Localism in Hong Kong

Localism in the western context constitutes libertarian ideas of a decentralised local government as opposed to the central government, and stresses on self-sufficiency, agriculture, and communalism. Although Hong Kong localism also stresses the city's economic self-sufficiency and local democracy, it also emphasises the mainland Chinese's cultural and political threat to the city, and attempts to reinforce a Hong Kong identity as opposed to the Chinese national identity. It often includes an anti-immigration stance, and it has been said that "nativism" is synonymous with localism. Some localists call themselves "autonomists", while the Beijing government brands them as "secessionists". ==History of local consciousness in Hong Kong==

Hong Kong was established in 1841 as a free port. The colonial government encouraged the free movement of capital and labour and there was not a strict sense of "Hong Kong residents" or "Hong Kong people". Residents were not registered by the government until 1949, a response to the influx of refugees fleeing from the Communists' takeover in mainland China. Sociologist Lui Tai-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 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. There were few advocates for decolonisation of Hong Kong from the British rule during the post-war period, notably Ma Man-fai and the Democratic Self-Government Party of Hong Kong in the 1960s. The 1970s saw unprecedented waves of student movements, such as the Chinese Language Movement and the anti-corruption movement, the defend the Diaoyu Islands movement, and so on, which were independent of the left-right spectrum and became the first wave of local consciousness. Many post-80s (the generation who were born in the 1980s, millennials in western terminology) were inspired by the democracy movement and came out onto the streets. 7.1 People Pile was one of the groups which emerged after the protest. They were upset by the rapid urban development which was sweeping away old neighbourhoods and communities (gentrification). They were strongly opposed to the political and economic monopoly of vested interests, collusion between business and government, and questioned the nature of the capitalist system in Hong Kong. Protests against the construction of the Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail link to Guangzhou (XRL) escalated in 2009 and 2010 and established a new high point of the localist movement. ==Rise of contemporary localism==

Chin Wan's city-statism The failure of the peaceful anti-XRL protests damaged the reputation of the left-leaning moderate 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 positioning 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 mainland immigrants to the established institutions and social customs of Hong Kong, which he considered likely part of a colonisation scheme by Beijing, including the increasing use of Mandarin Chinese and simplified Chinese in daily use and in schools. He advocates "Hong Kong First" and "Hong Kong–China separation" positions in order to protect Hong Kong from "cultural genocide", arguing that Hong Kong was already highly autonomous under Britain, and had formed its own identity with the preserved Chinese culture joining with British culture and more. He suggested consolidating Hong Kong into a fully autonomous city-state 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 diversification in Hong Kong's political discussion, from reinterpreting colonial history, nostalgia for British rule, to cherishing historical or current Hong Kong culture, and various forms of anti-Chinese sentiment through different ideologies like anti-communism, Confucianism, Taoism, constitutionalism, liberalism, socialism and more. Hong Kong–Mainland conflict store over the alleged discriminatory controversy 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 in local newspapers, calling Mainlanders "locusts" who steal resources from Hongkongers. In mid 2012, the government's decision to implement Moral and National Education was criticised for applauding the communist and nationalist positions of the Chinese government and attacking Western-style democracy. A student-led group, Scholarism, headed by Joshua Wong, occupied the Hong Kong government headquarters, drawing a massive protester turnout and succeeding in securing a government backdown. "Hong Kong Nationalism" The Undergrad, the official publication of the Hong Kong University Students' Union (HKUSU), from February 2014, published a few articles on the subject of a Hong Kong nation. Articles entitled "The Hong Kong nation deciding its own fate" and "Democracy and Independence for Hong Kong" raised 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 2015 New Year's policy address to direct harsh criticism at the magazine for promoting Hong Kong independence, fanning both the debate and sales of the book Hong Kong Nationalism which featured the articles. Umbrella Revolution In 2013, legal scholar Benny Tai, considered a moderate democrat, advocated a civil disobedience plan to pressure Beijing to implement genuine universal suffrage in Hong Kong. The plan matured into Occupy Central. The radical localists were largely against it, mainly because they believed it was a plot by pan-democrats to hijack popular support. Student activists from Scholarism and Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) emerged as the leaders in the Occupy protests. They posted the slogan "self-determination of our fate" outside the government headquarters. Radical localists, many of whom criticised the occupation plan before, participated in the protests and advocated a more "militant" approach as opposed to the strict principles of non-violence advocated by the three promoters of Occupy Central and the student activists. They gathered at the Mong Kok site, as opposed to the main site in Admiralty which was led by the HKFS. They blamed the HKFS leadership for failure of the protest. 2019–20 protests ==Localism in popular culture==

