What identity crisis? Hongkongers confront questions of belonging after Legco oath saga
Controversy over swearing allegiance to the city and the country in the legislature reignites debate over unique identity of Hong Kong and its residents
What is a Hongkonger? The answer is anything but simple.
The complex debate has been reignited after two localist lawmakers were plunged into a disqualification row due to their pledges to the “Hong Kong nation” at the beginning of the legislative year on October 12.
Youngspiration members Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching have protested over what they perceive as Beijing’s attempt to exert greater control over the Special Administrative Region by issuing an interpretation of the city’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, to determine what can be considered an adequate oath. Now as many as 15 legislators have been told they could face expulsion for “insincere oath-taking”.
The controversy has divided Hongkongers, with some suggesting the localists were right to assert their views of independence, while others claimed the pair had caused unnecessary political conflict.
Professor Gordon Mathews, from the Department of Anthropology at Chinese University, said he had witnessed a significant shift in how his students felt about their ethnicity since the handover in 1997.