A Choice under Constraints: Child Labour in Hong Kong from 1950 to 1971

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atmire.migration.oldid4465
dc.contributor.advisorSmart, Alan
dc.contributor.authorLau, Nga Yee
dc.contributor.committeememberAdorjan, Michael
dc.contributor.committeememberJameson, Elizabeth
dc.date.accessioned2016-05-20T18:09:19Z
dc.date.available2016-05-20T18:09:19Z
dc.date.issued2016
dc.date.submitted2016en
dc.description.abstractThis is the untold story of child labour in Hong Kong from 1950 to 1971. Based on 31 interviews conducted mostly with former child labourers and archival research, this thesis examines the many facets of child work from former child labourers’ perspectives. This study aims to broaden our understanding of the post-war economic miracle, child work experiences, and why children worked and contributed to the household economy. While the world was eager to stop child labour, the influx of Chinese newcomers kept it alive. Although some children chose to work out of filial motivations, they made their choices under duress and debased socioeconomic conditions. Family circumstances, limited education access and the lack of poor relief were among the constraints that reinforced their choices. This research enriches the mainstream narrative of Hong Kong’s economic success by documenting the toil and sweat of the post-war generation that built contemporary Hong Kong.en_US
dc.identifier.citationLau, N. Y. (2016). A Choice under Constraints: Child Labour in Hong Kong from 1950 to 1971 (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/24659en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/24659
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11023/3035
dc.language.isoeng
dc.language.isochi
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subjectAnthropology
dc.subjectAnthropology--Cultural
dc.subject.classificationchildrenen_US
dc.subject.classificationLabouren_US
dc.subject.classificationHong Kongen_US
dc.subject.classificationIndustrialisationen_US
dc.subject.classificationOral Historyen_US
dc.subject.classificationPopulationen_US
dc.titleA Choice under Constraints: Child Labour in Hong Kong from 1950 to 1971
dc.typemaster thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineAnthropology
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts (MA)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
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