Hong Kong youths turn their back on Chinese identity

Record ID: 896995

  • Title: Hong Kong youths turn their back on Chinese identity
  • Date: 25th June 2017
  • Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (JUNE 15, 2017) (REUTERS) HONG KONG EVENING SKYLINE (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) MAINLAND CHINESE STUDENT YOSHI YUE, SAYING: "There are some Hong Kong people who think that their identity won't change and are persistent against change. I believe the two cultures can assimilate. I've spoken to my Hong Kong friends and have told them, China is enormous, Beijing an
  • Embargoed: 9th July 2017 01:27
  • Keywords: youth democracy protests universal suffrage China identity
  • Location: HONG KONG, CHINA
  • City: HONG KONG, CHINA
  • Country: Hong Kong
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA00B6MRX3R9
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS NOTE: 0908 HONG KONG-ANNIVERSARY/TIMELINE SENT ON JUNE 24 IS NOW AVAILABLE ON WNE
    Twenty-year-old Jade Chung is one of nearly 60,000 children born in 1997, the year when Britain returned Hong Kong to China, but unlike her compatriots across the border she identifies herself as a "Hong Konger".
    Hong Kong's youths are increasingly turning their backs on Chinese identity.
    Sixty-three percent of people under the age of 30 now put their Hong Kong identity first, compared to 45 percent in 1997, according to the most recent Hong Kong University survey that polled 120 youths.
    The former British colony, rocked by youth-led protests demanding democracy in recent years, has been governed under a "one country, two systems" agreement that guaranteed a high degree of autonomy after Britain handed sovereignty back to China on July 1, 1997.
    Recent events like the abduction of Hong Kong booksellers by mainland agents have repulsed Hong Kong's youth from identifying with being Chinese.
    "Once there was a separation between China and the communist party, but now we're realising the lines have blurred. Do we have any emotional attachment to China? I don't think so," said Chung.
    Mainland Chinese students studying in Hong Kong, however, are optimistic that people from Hong Kong will be able to identify as Chinese in future.
    Hong Kong's incoming leader Carrie Lam told Chinese state media that the government will continue its efforts to strengthen Chinese identity at the nursery level. But many are sceptic, saying a push towards Chinese patriotism could trigger a greater backlash among the youth.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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