity. Put differently, no culture or government would claim that
torture, extrajudicial killings, or genocide are legitimate values, or are
fundamental elements of their traditions. The globalization of information
refers to the widely remarked “CNN effects”, any large-scale, brutal, or
systematic abuse of security rights will quickly be reported around the world via
both print and electronic media, complete with appalling images. It is virtually
impossible to keep massive human rights abuses secret …... The globalization of
human rights values and the globalization of information media have combined,
especially since the end of the Cold War, to push the development of norms of
humanitarian intervention.
[Source:
Wayne Sandholtz. “Human Intervention: Global Enforcement of Human Rights?”. In
Alison Brysk (ed.), Globalization and Human Rights. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 2002, pp. 201-202.]
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Exemplar 8
Activity
Activity 1
Refer to Sources 1 – 4, and complete the following tasks:
1.
Search for a definition of globalization and choose one that appears to be
worthy of further consideration.
2.
Extract the main points of the definition. Avoid repeating the whole
passage. Highlight a few main points and explain them in a language that is
intelligible to fellow students.
3.
Explain whether the definition is clear, and if the definition is not clear,
raise issues that need to be clarified.
4.
Compare definitions that have been considered earlier and see if the
definitions contain incompatible points. If they do, highlight the
controversial issues.
159
Exemplar 8
Student Reading Materials
Source 5
The comics illustrated here are copyright protected
and hence cannot be reprinted here. For the comics,
please refer to the hard copy of this booklet which
has been distributed to all local secondary schools.
160
Exemplar 8
Student Reading Materials
Activity
Activity 2
Refer to Source 5, and complete the following tasks:
1.
Compare the different definitions. Are they just different ways of saying the
same thing or do they contain different or even incompatible views?
2.
If the definitions contain incompatible views, describe the controversial
issues.
3.
Put together a comprehensive definition of “globalization” using
compatible elements from the various definitions.
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Exemplar 8
Student Reading Materials
Source 6
Antony Leung on Globalization
Part 1
…… Hong Kong is one of the freest and most open economies in the world. We
are totally committed to the rules-based multilateral trading system under the
World Trade Organization. And we embrace the changes brought by
globalization ...… Hong Kong is an externally-oriented economy. Our market is
always open to competitors from all over the world. Hong Kong people are
known to be adaptive to changes and responsive to challenges. We are committed
to moving forward and positioning Hong Kong as a leading financial centre,
logistics hub and tourist destination in the region ..…. Our good geographical
location in the fastest growing region in the world and our well established
financial and physical infrastructure are of course our major advantages. Equally
important to the international business community are our institutional strengths,
including our rule of law, level playing field, light handed regulators, free flow of
information, fully convertible currency without any capital control, low taxes, and
many more. These are unparalleled in the region ..…. [Our country’s] entry into
WTO matters to Hong Kong not only because we are a WTO member in our own
rights, but also because we are the principal gateway to the huge China market.
We handle about 40 per cent of China’s foreign trade. We are [the mainland’s]
largest external investor accounting for about half, or US$171 billion, of all
realized direct investment on the mainland. And our businessmen possess
extensive market knowledge, network and experience in the mainland of China,
making them the best partner for companies unfamiliar with the Chinese
market ..…. Hong Kong is one of the most advanced service economies in Asia.
Some 85 per cent of our GDP is generated by service industries which employ
more than 80 per cent of the work force ..…. But the nature of services is
changing rapidly as globalization, trade liberalization, and the new economy are
being shaped by innovation and the application of information technology. With
trade liberalization, the world is increasingly linked through the import and
export of merchandise and services. Advances in information technology
followed by the dramatic drop in the cost of communications have created a
global working environment that crushes time and space ..….”
[Source:
Antony Leung. Opening Speech at World Services Congress, 20 September 2001.]
162
Exemplar 8
Student Reading Materials
Part 2
We also have been working hard to restructure our systems. We took
advantage of the Asian financial crisis and the continuing worldwide movement
towards globalization to open our economy still further. We encouraged market
liberalization in areas such as banking, the stock and futures markets and
telecommunications. We have enhanced competitiveness and introduced
innovation and efficiency.
We have also exploited information technology to further integrate the full
range of financial services – securities, futures, clearing – through an open and
secure electronic network. At the same time we have maintained the safety and
integrity of the system. These measures have not only had a direct and positive
impact on Hong Kong as a leading financial services centre, they are a good
pointer to Hong Kong as a market with increasingly attractive investment
potential. On top of this, our financial institutions are supported by accounting,
auditing, legal and consulting firms with strong international and local
connections.
And we have our location. Hong Kong’s growth and development is closely
linked to [our country’s] own strong economic performance – a performance that
has been characterised in recent years by low inflation, a healthy balance of
payments and the dramatic changes that have occurred since the implementation
of the opening up and reform policies in the late 1970s. The current five-year plan
will see China grow by over 7% a year. And within the next two decades it is
highly likely that China will become the second largest economy in the world.
Hong Kong, as the leading financial centre of China, will stand to benefit.
[Source:
Antony Leung. “Asia and Global Finance: New Opportunities”. Opening Speech at
Asia and Global Finance, 8 May 2001.]
163
Exemplar 8
Student Reading Materials
Source 7
George Soros on Globalization
We live in a global economy that is characterized not only by free trade in
goods and services but even more by the free movement of capital. Interest rates,
exchange rates, and stock prices in various countries are intimately interrelated
and global financial markets exert tremendous influence on economic conditions.
Given the decisive role that international financial capital plays in the fortunes of
individual countries, it is not inappropriate to speak of a global capitalist system.
