Citizenship, Identity And Social Movements In The New Hong Kong Localism After The Umbrella Movement Routledge Contemporary China

Hong Kongâs âUmbrella Revolutionâ has been widely regarded as a watershed moment in the polityâs post-1997 history. While public protest has long been a routine part of Hong Kongâs political culture, the preparedness of large numbers of citizens to participate in civil disobedience represented a new moment for Hong Kong society, reflecting both a very high level of politicisation and a deteriorating relationship with Beijing. The transformative processes underpinning the dramatic events of autumn 2014 have a wide relevance to scholarly debates on Hong Kong, China and the changing contours of world politics today.

This book provides an accessible entry point into the political and social cleavages that underpinned, and were expressed through, the Umbrella Movement. A key focus is the societal context and issues that have led to growth in a Hong Kong identity and how this became highly politically charged during the Umbrella Movement. It is widely recognised that political and ethnic identity has become a key cleavage in Hong Kong society. But there is little agreement amongst citizens about what it means to âbe Hong Kongerâ today or whether this identity is compatible or conflicting with âbeing Chineseâ. The book locates these identity cleavages within their historical context and uses a range of theories to understand these processes, including theories of nationalism, social identity, ethnic conflict, nativism and cosmopolitanism. This theoretical plurality allows the reader to see the new localism in its full diversity and complexity and to reflect on the evolving nature of Hong Kongâs relationship with Mainland China.