Identity Politics in Hong Kong’s Return to Chinese Sovereignty: Analyzing the Discourse of Hong Kong’s first Chief Executive
Author(s)
Flowerdew, John
Abstract
This paper critically examines the discourse of the first Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, Tung Chee-hwa, during his first five-year period of office, following the return of Hong Kong from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Based on a large corpus of primarily speeches, but also interviews, press conferences & other pronouncements and a parallel corpus of media reports and commentary, the analysis demonstrates that, in the interests of a smooth handover and the policy of “one country, two systems”, Tung’s discourse, in its basic configuration, mirrors that of the last British colonial Governor, Chris Patten. However, there are certain notable variations; in particular, there is a new emphasis on the need for a knowledge-based economy, the importance of Chinese values and identification with China and a downplaying of democratic development. The paper focuses on four discursive strategies: the transformation of old political genres & the creation of new ones, presupposition, the use of indexicals, and lexical structuring and reiteration. The paper is presented as a case study of an attempt by a political leader to develop a communal/political identity.
