Chapter 2. Literature Review
2.1 Nationalism
2.1.3 Hong Kong Nationalism
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and Taiwan have been colonized during their history; fourth, the economic interaction and relationships with China will influence identity formation. From Kwan (2016), in 2014, another similarity has appeared with the occurrence of Hong Kong‘s Umbrella Movement and Taiwan‘s Sunflower Movement. Student protestors reject the notion of
―political China‖, which reflects their growing concern about China‘s influence over both places.
2.1.3 Hong Kong Nationalism
Before I start this section, I would like to address one question: if Hong Kong is not a nation, can the identification of Hong Kongers be called nationalism? Hong Kong nationalism and identity became popular issues again in 2014, following the Umbrella Revolution. The notion of Hong Kong nationalism developed on the basis of Chinese nationalism, distinctions were created to differentiate them, in the political, cultural, social and economic context. Some studies have pointed out that the Hong Kong nationalism has changed from time to time depending on who lives there. So (2015) discussed the formation of Hong Kong nationalism based on Chin Wan‘s book published in 2011 – ―Xianggang Chengbang Lun‖ (香港城邦論). In the book, Chan explains the concept of city-state through the political development and history of Hong Kong. Above all, he thinks that Hong Kong does not have to be independent, but being autonomous is a must. The aim is to defend the tradition of Hong Kong rather than challenge China‘s sovereignty, while Hong Kong is a cultural community that differs from China and the Hong Kong nation has been formed through the historical process (Wu, 2016). Just insisting that ―Hong Kong belongs to China‖ is not going to solve the problem.
From Druckman (1994), loyalty includes both emotional and cognitive aspects that interrelate to form images of groups and nation is viewed as one type of group that fosters loyalty. Hong Kongers in different age groups have a different degree of loyalty to China. Those who arrived in Hong Kong earlier and those with more ties to China, they are more loyal to the nation. The book ―Four Generations of Hong Kongers‖ published in 2007 divided Hong Kongers into four generations, using their year of birth or the year they arrived in Hong Kong and their characteristics:
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Table 3. Four Generations of Hong Kong people Generation Title Year of birth
or year arrived in Hong Kong
Characteristics
1st Parents of ―After war baby‖
Before 1946 Connection with China
2nd ―After war baby‖ 1946-1965 Distance with China, Rise of Hong Kong‘s indigenousness 3rd 30th generation 1966-1975 Indigenousness of Hong Kong,
Resist recognizing China 4th Children of ―After
war baby‖
1976-1997 Facing system change after the return of Hong Kong Note. Retrieved from ―四代香港人,‖ by F. K. Hung, 2016, Cultural Studies @ Lingnan, 52.
Most members of the 1st generation moved from China to Hong Kong in the post-war period. These Hong Kong Chinese who came to Hong Kong before 1949 were ―sojourners‖ (So, 2015), meaning that Hong Kong was not home to them and they continue to embrace Chinese nationalism. Druckman (1994) suggested that group loyalty engaged individuals to distinguish groups where they belongs to and do not belongs to. These Hong Kong Chinese are loyal to the Chinese nation-state and maintain connections with China, they still identifying themselves as ―Chinese‖ rather than ―Hong Kongers‖ and treated China as their mother country.
The 2nd generation was formed by 1st generation‘s children or Chinese who came to Hong Kong after the 1949 revolution and the World War, they became refugees in Hong Kong and they cannot return to China. They still have ties with China, but when compared to the 1st generation, they have kept some distance, and they have no choice but to make money for their lives rather than against the colonial government who tried to manipulate their Chinese identity. The Cultural Revolution in the mid-1960s called for the downfall of the colonial state, some Chinese fled to Hong Kong under political repression, they seek a new life and a new identity in
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Hong Kong. They have no loyalty to China and even hated the communist party.
These people became part of the 3rd and 4th generation in Hong Kong.
Most of the 3rd and the 4th generation are those who were born and raised in Hong Kong, their identity was built under host country: the colonial culture, society and ideology and they became alienation. They have very few links to China and strong identification as Hong Kongers. Many of them entered university and became middle-class professionals in the 1970‘s. They formed the foundation of Hong Kong‘s indigenousness and some chose not to recognize China. To these people, the host country is their mother country.
Nowadays, there are conflicts between different generations in Hong Kong, in particular the issue of identity. These people have different levels of loyalty to China and they have different views of China. Between the 1980s and 1997, Hong Kong‘s identity and nationalism changed rapidly as a result of decolonization and social transformation. According to Turner (1995), a local lifestyle displaced many traditional cultural connections as the basis for personal identity among hèung góng yàhn (Hong Kongers). The Y and Z generations (those who were born after the 1980s) have formed a new kind of nationalism – cyber nationalism based on the popularity of the internet, people expressed their point of view through the social network.
In many cases, Hong Kong has been treated differently as separate region from China. From Wu (2016), during the colonial period, the colonial government successfully made Hong Kong an international trading port and enters international organizations with independent status. One example is on diplomatic level, a Hong Konger can enter most of the countries without applying for a visa, while a Chinese must apply for a visa when visiting most of the countries of the world. Another example is from most of the airlines or shopping websites, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau have always been defined separately. Even on China‘s online shopping website – Taobao, it also defines Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau as ―Haiwai‖ - overseas (海外) area. Starting in 2019, customers of these three places have not been allowed to shop on the Taobao China‘s website but they must access the new websites:
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Taobao Taiwan and Taobao Hong Kong. In this case, these people have been differentiated from ―Chinese‖.
This section addressed the notion of nationalism, which includes nationalism in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. First, in explaining certain facets of Chinese nationalism, we understand how it affected the formation of Taiwanese and Hong Kong nationalism. Then, throughout Taiwan‘s history, we conclude the similarities between Taiwanese nationalism and Hong Kong nationalism. Finally, by evaluating Hong Konger‘s loyalty to China, we can understand some of Hong Kong nationalism.
The next section will look at the notion of identity through three aspects, which also cover certain elements of nationalism that affects one’s identity formation.