Hongkongers still torn between two identities

• Source: Global Times
• [08:28 October 19 2009]
• Comments

By Zhang Yizhong

Long pampered by the week-long National Day holidays, I was a little bit disappointed with the one-day vacation in Hong Kong and unconsciously suspected that Hongkongers wouldn't be passionate enough to celebrate the 60th anniversary of New China in grand style.

But on the day my speculation was proved false; some 400,000 people gathered to admire the 23-minute fireworks over the Victoria Harbor.

Almost all adults in Hong Kong were born and raised in colonial Hong Kong.

Biological features and cultural practices told them that they were not Anglo-Saxon, kinship ties affirmed that they were Chinese, however, for decades the question of "Who are we?" haunted Hongkongers: How can they justify a national identity as part of a country to which they don't legally belong?

The absence of the national concept officially ended on July 1, 1997. Nonetheless, people in Hong Kong did not start to label themselves as Chinese overnight, but rather ascended into the mist of ambiguity.

Domestically, Hong Kong is the Special Administrative Region, a part of China but somehow "better" than the rest. Internationally, it brands itself as "Asia's world city," a place where East meets West and a metropolis that nurtures a group of independent Chinese. Thus, a nuanced national identity burgeoned.

When a Chinese astronaut walks in space or China tops the medal list at the Olympics, Hongkongers feel proud of being Chinese. But when they come across a tourist group from mainland in Europe, they decisively draw the line and make it clear that Hongkongers are very distinct from mainlanders.

While the pragmatism in identifying the collective identity of Hongkongers is convenient, it reflects a deeper confusion.

Hongkongers think, deep down in their hearts, that they are culturally Chinese, but they are reluctant to proclaim this, because they consider themselves to be more educated, more industrious and more civilized than their northern siblings.

Besides those finer qualities, the "one country, two systems" architecture lends strong support to this version of self-image.