Citizenship and multicultural social work: Challenges and opportunities of ethnic minority youth in political engagement in Hong Kong

Abstract

This article reports on qualitative research investigating Pakistani minority youth’s political engagement in the 2019 Anti-Extradition Movement in Hong Kong. Some informants’ engagement was inhibited by challenges such as institutional limitations, while others identified various opportunities. This article presents an Asian example from a unique historical context to illuminate the potential role of political engagement in ethnic minority youth’s personal and social development and how the citizenship social work framework enhances understanding of ethnic minority youth and cultural competence in multicultural social work. Furthermore, it advocates social work as an empowering agency to implement citizenship rights for ethnic minority youth.

Keywords

Citizenship social work cultural competence ethnic minority youth multicultural social work political engagement

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Arat

Kerelian

(2019) Reshaping the social work education system toward cultural competency: The Hong Kong case. International Social Work 62(1): 316–329.

Arce

(2018) Critical social work and the promotion of citizenship in Chile. International Social Work 61(6): 781–793.

Back

Solomos

(1995) Race, Politics and Social Change. London: Routledge.

Baig

(2010) The political process and race relations in the legislation against racial discrimination in Hong Kong, Thesis, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR. http://doi.org/10.5353/th_b4452679

Bauböck

(2011) Temporary migrants, partial citizenship and hypermigration. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 14(5): 665–693.

Bhowmik

Kennedy

(2017) Caught between cultures: Case study of an ‘out of school’ ethnic minority student in Hong Kong. Asia Pacific Journal of Education 37(1): 69–85.

Braun

Clarke

(2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3(2): 77–101.

Burgos

Al-Adeimi

Brown

(2017) Protective factors of family life for immigrant youth. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal 34(3): 235–245.

Census Statistics Department (2022) 2021 Population Census: Summary Results. Hong Kong, China: Census and Statistics Department.

10.

Chan

(2020) Jeffrey Andrews on being the first ethnic minority to run for Legco. The Loop HK, 7 October. Available at: https://www.theloophk.com/jeffrey-andrews-on-being-the-first-ethnic-minority-to-run-for-legco/ (accessed 10 October 2021).

11.

Checkoway

(2011) What is youth participation? Children and Youth Services Review 33(2): 340–345.

12.

Chung

(2020) Changing repertoires of contention in Hong Kong: A case study on the Anti-Extradition Bill movement. China Perspectives 2020(3): 57–63.

13.

Commission on Poverty (2016) Hong Kong poverty situation: Report on ethnic minorities, 2015. Available at: https://www.povertyrelief.gov.hk/pdf/poverty_report_2015_e.pdf (accessed 10 October 2021).

14.

Danso

(2015) An integrated framework of critical cultural competence and anti-oppressive practice for social justice social work research. Qualitative Social Work 14(4): 572–588.

15.

Equal Opportunities Commission (2009) Thematic Household Survey on Racial Acceptance Report. Hong Kong, China: Equal Opportunities Commission.

16.

Equal Opportunities Commission (2012) Study on Racial Encounters and Discrimination Experienced by South Asians. Hong Kong, China: Equal Opportunities Commission

17.

Equal Opportunities Commission (2016) Study on Discrimination against Ethnic Minorities in the Provision of Goods, Services and Facilities, and Disposal and Management of Premises Report. Hong Kong, China: Equal Opportunities Commission.

18.

Flanagan

Levine

(2010) Civic engagement and the transition to adulthood. The Future of Children 20(1): 159–179.

19.

Gaby

(2017) The civic engagement gap(s): Youth participation and inequality from 1976 to 2009. Youth & Society 49(7): 923–946.

20.

Godinet

Vakalahi

HFO

(2008) Community, neighborhood, and peer influence on Samoan-American youths. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work 17(4): 326–348.

21.

Healy

(2007) Universalism and cultural relativism in social work ethics. International Social Work 50(1): 11–26.

22.

Healy

(2008) Exploring the history of social work as a human rights profession. International Social Work 51(6): 735–748.

23.

Heidbrink

(2018) Circulation of care among unaccompanied migrant youth from Guatemala. Children and Youth Services Review 92: 30–38.

24.

Hong Kong Council of Social Service (2017) A study on ethnic minority’s most concerned issues and voting behavior. Available at: https://www.hkcss.org.hk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/20171006_%E5%B0%91%E6%95%B8%E6%97%8F%E8%A3%94%E9%97%9C%E6%B3%A8%E7%9A%84%E6%B0%91%E7%94%9F%E8%AD%B0%E9%A1%8C%E5%8F%8A%E6%8A%95%E7%A5%A8%E6%84%8F%E5%90%91%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6.pdf (accessed 10 October 2021).

25.

Iyengar

(2014) The Hong Kong protests are creating a more ethnically unified city. Time, 21 October. Available at: https://time.com/3515664/the-hong-kong-protests-are-creating-a-more-ethnically-unified-city/ (accessed 10 October 2021).

26.

Kelly

(2009) In preparation for adulthood. Youth & Society 40(4): 526–540.

27.

Kennedy

(2016) Partial citizenship and identity: Ethnic minority youth in Hong Kong. In: Proceedings of the CiCe Association Conference 2016: Education, citizenship and social justice: Innovation practices and research, Madrid, 16–18 June.

28.

Kirshner

Ginwright

(2012) Youth organizing as a developmental context for African American and Latino adolescents. Child Development Perspectives 6(3): 288–294.

29.

