Teachers immigrated to the Soviet Union.

China, Hongkong! ! ! Definitely China! ! !

Because Hong Kong has the most perfect civil service system.

I. History

1842 On August 29th, the British government forced the Qing Dynasty to sign the treaty of nanking and ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain. 1843 In April, the British appointed the Governor of Hong Kong and successively promulgated the Letters Patent and the Royal Instructions, which were the first two important legal documents on Hong Kong's political system, and established Hong Kong's political system on the basis of these two documents. From the contents of these two documents and the actual situation in Hong Kong, we can see some characteristics of the current political system in Hong Kong.

First of all, it has a distinct colonial nature. The Governor of Hong Kong is the representative of the Queen in Hong Kong and the head of Hong Kong. The Executive Council and the Legislative Council assisted him in his work, and he had great power, but in the end his power was concentrated in London. Laws enacted in Hong Kong cannot go against the instructions of the British government. The king of England has veto power over the laws promulgated by Hong Kong. The King of England, the Privy Council and the British Parliament can legislate for Hong Kong. Article 26 of the Royal Instructions also stipulates that a bill with item 10 cannot be approved by the Governor in the name of the royal family. The Letters Patent emphasizes the need to safeguard the rights and interests of the British government in Hong Kong. The governor must realize that all the powers granted to him can only be exercised according to the instructions given to him by London. This clearly reflects the colonial characteristics of Hong Kong's political system. Judging from the history of British occupation of Hong Kong for more than 100 years, most members of the Executive Council and the Legislative Council in Hong Kong were appointed by Britain. 1984 After the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, Britain hastily proposed the implementation of representative government in Hong Kong, and only in 1985 did some elected members come into being. At the beginning, there were no Chinese in the Executive Council and the Legislative Council. It was not until 1880 that there was a China Member in the Legislative Council, and it was not until 1926 that there was a China Member in the Executive Council. It was not until the 1970s that the Executive Council and the Legislative Council gradually increased the number of China members.

The present Letters Patent and Royal Instructions were revised and republished in 19 17. After 19 17 years, there were some changes, but many clauses in these two documents still retained the original texts of 19 century. Although some changes have taken place in the actual situation in Hong Kong, such as the partial direct election of the Hong Kong Legislative Council in 199 1, the Hong Kong Governor in 1993 no longer serves as the chairman of the Legislative Council, the number of Chinese members in the Executive Council and the Legislative Council has increased, and the number of Chinese senior administrative officers has increased, but the colonial nature of Hong Kong's political system has basically remained unchanged.

Second, the governor is highly centralized. This feature of Hong Kong's political system is closely related to the nature of colonialism. Only by giving the governor great power can it help to maintain colonial rule. The annual report published by the Hong Kong government also admits: "The Governor is the representative of the Queen of England in Hong Kong and has the highest power to guide Hong Kong's government affairs. He is nominally the commander-in-chief of the three armed forces in Hong Kong." The Letters Patent also stipulates that all civil and military officials and civilians in Hong Kong must obey the governor appointed by the king. It can be seen that under the rule of British colonialism, Hong Kong did not even have bourgeois democracy, and there was no electoral system and representative system for a long time. All Hong Kong people only obey the Governor.

The powers of the governor mainly include: 1. Enjoy all the rights granted by the king of England. That is, the Letters Patent says that "the royal family authorizes and instructs the Governor and Commander-in-Chief to exercise all powers within their functions and powers"; 2. Enjoy great administrative power. The Governor has the power to convene the Executive Council, put forward motions to the Executive Council, make decisions after consulting the members of the Executive Council, reject the opinions of the members of the Executive Council and report them to the royal family, appoint members of the Executive Council and members of the Legislative Council as the presidents of the Executive Council, and preside over the meetings of the Executive Council according to the instructions of the King through important state secretaries. Therefore, the Executive Council is an advisory body to the Governor. The Governor also has the power to appoint judges, justices of the peace and other officials according to law. Under the Governor, there are the Chief Secretary, the Financial Secretary and the Department of Justice. The Chief Secretary and the government departments in charge of him are accountable to the Governor. 3. Enjoy legislative power. The Governor has the power to enact laws on the basis of the opinions of and with the consent of the Legislative Council, dissolve the Legislative Council at any time, and approve or veto bills passed by the Legislative Council. After 1993, although the Governor of Hong Kong no longer serves as the President of the Legislative Council, the Legislative Council does not enjoy full legislative power, and its nature as the legislative advisory body of the Governor has not changed. 4. Enjoy certain judicial power. In addition to the power to appoint judges, the Governor has the power to pardon accomplices in criminal cases, order them to provide evidence and bring the first offender or other prisoners to justice, and have the power to release criminals or conditionally release criminals, pardon or commute sentences, suspend sentences, and reduce fines, fines or confiscation; 5. Enjoy military power. The governor is usually the nominal commander-in-chief of the three armed forces, but the British commander has to provide him with troops and the defense situation of Hong Kong. In an emergency, the Governor can order troops to help maintain law and order in Hong Kong without asking the British Government in advance. Only the use of the military in international affairs requires the consent of the British government.

