Hong Kong is not, and never has been, a ‘stateless nation’. Indulging that fantasy could have disastrous results
- Hong Kong had a strong connection to China during the colonial era and there was little desire for self-governance
- Those saying otherwise sell a dangerous delusion at a time when many Hongkongers simply want their orderly society back
A Hong Kong academic is casting a new, localist light on Hong Kong’s months-long protests, triggered by a controversial rendition law. Brian Fong Chi-hang of the Hong Kong University of Education argued, in a recent article published in The Diplomat, that the Hong Kong protesters represent “a stateless nation struggling for autonomy”.
Drawing strength from Western theories on nationalism, Fong argued that although Hong Kong is not a sovereign state, it fits the definition of a nation by virtue of being a “political community” built on common civic values pursuing the “right to self-government”. While Fong’s hypothesis is interesting as an academic theory, its account of the emergence of Hong Kong’s autonomy movement is not based on Hong Kong’s true history. Its vision of Hong Kong as a “young stateless nation” based on common values, with its chance of success hingeing on China’s implosion and superpower intervention, is doomed to fail.
As someone who witnessed Hong Kong’s rise to prosperity, and was closely involved in the Sino-British negotiations on the future of Hong Kong, as well as preparations for Hong Kong’s transition into a special administrative region of China, I can speak from first-hand experience that there was little ambition for “self-government” on the part of the colonial government or the people of Hong Kong in the colonial era.
In the colonial era, policymaking in Hong Kong was monopolised by British officials in Hong Kong, often in close consultation with London. Little was done to prepare local officials for leadership post-1997, let alone for “autonomy” as a “young stateless nation”, free of the supervision of its sovereign power.
One could blame Britain’s unwillingness to grant Hong Kong people democratic self-rule on China’s hard line on the city’s status. In 1972, soon after China joined the United Nations, it made crystal clear at that forum its rejection of Hong Kong’s status as a colony and any attendant right to self-determination.