The system is very favorable to financial capital, which is free to go where it
is best rewarded, which in turn has led to the rapid growth of the global financial
markets. The result is a gigantic circulatory system, sucking up capital into the
financial markets and institutions at the center and then pumping it out to the
periphery either directly in the form of credits and portfolio investments or
indirectly through multi-national corporations. As long as the circulatory system
is vigorous, it overwhelms most other influences. Capital brings many benefits,
not only an increase in productive capacity but also improvements in the methods
of production and other innovations; not only an increase in wealth but also an
increase in freedom. Thus countries vie to attract and retain capital and making
conditions attractive to capital takes precedence over other social objectives.
But the system is deeply flawed. As long as capitalism remains triumphant, the
pursuit of money overrides all other social considerations. Economic and political
arrangements are out of kilter. The development of a global economy has not
been matched by the development of a global society. The basic unit for political
and social life remains the nation-state. The relationship between center and
periphery is also profoundly unequal. If and when the global economy falters,
political pressures are liable to tear it apart.
My critique of the global capitalist system falls under two main headings. One
concerns the defects of the market mechanism. Here I am talking primarily about
the instabilities built into international financial markets. The other concerns the
deficiencies of what I have to call, for lack of a better name, the nonmarket
sector. By this I mean primarily the failure of politics both on the national and on
the international level ..….
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Exemplar 8
Student Reading Materials
Although governments retain the power to interfere in the economy, they have
become increasingly subject to the forces of global competition. If a government
imposes conditions that are unfavorable to capital, capital will seek to escape.
Conversely, if a government keeps down wages and provides incentives for
favored businesses it can foster the accumulation of capital. So the global
capitalist system consists of many sovereign states, each with its own policies,
but each subject to international competition not only for trade but also for
capital. This is one of the features that makes the system so complicated.
Although we can speak of a global regime in economic and financial matters,
there is no global regime in politics. Each state has its own regime ..….
Today the ability of the state to provide for the welfare of its citizens has been
severely impaired by the ability of capital to escape taxation and onerous
employment conditions by moving elsewhere. Countries that have overhauled
their social security and employment arrangements – the United States and
United Kingdom foremost among them – have flourished while others that have
sought to preserve them – exemplified by France and Germany – have lagged
behind ..….
Competition has forced consolidation, downsizing, and the transfer of
production abroad. These are important factors in creating a persistently high
level of unemployment in Europe ..….
[Source:
George Soros. The Crisis of Global Capitalism: Open Society Endangered. London:
Little, Brown and Company, 1998, pp. 101-115.]
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Exemplar 8
Student Reading Materials
Source 8
NGOs on globalization
We are told that this corporate encirclement of the planet will bring with it
greater prosperity, peace and ecological balance. Certainly, it is difficult to resist
embracing such an enticing vision, especially when there is no clear alternative
on the horizon. In many respects traditional nation-states, including both the
high-tech industrial democracies and the multitude of Third World governments,
have grown weaker and less relevant. And the community of nations is plagued
by growing nationalism and ethnic division leading to xenophobia,
fundamentalism, fascist tendencies and war. This leaves the corporate capitalists
and the leaders of the industrialized countries to present their neoliberal brand of
globalization as inevitable and themselves as healers of the world’s ills.
In the absence of a coherent alternative, the transnational corporations carry
on inexorably. Increasingly flagless and stateless, they weave global webs of
production, commerce, culture and finance virtually unopposed. They expand,
invest and grow, concentrating ever more wealth in a limited number of hands.
They work in coalition to influence local, national and international institutions
and laws. And together with the governments of their home countries in Europe,
North America and Japan, as well as international institutions such as the World
Trade Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and
increasingly, the United Nations, they are molding an international system in
which they can trade and invest even more freely – a world where they are less
and less accountable to the cultures, communities and nation-states in which they
operate. Underpinning this effort is not the historical inevitability of an evolving,
enlightened civilization, but rather the unavoidable reality of the overriding
corporate purpose: the maximization of profits.
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Exemplar 8
Student Reading Materials
The “globalization” we are witnessing today is in fact an acceleration of
historical political and economic trends, hastened by the advent of increasingly
sophisticated and rapid communications and transportation technologies, the
decline of the nation-state (especially in the South), the absence or ineffectiveness
of democratic systems of global governance, and the rise of neoliberal economic
ideology. Its primary beneficiaries are both the transnational corporations, as well
as the privileged consumer classes in the North and to a growing degree, in the
industrializing [countries] of the South.
[Source:
CorpWatch.org. “What is Globalization”. Excerpted from CorpWatch Executive
Director Joshua Karliner’s The Corporate Planet: Ecology and Politics in the Age of
Globalization. Sierra Club Books, 1997. 10 December 2001
<http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PII.jsp?topicid=104>]
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Exemplar 8
Activity
Activity 3
Forum on Globalization
Each student is given a role. Search for relevant materials, sympathetically
understand the views of the person whose role you are playing. Present them in
the forum. Sources 5 – 8 are given as examples.
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Exemplar 9
Optional Module I:
Religion and Life1
Question for enquiry:
What is the special appeal of religious artworks?
Suggested time allocation: 2-3 periods
A.
Extracts from the Curriculum Framework
Issues
3. How are
religious
sentiments
demonstrated
through the
arts?
Key points
b. The arts as
manifestation
of religious
sentiments
Suggested questions for enquiry
Values and attitudes
What is the special appeal of
religious artworks? How does this
special appeal lead people to reflect
on life? Do the arts of different
religions have different contents
and ways of manifestation?
Aesthetics,
creativity,
affectivity,
open-mindedness,
plurality,
appreciative
attitude
B.
Objectives
1.
Discover the different forms of religious artworks;
2.
To compare the different concepts and purposes of religious artworks;
3.