Identity Political localism and cultural localism coexist in Hong Kong. Political localism is an idea that is the opposite of centralising government power, and which advocates for deliberative democracies. Cultural localism focuses on the popular culture side, including languages, daily lives, films, and books. It is associated with Hong Kong's typical lifestyle. Moreover, localist "Hongkonger" ideas include the mindset of separating Hong Kong people from mainland Chinese orientated identity. Cultural localism does not completely reject the Chinese identity. It does not resist traditional Chinese culture, such as traditional customs and festivals, but rejects the present Chinese identity and contemporary Chinese culture. While localists promote Cantonese and speak Cantonese, the Hong Kong government continues to promote and popularise Mandarin. popularising Mandarin by starting teaching Mandarin from kindergarten, as teaching Cantonese separated Hong Kong from mainland China. Meanwhile, pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao called the film a "pro-independence film". China decided to stop the live broadcast of the ceremony due to the film's politically sensitive nature. In response, one of the film's directors said that he does not see Ten Years as promoting a political agenda, but imagining the future of Hong Kong and reflecting Hong Kong's political reality. Some theatres in Hong Kong also refused to broadcast the film despite it grossing over . This included Broadway Circuit, one of Hong Kong's main theaters chains. In its explanation, it claimed that there were "too many films" screening at that time. A film critic and professor at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts commented that he had never heard of "a film [selling] full houses at every single screening [being] pulled out from the theatres", and stated that "no exhibitor will admit to censorship or direct pressure from China". As a result, Ten Years was also shown on private screens at universities and rented places. Ying E Chi reaffirmed that the film was a documentary that never praised or advocated for an individual, and Ying e Chi suspected the office's decision was political censorship. The student union reaffirmed that their aim was to let students understand Hong Kong's local history, and said that they would continue the broadcast, and hoped that the university would stop restricting political freedoms. ==Self identity of Hong Kong citizens==

Over the past 23 years, Hong Kong citizens' self-identity has evolved. In 2008, most Hong Kong citizens responded and identified themselves as Chinese, but by 2019, most people in Hong Kong regard themselves as Hongkongers. The self-identity of Hong Kong citizens changes through time. Major events like the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests were key factors that changed citizens' perception of their ethnic identity. The research was conducted by the Hong Kong University Public Opinion Program (HKUPOP). HKUPOP was closed on 30 June 2019. Its Director, Dr. Robert Chung, set up a new organization, the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, and continued its polls and studies. The research results on citizen's categorical ethnic identity were quoted by media from different political spectrum, including the Hong Kong Free Press and MingPao. The most well-known research by the HKUPOP (a new organisation called HKPORI has taken the research mission) is about people's ethnic identity. The research was first started in August 1997, right after the Handover of Hong Kong. The HKUPOP team conducted telephone surveys by interviewers to target Cantonese speakers in Hong Kong age 18 or above. The sample size of these surveys was more than 500 successful cases each time. Since May 2000, the number has been increased to more than 1000 and weighted according to the gender-age distribution of the Hong Kong population. The research focuses on the categorical ethnic identity of "Chinese" and "Hongkonger," but these identities can exist non-exclusively. Thus the survey provides 7 options for respondents: Hongkonger (香港人), Hongkonger in China (中國的香港人), Chinese in Hong Kong (香港的中國人), Chinese (中國人), Hongkonger and Hongkonger in China (香港人+中國的香港人), Chinese and Chinese in Hong Kong (中國人+香港的中國人) and mixed identity (混合身分). In the June 2008 survey, during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, only 18.1% of respondents identified themselves as a "Hongkonger," while 38.6% of respondents identified themselves as "Chinese," which was the highest point throughout the 22 years survey. In the last survey conducted in June 2019, when the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement first started, research results show that only 10.8% of respondents identified themselves as "Chinese," and 52.9% of respondents identified themselves as a "Hongkonger," which reached the highest point since 1997. Research on citizens' categorical ethnic identity from 1997 to 2019. Demonstrates a significant increase in the categories of "Hongkonger" and "Hongkonger and Hongkonger in China," whereas the number of identifying themselves as "Chinese," "Chinese in Hong Kong," "Chinese and Chinese in Hong Kong" and "mixed identity" had decreased. ==Post-occupy localist movements==

