Hong Kong, China

Learning to belong to a nation

Tai-Lok Lui author Gordon Mathews author Eric Ma author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:20th Jul '08

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Hong Kong, China cover

The idea of ‘national identity’ is an ambiguous one for Hong Kong. Returned to the national embrace of China on 1 July 1997 after 150 years as a British colony, the concept of national identity and what it means to "belong to a nation" is a matter of great tension and contestation in Hong Kong.

Written by three academic specialists on Hong Kong cultural identity, social history, and mass media, this book explores the processes through which the people of Hong Kong are "learning to belong to a nation" by examining their relationship with the Chinese nation and state in the recent past, present, and future. It considers the complex meanings of and debates over national identity in Hong Kong over the past fifty years and especially during the last decade following Hong Kong’s return to China. It also places these arguments within a larger, global perspective, to ask what Hong Kong can teach us about national identity and its potential transformations.

Multidisciplinary in its approach, Hong Kong and China explores national identity in terms of theory, mass media, survey date, ethnography and history, and will appeal to students and scholars of Chinese history, cultural studies, and nationalism.

'..how do Hongkongers themselves view their identity, and how is their relationship to the Chinese nation changing? These are the questions addressed in this important and highly readable book. It highlights the peculiar ambivalence of Hongkongers’ affective ties to “China,” attributing this to a history of mass flight from Communism, colonial depoliticization and economic success.' -The China Review, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Fall 2008)

'this book is undoubtedly one of the most important works on the dynamics of identity change in Hong Kong. Students, teachers, and researchers will find it very useful, insightful, and valuable' - Sonny Lo, China Perspectives (Spring 2009)

ISBN: 9780415480130

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 390g

212 pages