The
Hong Kong Basic Law states “Hong Kong’s previous capitalist system and way of
life shall remain unchanged for 50 years”. The key question that needs to be
answered relates to the true identity of Hong Kong ‘way of life’. The transfer
of sovereignty from British rule to the Chinese communist regime in 1997 has
sparked widespread debate on identity politics and where Hong Kong is
positioned in the wide scheme of things. In particular, the search for a
distinct identity has prompted the film industry, the music industry and the
like to initiate such discussion on the post-colonial cultural discourse it is
experiencing today.
The
Hong Kong film industry has been proactive in addressing issues of identity in
its films since the signing of the Sino-British Declaration in 1984. Hong Kong
is recognised for its ‘in-betweeness’, neither standing with the East or the
West, but rather epitomising a hybridity that has become so crucial in the rise
of global capitalism. Though globalisation has improved the affluence of Hong
Kong, it has indeed been the source of many problems. Nowadays, Hong Kong
relies on its economic success to establish its international status,
compromising an individual, cultural identity (Chu, 2004 : 47). Andrew Lau’s Young and Dangerous (1995-2000)
storyline appears to encapsulate the situation quite well. The storyline was
predominantly set in Hong Kong before crossing borders into countries like
Holland, Malaysia and Japan in later editions. This occurred when the triad society
realised that the only way to expand ‘business’ is through an international focus
on operations. In Young and Dangerous V (1998),
the protagonist Nam (Ekin Cheng) reflects on his own identity, realising that
as his status and affluence improves, the sense of locality that defines him is
lost. He is told by triad boss Chiang to leave the street-fighting in order to
pursue legitimate business (Chu, 2004: 51). To Nam, this serves as a complete
revolution in identity, during a pivotal time in Hong Kong’s identity
(Ferguson, 2010: 42). He must choose between being a ‘local’ triad member in
Hong Kong or a businessman who must
go global to make his riches. This very problem confronts the people of Hong
Kong in their attempt to reconcile global and local dialectics in a space that
will always be culturally impure. Hong Kong, currently a hub for international
trade, boasts of its capitalist system, separate to the socialist system of Mainland
China. Chow (1998) indicates that the Hong Kong focus on economic success is ‘a
kind of compensatory logic’, making up for the difficulty in finding individuality.
The whole premise of Andrew Lau and Alan Mak’s Infernal Affairs trilogy (2002-03) is centred
on the identity crisis of triad member Lau Kin-ming (Andy Lau) who goes
undercover in the Hong Kong police force. The trilogy encapsulates the “One
Country, Two Systems” aspect of Hong Kong post-colonial identity. Lau, who has
dual identities, must operate under two systems. As a Special Administrative
Region, Hong Kong also operates under two systems – one under the Chinese
communist regime and the other under British colonialism as defined by its
capitalist economy and rigid bureaucracy (Marchetti, 2007 : 67). In Infernal
Affairs III, Inspector Yeung’s Chinese counterpart Shen is the only
principal police character that remains, following the death of Yeung and Lau’s
subsequent downfall. As such, this provides an implicit allegory to Hong Kong’s
inevitable integration with China and its culture (Marchetti, 2007 : 90).
Furthermore, a beneficial Chinese influence is highlighted in the film as Shen
provides crucial information leading to the uncovering of Lau as a mole. This
suggests that the resolution of the problem in the film and perhaps the problems
of the Hong Kong identity may require a Chinese influence.
The development of Canto-pop, a unique product
of Hong Kong, highlights the problems faced by Hong Kong in distinguishing
itself from China. The rise to prominence of Canto-pop in the 1980s and 90s was
sparked by demand from local audiences for the production of music in its local
dialect, Cantonese (Ho, 2003 : 7). Singers such as Paula Tsui, Alan Tam and
Leslie Cheung were pioneers of the change from singing Mandarin or English to
Cantonese (Ho, 2003 : 8). Canto-pop faced many cultural challenges after the
Handover, as it struggled to maintain its influence in the pan-Chinese music
industry. The fundamental issue can be sourced back to the nature of Canto-pop.
On a deeper level, it underlines the struggle to build a distinct Hong Kong
culture. Canto-pop has been widely criticised for its lack of originality and
innovation. It is rather a hybrid form of music, which combines foreign
influences (from countries like America and Japan) with elements of Chinese
popular music. Its success stems from its flexibility, being able to adjust to
shifting local markets and socio-cultural climates (Ho, 2003). Also, critics
have claimed that the decline of Canto-pop is partly due to its movement into
the global arena and thus a loss of its local authenticity. Similarly, Hong
Kong culture as a whole is only recognised for its hybridity of local and
global dialectics and not for its cultural purity. Post-colonial Hong Kong has seen Mandarin become
more prominent in society as a result of its introduction in education systems.
The market for Mandarin songs (Mando-pop) has increased resulting from a globalised
Chinese music industry which now recognises Mando-pop as more important than
Canto-pop in shaping Chinese culture (Chu, 2013 : 131). As such, continuous
marginalisation of Canto-pop has been the outcome, manifest through the
declining use of Cantonese in the industry. The aforementioned capitalist
culture of Hong Kong has played a significant role in the changes of the
pan-Chinese music industry (Chan and Mak, 2013). Currently, most Hong Kong
artists produce their albums in Mandarin, as it exposes them to a market that
is larger and clearly more prospective and profitable (Chu, 2013 : 131). Hong
Kong music stars Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung are examples of Canto-pop singers
who have embraced Mando-pop and reaped the financial benefits and recognition
from this change. With the rising
influence of Mandarin in popular Chinese culture, the products of Hong Kong are
once again marginalised as just another dimension of China when put under the
Western gaze (Chu, 2004 : 47). Hence, it is inevitable that Canto-pop be
subsumed into the Chinese market, a market that it is becoming increasingly
reliant upon (Chu, 2013 : 135).
