Opinion | Hong Kong’s protests are rooted in something deeper than the economy or foreign interference: they’re about fear and identity

A large number of today’s Hongkongers fled from China during the Cultural Revolution, and the protests reflect the trauma felt by them, and their descendants, at the lack of choice about their identity after 1997

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Published: 11:00am, 8 Oct 2019Updated: 11:10am, 8 Oct 2019

Hong Kong is descending into violence, from which return is difficult. To get out of our current quagmire, we need to better understand its origins.

I want to address what I believe are the core drivers behind the present tensions in Hong Kong. I’m talking about the drivers that bring millions of people, young and old, from all walks of life, onto the streets. Ultimately, it’s not “the economy” or the US State Department.

The core issue can be summed up by two words: “fear” and “identity”. Let’s start with fear. Remember, a substantial portion of the Hong Kong population are refugees who came to Hong Kong in the 1960s during the Cultural Revolution, or who are their descendants. The people who made it to Hong Kong were running from the massive violence and instability that destroyed the lives of millions of people in China.

Exposure to this sort of terror leaves deep psychological scars. In the healing work that I have done over the past few decades, I have discovered that the trauma which happens to one generation can be passed down to the next.

So, when we see hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong people on the street, protesting against “China”, and asking for “independence”, we may wish to consider that we’re actually observing the victims of trauma and their descendants crying out in fear because they honestly believe the source of their trauma is about to re-enter their lives.

A poster from Beijing in 1966 showing how “enemies of the people” were dealt with in the Cultural Revolution. The upheaval, which lasted 10 years, led to a surge in migration from China to Hong Kong. Photo: AFP

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