Responding to Youth Crime in Hong Kong ─ Penal Elitism, Legitimacy and Citizenship

The ways in which a society responds to the delinquent and criminal behavior of young people reveals much about its broader cultural values and political affairs. Specifically, it illuminates the particular form of state governance and governing mentality. This book examines responses to youth crime in Hong Kong, offering a point of comparison and potential contrast with the majority of examinations of youth crime that focus on western nations such as the US and UK. Examining how officials have responded to youth crime over time, under both British colonialism and the current Chinese leadership, it highlights concerns not only about young people’s behavior but the need for officials to establish state authority, as well as instill citizen identification and maintain social cohesion. The history of response to wayward youth in Hong Kong, then, underscores the history of Hong Kong itself. Beyond this, however, Hong Kong’s history reveals an alternative to the ‘usual story’ about youth crime found in many western regions and provides an opportunity to begin to develop a comparative criminology which addresses recent advances in sociological theorizing largely addressing occidental forms of late modern neoliberalism.

Michael Adorjan is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, University of Hong Kong.

Wing Hong (Eric) Chui is Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work and Social Administration and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Hong Kong.