One Country Two Cultures A Tale of Intercultural Conflict as a Catalyst for Growth

Transcription

1 One Country Two Cultures A Tale of Intercultural Conflict as a Catalyst for Growth Esther Lee lee.esther@cityu.edu.hk Supervisory Executive Officer Student Residence Office City University of Hong Kong 1

2 In this presentation, participants will learn: the historical context for tension and conflict between Hong Kong and mainland China; how intercultural tensions may be turned into stimuli for growth; reactive and proactive strategies for building an inclusive multicultural community; how negative societal attitudes may be used to support the discovery of commonalities amongst students. 3,700 students living on campus 12 residential halls 2

3 Hong Kong & Mainland China One Country Two Systems Pre-1997: Hong Kong as a British colony for 150+ years : Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong You Tube: Hong Kong Handover Ceremony 1997 Post-1997: HK Special Administrative Region (Basic Law) One-Country-Two Systems (remains as capitalist system for 50 years) Approach-Avoidance: Love and Fear : People s Republic of China (Communist Party as the ruling party) 1966: Cultural Revolution (Red Guards) 1967: Leftist riot in Hong Kong (Violence & Bombing) 1978: Deng Xiaoping s Economic Reform: socialist market economy 1980: Touch Base Policy abolished: illegal immigrants arriving from Mainland China in Hong Kong to be immediately repatriated 3

4 Paradigm Shift in Socio-economic-political Development : Tiananmen Square Protest (military suppression) 1997: Asian financial crisis: Slump in Hong Kong s economy Decline in property prices (drop 30 50% in1997) : SARS outbreak in Hong Kong onwards: Individual Visit Scheme ( 港澳自由行 ) Cross-border Social Tensions Among Chinese 41 million mainland visitors in 2013: causing disruption to local communities Competition for resources e.g. milk powder, congested transport system, hospital facilities for births Anti-locust protest demanding the government curb mainland visitors, vs Welcome to Hong Kong campaign led by Voice of Loving HK Go back to China, locust I heard that HK people were civilized. Without the mainland, HK would have suffered more during the global financial crisis 4

5 Tensions in Higher Education No. of Mainland Chinese students in government-funded UG programmes: 2008/09: 4,348 UG student (All: 9,000) 2012/13: 6,315 UG students (PG: 10,963) (all non-local incl. self-financing (~20,000+) Impact on residence places, scholarships, internships, exchange and employment opportunities Tension manifest in resource allocation, particularly in distribution of residence places Tension in relation to different living habits in residence life Tension about grades: Today, the Economics Department has about mainland students,., a B is the best that a Hong Kong student can hope for. Escalating Tensions between Mainland Chinese & Hong Kong Students 3 Oct 2011: offensive remarks reflecting negative stereotypes written on the whiteboard in the 5/F common room Communism is not in practice in Hong Kong, so please do not steal others food and utensils The new Residence Tutor (RT) erased the above remarks and warned residents against provocative statements 5

6 Escalating Tensions between Mainland Chinese & HK Students (cont.) 7 Oct 2011: more offensive remarks and insults found in the 5/F common room "Please do not spit in the washing basin "by the mainland dogs? xxxx you" RT asked mainland Floor Representatives to help pacify the discontent among the mainland Chinese Escalating Tensions between Mainland Chinese & HK Students (cont.) 17 Oct 2011: crisis triggered and recurring divisiveness expanded! Mainland students put a "Big Character Poster" on the Democracy Wall with a photo of the offensive remarks Anonymous "discriminating language used by a local student" is a "racism issue in Hall and should be expelled a Mainland student posted a message on an online social network (RenRen) about the offensive remarks Wide concerns amongst mainland students about prejudice, psychological stress 6

7 Immediate Reactions to Contain the Crisis RTs talked with the mainland students who had put up the Big Poster to assess the dynamics and sentiments RTs engaged Floor Representatives to contain the negative sentiments University posted public statement on Democracy Wall and RenRen: it would uphold core values of diversity and not tolerate any behaviour based on prejudice; it would not tolerate any behaviour or remarks based on bias against any of our students Residence Masters monitored the students sentiments to contain the ripple effect Immediate Reactions to Contain the Crisis (cont.) Special meeting with the Residents' Association and the 5/F residents: gathering individual voices All RMs and RTs engaged to stay alert to the students' sentiments and promote integration Floor meeting with the 5/F residents: actions to be taken by the university and the way ahead, engaging them to agree on core values and appropriate interactive behaviour 7

