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Given the importance of government advertising regulation, there has been limited research exploring the common ground between government regulations in different countries. This paper begins by proposing a theoretical framework for comparing government regulations, and then uses the framework to analyze the similarities and differences between advertising regulations in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. It concludes that harmonization of regional advertising regulation in Greater China is an attainable goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the concerns of residents in Hong Kong, China over nuclear plant safety as a neighboring Chinese nuclear power plant nears completion. But it is difficult to separate their worries about nuclear plant safety from their fears about Hong Kong's political future. Less than 50 miles from Hong Kong, China's Daya Bay nuclear power station in Guangdong province is a showpiece development. Others may have lingering fears of Chernobyl: Chinese energy planners do not. In August 1986, Jiang Xinxiong, then China's minister of nuclear industry, rejected a petition reportedly signed by one million people in Hong Kong protesting the construction at Daya Bay. The 3.5 billion dollar Daya Bay project is a joint venture between a specially created subsidiary of China's Ministry of Nuclear Industry, the Guangdong Joint Venture Nuclear Power Company, and Hong Kong's China Power and Light Corporation. Chinese officials often emphasize their devotion to safety, but also reaffirm their nation's commitment to nuclear power. In April 1991, in their most recent effort to ease concerns, the Chinese government agreed to install a sand filtration system at the site to control leakage of radioactive hydrogen in the event of an accident. Technical difficulties and fear of a devastating earthquake aside, Hong Kong's worries about Daya Bay may be less technical and more psychological in nature.

Warnings that a breakdown in multilateral trade liberalization would bring about an upsurge in protectionist sentiment, the possible collapse of the multilateral trading system and, in the most doomsday of scenarios, the fragmentation of the global economy have been an intrinsic part of trade negotiations since the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was first negotiated. What is seldom acknowledged, however, is the role that this language of crisis and collapse--what might be called a 'crisis discourse' --has had on framing trade negotiations and in maintaining forward momentum in the liberalization process. This discourse has played a role in facilitating the kind of institutional development that the GATT and the World Trade Organization (WTO) has undergone--helping to push through bargains among GATT contracting parties and WTO members that have been (and remain) deeply asymmetrical--and driving the trade agenda forward at moments when the institution appears deadlocked; and it has continued to play a role in the current round of negotiations. The aims of the paper are twofold. First, the paper explores the content of the crisis discourse. Second, it examines the way in which the discourse has been deployed as a means of reframing trade negotiations in such a way that the likelihood of their continuation and ultimate conclusion increases. The paper does this by focusing on the collapse and resumption of the negotiations in the wake of the WTO's 2005 Hong Kong ministerial meeting, though the crisis discourse and its intensification at moments of intransigence has been a key feature of trade negotiations since the Allies first sat down to develop a trade architecture in the wartime and early post-war years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a case study on a tanker assignment and routing problem for petrol products in Hong Kong. A fleet of heterogeneous dangerous goods vehicles has been assigned to deliver several types of petroleum products to petrol stations with different tank capacities. Under the vendor-managed inventory system, the delivery company is responsible for controlling the station's inventory and replenishment. The operational characteristics and challenges such as geographic zoning, size of petrol stations, routing restrictions and so on are unique and have been described in this paper. A decision support system (DSS) combining heuristic clustering and optimal routing is employed to find the optimal fleet assignment and routing. Multiple objectives are considered simultaneously such that the number of tankers used could be minimized, the number of drops in trips is minimized, profit in terms of total products delivered is maximized and utilization of resources is maximized. The case illustrates the benefit and advantages of using the proposed DSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the concept of pragmatic meta-analytic studies in eLearning. Much educational technology literature focuses on developers and teachers describing and reflecting on their experiences. Few connections are made between these experiential 'stories'. The data set is fragmented and offers few generalisable lessons. The field needs guidelines about what can be learnt from such single-case reports. The pragmatic meta-analytic studies described in this paper have two common aspects: (1) the cases are related in some way, and (2) the data are authentic, that is, the evaluations have followed a naturalistic approach. We suggest that examining a number of such cases is best done by a mixed-methods approach with an emphasis on qualitative strategies. In the