In recent years, local awareness has risen, and citizens have more subjective imaginations about what "Hong Kong people" are.
Hong Kong implemented the ID card system as early as the Japanese occupation period. In 1972, the British Hong Kong government further defined the rights and obligations of "Hong Kong residents" based on this; however, in Macau, which was also colonized, the Macau-Portuguese government was not established until 1992. The system has experienced twists and turns and confusion during the period.
"Hong Kong 01" recently had a dialogue with Chen Zhenyu, the author of "Trust and Witness: The Development of Macao ID Cards", to discuss the important impact of the construction of the identity system on identity.
"Macau Identity Policy" 21
Sample of Macao Resident Identity Card
Although "Hong Kong independence" is a false proposition, since the then Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying criticized the "Hong Kong Ethnic Theory" compiled by the University of Hong Kong student publication "Xue Yuan" in the "Policy Address" in 2015, it has indeed attracted a lot of attention and discussion, and even Based on this, a discourse on the identity of the so-called "Hong Kong people" and "Chinese" is formed.
However, the relevant claims are only subjective imaginations, and ignore an objective fact that identities formed on the basis of race and nationality must have a legal basis.
The book "Trust and Witness: The Development of Macao ID Card" (hereinafter referred to as "Trust and Witness"), published by Macao research scholar Chen Zhenyu at the end of last year, explored its impact on the establishment of the "Macao Resident ID Card" system. The key role of constructing identity.
"Faith and Witness" is named after "Zuo Zhuan.
In the Eighth Year of Emperor Zhaogong: "A gentleman's words are believed and there are signs, so the resentment is far from his own body." The original meaning is that as long as the gentleman's words are well-founded and true, others will have no way to complain or accuse, and as "Faithful" The metaphor of the title of "You Certificate" is that the ID card, as a certificate issued by public power, has the function of verifying the identity of the holder, just like "the words of a gentleman", there is no need to worry about explaining who you are to others. .
However, it is not overnight for an ID card to achieve "trust and evidence".
Taking Hong Kong as an example, in the early days of British colonization, the identity card system was not established, and most Hong Kong Chinese did not agree with the Hong Kong identity under the rule of the British Hong Kong government. Residents registered their household registration to obtain a "resident certificate"; until 1949, when the Communist Party of China led the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the British Hong Kong government not only started to set up customs to control entry and exit and the right of abode to prevent the Communist Party and the Kuomintang from affecting social stability, but also continued to use the Japanese colonial status. The permit system compelled the registration of all immigrants and local residents. In the following period, political changes in the Mainland led to the influx of refugees into Hong Kong by means of smuggling. After several setbacks, the British Hong Kong government finally defined rights and Obligation to formally establish the Hong Kong identity card system; until the return of Hong Kong in 1997, the "Basic Law" also took "Hong Kong residents" as the main body.
The process of constructing the Hong Kong identity card is not easy, and Macau, which was also colonized, is even more difficult.
Chen Zhenyu pointed out that before 1992, Macau still lacked a set of identity certification system, which led to the lack of a good foundation for the identity of "Macau Citizenship" for many years.
He explained that the ID card is an important "symbolic order" for the construction of "Macau civic identity" and its identity. In short, it refers to a "mark" for human beings to understand real life. Concepts organize what you see and hear and digest them into certain words or symbols, and these "marks" will not only affect the operation of the individual's psychology and thinking, but also play an important role in social development - to put it simply, when there is a legal The "Macao Resident Identity Card", which is supported by standards and can clearly delineate relevant rights and obligations, can not only distinguish whether a person is a "Macao citizen", but also can explain the "why" and "how it will be".
Chen Zhenyu: "Trust with Certificates - The Development of Macao ID Cards", Sanlian Publishing: First edition in November 2021.
Chen Zhenyu emphasized that the biggest prerequisite for the "Macao Resident Identity Card" to become the "marking order" is to have a unified set of documents, and the criteria for judging in it must not be value-oriented, and must be objective, neutral, recognized and acceptable. visible.
