Cleaning up Hong Kong : governing space and population through hygiene regulations from the 1960s to the 1990s

Abstract

This dissertation examines how the notion of ‘dirt’ and hygiene were constructed and transformed in post-war Hong Kong as mass migration reshaped the local community and economy. From the 1960s to the 1990s, hygiene remained a prominent framework in urban governance, encompassing considerations of space and population dynamics. The study critically explores several key questions. During the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign, what was constituted as ‘dirt,’ and how did different groups perceive this concept? How did hygiene regulations reshape domestic and public spaces by segregating visible and invisible objects, practices, and groups? Why were migrant domestic workers criticised as ‘dirty’ in public spaces despite their roles in maintaining home cleanliness? Drawing on Mary Douglas’s perspectives on ‘dirt’ as a socially constructed phenomenon, the dissertation argues that regulating hygiene and sanitation was an approach to reorder urban spaces and exclude certain groups. The enforcement and dissemination of hygiene regulations reinforced notions of cleanliness, which were manipulated to define who had the right to use public space and the responsibility to keep it clean. The study examines how the colonial government promoted specific standards of household cleanliness, how the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign shaped public spaces, and how migrant domestic workers were marginalised in public areas despite their cleaning roles at home. By analysing the cultural, spatial, and social construction of ‘dirt,’ the research uncovers the power dynamics and governance strategies associated with the concept of hygiene in post-war Hong Kong.