ABSTRACT
In the midst of the current economic recession, the Hong Kong government, accompanied by the mass media, is attempting to interpellate a cosmopolitan citizen-subject modeled on a notion of the “economic man.” By treating human beings as “human resources” whose (market) value augments through formal educational training in general, and information technology (IT) training in particular, it is believed that this economically qualified citizen-subject will be capable of resolving the unemployment problem and rescuing the Hong Kong economy. Almost all important social policies-the reduction of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), the creation of a “positive social welfare system” in which “social welfare” is regarded as “social investment,” the setting up of numerous re-training programs for the unemployed, the reform of the formal education system, and the introduction of various technology funds and the Community Inclusion Investment Fund-are devoted to producing this economically qualified citizen-subject. As such, the exclusionary emphasis on the economic citizen-subject has reinforced the hegemonic project of constructing a cosmopolitan citizenry since the late 1990s.
