Mainland academic rings the alarm on the rise of ‘neo-localism’ in Hong Kong
A day after Financial Secretary John Tsang puts a positive spin on the trend, think tank member warns independence forces could unite to promote the ideology
An academic from the mainland’s top think tank on Hong Kong affairs has called for vigilance against the rise of “neo-localism”, a day after Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah put a positive spin on the trend in the city.
In a commentary published in Global Times yesterday, Fan Peng, a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, wrote that advocates of “neo-localism” aimed at achieving “full autonomy” and stirring up the sense of Hong Kong identity which differentiated themselves from the mainland.
“Although neo-localism still has limited political impact, the force advocating it may coalesce with anti-China and anti-communist elements in Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries to create a more deep-rooted crisis in the field of culture and ideology,” Fan wrote.
“We should not rule out the possibility of the advocates of neo-localism in Hong Kong joining hands with Taiwan independence forces to promote the ideology in the international arena.”
Fan is also an associate researcher with the Institute of Political Science under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Dr Li Pang-kwong, director of the public governance programme at Lingnan University, said many mainland academics had spotted the rise of localism.