- Huang Ying
- BBC Chinese Contributing Writer
4 hours ago
John was born in a typical middle-class family in Hong Kong. His father was a middle school teacher, and his mother was a clerical worker. When he was a child, the family employed a helper. His life was simple and happy.
Born in 1997, the 25-year-old said that he did not have a strong sense of identity before, nor did he have any special resistance to the identity of “Chinese”. He saw that the SAR passport said the People’s Republic of China, and at the same time it was Hong Kong. Proof of identity, which the mainlanders do not have, naturally consider themselves both Chinese and Hong Kongers.
His family also talked to him about the history of the CCP from time to time, including the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the Cultural Revolution, the Great Leap Forward, the “June 4th” Tiananmen Square Incident, etc.
John told BBC Chinese that when he was still in primary school, the national anthem was played on news programs. He was not disgusted. Instead, he thought the picture was quite attractive. During the 2008 Olympic Games and the launch of Shenzhou No. 5 No. 6, he felt it. Glory and feel that my country is strong.
But after that, I gradually realized some dark sides of human rights in China, such as the inhumane treatment of pro-democracy activists such as Liu Xiaobo and Li Wangyang… Later, there was a conflict between China and Hong Kong. Mainlanders rushed to buy milk powder and sell parallel imports in Hong Kong. The problem… I started to feel disgusted with the national anthem, “I still find this song very ironic, it’s a song that encourages you to go to revolution.”
John said that it was the “Umbrella Movement” in 2014 that allowed him to truly establish his identity as a “Hong Konger”, and the 2019 Anti-Extradition Movement, for him, was a mission to practice as a “Hong Konger”. In 2012, the government forced national education and education to the 2014 National People’s Congress’ decision on the qualification review of candidates for the general election of the chief executive, and he gradually realized that the so-called high degree of autonomy and unchanged for 50 years turned out to be a lie, “I felt very disappointed at that moment. , the impression of China is even more disgusting.”
John
Recently, John specially took time to visit the campus of his alma mater, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).
In 2019, a thrilling anti-revision movement took place in Hong Kong, and the Chinese University was an important battlefield, and the beacon was everywhere. John is also involved in this movement. Those days are still vivid in his mind, he said.
“Different positions are involved, probably in the nature of material support and first aid, and also as a sentinel, and they move forward without realizing it,” he said.
At the beginning, he ran into the streets without telling his parents to fight. When they found out, he didn’t understand it at first. After a lot of communication, the parents gradually understood.
“In the past, the values of Hong Kong people were very realistic, buying a house, buying a car, starting a family…” John said, “However, during the anti-extradition movement, they realized that the more important things are to have democracy, freedom, Only through the rule of law can you build your ideal life, so many people don’t care about themselves, even at the expense of their own future, they still come out to fight for justice.”
John believes that the difference between Hong Kong people and mainlanders is: Hong Kong people insist on justice, freedom, and democracy, and have the courage to speak up about injustice; under Chinese rule, Hong Kong people still have the courage to express their voices and resist, showing It is their courage and wisdom.
“Hong Kong people have a selfless spirit. They will not patronize their own interests and are willing to share the pain of the society. It is a great honor for him to be a part of this group, so that I will not feel lonely.”
Regarding the 7.1 “Return” anniversary, John admitted that he didn’t have any special feelings, but it was a public holiday. Regarding the future, he admitted that he is very pessimistic. The new electoral system prevents the true voice of the citizens from being brought into the parliament, and the Hong Kong government is blindly loyal to the CCP, not from the perspective of Hong Kong people.
For example, he said that in the fifth wave of the new crown epidemic, the government oscillated between “coexisting with the virus” and “dynamic clearing”. The triage of patients and the testing of the whole people were uncertain because they were not from the point of view of the citizens, but blindly catered to the central government. government requirements. On the other hand, under the National Security Law, the boundaries of law enforcement are blurred, which continues to narrow the freedom of citizens.
But John admitted that he had no plans to immigrate, but wanted to stay and walk the hard road with other Hong Kongers. “Hong Kong is where I grew up, this is my home, and I still want to stay and pay for this place,” he said.
image source,Getty Images
Earlier in June, the Hong Kong Institute for Public Opinion released the “Summary of Citizens’ Identity” in the “Summary of Public Sentiment on the 25th Anniversary of One Country, Two Systems”. The report shows that Hong Kong people’s sense of Chinese identity has dropped to a new low since June 2017; Meanwhile, only 2 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds identify themselves as Chinese.
