"Hong Kong Lesson One" Introduction and Contents

Introduction

This was originally a class note I wrote for mainland students when I was teaching at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. At present, about 20,000 mainland Chinese students come to Hong Kong every year to study undergraduate degree and postgraduate courses. When they come to Hong Kong, they will face various culture shocks. Especially in the face of the stinging conflict between China and Hong Kong, when encountering the overwhelming anti-China sentiment of Hong Kong public opinion, even if there is no resistance, at least it will be incomprehensible.

I am Liang Qizhi. I have taught Hong Kong society and politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for the past eight years (2011-2019). I have witnessed the changes in Hong Kong both inside and outside the classroom. Most of my students come from mainland China and around the world, and they usually have little knowledge of the reasons behind Hong Kong's various difficulties before class. Year after year, explaining "what is Hong Kong" to students from different backgrounds amid sudden changes, I found that despite the endless debates in the society, neither foreigners nor locals are very clear about what they are arguing about.

For mainland students, since they came to Hong Kong, it is better to treat the whole of Hong Kong as a classroom to understand the reasons for differences and conflicts; for foreigners, seeing Hong Kong, the forefront of the collision between the Chinese system and universal values, will help them think about how to deal with it The rise of China; for the locals, being a serious stranger from another perspective may become a way of introspection. Before asking where Hong Kong should go, let us take a step back and try to clarify the most basic things.

Table of contents

Preface: Question-Answering as a Dissent

Chapter 1: The Controversy of Identity
1. Hasn’t Hong Kong been Chinese territory since ancient times?
2. Has the Chinese government misunderstood the history of Hong Kong?
3. What are the consequences of mainland China's misunderstanding of Hong Kong?
4. How did Hong Kong Identity start?
5. Are Hong Kong identities and Chinese identities in conflict?
6. Were Hong Kong people afraid of 1997?
7. Did the people of Hong Kong celebrate 1997?
8. Why are post-1997 Hong Kong people more resistant to mainland China?
9. Why do Hong Kong people not concentrate on economic development, but entangled in the issue of identity?
10. Why have nativism and China-Hong Kong conflicts emerged so rapidly in recent years?
11. Hong Kong people are all Chinese, so why discuss identity?
12. Why do Hong Kong people oppose national education?
13. Will Mandarin replace Cantonese as the mainstream language in Hong Kong?

New Chapter Two: Institutional Controversy
14. What is the biggest difference between China and Hong Kong on the political system of the SAR?
15. Does Hong Kong really implement the separation of powers?
16. Does Hong Kong really have a high degree of autonomy?
17. Why do foreign governments often make irresponsible remarks on the Hong Kong issue?
18. Why is the chief executive election criticized as a sham election?
19. Why do the chief executive and the SAR government always have low popularity?
20. Why did the system left by the British not work after 1997?
21. Why do members of the Legislative Council only understand criticism but not construction?
22. Why are members of the Legislative Council becoming more and more radical?
23. Why does the Legislative Council "labe" all day long without discussing matters?
24. Why do Hong Kong courts have foreign judges?
25. Why do Hong Kong people oppose the interpretation of the law by the National People's Congress?
26. Isn’t the duty of district councilors to serve the neighbors, why should they be politicized?
27. Why are there so many polls in Hong Kong?
28. Why is TVB called CCTVB?
29. Why are there demonstrations in Hong Kong all day long?
30. Why have the Hong Kong police been repeatedly criticized in recent years?
31. Why have protests in Hong Kong become increasingly violent and radical in recent years?

Chapter 3: Where to go
32. Why did Hong Kong people suddenly become enthusiastic about fighting for democracy after 1997?
33. Isn't Hong Kong's political system after 1997 more democratic than before 1997?
34. Why is there no universal suffrage in Hong Kong?
35. Can universal suffrage solve all problems in Hong Kong?
36. Does one country, two systems have a future?

Conclusion: On Systemic Corruption

(This series was first launched on Matters, and will be uploaded every night from May 13, 2019. Links to each chapter can be found in the "Association" function on this page.)