A Sense of Self - An analysis on National Identity in Hong Kong

Abstract: In the aftermath of the public protests now known as the “Umbrella Revolution”, many Hongkongers struggle to renegotiate what it means to be “Chinese”. Previous agreements about universal suffrage and political autonomy in Hong Kong, as outlined in the “One Country, Two System”-policy, now appear like broken promises. This thesis asks the question whether the Umbrella Revolution has changed the understanding of “Chineseness”, and if a contradiction has emerged between Chinese- and Hong Kong identity. The issue of national identity is explored using (1) micro-theories on self and identity drawn from social psychology, (2) macro-level theories on nationalism, and (3) a theory on group psychology called social identity theory. Based on qualitative interviews with Hongkongers, this paper concludes that the vagueness of “Chinese-ness” leads to contradictions in how individuals talk about their identities. The contradictions are expressed (1) between the notion as an ethnic marker versus a territorial identity, and (2) in the argument that “Chineseness” is both primordial and historically-based yet also politically constructed. This provides support to the idea that identities are situationally constructed but also multiple.