Extract from the Introduction by Richard Croucher, Pingli Li and Hiroshi Okano:
The articles make contributions on economic, social and cultural aspects of their subject and embody economic, social, historical and cultural perspectives. Michael Brookes takes an international comparative view, examining export-led growth in the contrasting economies of South Africa and China, setting a significant context for those articles which follow on urban settings. Richard Croucher and Lilian Miles present their view of the position of the enormous number of internal migrant workers in China, a subject closely related to the wider issue of social exclusion in Chinese cities explored by Anne Daguerre and Elena Vacchelli. A third article in this trilogy dealing with migration and social exclusion in Chinese cities is provided by David Etherington. In a fascinating and detailed article on the historic evolution of relations between the Chinese authorities, local Chinese people and the Portuguese in Macao, Kai Cheong Fok explains the origins of the ‘Macao Formula’ which has long provided an effective framework for interaction between China and the outside world. Mark Houssart provides a very different but also interesting cultural perspective on the China’s other key urban window to the outside world, Hong Kong, with an article on the Infernal Affairs film trilogy.
