Mandatory Provident Funds in Hong Kong: Too Little, Too Late
This article examines the history of the establishment of the MPF and its scope to show that the retirement protection it offers is belated and inadequate. In particular, it argues that, on the one hand, the delay and limited scale of the MPF are due in large part to factors such as the reluctance of the government to provide income protection for the elderly, the predominant influence of the vocal business sector, and the absence of a democratically elected and powerful legislature. On the other hand, the democratization of the legislature has been a major factor in bringing forth the MPF, even though this is not the ideal solution preferred by the general public.
Exploring the television portrayal of older people in Hong Kong : a study of two public affairs documentary series
Exploring the Television Portrayal of older people in Hong Kong: A Study of Two Public Affairs Documentary Series by TAM Caillie Master of Philosophy Adopting the contextual social constructionist perspective on social problems, the present study investigates how older people are portrayed in two public affairs television documentaries in Hong Kong over a period of two decades. There were The Hong Kong Connection (produced by the public service broadcaster, Radio Television Hong Kong); and Chasing Current Affairs (produced by a commercial broadcaster, Asia Television Limited). A mixture of research designs was employed in the analysis, namely: (1) content analysis on the documentary episodes, (2) reviews of government documents and (3) in-depth interviews with social workers and the staff engaged in documentary episode productions. A total of 89 older characters in the 39 surveyed episodes were analyzed. The research questions in the present study include asking: 1) what are the trends and changes in the portrayal of older people in public affairs documentary episodes 2) are there any differences in the portrayal of older people with respect to economic conditions, self-care abilities and the overall personal traits between public service and commercial broadcasters and 3) are there any gender differences in these areas as portrayed in the episodes. The findings of the research indicated that the major themes of the surveyed public affairs documentary episodes are quite “negative”, in particular, episodes produced in the period between 1987 and 1996. However, the depiction of older people in the episodes have generally been improving during the past decade. DECLARATION I declare that this is an original work based primarily on my own research, and I warrant that all citations of previous research, published or unpublished, have been duly acknowledged. ____________________ TAM Caillie October 2009 CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL OF THESIS EXPLORING THE TELEVISION PORTRAYAL OF OLDER PEOPLE IN HONG KONG: A STUDY OF TWO PUBLIC AFFAIRS DOCUMENTARY SERIES by TAM Caillie Master of Philosophy Panel of Examiners: ______________________ (Chairman) Prof. Alfred C. M. CHAN ______________________ (External Member) Prof. Sammy W. S. CHIU ______________________ (Internal Member) Dr. Kenneth W. K. LAW ______________________ (Internal Member) Dr. Francis Y. L. CHEUNG Chief Supervisor: Prof. David. R. PHILLIPS Co-supervisor: Dr. Kenneth W. K. LAW Approved for the Senate: Prof. Jesus SEADE Chairman, Research and Postgraduate Studies Committee
Analysis: The Agenda 2007 Proposals: Evolution or Revolution?
On 10 February 2004 the Commission published its proposal for the financial perspective 2007-2013. A week later it adopted the third report on economic and social cohesion. These two documents form the basis of the so-called ‘Agenda 2007 reforms’. They will be the greatest challenge for the enlarged EU after the intergovernmental conference, since they will determine the financial basis for EU policy-making until the middle of the next decade. The Agenda 2007 proposals certainly hint at courageous reforms, because they place a previously unheard-of emphasis on performance and quality. Under the proposals, structural operations should generate value for money, and the funds should focus on projects which generate added value at a European level. Overall the Commission’s proposals point in the right direction, because they balance, on the one hand, solidarity for the new Member States and weak regions in the old Member States with, on the other hand, investments in future tasks. Moreover, they constitute a paradigm shift. For the first time, the Common Agricultural Policy will not be the dominant expenditure category. Now it is up to the Member States to examine the proposals politically and find a compromise between sometimes very divergent interests. It is to be hoped that, during the debate over expenditure limits and division of funds, national interests do not outweigh European interests.