To understand the nature and appeal of religious artworks;
4.
To appreciate the characteristics of artworks with respect to different major
religions.
1
Exemplar 9 is prepared by Dr. Stephen SZE Man-hung, GEC, HKPolyU.
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Exemplar 9
C.
Learning Activities
Objectives
Skills
Values and attitudes
The nature of
religious
representation
The relationship
between art and
religion
Data analysis
and comparison
Aesthetics, affectivity,
open-mindedness,
plurality, appreciative
attitude
Certain aspects of the
nature of Christian
Religion
Certain aspects of the
nature of Hindu and
Islamic religions
Site visits and
data collection
Aesthetics, affectivity,
open-mindedness,
plurality, appreciative
attitude
Religious art as
expression and
manifestation of faith
Research and
critical
assessment
Aesthetics, affectivity,
open-mindedness,
plurality, appreciative
attitude
Knowledge
Area of enquiry
Period 1: Relationship
between art and
religion
[Activity 1]
1.
2.
Period 2: Different
religions and their art
forms
[Activity 2]
3.
Period 3: Local
religions and their
artistic
representations
[Activity 3]
5.
4.
Period 1:
Ask students to read [Sources 1 & 2], and then do [Activity 1].
Period 2:
Ask students to do [Activity 2].
Period 3:
Ask students to do [Activity 3].
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Exemplar 9
D.
Teacher’s References
This study aims at facilitating an understanding of certain religious artworks
such as icons or statues. Religious themes and beliefs become persuasive and
impressive through artistic forms of representation. By comparing different
religious beliefs and forms of artistic representation, students would appreciate
that different religions hold different ideas and reveal different world-views. For
instance, Catholicism puts a lot of emphasis on icons and statues which are
anthropomorphic (representation in human forms). Reformed Christianity
emphasizes the cross as the central symbol. Islamic mosques do not have any
forms of representation for God. They prefer certain geometric patterns and words
from the Koran. These reflect different religious views.
For more information about religious artworks, see the following references:
Gombrich, E.H. The Story of Art. Oxford: Phaidon Press (14th edition), 1984.
Michalski, Sergiusz. The Reformation and the visual arts: the Protestant image
question in Western and Eastern Europe. London & New York: Routledge,
1993.
Thorp, Robert L. Chinese art and culture. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001.
保羅‧韋斯, 馮‧O‧沃格特著，何其敏、金仲譯，丘仲輝校。
《宗教與藝術》。
成都 : 四川人民出版社，1999。
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Exemplar 9
Student Reading Materials
Source 1
“The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci
In traditional versions, the apostles were seen sitting quietly at the table
in a row – only Judas being separated from the rest – while Christ was calmly
dispensing the Sacrament. The new picture is very different from any of those
paintings. There is drama in it, and excitement. Leonardo has gone back to the
text of the Scriptures, and has tried to visualize what it must have been like
when Christ said, ‘ ‘‘Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me”,
and they were exceeding sorrowful and began every one of them to say unto
him “Lord, is it I?” ’. Christ has just spoken the tragic words, and those on His
side shrink back in terror as they hear the revelation. Some seem to protest
their love and innocence, others gravely to dispute whom the Lord may have
meant; others again seem to look to Him for an explanation of what He has
said. St Peter, most impetuous of all, rushes towards St John, who sits to the
right of Jesus. As he whispers something into St John’s ear, he by accident
pushes Judas forward. Judas is not separated from the rest, and yet he seems
isolated. He alone does not make gestures and question. He bends forward and
looks up in suspicion or anger, a dramatic contrast to the figure of Christ
sitting calm and resigned amidst this rising turmoil. Despite the excitement
which Christ’s words have caused, there is nothing chaotic in the picture. The
twelve apostles seem to fall quite naturally into four groups of three, linked to
each other by gestures and movements. There is so much order in this variety,
and so much variety in this order, that one can never quite exhaust the
harmonious interplay of movement and answering movement.
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Exemplar 9
Student Reading Materials
The picture illustrated here is copyright protected and
hence cannot be reprinted here. For the photo, please
refer to the hard copy of this booklet which has been
distributed to all local secondary schools.
[Adapted from:
Gombrich, E.H. The Story of Art. Oxford:Phaidon Press., 14th edition, 1984, pp.224-226.
Mary Hollingsworth 瑪麗˙霍林斯沃思。
《人類藝術史》
。香港：中華書局，1991，頁 236。]
173
Exemplar 9
Student Reading Materials
Source 2
The Dancing “Shiva”
Indian art evolves around religion. Shiva is one of the three-head deities of
Hinduism. It is a popular theme. Hinduism emphasizes supernatural power and
re-incarnation. Shiva is worshipped as creator, preserver and destroyer of the
universe. In this statue, the aspect of destroyer is represented by the ugly mood;
the aspect of creator is represented by the supple and elegant posture; the calm
and kind attitude represents the aspect of preservation. As the Deity of
reproduction and new birth, it bears the male sexual organ. The dance of Shiva
manifests the acts of both destruction and creation. Fire is the symbol of this
process of change which forms the circle around the statue. Finally, Shiva steps
upon the little evil creature “Ignorance” on one foot, while exhibiting the
gesture of blessing in the dance.
[Adapted from:
Mary Hollingsworth 瑪麗˙霍林斯沃思。
《人類藝術史》
。香港：中華書
局，1991，頁 136。]
The photo illustrated here is copyright protected and
hence cannot be reprinted here. For the photo, please
refer to the hard copy of this booklet which has been
distributed to all local secondary schools.
174
Exemplar 9
Activity
Activity 1
Refer to Source 1, then answer the following questions:
1.
Why is this painting by Leonardo considered a piece of religious art? Or
you do not agree that it is?
