HKU Bulletin May 2016 (Vol. 17 No.2)

How Hong Kong residents identify themselves – as Hongkonger, Chinese and/or other – is changing and will have implications for the development of civil society. Dr Robert Chung Ting-yiu, Director of the Public Opinion Programme, and Professor Eliza Lee Wing-yee, Director of the Centre for Civil Society and Governance, have been tracking the changes. THE PEOPLE’S PERSPECTIVE In 2008, as China was gearing up to host the Olympic Games while at the same time recovering from the devastation of the Sichuan earthquake, an unusual yet understandable thing happened: Hong Kong people reported that they felt more Chinese than ever. The finding was reported by HKU’s Public Opinion Programme (POP), which in 1997 began tracking whether people identified themselves as broadly Hongkonger or broadly Chinese, as well as the strength of that affiliation. In June, 2008, people rated the strength of their Chinese identity stronger than their feelings as Hongkongers (8.0 versus 7.8 out of 10). This had happened only a couple of times before, around 2002–2004 when dissatisfaction with the Hong Kong Government was strong and China was emerging as an economic powerhouse. It has never happened since. Dr Robert Chung Ting-yiu heads the POP, which conducts its surveys every few months. He notes that while people’s identity affiliation has fluctuated over the years – through such events as the handover, SARS, the July 1, 2003 protest march, China’s economic boom as well as the Olympics success – it has taken a much sharper, more fractured turn in recent times. In fact by the end of last year, people’s sense of Chineseness was at 6.6, against 8.1 for the Hongkonger identity. For young people aged under 30 the results were even lower at 4.9 for their Chinese identity and 7.9 for their Hong Kong identity. “The strength of people’s Hong Kong and Chinese identities was pretty similar from about 2000 to 2010,” he said, “then the strength of the Chinese identity began to drop. The drop was particularly big among young people. It was a kind of warning.” Intertwined with that shift has been the rise of civic activism. Although Occupy Central is the most high-profile instance, there have been several other pivotal examples, such as protests against the Hong Kong-Guangdong high-speed rail link and the demolition of the Queen’s and Star Ferry Piers. These developments, says Professor Eliza Lee Wing-yee, Director of the Centre for Civil Society and Governance, are rooted in people’s affiliation with their Hong Kong identity, as well as their changing values. “People are increasingly relating the heritage and use of space with a sense of themselves as citizens of this city. For example, a decade ago there was a big social movement against unlimited reclamation of Victoria Harbour. Why was it so important? Because the Harbour symbolises Hong Kong. People would proudly say it’s one of the most beautiful harbours in the world. And they had a lot of memories and personal experiences related to it, maybe as lovers or with their families. They did not want it to disappear because they felt that then a big part of their identity and collective memory would disappear. “We saw the same thing with the later campaigns to protect Queen’s Pier and the Star Ferry Pier. A lot of the civic activism we have seen in the past 10 years has to do with citizens’ stronger awareness and consciousness of their identity and their connection to this place. They want a sense of ownership over policy-making,” she said. Home ownership The roots of that shift stem from the 1970s, when the first generation to be born mostly in Hong Kong came of age. They felt Hong Kong was their home – unlike their parents who were largely refugees and thought of home as 10 | 11 The University of Hong Kong Bulletin | May 2016 Cover Story