Third, the British judicial system and civil service system with a long history. For more than 100 years, Hong Kong has gradually formed its own relatively complete corresponding system with reference to the British judicial system and civil service system, which has played a certain role in maintaining Hong Kong's administrative efficiency.

Hong Kong now has the Supreme Court, which consists of the High Court and the Court of Appeal and has unlimited jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases. The President of the Supreme Court is the Chief Justice, known as the Chief Justice. Those who refuse to accept the judgment of the Court of Appeal may appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Hong Kong also has local courts to handle civil and criminal cases. Civil cases can be handled within a certain amount, and criminal cases can handle more serious cases. A person who refuses to accept the judgment of the local court may bring a lawsuit to the Court of Appeal. There are also magistrates' courts and other specialized courts in Hong Kong. The magistrate's court hears relatively minor criminal cases, and the Department of Justice may apply to transfer the case to the local court or the high court for trial according to the seriousness of the case. Other specialized courts refer to the Children's Court, Coroner's Court, Small Claims Tribunal, Labour Tribunal, Lands Tribunal, Pornography Tribunal and other courts. Judges are usually recommended and appointed by the independent Judicial Service Commission to the Governor. The courts in Hong Kong practice the principles of accessory to the case, independent trial, fair litigation and jury system when trying cases.

Hong Kong's civil service system basically imitates the British civil service system with the following characteristics: 1. Public examination, merit-based admission, strict examination and merit-based reward; 2. Legalization of the civil service system. Laws and regulations clearly stipulate the status, responsibilities, rights and obligations of civil servants, which is conducive to the continuity and stability of the civil service. As long as you act according to law, you can serve for a long time; 3. Professionalization of civil servants. With the development and requirements of science and technology, the requirements for the professionalization of civil servants are getting higher and higher; 4. Civil servants remain politically neutral. In order to perform official duties, civil servants are required not to participate in certain political and economic activities; 5. The salaries and benefits of public servants are relatively generous.

Fourth, there are many consulting institutions. This is another feature of Hong Kong's political system. Advisory bodies in Hong Kong are generally divided into five categories: statutory bodies that advise department heads (such as the Committee for the Protection of Rare Animals and Plants), statutory bodies that advise the government (such as the Board of Education), non-statutory bodies that advise department heads (such as the Labour Advisory Board), non-statutory bodies that advise the government (such as the Transport Advisory Committee), and committees that carry out certain affairs (such as the Hong Kong Examinations Authority). There are more than 500 advisory committees. These advisory committees have played a certain role in communicating the views of the Hong Kong government and residents and safeguarding British colonial rule.

Second, social structure.

In any historical period, society always exists and develops in its specific structural form. Social structure is the most basic form of expression in the organic whole of human society, and it is a relatively lasting and stable model in which all strata interact and relate with each other in the social system. On the one hand, the social structure stipulates the status and stratification of people in society; On the other hand, the development and change of social structure is not only the result of the development of social productive forces, but also the result of the contradictory movement of social classes. Social stratification theory is a special sociological theory. Among all kinds of social stratification theories, Marx's theory and Weber's theory have great influence. Marx believed that economic factors played a decisive role. It is the ruling class that owns and controls the means of production, while it is the subordinate class that is exploited without it. Weber decomposed the concept of class into three different but interrelated factors: power, wealth and prestige, and thus put forward the so-called "three-layer standard", that is, to study the differences of social status from three dimensions: power status, economic status and prestige status. [ 1]

