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Welfare State without Dependency: The Case of the UK Chinese People

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2007

Chak Kwan Chan ,
Bankole Cole  and
Graham Bowpitt
Chak Kwan Chan
Affiliation:
Division of Criminology, Public Health and Policy Studies, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham E-mail: chakkwan.chan@ntu.ac.uk
Bankole Cole
Affiliation:
Department of Criminology and Sociological Studies, The University of Hull
Graham Bowpitt
Affiliation:
Division of Criminology, Public Health and Policy Studies, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham
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Abstract

The present study was based on data from 100 face-to-face interviews, supplemented by findings from 316 respondents in a national postal survey, and shows that UK Chinese respondents were family-orientated and self-reliant, having low expectations of public welfare. These features challenge the myth of welfare dependency of ethnic minorities. Also, compared with Chinese welfare practices based on strong moral values and duties towards other people, New Labour's welfare culture lacks a solid social and ethical base for nurturing the concepts of duty and self-reliance.

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Type
Articles
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Social Policy and Society , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , October 2007 , pp. 503 - 514
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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