UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ EVERYDAY IMAGININGS UNDER the LION ROCK: an ANALYSIS of IDENTITY FORMATION in HONG KONG a Di
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ EVERYDAY IMAGININGS UNDER THE LION ROCK: AN ANALYSIS OF IDENTITY FORMATION IN HONG KONG A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in POLITICS by Sarah Y.T. Mak March 2013 The Dissertation of Sarah Y.T. Mak is approved: _______________________________ Professor Megan Thomas, Chair ________________________________ Professor Ben Read ________________________________ Professor Michael Urban ________________________________ Professor Lisa Rofel ______________________________________ Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Copyright © by Sarah Y.T. Mak 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... v Abstract ...............................................................................................................................vi Acknowledgments.........................................................................................................viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................1 I. SETTING THE SCENE .......................................................................................................1 II. THE HONG KONG CASE ............................................................................................. 15 III. THEORETICAL STARTING POINTS ............................................................................ 41 IV. AN APPROACH TO STUDYING IDENTITY FORMATION IN HONG KONG ................ 56 V. A ROAD MAP OF THE DISSERTATION....................................................................... 62 VI. CONCLUSION............................................................................................................. 66 CHAPTER TWO: FROM BARREN ROCK TO GLIMMERING ROCK – THE MYTHS OF HONG KONG .................................................................................................................................... 69 I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 69 II. THE HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF MYTHS ................................. 80 III. THE BIFURCATION OF HONG KONG’S HISTORY .................................................... 87 IV. THE MYTH INSTITUTIONALIZED............................................................................103 V. THE MYTH IN CONTEMPORARY POPULAR MEMORY............................................115 VI. CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................123 CHAPTER THREE: THE BOUNDING OF A CITY AND ITS MYTH ...........................................127 PROLOGUE: A JOURNEY TO THE BORDER ...................................................................127 I. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................132 II. THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE BORDER.......................................................139 IV. THE BORDER THROUGH THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE.............................................159 V. CONCLUSION: LOCUSTS AT THE BORDER ..............................................................196 CHAPTER FOUR: THE POLITICS OF REDEVELOPMENT AND HERITAGE PRESERVATION IN HONG KONG........................................................................................................................204 I. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................204 II. HONG KONG’S “NEED FOR CHANGE” ....................................................................212 III. RECLAMATION: THE STAR FERRY SAGA..............................................................226 IV. THE BATTLE FOR GOVERNMENT HILL .................................................................240 V. CONTRADICTIONS WITHIN THE CITY AND THE PRODUCTION OF CITY SPACES ..256 V. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................270 CHAPTER FIVE: THE COMMODIFICATION OF HONG KONG................................................276 I. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................276 II. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS SURROUNDING COMMODIFICATION AND NOSTALGIA ....................................................................................................................282 III. COMMODIFICATION UNDER THE WESTERN GAZE ...............................................291 iii IV. COMMODIFICATION FOR THE LOCAL HONG KONG CONSUMER .........................295 V. COMMODIFICATION FOR THE COSMOPOLITAN CONSUMER..................................317 VI. CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................331 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................333 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................345 iv List of Figures Figure 1: Locust advertisement..................................................................................... 4 Figure 2: Screenshot from MTR "Please Excuse Us" campaign.............................. 118 Figure 3: Screenshot from HSBC commercial – “Foundations”.............................. 119 Figure 4: Screenshot from HSBC commercial – “Foundations”.............................. 121 Figure 5: Map of Hong Kong MTR.......................................................................... 132 Figure 6: Map of Frontier Closed Area..................................................................... 154 Figure 7: Image of Hong Kong's cityscape............................................................... 204 Figure 8: IFC Tower Two......................................................................................... 234 Figure 9: IFC shopping mall..................................................................................... 236 Figure 10: City Hall .................................................................................................. 238 Figure 11: Reclaimed land in front of City Hall....................................................... 239 Figure 12: The front entrance of the Central Government Offices........................... 243 Figure 13: Photo of Central and Sheung Wan districts c1868................................. 260 Figure 14: Development Bureau's proposed usage of Government Hill .................. 268 Figure 15: The Wanchai Livelihood Museum's exhibit............................................ 312 Figure 16: Watermelon balls repurposed.................................................................. 312 Figure 17: The exterior of Yin Yang restaurant........................................................ 314 Figure 19: The menu of the Starbucks bing sutt....................................................... 320 Figure 20: The interior of Starbucks bing sutt.......................................................... 321 v Abstract EVERYDAY IMAGININGS UNDER THE LION ROCK: AN ANALYSIS OF IDENTITY FORMATION IN HONG KONG by SARAH Y.T. MAK This dissertation examines the ways in which Hong Kong identity is discursively constructed through banal everyday instances, which do not, on their face, speak to issues of political identity. Fifteen years after Hong Kong’s change in sovereignty, the embracing and acceptance of a Hong Kong identity is at an all time high. Despite efforts by Beijing and the Hong Kong government to increase cooperation and integration with Mainland China, Hong Kongers are increasingly distinguishing themselves from the Chinese nation. Typical explanations for such divisions focus on issues such as universal suffrage, school curricula, and press freedom. In contrast, this study demonstrates that divisions in identity can also be seen in (1) the politics, practices, and discourses of the Hong Kong-Mainland China border; (2) discussions on redevelopment and heritage preservation; and (3) the commodification of nostalgic everyday items such as toys, clothing, and household goods. While not a nation per se, this dissertation finds that Hong Kong’s strong place-based identity shares many similarities with conceptions of nationalism and national identities, and exhibits what I refer to as “near-nationalism.” Similar to many other nations, a founding myth is central to understanding the context of Hong Kong identity. This dissertation demonstrates how what was a colonial myth about Hong vi Kong’s founding and development entrenched in the colonial power’s ideology became decolonized, localized and embodied by Hong Kongers. The new formulation of the myth emphasizes the work ethic, go-getting spirit and upward mobility of a displaced community of immigrants coming together under hardships to build a global city. The ideological aspects of globalization and neoliberalism make up the core of this myth and, by way of that, Hong Kongers’ self-understanding. The paradox is that despite increasing similarities between Mainland Chinese cities and Hong Kong, the myth remains an integral part of the everyday debates and heightened political moments in which Hong Kongers distance themselves from Mainland China. vii Acknowledgments And so my graduate school career ends here. When I first