A comparative study of "good citizens": Perceptions of university students in the Greater China

“Good citizens” is a contested topic and there is not agreement on what “good citizens” should know and do. This study is to examine university students’ perceptions of “good citizens” in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China and Macau. The findings showed that students in Hong Kong and Macau perceived “behave morally and ethically” and “Respect other opinions” as the most important attitudes. Hong Kong students perceived “show respect to the government” and “be patriotic” while students in Macau perceived “attending the discussion in political issue” and “participation in peaceful demonstration” as the less important attitudes of “good citizens”. Students in Taiwan perceived “tolerance to diversity” and “protect and uphold freedom of speech,” as the most important attitudes while “love Mainland China” and “learning the history of Mainland China” as the less important attitudes. Students in Mainland China perceived “moral and ethical behavior” and “patriotic” as the most important attitudes while “participation in peaceful demonstration” and “voting in every election” as the less important attitudes. Students in Hong Kong and Taiwan perceived “controversial issues” and “recent social movement” as important factors affecting perceptions of “good citizenship” while students in Mainland China and Macau perceived otherwise. These findings suggested that how youth people construct meanings of “good citizens” influenced by various contexts and factors. Copyright © 2021 (15th) APNME Annual Online Conference.