【Commentary】We are all Hongkongers
“As long as we share the same belief, and the same passion for Hong Kong and its culture, regardless of our race and language, we are all Hongkongers.”
From the Anti-National Education protests to the Umbrella Movement, and from the Fish Ball Revolution to the Anti-Extradition Movement, Hong Kong has experienced a great deal of social movements over the past few years. During these movements, apart from the tension between ‘the braves’ and ‘the PRNs (peaceful, rational, non-violent)’ during last year’s protest, the most heated discussions have had to do with the Hongkonger identity.
Superficially speaking, ‘Hongkonger’ could be broadly defined as someone who’s born and raised in the city. Before last summer, most thought of Hongkongers as someone of East Asian descent who can speak fluent Cantonese. Based on this conception, a South Asian who can also speak fluent Cantonese, and a white doctor who has lived in Hong Kong for several decades were not considered Hongkongers. On the contrary, an American-born Chinese who’s born and raised abroad and has not mastered Cantonese ironically counts as a Hongkonger.
This definition doesn’t sound right. Rather, it appears unfair as it is based primarily on one’s race and ethnicity.
The ‘Be Water’ protests last year altered many people’s definition of who is indeed a Hongkonger.
Vivek Mahbubani is an Indian Hongkonger who was born and raised in the city. Growing up, he was alienated because of his skin color. As a result, it took him a very long time to accept his identity, and to feel proud of his ethnicity. He still remembers the march in Tsim Sha Tsui on 20 October 2019. While he was handing out bottled water outside of Chungking Mansions that day, someone from the march said to him, “Don’t forget that you are a Hongkonger!” While this interaction seemed miniscue and insignificant, it affirmed his belief. He was deeply moved by it. In an interview with us, he once noted, “Hong Kong isn’t an ethnicity or a race. It isn’t a skin color or a religion either. Hong Kong is a spirit!” He believes that the Hong Kong spirit is a shared value. He hopes that he can proudly claim for the rest of his life that he is indeed a Hongkonger.
W immigrated to Hong Kong with his parents from Pakistan when he was just 9 years old. He has always kept a low profile because he believes that as an ethnic minority who does not speak fluent Cantonese, he does not enjoy much freedom of speech. However, he believes that regardless of race and ethnicity, and of language differences, as long as we are members of this society, we are Hongkongers. He often has heated debates with his friends on identity and sense of belonging.
With a Chinese-Macanese mother and a British father who grew up in Hong Kong since he was 6, Lindsay Varty does not look like a ‘Hongkonger.’ However, because of her parents’ influence, she has always seen Hong Kong as her home. She believes that who is and is not a Hongkonger should not be determined by one’s appearance. The moment Hong Kong culture becomes part of her life, she finds herself identifying as a local Hongkonger.
Born in Canada and having lived in Hong Kong for just a short period of time in her childhood, Jade never identifies as a Hongkonger. She believes that a Hongkonger should be born and raised in Hong Kong, and have a life there. However, since the Umbrella Movement in 2014, she started revisiting her identity as a Hongkonger. The Anti-Extradition Movement in 2019 made her feel powerless while abroad. She considered moving back to Hong Kong, so she could participate in marches and protests. After careful considerations, Jade took one week off work to participate in the movement in Hong Kong. Even after her firsthand experience in Hong Kong, she continues to feel helpless back in Canada. She has taken to heart the protest maxim, ‘Brothers climb mountains together, each in their own ways.’ She has been actively organising exhibitions about the Hong Kong protest in Toronto, hoping to contribute to the movement as a Hongkonger.
Even though they grew up in Hong Kong, Ghost and John—two alumni from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology—have always felt confused and uneasy about their Hongkonger identity. Despite their ongoing confusion, they feel a new sense of clarity through dance. Even if they are abroad, they hope to continue working towards the movement as Hongkongers.
These examples seem to all demonstrate that it is less important to define in fine grain who counts as a Hongkonger. As long as we share the same belief, and the same passion for Hong Kong and its culture, regardless of our race and language, we are all Hongkongers.
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This article was featured on Apply Daily English Version. See the article @ https://hk.appledaily.com/EngNews/20210109/V7H7JQPXP5DWJIE6WRDHEAOLEA/