paper, we overview 63 eLearning cases. Three main meta-analytic strategies were used: (1) meta-analysis of the perception of usefulness across all cases, (2) meta-analysis of recorded benefits and challenges across all cases, and (3) meta-analysis of smaller groups of cases where the learning design and/or use of technology are similar. This study indicated that in Hong Kong the basic and non-interactive eLearning strategies are often valued by students, while their perceptions of interactive strategies that are potentially more beneficial fluctuate. One possible explanation relates to the level of risk that teachers and students are willing to take in venturing into more innovative teaching and learning strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the application of capital replacement models at Mass Transit Railway Corporation Limited (MTRCL), Hong Kong. A particular characteristic of the replacement problems considered is that costs relating to existing equipment are generally constant or increasing only slowly. Consequently, replacement is often driven by technical obsolescence, but other criteria are used for informing decisions. The applicability of traditional OR models of replacement is then problematic. We recommend the use of a modified two-cycle replacement model and compare this model to existing capital replacement models. Issues relating to the estimation of delay costs and failure consequences and their influence on the replacement decision are also considered-this is done using a fixed horizon model, which is a special case of the modified two-cycle model. Track points and escalators are used as particular examples. In addition to modelling recommendations, we discuss the management of asset replacement with emphasis on the procedures necessary to ensure that asset replacement requirements are considered appropriately and effectively. The paper treats, in particular, the procedural issues of asset replacement, and the discussion of asset replacement system methodology reflects the current practise at MTRCL, Hong Kong, and developments within that organization through collaboration with academia. The modified two-cycle replacement model is recommended by us for general replacement applications. The asset replacement procedure is presented as an exemplar for business and industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the case-study method to examine detailed data related to student and tutor usage of an asynchronous discussion board as an interactive communication forum during a first-semester associate degree course in applied psychology at the City University of Hong Kong. The paper identifies 'what works' in relation to discussion board use, demonstrating how students might gradually create an online community of their own, but only if prompted in a timely and appropriate way by the course structure. It also identifies three distinct phases in online interaction and suggests these might, to some extent, be mediated by assessment tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the Global Production Networks (GPN) analytical lens, this paper shows how politico-economic developments in China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia are instrumental in developing Hong Kong as a premier filmmaking centre, and how Hong Kong-based filmmakers have to weave new cross-scalar production networks and target new markets so as to remain competitive. The broader objective of the paper is to contribute to extant debates on urban-based, cluster-driven policies by showing how cities, in developing their industrial capacities, need not necessarily be in competition with other places at different geographical scales. Rather, as the empirical materials evince, cities should collaborate to compete. Apart from the presentation of available historical and statistical materials, the discussion is informed by twenty-seven in-depth interviews with Hong Kong-based film workers, government agency executives and film industrial association heads, as well as an interview with a Singapore-based film producer with ongoing production linkages with Hong Kong-based film production companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic globalization in the past two decades has led to a fast pace of growth of many economies in Asia Pacific, and impacted on the region's growth in air cargo. This paper discusses the future of airport infrastructure and its effect on regional competitiveness in the form of a new type of airport— Global TransPark (GTP). It identifies China's need to forge such a critical infrastructure in the New Economy, and that South China is its best location. The Hong Kong Extended Metropolitan Region (EMR) in South China stands out among competitive regions in Asia in terms of geopolitical and institutional setting under‘One Country, Two Systems’ as the best general location for Asia's first and potentially largest GTP. Forging a GTP will promote the EMR's overall competitiveness and hastens its economic restructuring. The paper then discusses the advantages of Zhuhai Airport as the site of the potential GTP which will also incorporate the other four nearby airports within the EMR. The GTP is also a new challenge for intra-EMR cooperation in terms of customs and tariff, air rights, ground handling, and land and water transport coordination between its airports and respective local governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1997, Hong Kong's reintegration with China has been founded on the principle of 'One Country, Two Systems', which serves to guarantee the sustainability of the capitalist system in Hong Kong