Make China great again: The blood-based view of Chineseness in Hong Kong

Cong Jason LIN, Liz JACKSON

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Hong Kong, as a former colony of the United Kingdom, is characterised as a hybrid of East and West. Its colonial history is commonly seen as establishing many positive aspects of Hong Kong and shaping good qualities of its people, such as the value of rule of law, free speech, freedom of the press, and fluency in English. Yet the majority of people in both Hong Kong and China share Han Chinese ethnicity, which has been used by both the Chinese and Hong Kong governments to promote a blood-based idea of Chinese identity for decades. This paper explores “Chineseness", or Chinese identity, as promoted by the Hong Kong government. It first explores the concept of Chineseness, elaborating on a blood-based view that connects with ethnic-nationalism, in contrast with a pluralistic view of identity in the Hong Kong context. The paper then examines how Hong Kong government officials promote Chineseness through major outlets, on government websites and in speeches captured in media. As we show, the government tends to advocate a blood-based view of Chineseness akin to ethnic-nationalism. A more inclusive and pluralistic view which recognises the dynamic nature and multiple visions of Chinese identity better fits Hong Kong’s multicultural context. Copyright © 2020 Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)907-919
JournalEducational Philosophy and Theory
Volume53
Issue number9
Early online date16 Aug 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Citation

Lin, C., & Jackson, L. (2021). Make China great again: The blood-based view of Chineseness in Hong Kong. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 53(9), 907-919. doi: 10.1080/00131857.2020.1807938

Keywords

  • Chinese identity
  • Ethnic nationalism
  • Ethnicity
  • Hong Kong
  • China

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