2.
How does he dramatize this biblical event? Do you think what he does
helps believers to understand the meaning of the biblical event, or makes
it harder?
3.
Many believers would show a replica of the painting at home and label it
‘Christ is the head of this home’. Why would they do that? Do you think
they know the underlying meaning? Would you hang this painting in your
home?
Refer to Source 2, then answer the following questions:
4.
To show the role of Shiva in Hinduism, what symbols and
representations are resorted to? Do you think they are persuasive? (Shiva
has many hands, which shows his might.)
5.
Do you think this statue of God is impressive? Why? Would you like to
have a statue at home? What kind of sculptures do you have at home?
175
Exemplar 9
Activity
Activity 2
Visit the Catholic Cathedral in Caine Road, Central District, St. John’s
Cathedral in Garden Road, Central District, the Mosque in Nathan Road,
Tsimshatsui, and the Wing Kwong Pentecostal Holiness Church in Heng Lam
Street, Lok Fu. Take note of the following aspects:
1.
Are there icons or statues in all of them?
2.
Are there any symbols to represent the essence of religion or subject of
worship?
3.
Do you see any art forms in these places of worship? What are these
forms?
4.
Are religious themes presented in art forms?
5.
Do the art forms render the religious themes impressive and persuasive?
Activity 3 (Optional)
Visit one of the local Chinese temples, either Buddhist, Taoist or folk-religious.
Interview the people engaging in these religious practices.
1.
Do you notice icons, symbols and religious statues in these temples?
2.
Are they presented in art forms?
3.
What kind of art forms are they and are they powerful and persuasive?
176
Exemplar 10
Optional Module II: Human-Environment Relationship1
Question for enquiry:
Is the harm on the environment done by the humankind severe?
Suggested time allocation: 2 periods
A.
Extracts from the Curriculum Framework
Issues
Key points
Suggested questions for enquiry
Values and attitudes
1. What are the
problems
facing our
environment
and ecology?
a. Human
destruction of
the
environment
Is the harm on the environment done
by humankind severe? Should we
create an artificial environment that
will suit human needs, or should we
restore the damaged environment?
Rationality, equality,
justice, critical
thinking, respect,
empathy,
responsibility,
common good,
sustainability
B.
1.
Objectives
To understand why tigers are becoming extinct.
2.
3.
To analyze the effects of the extinction of tigers on the ecological system.
To investigate into the causes for the destruction of the environment which
threatens the existence of tigers.
C.
Learning Activities
Objectives
Knowledge
Area of enquiry
Periods 1-2: Tigers 1. The causes for the
facing extinction
extinction of tigers
in relation to the
2. Human greed and
impact of human
irresponsibility
action
[Activity 1]
Skills
Analyzing data,
comparing data,
critical reflection on
human abuses of the
environment
Periods 1-2
Ask students to read [Sources 1 – 4] and then do [Activity 1].
1
Exemplar 10 is prepared by Dr. Stephen SZE Man-hung, GEC, HKPolyU.
177
Values and attitudes
Empathy,
responsibility,
common good,
sustainability, critical
thinking
Exemplar 10
D.
Teacher’s References
The example given here, sub-species of tigers that have become extinct and
other sub-species threatened by extinction, illustrates that human activities are
responsible, directly and indirectly.
In the last 70 years, three sub-species of tigers, namely, Caspian, Javan and
Bali tigers have become extinct. This is due indirectly to the destruction of their
environment by human settlement and the development of material civilization.
Direct destruction is the killing of tigers because of fear, profit and traditional
practices. Chinese people, for instance, have a long tradition of using the body
parts of tigers for medicinal purposes.
The extinct species in their destroyed habitats serves as an alarm to alert us
of the need for the preservation of their environment.
The investigation into the causes for the killing of tigers helps us remove our
psychological and traditional biases and fight profiteering in the animal trade.
For further information, see the following references:
References
Boomgaard, J. Frontiers of Fear: Tigers and People in the Malay World,
1600-1950. New Haven, Conn.: Yale U. Press, 2001.
Seidensticker, John. Tigers. Stillwater, Mn.: Voyageur Press, 1996.
Seidensticker, John. Riding the Tiger: Tiger Conservation in Human-Dominated
Landscapes. N.Y. & London: CUP, 1999.
Videos
Land of the Tiger. National Geographic Video, 1986.
Man-eaters of India. National Geographic Video, 1987.
《虎篇》。亞洲電視，2002 年，第二及第三部分。
178
Exemplar 10
Student Reading Materials
Source 1
(Video)
Tiger Episodes （虎篇）
ATV 2002 (episode 1)
This episode tackles the problem of extinction of tigers in general, and in
particular tigers in Southern and Northern China. There are particular cultural
problems in China that threaten the existence of tigers. Different measures have
been taken by the Chinese Government. Students should assess the problems,
identify the causes, and reflect upon the effectiveness of the measures for the
preservation of tigers. Finally, let students determine their level of participation.
Source 2
(Website)
5 Tigers: The Tiger Information Center
www.5tigers.org
This website reports on the tiger species that are extinct and those threatened by
extinction. The causes are different but are all closely associated with human
activities.
179
Exemplar 10
Student Reading Materials
Source 3
According to the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, 12,000 tigers live
in the United States as pets, while only 5,000 to 7,500 tigers are still living in the
wilderness. Alone in the state of Texas, there are as many as 4,000. A Bengal
baby-tiger is valued at US$1,000. Keeping tigers as pets is a symbol of wealth
and power, although this act may be dangerous for others, for in recent years, as
many as 5 people have been killed by pet tigers in the United States. A lot of
people are interested in buying these tigers solely for the purpose of killing them,
because the skin is worth ten time that of the living animal.
