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University of Warwick institutional repository: http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap/74244 This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. At Interregnum: Hong Kong and its English Writing by Michael Yat Him Tsang A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English and Comparative Literature University of Warwick Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies July 2015 Table of Contents List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………………..….v List of Tables…………………..…………….…………….……………………….vii List of Figures……………………………………………………………………..viii Acknowledgements……………………………..………………………………......ix Abstract…………………………...……………………………………….………...xi Introduction: At the Interregnum of the Postcolonial, Neo-colonial and World Literatures………………………………………………………………………..….1 From Post- to World-…………………………………………………………..…..2 Situating Hong Kong………………………………………………………………8 Thesis Glossary, Methodology and Structure…………………………………….17 Part I: Neo-colonial Identity in Hong Kong……………………………………….25 Chapter 1: Critiquing Hong Kong Identity: Essentialisation and Resistance....26 From Coloniser to Colonised, Colonised to Coloniser.…..……..….……….……27 Reversed Economic Colonisation………………..…………………………...27 Hegemony of Patriotism……………………………………………………...30 Two Observations…………………………………………………………….39 Countering Neo-colonialism……………………………………………………...46 Countering Economic Dependence…………………………………………...47 From Values to Identity: Towards an Anti-Modern Hong Kong……….…….50 From Words to Deeds: The Emerging Social Movement…………………….55 Summary……………………………………………………………………...66 When China is not China: Essentialisation as Resistance……………………......67 Hong Kong as an Autonomous City-state…………………………………….70 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..76 Chapter 2: Unknotting Language Politics in Neo-colonial Hong Kong...............79 Introduction.............................................................................................................79 Mandarin Chinese and Hong Kong Identity...........................................................81 Mandarin as National Hegemony.....................................................................81 Mandarin VS Cantonese : Tensions in Hong Kong..........................................83 Resistance against Mandarin and the Building of Hong Kong Identity……...88 English and Class in Hong Kong…………………………………………………91 Linguistic Imperialism: An Overview………………………………………..93 Collaborative Promotion of the English Ideology in Hong Kong……………97 The Second Chinese Movement…………………………………………….100 The Medium of Instruction (MOI) Policy…………………………………..102 English Access and Hierarchy………………………………………………104 Uneven Access across Districts……………………………………………..109 Form Rather than Substance: Contradictory Definitions of Prestige………..116 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………120 Part II: Sociocultural Critique of Hong Kong English Writing…………………123 Chapter 3: A Sociocultural History of Hong Kong English Writing…………..124 Introduction……………………………………………………………………...125 English Literary Education in Hong Kong Schools……………………………..128 Literature in English in HKCEE…………………………………………….133 Literature in English in HKALE…………………………………………….135 Literature in English in HKDSE…………………………………………….138 New Language Arts Electives in HKDSE English Language Examination...143 Showcase of Students’ Writing……………………………………………...145 Summary…………………………………………………………………….150 English Literary Education in Universities……………………………………...151 The Development of Hong Kong English Writing: Pre-2000…………………..157 The Development of Hong Kong English Writing: Post-2000………………….160 Promotion in English Departments………………………………………….160 New Creative Writing Outlets and Events…………………………………..163 Representative New Voices…………………………………………………166 Overview of Critical Works…………………………………………………168 Overview on Translations…………………………………………………...169 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………170 Chapter 4: Critiquing the Strategic Positioning of Hong Kong English Writing.....................................................................................................................172 A Critique of World English Literature…………………………………………173 Dilemmas in Positioning Hong Kong English Writing…………………………178 Southeast Asia VS East Asia………………………………………………..178 Chinese-language Writing VS English-language Writing…………………..181 Hong Kong: Capitalism VS Aesthetics?.........................................................185 Summary…………………………………………………………………….188 Devising a Strategic Positioning: A Critique against Critiques…………………188 Defining Hong Kong English Writing………….