Notes » September 2003

Chinese, But Not Chinese

A study of 4,595 high school students reveals about 40% don't care what happens in mainland China.

They said they don't love China, nor are happy Hong Kong has returned to Chinese rule. They indicated they're prouder to be residents of Hong Kong rather than Chinese citizens. This response shouldn't come as a shock to anyone.

People in Hong Kong haven't been given a reason to feel proud of being a part of China. Six years since the handover isn't enough time for attitudes to have changed. Add to that a general distrust and fear of China's political apparatus; one can hardly blame people for questioning the motives behind a push for nationalism.

Hong Kong has never been a Chinese city. During its existence, save the Japanese occupation in WWII, it has been British. Since January 26, 1841, when England first planted a flag on what was then a barren rock, Hong Kong has been a special mixture of East and West. Because it had been a colony of the British Empire for close to 155 years, this city developed a mindset different from cities in the mainland, regardless that 98% of Hong Kong citizens are ethnically Chinese. Most of the people that helped build Hong Kong were from Guangdong (Canton), but generations have passed and a way of life has been ingrained.

That's not to say people here aren't Chinese; Chinese traditions and customs abound and people are proud to be Chinese. But ethnicity and culture don't equal a desire to be considered a part of China, and no amount of spoon-fed platitudes is going to change the way people feel overnight.

If China wants Hong Kongers to be proud of being Chinese, it will have to do two things: be patient, and earn it.

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