under the rule of the socialist motherland. This paper is an intra-cultural and inter-regional comparative study of the curricula of two systems (socialist and capitalist) under one country, using the junior secondary History curricula in Shanghai and Hong Kong as a case study. In addition to tracing the differences and similarities, divergences and convergences in the junior secondary History curricula of the two systems, the paper also generates proposals for the future improvement of History education in both cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The society of Hong Kong objected strongly when the government instructed schools to change their medium of instruction from English to Chinese at the junior secondary level soon after Hong Kong was reunited with the People's Republic of China in 1997. This paper tries to make sense of the objection to this piece of politically correct and pedagogically sound policy. It analyses the situation from Bourdieu's ideas of habitus and various types of capitals. The paper argues that the government's effort to persuade Hong Kong society to accept mother-tongue education on pedagogical grounds alone was to no avail because the English language has not only become a habitus of society; it also serves to distinguish Hong Kong people from mainland Chinese. The failure of the government was partly due to its insensitivity to the nature and social functions of language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spectacular economic success of the Newly Industrialising Countries (NICS) of Asia since the 1960s, has led to the quest to identify other less developed countries which may be just about to become the next NICS of Asia. This paper examines the arguments for and against the view that there is a "second tier" of less developed countries which are about to join the ranks of the Asian NICS. While Malaysia and Thailand are generally thought to be the most likely candidates, this paper argues that one hitherto unrecognised contender. China, is likely to join these countries in achieving NIC status. This paper examines the question of whether there are likely to be more Newly Industrializing Countries (NICS) emerging over time, following in the footsteps of the original four in Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan). While some writers suggest that several developing countries are about to achieve NIC status in the near future, others argue that world trading conditions have deteriorated to such an extent as to make this very unlikely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hong Kong is currently a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. It has autonomy over many policy areas, including finance and education. It is a community of seven million people, which has changed its focus and identity significantly over the last 25 years, from predominantly manufacturing to a service and knowledge economy with particular strengths in financial services. Purpose: This paper will consider the market for teacher education places and the market for teachers, and explore the career intention and commitment implications of high numbers of well qualified applicants applying for teaching in the context of reduced work opportunities elsewhere, an increasing higher education focus on intake scores and the challenge, for the teaching profession and the education system, of teaching becoming less secure work. Sources of evidence: Governmental and institutional publications and data, along with research and survey findings, together with comparative literature underpin the reactions to past, present and possible future effects on teacher education in Hong Kong. Main argument: Given its financial focus, Hong Kong would be expected to suffer significantly during the recent financial crisis and that this would impact across all its sectors including Education and Teacher Education. In addition to the financial crisis, other changes have affected teacher education in Hong Kong, including major reforms in curriculum and school and higher education structure and a significantly diminished birth rate reducing posts in teaching, and raising concerns about job security. Conclusions: Hong Kong is a very prudently managed economy with substantial reserves and a commitment to ‘small government’ and the impact has been different from many other systems. Places on teacher education programmes remained unchanged. Applications for teacher education programmes however increased significantly during the crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An intensive field experiment was conducted at an urban and a rural site in Hong Kong to identify the influence of biomass burning emissions transported from distinct regions on ambient aerosol in coastal southeast China. Water-soluble ionic and carbonaceous species, specifically the biomass burning tracer levoglucosan, were analysed. Elevated levoglucosan concentrations with maxima of 91.5 and 133.7 ng m and overall average concentrations of 30 and 36 ng m were observed at the rural and urban sites, respectively. By combining the analysed meteorological data, backward trajectories, fire counts and Aerosol Index from the Earth Probe satellite, southwest China and the northern Philippines, together with the southeast China coast, were identified for the first time as source regions of the transported biomass burning particles at the surface level in rural Hong Kong. Occasional levoglucosan enhancements observed at urban Hong Kong were attributed to local incense and joss paper burning during the Ching-Ming festival period. The contributions of transported biomass