In modern urban society, different social levels formed by occupation, property, social status, education level, power and prestige are the most typical. In Hong Kong society before World War II, the division of different social classes formed by the above factors obviously existed. In addition, because Hong Kong is under the alien rule, race plays an extremely prominent role among various factors that determine social stratification. Generally speaking, on the pyramid of social hierarchy, foreigners, as a whole, occupy the position of the upper-middle class in society, among which Europeans and Americans, mainly British, are at the peak of social hierarchy. Under it is the upper-middle class in China who grew up locally, and under it is the lower class in China society. This paper will analyze the role characteristics and interaction of various social classes in detail, so as to have a comprehensive grasp of Hong Kong's social structure before World War II.

I. Foreign society

Before World War II, the number of foreigners in Hong Kong usually accounted for 2%-3% of the total population, of which about half were Europeans and Americans, and the rest were mainly Portuguese, Indians and Japanese. Before the war, Hong Kong had obvious colonial social characteristics. In this foreign society, foreigners and China people have completely different occupational structures, income levels and lifestyles, forming two completely different camps. Foreigners, a minority group, constitute a dominant social class.

From an economic point of view, after decades of operation, British commercial capital has shined brilliantly in Hong Kong's business circles and held the economic lifeline of Hong Kong. The four most powerful British-funded groups are HSBC, Standard Chartered, Jardine Matheson and Swire. Two banks, HSBC and Standard Chartered, control the financial system of Hong Kong, and the real estate industry often decides to advance and retreat as land acquisition companies. Before World War II, almost all the most valuable land and the most famous buildings in Central were occupied by land and other British companies. [2]

Politically, Europeans and other foreigners hold large and small administrative posts in the British Hong Kong government. 19 14 There were 4,447 government civil servants, of whom 5 15 were European, accounting for 1 1.6%. 1930, 10004 among the civil servants, there were 956 Europeans, accounting for 1 1%. /kloc-during the 1920s, HKU trained China graduates. From the perspective of saving wages, the British Colony Department of Hong Kong agreed that some departments of the Hong Kong government should independently employ graduates of the University of Hong Kong for posts with an annual salary of less than 5,000 yuan. However, similar appointments are extremely rare. The heads of government departments are all foreigners. They refuse to hire China people on the grounds of inefficiency and unreliability. Only the Education Department has hired 30 graduates as teachers, while the Works Department has indicated that it does not want to hire local graduates. [3] Even low-level positions in many government departments, such as police inspectors, jailers, representatives of health bureaus, directors of works bureaus and clerks of various government agencies, give priority to foreigners and rarely give opportunities to China people. For example, in 1939, the composition of the Hong Kong Police Force was as follows: 306 Europeans, accounting for 13.8%, 774 Indians, accounting for 34.9%, 844 local Chinese, accounting for 38%, and 296 Chinese from Ahava, accounting for 13.3%. [4] This is extremely disproportionate to the proportion of foreigners accounting for 2%-3% of Hong Kong's total population. Europeans hold different positions for many reasons. On the one hand, department heads think that subordinates in Europe are more reliable, less corrupt and more efficient than those in China. There is also a question of loyalty to the British Empire. On the other hand, this appointment system can bring practical economic benefits to Europeans. Children of junior European officials who want to develop in Hong Kong often enter some government agencies as interns, and they will soon be promoted to senior positions and paid in pounds. [5]

Judging from the occupational composition, the vast majority of foreigners are engaged in middle and senior occupations. In the population statistics of 190 1 year, * * there are 398 1 person who explicitly declare their occupation. Sorted by the number of employees, there are 770 employees, accounting for 19.3% of the total foreign professional population, 558 government workers, accounting for 14%, and businessmen. [6] Thirty years later, this situation has basically not changed. See the table below for details:

Table 1: 193 1 year Occupation Distribution of Foreigners in Hong Kong

Proportion of work categories (%)

Public Administration and National Defence 10745 57.4

Staff 2038 10.9

Transport practitioners 1384 7.4

Professionals 1286 6.9

Commerce, Finance and Insurance 999 5.3

Metal workers 146 0.8

Other 211011.3

Total 18708 100.00

Source: 193 1 hong kong demographic report, page 144, table 35.

