THE HONG KONG OCEAN PARK KIDNAPPING RUMOR

Abstract

In March 2010, an emailed rumor spread through Hong Kong's Western expatriate community describing an attempted kidnapping of a Caucasian boy by two Chinese women at a popular amusement park several days earlier. The emails were traced back to the original author who explained her role in its dissemination. This article examines the reasons why the rumor was widely believed by expatriate parents. Although factually false, the rumor carried symbolic truth in the fear of a rising China that ";steals"; Western jobs, and of young Chinese women who ";steal"; Western husbands. In addition, expatriate women are uneasy over the compromises they must make in having both a family and a career.