Political Consumerism in Hong Kong: China’s Economic Intervention, Identity Politics, or Political Participation?

Abstract

This study examines the recent emergence of political consumerism in Hong Kong. Given its potential implications, we document the origin and maturation of this development and theoretically explain political consumerism from three perspectives: as a response to China's economic intervention, as a form of identity politics, and as a new form of political participation. Drawing on original data collected from a representative survey of the local population, supplemented by interviews with stakeholders from the prodemocracy economic circle, we found that people who opposed China-Hong Kong economic integration and expressed a strong local (as opposed to national) identity tended to support boycotting. People who engaged in political consumerism were active in both legal and radical protests, pointing to the complementary nature of these different forms of activism. Further, by adopting a mediation analysis, we find that support towards the Anti-extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement only partially mediate the effect of the factors on political consumerism, suggesting that they are distinct development despite their shared origins. This article provides a novel perspective on the political polarisation in Hong Kong among consumer markets.

After State Repression: Movement Abeyance in Hong Kong under the Enforcement of the National Security Law

“…Therefore, existing literature has recognized that the Anti-Extradition Bill protests can be attributed to online mobilization which connected protesters and supporters to street-level participation (e.g. Cheng and Yuen, 2020; Ku, 2020; Lee, 2020b; Wong et al, 2021).…”

Wild hopes: Sourcing the political vocabulary of digital citizenship from the LIHKG forum

“…A copious amount of writing has been produced about the politics of the AEM in a stunningly short time, mainly in political and urban sociology (e.g. Chung, 2020; Ho & Choi, 2020; Lee et al, 2019; 2020; Ku, 2020, Rühlig, 2020; Lam & Ibrahim, 2020; Li & Whitworth, 2021; Stott et al, 2021; Wong et al, 2021), but also in communication research (e.g. Feng et al, 2021; Lee, 2020b; Lee et al, 2021b; Ong, 2020) and cultural studies (e.g.…”

Redefining consumer nationalism: The ambiguities of shopping yellow during the 2019 Hong Kong Anti-ELAB movement

“…Consumption is deliberately used to reflect one’s political identity vis-à-vis others (Carvalho et al, 2019; Wong et al, 2021), and to literally and figuratively buy into certain discourses and not others. Through “role mobilization” individuals have the potential to transform their private consumption choices into a collective political identity at the moment of purchase (Holzer, 2006).…”

“…Through “role mobilization” individuals have the potential to transform their private consumption choices into a collective political identity at the moment of purchase (Holzer, 2006). In the yellow economic circle, everyday consumption reveals and provides social and cultural identities (Chan, 2022; Wong et al, 2021; Carvalho et al, 2019).…”

“…A “yellow economic circle” emerged—a network of retailers and consumers connected by shared political and ideological values. Citizens were encouraged to consume (“buycott”) products from “yellow retailers” supportive of movement aims and avoid consuming (boycott) products from “blue retailers” who opposed the movement (Chan and Pun, 2020; Lee and Fong, 2021; Wong et al, 2021). Such a political consumption became a daily routine shared by young, middle-aged and elderly people (Cheng and Yuen, 2020).…”