Draft:COM1101

Hong Kong Siu mai Concern Group (Chinese: 香港燒賣關注組) is an active online community about Hong Kong street food Siu Mai (or Shumai) based primarily on Facebook and Instagram since 2019 November 16th.

Introduction
It gathers individuals interested in eating Siumai, introduces and promotes Siumai culture, and monitors the quality and price growth of Siumai, enhancing people's awareness and interest in Siumai. The Facebook page of the concern group consist of news, memes, and reviews of Siu Mai. The term "concern group" was originally used during the 2019 demonstrations and disturbances, when many Hong Kong students created groups to express their worry and opposition to the now-defunct extradition law.

History
The origin of Hong Kong Siu Mai Concern Group starts from the establishment of its Facebook page from 16 November 2019. In an interview conducted by Business Digest, two administrators from Hong Kong Siu Mai Concern Group have mentioned the history of Hong Kong Siu Mai Concern Group. Firstly, there are 3 administrators in total, including Louis, the president, Carol and Andrew. Louis was inspired by a Facebook page “我係薯條控”, which means “fries fanatic” in English. The page leave comments on fries from different restaurants and Louis found this page very interesting. In the interview, he also stated that the siu mai from Hong Kong are unqiue and irreplaceable because of it yellow coating and white meat(made with fish) inside. Therefore, he established Hong Kong Siu Mai Concern Group, aiming at promoting and preserving Hong Kong siu mai.

Currently, the Hong Kong Siu Mai Concern Group has over 150 thousands followers on Facebook, and over 60 thousands followers on Instagram (data retrieved on 20th November, 2023). It has the most followers among various Facebook food concern groups in Hong Kong, with rice vermicelli concern group ranking second and hotpot concern group ranking third. Alongside with its increasing media exposure in Hong Kong, paid membership scheme and several products such as an encyclopaedia of siu mai and collaboration t-shirt were released.

Sounds existing and Impacts to the society
The HK Siumai Concern Group has significantly impacted Hong Kong society. Due to the popularity of the Facebook page, a majority of Siumai lovers began to look into the content of those posts. The posts were mainly rated Siumain's quality in five categories. It contains Taste, Texture, Sauce, Appearance and Price. Although those were the subjective ideas and opinions of the holders, it raised the public's concern about the Siumai, and many members commented on the post for further discussions. Furthermore, it provided a channel and opportunities for sellers to review their food quality. Therefore, those shops could improve their taste or make some adjustments in the price in Siumai. Meanwhile, different media started to interview the holders of the concern group and the publishment of the HK Siumai Concern Group book. These enhanced the focus and discussions in Hong Kong society.

It is witnessed that there has been an upward trend in the development of the "Concern group" since the establishment and influence of the Hong Kong Siumai Concern Group. The public has gradually imitated the form of this page and created relevant Concern Group pages. For instance, Hong Kong Milk Tea Concern Group, Hong Kong Traditional Food Concern Group, We Love Coffee, Hong Kong Coriander Party and Hong Kong Ice Cream Concern Group. It enhances the connection between citizens online and offline. Besides, those groups have become a community that contains and unites every resident with the same eating interests. Therefore, they can discuss and share their opinions through the online platform.