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. Hong Kong Indigenous is notable for its protest style, in which it calls for a "militant" approach with "some kind of clash", as opposed to pan-democrats' "gentle approach" of non-violent civil disobedience. The Hong Kong Independence Party was formed in April 2015 advocating an independent Hong Kong within the British Commonwealth. HKFS disaffiliation campaign The localists' disaffection toward the HKFS resulted in a great split in the student federation. The localists launched a campaign quitting the HKFS. By the end of 2015, four of the eight student unions consisting the federation, 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), broke up with the HKFS. Anti-parallel trading protests during February 2015 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. Siu, whose parents are alive and well in mainland China, stayed with his grandparents after having overstayed his two-way permit nine years ago. Pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Chan Yuen-han advised and assisted the boy and his grandmother to obtain a temporary ID and pleaded for compassion from the local community. Some called on the authorities to consider the case on a humanitarian basis and grant Siu permanent citizenship while many others, afraid that the case would open the floodgates to appeals from other illegal immigrants, asked for the boy to be repatriated. The boy later returned to his parents in mainland China. Mong Kok unrest in the morning of 9 February 2016. 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's crackdown. The protest escalated to violent clashes between the police and the protesters. The protesters 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 labelled the involved localists as "separatists", claiming that "the riot [was] plotted mainly by local radical separatist organisation." Hong Kong Indigenous nominated Edward Leung, who would later rise to prominence by his involvement in the Mong Kok clashes and arrest by police, in the 2016 New Territories East by-election. Localist groups and figures who campaigned for Leung included Youngspiration, Civic Passion, Chin Wan and Wong Yuk-man. Leung finished in third place, with 15 per cent of the vote, behind the moderate pan-democrat Civic Party Alvin Yeung with 37 per cent and pro-Beijing DAB's Holden Chow with 34 per cent. Leung claimed localism had gained a foothold as the third most important power in local politics, standing side by side with the pan-democracy and pro-Beijing camps. The better-than-expected result was considered to further boost the localists' morale and their ambition of running in the September general election. Hong Kong independence The University of Hong Kong student magazine Undergrad published an article in March 2016 headed "Hong Kong Youth's Declaration" arguing for Hong Kong independence on expiry of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 2047. It demands a democratic government be set up after 2047 and for the public to draw up the Hong Kong constitution. It also denounces the Hong Kong government for becoming a "puppet" of the Communist Party, "weakening" the city's autonomy. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying dismissed the claim, stating that "Hong Kong has been a part of China since ancient times, and this is a fact that will not change after 2047." University of Hong Kong council chairman Arthur Li described the idea of independence as nonsense, saying that "I don't think any wise person would listen." Hong Kong National Party, the first party openly advocates for Hong Kong independence and a Republic of Hong Kong established on 28 March 2016, drew attacks from the Beijing and SAR governments. The State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office issued a statement through the official Xinhua News Agency on 30 March 2016 condemning the party: "The action to establish a pro-independence organisation by an extremely small group of people in Hong Kong has harmed the country's sovereignty, security, endangered the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, and the core interests of Hong Kong... It is firmly opposed by all Chinese people, including some seven million Hong Kong people. It is also a serious violation of the country's constitution, Hong Kong's Basic Law and the relevant existing laws." The Hong Kong government issued a statement after the formation of the party, stating that "any suggestion that Hong Kong should be independent or any movement to advocate such 'independence' is against the Basic Law, and will undermine the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong and impair the interest of the general public... The SAR Government will take action according to the law." It is reported that about a dozen Hong Kong universities displayed large banners calling for the city's independence on China's National Day (October 1) of 2016. ==Electoral ventures and disqualifications==