Koopmans

(2004) Migrant mobilisation and political opportunities: Variation among German cities and a comparison with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 30(3): 449–470.

30.

(2020) New forms of youth activism – Hong Kong’s Anti-Extradition Bill movement in the local-national-global nexus. Space & Polity 24(1): 111–117.

31.

Kwan

Baig

(2018) Stressors and coping strategies of ethnic minority youth: Youth and mental health practitioners’ perspectives. Children and Youth Services Review 88: 497–503.

32.

Kwok

Law

(2016) Political participation of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong: An analytical survey. In: Pratt

(ed.) Ethnic Minorities: Perceptions, Cultural Barriers and Health Inequalities. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, pp. 117–138.

33.

Kyere

Huguley

(2020) Exploring the process by which positive racial identity develops and influences academic performance in Black youth: Implications for social work. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work 29(4): 286–304.

34.

Law

Lee

(2016) Importing western values versus indigenization: Social work practice with ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. International Social Work 59(1): 60–72.

35.

Lee

Law

(2016) Hong Kong Chinese ‘orientalism’: Discourse reflections on studying ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. In: Pratt

(ed.) Ethnic Minorities: Perceptions, Cultural Barriers and Health Inequalities. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, pp. 81–116.

36.

Lee

Law

, et al. (2002) Perception of substance use problems in Asian American communities by Chinese, Indian, and Vietnamese American youth. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work 11(3–4): 159–189.

37.

Lee

Lai

Ruan

(2020) Receptivity and readiness for cultural competence training amongst the social workers in Hong Kong. British Journal of Social Work 191: 1–20.

38.

Lhatoo

(2019) Please don’t let South Asians burn in Hong Kong’s revolution. South China Morning Post, 19 October. Available at: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3033698/please-dont-let-south-asians-burn-hong-kongs-revolution (accessed 10 October 2021).

39.

Lister

(1998) Citizenship on the margins: Citizenship, social work and social action. European Journal of Social Work 1(1): 5–18.

40.

Lum

(2011) Culturally Competent Practice: A Framework for Understanding Diverse Groups and Justice Issues. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

41.

McGregor

Brady

Chaskin

(2020) The potential for civic and political engagement practice in social work as a means of achieving greater rights and justice for marginalised youth. European Journal of Social Work 23(6): 958–968.

42.

Kennedy

(2019) Citizenship status and identities of ethnic minorities: Cases of Hong Kong Filipino youth. In: Gube

Gao

(eds) Education, Ethnicity and Equity in the Multilingual Asian Context. Singapore: Springer, pp. 123–140.

43.

Orellana

(2009) Translating Childhoods: Immigrant Youth, Language, and Culture. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

44.

Pallares

Flores-González

(2010) ¡Marcha! Latino Chicago and the Immigrant Rights Movement. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press.

45.

Payne

(2012) Citizenship Social Work with Older People. London: Lyceum Books.

46.

Richards-Schuster

Pritzker

(2015) Strengthening youth participation in civic engagement: Applying the convention on the rights of the child to social work practice. Children and Youth Services Review 57: 90–97.

47.

Satka

(2014) Looking to the past for the sustainable social work of the future. In: Harrikari

Pirkko-liisa

Virokannas

(eds) Social Change and Social Work: The Changing Societal Conditions of Social Work in Time and Place. London: Routledge, pp. 193–202.

48.

Sautman

(2004) Hong Kong as a semi-ethnocracy. In: Ku

Pun

(eds) Remaking Citizenship in Hong Kong: Community, Nation and the Global City. London: Routledge, pp. 115–154.

49.

Shaw

Brady

McGrath

, et al. (2014) Understanding youth civic engagement: Debates, discourses, and lessons from practice. Community Development 45(4): 300–316.

50.

Taylor-Gooby

(2008) Reframing Social Citizenship. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

51.

Teo

(2021) Hong Kong Special Administrative Region after the national security legislation: Prospects and challenges. East Asian Policy 13(4): 107–121.

52.

Vaismoradi

Snelgrove

(2019) Theme in qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis. Forum: Qualitative Social Research 20(3): 3376.

53.

Van Ewijk

(2009) Citizenship-based social work. International Social Work 52(2): 167–179.

54.

Vogel

Wade

Hackler

(2007) Perceived public stigma and the willingness to seek counseling: The mediating roles of self-stigma and attitudes towards counseling. Journal of Counseling Psychology 54(1): 40–50.

55.

Wei

Russell

, et al. (2008) Moderating effects of three coping strategies and self-esteem on perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms. Journal of Counseling Psychology 55(4): 451–462.

56.

Zambrana

Zoppi

(2002) Latina students: Translating cultural wealth into social capital to improve academic success. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work 11(1–2): 33–53.

57.

王思斌 (2012) 民族社會工作: 發展與文化的視角 (Ethnic social work: Development and cultural perspective). Ethnic Studies 4: 1–7.

58.

莫坤菱 (2019) 我土生土長永遠撐香港示威 (I am born and grow up here, support Hong Kong protestors forever, video file). Ming Pao Weekly, 4 October. Available at: www.mpweekly.com/culture/%E5%8D%97%E4%BA%9E%E8%A3%94-%E6%8A%97%E7%88%AD%E6%99%82%E4%BB%A3-%E5%82%AC%E6%B7%9A-123585?fbclid=IwAR1qQICyn0_5fadAMvEDGJsi5kymyEs0JQG2mv5XcrXMwJSPtvD2Dk0Eyh4 (accessed 10 October 2021).