Hong Kong’s struggle to come to terms with its
own identity is in part due to the consequences of an interaction with China. Young and Dangerous V highlights the
political implications of Hong Kong’s unification with China. Triad boss Chiang
outlines to Nam that the Beijing government will be keeping a watchful eye on
Hong Kong’s actions despite the autonomy it has been promised. Events affecting
the Hong Kong media after the Handover have put Chiang’s words in the film to
perspective. The issue of political interference sheds light to issues
concerning press freedom in Hong Kong. Recently, there have been an increasing
number of incidents involving the media, which have resulted in claims of the
Beijing government breaching Hong Kong Basic Law. For instance, the Digital
Broadcasting Company (DBC), a HK radio station known for providing a platform
to challenge the administration and promote freedom of speech (Cheng, 2012),
was shutdown in 2012 over corporate disputes. However, many protested claiming
that there was underlying pressure from China. China views any overt
manifestation of a separate cultural identity as a political threat to its
regime (Lo, 2007 : 436). Regardless of the validity of these claims, Chong
(2012) suggests that incidents like the shutdown of DBC reflect a situation
where dissident views are being suppressed when they shouldn’t be.
On the question of cultural identity, Hong Kong
is also characterised by its press freedom and the ability to exercise freedom
of speech – both Western concepts of institutional expression. Indeed, this
emphasises the ‘in-betweeness’ of Hong Kong through combining both Asian and
Western ideals in its constitution. Though claims have risen suggesting that
Hong Kong media is currently being undermined by political pressure close to
Beijing. Today, more than half of Hong
Kong’s media bosses are members of China’s parliament and its top consultative
body (Chan, 2014). Moreover, state-backed Chinese companies currently dominate
the Hong Kong media market. The irony is that China can enforce its culture in
Hong Kong by gaining control of the media tycoons – the capitalists who
represent the very economic system that separates China from Hong Kong. As a
result, the unconscious movement towards integration with Chinese economy has
damning implications on any possible emergence of Hong Kong’s own authentic,
cultural identity.
Hong Kong’s struggle to form it’s own cultural
identity after the Handover is manifest through its film, music and media. Hong
Kong’s global status, being an amalgamation of other cultures rather than its
own, emphasises the difficulty to separate itself in the first place. Moreover,
the decline of Cantonese as un-profitable and losing popularity has prompted a
return to Mandarin or rather, the ‘mother-tongue’. Considering its lack of a
political identity, Hong Kong has attempted to focus their efforts on
establishing its very own ‘lifestyle’, which is one of consumerism, revolving
around its capitalist economic system. However, its capitalist culture
inevitably leads to a growing economic dependence to China, which offers a
larger market. In Young and Dangerous VI,
Nam explains the futility of the tensions between Hong Kong and Taiwanese triad
societies – he says the bottom line is that ‘they are ultimately all Chinese’. Perhaps
the question to be answered should not be able if the Hong Kong cultural identity can sustain a separation from China but rather how fast they will succumb to the ever-present influence of
Chinese culture. After all, the first article in Hong Kong Basic Law states:
“The Hong Kong SAR is an inalienable
part of the People’s Republic of China”.
References
Websites
Chan, Y. (2014). Hong Kong's Free Press In Danger As China Tightens
Grip On Media. [online] The Huffington Post. Available at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yuen-chan/hong-kong-press-freedom_b_4568648.html
[Accessed 24 Apr. 2014].
Chong, D. (2012). Political interference
alleged in protest over shutdown of DBC. [online] South China Morning Post.
Available at:
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1065299/political-interference-alleged-protest-over-shutdown-dbc
[Accessed 24 Apr. 2014].
Academic Journals
Chow,
R. (1998) Ethics after Idealism: Theory – Culture – Ethnicity – Reading
(Indianapolis and Bloomington: Indiana University Press, p, 177
Ferguson, L. E. (2010). Hong Kong: Communicating 1997 and
beyond through Film. eSharp, Special Issue: Communicating Change:
Representing Self and Community in a Technological World, 30.
Ho, W. C. (2003).
Between globalisation and localisation: a study of Hong Kong popular
music. Popular music, 22(2), 143-157.
Kaeding,
M. P. (2011). Identity Formation in Taiwan and Hong Kong–How Much Difference,
How Many Similarities?, 258-279
Lo,
Kwai-Cheung (2007) “A borderline case: ethnic politics and gangster films in
post-1997 Hong Kong,” Postcolonial Studies, 10,4: 431-446
Mak, R. K., &
Chan, C. S. (2013). Icons, Culture and Collective Identity of Postwar Hong
Kong. Intercultural Communication Studies, 22(1).
Books
Chu,
Y. W. (2013). Lost in Transition: Hong Kong Culture in the Age of China.
SUNY Press. 131-135Marchetti, G. (2007). Andrew
Lau and Alan Mak's Infernal Affairs-The Trilogy: Chinese People and British
Rule in Hong Kong, 1841-1880 (Vol.
1). Hong Kong University Press.
