The Queen and Hong Kongers. 3｜Why do you believe the Hong Kong story of "British Gift"?

"Thank you for turning Hong Kong from a poor fishing village into an international city", "The Queen has never asked us to love Britain, sing the national anthem, and understand the national conditions", "Thank you to the United Kingdom for not abandoning Hong Kong in many wars"... Among the flowers in memory of Queen Elizabeth II outside the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong, there are many heartfelt cards with such words of thanks written on them, some are condolences, some are nostalgic, some It's puzzling - the achievement of Hong Kong is attributed to the gift of British colonialism, but the exploitation and harm of aggression are disregarded, and some basic historical facts have not even been grasped - this unique memory of the times, complex colonial sentiments , The historical consciousness of nothingness is a portrayal of the identity dilemma that many "Hong Kong people" still can't get out of "Who am I".

"The Queen and the People of Hong Kong" Series No. 3

Outside the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong, among the flowers in memory of Queen Elizabeth II, there are many heartfelt cards with words of thanks, some condolences, some nostalgic, and some heartwarming Can't figure it out.

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The Queen and Hong Kongers.

1 | What are the reflections of the Queen and Hong Kong people in addition to the political sentiment behind the public mourning?

2｜The Mystery of "Submission" by Royal Fans - What the People Want or Self-Imagination

Only with British governance and the Queen's blessing

can Hong Kong be developed and advanced?

There have been three major battles in Hong Kong in modern times, but it is hard to say that "the British army will never leave Hong Kong": the first was the outpost of the Opium War in 1839. Lu led his army to attack on the sea near Tsim Sha Tsui. Although he was repelled by the Qing army, he suddenly captured the Shajiao Fort in January 1841, and then occupied the whole island of Hong Kong. This is more than the unequal Treaty of Nanking. It was still a year and a half earlier; the second was the Six-Day War of the New Territories in April 1899. The British Hong Kong government took over the New Territories in accordance with another unequal "Special Provision for the Expansion of Hong Kong's Boundaries", which aroused strong resistance from the villagers and prompted the authorities to Concession to retain traditional customs; the third battle was the defense of Hong Kong on December 18, 1941. It was World War II. After the Japanese army landed on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong defenders such as the British Army in Hong Kong and the Chinese Legion fought stubbornly for 18 days. Governor Yang Muqi Surrendered on Christmas Day, the Japanese occupied Hong Kong for three years and eight months.

If such a historical fact can be remembered as "Britain has never left Hong Kong in many wars", then it is not surprising that some people attribute Hong Kong's achievements to the gift of British colonialism, and they do not take the harm of aggression seriously.

The question is, how did this unique memory of the times, the complex colonial sentiments and the nihilistic historical consciousness come into being?

"In Hong Kong, we have established a governance system that is true to our political values... The values ​​we have built and the policies we have implemented for Hong Kong's society, law and economy give Hong Kong people the opportunity to make the most of them With soaring energy and outstanding talent, he will work hard in a fair, just, law-abiding, and orderly society, develop his strengths, and achieve good results." Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong, said in his 1996 policy address "Hong Kong in Transition" In this way, the management contribution of the British Hong Kong government to the modernization, urbanization and democratization of Hong Kong is explained in this way - it seems reasonable at first, and it dominated the development narrative of Hong Kong for more than 20 years, and it still remains today. Influences some Hong Kong citizens, like those who express their gratitude to Queen Elizabeth II for Hong Kong's achievements, deeply believe in such a Hong Kong story of "drinking water and thinking of the source": with British governance and the Queen's blessing, Only then has the golden age of advanced development and freedom and openness.

In his 1996 policy address "Hong Kong in Transition", the last Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, attributed Hong Kong's modernization, urbanization and democratization to the British management contribution.

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Peng Du's narration changed the fundamental history of

all development only from the British colony?

However, in fact, as early as the year of Hong Kong's return, many scholars have refuted Patten's narrative.

For example, David Lu, Vice President (Research and Development) of the Education University of Hong Kong, author of "Four Generations of Hong Kong People", pointed out three points: First, the social environment of Hong Kong did not originate from colonial rule or gifts, but was driven by Hong Kong citizens based on different social situations. Secondly, Hong Kong's economic achievements and free life are not the planning or design of the British Hong Kong government, but the results of Hong Kong people's ability to drill and expand continuously. Finally, and most importantly, the policy changes in the later period of British colonialism It was the British Hong Kong government that was forced by the situation, but even if they had followed the will of the people, reformed their policies, and improved people's livelihood, they could not change the hegemonic essence and injustice of colonialism.

In the same year, cultural studies scholar Law Yongsheng also criticized the British Hong Kong government for "transforming colonialism with managerialism".

He believes that the colonial governance system "administration absorbs politics" as summarized by sociologist Jin Yaoji - the establishment of a consultative structure in the administrative system to absorb civil political forces, and the social characteristics of Hong Kong "utilitarian familism" summarized by social studies scholar Liu Zhaojia - - Rarely participating in political affairs in order to safeguard the interests of the family, these two sets of statements both provide justifications for the authoritarian rule and governance tactics of the British colonial government of Hong Kong, enabling them to be under the global tide of decolonization, Continue to appear as an "enlightened government", and appears to be committed to the social nature of Hong Kong's metropolis.

