During the 2019 Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Bill protests, activists have created urban art as an expression of their political beliefs and collective identity. This research explores how urban art...Show moreDuring the 2019 Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Bill protests, activists have created urban art as an expression of their political beliefs and collective identity. This research explores how urban art as a medium represents the postcolonial collective identity of the people of Hong Kong. This research will analyze selected urban art from the 2019 Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Bill Protests through the methodology of semiotic art analysis. The primary objective of this paper is to research the collective postcolonial identity experienced amongst the people of Hong Kong. Through the case study of Hong Kong, this paper demonstrates how postcolonial identities are expressed in the context of urban protest art. Moreover, this paper showcases the role of urban art in resisting colonial structures of power.Show less
In this thesis about the connection between political identity and protest movements, I use Hong Kong as the main case study, due to the interesting political nature and history of Hong Kong. The...Show moreIn this thesis about the connection between political identity and protest movements, I use Hong Kong as the main case study, due to the interesting political nature and history of Hong Kong. The fact that protest movements have continued to take place over an extended period and only grown in size and number, makes Hong Kong and the way the political identity of its people has been shaped, an opportunity to understand the connection between political identity and protest movement in a case as complex as Hong Kong.Show less
Since the People’s Republic of China was created in 1949, one of its main objectives has been the reunification of all its territory. In recent years, China has focussed increasingly on the...Show moreSince the People’s Republic of China was created in 1949, one of its main objectives has been the reunification of all its territory. In recent years, China has focussed increasingly on the securitisation of the Hong Kong independence movement and Taiwanese independence to achieve this unification. This thesis conducts a comparative case study, using securitisation theory, where China’s security strategy on Hong Kong and Taiwan is compared. It analyses the influence of colonial periods over Hong Kong and Taiwan’s current domestic politics, focusing on the years 1841 to 1997. Furthermore, it studies China’s security approach to Hong Kong and Taiwan in the 21st century and how this approach has influenced local responses in Hong Kong and Taiwan. This research is conducted through a critical discourse analysis, focussing on policy documents and speeches by Chinese officials. It argues that the colonial history of Hong Kong and Taiwan, the perceived and legitimate legal authority of China, the successfulness of securitisation of the local independence movements, and the response of both citizens and local politics all influence China’s security strategy towards Hong Kong and Taiwan all influence China’s security strategy.Show less
The Milk Tea Alliance (MTA), an online pan-Asian movement, generated unprecedented participation in the region through an interplay of benefits and a constructed relative deprivation that was...Show moreThe Milk Tea Alliance (MTA), an online pan-Asian movement, generated unprecedented participation in the region through an interplay of benefits and a constructed relative deprivation that was capable of overcoming different grievances. Literature emerging from the Arab spring has brought about several benefits that applied to the MTA, namely invitation of social movements, sharing of information and tactics, solidarity, social capital, mobilization, and motivation. However, the MTA was not able to initiate social movements contrary to expectations. The other benefits are found to apply. By combining constructivist theory and relative deprivation theory I argue that the MTA experienced this unprecedented participation because a constructed relative deprivation partly created by Hong Kong and adopted by participating countries such as Myanmar which was able to create shared grievances that inform participation. The grievance was with authoritarianism and China which was often equated and thus allowed for a perception of a shared grievance, ideology, and identity. Additionally, the MTA expanded on the benefits by having an internally unifying power in Myanmar and building an alternative to ASEAN. Another reason for participation is a demographic aspect. However, so far, the MTA has not managed to have the desired success.Show less
This thesis analyses the collaboration between the Chinese merchant elite and the Colonial government of Hong Kong during the 1925-1926 Canton-Hong Kong Strike-Boycott. The Chinese merchants played...Show moreThis thesis analyses the collaboration between the Chinese merchant elite and the Colonial government of Hong Kong during the 1925-1926 Canton-Hong Kong Strike-Boycott. The Chinese merchants played a crucial role in shaping and developing British Hong Kong. At the same time, there was interdependence between the British rulers and the merchants to maintain public order or to recover from instability. This was particularly evident during the 1920s in which China was amid the surge of Chinese nationalism, and anti-foreignism. As the 1925 Nanking Road Incident and the May Thirtieth Movement led to national outbursts against foreign powers, British Hong Kong became the prime example of anti-imperialists protests in South China. From the 1920s onwards, non-violent coercion methods became not only more frequently used but also politicized by the Kuomintang and the communists. To explore the relation between the Hong Kong community and the Colonial government during the sixteen-month long strike, this thesis uses mainly the South China Morning Post as primary resource, and many more secondary resources. At times it will use sources such as newspapers, British archival material, documentation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China. The Colonial government and the Chinese Merchant elite were coping closely to control the outcome and to end of the boycott-strike. In this thesis, I argue that that the emergence of Hongkong identity came in the wake of the Canton-Hongkong Boycott Strike of 1925-1926 by the British.Show less
