INTRODUCTION

Hong Kong's economic success has always depended on its geographical position at the mouth of the Pearl River. It began as a trans-shipper of opium from the Indian sub-continent to China, then as a manufacturer and exporter of low-value-added goods to China and the West, and has more recently emerged as an entrepot for trade between China and the West and a regional business hub for multinational corporations (Flowerdew and Scollon, forthcoming). Despite the fact that some ninety-eight per cent of the population are non-native speakers of the language, Hong Kong has always depended upon English in the spheres of government, business and education. It is likely that, even after the change of sovereignty in 1997, Hong Kong's continuing role as an entrepot between the East and the West will require a workforce with developed English language skills.

Hong Kong has always, due to its historical circumstances, maintained a small but significant English-speaking population. Of these, many have traditionally been senior officers in the civil service, senior employees of large companies and holders of other high-profile positions. In recent years, however, as many senior positions have become localised, the country has started to attract a large number of lower-level English- speaking managers who are keen to flee the effects of recession in Europe and North America and share in Hong Kong's economic success.

This changing demography has affected in a number of ways how expatriates and local Chinese interact in the workplace. One of the most noticeable changes has been the significant reduction in the distance, both physical and metaphorical, between expatriates and local Chinese in recent years. In the new order, expatriates are increasingly expected to work alongside their Chinese colleagues rather than over them. This situation poses a great challenge for companies in Hong Kong, many of whom have, paradoxically, seldom considered inter-group relations in the workplace.

This chapter discusses inter-group impression management, an aspect of communication that assumes considerable importance when languages and cultures collide in the workplace. Inter-group impression management is instrumental in establishing the working climate in any organisation in which colleagues of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds interact, and can fundamentally affect the ease with which colleagues coexist. In Hong Kong, this is particularly important now that rapprochement between expatriates and local Chinese staff is a fact of corporate life.