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This paper presents the findings from a focus group research study on public assessments of the police and policing in Hong Kong. The main findings indicate that while people have generally positive views about police effectiveness in responding promptly to and fighting crime, they have decidedly mixed views regarding stop and search and public order policing. By drawing on the multi-dimensional framework of trust proposed by other policing scholars, we suggest that a useful way to conceptualize public assessments of the police and questions of satisfaction and trust of policing in Hong Kong is to distinguish between people's instrumental concerns about personal safety and crime and their affective concerns about the process of policing and the symbolic role of the police in maintaining a particular way of life. The paper concludes by reaffirming the value of sociologically informed, qualitative policing research that examines questions of police-citizen relationship and legitimacy within a broader socio-political context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attempts to balance ecology (nature) and modernity (culture) are amongst the greatest challenges facing humanity in the twenty-first century. The interpenetration of nature and culture is the hallmark of the new 'light-green society'. This paper reports a survey of public opinion in Hong Kong, conducted in 2009: an attempt to evaluate the lifestyle orientation of Hongkongers in the post-colonial era. The results found that Hongkongers hold positive attitudes towards green living initiatives launched by their government. But the colour of their opinions is light green, rather than something deeper. Nevertheless, it is argued that the 'light-green' environmental posture is the less painful and more pragmatic option in the paradigm shift to a greener society. If successful, it will indicate the integration of nature and culture that ensures the future long-term sustainability of society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A case study describing the application of conflict analysis to a public engagement program of urban planning in Hong Kong is presented in this paper. The technique of conflict analysis is used to investigate the possible conflicts and alliance between interest groups in order to avoid opinion domination by those groups that generate the loudest noise in the process of urban planning. The case study shows that this application helps collect public opinions more accurately that can represent the public interest in the selection of the best development and design scheme for the territory, which would not be corrupted by the “dominating opinions.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a fairly common contradictory view held in Hong Kong society–the support of universal suffrage and preservation of functional constituency at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on empirical evidence from an attitude survey in a Chinese society to show that the universal ideals of social citizenship have strong appeal among the Chinese in Hong Kong, even though the latter are conventionally seen as having low expectations in the area of social rights. It is also shown that high expectations of social responsibilities do not imply low expectations of social citizenship. However, this does not mean that cultural context or tradition does not matter. Findings of strong support for the responsibility of parents to care for children, but in a westernized and modern context, suggest that cultural variations in beliefs about social citizenship and practice continue, but framed by an understanding of, and moral commitment to, more universal values of social citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]