[Extracted and adapted from: Der Spiegel, No.33, 12 August, 2002.]
Source 4
The photo illustrated here is copyright protected and
hence cannot be reprinted here. For the photo, please
refer to the hard copy of this booklet which has been
distributed to all local secondary schools.
180
Exemplar 10
Activity
Activity 1
Refer to Sources 1 – 4, then answer the following questions:
1.
Are tigers really a threat to human existence?
2.
How do Chinese people make use of tigers? Could a balance be striken
between traditional Chinese cultural practices and the preservation of
tigers?
3.
What are the justifications for keeping tigers in zoos?
4.
Do you find keeping tigers as pets acceptable? State your reasons for or
against.
5.
Comment on Tyson the boxing champion adopting tigers as pets.
6.
How can the fate of tigers be changed? What can we do to rescue tigers
from extinction?
7.
Why have some tiger species become extinct, and some not yet?
8.
Distinguish between the threat to tigers because of human greed and
human irresponsibility.
181
Exemplar 11
Optional Module III: Relationship between Mass Media and
Modern Culture1
Question for enquiry:
What functions do media perform in the operation of the business world?
Suggested time allocation: 4 periods
A.
Extracts from the Curriculum Framework
Issues
Key points
1. Is it the mass c. The
media that
influences of
affect our
advertising on
cultural
society
development,
or is it our
culture that
determines the
production
principles of
mass media?
Suggested questions for enquiry
Values and attitudes
What functions do media perform in
the operation of the business world?
To what extent is our consumption
behavior affected by advertising?
When, where, and how do we
receive messages from advertising?
How is ‘beauty’ presented in
advertisements?
Do/How
do
advertisements stereotype gender
roles? What values are delivered in
most advertisements?
Why are
prejudices
found
in
certain
advertisements?
Are
such
advertisements common?
Plurality,
democracy, justice,
rationality,
creativity, aesthetics,
interdependence,
principled morality,
openness, respect for
others, respect for
different ways of
life, responsible
attitude
B.
Objectives
1.
To analyze different forms and strategies of TV commercials in relation to the
promotion of products and services promoted and account for the differences;
2.
To investigate the functions of TV commercials.
1
Exemplar 11 is prepared by Dr. Stephen SZE Man-hung, GEC, HKPolyU.
182
Exemplar 11
C.
Learning Activities
Objectives
Knowledge
Area of enquiry
Periods 1-2: TV
commercials and
their modes of
presentation
[Activity 1 – 4]
Periods 3-4:
The functions of
TV commercials
[Activity 5]
Skills
Values and attitudes
1. The extent TV
commercials affect
consumption
behavior
2. TV commercials as
seen by consumers
3. Three modes of
presentation in TV
commercials
Interpreting and
analyzing data, ability to
appreciate different
viewpoints, rational
discussion, self-reflection
Creativity, aesthetics,
interdependence,
rationality, openness,
respect for others,
respect for different
ways of life
4. Promoting
products/services
through TV
commercials
5. The functions of TV
commercials
Creative thinking skills,
critical thinking skills,
ability to appreciate
different viewpoints,
rational discussion,
self-reflection
Creativity, aesthetics,
interdependence,
rationality, openness,
respect for others,
respect for different
ways of life
Periods 1 – 2
1. Before the lesson, prepare several video segments of TV commercials from
different time slots, e.g. prime time TV commercials (6:00pm-10:00pm) and
non-prime time TV commercials (e.g. 8:00 – 9:00 am, 1:00 – 3:00pm [the
so-called housewife hours], 4:00 – 6:00pm [school children time] and 1:00 –
2:00am.).
2. To begin the lesson, ask students to do [Activity 1].
3. Give out [Activity 2] “Inside TV Commercials”. Ask students to view the TV
commercials and fill in the table in [Activity 3] with the help of Source 1. Then,
divide students into small groups and do [Activity 4]. Ask students to present their
discussion results.
4. Before the end of the lesson, randomly assign each group a product/service (e.g.
ball-pen for office use, canned soup, aspirin, pesticide, cleaning service, skin care
products, brand-name fashion, real estate, etc). Ask students to design a TV
commercial to promote the product/service and present their ideas in the next
lesson.
183
Exemplar 11
Periods 3 – 4
1. Ask each group to present the proposal. Encourage ‘clients’ to ask questions or
give feedback on the design.
2. Do [Activity 5] in groups and present discussion results to the class. Teacher
concludes the lessons.
D.

Teacher’s References
TV commercial is a very popular strategy for product promotion in the
business world. The products promoted in prime time and non-prime time TV
commercial time slots are very different and the price charged for different
time slots varies greatly. Products promoted in prime time TV commercials are
luxury items like cosmetics, real estate, beer, wines and spirits, catering to
high income earners or the middle class. The price for running these TV
commercials is very high. Products promoted in non-prime time TV
commercials cater more to daily needs such as canned food, medicine for
everyday use and other basic necessities. The price for running such
commercials in non-prime time slots is relatively lower. The target audience of
non-prime time TV commercials are mainly the elderly, children and
low-income earners from lower social classes. This reflects the market
orientation of TV programmers and advertisers.

There are three different modes of presentation in TV commercials: graphic
mode, dramatic mode and the mode of image design. They represent different
persuasion approaches.
 The graphic mode is static, cheap in production and clear in providing
the necessary information. A pictorial image of the product is
represented together with a text to specify the characteristics of the
product/service. Its function is to inform the viewers of the existence of
this particular brand or choice. This mode of presentation is passive,
simply making the product known.