burning emissions, especially from the northern Philippines, were estimated to account for 7.5% and 2.9% of OC and PM, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a qualitative study in 2007–08 on the abortion experiences of teenage women from deprived backgrounds in Hong Kong. Twenty-nine young women aged 13–24 who had undergone one or more induced abortions in their teen years were interviewed and participated in group empowerment sessions. Ten were unemployed, four were students, the rest were employed on low pay in unskilled occupations. Abortion services are legal and available in public and private services, but they charge fees ranging from HK$310 to $10,000, and do abortions only up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. Many young women resort to poor quality illegal clinics and clinics in mainland China because the cost is lower, they do not wish to tell their parents, who would be asked for consent, and/or they want to protect their sex partners, who may be reported and prosecuted if the girl is under-age. There is a need to strengthen services for teenage women in Hong Kong, especially those who are pregnant and from deprived backgrounds. There is also a need for professionals who deliver adolescent health and social welfare services, and for society to rethink and re-examine its views and attitudes towards teenage pregnancy, sexuality and abortion. En 2007–08, une étude qualitative a porté sur les expériences de l'avortement d'adolescentes issues de milieux défavorisés à Hong Kong. Vingt-neuf jeunes femmes âgées de 13 à 24 ans qui avaient avorté une ou plusieurs fois pendant leur adolescence ont été interrogées et ont participé à des séances d'autonomisation de groupe. Dix étaient au chômage, quatre étaient étudiantes, les autres occupaient des emplois non qualifiés et peu rémunérés. Les services d'avortement sont légaux et disponibles dans des services publics et privés ; mais ils perçoivent des honoraires allant de HK$310 à HK$10 000 et ne pratiquent les avortements que jusqu'à 24 semaines de grossesse. Beaucoup de jeunes femmes ont recours à des centres illégaux de mauvaise qualité ou des centres en Chine continentale car ils sont moins coûteux, elles ne souhaitent pas le dire à leurs parents qui devraient donner leur consentement, et/ou elles veulent protéger leur partenaire sexuel, qui pourrait être dénoncé et poursuivi si la fille est mineure. Il faut renforcer les services pour adolescentes à Hong Kong, en particulier celles qui sont enceintes et issues de milieux défavorisés. On a également besoin de professionnels qui assurent des services de santé et de protection sociale des jeunes alors que la société devrait repenser et réexaminer ses idées et ses attitudes à l'égard de la grossesse, la sexualité et l'avortement chez les adolescentes. En este artículo se informa acerca de un estudio cualitativo realizado en 2007–08 sobre las experiencias de aborto de mujeres adolescentes de clases carenciadas en Hong Kong. Se entrevistaron 29 jóvenes de 13 a 24 años de edad, que habían tenido uno o más abortos inducidos entre los 13 y 19 años, quienes también participaron en sesiones de empoderamiento en grupo. Diez estaban desempleadas, cuatro eran estudiantes y el resto de ellas estaban empleadas en ocupaciones no especializadas de bajo salario. Los servicios de aborto son legales y accesibles en establecimientos públicos y privados, pero estos cobran entre HK$310 y $10,000 y realizan abortos sólo hasta las 24 semanas del embarazo. Muchas jóvenes recurren a clínicas ilegales de mala calidad y a clínicas en China continental porque el costo es más bajo, no quieren informar a sus padres, a quienes se les pediría su consentimiento, y/o quieren proteger a su pareja sexual, quien podría ser denunciada y enjuiciada si la niña es menor de edad. Es necesario fortalecer los servicios para mujeres adolescentes en Hong Kong, especialmente para aquéllas que están embarazadas y son de clases carenciadas. Además, es necesario que la sociedad y los profesionales que proporcionan servicios de salud y asistencia social a las adolescentes reconsideren y reexaminen sus puntos de vista y actitudes hacia el embarazo, la sexualidad y el aborto en la adolescencia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiplicative regression model or accelerated failure time model, which becomes linear regression model after logarithmic transformation, is useful in analyzing data with positive responses, such as stock prices or life times, that are particularly common in economic/financial or biomedical studies. Least squares or least absolute deviation are among the most widely used criterions in statistical estimation for linear regression model. However, in many practical applications, especially in treating, for example, stock price data, the size of relative error, rather than that of error itself, is the central concern of the practitioners. This paper offers an alternative to the traditional estimation methods by considering minimizing the least absolute relative errors for multiplicative regression models. We prove consistency and asymptotic normality and provide an inference approach via random weighting. We also specify the error distribution, with which the proposed least absolute relative errors estimation is efficient. Supportive evidence is shown in simulation studies. Application is illustrated in an analysis of stock returns in Hong Kong Stock Exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the operation and impact of the moratorium on new banking licences imposed in Hong Kong in 1965 and the claims that foreign banks destabilised the banking