…………………………...189 Critiquing Louise Ho and Xu Xi.....................................................................199 New Writing: The case of Yuan Yang………………………….…………….204 Summary…………………………………………………………………….214 Conclusion: A Conceptual Critique……………………………………………..216 Compartmentalisation……………………………………………………….216 Turning Inwards: Complementarity and Commitment through Critiquing Ackbar Abbas………………………………………………………………..218 Part III: New Critical Perspectives on Hong Kong English Writing………….....227 Chapter 5: New Paradigms for New Writing…………………………………...228 Paradigm I: Uneven Development and English Writing………………………...228 Towards Uneven Class and Geographical Development in Hong Kong……228 Xu Xi: A Symptomatic, Class-conscious Reading…………………………..238 Of Dogs, Underclass and Boxes…………………………………………….246 Across Generations: Louise Ho and Kit Fan………………………………..254 Summary…………………………………………………………………….259 Paradigm II: Bildungspoiesis……………………………………………………260 Learning to Love One’s Home……………………………………………....261 Dangerous Harbour………………………………………………………….266 From Sam Hui to Louise Ho………..……………………………………….268 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………275 Chapter 6: English Writing as Neo-colonial Resistance………………………..276 The Final Solution to Hong Kong……………………………………………….279 Neo-colonialism and Secondary Creation: A Poetic Exchange…………………285 Neo-colonial Resistance……………………………………………………..289 A Formal and Generic Critique……………………………………………...296 Summary…………………………………………………………………….303 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………306 Coda: Whither Hong Kong English Writing?......................................................309 Appendix 1: Dominique Zhang’s Poem and Netizens’ Imitations……………..314 Bibliography............................................................................................................321 v List of Abbreviations CBD Central Business District CCP Chinese Communist Party CMI Schools that use Chinese as their medium of instruction CPPCC Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference CUHK The Chinese University of Hong Kong ED Education Department, Hong Kong (1852-1997) EDB Education Bureau, Hong Kong (2007-present) EMB Education and Manpower Bureau, Hong Kong (1997-2007) ELT English Language Teaching EMI Schools that u se English as their medium of instruction GBP Great Britain Pound Sterling GCSE General Certificate of Secondary Education GDP Gross Domestic Product HK Hong Kong HKALE Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination HKCEE Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination HKD Hong Kong Dollar HKDSE Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Examination HKEA Hong Kong Examinations Authority (1977-2002) HKEAA Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (2002-present) HKSAR Hong Kong Special Administrative Region HKU University of Hong Kong H or L High or Low (Language) HSBC Hong Kong-Shanghai Banking Corporation vi HSR High Speed Railway System, China IVS Individual Visitors Scheme LegCo Legislative Council, Hong Kong LSD League of Social Democrats, Hong Kong MA Master of Arts MFA Master of Fine Arts MOI Medium of instruction in schools MP Members of Parliament (British) MTR Mass Transit Railway, Hong Kong NET Native English Teacher NPC National People’s Congress OED Oxford English Dictionary PhD Doctor of Philosophy POP Public Opinion Programme, conducted by HKU PRC People’s Republic of China RMB Renminbi, China’s currency SARS Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome SBA School-based Assessment SCMP South China Morning Post SOAS School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London US United States USD United States Dollar WE World Englishes WReC Warwick Research Collective vii List of Tables Table 1 Descriptions and Statistics of Immigration Schemes in Hong Kong………………………………………………………………...38 Table 2 Headcounts of the Two Largest Rallies in Hong Kong (Selected Years)…………………………………………………….…...…….57 Table 3 An Outline of Recent Examples of Cultural and Environmental Conservation…………………………………………….……...…...63 Table 4 Distribution Pattern of EMI School Places across Hong Kong Districts, 1998-99…………………………………………………..121 Table 5 Number of Candidates in HKCEE English Literature, 1979-2010 (Selected Years)……………………………………………………134 Table 6 Number of Candidates in HKALE English Literature, 1981-2012 (Selected Years)……………………………………………………138 Table 7 Number of Candidates in HKDSE Literature in English, 2012-14.............................................................................................141 Table 8 Popularity and Mean Score for Elective Writing Questions……….145 Table 9 Provenance of Yuan Yang Contributors, 2000-12………………….225 viii List of Figures Figure 1 Cover of the Archival File “Constitutional Development of Hong Kong”……………………………………………………………..…43