184
Exemplar 11

The dramatic mode is a rather hard-selling form of persuasion. It often
involves a short drama in which a problem arises and a solution is found
by relating the product to the problem. As the drama brings out a sense
of urgency, it is best deployed to awake needs that viewers do not give
much attention to. (For instance, Break and Burn helps reduce weight.
House pests are invading the family, and an effective pesticide is
recommended. An old woman cries when she sees rice being thrown at a
wedding couple. She turns to smile with the bag of rice securely in hand
because she values the rice more than her married daughter.)

The mode of image design is very sophisticated. It is a soft promotion
which hinges on depicting the social status, lifestyle, or social image of
the consumers. Mode of image design tries to tie the viewers to a
wealthy class, and the products/services being promoted reflects their
high status. (For instance, real estate TV commercials depict life of
aristocrats; beer, wines and spirits commercials indicate trendy lifestyle.)
This mode serves to create wants and does not attempt to meet any
genuine needs. There are usually a lot of powerful images and quality
production.
Reference
史文鴻。＜在媒介與文化＞。
《商業電視廣告的形象設計與意識形態問題﹝增訂版﹞》
。香港：
次文化堂，1993。
185
Exemplar 11
Student Reading Materials
Source 1
There are three different modes of presentation in TV commercials. The simplest
mode is the graphic mode in which the commercial presents a pictorial image of
the product with a text that specifies the characteristics of the product/service.
The second is dramatic mode in which a short drama is enacted. A problem arises
and a solution is found by relating the product to the problem. The most
sophisticated one is the mode of image design through which the product/service
is associated with a certain social class (e.g. middle class), a certain lifestyle or
social image. The three modes of presentation are also distinguishable by the
scale and quality of production such as graphics, setting, cast, music, special
effects and camera technique.
Activity
Activity 1
1.
How much time do you spend watching TV every day? Can you estimate
roughly how many TV commercials do you watch a day?
2.
Do you look for TV commercials when you want to buy something? If yes,
share your experience with your classmates and explain why you watch TV
commercials to help you do the purchase.
3.
Have you ever been attracted by TV commercials into buying a
product/service? If yes, which TV commercial made you do the purchase.
4.
What do TV commercials do to TV viewers?
186
Activity 2
Inside TV Commercials
TV
Commercials
Time Slots
(e.g. Prime Time/
Non-prime Time)
Name and Nature of
Products/Services
Main
(Luxury goods/ Goods
Message
for basic needs)
Mode
of
Presentation
Characteristics of Presentation
(e.g. creativity in presentation,
image design, quality of graphic
art and dramaturgy)
Budget
Level
Target
(High/
Audience
Medium/
Low)
1.
2.
187
3.
4.
5.
6.
Exemplar 11
Activity
Exemplar 11
Activity
Activity 3
1.
What products/services are promoted in non-prime time slots (morning
hours, housewife hours, school children hours, late night hours) and in
prime time slots (after-school and off-work hours)? Are they similar or
different products/services? Who are the target audience?
2.
There are three modes of TV commercial presentation for different
products/services. How does it work? What message is delivered?
3.
Do you think there are price differences if you run commercials in prime
time or in non-prime time slots? Why?
(Note: If you want to know more, price tables are available from TV
stations.)
4.
Among the TV commercials you have just watched, which is the most
appealing? Why?
188
Exemplar 11
Activity
Activity 4
Imagine you are working for an advertising company and you have been
commissioned by a client to promote their product/service. You are requested to
identify a presentation mode for the project and explain why you should choose
this and not the other two. You have to sell your idea to the client, with a
storyboard presentation on how the product/service is promoted on TV. Your
classmates will be the ‘client’ to evaluate your proposal.
Useful tips
When deciding on a mode of presentation, you might want to consider the
followings questions:
a.
What is the product/service to be promoted?
b.
What information/message/idea is to be incorporated into the commercial?
c.
Who is your target audience?
d.
Why do you choose that particular mode of presentation?
e.
What effects are to be achieved with this particular mode of presentation?
f.
In which time slot should the commercial be shown on TV?
g.
What is the budget level?
When designing the TV commercial, you might want to consider the
followings questions:
Graphic mode
a.
What is the nature of the product/service? To whom does the TV
commercial address?
b.
How is the information/message/idea promoted or highlighted by graphics
or texts? Explain why you design the commercial in this way.
c.
What effects are to be achieved with this presentation?
d.
e.
Are there other ways of presentation? (e.g. slogan, background music,
songs, animation, celebrities)
What is the budget level?
189
Exemplar 11
Activity
Dramatic mode
a.
What is the nature of the product/service? To whom does the TV
commercial address?
b.
How does the drama unfold? What is the problem, the crisis and the
solution? Explain why you design the commercial in this way.
c.
Who will play the characters (Casual artists or celebrities)?
d.
e.
f.
What are the intended results in terms of impact on the viewers?
Are there other ways of presentation? (e.g. slogan, background music,
songs, animation, celebrities)
What is the budget level?
Mode of image design
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
What is the nature of the product/service? To whom does the TV
commercial address?
What kind of social image and milieu should be provided for the product /
service? Explain why you design the commercial in this way.
What persuasive effects are intended with this presentation?
Are there other ways of presentation? (e.g. slogan, background music,
songs, animation, celebrities)
What is the budget level?
190
Exemplar 11
Activity
Activity 5
1.
What do you think is the best commercial?
(Hint: You can evaluate commercials in terms of creativity, appeal to
viewers, artistic qualities, cost-effectiveness, practicality, appropriateness
and persuasiveness in promoting the product/service.)
2.
When you design a TV commercial, what is your main concern?
(Hint: Think about your client and TV viewers)
3.
What are the functions and effects of TV commercials and advertisements
in general?