"During the colonial period, the history of the colony itself was deliberately distorted and edited by the colonizers to achieve the purpose of economic and cultural aggression. In order to maintain the independence of their own identity, the colony must fight against the distorted historical narrative and obtain a common spirit by reconstructing history. Homeland." Li Xiyuan, a professor at the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Development Research Institute of Sun Yat-sen University, published an academic review article "Global, National and Local: Postcolonial Criticism in Hong Kong Academia and Research in Sociology" in 2005. "The Reconstruction of Hong Kong People's Cultural Identity" proposed that Hong Kong's history should be correctly understood and re-narrated in order to reflect history, lay out problems, reflect on identity, and reconstruct identity; however, from the historical narrative of "Hong Kong Story", at least Before the handover, it was mainly from the perspective of the British Hong Kong government, and it was inevitably influenced by British colonialism. As a result, the relationship between Hong Kong people and Hong Kong's history and urban development can only start from British colonial rule.

The success of MacLehose's reforms created favorable conditions for Hong Kong's future economic development and cultural enlightenment.

(Information Services Department)

Praise the view of guilt is intertwined with

British political calculations are ignored?

The debate over the narrative of the "Hong Kong Story" continued after the handover, and there were at least three "colonial views" in the mainstream of society.

Yan Fei, associate professor of social sciences at Tsinghua University, author of "The Hong Kong I Want" and "Our Hong Kong", published "The Essentials of Colonial Governance of Hong Kong— - Comment on Governing Hong Kong> Explanation:

One is the above-mentioned "singing view", which believes that Hong Kong's prosperous and stable international status is due to the institutional inheritance established by the British colony, and the virtues and civilization of the British Hong Kong government have also created a beautiful new world like a fairy tale for Hong Kong. From time to time, he falls into the golden years of nostalgia for British colonialism, and he often expresses his dissatisfaction and loss with the SAR government. The national identity of the Hong Kong people has been squeezed out, and the material resources of the Hong Kong people have been squeezed. Therefore, they resent the invasion of Western culture and advocate patriotism for redemption. Reflection, neither overemphasizes British colonial aggression nor blindly advocates beautifying Hong Kong’s British governance, but chooses to face history squarely, on the one hand, objectively affirming the governance wisdom and effectiveness of the British regime, and on the other hand, rationally tracing the power and tactics behind the colonial policy with purpose.

The so-called "wisdom of British regime governance" is precisely the foundation on which the "Hong Kong story" narrated by Patten has been fermented to this day.

Yan Fei pointed out that the British colonial policy was different from that of other European countries, neither wishing to be permanently stationed there, nor to take high-handed measures, but to return sovereignty and governance in an appropriate manner at an appropriate time. "Manage overseas territories with a mentality, focusing on effective governance techniques and policy strategies, including establishing a colonial government structure with reference to the British government model, completely transplanting the British local political system and legal system, implementing welfare measures to reduce people's riots, and supporting British-funded consortia to strengthen monopoly Only with power can maintain social stability and then plunder resources to the greatest extent possible.

Behind the colonial government's determination to promote social reform and economic progress, the real purpose was to create a bargaining chip for the British government to negotiate the future of Hong Kong with the Chinese government.

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MacLehose's reform is also a political calculation

Why should Hong Kong people underestimate their own contributions?

That is to say, all governing strategies have been carefully calculated politically.

Taking Hong Kong as an example, even the "MacLehose Reform" of the 1970s, which is still deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, is also inseparable from the wishful thinking of the British government.

Twenty years before MacLehose's reform, in the 1950s, even after more than 100 years of British colonial rule, Hong Kong was still regarded as a poor and dilapidated city, dependent on a small amount of entrepot trade, lacking modern industrial production, and its economic level lagged behind Shanghai and Guangzhou.

It is generally believed that due to the subsequent outbreak of the "June 7 Rebellion" led by leftists and the rise of nationalism and anti-colonial awareness, the British Hong Kong government had to change its governance strategy, rectify corrupt officials, focus on community building, and build public buildings on a large scale. housing, promoting people's livelihood welfare, improving the quality of life, enhancing people's rights, and regulating labor disputes... In order to bridge the distance with Hong Kong citizens, we will focus on cultivating the self-centered awareness of "Hong Kong people".

Such an experience has successfully created favorable conditions for Hong Kong's economic development and cultural enlightenment in the future, and has also made MacLehose a representative of "Hong Kong British Good Governance" loved and praised by Hong Kong people.

However, Hong Kong political scientist Li Pengguang pointed out in his 2012 book "Governing Hong Kong: Enlightenment from the British Declassified Archives" that he found from the British declassified archives that the real purpose behind the colonial government's determination to promote social reform and economic progress was to serve the British government. Create bargaining chips for negotiating the future of Hong Kong with the Chinese government.

To put it simply, the British Hong Kong is committed to promoting the development of Hong Kong in the short term, so that people's living standards have been greatly abandoned in mainland China, which can highlight the institutional advantages of British colonization of Hong Kong, thereby creating a bargaining target for the United Kingdom, and directly affecting the Chinese government. Negotiating attitude.

In other words, Governor MacLehose did not come to Hong Kong to resolve the social crisis, but to make a long-term strategic plan based on British diplomatic and political considerations, to build Hong Kong into a model city, to gather the general public's goodwill towards British colonialism, and to create the best negotiating capital for the United Kingdom .

However, for some Hong Kong citizens, no matter what selfish interests are behind the Hong Kong-British reform, it seems to be of little importance.

I will not make any moral judgment for this kind of "tolerance", but it does underestimate the contribution of Hong Kong citizens to Hong Kong's take-off to a certain extent, and unknowingly creates a contradiction between colonialism and nationalism The transfer has formed a local awareness of maintaining a separation from mainland China - until today, the identity of "Hong Kong people" about "who I am" is still unclear...

The Queen and Hong Kongers.

1 | What are the reflections of the Queen and Hong Kong people in addition to the political sentiment behind the public mourning?

2｜The Mystery of Royal Fans' "Submission" - The People's Favor or Self-imagination of the Queen of England and Hong Kongers.

3｜Why do you believe the Hong Kong story of "British Gift"?