LECTURE (3): Culture & Identity

1. LECTURE (3): Culture & Identity History of Political Culture & Identity (Lecture by Agnes Ku)

2. Today’s Focuses • Political Culture before the 1980s • Political apathy (冷感)? • Nationalism before the 1980s • Weak nationalism? • Changing Political Culture in the transitional Period (1984-1997) • Political Culture & Identity after 1997

3. I.Political Culture before the 1980s Different Interpretations Political Apathy (Lau Siu-kai 劉兆佳, 1982) Political Activism (抗爭) + depoliticization非政治化 (Lam Wai-man, 2004)

4. 1. Political Apathy (Lau Siu-kai, 1982) Question: why political stability despite rapid economic development by the 70s? Cultural orientations of the people: Short-term horizon Social stability Materialism Context:escaping from China in the 1950s – looking for stability & work in HK

5. Lau … Culture: “Utilitarian Familism” (功利家庭主義) -an adaptation of traditional familism to the Hong Kong setting (traditional familism took the family as an integral part of society & placed high value on symbolic i.e. non-material rewards from society)

6. Lau … UF: “a normative & behavioural tendency of an individual to place his familial interests above the interests of society or any of its component individuals and groups, and to structure his relationships with other individuals and groups in such a fashion that the furtherance of his familial interests is the primary consideration. Moreover, among the familial interests materialistic interests take priority over all other interests.” (p.201)

7. Lau … Political Apathy (a)  Aloofness towards society -not committed to HK but treating it in an instrumental way – as a place wherein one can exploit the opportunities to maximize interests for oneself & one’s family; (b) Avoidance of involvement with outsiders (people outside the familial groups) (c) Low social participation

8. Lau … Indicators of political apathy (examples): low voting rate in the Urban Council low participation rate in political & social organizations   POLITICAL STABILITY (i.e. few & infrequent protests)

9. Utilitarian Familism Social Context + Chinese Culture Political Stability

10. 2. Activism + Depoliticization in 1950s-70s (Lam Wai-man, 2004) Activism -examples: Tramway workers’ labor dispute (1952) campaign to change the marriage laws; campaign against telephone rate increases; campaign for Chinese as an Official Language; Diaoyutai Islands movement the Godber issue (葛柏事件); campaign to reopen the Precious Blood Golden Jubilee Secondary School (金禧事件)

11. Depoliticization -a strategy of depoliticization by the government (& some political groups) that discouraged political activism in society -How? e.g. by labeling activists as trouble-makers; by stressing the values of stability & prosperity etc.

12. As a result of depoliticization …    a political activism that was limited in scale, intensity & articulation in society (but still activism)

13. Depoliticized Culture Activism

14. Ideological Elements in Activism Social equality Rights & fairness Liberalism (e.g. the right to demonstrate) Nationalism (factional nationalism e.g. left-wing/ pro-PRC vs. right-wing/ pro- KMT); (cultural nationalism) others

15. II. Nationalism before the 80s Colonial Government: De-nationalization Society: -Nationalist Struggle  Local Concern -Cultural nationalism

16. 1. What is a nation? Nation (nationhood) - a cultural association: a community of people sharing the same culture, ethnicity, language, territory or religion.

17. Nation … Chineseness • Chinese people do not consist of a single race, but different ethnic (族裔) groups e.g. Han, Miao, Yao, Bai, Dan etc. • “Chineseness” is a larger ethnic/ cultural – national -- identity which subsumes different ethnicities under it. • “Chineseness” is a cultural construction of unity. (*“Ethnic”– of a group of people recognized based on certain distinctive characteristics e.g. religion, language, ancestry, culture, or national origin)

18. Nation … Symbols of “Chineseness” in Popular Songs • Skin color • Hair color • Dragon • The Great Wall • The Yellow River etc. etc. Are these meanings abstract or concrete, historical or ahistorical (devoid of history), homogeneous or diversified?

19. Different/ Competing Discourses on Nationalism by different actors Government Political group Political group Political group people people

20. 2. Colonial Government’s Policy : Denationalization • Politically, HK people were British subjects under the British crown. • Culturally, HK people were allowed to learn Chinese & Chinese history. • Ideologically, the government stressed law & order, stability & prosperity rather than nationalism.

