Ruby Chen

Unique reading characteristics Small reading population, high leisure reading level By J. Chun, Phoenix Lai & Cissy Ren

Hong Kong people prefer leisure books to academic ones.

In Hong Kong Book Fair 2002, about 430,000 entrants were recorded, far more than the expected 350,000 entrants. However, the number of entrants of the book fair does not represent the reading population of Hong Kong as a whole, according to Yau Chung Hok, manager of New Media and Corporate Communication. “In the fair, magazines and comics containing sex and violence are not available for sale. However, reading magazines and comics is extremely popular in Hong Kong. “Therefore, when analyzing the reading population in Hong Kong, we cannot ignore these two important types of publications,” explained Mr. Yau. According to Mr. Yau, Hong Kong has not carried out any scientific research comprehensively to reflect the true picture of local reading habits. Charles Kwan, retail director of The Commercial Press, said the increase in sales levels does not prove that people are becoming increasingly interested in reading. “The climb in sales may be due to the rise in population,” he said. According to Dr. Chan Man Hung, managing director and chief editor of The Commercial Press, only 10 to 20 percent of the local population has a reading habit, and they are well educated. Others, about 80 to 90 percent of the total Hong Kong population, spend little time reading and do not treat reading seriously. “The distribution of knowledge is uneven. The knowledgably rich only exist in an extremely small proportion of the total population,” explained Dr. Chan. Prof. Gordon Mathews of the Department of Anthropology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong said people don’t read very much in Hong Kong. He feels that Hong Kong people do not take the initiative to read books in their leisure time. “There is not much of a reading culture here,” said Prof. Mathews. Though agreeing that the reading population of Hong Kong is not very high, Prof. So Lai Man of the Department of Marketing at The Chinese University of Hong Kong does not think the level of leisure reading is low. Said she: “Whenever I walk into PageOne or The Commercial Press, it is always crowded.” Most people who enjoy reading usually read magazines, popular books and comics. Tsai Hao Jun, a marketing representative of PageOne, said, “Businessmen like reading books about travel and sports. They read in leisure time for pleasure.” Besides, comics from Taiwan, like books about Jimmy and Tsai Chih Chung, are gaining popularity in Hong Kong. Kenneth Leung, a 19-year-old student at City University, said, “I like Jimmy’s books very much because the content is meaningful and it encourages me to think about life.” There is an increasing number of people reading books about psychology and philosophy of life as well. Miss Tsai said, “Self-help books like Who Moved My Cheese and Rich Dad Poor Dad are bestsellers of PageOne.” Yeh Mei Ying, 17, said, “I want to know more about myself through these books. They also help me understand what other people think.” Mr. Kwan said, “It is a cycle of what kinds of books are popular. Whenever the topic of a book matches current hot topics, it will become trendy.” Apart from trendy stuff, practical books, like cookery and sports, are popular in Hong Kong. According to statistics released by Joint Publishing Company, Hong Kong City Guide is the best selling book in Hong Kong. A 54-year-old housewife, Yuen Yuk Ling, said, “I like reading books about cookery. It’s my interest and is useful in my daily life. “I save time thinking what to prepare for dinner every night.” There are readers who have indeed developed reading into a habit. Wyman Tang, a Year 2 postgraduate student at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, reads when he has time. He said, “Personally, I enjoy anthropology very much. I buy books regarding this matter because I like to read about it.” When compared with difficult academic books, interesting novels are more attractive to readers. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department released statistics about library usage in October 2002. It shows that about 70 percent of public library users borrow novels. Miss Yuen said, “I like reading novels of Qiong Yao, a female author in Taiwan. “Her novels are touching. I usually read in my leisure time for relaxation.” According to Dr. Chan, the reading characteristics in Hong Kong are unique. “The reading population, though small, is surprisingly brilliant. “They are bilingual. To them, reading English is just the same as reading Chinese. “Hong Kong is a place with great diversity resulting from the mix of the East and the West.”

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