Protests in Hong Kong (2019–2020): a Perspective Based on Quality of Life and Well-Being

Abstract

Triggered by the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 in Hong Kong (Extradition Bill), many protests have taken place in Hong Kong in 2019-2020. Using a perspective based on quality of life and well-being in different ecological systems, it is argued that the process of introducing the Bill is the "heat" which has ignited the "fuels" represented by 12 preexisting and new issues in quality of life and well-being. These issues included distrust in the Central Government, lack of national identity, political dissatisfaction, economic strains, mental health threats, drop in family quality of life, lack of life skills education, lack of evidence-based national education in the formal curriculum, slow response of the Government, and alleged excessive use of force by the police. The fire has been intensified by "four strong winds", including disinformation and misinformation, anonymity of the protesters, public support for the students, and support given by parties outside Hong Kong. Possible solutions in terms of promotion of quality of life and well-being with reference to the fire triangle are discussed.

Evaluation of Service-Learning in Project WeCan under COVID-19 in a Chinese Context

“…Our findings also shed light on the learning outcomes and goals of SL. Shek [ 45 ] analyzed the protests in Hong Kong, just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, from a quality-of-life perspective. Some pre-existing “fuels” that have led up to the protest were identified, including a weak identification with the Chinese national identity, lack of upward mobility, lack of life skills education for adolescents, and the unsystematic and uncoordinated civic and national education in Hong Kong.…”

Differences between Chinese Adolescent Immigrants and Adolescent Non-Immigrants in Hong Kong: Perceived Psychosocial Attributes, School Environment and Characteristics of Hong Kong Adolescents

“…For public education purposes, persistent negative stereotypes are an important barrier to intergroup integration [ 67 , 68 , 69 ], and the findings of the present study help encourage host country residents to abandon the perceptions of immigrant disadvantage in order to reduce negative stereotypes of host country residents’ psychosocial and behavioral perceptions of immigrants, and enhance social integration between the two groups. Finally, as different stakeholders viewed that Chinese high school students lacked life skills such as empathy and social competence [ 30 , 70 ], there is a need to promote social competence (e.g., respect for diversity, social competence and empathy) in high school students via evidence-based youth enhancement programs such as the Project P.A.T.H.S. [ 71 ], which can help to integrate immigrant and local adolescents in Hong Kong.…”

COVID-19 and Quality of Life: Twelve Reflections

“…First, if family members have different views, prolonged stay in the family would create more conflicts. For example, staying at home during COVID-19 in Hong Kong creates additional conflicts for family members because parents and their children may hold different political views about the Social Event taking place in 2019–2020 (Shek 2020b ). Besides, if the space in the family is small, staying at home means less personal space for each family member, and they also compete for family resources such as WIFI data and space.…”