The above table shows that government employees, businessmen, clerks and professionals are still the main occupations of foreigners. Foreigners not only hold important positions in political, commercial and technical departments, but also serve as clerks in various government agencies and commercial organizations. In addition, there are also manual workers and idle vagrants among foreigners, but the number is relatively small.

From the perspective of income and lifestyle, foreigners have a high income level and a very superior life because they take the lead in getting jobs at the top. 190 1 year, the average monthly income of coolies in China is 9 yuan, which is equivalent to annual income 108 yuan. Among Europeans, the average annual income of others working in government departments is 1892 yuan, except the governor and chief secretary with a monthly salary of 10 thousand yuan. [7] Europeans believe that people whose monthly income is lower than that of 80 yuan (that is, their annual income is in 960 yuan) are very poor: "Their luck is extremely poor, and such income is a shame". [8] At that time, wealthy Europeans had a large number of domestic servants, and a family had to employ about 65,438+02-65,438+05 China people as servants, divided into cooks, housekeepers, nannies, laundrymen, tailors, gardeners, porters, drivers, cleaners and so on. [9]

According to 192 1, the life of Europeans and Americans is divided into different levels due to different incomes. Those who live in the peak area are relatively rich, followed by the children of low-level government officials. These people either hold junior positions in the police force, cleaning bureau and other institutions, or work as junior staff in the company, and their annual income ranges from 150 to more than 500 pounds. There are still some people who can only live a lower life because of their careers. With regard to the overall living conditions of Europeans and Americans living in Hong Kong, the report points out that "if the concept of poor people in their hometown is used to measure, there are no poor people at all". [ 10]

Generally speaking, the sense of superiority of foreigners in pre-war Hong Kong society was obvious. They occupy too much social resources and enjoy all kinds of privileges. Of course, this special social class also has its own advantages and disadvantages. As Hong Kong is a British colony, it seems that Europeans and Americans who came to Hong Kong from the very beginning controlled the political and economic lifeline of Hong Kong. They are either public servants of government agencies or large classes of shopping malls, which belong to the highest class in the social hierarchy. Because British rulers are always suspicious of China people, they are more willing to trust other foreigners. Therefore, with the convenience of British rule, other foreigners in Hong Kong gained a position superior to that of China people. They can gain a better social status and easily join the upper and middle classes. Portuguese and Indians are two major groups of foreigners in Hong Kong. Judging from the situation of the Portuguese, almost all of their adults are engaged in business or staff, and even the poorest people are unwilling to engage in manual labor. [1 1] The relationship between Indians and Hong Kong goes back to ancient times. They live semi-permanently in Hong Kong and are mainly engaged in trade, commerce and industry. [ 12]

In fact, Europeans and Americans, especially the British, who come to Hong Kong are not the elites of their society. Some scholars pointed out, "Because Victoria, a small port, is barren, remote and backward, lacking temptation and sense of history, it is not as attractive to British aristocrats as India, nor as full of adventure opportunities as Shanghai. Most Europeans who come to Hong Kong are just mediocre, uncreative, dignified and conservative middle class. " [13] It is these mediocre Europeans and Westerners, as well as other foreigners they trust, who have become a special social stratum in Hong Kong society by virtue of their racial advantages.

Second, the upper-middle class in China society.

In the early days of Hong Kong's opening to the outside world, the Chinese society as a whole existed in correspondence with the foreigners' society, and it was definitely at the lower level. /kloc-In the second half of the 9th century, China society began to divide, and a few Chinese were separated from the vast majority of China society by virtue of their economic success. China society has obviously formed different classes.

(A) the size and composition of the upper middle class in China.

