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Promoting Cultural Hybridity: The Study of the Hong Kong and the Chinese New Middle Class Across the Border under Globalization Era

Eileen Yuk-ha TSANGHang Seng Management College

Jose Lingna NafafeUniversity of Birmingham

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AbstractAbstract The surging economic growth in China since the 1990s is attracting many

of the Hong Kong middle class to work and live in Guangdong province. First, this paper finds that the Chinese new middle class and the Hong Kong middle class are re-establishing social, cultural, and economic relationships with each other in mainland China. Many members of the Hong Kong and Chinese middle classes are now working in Guangdong and Hong Kong respectively only for the purpose of making money.

The process of re-establishing that connection is a process of cultural hybridity since they already have a close economic integration. Even though both groups are Chinese, they are virtual strangers to each other. Second, this paper argues that globalization and economic integration after post 1997 is promoting cultural hybridity instead of providing an opportunity for cultural assimilation between the Hong Kong middle class and the Chinese new middle class. Furthermore, they are not truly culturally integrating. Rather, they are coming together for the sake of economic expediency. This paper will focus on how the multiple components of these two diverse groups come together in an across the border relationship.

Key words: Cultural Hybridity, Globalization, Hong Kong Middle Class, The Chinese Middle Class, Cultural Assimilation, Regional Integration

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Hong Kong and Chinese middle class across the border

1. The relocation of Hong Kong factories to Guangdong province since 1989,

2. China joining the World Trade Organisation in 2001,

3. The enactment of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA),

4. The launch of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) solidify the close connections between Hong Kong and China.

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Riding the identity of ‘Hong Kong Chinese’ versus ‘mainland Chinese’

Wong (1996), Lau (1997), Ma (1998), and Fung (2004) generally pinpointed Hong Kong in pre-1997 as having ill feelings with no desire to claim themselves as mainland Chinese.

Rather, they felt much more comfortable identifying themselves as Hong Kong Chinese. Before Hong Kong reunited with China, the notion that mainlanders are a bad influence permeates the minds of many Hong Kong people.

Before the handover, mainland immigrants in Hong Kong are almost roundly nicknamed dai luk lo ( 大陸佬 ) or dai luk por ( 大陸婆 ) or even the hostile ‘Ah Chaan’ ( 阿灿 or 阿燦literally, ‘the uneducated’ or ‘the hayseed’).

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Riding the identity of ‘Hong Kong Chinese’ versus ‘mainland Chinese’

Hong Kong has a local-national polarization between Hong Kong Chinese and mainland Chinese. Hong Kong people in general showed a dual self-claimed identity of ‘Hong Konger’ and ‘mainland Chinese’.

It is understood Hong Kong-Chinese identity is not as fixed or given, but ‘as a relation to something or someone else that the boundary is drawn’ (Madianou, 2005:24).

Identity is best conceived as always already in process and in the making. It is not only being ‘out of place’ (Said, 1999) but also ‘out of time’ (Ang, 2001).

This is the best description since Hong Kong was the British colony. The fluidity or changing of identity hearkens Stuart Hall’s (1996: 4): that it is as much about ‘who we are’ or ‘where we came from’ as it is ‘what we might become’ .

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Hong Kong and Hybridity Space Hybridity is used in the paper as an attempt to challenge

and to override essentialism which has been deployed by British colonial discourse in order to defend Western colonial interest, in which the binary ‘us’ and ‘them’ or the ‘self’ verse ‘other’ was delineated through Chinese from mainland China and Hong Kong people.

Hybridity allow us to challenge the production and implementation of certain dichotomies such as centre verse margin, civilized verse savage, and enlightened verse ignorant.

Hybridity is the mixing together of different culture elements to create new meanings and identities, which destabilises and blurs established culture boundaries in a process of fusion or creolisation, be it Chinese from mainland or Hong Kong middle class (Rutherford, 1990: 211; Lingna Nafafé, 2007).

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Hong Kong and Hybridity Space Abbas (1997) recently contends that Hong Kong is losing its

cultural space, because of China’s emerging political and economic power. Abbas (1997) asserts that the influence of the Chinese has pronounced ‘death’ to Hong Kong’s culture, a cultural dislocation that ‘is posited on the imminence of its disappearance... Hong Kong’s sense of its own distinct identity has appeared only recently, just as it’s about to banish.’ (Abbas, 1997: 7)

It is the contention of this paper that intersectionality between Hong Kong and Chinese middle classes refers to a process of integration, dialectical articulation, which stands at the junction with the potential to mediate and displace the process of domination through the reinterpretation of political discourse (Bhabha, 1994: 181).

The contention is that hybridity as a process unsettles and undoes the established identities of, both Chinese and Hong Kong middle classes.

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Hong Kong and Hybridity Space Bhabba (1994) contends that postcolonial discourse

mimics the dominant discourse and this produces a new cultural form that is appropriated by the dominant as well as the dominated. Invariably, there is a celebration of common heritage from Hong Kong people, in which desirable practices from mainland China are extracted and incorporated into Hong Kong culture in order to identify with China.

As such both Chinese and Hong Kong can express their identity by constantly borrowing from each other at the level of economic exchange.

As Papastergiadis argues: ‘[hybridity] stresses that identity is not a combination, accumulation, fusion or synthesis of various components, but an energy field of different forces’ (Papastergiadis, 1997: 259).

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Hong Kong and Hybridity Space Stuart Hall (1992) mentioned self and others which deem

appropriate to describe the ‘self and local’ Hong Kong Chinese identity and ‘other’ mainland Chinese identity.

The mainland Chinese are described as degenerate, imperiling and inferior leaving them perhaps with the effect of insulating themselves within the spatial-temporal zone circumscribed by its identity.

They can crisscross harmoniously with the transnational or global flows in economic dimension. But when the two cultures crisscrossed culturally, ideologically, politically and culturally, they still create some conflicts and hybridity.

This two-way process necessarily involved Hong Kong Chinese and mainland Chinese entering the spatial-temporal dimension through the embodiment of a new Hong Kong-Mainland trans-border identity during globalization era.

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Research design - When the West meets the EastResearch design - When the West meets the East60 members of the Chinese new middle class in South China.

Half are entrepreneurs, one-third cadres and one-third professionals

The term ‘Chinese new middle class’ would then fall into the categories of professionals, entrepreneurs and cadres for the purposes of our operationalisation.

1. A minimum monthly per-capita income of RMB¥9,000 (US$ 1,155);

2. Post-secondary education (technical or non-technical) or above;

3. Managerial-level or managerial-type job position;

4. Native belonging (hukou),

5. Possession of a house or a car either by mortgage or outright ownership,

6. A certain amount of disposable income, at least they should own RMB500,000 or above (Tsang, 2010).

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The Hong Kong Middle Class Interviewed about Interviewed about 3030 people of the Hong Kong people of the Hong Kong

middle class who work in South China. middle class who work in South China.

1.1. EntrepreneursEntrepreneurs and and professionalsprofessionals such as such as factory managers, accountants and factory managers, accountants and administrative executives. administrative executives.

2.2. They earn at least monthly HK$35,000 (£3,500). They earn at least monthly HK$35,000 (£3,500).

3.3. Most of them have been working in Guangdong Most of them have been working in Guangdong since 1989.since 1989.

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How Do the Hong Kong Middle Class Regard its Chinese Cousin?

I have hate and love with China. China is good for my career can I can have a breakthrough to my career too. But I don’t why, I cannot make myself completely adapt to my livelihood in Guangdong. May be I think there are different mentalities. (Wing, 40, HK accountant)

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How Do the Hong Kong Middle Class Regard its Chinese Cousin?

We can maintain a superficial harmony We can maintain a superficial harmony with the Chinese new middle class with the Chinese new middle class because both of us aim for economic because both of us aim for economic interests and want to extend our networks interests and want to extend our networks in China…We have great and bold gaps in China…We have great and bold gaps between China and Hong Kong, culturally between China and Hong Kong, culturally and ideologically speaking. and ideologically speaking. I can’t make myself accept that everything is solvable by guanxi alone. . CorruptionCorruption is serious… is serious…waterwater and and foodfood poisoningpoisoning, transport is so , transport is so messy in China…. messy in China…. (Lawrence, 40, HK (Lawrence, 40, HK accountant)accountant)

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How Do the Hong Kong Middle Class Regard its Chinese Cousin?

The [Chinese] new middle class might give priority to better-off partners of similar kinship rather than to Hong Kong partners…. This was manifest by the financial tsunami since 2008, when the volume of exports soared since 2002 but slackened in 2008….We’re always in low priority for their consideration and selection, even though we share the same type of consumption patterns and lifestyles. (Jimmy, 45, HK entrepreneur)

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How Do the Hong Kong Middle Class Regard its Chinese Cousin?

Hong Kong people is sometimes characterised as natural-born opportunists who see the world around them almost exclusively in terms of self-interest and self-benefits as a survival strategy.

For Hongkongers, there is practical truth to the Cantonese colloquialism wun jet-so ( ‘搵着数 to find benefits,’ or ‘opportunity-hunting’ in plain English).

They try to get as much benefit from society as possible for themselves or their own or family good but contribute as little as practicable in return. They are apostles of utilitarianism, evangelists of looking for the upside in things, princes of seizing opportunities and queens of alliances.

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How do the Chinese new middle class regard its Hong Kong cousin?

China is now growing as a world superpower. When Hong Kong encounters any financial problems, the Chief Executive [of the Hong Kong SAR] just waits for Ah Yeh [ 阿爷grandfather, i.e. the Chinese government] in China to pài táng [ 派糖 passing out sweets, i.e. financial help for Hong Kong]. If the central government won’t give any financial help to Hong Kong, then she will become an orphan. How come we need to learn from Hong Kong? …We’ve got our own shortcuts to succeed… (Uncle Chan, 60, Chinese cadre)

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How do the Chinese new middle class regard its Hong Kong cousin?

One of the more influential cadres in Guangdong One of the more influential cadres in Guangdong province always receives a lot of gifts from different province always receives a lot of gifts from different kinds of people. But these people [cadres] are kinds of people. But these people [cadres] are always too busy to take care of those gifts, which always too busy to take care of those gifts, which are processed by their domestic helpers or even are processed by their domestic helpers or even second hand shop. The maids put the gifts away for second hand shop. The maids put the gifts away for a while and then throw them out when the a while and then throw them out when the mooncakes are expired. mooncakes are expired. Those who scrounge mooncakes for a living may well be blessed with an unforeseen income, as there is nothing but , as there is nothing but money inside those gifts. Diamonds, wine and money inside those gifts. Diamonds, wine and cigarettes are among the popular items for this, and cigarettes are among the popular items for this, and red packets also. red packets also. (Uncle Wen, 48, Chinese (Uncle Wen, 48, Chinese entrepreneur)entrepreneur)

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How do the Chinese new middle class regard its Hong Kong cousin?

Many civil servants in Hong Kong are required to take on all responsibilities and always be ready to stand up and be accountable for any wrongdoing.…. However, in China, in some ways, it is a normal situation for cadres to have corruption. It is a common custom for [a cadre] to do a sideline job without applying for outside engagement. As long as you’re not too greedy, there shouldn’t be any problems. If you’re corrupt, you become abnormal… (Tom, 45, Chinese professional)

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Cultural and Ideological Disharmonies The popular perception of China in the minds of

many Hong Kong people (and especially in those who have some kind of ties with China) is that the country is nothing but traffic chaos, deception, crime and other social ills.

Currently (2008-09), Hong Kong people are afraid of becoming poisoned by mainland Chinese food, after a spate of poisonings from mainland-made eggs and milk (Mathews, Ma & Lui 2008).

Many Hong Kong people are quite insistent on calling themselves a Hongkonger rather than Chinese (even though they are racially Chinese).

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Cultural and Ideological Disharmonies

I don’t have any special feelings when we hear the national anthem or see the national flag. I’m still unsure about accepting the political ideological concept of the Communist Party—which are very horrible and you don’t know when and why you’d be arrested for no reason. You won’t know when you’ll violate the law of the PRC. The Chen Chang case is a typical example. It is awful and horrible to accept any [kind of] administration by the Communist Party. (Ken, 50, HK entrepreneur)

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Cultural and Ideological Disharmonies Hong Kong residents in general have mixed feelings.

They are a pragmatic, utilitarian, sometimes even a mercenary lot. They are proud of China and feel a sense of superiority of being Chinese in situations where the nation is famous or successful for something—or bring advantages for Hong Kong.

Examples include the first-ever manned Chinese space mission and the first-ever Chinese spacewalk by cosmonaut Yang Liwei. The Beijing Olympics in 2008 was a media success and Chinese athletes brought home an all-time record of gold medals.

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Conclusion The Chinese new middle class and the Hong Kong middle The Chinese new middle class and the Hong Kong middle

class are not truly culturally integrating. class are not truly culturally integrating.

Rather, they are coming together for the sake of economic Rather, they are coming together for the sake of economic expediency. expediency.

This kind of hybridization of the two identities is increasing again.

Hong Kong people proclaimed a more dual and hybridized identity since 1997. This new, dual, pragmatic, and utilitarian between Hong Kong and mainland Chinese are in the making. The identity is conceived as always already in process and in the making. It is not only being ‘out of place’ (Said, 1999) but also ‘out of time’ (Ang, 2001).

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The EndThe End

Q and AQ and A