of identity and we have our own set of many traditions in China. Do the Chinese traditional customs and practice. We indigenous inhabitants comply with also want to maintain and comply with such them all? The indigenous inhabitants cultural traditions. Indigenous inhabitants are claim that they will protect the more conservative and making will is not a community and defend the lineages, but popular practice. If a land owner has a strong many of them had already emigrated to desire to leave his land to his daughters, he other countries, and abandoned their will make a will. If he does not propose to agricultural land. Many of the village make a will, that means he agrees with this houses in the New Territories had been custom. sold to people from another clan or urban people. The so-called cultural tradition has disintegrated. The indigenous inhabitants are just protecting their own privileges and private interest. Mr. C, one of the gentry in the New Territories: Law cannot break away from local traditional customs and practice. If there is any injustice, the indigenous Questions for discussion: inhabitants may compromise and settle on their own. If the government presses for a change in this traditional custom and we are required by “an 1. Summing up the opinions of the above outsider” to this and that”, it will only cause “do people, what are the most important reasons resentment. An outsider does not understand the spirit for people supporting or opposing the bill? behind a tradition and the living habits of indigenous 2. New Territories Ordinance” has been “The inhabitants. This is a situation whereby outsider “an enacted for supervises an insider”. nearly 100 Why do you think that amendments were only proposed at the end of the 20th Century? 3. Why do you think the society was divided into two camps, with most of the indigenous inhabitants opposing the bill and non-indigenous inhabitants supporting the bill? 4. In what circumstances will cultural traditional values clash easily with modern value? Why? 5. How we deal with conflicts between cultural values” and values”? “traditional “moral Students may give answers containing the following key points reasonable answers are also acceptable): There are moral values behind the arguments of both the supporting and opposing group. For example, those who support the bill upheld the value of between man and woman”. “equality Those who oppose the bill upheld the value of customs” (the indigenous land “traditional inheritance tradition), the clan” etc. The former values are modern ones, and the latter “for cultural and traditional.
of identity and we have our own set of Chinese traditional customs and practice. We also want to maintain and comply with such cultural traditions. Indigenous inhabitants are more conservative and making will is not a popular practice. If a land owner has a strong desire to leave his land to his daughters, he will make a will. If he does not propose to make a will, that means he agrees with this custom. many traditions in China. Do the indigenous inhabitants comply with them all? The indigenous inhabitants claim that they will protect the community and defend the lineages, but many of them had already emigrated to other countries, and abandoned their agricultural land. Many of the village houses in the New Territories had been sold to people from another clan or urban people. The so-called cultural tradition has disintegrated. The indigenous inhabitants are just protecting their own privileges and private interest. Mr. C, one of the gentry in the New Territories: Law cannot break away from local traditional customs and practice. If there is any injustice, the indigenous inhabitants may compromise and settle on their own. If the government presses for a change in this traditional custom and we are required by “an outsider” to “do this and that”, it will only cause resentment. An outsider does not understand the spirit behind a tradition and the living habits of indigenous inhabitants. This is a situation whereby “an outsider supervises an insider”. Questions for discussion: 1. Summing up the opinions of the above people, what are the most important reasons for people supporting or opposing the bill? 2. “The New Territories Ordinance” has been enacted for nearly 100 Why do you think that amendments were only proposed at the end of the 20th Century? 3. Why do you think the society was divided into two camps, with most of the indigenous inhabitants opposing the bill and non-indigenous inhabitants supporting the bill? 4. In what circumstances will cultural traditional values clash easily with modern value? Why? 5. How we deal with conflicts between “traditional cultural values” and “moral values”? Students may give answers containing the following key points reasonable answers are also acceptable): There are moral values behind the arguments of both the supporting and opposing group. For example, those who support the bill upheld the value of “equality between man and woman”. Those who oppose the bill upheld the value of “traditional customs” (the indigenous land inheritance tradition), “for the clan” etc. The former values are modern ones, and the latter cultural and traditional.
1.2-Eng.docx