The emergence of the upper-middle class Chinese society in Hong Kong is entirely the result of the economic success of Chinese businessmen. Max. Weber believes that ethnic and religious minorities, as vassals of a ruler group, are excluded from positions with political influence voluntarily or involuntarily, so they often start to engage in economic activities driven by special forces. They are the most capable members, because they have no chance to serve the country and strive to meet their desire for recognition of their abilities in this field. [14] The development of Chinese businessmen in Hong Kong is quite similar. After the British rulers monopolized the political power, there was basically only one way for Chinese to get rich from business. After Britain ruled Hong Kong, it made great efforts to build port facilities by taking advantage of the excellent local port conditions, making Hong Kong an important hub of British Far East trade. /kloc-In the second half of the 20th century, Hong Kong established its position as an entrepot trade port. Various commercial activities around import and export trade have developed Hong Kong into a commercial city. In this economic form, Chinese businessmen have gradually emerged. Because there is neither a bureaucratic class nor a gentleman class in Chinese society in Hong Kong, the upper and middle classes of Chinese in Hong Kong are relatively single, mainly composed of Chinese businessmen of various sizes.

/kloc-In the second half of the 9th century, comprador and Shang Hong were the two most important forces in China's upper-middle class.

Compradors are typical groups who seek survival and development in the cracks, and they are successful "middle businessmen". After the opening of Hong Kong, there was a gap between China and foreign countries. China people have successfully filled this gap by virtue of their diligent personality and rich business experience. At the beginning of the port, some China people who received English education received training in schools founded by missionaries. With the convenience of language, they benefited a lot from the economic environment dominated by East-West trade and became Chinese comprador of foreign-funded foreign firms, banks and large companies. By the second half of the19th century, the comprador's power had been considerable.

Another important force of Chinese businessmen is the merchants who have developed independently by using the trade environment created by the British. They are mainly engaged in import and export trade. Hong merchants can be roughly divided into two categories, one is north-south travel, which mainly transports and sells goods from north to south. Second, Jinshanzhuang and other firms selling goods to overseas Chinese communities. In modern times, because China people immigrated to North China, Australia and Southeast Asia in large numbers, the demand for American goods in these areas increased sharply, and a number of Hong Kong businessmen emerged. Specialized in selling goods for North America is called Jinshanzhuang, and Nanyang Village is used to supply Nanyang. In addition, there are Peru Village, Annan Village and Luzong Village. Among them, Jinshanzhuang is the most representative.

From the composition of social leaders in China at that time, we can clearly see the great power of comprador and businessman. When Chinese businessman 1869 founded tung wah hospital, there were 12 prime ministers, all of whom were elite Chinese businessmen, among whom comprador and businessman were the mainstream. According to statistics, among tung wah hospital's 362 prime ministers from 1869 to 1899, comprador and businessmen from north and south occupied the most seats. In addition, the status of merchants in Jinshanzhuang, Gongbaihang, Mihang and Pitouhang is also more eye-catching. From 65438 to 1887 to16, among the prime ministers of the Grain Protection Bureau 1 16, businessmen from north and south, comprador and Jinshanzhuang were prominent, and merchants from money houses, banks, silks and satins, flower yarn and foreign goods stores also played an important role, similar to Donghua. [ 15]

After the 20th century, the upper and middle classes in China have undergone two remarkable changes. First of all, due to the further rise of China's capital, the scale of the upper-middle class society has gradually expanded. At that time, the development of entrepot trade in Hong Kong further promoted the prosperity of shipping and finance, while the rapid population growth stimulated the prosperity of real estate, hotels, retail department stores and other industries. Under the environment of sustained economic development in Hong Kong, Chinese in Hong Kong have expanded their territory in various economic fields, and the economic strength of Chinese businessmen has been significantly enhanced. At this time, the overall economic strength of Chinese businessmen is not as strong as that of Britain, but the number of industrial and commercial enterprises operated by Chinese businessmen has accounted for a considerable proportion. In the first half of the 20th century, the development of Chinese economy in Hong Kong was mainly reflected in the following aspects:

First, in the traditional import and export trade, the business scale of Chinese businessmen has been further expanded. According to statistics, in 1894, Chinese businessmen from Hong Kong and Kowloon started "about 90 trips to the north and south, about 100 trips to Jinshanzhuang." [16] According to the statistics of 19 15, there were 84 firms operated by Chinese businessmen in Hong Kong, 239 in Jinshanzhuang and 186 in Spain and Southeast Asia. In addition, there are more than 100 firms engaged in domestic trade (except Guangdong). The above figures are only large-scale firms. In fact, there are about 1700 large and small businesses listed in the Southern Guide, which are engaged in the import and export business of various goods. [18] It can be seen that the number of Chinese businessmen engaged in import and export business has greatly increased. Chinese-funded Hong Kong businessmen represented by Nanxiang and Jinshanzhuang accounted for about a quarter of Hong Kong's total trade at that time. [ 19]