system and drained resources from the colony. First it examines foreign banks' attempts to circumvent the moratorium through claims of special circumstances and buying interests in local banks, and secondly it examines the efforts of incumbents to extend barriers to non-bank financial institutions and to branches of foreign banks. The general conclusions are that while the moratorium was aimed at increasing the stability of the banking system, it had the effect of decreasing the regulatory breadth of the government, and reducing incentives for mergers and acquisitions that might have improved governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revenue volatility poses challenges for fiscal policy makers. It can create risks to service provision, require borrowing, or entail sudden tax changes. This paper investigates the use of value-at-risk techniques to measure the fiscal risks caused by volatility as well as the sensitivity of measured risks to policies that may limit volatility. The revenue of Hong Kong's Special Administrative Region (SAR) is among the most volatile in Asia, and thus is a natural case for applying these techniques. Reflecting its revenue volatility, Hong Kong's SAR has traditionally held high fiscal savings (reserves), and the value of the self-insurance these savings provide is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses and examines the development of an Asian bond market, which serves as a bridge to establish financial cooperation in the region. The issues of currency denomination are discussed. In addition, the role that China may play in the establishment of the bond market is presented and analyzed. It is argued that cooperation between China and Hong Kong is desirable to further enhance the development of the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article comments on the weaknesses of conventional field education models and presents a problem-based learning (PBL) model piloted at the University of Hong Kong. The PBL program has three components: paper cases, skills workshops, and field project. Its aim is to help students integrate social work theories with practice and build their competence in self-directed learning. Findings on the preliminary assessment of the students' learning are reported. The experience was generally positive. The tutors' opinions of how the PBL program can fit in a social work curriculum and contribute to student learning are included, and the author describes the types of support required for model implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior to Hong Kong's 1997 handover to China, some political economists predicted that a regime shift from London to Beijing would result in a deterioration of Hong Kong's economic and institutional freedoms. Such predictions would seem to have proven accurate according to annual indices of international economic freedom and competitiveness. These have seen Hong Kong's previously high ranking decline. However, whether Chinese sovereignty or local Hong Kong government ineptitude is responsible for such decline is uncertain; both have been blamed for a series of incidents that have brought Hong Kong's competitiveness and economic, civil and political freedoms into question. Using data collected from 130 domestic and foreign firms in Hong Kong, this paper disentangles the degree to which the `high politics' of the city now being part of China or the `low politics' of local government action account for Hong Kong's diminished international reputation for economic freedom and competitiveness. Results for all firms suggest that both Chinese sovereignty and local government actions are equally to blame, but that Chinese sovereignty mediates adverse local government actions. However, results differ by firm origin, and those for domestic Hong Kong firms cast doubt on the general success of China's `one country two systems' policy and raise specific concerns about the policy's potential applicability to Taiwan. Overall, results highlight the importance of macro-political economy factors in assessing comparative international competitiveness and provide objective evidence in support of international political economy theory suggesting that a shift from liberal to more authoritarian regimes will adversely affect already affluent economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we carry out the empirical numerical study of the l[sub∞] portfolio selection model where the objective is to minimize the maximum individual risk. We compare the numerical performance of this model with that of the Markowitz's quadratic programming model by using real data from the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Our computational results show that the l[sub∞] model has a similar performance to the Markowitz's model and that the l[sub∞], model is not sensitive to the data. For the situation with only two assets, we establish that the expected return of the minimum variance model is less than that of the minimum l[sub∞] model when both variance and the return rate of one asset is less than the corresponding values of another asset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I first place the development of Hong Kong's higher education in the larger context of education and governance histories. Next I describe one of the deepest policy quandaries for Hong Kong's government in charting the futures of its higher education system: whether to view the ultimate benefits of higher education for individuals in terms of 'sponsored' versus 'contest' mobility. I then turn to evidence from HK census data about the changing distribution of opportunity