July 3, 2017
A young couple at the waterfront area known as Instagram Pier in the Hong Kong neighborhood of Sai Wan. Only about 3 percent of Hong Kongers from 18 to 29 describe themselves broadly as Chinese, according to a recent survey.
Young People Have Their Say About The Future of Hong Kong
The label shows its spring collection.
HONG KONG — When crowds calling for greater democracy occupied the streets of Hong Kong three years ago, a skinny teenager led them. When voters went to the polls last year, they elected a 23-year-old legislator, the youngest in the city’s history. And when calls for Hong Kong’s independence from China gained momentum, young people were again at the forefront.
Many of the most influential voices in Hong Kong today belong to those who have little or no memory of this former British colony’s return to Chinese rule two decades ago. But this generation’s identity has been shaped by the handover.
People between the ages of 18 and 29 in Hong Kong are more likely than at any time since 1997 to see themselves broadly as Hong Kongers, according to a survey by the University of Hong Kong. Only about 3 percent now describe themselves broadly as Chinese, the lowest level since the handover.
By contrast, Carrie Lam, who will be sworn in Saturday as Hong Kong’s new chief executive, says she wants to make sure that children will learn from an early age to say, “I am Chinese.”
We asked a half-dozen young people in Hong Kong how they identify themselves, what it has been like to grow up in a city newly returned to Chinese rule and what they expect from the future. These are excerpts from their answers, edited for clarity and length:
Matthew Chan, 19
Student beginning at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in September
I was born after the handover. When I was growing up, society told me I was Chinese. When I was young, I was proud to be Chinese. I was excited when I saw China shoot a rocket into space.
But when I grew up, I learned more and more about China and the Communist Party, and I felt ashamed to be Chinese. Especially in recent years, the Communists kind of control Hong Kong. When a foreigner asks me who I am, I will always say I’m a Hong Konger but not Chinese. In my mind, I know I’m Chinese, but I don’t want to say I am from China. I would rather say that I’m from Hong Kong.
The thing I don’t like is the truth — that Hong Kong is a part of China. Our city has to follow every rule set by Beijing. We have no rights to our politics. We couldn’t really vote for the chief executive. The Communist Party is actually assigning the people to control Hong Kong.
Monkey Chan, 20
High school graduate pursuing a nursing career
I started to pay close attention to politics after the Umbrella Movement in 2014. Everyone in my class, which had about 30 people, had been to the protest sites at some point, and the school held a forum the next day after the protest erupted. The whole assembly hall was full.
Hong Kongers should unite as a nation, and then go independent. As long as Hong Kong is under China’s rule, there will not be democracy. That’s one reason. But another important reason is that I want to tell the world we’re not Chinese.
Our differences with Chinese people are mainly cultural. You can tell very easily when you travel. Hong Kongers queue up and won’t talk too loud, and they don’t spit or squat everywhere. We have our language — traditional scripts and Cantonese — and shared experience and spirits.
Hong Kong needs to be economically independent as well. Hong Kong’s economy has tilted too much toward the mainland and has become overreliant on it. If China’s economy collapses, Hong Kong would be doomed.
Corey Lau, 25
Community officer with a pro-Beijing political party
I was 5 during the handover. But I remember there was less political struggle. The neighborhood relationships were better. There were fewer complaints about the colonial government.
I am happy to see the return of Hong Kong to China. Twenty years after the handover, the development of Hong Kong is still stable. Hong Kong has retained its prosperity. China has done a satisfactory job managing political development. But still, China has to do more for the return of Hong Kong people’s hearts.
Hong Kong is part of China. Therefore, I would identify myself as a Hong Konger and also Chinese. Still, I would see myself first as Hong Konger because this is the place where I grew up.
But this cannot violate my Chinese identity. Hong Kong is a place, and China is a country.
Ada Jin, 24
University of Hong Kong graduate from the Chinese city of Harbin who now works in finance
After graduation I decided to stay in Hong Kong. But now, if you asked me again, I am probably open to going back to China. I visit Beijing and Shanghai a few times every year, and I realize they have been developing pretty fast and making lots of progress. Now China in general has lot of advantages over Hong Kong.
Many Chinese people are more adaptable to new technology and new ideas. Hong Kong is a bit lacking in terms of that. Of course, Hong Kong has pretty good infrastructure. It’s quite developed. Now China has developed so fast, as a function of that, Hong Kong will be weakened in the future.
I think some Hong Kong people are not very happy about the handover. Some Hong Kong people I know have British passports. They are very proud of it.
And also, my British friends, they are very arrogant about it. They’re like, “Hong Kong was a British colony. We decided to give it to China. We’re so awesome.” These conversations make me unhappy, but they’re still my friends.
Victoria Lee, 17
Student at St. Stephen’s College, a secondary school in Hong Kong
Growing up in Hong Kong as an American-born Chinese, I’ve never really identified fully and exclusively with one single culture or had a strong sense of nationalism.
I think the most relevant issue to youth like me would be the tangible social divide by language, mannerisms and cultural identity within Hong Kong. There is a lot of local tension between a perceived “them” and “us.” It has led to a lot of friction and compromise between the Chinese and the Hong Kongers. A lot of people are also unsatisfied with the increasingly corrupt political and justice scene.
All said and done, I’m proud to be associated with Hong Kong. I personally think that Hong Kong is also much, much more than just a city under Chinese rule. In fact, it could be argued that the handover inadvertently caused the term “Hong Konger” to be coined, the idea that the people of Hong Kong are neither this nor that, but their very own.
Vicky Kung, 26
Freelance video producer
I think Hong Kong has two problems. First is the systemic political problem in terms of who gets power and whether Hong Kong people have the independence to determine whatever we want to determine. The second is the income gap problem.
Hong Kong has this bottled-up situation where people are very upset about housing in particular. The government is too scared to do anything to land developers because they’re making a lot of money out of selling land.
I despise politicians old or young who are just yelling, doing nothing. Thank you, we all know there’s a problem. Can you think of a smart way to solve it? Hong Kong right now, I think that everyone is just so angry, and we’re not moving anywhere. We’re just stuck.
