Make China great again: The blood-based view of Chineseness in Hong Kong

Abstract

Hong Kong, as a former colony of the United Kingdom, is characterised as a hybrid of East and West. Its colonial history is commonly seen as establishing many positive aspects of Hong Kong and shaping good qualities of its people, such as the value of rule of law, free speech, freedom of the press, and fluency in English. Yet the majority of people in both Hong Kong and China share Han Chinese ethnicity, which has been used by both the Chinese and Hong Kong governments to promote a blood-based idea of Chinese identity for decades. This paper explores “Chineseness", or Chinese identity, as promoted by the Hong Kong government. It first explores the concept of Chineseness, elaborating on a blood-based view that connects with ethnic-nationalism, in contrast with a pluralistic view of identity in the Hong Kong context. The paper then examines how Hong Kong government officials promote Chineseness through major outlets, on government websites and in speeches captured in media. As we show, the government tends to advocate a blood-based view of Chineseness akin to ethnic-nationalism. A more inclusive and pluralistic view which recognises the dynamic nature and multiple visions of Chinese identity better fits Hong Kong’s multicultural context.

Keywords:

• Chinese identity
• ethnic nationalism
• ethnicity
• Hong Kong
• China

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cong Lin

Cong LIN (Jason) is a Ph.D. candidate at the Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong. He is also a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard University. His research interests include philosophy of education, civic and citizenship education, multiculturalism, multicultural education, and identity. His latest published articles (with Liz Jackson) are From Shared Fate to Shared Fates: An Approach for Civic Education (Studies in Philosophy and Education), Multiculturalism in Chinese History in Hong Kong: Constructing Chinese Identity (Asia Pacific Journal of Education), and Decolonization, Nationalism, and Local Identity: Rethinking Cosmopolitanism in Educational Practice in Hong Kong (Asia Pacific Journal of Education). He also co-edited a book with Michael Peters, Liz Jackson, and Janet Orchard, titled Encyclopedia of Teacher Education. He is currently working on projects exploring multiculturalism and identity formation in Chinese societies. 

Liz Jackson

Cong LIN (Jason) is a Ph.D. candidate at the Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong. He is also a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard University. His research interests include philosophy of education, civic and citizenship education, multiculturalism, multicultural education, and identity. His latest published articles (with Liz Jackson) are From Shared Fate to Shared Fates: An Approach for Civic Education (Studies in Philosophy and Education), Multiculturalism in Chinese History in Hong Kong: Constructing Chinese Identity (Asia Pacific Journal of Education), and Decolonization, Nationalism, and Local Identity: Rethinking Cosmopolitanism in Educational Practice in Hong Kong (Asia Pacific Journal of Education). He also co-edited a book with Michael Peters, Liz Jackson, and Janet Orchard, titled Encyclopedia of Teacher Education. He is currently working on projects exploring multiculturalism and identity formation in Chinese societies. 

Liz Jackson is Professor in the Department of International Education at the Education University of Hong Kong. She is also President of the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia.