In July 2014, tens of thousands of protestors from various social groups took to the streets in what could be Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy protest ever after a number of pro-democracy...Show moreIn July 2014, tens of thousands of protestors from various social groups took to the streets in what could be Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy protest ever after a number of pro-democracy movements in earlier years. In the following month, the Chinese government eliminates the possibility of a fully democratic election for a new Hong Kong leader in 2017, as the protesters claim has been promised to them by Beijing in late 2007. The new decision has made it impossible for politicians to take part in this election without prior approval by Beijing. September 28 marked the start of Occupy Central as students and supporters set up their tents on the streets. For weeks on end the occupation goes on in protest of the limitation of ‘real democracy’, with more than 100,000 people participating in the Occupy Central protest at its peak. This occupation came to an end only on December 15 when the Hong Kong authorities cleared the last occupation site – however, the Umbrella Movement has not yet come to an end and, from time to time, makes its way back into the local headlines. This paper aims to identify the ways in which the Hong Kong identity is framed by both the protesters themselves and the local news media in the context of the Umbrella movement. For this purpose a combination of content analysis and discourse analysis will be used to examine a selection of news excerpts from the period ranging from September until December 2014.Show less
