“香港人”一詞 在中文語境中使用多年，但英語專有名詞 “Hongkonger”則是在2014年才被《牛津英語詞典》正式收錄 (South China Morning Post, 2014)。“香港人”本身並不是法定用語，在政府文件中，通常被稱作“香港居民”。香港居民包括不同類型，例如：i) 非永久香港居民是指持有香港身份證但沒居留權的人士，ii) 香港永久居民是持有香港永久居民身份證及居留權的人士，iii) 大部份港人持有中國護照及香港永久居民身份證，iv) 也有部份港人持有香港永久居民身份證但並非持有中國護照 (HKSAR, 2019) 。
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after Qing Empire ceded Hong Kong Island in 1842, and its sovereignty was handed over from Britain to People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1997. For more than a hundred years in this British colony, people from mainland China and other parts of the world resided in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong people do not comprise of one particular ethnicity or nationality. After the 1997 handover, the proportion of ethnic Chinese has obviously increased, according to Hong Kong's 2016 census, 92% of its population is ethnically Chinese, with 31% were born in Mainland China, Taiwan or Macau. Among the 0.58 million non-Chinese, the largest ethnic groups in Hong Kong were Filipinos, Indonesians and Whites, constituting 31.5%, 26.2% and 10.0% of the non-Chinese population respectively, other south Asians include Indian, Pakistani, and Nepalese (HKSAR, 2017).
The Chinese term “xianggangren” has been used for years in Chinese contexts, but the English term “Hongkonger” has just recently been officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary in March 2014 (South China Morning Post, 2014). The term “Hongkonger” itself has no legal definition by the Hong Kong Government. More precise terms such as Hong Kong Permanent Resident and Hong Kong Resident are used in legal contexts, in which there are different types of Hong Kong residency, such as: i) non-permanent Hong Kong residents who are people holding Hong Kong Identity Cards but they have no right of abode, ii) permanent Hong Kong residents are those holding Hong Kong Permanent Identity Cards and having the right of abode, iii) most residents hold permanent Hong Kong Residents Identity Cards and Chinese passports, iv) but there are also permanent Hong Kong residents who do hold Chinese passport (HKSAR, 2019).
More than two decades after the 1997 handover, the subjective ethno-national identity of Hongkongers is still an unsettled issue. A 2017 survey showed that citizens continue to feel the strongest when identified as “Hongkongers”, then followed by a number of ethno-cultural identities, such as Asian, global citizens, Chinese, etc. The feeling of being “citizens of the PRC” is the weakest among all identity options, and this was particularly obvious in the 18-29 age group (HKUPOP, 2017).
Some scholars see that “Chinese” has always been a complex concept. Shen (2007) sees that Chinese nationalism is complicated and diverse, and it is often bottom-up, supported by mainland citizens. Zhao (2006) sees that the term Chinese has denoted multi-ethnicities and multi-nationalities since the Qing dynasty (diversity in unity, “duoyuanyiti).
Luisa Tam. (2019, January 01). How the Hong Kong identity is being warped by social media, as protests rage. SCMP.
SCMP Columnist mentioned that HK people fear of losing their HK identity, but she said HK people is indeed having multiple identities, and is a true survivor, so that they can adapt and adjust to challenge. She is concerned about HK people's view is gradually shaped by social media that they have to fight back all the time to strive for other's acceptance and what they already have inside. 引文
South China Morning Post, . (2014, 2014-03-18, January 01). Word power: Dictionary helps Hongkongers define their identity. South China Morning Post.
The description of “Hongkonger” and “Hongkongese” has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary in its latest quarterly update, while “Hong Kong Chinese” has been included as a new sub-entry. Different stakeholders express view about it. 引文
HKSAR. (2017). Hong Kong 2016 Population By-census - Main Results.
The 2016 population by-census released by the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. 引文
HKSAR. (2019). Meanings of right of abode and other terms.
This webpage captured the release from the HKSAR government for explaining the meanings of the terms related to the right of abode in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) – ‘right of abode’, ‘right to land’, ‘Chinese citizen’, ‘settled’ and ‘ordinary residence’. 引文
Frances Hui. (2019, 2019-06-04, December 23). I am from Hong Kong, not China. PRI.
Frances Hui, a senior at Emerson College, faces much criticism at college due to her public speaking towards identity,"I am from Hong Kong, not China." and she also recognized that there is absence of voice, no matter from Taiwanese, Hongkongers or other Chinese minority groups, to advocate Hong Kong culture. Meanwhile, she is proud of her identity and would insist to tell people where her home is. 引文
HKUPOP. (2017). HKU POP releases latest survey on Hong Kong people’s ethnic identity.
This document captured the survey done by the Public Opinion Programme of the University of Hong Kong regarding ethnic identities, including "Hongkongers", Asians", "global citizens", "Members of the Chinese race", "Chinese", and "citizens of PRC". 引文
Bhattacharya, A. (2005). Chinese nationalism contested: The rise of Hong Kong identity. Issues & Studies, 41(2), 37–74.
This study looks into how a Hong Kong identity has emerged & contests the notion of Chinese nationalism today. 引文
Veg, S. (2017). The rise of localism and civic identity in post-handover Hong Kong: Questioning the Chinese Nation-state. China Quarterly, 230, 323–347.
The present study takes a two-dimensional approach to study these discourses, such as, 'how new is “localism” with respect to the more traditional “Hong Kong identity” that appeared in the 1970s?', by examining not only their framework of identification (local versus pan-Chinese) but also their mode of identification (ethno-cultural versus civic) through studying three case, the June Fourth vigil, the 2012 anti-National Education protest and the 2014 Umbrella movement. 引文
Xia, Y. (2016). Contesting Citizenship in Post-Handover Hong Kong. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 21(4), 485–500.
This study probes into a case of citizenship transition that takes place in Hong Kong, a former British colony and present the Special Administrative Region of China. 引文
Zhao, G. (2006). Reinventing China: Imperial Qing ideology and the rise of modern Chinese national identity in the early twentieth century. Modern China, 32(1), 3–30.
This article uses both Manchu and Han sources to interrogate the relationship between Qing and China. 引文
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