The Rise of “Localism” and Civic Identity in Post-handover Hong Kong: Questioning the Chinese Nation-state

Abstract

While it was traditionally accepted that Hongkongers shared a form of panChinese cultural identification that did not contradict their local distinctiveness, over the last decade Hong Kong has seen the rise of new types of local identity discourses. Most recently, "localists" have been a vocal presence. Hong Kong has -quite unexpectedly -developed a strong claim for selfdetermination. But how new is "localism" with respect to the more traditional "Hong Kong identity" that appeared in the 1970s? The present study takes a two-dimensional approach to study these discourses, examining not only their framework of identification (local versus pan-Chinese) but also their mode of identification (ethno-cultural versus civic). Using three case studies, the June Fourth vigil, the 2012 anti-National Education protest and the 2014 Umbrella movement, it distinguishes between groups advocating civic identification with the local community (Scholarism, HKFS) and others highlighting ethnic identification (Chin Wan). It argues that while local and national identification were traditionally not incompatible, the civic-based identification with a local democratic community, as advocated by most participants in recent movements, is becoming increasingly incompatible with the ethnic and cultural definition of the Chinese nation that is now being promoted by the Beijing government.Keywords: Hong Kong identity; localism; civic nationalism; cultural nationalism; June Fourth vigil; Umbrella movement; National Education Hong Kong's identification with the Chinese nation-state has been the subject of much discussion for over a century. Some of these debates are grounded in the ambiguous nature of the Chinese nation-state itself, others are connected to Hong Kong's distinctive historical path. As a British colony that had previously been a part of successive Chinese empires, Hong Kong cultivated a form of pan-Chinese cultural identification, which the colonial authorities tried to both foster and shape by placing a strong emphasis on a depoliticized form of

CityPsyche—Hong Kong

“…'Hongkonger' as an openly filled category is determined to spill over the rigid nation-state framing imposed by the Chinese Communist Party under Xi Jinping' s regime. The feebleness of Han nationalism has been actively exposed through the mass mobilization of Hong Kong' s urban majorities-with the civic attendance of Hong Kong inhabitants amid the pervasive 'localist' mood (Veg 2017). Nevertheless, what we would like to highlight here is how the topological operations of a city' s psyche are manifested and connected both offline and online.…”

“…Ascending totalitarian control has led Hong Kong society into processes of loss, disorientation and soul-searching (Law 2009). Over the course of the handover process, a majority of Hongkongers saw a future of 'democratizing Hong Kong'that once signalled an advent of 'democratizing China'-promised through the realization of universal suffrage and etched in the Basic Law (Veg 2017). Fear has grown as promises remain unfulfilled and is stoked by a series of encroachments: increasingly pervasive control over local autonomy; the manipulation of local elections; the proposed introduction of Chinese national education; the stripped voice in shaping the city' s future and its positioning in the Greater Bay Area.…”

Explaining Localism in Post-handover Hong Kong: An Eventful Approach

“…While also acknowledging this shifting trend of identification, Veg develops a more sophisticated theoretical model to understand the nature of identity changes in two dimensions: the framework of identification (local versus pan-Chinese) and the mode of identification (ethno-cultural versus civic). By focusing on several protest events, Veg observes that civicbased identification with a local democratic community is becoming increasingly incompatible with the ethno-cultural identity that is being promoted by the Beijing government (Veg 2017).…”

Low self-control and high group identification - The aftermath of Umbrella Movement

“…But there is one thing we ought to have learned, the movement once again escalated the revival of indigenousness in Hong Kong-localism (Chan, 2016;Chen & Szeto, 2015;Kaeding, 2017). The idea of localism was originally formed during the Leftist Riots in 1967 (Lam-Knott, 2017;Tang & Yuen, 2016), it seemed to be deep-seated in Hongkonger's mind and have been bursting into collective actions to protest against the demolition of the Queen's Pier in 2006 (Chen & Szeto, 2015;Kwong, 2016); the crackdown on illegal street food hawkers in 2016 (Schmidt, Fai, & de Kloet, 2017;Wong, 2017); and the parallel trading among mainland tourists repeatedly in recent years (So, 2017;Veg;. The identity of localism gives rise to Hongkonger's dignities and aims to reclaim the unique localization and colonization lifestyle (Kaeding, 2017).…”