Constructing Chinese Identity in Post‐colonial Hong Kong: A Discursive Analysis of the Official Nation‐Building Project

Abstract

After the handover of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China in 1997, the post-colonial government in Hong Kong initiated a nation-building project aimed at boosting nationalism and patriotism. Drawing on documentary analysis, this article analyses how the dominant bloc subtly manipulates a Chinese identity rooted in local traditions through its national education policy, and how it seeks to foster hegemony via several discursive strategies including normalization, naturalization, homogenization, utilitarianization, glorification, moralization, and eclecticism. This article also draws attention to the alternative discourses by the civil society in opposition to the hegemony project.

Nationalism, Patriotism, and Essentialism in the Construction of Brazilian National Identity

“…This means that, even for individuals adhering to essentialist beliefs, patriotism and nationalism still continue to act as explanatory variables in the model. In fact, both nationalism and patriotism are constructs that shape national identity (Greenfeld & Chirot, 1994;Hobsbawm, 2011;Kosterman & Feshbach, 1989;Lee, 2014;Piwoni, 2015;Tse, 2014). In this model it can be seen that both have a low correlation with one another (Ariely, 2012;Gries, Zhang, Crowson, & Cai, 2011) and high predictive power for national identity (Miller-Idriss & Rothenberg, 2011;Pérez-Agote, 1993;Quiroga, 2014;Tartakovisky, 2011).…”

“…Underlying the formation of national identity would be nationalism (Greenfeld & Chirot, 1994;Hobsbawm, 2011;Leite, 2002), which would function as the ideological basis in the formation of national identity (Tinsley, 2014;Tse, 2014). Its main function would be to ensure that the inhabitants of a nation perceive themselves as a special people (Hastings, 1999).…”

Nacionalismo, patriotismo e essencialismo na construção da identidade nacional brasileira

“…De fato, tanto o nacionalismo quanto o patriotismo são construtos formadores da identidade nacional (Greenfeld & Chirot, 1994;Hobsbawm, 2011;Kosterman & Feshbach, 1989;Lee, 2014;Piwoni, 2015;Tse, 2014). Neste modelo pode-se observar que ambos apresentam baixa correlação entre si (Ariely, 2012;Gries, Zhang, Crowson, & Cai, 2011) e alto poder preditivo da identidade nacional (Miller-Idriss & Rothenberg, 2011;Pérez-Agote, 1993;Quiroga, 2014;Tartakovisky, 2011), indicando que são fenômenos distintos (Kosterman & Feshbach, 1989;Viroli, 1997).…”

“…Subjacente à formação da identidade nacional estaria o nacionalismo (Greenfeld & Chirot, 1994;Hobsbawm, 2011;Leite, 2002), que funcionaria como a base ideológica na formação da identidade nacional ( Tinsley, 2014;Tse, 2014). Sua principal função seria assegurar que os habitantes de uma nação se percebam como um povo especial (Hastings, 1999).…”

Disarticulation between Civic Values and Nationalism: Mapping Chinese State Nationalism in Post-handover Hong Kong

“…Resumption of Chinese sovereignty over this former British colony has not smoothly nurtured a robust Chinese state nationalism that refers to national allegiance to and patriotic sentiment toward the Chinese state. While China has been pressing for state loyalty and Chinese national pride in Hong Kong through national education (Tse 2014) and political propaganda , local civil society exhibits escalating China-Hong Kong conflicts in terms of political reform, socio-economic integration, and cultural tension . The China-Hong Kong conflict has even been radicalised as discourses of localism, Hong Kong sub-nationalism, or even Hong Kong independence, which defies China's influence and efforts regarding Hong Kong's democratisation and civil liberties (Chan 2017;Fong 2017).…”