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Native-place associations have played an indispensable role in the global migration of ethnic Chinese. Although there has been growing attention to their political role in advancing the Chinese state's interests, few studies have looked into how they are organized and how they operate vis-à-vis the state. This article focuses on post-handover Hong Kong, where native-place associations, despite their long presence, are still growing in number and sophistication after the 1997 handover. It posits that native-place associations there are forming a "cultural nexus" through which the Chinese state fosters political mobilization in support of its interests and policies. Based on an original set of event and biographical data, it shows that native-place associations are consolidating into a massive network connected by power-seeking elites. It also demonstrates how these associations seek to renew the significance of native-place and national identities. The findings point to how native-place associations may serve as a powerful cultural space for the Chinese state to project its influence offshore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Hong Kong's 2019 social movement concerning the spontaneous and collective forms of expression that sparked throughout the city, known as Lennon Walls. Based on the premise that national identity is an imagined social construct, this article explores the link between the construction of a Hongkongese identity differentiated from a Chinese identity and the way this distinction is translated into more than a hundred public spaces. These sites became peaceful demonstrations of resistance around Hong Kong. This article discusses the relationship between democracy, social movements, and the search for a Hong Kong identity to further address the characteristics and ongoing demands of 2019's social protests. Moreover, Lennon Walls will be analyzed as public forms of expression of Hong Kong's identity based on the search for democracy. Lastly, the article concluded that due to this sense of national identity, Lennon Walls are just one more link in the chain that implies a complex balance for Hong Kong's citizens to be part of a broader State such as China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article surveys the challenge to China's "one country, two systems" principle that has underpinned Hong Kong existence and prosperity since 1997. Domestic dissatisfaction with structural inequalities, disillusionment with power-sharing and governance issues along with external geopolitical factors exacerbated a strong anti-Chinese Hong Kong nationalism to ignite the 2019 crisis. This article provides an analysis of the issues at stake, and maps out the dilemmas and challenges facing China and Hong Kong for the foreseeable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a historical institutionalist framework emphasizing the importance of transformative events, this paper seeks to explain the sudden emergence of self-determination claims in Hong Kong and their transformation into separatist ones in Catalonia. The paper argues that the inflexibility of the state in addressing moderate demands for regional autonomy has played a major role in the emergence and radicalization of these demands. In Hong Kong, the 1997 Handover from British to Chinese sovereignty was originally presented as an opportunity for self-governance under the principle of "Hong Kong People ruling Hong Kong" and the "One Country, Two Systems" formula. If Hong Kong nationalism was practically unheard of in the early years of the Handover, the unconciliatory attitude of the central government towards moderate demands for the actualization of the autonomy and democratization frameworks vested in Hong Kong's Basic Law has directly contributed to the formation of today's emerging self-determination movement. In Catalonia, the 2010 decision of the Spanish Constitutional Court to annul some articles of the reform to the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia and to interpret others narrowly represented a transformative event that took Catalonia onto the pathway of secessionist politics. The secessionist turn was then further fed by the on-going refusal of the central government to negotiate with the Catalan government, notably on the notion of a popular consultation on the political future of the Autonomous Community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why have separatist sentiments increased in Hong Kong despite of China's growing economic attractiveness? This question is critical for China–Hong Kong relations. However, few studies have explored it from a comparative perspective. This study compares Hong Kong and mainland college students' national identities by making a series of interlocked surveys and interviews from 2012 to 2016. It shows that Hong Kong students have a much lower sociopolitical identity with China, which proves to be the primary cause for their separatist tendencies. Although they hold a comparably strong pan-Chinese economic identity, it does not strengthen their sociopolitical identity as it does for mainland students. This can be attributed to their post-materialist framework through which they are unlikely to believe that economic development alone can bring sociopolitical improvements. The findings imply that China faces serious difficulties in turning its economic strength into political charm in societies with strong post-materialist values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated the relationship between Hong Kong people's stereotype toward Mainland people and their own national attachment (i.e., national identity, constructive patriotism, and uncritical patriotism). The role of inter-group relationship as mediator and age as moderator of that relationship were also tested. A total of 1753 local Hong Kong people aged 17-80 (mean age = 20.35 years, SD = 5.02) completed anonymous questionnaires regarding their stereotypes toward Mainland people, inter-group relationship with Mainland people, and national attachment. As expected, stereotypes toward Mainland people, inter-group relationship and national attachment showed significant positive associations with each other. More interestingly, it was found that the inter-group relationship mediated the relationship between stereotypes toward Mainland people and three domains of national attachment, with this indirect link being weaker for younger Hong Kong adults than for older Hong Kong adults. Implications of the present findings for future research are discussed, as well as potential interventions for increasing subjective national attachment to China, especially in young Hong Kong people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Hong Kong's reunification with the People's Republic of China in 1997, debates about patriotism have erupted from time to time in Hong Kong. Considering Hong Kong's socio-political background, the feelings and attachment of Hongkongers towards their motherland are unsurprisingly complex. We therefore need a multidimensional concept to capture the complexities of Hong Kong patriotism. Based on survey data, we propose that the term ‘liberal patriotism’ best describes the type of patriotism in Hong Kong society, which is that love of the homeland and the state are qualified by liberal democratic values. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]