1st Edition

Chinese Middle Classes Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and China

Edited By Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao Copyright 2014
    288 Pages 18 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    288 Pages 18 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    The formation and characteristics of a nation’s middle class are shaped by historical context and the developmental path that has been followed. However, can the same be said of the ethnic Chinese middle classes in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and Macao? Given the divergent political and economic experiences under which the respective middle classes were created, established, shaped, and reshaped, can they still be characterized as a homogenous group of ‘Chinese middle classes’, or are they more unique within each country?

    Using systematic survey data analysis and case studies to examine and compare the emerging middle classes in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and Urban China, this book explores whether the middle classes in these countries possess any uniquely ‘Chinese’ features, or if these are shared attributes that can be found in other non-Chinese middle classes in the Asia-Pacific region. It analyses the formation, profile, culture, lifestyles, mobility, and politics of the middle class groups in each country, and highlights the differences and similarities that emerge, and focuses in particular on increased mobility, financial resilience, class anxiety, and political interest and effectiveness.

    This book will be of great interest to students and scholars interested in Asian middle classes, Chinese studies, Chinese societies, Chinese ethnicity and Chinese politics.

    Part I: Overview 1. Characterizing the Middle Classes in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and Urban China, Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao Part II: Changing Profiles 2. Profiling Middle Classes in Taiwan Today, Ming-Chang Tsai, Gang-Hua Fan, Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao and Hong-Zen Wang 3. The Profile of Hong Kong’s Middle Classes: Continuities and Discontinuities, Tai-Lok Lui 4. Profiling the Middle Classes in Macao Today, Timothy Ka-Ying Wong and Po-San Wan 5. Profile of Middle Classes in China Today, Chunling Li Part III: Emerging Ethos and Lifestyles 6. Getting Uneasy: The Hong Kong Middle Class’s Changing Psychology, Tai-Lok Lui 7. Comparing Socio-Economic Attitudes of the Middle Classes in Taiwan and Hong Kong, Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao and Po-San Wan 8. Homemaking and Middle Class Formation in Urban China, Suo Liu Part IV: Mobility 9. Taiwanese Middle Classes in Shanghai: Causes and Consequences of Skilled Migration, Yen-Fen Tseng 10. Professional Mainlanders in Hong Kong: Profile, Prospect, and Problem, Victor Zheng, Siu-Lun Wong and Cangbai Wang 11. Reality and Expectations: Social Mobility of the Macao Middle Classes, Po-San Wan and Kenneth W.K. Law Part V: New Politics? 12. The Political Ambiguity of Middle Class Activism in Taiwan: The Case of Urban Conservationists in Kaohsiung City, Ming-Sho Ho 13. Emergence of Middle Classes in Urban China Today: Will They Contribute to Democratization in China?, Shigeto Sonoda 14.The Making of the Hong Kong Middle Class in the 1997 Transition and Beyond: A Conflict Perspective, Alvin So

    Biography

    Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao is Distinguished Research Fellow and Director of the Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.

    "The book is the first to systematically provide an overview into the emergent ethos and lifestyles, mobility, and political ideals of the Chinese middle classes." - W R. Jankowiak, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Choice