The percentage of locals who identify themselves as “Hongkongers” — as opposed to “Chinese,” for instance — has hit an all-time high as protests against Beijing’s perceived meddling in the city’s affairs continue to rock the city.
According to a new survey by the University of Hong Kong Public Opinion Programme (HKUPOP), for the first time since the 1997 handover, a majority of Hong Kong residents said they identified as Hongkongers, at 52.9 percent. Only 10.8 percent of respondents, meanwhile, identified as Chinese, the lowest ever proportion since 1997.
The survey also included the alternative options “Hongkonger in China” (23.5 percent) and “Chinese in Hong Kong” (12.3 percent).
HKUPOP conducted the survey by random telephone interview between the 17th and 20th of June, at the height of a protest movement that has seen millions of Hongkongers pour into the streets to protest a controversial extradition bill that would allow renditions to the mainland for the first time in decades.
An analysis by HKUPOP senior data analyst Edward Tai said the result “clearly reflects the impact of [the protests] to Hong Kong citizens’ ethnic identity recognition and feelings towards the handover of sovereignty.”
Statistics show that the proportion of people identifying as Hongkonger has increased more or less steadily since 2012, with past fluctuations often tracking with major political developments.
Major shifts, for instance, correspond to 2003’s anti-Beijing protests against a controversial national security law, pro-China sentiment around the 2008 Olympic Games (when a record high of 38.6 percent of respondents identified as “Chinese”), and the 2014 Umbrella Movement, which demanded greater autonomy in selecting the city’s traditionally Beijing-approved leaders.
With the anniversary of the 1997 handover fast approaching on July 1, HKUPOP also surveyed residents on their pride at “becoming a national citizen of China.” The survey found that only 26.6 percent of respondents were proud of being Chinese citizens, versus 70.8 percent who were not.
The finding represents the highest level of negative responses since 1997, when the figures were roughly even at 46.6 and 45.7 percent, respectively. Since then, positive feelings towards being Chinese citizens only edged ahead of negative ones in 2005, 2008, and 2009.