21. 3. Struggles in Society • i.Early Colonial Days • Workers’ strikes  political forces in China: • anti-capitalism; • nationalism vs. imperialism Strikes in 1920s, 30s, 50s (e.g. the General Strike-Boycott 省港大罷工 – an offshoot of the anti-imperialist movement of May 1925 in China)

22. (ii)1950s & 60s: • Under the Cold War, HK as an ideological battleground: Pro-KMT (right-wing) Pro-CCP (left-wing) • Vs.

23. Competing Discourses on Nationalism • Leftist Groups(e.g. 工聯會) “New China = Anti-Imperialism = Communism” “HK = British Imperialism = Capitalism”

24. Cultural Nationalists/ Liberals “Nation = Chinese Culture /May 4th Movement “Communism = Enemy to the Nation” (e.g. 中國學生周報) Unlike the leftists, the cultural-nationalist discourse did not develop into a strong ideology of anti-colonialism.

25. After the mid-60s riots … • -the government was able to repress and marginalize the leftist forces, as a result of their involvement in the riots, in the name of stability.

26. The leftist groups: • turned to low public profile; • inclined to a pro-Beijing stance; “歌功頌德式的愛國主義”; • reduced anti-colonial criticism (statist nationalism)

27. By the late 1960s, ideological struggles over nationalism subsided, giving way to localconcerns: • a local identity nurtured by the government • local social issues raised by student & social movement actors (local-born)

28. iii. From Nationalism to Local Reformism - Student & Social Movements in 1970s: • Social Reformism (社會改良主義) • pushing for local reforms in the government (critical of colonialism but not overthrowing it) • e.g. social issues : housing & labor etc (critical of capitalism but not overthrowing it) • e.g. Campaign for Chinese as an Official Language 中文運動 (cultural nationalism)

29. (iv) Others e.g. Diaoyutai Islandsmovement in the 1970s 保護釣魚台運動 - nationalism vs. imperialism

30. III. Changing Political Culture in the Transition (1984-97) • Early 1980s: rise of the “1997” issue  anxiety over political future & concern over identity question: HK or Chinese?  emigration flows • 1984: Sino-British Joint Declaration: “one country two systems” • 1985 Political Reform: Representative Government 代議政制 (indirect elections in Legco) • Struggle for Rights & Democracy

31. Ideological Conflicts over Political Reform DemocracyVS.Authoritarianism Equality Privilege Openness Closedness Public Accountability No public accountability Pro-Democracy Camp VS. Conservative Alliance {conservative alliance: business elites, pro-Beijing groups, & Beijing}

32. 1989: Tiananmen Square Incident • More than 1 million people took to the street to support the Chinese students • Increasing political consciousness in society • Ideological conflicts intensified between the pro-democracy groups & Beijing

33. IV. After 1997 • Ideological conflicts between democrats & conservatives remain {democracy & social justice} • Ideological conflicts between HK (democrats) & Beijing remain {democracy & rule of law} • Increasing economic & social convergence between HK & China {national integration} • Increasing political convergence between HK & China? (eg 人大釋法) {local autonomy}

34. Increasing tensions between the SAR government & the people: • Government’s legitimacy challenged – undemocratic • Political leadership under Tung Chee Hwa & governing capacity shown to be weak (e.g. bird flu crisis, SARS crisis) • The government being authoritarian in its policy (e.g. controversy over Article 23 of the Basic Law)

35. Controversy over the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law – national security 國安法 Ideological discourses by the people: • liberty vs. state control • democratic process vs. state power

38. Current Issues: (a) Democracy & Legitimacy - Government’s legitimacy under challenge (democracy, accountability, & governing capacity etc.) - The government (& the conservatives) is still hampering democratic development in the name of stability.

39. (b) Nationalism/ Patriotism Conflicts over “patriotism”: • love the political party? • love the constitution? • love the culture? • love the people? • concern about China’s economy? • concern about China’s democratic future? After all, who don’t love China?

41. (c) Social inequalities • Under capitalism, the economic gap between the rich & the poor increases. (HK: one of the biggest in the world.) • The rich people not only get greater wealth but also more political power. • recent protests against government-business alliance (legacy of the social movements vs. social inequalities in the 1970s)

42. (d) Identity Positioning: A new identity negotiated on 3 levels under 3 forces: • local– local dynamics • national– nationalization • global– globalization (global city, Asia’s world city, world-class)

43. Western influence global Chinese culture Local (Hong Kong) national Localization Multiple Interaction

44. DISCUSSION Any tensions among local, national, & global interests? • English, Cantonese, or Mandarin? • Chinese values, local values, or international standard? • Global interests or local needs?

45. The End