One day we will look at #StandWithHongKong as one of the great movements inspired by social media alongside #Kony2012 and #ArabSpring
...they were too busy chatting and munching on their donuts to bother about the type of and modus operandi of criminal activities going on under their nose.
This is absolutely ridiculous! Everyone knows police are also amazing at taking steroids and pain pills, yet I don't hear you say a thing about that!
Well national identity construction (basically a story telling myth) usually involve a combination of improvements in material wellbeing, military victories against perceived enemies, and a self identity that is deemed both unique by the majority of the nation and worth passing down to the next generation. For HK, the dilemma is that the city really improved remarkably in terms of material wellbeing under British rule. So for HKers’ memories, wealth equals being second class citizens in the British Empire, so no wonder they cry for the Queen. Yet, HK’s experience during WWII (massacre committed by the Japanese), along with refugees escaping the PLA during the Chinese Civil War, also makes most HKers self-identity as culturally Chinese (not British due to their status as colonial subjects as opposed to British citizens), but only somewhat related to the Republic of China as opposed to the newly established PRC in 1949. And of course, HK’s economic growth stood in contrast to the PRC’s failed Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. During much of the 1980s and 1990s, HK was far more developed and took a leadership in China’s overall economic reform. One can argue that for much of the recent history, there is little reason for HKers to identify with and be proud of the PRC. If there were a China for HKers to identify with, it would be the KMT-led ROC (ultimately held out against Japan, albeit in a pyrrhic victory, unlike the Brits who were defeated by the IJA in the battle of HK) To recap, HK gained its wealth under British rule during the Cold War despite NOT being equal to British citizens. And much of the HK population were made of folks who did not benefit from the early years of the PRC, if not outright victims. So HK’s Chinese identity has been quite a dilemma for Beijing. In another words, it is difficult to come up with a story to persuade HKers that the PRC (CCP-led party state) is their righteous overlord, unless Beijing could somehow allow HKers to accumulate even more wealth and opportunities (much more than what the Brits brought to HK) by trading with Mainland. The Shenzhen shopping phenomenon is a positive sign for stability and willingness of HKers to engage with Mainlanders in a pragmatic way, but much more needed to happen in order to address HKers’ identity crisis. Also, with the whole U.S.-led geo-economic containment of the PRC, it is hard to HK to gain additional wealth (and for average HK folks to feel a surge of opportunities) by a huge margin.
Your analysis is mostly correct, but in your previous post, you have a big incorrect assumption
No, most HKers are still liberals (and many still have wet dreams about independence). And they prefer to be ruled by the Brits if given the option
You are really just thinking of a specific band of people who grew up in the 80's/90's. Prior to this, corruption was rampant in HK (including street level shakedowns by beat cops), leading to the establishment of the ICAC in the 70's. The 70's was a cleaning up period. Older generation folks remember full well the hard ceiling put on top of them by the British authorities, and HK wasn't all greener pastures as many people left for US/CAN/AUS which is why Cantonese was the lingua franca of Chinatowns of the 80's (replacing Toisanese/Taishanhua).
HK's economic growth was built on exploiting a cheap labour supply from mainland China, then basically becoming the only trade valve for a country of a billion people. The place would have literally died of starvation if not for the intervention of Zhou Enlai to supply food and fresh water, so it was always mainland that brought wealth to HK.
You also overlook the riots of the 60's (again older folks remember), partially spillover from the CR, and partially unrest exploited by party members due to the mismanagement by the British.
Post handover, Shenzhen was always a popular place for day trips for HKers, you could get custom tailored suits, paintings commissioned, knock off goods, massages and other such things for a cheap price, so this is not a new thing either.
If you heard the statistics of the riots, roughly a third were minors, these are kids who were not even born under colonization, so they cannot have fond memories. They were simply brainwashed by their teachers (the teachers' union was basically infiltrated by foreign intelligence, just google "HK teachers union foreign influence" and tell me how many stories are not from NED-affiliated NGOs like Amnesty or HRW, or USAGM like VoA and RFA)
The central government made a big mistake by not keeping a closer eye on these developments, but they know better (or should know better) now.