HONG KONG - The latest survey shows that a majority of Hong Kong residents of
Chinese origin now are happy to identify themselves as "Chinese nationals" or
"Chinese Hong Kong citizens", as a result of rising nationalism boosted by the
Beijing Summer Olympic Games and the relief effort following the Sichuan
earthquake which killed tens of thousands.
But the growing nationalism has prompted fears of a threat to Hong Kong's press
freedom. Citing several recent instances of activists barred from entering the
city, the Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA) warns this may "lead to a
dominant view that excludes opinions that are at variance with those propagated
in Beijing".
Hong Kong, a former British colony, reverted to Chinese rule in
1997. However, over the past decade, the majority of residents in the territory
have refused to consider themselves as "Chinese nationals" or even "Chinese
Hong Kong citizens", insisting they are "Hong Kong citizens". It has been said
that while Beijing had taken back the land, it had yet to win back the hearts
of Hong Kong's people.
In the latest survey, by the Public Opinion Program (POP) at the University of
Hong Kong, taken between June 11 and 13, 38.6% of the respondents identified
themselves as Chinese citizens, against a mere 18.6% in 1997, when the annual
survey was begun. The percentage of respondents who now identify themselves as
Chinese citizens or Chinese Hong Kong citizens in the latest poll is 58%. POP
director Robert Chung Ting Yiu attributed this change to the Olympics and the
earthquake efforts.
These statistics merely confirm what Hong Kong people have been seeing and
hearing for themselves in recent times. As the Olympic torch relay passed
though the territory on May 2, the main thoroughfares became rivers of red. The
handful of dissidents demonstrating against China's human-rights record and
supporting Tibetan independence were smothered by the force of red-shirted,
flag-waving patriots.
Indeed, the police were quick to bundle off Hong Kong University undergraduate
Christina Chan, who had wrapped herself in a Tibetan independence flag. The
police later claimed they feared for Chan's safety in face of the patriots
massed around her.
There are concerns that the media will be caught up in this new patriotism.
Days before the incident, Chan had appeared before the media on campus to
proclaim her support for Tibetan independence. When she brought out a Tibetan
flag, a local television cameraman bellowed angrily: "Are you Chinese? As a
Chinese how can you do such a thing?"
In the past, the cameraman's judgmental remarks may have been dismissed, but
today both of Hong Kong's public TV stations, TVB and ATV, are believed to be
leaning towards the mainland. In 2002, Hong Kong businessman Chan Wing Kee and
Phoenix TV boss Liu Changle, both pro-Beijing, took control of ATV.
The HKJA's warning about pro-Beijing bias is contained in its latest annual
report set for release in two weeks, immediately after Hong Kong marks its 11th
year under Chinese sovereignty. In its report last year, the HKJA established,
after an industry-wide survey, that self-censorship is now a fact of newspaper
life.
In the forthcoming report, the HKJA claims: "Rising nationalism will lead to a
dominant view that excludes opinions that are at variance with those propagated
in Beijing. This would see Hong Kong developing a lack of tolerance that could
marginalize dissenting voices and persuade people that it is in their best
interests not to speak out, even though they know an injustice has been done.
This would be to the detriment of the development of a healthy, pluralistic
society."
The HKJA report also points to the recent suppression of a study commissioned
and then suppressed by the Law Society on the issue of Tibetan independence:
Tolerance
towards those advocating a better deal for Tibet was put to the test in Hong
Kong over an article written by human rights lawyer Paul Harris. The editor of
the Law Society's magazine, Hong Kong Lawyer, invited Harris to submit an
article based on an earlier interview with him in the South China Morning Post,
in which he argued for Hong Kong-style autonomy for Tibet.
His article for Hong Kong Lawyer examined the Tibetan question from a legal
perspective. He said Tibet's links with China were not as strong as Beijing
made out, and that in some cases the relationship was colonial in nature. He
argued that Tibet's case for self-determination was "infinitely stronger" than
that of Kosovo, which declared independence in February 2008. He argued that
autonomy would be the best solution, although this seems unlikely under current
circumstances. He noted: "Unless real autonomy is offered, self-determination
in Tibet is bound to mean independence."
The article was slated for the May edition of the magazine, but the editorial
board decided not to publish it. The board's chairwoman, Cecilia Wong, said a
vote was taken not to publish the article. But she declined to identify the
reasons, saying only that there was no particular aspect that made the board
decide against it.
Mr Harris was more direct. He said it was a case of self-censorship. He noted:
"I think there is a growing atmosphere of unwillingness to allow activities,
publications, publicity for points of view that the mainland disapproves of."
All these criticisms seem to be directed at both the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region and central governments and would be on target if not for
the fact that both had tried, for a whole decade, to instill patriotism in the
hearts and minds of Hong Kong's people.
At first the approach made little progress. The soft-sell had included outings
in People's Liberation Army (PLA) camps for students, group tours of China at
the invitation of countless national and provincial organizations on the
mainland. The hard-sell campaigns that had been the monopoly of the Chinese
Communist Party's United Front Department from the 1950s were replaced in favor
of a more gentle campaign for the hearts of Hong Kong.
The 2003 protest march in which some 500,000 demonstrators brought down the
first chief executive Tung Chee-Hwa - in the wake of a harsh economic downturn,
massive unemployment and the outbreak of SARS - also ushered in a much more
hands-on approach by Beijing in dealing with both the Hong Kong government and
its people.
Among the results was the playing of the national anthem several times a day -
before all newscasts - as well as endless lectures on the need to cherish the
motherland. It was not without sweeteners, however, as the many rules that kept
the Hong Kong and mainland markets apart were removed in quick succession to
pacify purse and pulse.
Hong Kong people pocketed the money, and kept their silence. The sentiment of
"don't rock the boat" came back in fashion and young people were advised to
learn on just which side their bread was buttered.
But then came the riots in Tibet and the Olympic torch disruptions. People in
Hong Kong had not the slightest doubt that it was instigated by groups in the
West, chief among them the National Endowment for Democracy-funded Reporters
Without Borders. The resulting impact on the Chinese diaspora worldwide has
been fantastic and the effect on Hong Kong was palpable. Overnight, Hong Kong
people were no longer Hong Kong people - they were just Chinese.
If the West had ever grossly misunderstood Chinese nationalism, this was the
time.
Hong Kong people had actually hinted at it during last November's district
council elections when the pro-democracy parties were given a drubbing.
Insiders say that one of the reasons voters turned against them was the call to
Washington by Democratic Party leader Martin Lee to boycott the Olympics to
force Beijing to respect human rights.
By their reactions to the Tibet riots Reporters Without Borders and the rest of
the West may have forced the hearts of Hong Kong people closer to Beijing, and
the new-found patriotism will soon be reinforced.
As the HKJA report notes:
A taskforce under the powerful (Hong Kong)
Commission on Strategic Development is recommending that the media should do
more to promote education about China. It wants the government to encourage the
media "to have more promotion and in-depth discussion on issues relating to
national education, and to produce and show relevant documentaries, films and
TV dramas". It is also proposing that the state-controlled broadcaster, China
Central Television (CCTV), should be allowed to air its six channels in Hong
Kong free of charge. They are at the moment available only on pay-TV services.
Augustine Tan is a freelance journalist based in Hong Kong.
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