Session Name: From Diaspora to Displacement: (Re-)confronting Community Identities in Global-Asian Struggles
4 - "It felt like we were soldiers on the battlefield, but we were only singing”: Understanding Hong Kong Youth's Everyday Citizenship and Multi-layered Identities Post-2019-20 Hong Kong Protests
Tuesday, July 30, 2024
16:15 – 18:00 (GMT+7)
Presentation Abstract In this paper, the interplay between young people’s civic actions and identities will be explored within the context of the 2019-2020 Anti Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement in Hong Kong. By integrating the concepts of the “multi-layered citizens” (Yuval-Davis, 1999) and “everyday citizenship” (Wood, 2022), this study argues that the seemingly mundane, day-to-day civic experiences of Hong Kong youth provide valuable insight into their multifaceted identities and how these identities, in turn, influence their civic engagement choices. Data collected from semi-structured interviews and photo-elicitation exercises with movement participants aged 19-25 reveals that Hong Kong youth hold multiple identities, broadly summarised as local, national, and international. At the same time, they strategically engage in non-traditional forms of civic actions to fulfil their perceived civic responsibilities. The findings provide a valuable opportunity to advance our understanding of the reciprocal and dynamic relationship between young people’s identities and their civic participation, which are often examined separately. By doing so, this study highlights the complexities of youth’s postcolonial identities and contributes to the growing discussion about the need to expand the notions of youth citizenship and civic participation to encapsulate how youth under liberal-authoritarian regimes negotiate the meaning of being a citizen and doing citizenship.
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