Localism in Hong Kong: Its Origins, Development and Prospect

Abstract

The paper firstly aims to analyse the changing political landscape after the Legislative Council election in September 2017. Secondly, the social political context in which localism emerged is delineated. An analysis of the rise of the politics of democratization and identities in the post-Handover Hong Kong is provided. The policies of “One Country, Two Systems” (1C2S), initiated by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to resolve the sovereignty issue of 1997 are discussed. It is argued that in the implementation of the 1C2S since the Handover in 1997, the Chinese party/state has shifted from non-interventionism to pervasive integration, which violates its pledges of “fifty years unchanged”. The Basic Law is arbitrarily interpreted to suit political expediency. Its Leninist absorption of Hong Kong into Chinese authoritarianism has directly triggered the rise of localism in the younger generation. The paper also explores the two theoretical discourses of the “independence” and “self-determination” narratives in contemporary Hong Kong and finally the prospect of the “independence” movement is examined.

Keywords

• “One Country Two systems” (1C2S)
• localism/nativism
• universal suffrage
• democratization
• identities
• nation-building movement
• Occupy Central
• Umbrella Movement