191
Exemplar 12
Optional Module III: Relationship between Mass Media and
Modern Culture1
Questions for enquiry:
How is ‘beauty’ presented in advertisements? What values are delivered in
most advertisements? To what extent is our consumption behaviour affected by
advertising?
Suggested time allocation: 2 periods
A.
Extracts from the Curriculum Framework
Issues
Key points
1. Is it the mass c. The
media that
influences of
affect our
advertising on
cultural
society
development,
or is it our
culture that
determines the
production
principles of
mass media?
B.
Suggested questions for enquiry
Values and attitudes
What functions do media perform in
the operation of the business world?
To what extent is our consumption
behaviour affected by advertising?
When, where, and how do we
receive messages from advertising?
How is ‘beauty’ presented in
advertisements?
Do/How
do
advertisements stereotype gender
roles? What values are delivered in
most advertisements?
Why are
prejudices
found
in
certain
advertisement?
Are
such
advertisements common?
Plurality,
democracy, justice,
rationality,
creativity, aesthetics,
interdependence,
principled morality,
openness, respect for
others, respect for
different ways of
life, responsible
attitude
Objectives
1. To understand and analyze our idea of beauty;
2. To examine how ‘beauty’ is presented in advertisements and the values delivered
in advertisements;
3. To examine the extent our idea of beauty and consumption behaviour are affected
by advertising.
1
Exemplar 11 is prepared by Dr. Helena WONG Pik-wan, GEC, HKPolyU.
192
Exemplar 12
C.
Learning Activities
Objectives
Knowledge
Area of enquiry
Period 1:
Advertisements
and the Beauty
Myth
[Activity 1 – 3]
Period 2:
The market value
of “physical
beauty”
[Activity 4 – 6]
Period 1:
1.
Skills
Values & Attitude
1. How ‘beauty’ is presented in
advertisements
2. The values delivered in
advertisements and their
impact on our value system
Data collection,
Interpreting and
analyzing data
Plurality, justice,
rationality, aesthetics,
openness, respect for
others, respect for
different ways of life,
responsible attitude
3. The market value of
‘physical beauty’ as
expressed by advertisements
4. The extent beauty industries’
advertisements affect our
values and consumption
behaviour
Interpreting and
analyzing data,
critical thinking
skills
Plurality, rationality,
aesthetics, openness,
respect for others,
respect for different
ways of life,
responsible attitude
Advertisements, the Beauty Myth, and the Beauty Industry
This lesson begins with the collection and analysis of local advertisements on
beauty products. Before period 1, students are required to conduct data
collection either on an individual basis or on group basis. They are to collect
advertisements found in local magazines that suggest certain standards of
beauty, and bring the advertisements to class for discussion.
2.
Students divide into groups and discuss the following based on the
advertisements collected.

As suggested by the advertisements, what are the standards of female
beauty?

Do you believe that using the advertised beauty products will help make
you more beautiful?
193
Exemplar 12
3.
Then, students in groups discuss [Activity 1 – 3] and explore what the beauty
ideal is as shown in these advertisements. Students are also asked to examine
their own idea of beauty and the extent their ideas are influenced by advertising.
Students should also be aware that our society is imposing different beauty
standards on women and men. A good example is that physical attractiveness is
a prerequisite for femininity but not for masculinity.
4.
At the end of period 1, teacher reminds students to complete [Activity 5].
Period 2:
1.
The Market Value of “Physical Beauty”
The lesson begins with a summary of the discussion in the last lesson. Then,
using [Activity 4], students discuss the market value of ‘physical beauty’ as
expressed by advertisements and examine the values delivered in these
advertisements.
2.
With the help of [Activity 5 & 6], ask students to discuss how body slimming
advertisements shape their idea of “physical beauty” and influence their values
and consumption behaviour.



Ask students to present their findings from the worksheet. Students should
analyze why students believe in or do not believe in these advertisements.
Help students to realize that the beauty/slimming industry is big business.
Alert students to the pricing of slimming programs and health and beauty
products. Are they cheap or expensive?
Based on [Activity 6], discuss why the beauty/slimming industry is willing
to spend large amounts of money on advertisements, and discuss how our
values and consumption behaviour are shaped by them.
194
Exemplar 12
D.
Teacher’s References
What beauty is varies across cultures and changes over time. In Hong Kong,
the idea of beauty has been largely shaped by the mass media, especially the
beauty industry and its advertisements.
Hong Kong people, women and girls in particular, are bombarded with images
of what they should look like and how they can achieve this look. Movies, TV
programs, posters, billboards, magazine articles, and advertisements portray
images of “an ideal woman”: she is young, tall and slim, with long legs, large
breasts and small hips, as well as smooth and white skin. However, women in real
life, come in all shapes, sizes, and skin tones.
Scholars remind us that this advertised ideal is one that even the models
themselves cannot achieve. Magazine ads and feature photos are airbrushed and
enhanced photographically, using computer-based image processing to get rid of
imperfections and promote the illusion of flawlessness. Not only do these images
show no blemishes, they rarely even show pores. Because this ideal of beauty is
all around us, it is not surprising that many women and girls – including models
and film stars – think there is something wrong with their bodies and obsessively,
they want to eliminate, at least reduce, their “flaws” (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey, 2001,
p.101).
The beauty myth, as presented by advertisements, brings adverse
physical/cultural consequences to women. To name a few:
 An obsession with thinness, leading to dieting and eating disorder. “Thin
is beautiful”.
 Terrified of aging (which is normal physical development);
 Deep anxiety: feeling guilt or inadequate for failure to achieve the beauty



ideal;
Wastage of mind and time, and limits to personal growth, including
intellectual development;
Reducing women to mere objects of male attention;
Women competing against women.
