English
Hong king has been a country under British rule until the year 1997. In 1997 an agreement was reached to transfer the administration of Hong Kong from the British colonialists to the Chinese. This is the personification of decolonization without independence. The people of Hong Kong did not really get their independence. They just got under new management. The agreement however was that Hong Kong would maintain its original autonomy. The Chinese were not allowed to force their philosophical ideologies of communism under on to the people of Hong Kong. The people of Hong Kong would also maintain their semi democratic form of government and administration where they get to choose a fraction of their leaders both on the national and local level. This is a social experiment and a ticking time bomb at that and this bomb will go off sooner or later. Despite the claims of independence by the British the people of Hong Kong are not really independent. They have just gotten a new system of administration that is different from the previous system of administration only because of the proximity of Hong Kong to china in relation to the proximity of Hong Kong to Britain. Despite the assumptions of independence and a semi democratic government the ironic fact is that most of the elected officials in Hong Kong have very strong ties to Beijing. China is choosing the leaders that lead Hong Kong and the people are being fed the illusion of a semi democratic system. This simply means that china is in full control of Hong Kong, politically at least. The people of Hong Kong do not have true autonomy and despite the agreements made in 1997 it is only a matter of time before the Chinese philosophy of communism rubs off on the people of Hong Kong.
In order to identify and clearly understand the ever increasing hostilities between the people of Hong Kong and the people of china it is very important to explore the identity of the people of Hong Kong. During the period of time that the people of Hong Kong were under British rule they grew in terms of their culture. Due to their experiences and system of administration the people of Hong Kong grew and developed their own unique culture.as a result of this time period the people of Hong Kong gained a sense of self identity. They developed their own cultural practices that appealed and reflected on their way of life. The people of Hong Kong also developed their own social practices and social norms that they deemed acceptable contrary to other norms that they deemed socially undesirable and completely unacceptable. A good example can be derived from their form of eating.in Hong Kong people frown upon eating in public.it is considered as highly unsanitary. Eating in public is also considered disrespectful to the people around. This is clear evidence of a social practice unique to the people of Hong Kong. Many places all over the world for example the United States of America and even the people’s republic of china have absolutely no problem with people eating in public. This is tangible and irrefutable evidence that the people of Hong Kong developed their own cultural practices and a sense of national identity that is different even from that of the immediate neighbors of Hong Kong for example the people’s republic of china. This realization is pivotal in getting to the root of the problem concerning the increasing tensions between Hong Kong and china. Clearly Hong Kong and china are two very different laces in terms of culture. Since culture is the main element in national identity it is thus safe to say that china and Hong Kong are two entirely different people. Their proximity to each other should not be confused for cultural similarity. In fact the people of Hong Kong do not identify themselves with the people of china. Neither do the people of china identify themselves with the people of Hong Kong. Theirs was a political marriage coined by London and Beijing as a matter of convenience. Their political union had absolutely nothing to do with their social or political ties. This was simply the working of top politicians in Britain and china working for vested interests that remain unknown to the public.
There also exists a sense of duality and split loyalties within Hongkongers of Chinese dissent. These people more often than not find themselves torn between two loyalties. They can either be loyal and patriotic to their Chinese heritage and lineage or they can be more inclined towards their Hong Kong mother land. A study in human psychology shows that all human beings have a yearning for a sense of self identity be it social, political, philosophical or otherwise. It is in the human nature to yearn for a sense of identity and to identify with something or someone. The increasing tensions between the people of Hong Kong and the people’s republic of china is not doing anything in terms of helping Hong Kong citizens of a Chinese dissent come to a conclusion on their loyalties. These people often find themselves sitting on the fence yet at the same time trying to identify with both sides that is the Chinese side and the Hong Kong side. This is becoming increasingly difficult verging on impossible. It is very difficult to cling onto two groups that are continuously drifting away from each other. This simply means that these Hong Kong citizens of Chinese origin cannot have their cake and eat it. As cultural and social tensions continue to rise between Hong Kong and china these people will have to pick a side sooner or later. This is really more difficult than it appears. These people would like to identify with their Chinese lineage yet at the same time be patriotic to their homeland of Hong Kong. The fact that these two groups are ever tearing away at each other makes this seemingly simple task ever more complicated verging on impossible with each passing day.
The attitude of mainland china towards Hong Kong is doing very little to help the sitiation.in fact it is by all means worsening it. Having enjoyed independence for a very long time the people of mainland china have had a very long time to build their culture. The people of china have strong cultural values which identify them as Chinese and to which they identify with ever increasing pride and dignity. Their pride in their Chinese culture and heritage has gone a very long way in building patriotism in china. China has become a compact cultural society that is unique in its own way with the citizens very proud of their country and their heritage. There is absolutely nothing wrong with citizens being proud of their country. This is perhaps the motivation behind the increasing industrialization in china. China is taking over global markets on all fields. There is barely a single country that can currently compete with china. The Chinese economy is at an all-time high and the future seems to be by all means very bright for china. The problem with too much national pride is that it creates a sense of degradation towards the less successful neighbors. This situation is clearly evident in analysis of the Chinese perception of Hong Kong. A Chinese professor is reported to have called the people of Hong Kong dogs bowing to their British masters. The video went viral and even had to be taken down from you tube due to its intense content in terms of hate speech. The sad fact is that the words of the professor are a mere reflection of the emotional disposition of the greater Chinese community.it has been reported that the Chinese people even go as far as referring to the people of Hong Kong as locusts and hypocrites. The Chinese people find the concept of the people of Hong Kong refusing to identify with them as not only ironic and hypocritical but also very sad in deed. The general perception on the ground is that the people of Hong Kong are on the receiving end of a favor and instead of accepting it with open arms they are sitting in the face of the Chinese. The feeling on the ground is that it is a privilege to be allowed to identify yourself with the people’s republic of china. A lot of Chinese people are of the opinion that the ill feelings being developed by the people of Hong Kong are as a result of British influence. To these people the people of Hong Kong are still under the manipulation of Britain. This is clearly evident from the response given by the Chinese on a study carried out in 1997. In the study a majority of the people of Hong Kong identified themselves as Hongkongers. A small number of people identified themselves as Chinese hongkongers and an even smaller number identified themselves as Chinese. This report was immediately rubbished by mainland china. The Chinese claimed that the report had been funded and influenced by the British to plant an anti-Chinese frame of thought in the minds of the people of Hong Kong.
The rising economic state of china has led to a lot of Chinese people migrating to Hong Kong. These people are either migrating to expand their businesses or start entirely new businesses. The increased migration of nationals from china to Hong Kong has only served to heighten the tension and resentment that is already at a fever pitch between Hong Kong and china. The migration from china to Hong Kong is only making an already bad situation even more worse. The situation on the ground is that the Hong Kong people are resentful towards the increased migration of Chinese nationals into their territory. The people of Hong Kong view the people of china as nothing more than parasites. The people of Hong Kong feel that the Chinese are only on their territory for its natural resources and economic potential. They feel that the Chinese have absolutely no intention of helping Hong Kong economically or otherwise. They are only migrating to Hong Kong to serve their own personal and selfish interests. According to the people of Hong Kong the Chinese are there to exploit their land economically. They are by all means parasites taking advantage of the people of Hong Kong. The feeling is that the Chinese will eventually deplete Hong Kong of all its natural resources. After depleting Hong Kong of all its natural resources the Chinese nationals will by all means move back to their mainland home. They are thus after their own interests and not the collective interest of both Hong Kong and china.
Politics is doing very little to help the tense situation between china and Hong kong.in fact the politics are worsening the matter. China and Hong Kong have very different political systems to begin with. China has a single party socialist form of government. Hong Kong has a form of government inclined towards democracy. These two territories are obviously worlds apart in terms of their political ideologies and inclinations. This means that Chinese politicians and Hong Kong politicians have very different goals and ideologies. The political ideologies being advocated by Chinese politicians and the political ideologies being brought to the table by Hong Kong politicians are only serving to worsen the situation and increase the tension between Hong Kong and china.
The situation between china and Hong Kong is a complicated one to say the least. The people of china and the people of Hong Kong have a lot of differences in both their cultures and ideologies.it will prove very difficult to try and fuse these two groups into one. Their differences are too vast and extensive to be simply reconciled by a political system.
Works Cited
CHEUNG, Associated Press Writer. "China Sect Stages Hong Kong Protest." AP Online [New York] 23 July 2003: 3. Print.
"Mutual Views, Mutual Hostility; Hong Kong Governor, Legislator Vie for Power." The Washington Post [washington] 26 Sept. 2008: 7. Print.
"Tense Countdown in Hong Kong; Hostility Clouds Planning for Transfer of Rule From Britain to China." The Washington Post [washington] 12 Apr. 2004: 5. Print.
lee, priestt. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Hong Kong: Survey and Mapping Office, Lands Dept., 2004. Print.
