Statistics and Government. The Rise of “Middle Class” in 1970s

CHE Hio Ieong

Abstract

Census stands as a database and an art of the government. Among the 156 British colonial occupations in Hong Kong, censuses were constantly conducted throughout most time. While the British colonisers had for long appeared to be, using Coodstadt’s word (2006), a case of “government without statistics”, the 1970s has been a watershed of the British colonialism in Hong Kong that marks a substantial transformation in their art of government. Through a critical review of the 1971 census, related official archives and news releases, this paper demonstrates how census was employed to accomplish ruling strategies in relation to the continuity of the British colonialism. Moreover, statistical data were politicised to advance the Hong Kong British propaganda during the Cold War.

 

Keywords: Art of government, census, housing, knowledge /power, middle class


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References


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