Many people think of Hong Kong as part of the global South, despite the fact that it ranks very highly among global economies and in the average income of its citizens. Being 27th of 214 countries in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and 12th of 184 countries in Gross National Income (GNI) per capita are rankings that do not fit our image of the “impoverished global South”. Not surprisingly, Hong Kong is rarely a funding priority for most institutional donors. Resource distribution, however, is extremely uneven—the city’s wealth gap has risen significantly since 2001 (from 0.525 to 0.537 in ten years, measured on the Gini coefficient where a higher number equals higher inequality). To put in context, the city’s wealth gap has now outstripped that of Washington and New York City.
But as I’ve said before, a wealthy economy does not necessarily indicate a commitment to social change philanthropy, and a developed economy does not always go hand in hand with a democratic political structure or an awareness about human rights. As a result, Hong Kong is stuck between having high income but also high inequality, while also scoring relatively low on the 2014 Democracy Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit (66th of 267 countries, below the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia). Hong Kong is also in a difficult position with the government of China, as most government policies favour the wealthy and the Chinese authority, and Hong Kong civil society has very little say.
Local fundraising, however, tells a slightly different story. Alongside the increase of inequality, Hong Kong saw a rapid rise in non-profits: between 2005 and 2010, the number of tax-exempted charities increased 53%. Placed alongside the undemocratic political context of China, and the fact that much local philanthropy is focused on politically correct issues, this competition makes Hong Kong a very challenging place to raise funds for human rights. Nevertheless, Hong Kong earned a respectable tenth in the five-year ranking in Charities Aid Foundation’s The World Giving Index 2014, with the majority of giving going to charitable welfare services. According to the Hong Kong University Public Opinion Program’s Opinion Survey on Hong Kong People’s Giving Behavior (2009), the highest three categories of giving were for elderly (14.4%), with 11.9% going to medical and 11.8% to children. Interestingly, 1.8% was donated to animal rights causes, but only 0.8% went to women’s causes, and a mere 0.5 % was for human rights.
