Hong Kong’s Identity:Influences Of Economic Modernisation And Political Transformations

The aim of this thesis is to explore the factors and causes of Hong Kong’s identity crisis in the current context of’One Country Two Systems’. Hong Kong’s case of decolonisation characterised by a return to its original nation-state maintaining its political and economic system is unique and has triggered changes in Hong Kong’s mentality. Taking into consideration both internal and external factors, this thesis will analyse Hong Kong’s dilemma as an ethnic Chinese nation rediscovering its sense of allegiance to the nation state. Moreover, using the traditional theoretical approaches of identity studies, our findings will emphasise the limits of the classic approaches to identity. We will highlight the necessity to extend the theoretical framework to a post-national dimension taking into consideration Hong Kong’ status as a’world city’ influenced by its globalised environment. The importance of the State via media discourse and its institutions in the formation of identity will also be a point of focus as a way to explain how Hong Kong’s local feeling of belonging was internalised in a few decades. Analysing Hong Kong’s set of reforms initiated in the early 1980s, we will see that the policies introduced by Britain were put in place in sight of the handover and the British departure from its last colony. It is these changes that triggered a political awareness in Hong Kong’s society. In contrast to colonial times, we will explore the current reforms implemented via the State institutions to encourage the resinicisation of the population. Moreover, the final chapter of this thesis will raise a flag as to the importance of foreign states’ involvement in Hong Kong’s national debates. As a semi-democratic system, Hong Kong is perceived as a nest for democratic ideals by western powers who equated the 1997 handover to a threat of the democratic political future of the city. Overall, Hong Kong is currently going through a complex phase of transition by combining local, national and transnational identities into a post-national perception of itself as a result of the interaction between a multitude of dependent factors.