Second, Chinese businessmen have made new expansion in business. With the growth of population, the local department store market in Hong Kong has gradually matured. A group of returned overseas Chinese from Australia adapted to the current situation and introduced the advanced concept of western department store management into Hong Kong. /kloc-in 0/900, with the opening of Shixian department store in Mayingbiao, Australia, China businessmen began to enter the department store industry. Since then, Yong 'an Department Store, Daxin Department Store and Zhonghua Department Store have been established one after another. By the 1930s, Shixian, Yong 'an and other companies had developed into diversified large-scale enterprise groups and became one of the earliest modern enterprise groups with Hong Kong capital. [20]

Third, the scope of Chinese businessmen's involvement in the field of finance and insurance is increasingly extensive, and the degree of involvement is also deeper. Before the 20th century, there were only foreign banks in Hong Kong, and foreign banks and Chinese banks coexisted. At the beginning of the 20th century, foreign banks and insurance companies dominated Hong Kong. Guangdong Bank, the first Chinese bank in Hong Kong, was established in 19 12. Since then, Chinese banks such as Bank of East Asia, Hong Kong National Commercial Savings Bank, Kangnian Savings Bank, Hong Kong Jiahua Savings Bank and Yong 'an Bank have been established in Hong Kong. [2 1]

Fourth, China's capital has entered the manufacturing industry. /kloc-in the 0/9th century, Hong Kong's manufacturing industry was mainly concentrated in industries related to shipbuilding and ship repair. Moreover, "most heavy industries such as shipyards, cement plants, sugar factories and public utilities, such as Hong Kong Tramway Company, electric power company and gas telephone company, are owned and operated by Europeans. [22] After the 20th century, Chinese in Hong Kong made great efforts in the small-scale manufacturing industry that Europeans disdained, making Hong Kong's modern industry almost dominated by Chinese capital. In fact, all the factories opened after 19 10 are owned by China people. During the period of 1930, the number of Chinese-funded factories increased rapidly. The number of registered factories increased from 403 in 1933 to 829 in 1938. [23]

Fifthly, the wealthy businessmen in China have further strengthened their economic strength by participating in European companies. At the beginning of the 20th century, a striking phenomenon was that China people appeared in the boards of directors of British companies, including those companies with the strongest capital and the greatest influence registered in Hongkong. . [24] For example, Liu invested in many enterprises run by westerners, partnered with Europeans, and served as directors of Hong Kong Tramway Company, Manila Gold Mine Company and Shanghai Insurance Company. [25]

Regarding the economic success of Chinese, 19 10 Sir He Dong, the richest man of Chinese in Hong Kong, wrote: "All walks of life in Hong Kong have Chinese participation. ..... It is not uncommon for Chinese-funded, Chinese-funded supervised and Chinese-funded companies to engage in fire insurance, water insurance, life insurance, shipping, real estate, shipbuilding and ship repair. Today, they are among the successful enterprises and have friendly competition with similar British companies. ...... The innate shrewdness of Cantonese people has made them a great success in business. They rank among the big enterprises and are no less inferior to foreigners. " [26] 19 17 China residents today are quite different from those in China 60 years ago, according to an article in the Hong Kong English newspaper Mara. At that time, almost all were footmen or coolies, and a few were shopkeepers. ...... Nowadays, Hong Kong attracts wealthy retired officials, even officials from the Beijing government. At the same time, a wealthy China business class has also grown up among us, and they hold a large part of Hong Kong's wealth. " [27] As more and more people in China succeed in business, the number of businessmen in China is also growing, which directly leads to the expansion of the upper-middle class in China.

Secondly, the composition of the upper-middle class in China is obviously different from the past.

