Citizenship discourse in Hong Kong: The limits of familial tropes

Citizenship and Education in Hong Kong: A Review of Contemporary Academic Literature

“…As a result, Hong Kong's post-handover legal landscape regarding citizenship is complex and layered (Ghai, 2001). Unlike most jurisdictions, citizenship in Hong Kong is legally expressed through permanent residency, rather than formal national citizenship (Ghai, 2001; Leung, 2016; Xia, 2016), although The Hong Kong Immigration Department is empowered by the Chinese Constitution to grant legal PRC citizenship on its own (Yam, 2018).…”

“…The expression of civil rights in the SAR, as a result of the colonial-era structures, is “generously given” to the population, rather than flow as a result of being an enfranchised citizenry (Xia, 2016). In the “Greater China” context, Ho (2003) argues that the government conceptualises its role as a “guardian of the culture.” This is reinforced by employing familial language which enforces the idea of protecting the community from external threats and internal disharmony (Yam, 2018). Leung Ling (2015) note that emphasis is placed on group relations within definitions of “citizenship” in “Eastern” discourse, such as obedience and patriotism.…”

“…Within Hong Kong's over seven million people, there are a wide variety of minority groups who also claim the moniker of “Hongkonger,” and recognition of the rights of minorities has often lagged behind that of the mainstream. For example, as recently as 2012, there were widely publicised examples of ethnic minorities, particularly non-white minorities, being denied formal recognition of their citizenship on the basis of race (Yam, 2018). Many marginalised groups within Hong Kong, including ethnic minorities and more recent immigrants, face regular discrimination and exclusion from society (Leung, 2016).…”

“…This is further perpetuated by the notion that minority students must be assimilated by abandoning those cultural practices which are not shared by the majority population in Hong Kong (Chee, 2020). The legal exclusion of minority groups has the effect of not only denying legitimate rights which are tied to this recognition, but also working to damage these people's sense of self-worth and humanity (Yam, 2018).…”

“…As a location where naturalisation, or long-term migration, is notoriously difficult, the PRC acts as an exemplar of an ethno-nationalist state (Cheng and Jacobs, 2020; Low, 2016). Hong Kong, as a quasi-autonomous territory within China, is more open to cosmopolitanism, inclusion, and integration, and where legal naturalisation is far more achievable (Crabtree and Wong, 2013; Ho and Chiu, 2016; Yam, 2018). As discussion of citizenship moves away from a focus on the global west to include more diverse perspectives (Chung, 2017), Hong Kong presents an interesting case for examination.…”