195
Exemplar 12
Ideal standards of beauty are in fact reinforced by, and a necessary part of, the
multi-billion-dollar beauty industry that sees women’s bodies only in terms of a
series of problems in need of correction. These notions of ideal beauty are very
effective in keeping women on the drudgery of “body management”. The beauty
business creates needs by playing on our insecurities about our bodies and selling
us all sorts of beauty/body/health products. (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey, 2001,
pp.101-102).
It is therefore important to examine the effects that the pursuit of the perfect
female body beauty has had on our lives. We must take a stand against continued
enslavement to any elusive beauty ideal. We should adopt a more diverse view of
beauty and learn to be critical of the advertisements surrounding us. Each woman
should also decide for herself what beauty really is and the extent to which she is
willing to go for being beautiful.
For more information about beauty industry and its impact on women, see the
following references:
Bartky, Sandra Lee. “Suffering to be beautiful”. In Constance L. Mui & Julien S.
Murphy ed. Gender Struggles: Practical Approaches to Contemporary
Feminism. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002, Chapter 11.
Bordo, Susan. “Reading the Slender Body”. Unbearable Weight: Feminism,
Western Culture, and the Body. Berkeley: University of California Press,
1993, pp.185-212.
Kirk, Gwyn & Margo Okazawa-Rey. “Women’s Bodies”. In Women’s Lives:
Multicultural Perspectives (2nd edition). Mountain View, California:
Mayfield Publishing Company, 2001, Chapter 3.
Spalding, Alison D. ed. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in
Gender Studies. Connecticut: Dushkin/McGraw-Hill, 1998, pp.18-37.
Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women.
London: Vintage, 1991.
Faludi, Susan 著。顧淑馨譯。＜美容業加入反女性主義陣營＞。
《反挫：誰與
女人為敵？》。台北：自立晚報社文化出版部，1994，第 7 章。
196
Exemplar 12
Activity
Activity 1
Face: ____________________
Arm: ____________________
Chest: __________________
Waist: ___________________
The picture illustrated here is
copyright protected and hence
Hip: ____________________
Leg: ____________________
cannot be reprinted here. For
the photo, please refer to the
hard copy of this booklet
Body shape: ______________
Body size: _______________
Body hair: _______________
which has been distributed to
all local secondary schools.
Others (see Activity 2):
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
Discussion
According to this advertisement and the advertisements you have collected, how
does an “ideal” woman look like? What are the standards of female beauty?
197
Exemplar 12
Activity
Activity 2
The photo illustrated here is copyright protected and
hence cannot be reprinted here. For the photo, please
refer to the hard copy of this booklet which has been
distributed to all local secondary schools.
Discussion
1.
Do you agree with the “beauty standard” shown above? Why? In your
opinion, what does a beautiful woman look like?
2.
Do you think that make-up, piercing, tattooing, dieting, and
body-building make women look beautiful?
198
Exemplar 12
Activity
Activity 3
The photo illustrated here is copyright protected and
hence cannot be reprinted here. For the photo, please
refer to the hard copy of this booklet which has been
distributed to all local secondary schools.
[Source : The Body Shop. Full Voice, No.1. England: The Body Shop, 1997.]
Discussion
1.
The advertisements in Activity 1 and 2 tell us that women can be as
beautiful as the models in the advertisements. However, the above
picture presents another view. What message is presented in the above
picture? Which view do you prefer? Explain.
2.
Do we need to conform to the advertised beauty ideal in order to be
beautiful? Why?
3.
In ads, what is the beauty ideal for man?
4.
Is our society imposing different beauty standards on women and men?
Why?
199
Exemplar 12
Activity
Activity 4
《Source 1》
《Source 2》
The photos illustrated here are copyright protected and
hence cannot be reprinted here. For the photo, please
refer to the hard copy of this booklet which has been
distributed to all local secondary schools.
Discussion
1.
What do Source 1 and Source 2 say about love and marriage? Do you
agree with it? Why?
2.
For most women, it is very important to become beautiful. Is it true?
Why?
3.
Read Source 1. Who sponsors this advertisement? What is the purpose
of this advertisement?
200
Exemplar 12
Activity
Activity 5
Slimming Advertisements: Believe it or not? !
Collect print advertisements on slimming beauty products and services from
local magazines. You can also pick up advertising pamphlets in stores.
Make use of the following table to analyze the advertisements for health/
slimming products/services, their prices and slogans. Fill in the table and bring
the advertisements to class for discussion.
Name of product
Advertising
Slogan
Critical analysis of ads.
Claimed effect Price
(Believe it or not?
Why?)
201
Exemplar 12
Activity
Activity 6
According to the research conducted by A C Neilsen (China) company
Limited, there is a significant increase in advertisements on slimming
products and beauty and slimming courses. Taking slimming pills as an
example, expenditure on advertisements for the first 8 months in 2000 was
about $60 million. However, in 2002, the expenditure doubled and sharply
climbed to $145 million. Expenditure on advertisements on slimming
courses also rose from $190 million in the first 8 months in 2000 to $330
million in the same period in 2002.
Expenditure on Slimming Advertisements
Slimming
products
(increase in %)
Beauty and Health
Services
(increase in %)
$145 million
$333 million
(+111%)
(+15%)
Jan – Aug 2001
$68.58 million
(+12%)
$289 million
(+53%)
Jan – Aug 2000
$61.22 million
$190 million
Time
Jan – Aug 2002
[Source: Ming Pao, 26 September 2002]
Discussion
1. Analyze the results of Activity 5.
2. Why is the beauty/slimming industry willing to spend large amounts of
money on slimming advertisements?
3. How are our values and consumption behaviour influenced by the slimming
advertisements?
202