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Hong Kong Government (hong + kong_government)
Selected AbstractsElderly suicide and the 2003 SARS epidemic in Hong KongINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2006Sau Man Sandra Chan Abstract Background Hong Kong was struck by the community outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003. In the same year, the elderly suicide rate in Hong Kong showed a sharp upturn from a previous downward trend. Methods Secondary analyses using Poisson Regression Models on the suicide statistics from the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Government were performed. Results In a Poisson Regression Model on the annual suicide rates in elders aged 65 and over in years 1986,2003, 2002 served as the reference year. Suicide rates in 1986,1997 were significantly higher than the reference year, with an Incident Rate Ratio (IRR) of 1.34 to 1.61. However, rates in 1998,2001 did not differ from the reference year significantly, representing stabilization of suicide rates for 4 years after 1997. The elderly suicide rate increased to 37.46/100,000 in 2003, with an IRR of 1.32 (p,=,0.0019) relative to 2002. Such trend is preserved when female elderly suicide rates in 1993,2003 were analyzed, while suicide rates in elderly men and younger age groups did not follow this pattern. Discussions Mechanistic factors such as breakdown of social network and limited access to health care might account for the findings. These factors could have potentiated biopsychosocial risk factors for suicide at individual levels, particularly in elderly. Female elders, by way of their previous readiness to utilize social and health services instituted in the past decade, are thus more susceptible to the effects of temporary suspension of these services during the SARS epidemic. Conclusions The SARS epidemic was associated with increased risk of completed suicide in female elders, but not in male elders or the population under 65 years of age. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Trust, public participation and environmental governance in Hong KongENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2009Stephen Tsang Abstract This paper explores the role of trust in environmental governance and its role in facilitating collective action through public participation in making decisions on environmental policies in Hong Kong. Opinions from key stakeholders with regard to the environmental performance of the Hong Kong government and public participation in Hong Kong were collected. Their opinions help to explain the hypothesized ,trust deficit' in Hong Kong. A trust-based framework was used to identify the appropriate stakeholder participation strategy for environmental governance in Hong Kong. Given that the level of trust in experts, trust between stakeholders and trust in government decision-makers are all low, a deliberation strategy using professional facilitation is recommended in implementing public participation in Hong Kong to rebuild trust. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Government intervention in the economy: a comparative analysis of Singapore and Hong KongPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2000Newman M. K. LamArticle first published online: 5 FEB 200 Singapore and Hong Kong are very different and yet very similar in many respects. A study of their current profiles and historical development indicates that the two have achieved comparable economic successes through different development strategies. After World War II, Singapore gained political independence while Hong Kong achieved economic restructuring. The Singapore government adopted an interventionist approach to develop its economy, while the Hong Kong government followed the laissez-faire principle. However, as the two were maturing socially and economically in the last few decades, both governments found the necessity to adopt a hybrid strategy of mixing economic interventions with the free-market approach. An examination of public finance and economic policies since the onset of the Asian economic turmoil shows that the two have become increasingly similar in their economic approaches, with heavy emphasis on stabilizing the economy and stimulating business activities through government initiatives. Based on their projected economic, social and political development, the Hong Kong government is expected to become more interventionist while its Singapore counterpart is expected to go in the opposite direction. The economic development strategies of the two governments, coming from two extremes, will become more alike in the foreseeable future, for reasons of political feasibility in the former. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Discretionary government intervention and the mispricing of index futuresTHE JOURNAL OF FUTURES MARKETS, Issue 12 2003Paul Draper This article examines how and to what extent direct market intervention by the Hong Kong government in both the stock and futures markets affected the pricing relationship between the Hang Seng Index futures and the cash index during the period of the Asian financial crisis. The study avoids infrequent trading and nonexecution problems by using tradeable bid and offer quotes for the constituent stocks of the index. The results show that arbitrage efficiency was impeded during, and in the immediate aftermath of, the intervention. The findings suggest that discretionary government action introduces an additional risk factor for arbitrageurs that continues to disrupt normal market processes even after the government ceases to intervene. The continued disruption following the government's actions in the market also stems from a poorly developed stock loan market that impedes short selling, as well as a lack of liquidity in the market. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 23:1159,1189, 2003 [source] The Institutional Determinants of the Path to Political Reform in Hong Kong SARASIAN POLITICS AND POLICY, Issue 2 2010Charn Wing Wan The political economy of political reform in Hong Kong is characterized by the persistent contradictory imperatives and conflicts of ideology between the pro-democracy camp and the Beijing-backed Hong Kong government. On December 29, 2007, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China ruled out universal suffrage for both the selection of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and the election of the legislative councilors before 2016 and stated that the earliest possible dates for the election of the Chief Executive and the legislative councilors would be 2017 and 2020, respectively. This article suggests that the constitutional institutions (formal and informal) that have evolved from Hong Kong's colonial past restrain the sets of choices for its political reform, and that unless the pro-democracy camp falls in line with Chinese central government's positions, the status quo in the political system will remain for years to come. [source] | ||||||||||