Localism in Hong Kong

The autonomy movement flag based on the colonial Hong Kong flag is largely seen as the symbol of the localist movement.

Localism is a newly emerging political movement in Hong Kong, which strives for the autonomy of Hong Kong, resist the Beijing influence in the city and preserve Hong Kong culture. In addition to their strong anti-communist and pro-democracy tendency, It often holds a strong anti-mainland sentiment, especially the mainland tourists and immigrants, seeing them as a threat to Hong Kong identity and autonomy.

Localism is an umbrella term which can embody different but similar ideas, varying from merely concern for the interests of Hong Kong people under Beijing increasing influence, an autonomous "city-state" status of Hong Kong, returning to the British rule or even advocating for full independence of Hong Kong from China. The means of implement localism also varies within the camp, from moderate and parliamentary approach to "militant" or violent direction actions.

Terminology

Localism in the normal context constitute libertarian ideals of a decentralised local government as opposed to the central government, and stresses on self-sufficiency, agriculture and communalism. In contrast, localism in the Hong Kong context emphasises on the Chinese threat to the city and attempts to reinforce a Hong Kong local or national identity as opposed to the Chinese national identity. It also carries a strong anti-immigration stance, which makes "nativism" often being used synonymously with localism. Some localists also call themselves as "autonomists", while some of them are called "separatists" by the Beijing government.

Background: Local consciousness

Hong Kong was established in 1841 as a free port. The colonial government encouraged the free movement of capital and labour, so identity documents were not compulsory until the Hong Kong identity cards were introduced in 1949 in the light of the influx of refugees fleeing from the Communists takeover in Mainland China. By then, there was no strict sense of Hong Kong identity.

Sociologist Lui Tak-lok in his book Four Generations of Hong Kong People, divided Hong Kong people into four generations. The first generation, he states, was the ones who were born before 1945 and had experienced the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, while the baby boomers, the second generation who were born after the war, were the first wave of local consciousness.

First wave

The baby boomers were children of the refugees but were born and raised in Hong Kong and have a strong sense of belonging. They sought to break through the Cold War rivalry between the Communists and the Nationalists which dominated the political scene at the time.

The 1970s saw unprecedented waves of student movements, such as the Chinese Language Movement, the anti-corruption movement, the defend the Diaoyu Islands movement, and so on, which was independent of the left-right spectrum and became the first wave of local consciousness. The movement at the time consisted of some liberal, nationalist, and anti-colonialist elements.

In the 1960s and 70s, the colonial government also attempted to create an apolitical local consciousness in order to boost the legitimacy of the colonial rule. Under Governor Murray MacLehose's administration, Hong Kong underwent a massive decolonised reform. The aim of creating a local identity was to raise the bid for the British side in the upcoming negotiation over Hong Kong sovereignty after 1997. The British government also carefully avoided to provoke Hong Kong people's British belonging as it had already decided to prevent massive migration from Hong Kong to Britain.

Second wave

The second wave of the local consciousness exploded in the 1990s, when the colonial rule was coming to an end. As the 1989 Tiananmen massacre sparked great fear about the coming Communist rule and the future of Hong Kong, the local cultural scene resorted to reflect, investigate and consolidate enthusiasm about local culture and Hong Kong identity. It heavily cited post-colonial theories and praised the diverse nature of the Hong Kong culture and uniqueness. It rejected Sinocentric chauvinism and upheld the cosmopolitanism Hong Kong embodied as an international city, as well as the liberal ideals of inclusiveness, diversity and trans-nationality and reflectivity. It also emphasised the importance of the universal values, diverse civil society, civic education, press freedom and academic freedom after 1997.

Third wave

The protest against the Guangzhou-Hong Kong XRL outside of the Legislative Council building in 2010.

The 2003 1 July march recorded an estimated 500,000 to 700,000 people demonstrated against against the government, the largest protest since the 1989 Tiananmen square protest. Many post-80s (generation who born in the 1980s, Millennials in western terminology) were inspired by the political movement and came out onto the streets. They were also upset by the rapid urban development which swept away old neighbourhoods and community relations. They were strongly opposed to the political and economic monopoly of vested interests, the collusion between business and government and questioned the nature of the capitalist system in Hong Kong.