In the summer of 2019, over a million people took to the streets of Hong Kong to protest a highly unpopular extradition law. Despite the withdrawal of the law, the protests continued for the rest...Show moreIn the summer of 2019, over a million people took to the streets of Hong Kong to protest a highly unpopular extradition law. Despite the withdrawal of the law, the protests continued for the rest of the year, throwing Hong Kong into turmoil, as protesters advocated for freedom and democracy. As a result, the 2019 Hong Kong protests became one of the most heavily covered events in the media, both nationally and internationally. The demonstrations received an especially large amount of attention in Taiwan and China, due to their proximity to Hong Kong and the Chinese government’s involvement in the protests. While Taiwanese politicians came out in support of protesters’ call for independence, the Chinese government’s increased involvement in Hong Kong’s inner affairs served as a catalyst for the protests. This study analyzed the discourse of 24 editorials covering the Hong Kong protests from two newspapers; the Taipei Times (Taiwan) and the Global Times (China). An inductive discourse analysis was utilized to see which linguistic and thematic methods were used by the authors to shape the reader's perception of the protests according to their newspaper’s ideology. Results showed that while the two newspapers’ coverage of the Hong Kong protests could not have been more different thematically, using opposing narratives and arguments, their style and rhetoric had a tendency to overlap, using similar rhetorical methods to get their viewpoints across to the readers.Show less
This thesis uses Hermann’s (1990) model of foreign policy change to analyse the research question: Why was the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act only adopted into public law in November 2019...Show moreThis thesis uses Hermann’s (1990) model of foreign policy change to analyse the research question: Why was the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act only adopted into public law in November 2019, despite its introduction into US legislation years earlier in 2014? Through tracking the progress of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (HKHRDA) from its introduction in 2014 to its final signing into law in 2019, it has shown that bureaucratic advocacy and external shocks were the primary change agents driving the foreign policy change. Previous versions of the bill failed to pass the final stages of the decision-making process. However, in 2019, changes in the international context were crucial to the passing of the bill. That year, the external shock of the Hong Kong protests escalated to such an extent that Congressional legislators felt compelled to unite and take action. Rising geopolitical tensions between China and the United States also affected domestic American politics, contributing to the growing bipartisan Congressional support for a stronger stance against China on the issue of Hong Kong and pass the HKHRDA into law, despite resistance from the Trump administration. The symbolic value of the law was greater than its actual changes to US legislation, as it did not grant the government new instruments of statecraft it did not already possess. Still, the law was a clear show of Congressional support for the pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, and a political statement against the central Chinese and Hong Kong government’s policies in the city. This was instrumental in pushing the administration to change its approach towards HK, and with the HKHRDA, US HK policy became submerged in its American foreign policy towards China.Show less
Hong Kong have seen several large protests since the handover in 1997. These protests seems to have been emerged out of a growing discontent with the meddling of China in to its affairs. Hong Kong...Show moreHong Kong have seen several large protests since the handover in 1997. These protests seems to have been emerged out of a growing discontent with the meddling of China in to its affairs. Hong Kong is a "Special Administrative Region" of China, it operates under the "One Country Two System" principle, which means it has its own government and can govern itself. Currently Hong Kong has once again been affected by ongoing anti-government demonstrations for over half a year. It seems that the protest also indicates a growing concern for the stipulated principle of “One Country Two Systems”. This paper will try to answer the question: Why do a large group of people in Hong Kong perceive the principle of “One Country Two Systems” as problematic? It will do so by conducting a discourse and thematic analysis on the slogans used in this protest. It is suggested that the slogans show a unique Hong Kong identity that can in part cause implications for the current principle of “One Country Two Systems”Show less
This thesis analyses the construction of Hong Kong national identity in online discussions about the high speed rail connecting Hong Kong to Mainland China and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai sea bridge in...Show moreThis thesis analyses the construction of Hong Kong national identity in online discussions about the high speed rail connecting Hong Kong to Mainland China and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai sea bridge in localist Facebook groups. The paper argues that the Hong Kong identity constructed in these discussions is indeed nationalist, i.e. based on the belief that the members of the nation share a common origin, and is built on the following themes: antiMainland Chinese sentiment, anti-CCP thought, and the importance of money as identity constructing entity in Hong Kong society. As a result, the construction of Hong Kong national identity by Hong Kong localists relies heavily on Othering Mainland Chinese, while there are few references to Hong Kongese cultural characteristics. The contributions of this paper are that it argues for the possibility of a Hong Kong identity to be seen as national identity and how this national identity is constructed by localists.Show less