First, the number of compradors has been greatly reduced and replaced by successful businessmen transformed from compradors. After the 20th century, with the gradual decline of the comprador system, the original foreign firm comprador invested and operated easily with the accumulated capital and modern industrial and commercial management methods. He Dong is the most successful businessman in comprador transformation. He Dong was a comprador of Jardine Matheson for many years. /kloc-started his own business after 0/900 and became the richest man in Hong Kong. [28] For example, He Gantang, a former comprador of Zhadian Foreign Firm, has also become a quite successful businessman. The Rong family has been comprador of Standard Chartered Bank for three generations, and he himself has become one of the giants in Hong Kong. [29]

Second, the number of Chinese businessmen from other industries increased. Among Chinese businessmen, the influence of Hong Kong businessmen is still not to be underestimated, which is determined by the status of Hong Kong's entrepot trade port. At the same time, as China people set foot in more and more broad economic fields, Chinese businessmen in other industries have also stepped into the upper class. For example, Li Youquan came to Hong Kong to study business in his teens. Later, he founded a number of factories in Hong Kong and was an outstanding entrepreneur. Xu Aizhou is a giant in the shipping industry. Overseas Chinese from Australia, such as Ma Yingbiao, Cai Xing and Quan Guo, developed from the department store industry. Jane Dongpu is the founder of the Bank of East Asia.

Thirdly, a group of China professionals have become members of the upper middle class. The rise of Chinese in Hong Kong began in the economic field. After the 20th century, Chinese began to emerge in other fields. A group of China people who have received Western-style education are well versed in the service of modern western professionals and become doctors, trial lawyers, lawyers, journalists, teachers, architects, engineers and insurance company managers. For example, Cao and Luo are both lawyers. They first studied in Britain and then practiced in Hong Kong. Others, such as Li Shufen, engaged in western medicine after studying abroad. Although these professionals are not from the business world, they can gain higher economic and social status by virtue of their professional skills. In addition, the number of China people living in the middle class has increased, mainly including intellectuals and clerks. According to Chen Qian's Miscellanies of Old Events in Hong Kong, before World War II, schools in Hong Kong had to have guarantors, including "Hong Kong Justices of the Peace, doctors, dentists, lawyers and people with special technical licenses issued by the Hong Kong government, such as drivers and government school teachers" [30]. It is conceivable that these professionals have become among the upper and middle classes of society.

(B) the characteristics of upper-middle class society in China

After the 20th century, the upper-middle class society of Chinese in Hong Kong, which has been supplemented with fresh blood, has produced the following new features:

First, China people who have received western education obviously occupy a dominant position and gradually become the top figures in the upper class. In the early days of port opening, influenced by foreign missionaries, the first English-speaking Chinese appeared in Hong Kong. 19 At the end of the 20th century, a new generation of China people who received English education and western education stood out. Most of them grew up in Hong Kong and graduated from Imperial College London and Diocesan College established by the government. Some people also have the experience of studying abroad, especially in Britain. This group of China people are at home in Hong Kong's political and economic environment and have benefited a lot. They can adapt to the capitalist mode of production to the greatest extent economically, and the enterprises they founded are often at the forefront of economic development, such as the Bank of East Asia founded by Jian Dongpu and the modern department store founded by Quan Guo Brothers. Politically, they are increasingly becoming the objects that the British Hong Kong government relies on. A brief analysis of the biographies of well-known Chinese in Hong Kong before the war shows that Chinese businessmen with western education background obviously have the upper hand in obtaining social posts, while Chinese businessmen without western education background are mostly confined to Chinese circles. In addition, in Hong Kong society, becoming a professional or obtaining an administrative position in the government must be based on western-style educational qualifications. Under the comprehensive effect of various factors, China people who have received western education or have a tendency to westernize are increasingly becoming social elites.

Second, start a family. Since the opening of the port, most members of the upper-middle class in China have come from humble origins and gained wealth and social status from scratch. After the 20th century, after decades of development, the upper-middle class society in China has been quite stable and coherent, so a number of prominent families have emerged in China society. Most of the ancestors of these families were poor Cantonese, and they developed with the talent of doing business. After they became wealthy businessmen, they trained their descendants to receive a good education, especially western education, which ensured that these families could flourish in Hong Kong. The famous families before World War II mainly include: He Dong family, Li family, fung ping shan family, Zhou Shaoqi and Zhou.