for higher education. I discuss trends in educational stratification since 1981, focusing most attention on changes in the opportunity for post-secondary and, especially, for university education to the Bachelors' degree level. I discuss methods for the use of Hong Kong's 1981, 1991 and 2001 census, and I present bivariate and multivariate analysis of the changing impact of family cultural and material resources on the odds of continuing and attending education at the university level. From 1991 to 2001, census data suggest there was a reversal of a trend towards greater equality of opportunity that was observed between the 1981 and 1991 census. I conclude by relating the findings from these analyses to future higher education planning in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Cross-border flows of people, goods and capital are fundamental forces triggering spatial and economic transformations in any cross-border regional production system. This study focuses on such cross-border links between Hong Kong and mainland China in the context of cross-border regional production systems. The paper examines first the close demographic ties and investment and trading relations between Hong Kong and mainland China before 1997. In terms of total direct and indirect trading, and outward investment, Hong Kong was the largest partner of mainland China and vice versa. The recent development in the cross-border development between Hong Kong and the mainland after 1997 is also analyzed. The political change, the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, did not alter the demographic-economic linkages significantly as such connections had been well established during the period 1978 to 1997 after China's opening to the outside world. Hong Kong and mainland China are two independent economic entities practicing ‘two systems’ of capitalism and socialism respectively. Contrary to common expectation, the new government in Hong Kong only played a limited role after 1997. However, a bottom-up approach has been working spontaneously and the local people and businessmen in Hong Kong have been the primary force in establishing strong relations with the mainland facilitated by the close demographic-cultural ties both before and after 1997. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personal and social education has become an important area of development in education in Hong Kong. Given that much of the literature on personal and social education is Anglo-American or European, what is the influence on the largely Chinese settings in Hong Kong? This paper will examine some of the debates of what constitutes personal and social education. The significance of competing contexts in the development of personal and social education will be analysed in detail. Comparisons will be made between Western and Chinese (especially Confucian) views on personal and social education. Attempts will be made to come up with a notion of personal and social education which is suitable for the Hong Kong context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT As with colonial transition elsewhere, the language patterns in Hong Kong have changed with the return of sovereignty to China. Biglossia (whereby Hong Kong Cantonese and English predominate) is shifting to triglossia, as Putonghua, the official language of the People's Republic of China, has become increasingly important. This paper focuses on the impact of colonial transition and in particular the emergence of Putonghua and on the language subjects in the primary and secondary school curricula in Hong Kong. It argues that, whilst the rationale for promoting Putonghua is logical, tensions are evident in the school curricula, most notably in two areas. Firstly, the curricula were already heavily biased in favour of language subjects and, secondly, the necessary teaching expertise for Putonghua is not readily available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic success of some of the countries within the East Asian region has generated a range of studies which have attempted to identify the sources of that growth. One strand within these analyses has focused on the critical role of schooling in the accumulation of human capital. This paper examines the role which education has played in the rapid development of the four 'Asian Tigers'; namely: Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore. It is argued that whilst patterns of educational provision displayed some common features there were also significant differences in other areas such as the role of the state, sources of educational funding, the role of technical education and of the school curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a possible correlation between bilingual education and social class. We investigate this assumption along four parameters: intergroup relationship, usefulness of the target language, first language proficiency and quality of program; we argue that the results differ depending on the social-economic background of the learners. When the four variables are applied to the bilingual program in Hong Kong, we find a similar situation, namely, that because of the different language learning environment, members from the lower social-economic background are less likely to learn successfully in a bilingual program than those from the higher social background. We also suspect that since 90% of the programs in our secondary education system are bilingual, learners from certain social groups may find themselves at a disadvantage when competing for equal educational opportunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]