Hong Kong, the Restless Homeland: A Local Perspective on the Origins of Hong Kong (Revised Edition)

A nation without history has no future.
Hong Kong people: Write your own history!
Hong Kong people are rewriting their own history, and it is happening now!

***Explanation for the Revised Edition: The first edition of this book was published after the Umbrella Movement and the Fishball Revolution, when Hong Kongers' civil resistance against the Chinese government's reluctance to fulfill its promise of "One Country, Two Systems" seemed to have failed. The "economic animal" nature of Hong Kongers led outsiders to assume that they would inevitably choose to align themselves with the CCP and integrate more deeply into China. But we were wrong about Hong Kong people.

The Chen Tongjia murder case in Taiwan prompted the Hong Kong government to plan amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, igniting the unstoppable "Anti-Extradition Movement" among Hong Kong residents. From the million-person street march on June 9, 2019, to the Hong Kong government's official withdrawal of the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance on October 23, the movement continues to this day. Hong Kongers take to the streets every weekend, engaging in a battle of wits with riot police, insisting on the "Five Demands, Not One Less," demanding an explanation from Chief Executive Carrie Lam. The latest developments have even devolved into a battle for territory at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Hong Kong Baptist University, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. During this period, some young people have committed suicide to demonstrate their resolve; others have been assaulted, arrested, and even killed. This determined and fierce resistance completely contradicts the image that Hong Kong and its people have presented to the world over the past century. But is it really so? Are we sure we really understand Hong Kong and its people?

When we warn ourselves, "Hong Kong today, Taiwan tomorrow," have we ever considered what Hong Kong was like in the past? Why has it become what it is today? Without a contextual understanding of Hong Kong's history, discussing Hong Kong's present and Taiwan's future is dangerous and irresponsible.

*** First Edition Explanation: What kind of existence does Hong Kong hold for Taiwan? Is it a shopping paradise easily accessible on weekends? Is it the bloody streets where Chow Yun-fat and Ti Lung clashed, or the Chungking Mansions where Anthony Cheung and Tony Leung clash? Is it the origin of Taipei's long-lined Tim Ho Wan Hong Kong-style tea restaurant and the Hao Hao Wei Ice and Fire radiant oil? Is it the birthplace of the even more intense and radical umbrella movement and the fish ball revolution that followed the Sunflower Movement? Or is it a place where Chinese influences intrude, from the vast number of free tour groups to the purchase of baby formula, diapers, and visits to prenatal checkups and confinement centers?

Before and after July 1, 1997, the day that changed Hong Kong's destiny for the next fifty years, how much did we know about Hong Kong and its people? Most of the books on Hong Kong's history were not written by Hong Kong people. There are works written from a British colonial perspective, and there are Chinese accounts that serve Chinese nationalism. In these accounts, Hong Kong people are merely passive partners, their identities blurred.

Xu Chengen, who considers himself an amateur scholar of Hong Kong studies, wrote "Hong Kong, the Depressed Homeland: A History of the Origins of Hong Kong from a Local Perspective" in order to counter the mainstream historical view that Hong Kong people are absent and to establish the historical status of the Hong Kong nation.

The purpose of this book is to explore the origins of the Hong Kong nation. The Hong Kong nation has three major historical roots:

1. Baiyue Heritage – Hong Kong was originally the land of the Baiyue, and its people are descendants of them. Although Lingnan began to be assimilated to Han culture in the 15th century, Baiyue culture still exists within the context of Han culture. This unique Lingnan culture has always distinguished Hong Kong from the Han-dominated empires of the north.

Second, Western Modern Civilization – Hong Kong's location on the coast of the South China Sea, near the international trading port of Guangzhou, exposed the marginalized ethnic groups living in the area to Western culture from an early age. These Westernized Chinese were the first group of Hong Kongers to consider Hong Kong their home.

Universal values ​​such as freedom, democracy and the rule of law, which originated in the West, had become an indispensable part of Hong Kong's core values ​​before the handover of sovereignty.

Third, Mainland Chinese Remnants – Hong Kong, despite being located outside and adjacent to China, has not participated in the bloody and violent nation-building of modern China. Large numbers of Qing dynasty and Republican era remnants, driven into exile by the turbulent political landscape, chose to settle in Hong Kong. These refugees, fleeing the Qin dynasty, sought freedom and happiness in Hong Kong. Their initial taste of dignity in the subsequent social development led them to gradually come to regard Hong Kong as their homeland.

Writing from prehistory to the period leading up to the 2017 Chief Executive election, Xu Chengen expresses his disinterest in a "fair and impartial" restoration of history. He argues that, given Hong Kong's situation, too many historical accounts glorify Chinese imperialism, and that existing Western accounts of Hong Kong history are also saturated with Orientalist myths, often intentionally or unintentionally overlooking the perspectives of Hong Kong people. In the face of power asymmetry, socially sensitive historical writing is not about seeking neutrality, but about striving to speak up for the underdogs who, in history, have been unable to speak for themselves. Only by fully siding with the powerless can the truth of history gradually emerge in the debate between good and evil.

Xu Chengen argues that as Hong Kongers and scholars, we have a responsibility in these chaotic times to contribute to writing our own history. His stance is to defend the oppressed Hong Kong people and speak out for the repeatedly oppressed Hong Kong nation.

Celebrity recommendations

Lian Yi-chong, Hong Kong current affairs commentator Wu Rui-jen, associate researcher at the Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica, author of "The Trapped Mind" Yang Hai-ying, professor of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Shizuoka University, Japan, author of "Grassland Without Tombstones" Yu Jie, current affairs commentator, author of "1927: The Collapse of the Republic"

2019-12-11

左岸文化

624

9789869800662