8 Students Expectations had NOT yet been Met University's 1st statement was regarded by the mainland student society as too mild Enquiries from major mainland Chinese media The university issued a 2nd statement expressing (a) zero tolerance for offensive remarks; (b) determination to promote mutual respect Investigation according to established disciplinary processes was started Proactive Strategies for Building an Inclusive and Strong Community Diversity Statement: socially responsible behaviour is promulgated and promoted A forum involving mainland students, faculty and society leaders - Tensions between the Mainland and HK : valuing open discussion of differences Diversity framed as the theme of the 10th anniversary joint-hall dinner: making diversity visible 8

9 Proactive Strategies for Building an Inclusive and Strong Community (cont.) Award established to recognize residents' contributions to supporting diversity: Students created new banners with prominent messages: making diversity visible Reconsolidated "Diversity and Inclusion" in the RT induction training: reinforcing sensitivity and openness to diverse cultures Transforming Intercultural Conflict into a Stimulus for Reinforcing Supportive & Inclusive Communities Strong Communities Weak Communities Diversity is visible Population looks homogeneous Individual differences are respected; equality prevails Open discussion of controversial issues is valued Socially responsible behavior is promoted and reinforced Inequality, stereotyping, or discrimination exists Fear of debates or different opinions Irresponsible actions are overlooked Accomplishments are publicly honoured Little recognition is provided A sense of community is explicitly valued and promoted No intentional strategies are used to reinforce a sense of pride Adapted from Reisser, L. (1996). The keys to community. Paper presented at the Northwest College Personnel Association, Sopkane, WA. 9

10 Assessing Community-building Outcomes: Some Indicators of Enhanced Multicultural Competence A sense of belongingness: connection with one s university, a strong support network, a balance of academic challenge and support increasing cross-cultural interaction between international and domestic students; Cultural events, leadership programmes and community service buffering the effects of prejudice; providing a secure base for exploring cross-cultural relationships Source: Glass, CR, and Westmont, CM (2014), Comparative effects of belongingness on the academic success and cross-cultural interactions of domestic and international students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 38 (1), pp Assessing Community-building Outcomes: Some Indicators of Enhanced Multicultural Competence (cont.) Programming: increasing student initiatives in organising intercultural events and community service e.g. Global Get-together, Roundtable Discussions, Feast of Sacrifice, Diwali Celebrations, City-Youth Empowerment Communication and collaboration in and between different student bodies 10

11 The Resident Experience: A Stimulus for Belongingness Students perceptions of their experience in the annual surveys: My residential experience has enriched my sense of belonging to university (2011 m=5.51; 2012 m=5.45; 2013 m=5.47) My residential experience has improved my multicultural competence (2011 m=5.45; 2012 m=5.28; 2013 m=5.34) My residential experience has made me more confident in dealing with people from different cultures (2011 m=5.46; 2012 m=5.28; 2013 m=5.47) Cultural and Ethnic Diversity are Resources of the Community Diversity is looking at the night sky and seeing millions of individual stars: bright, shining, but independent. Inclusion is the act of drawing lines between those stars. It connects those individual points of light so that each can see what the other has to offer. Our job is to connect the stars. Source: Yep, R, A Wealth of Different Voices, Associations Now, The Center for Association Leadership, 1/

12 The Cyclical Process: Stress-Adaptation-Growth Stress when encounters between two cultures create tensions beneath the surface These encounters push the individuals to adapt The adaptation process leads to growth as a new intercultural identity is created Source: Kim, YY (2001), Becoming intercultural, Thousand Oaks, CA: Safe. Mingling of cultures is enriching but also creates tensions The Challenges Ahead Hongkongers and mainlanders the same race but tensions beneath the surface Different sub-groups exist in every community Acceptance of individual differences leads to growth 12

13 References: Benette. M.J. (1986). A developmental approach to training for intercultural sensitivity. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10, pp Cuyjet, MJ, Howard-Hamilton MF, and Cooper DL (2011), Multiculturalism on Campus: Theory, Models and Practices for Understanding Diversity and Creating Inclusion. US: Stylus Publishing. Glass, CR, and Westmont, CM (2014), Comparative effects of belongingness on the academic success and cross-cultural interactions of domestic and international students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 38 (1), pp Kim, YY (2001), Becoming intercultural, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. McDonald, W.M. (2002). Absent voices assessing students perceptions of campus community. In Creating Campus Community: In Search of Ernest Boyer s Legacy (pp ). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Pedersen, P. (1988). Handbook for developing multicultural awareness. Alexandria, VA: American Association of Counseling and Development. Reisser, L. (1996). The keys to community. Paper presented at the Northwest College Personnel Association, Spokane, WA. In Blimling, G.S., Whitt, E. & Associates (Eds.) (1999), Good Practice in Student Affairs : Principles to Foster Student Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Yep, R. (2013). A Wealth of Different Voices. Associations Now, The Center for Association Leadership, 1. Acknowledgement: Ms. Rebecca Chan, Student Residence Office, City University of Hong Kong 13