They were also dissatisfied with the liberal democracy camp, the opposition camp, which was not effective enough to challenge the system. Several conservation movements led by the young generation activists broke out, including the protests against the demolitions of the Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier, the Queen's Pier, and the buildings on Lee Tung Street in 2006 and 2007. The protests against the construction of the Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail link to Guangzhou (XRL) escalated in 2009 and 2010 and became the highest point of the new localist movements.

Rise of the localist movements

Chin Wan's city-state theory

The failure of the peaceful anti-XRL protests damaged the reputation of the moderate left-leaning activists. Some turned to a more radical approach. Scholar Chin Wan published the book, On the Hong Kong City-State in 2011 which triggered fierce public debate and was popular among the young generation. In the book, Chin suggests abandoning the hope for a democratic China and positions the democracy movement in a "localist" perspective, in order to counter Beijing's "neo-imperialist" policies toward Hong Kong. It analysed the potential threat of the influx of mainland tourists and immigrants to the established institutions and social customs of Hong Kong which is likely part of the scheme of Beijing's colonisation, including the increasing use of Mandarin Chinese and Simplified Chinese in daily use and schools.

He advocates "Hong Kong First" and "Hong Kong-China separation" positions in order to protect Hong Kong from cultural genocide. He suggested building Hong Kong into an autonomous city-state, merging the British culture with a restored Chinese culture. Chin's view was largely accepted by Hong Kong independence advocates and those who advocate for the restoration of British rule in Hong Kong.

Since then, it has created a paradigm shift on Hong Kong local consciousness from the left-wing discourse of reinterpreting colonial history, cherishing the inclusive and diverse nature of the Hong Kong culture to the right-wing discourse of anti-Chinese sentiment and nostalgia for British rule. Chin also tells his followers to use violent action as the means for defending Hong Kong's autonomy. He set up his own autonomist group called the Hong Kong Resurgence Order.

Another group inspired by Chin's idea called the Hong Kong Nativism Power was set up in 2011. They protested against the inclusion of non-Hong Kong permanent residents in the HK$6,000 cash handouts program as demanded by new immigrants support groups and called for a revision of the current immigration policy.

Hong Kong–Mainland conflict

Further information: Hong Kong–Mainland conflict

The highly controversial advertisement paid for by Hong Kong citizens, depicting Mainlanders as locusts on Apple Daily

At the same time, many conflicts between Mainlanders and Hongkongers also occurred due to the influx of the tourists and immigrants, such as the Dolce & Gabbana controversy, the Kong Qingdong incident, birth tourism, and parallel trading among mainland tourists, among others. These incidents and issues intensified the anti-Chinese sentiment among the Hong Kong public. Some of them published an advertisement on local newspapers, calling Mainlanders "locusts" who steal resources from Hongkongers.

At the same time, the localists are hostile toward the pan-democracy camp, as they disagreed with the pan-democrats's unrealistic cosmopolitanism and their wish for a democratic China at Hong Kong's expense. They are also dissatisfied with the ineffectiveness of the pan-democrats, despite their 20 years of existence as the opposition party. On the other hand, the right-wing populist tendency of the localist movements was condemned as "xenophobic" and "nativist" by mainstream activists and the government. The conflict between the left and the right wings of the movement resulted in great disunity of the whole democratic cause.

In the 2012 Legislative Council election, some pan-democrat candidates, including Claudia Mo of the Civic Party and Gary Fan of the Neo Democrats, adopted some of the localist ideas and raised concerns on the tourist and immigration policies, although both of them claimed to be moderates. For that, they set up a parliamentary group called the Hong Kong First. Radical legislator Wong Yuk-man, ex-member of People Power and his protege Wong Yeung-tat, leader of the radical activist group Civic Passion, also became enthusiastically pro-localist.

Criticising the annual vigil to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown held by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China for having a Chinese nationalistic theme, Civic Passion organised its alternative 4 June rally in Tsim Sha Tsui. The alternative event attracted 200 people in 2013 and 7,000 in 2014, compared with 180,000 and 150,000 respectively for the main event.