He cited, for example, the Basic Law and the Law on Permanent Residents and Right of Abode of the Macao Special Administrative Region enacted accordingly, which provide an objective and neutral basis for determining the status of permanent residents of the Macao SAR, and then use the "identity card" as a recognized and visible proof documents are sufficient to identify the holder with "Macau Citizenship" at the legal level, and thus are eligible to participate in the construction of the relevant identity.
However, Chen Zhenyu also added that simply satisfying the "objective" institutional conditions is not enough to support the identity of a "Macau citizen", and social members need to internalize the relevant identity through a series of marking experiences, which is precisely what Macau has not been able to do for many years. The crux of a truly successful identity system.
Macao, under the administration of Macao and Portuguese, has a very diverse population, including Portuguese, Chinese who originally lived in Macao, Hong Kong people, and foreigners other than China and Portuguese; One-way Permit) or illegal (smuggling) way to enter Macau.
How to effectively manage these people of different nationalities and from different places, distinguish their rights and obligations, and give them a proper "identity" is a major governance problem for the Macau-Portuguese authorities.
However, until 1992, the Macao-Portuguese government always lacked a set of unified identity certification "marking order", so it was unable to integrate people from different nationalities and races who lived in Macao for a long time as "Macao citizens" for a long time. It is impossible to construct a widely accepted identity on the basis of this.
For example, as a symbol for constructing the identity of "Macao citizens", the types of Macao ID cards in the Macao-Portuguese period can be described as various - identification cards (Portuguese citizens, non-Portuguese Chinese), identity cards (Portuguese Chinese, non-Portuguese Chinese) , Hong Kong people), residence permit (foreigners from China and Portuguese-speaking countries), and temporary residence permit and non-local worker status card issued to solve the problem of temporary labor and illegal immigration (mainly from mainland China).
Among them, the two kinds of certification documents, the "authentication certificate" and the "identity card", which were widely held by Macao citizens during the Macao-Portuguese period, are not intended to define who is a "Macao citizen", but the "travel document" of Portuguese citizens.
Chen Zhenyu, a Macau scholar who authored the book "Trust with Evidence", believes that the ID card can be regarded as an important symbolic order for building Macau's local "citizenship" and even identity.
The "Certificate of Recognition" was originally an identification certificate applied for by native Portuguese nationals when they left the country.
At that time, the Macao-Portuguese authorities issued identification certificates to Portuguese citizens and non-Portuguese Chinese living in Macao, and stipulated that judicial organs, public officials, civil servants, doctors, lawyers, shopkeepers and hotel and travel managers. The waiters and so on are required to apply for a certification card; applicants for secondary schools and institutions of higher learning must show the certification card; drivers must also hold the certification before they can issue a driver's license.
The "identity card" is used as a personal identification when non-Portuguese Chinese travel to Hong Kong, and it proves that the holder has never committed a crime in Macau.
Therefore, the "ID card" does not initially have full identification effect in law.
However, due to the high cost and complicated procedures to apply for the identification card, most Chinese in Australia do not know Portuguese. Compared with the ID card, the identification card cannot be used as a document for entering Hong Kong, resulting in many holding ID cards. of Chinese in Australia are unwilling to apply for an identification card, or hold both an identification card and an ID card.
At the same time, the Macao-Portuguese government has not strictly implemented the replacement of the ID card, but instead allows the ID card holder to obtain a driver's license or apply for the public security police (the original provision was that only Portuguese citizens could apply for the test).
The administrative authority even issued an order in 1964. Before issuing a license or engaging in registration, the public sector must present documents including an ID card, disguisedly allowing non-Portuguese Chinese to use the ID card as a substitute.
As a result, during the Macao-Portuguese period, there were more than two kinds of identity documents in Macao for a long time, which undoubtedly made it more difficult for the Macao-Portuguese authorities to manage the population, and made it impossible to talk about "what is a Macao person".