Also born in 1997, Liu Xuelian, who will turn 25 today in October, considers him a “Chinese”. The anti-national education incident in 2012 made him begin to reflect on his identity, the “Umbrella Movement” in 2014 and the 2019 The anti-revision turmoil made him even more firm in his identity as a “Chinese”.
Liu Xuelian grew up in an ordinary Hong Kong civil servant family. When he was a child, his parents did not deliberately instill in him a Chinese identity, nor did he have any special feelings when he watched the national flag hoist or listened to the national anthem. In the fourth grade of elementary school, the scene of raising the national flag at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics gave him a sense of national pride. “Wow,[it felt like]our country was so strong, so exciting, so proud.”
However, what really made him think about his “Chinese” identity was the anti-national education in 2012. At that time, many people thought it was brainwashing education. But Liu Xuelian said that he was confused as to why reading the history of his own country would be a problem and cause conflicts, so he took the initiative to discuss with the teacher, and also read the textbook, and found that it was not as everyone pointed, so there was a later Identity reflection.
He recalled that when he was in high school, there was a class in Liberal Studies that taught identity issues. Most of the students claimed to be “Hong Kong people”, not Chinese “Hong Kong people”, but pure “Hong Kong people”. To be strong, make him feel unhappy.
He said that during the “Umbrella Movement” in 2014, he noticed the phenomenon of “de-Sinification” in Hong Kong. He felt that at that time, many people wanted to separate the two identities of “Hong Kong people” and “Chinese”, and he also fell into identity The crisis of identity, subsequent reflections, and the later anti-revision movement helped him establish his Chinese identity.
He said that there is no conflict or contradiction between the two identities. The identity of “Chinese” is a national identity, while the “Hong Kong people” is a citizen of a city. He is both “Chinese” and “Hong Kong people” in China.
Liu Xuelian believes that Chinese people are more generous and selfless dedication, willing to help others; while Hong Kong people, China, the old-fashioned saying is the strong Lion Rock spirit: hard work, solidarity and mutual assistance.
Liu Xuelian
In May 2019, Liu Xuelian had just graduated from university, and in June, there was a disturbance against the amendments. At that time, many good friends drew the line overnight. The opposing emotions were even more severe than in 2014. I felt very unhappy and felt that everyone did not sit down and discuss how to go in the future. breathing space.
The local awareness in Hong Kong is very strong, and students can turn their faces overnight. “Their attitude is fundamentally hostile, as if they will directly kick you out of the group if they can’t communicate,” he said helplessly.
“At that time, I felt very unhappy. We Chinese people have a saying, Chinese people don’t beat Chinese people, why do we have such contradictions and even social division? The eyes and the avoidance of each other, you feel that separation,” he said.
He told BBC Chinese that he understands that there are many reasons why young people are radicalized and take to the streets to protest and even carry out occupation actions. This is because they believe that their voices cannot change the government’s governance, and the space and opportunities for upward mobility are small, and they cannot even catch up with the basic requirements of life.
Young people in Hong Kong still have many different views on their own identity.
Liu Xuelian said that he did not agree with those radical and even violent practices.
He agrees that there are really few opportunities for young people to move upward, so after joining the political party, he hopes to propose some policies to change and advocate the government.
He believes that despite the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China, the society has not resolved the issue of the return of people’s hearts, and the people of Hong Kong have not fully recognized the fact that they have fully returned to China. He believes that today’s young people are actually not willing to understand the mainland, and even still have a distrustful attitude towards the mainland. He asked the young people, should they give themselves a chance to know the country?
He suggested that after the epidemic, there should be more opportunities to lead Hong Kong students to the mainland for exchanges, so that they can understand that China’s development has not been what it used to be, and even surpassed Hong Kong in many areas.
However, he believes that Hong Kong has a special significance for China, which is to integrate with the international community and understand the development trend of the international community. He said, therefore, he is convinced that 50 years later, “one country, two systems” will still exist.