New Territories East by-election In the 2015 District Council elections, a couple of localist candidates were elected including Kwong Po-yin of Youngspiration, Wong Chi-ken of Kowloon East Community and nonpartisan Clarisse Yeung. The Legislative Council by-election in New Territories East on 28 February 2016 was a milestone of the localist movements, as it was the first attempt for them to contest for the Legislative Council under localist banner. Youngspiration was initially considering fielding a candidate and called for a primary with the pan-democratic Civic Party. It later dropped out due to the lack of time for holding a primary. Edward Leung of Hong Kong Indigenous received a better-than expected result in the New Territories East by-election in February 2016 by taking more than 66,000 votes and gaining about 15 percent of the total votes. After the election, Leung claimed localism had gained a foothold as the third most important power in local politics, standing side by side with the pan-democracy and pro-Beijing camps. On 10 April 2016. six localist groups Youngspiration, Kowloon East Community, Tin Shui Wai New Force, Cheung Sha Wan Community Establishment Power, Tsz Wan Shan Constructive Power and Tuen Mun Community, formed an electoral alliance under the name "ALLinHK" planned to field candidates in four of the five geographical constituencies with the agenda to put forward a referendum on Hong Kong's self-determination, while Hong Kong Indigenous and another new pro-independence Hong Kong National Party also stated that they will run in the upcoming election. Demosisto, a left-leaning political party formed by Umbrella Revolution leaders Joshua Wong, Oscar Lai and Nathan Law was also formed on the same day. The political party aimed to field candidates in the upcoming election with the platform of "self-determination" of Hong Kong future. It allied with activists such as Eddie Chu and Lau Siu-lai. On 14 July 2016, the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) announced its plan to require all candidates to sign an additional "confirmation form" in the nomination to declare their understanding of Hong Kong being an inalienable part of China as stipulated in the Basic Law, in response to many potential localist candidates advocating or promoting Hong Kong independence. Although Civic Passion's Alvin Cheng agreed to sign the confirmation form, other candidates including Hong Kong Indigenous' Edward Leung and Hong Kong National Party's Chan Ho-tin refused to sign. Leung subsequently signed the form the court refused to immediately hear the judicial review. After the end of the nomination period, six localist candidates received emails from the EAC which said their nominations were "invalidated", which included Chan Ho-tin, Democratic Progressive Party's Yeung Ke-cheong, Nationalist Hong Kong's Nakade Hitsujiko, Conservative Party's Alice Lai Yee-man, Hong Kong Indigenous' Edward Leung and independent Chan Kwok-keung. New Territories East constituency returning officer Cora Ho Lai-sheung rejected Leung's nomination on the basis that she did not trust Leung "genuinely changed his previous stance for independence." Eddie Chu, a social activist and environmentalist, bagged more than 84,000 votes, the highest votes received in the geographical constituencies, without any party backing in New Territories West. After the election victory, Chu explained his slogan of "democratic self-determination" was different from the "militant" localists' slogan of "national self-determination" as he disagreed with the notion of nationalism. For the "militant" faction, Baggio Leung, leader of Youngspiration won in New Territories East after his ally, Hong Kong Indigenous' Edward Leung was barred from poll while Yau Wai-ching won last seat in Kowloon West by about 400 votes at the expense of veteran Wong Yuk-man of the Proletariat Political Institute. Wong's ally, Civic Passion leader Wong Yeung-tat also lost in his second bid in Kowloon East. Only Cheng Chung-tai from the electoral alliance won a seat in the New Territories West. LegCo oath-taking controversy In October 2016, the two Youngspiration legislators Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching were sued by the government for their oath-taking. The two claimed that "As a member of the Legislative Council, I shall pay earnest efforts in keeping guard over the interests of the Hong Kong nation," displayed a "Hong Kong is not China" banner, inserted their own words into the oaths and mispronounced "People's Republic of China" as "people's re-fucking of Chee-na" when they took the oath. In November, the spokesman of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office stated that "[Beijing] will absolutely neither permit anyone advocating secession in Hong Kong nor allow any pro-independence activists to enter a government institution," after the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) interpret the Article 104 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which aimed to disqualify the two legislators. On 14 July 2017, the court unseated four more pro-democracy legislators, including Demosisto's Nathan Law and Lau Siu-lai who ran their campaign with "self-determination" slogan. ==Localist figures and organisations==

Politicians and office holders • Cheng Chung-tai • Eddie Chu • Gary Fan • Lau Siu-lai • Ventus Lau • Nathan Law • Baggio Leung • Claudia Mo • Wong Yuk-man • Yau Wai-ching Intellectuals, writers and activists • Chan Ho-tin • Alvin Cheng • Chin Wan • Chapman To • Cheng Lap • Hung Ho-fung • Edward Leung • Ray Wong • Roy Tam • Deanie Ip • Kengo Ip • Chip Tsao • Gregory Wong • Wong Yeung-tat Magazines and media • Channel i • Local Press • MyRadio • Passion Times • The Undergrad Organisations • Alliance of Resuming British Sovereignty over Hong Kong and Independence • Christians to the World • Civic Passion • Conservative Party • CUHK Local Society • Democracy Groundwork • Democratic Progressive Party of Hong Kong • Demosistō • Green Sense • HK First • Hong Kong National Front • Hong Kong Autonomy Movement • Hong Kong Civile Party • Hong Kong Independence Party • Hong Kong Indigenous • Hong Kong Localism Power • Hong Kong National Party • Hong Kong Resurgence Order • Hong Konger Front • Hongkongers Priority • Kowloon East Community • Land Justice League • Liber Research Community • Nationalist Hong Kong • Neo Democrats • North District Parallel Imports Concern Group • Proletariat Political Institute • Sha Tin Community Network • Studentlocalism • Tai Po Sunwalker • Tin Shui Wai New Force • Tsz Wan Shan Constructive Power • Youngspiration ==See also==