Hong Kong Nationalism

The Undergrad, the official press of the Hong Kong University Students' Union (HKUSU) published a few articles on the question of a Hong Kong nation. In the February 2014 issue, “The Hong Kong nation deciding its own fate” and the September 2014 issue, “Democracy and Independence for Hong Kong,” raise the localist discourse to the level of political autonomy for Hong Kong, which in effect would be tantamount to Hong Kong independence. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying used his new year’s policy address to direct harsh criticism at the Undergrad for promoting Hong Kong independence which offset another wave of debate about independence and hot demand on the book Hong Kong Nationalism, which consists of the published articles.

Umbrella Revolution

Further information: 2014 Hong Kong protest

In 2013, legal scholar Benny Tai from the moderate faction advocated a civil obedience plan to pressure Beijing to implement genuine universal suffrage in Hong Kong, which later known as the Occupy Central movement. The localists were largely against it, mainly because they believed it was a plot by the pan-democrats to capitalise the popular support for their own interests. The localists participated in the protests, many of whom advocated a more "militant" approach as opposed to the strict principles of non-violence the Occupy Central trio advocated. The localists gathered at the Mong Kok site as opposed to the main site in Admiralty led by the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS). They were also dissatisfied with the HKFS leadership, opining that their incompetence cost the whole movement.

Post-occupy localist movements

The disaffection toward the HKFS resulted in a great split as the localist-controlled student unions collectively quit the HKFS. In 2015, the Hong Kong University Students' Union (HKUSU), the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Students' Union (HKPUSU), the Hong Kong Baptist University Students' Union (HKBUSU) and the City University of Hong Kong Students' Union (CityUSU), four of the eight student unions broke up with the HKFS.

After the occupy movement, several organisations named "Umbrella organisations" by the media were set up, in which many of them carried certain degree of localist discourses, notably Youngspiration and Hong Kong Indigenous. Youngspiration took part in the 2015 District Council election with many other newcoming "Umbrella soldiers" and eventually won one seat out of nine candidates.

The Hong Kong Independence Party was formed in April 2015 advocating an independent Hong Kong within the British Commonwealth..

Anti-parallel trading protests

Main article: Anti-parallel trading protests

"Liberate Sha Tin" with the British Hong Kong flag raised.

The localists including Hong Kong Indigenous and Civic Passion also mobilised on the Internet and launched several "Liberate campaigns" in districts such as Tuen Mun on 8 February, Sha Tin on 15 February and Yuen Long on 1 March where parallel traders were active. Protesters were not only against the parallel traders, but also the overcrowded environment in Hong Kong caused by the multi-entry permits issued to mainland tourists. They scolded the mainland tourists, aggressively picketed the alleged shoppersand and clashed with the police, in which many of them turned violent. After the third demonstration, the central government said it would restrict Shenzhen residents to one visit a week.

Siu Yau-wai case

In July 2015, localists including Hong Kong Indigenous and Youngspiration marched to the Immigration Department to demand deportation of an undocumented 12-year-old Mainland boy Siu Yau-wai, who lived in Hong Kong for nine years without identification.

A fire set in Mong Kok by the protesters during the clashes.

Mong Kok unrest

Main article: 2016 Mong Kok civil unrest

In February 2016 during the Chinese New Year, Hong Kong Indigenous called for action online to shield the street hawkers, who sold Hong Kong street food in which they saw as part of the Hong Kong culture, from government health department inspectors. The protests escalated to violent clashes between the police and the protesters. The protestors threw glass bottles, bricks, flower pots and trash bins toward the police and set fires in the streets which the government condemned as riots. The Chinese Foreign Ministry for the first time naming the localists as "separatists", claiming that "the riot [was] plotted mainly by local radical separatist organisation."

Localist parties and groups

• Civic Passion
• Hong Kong First
• Hong Kong Independence Party
• Hong Kong Indigenous
• Hong Kong Localism Power
• Hong Kong Resurgence Order
• Hongkonger Front
• Neo Democrats
• Sha Tin Community Network
• Youngspiration

Localist leaders

• Chin Wan
• Gary Fan
• Edward Leung
• Claudia Mo
• Ray Wong
• Wong Yeung-tat
• Wong Yuk-man

See also

• Hong Kong autonomy movement
• Hong Kong independence movement
• Liberalism in Hong Kong
• Taiwanese localization movement