Hot Topics: As Hong Kong people mourn late Queen Elizabeth, what’s behind the nostalgia for British colonialism?

Massive queues of Hong Kong residents paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth at the British consulate early this month. The late monarch was the city’s head of state before it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Most mourners were middle-aged or elderly. Some burst into tears or fell to their knees in front of a portrait of the queen. The monarch died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8.

But the atmosphere in the city was different from other former British colonies. According to John Carroll, a history professor at the University of Hong Kong, the city’s unique history played a part in the apparent devotion to the memory of the queen.

“Whereas many colonies were in bad shape economically when they became independent, Hong Kong’s GDP [per capita] was higher than that of Britain, Australia and Canada when it was returned to China in 1997,” he said.

In contrast, Indian economist Utsa Patnaik calculated that Britain drained nearly US$45 trillion (HK$353.23 trillion) from India between 1765 and 1938.

Carroll explained the British encountered little resistance when they first occupied Hong Kong Island in 1841 during the First Opium War. He added that one massacre was recorded during the colonial era after the British extended its control to the New Territories in 1899.

Your Voice: When mourning the queen, think twice about UK imperialism (long letters)

“Nostalgia is always about romanticising the past, but it’s also almost always about criticising the present,” Carroll said.

The grief contrasted with what was shown in other former British colonies, which have become republics or signalled an intention to cut ties with the monarchy. Most former colonies also faced exploitation, oppression and some even enslavement at the hands of the British.

The Caribbean island of Barbados removed the queen as head of state in November last year. Jamaica, the Bahamas and Belize have also signalled a desire to ditch the British monarch as head of state. In these places, the British profited from the labour of enslaved Africans.

Staff writers

Question prompts:

• Why do you think the majority of the mourners in Hong Kong were middle-aged or elderly instead of the city’s youth?

• Identify and elaborate on TWO possible reasons mentioned in Context that explain why Hong Kong’s response to the queen’s death was different to that of other former British colonies.

• Where was this photo likely taken? Use Context and your own knowledge to answer.

• Why might an illustration like this be less common in the other former British colonies mentioned in Context?

• Cantonese opera star attacked by Chinese netizens after posting a selfie on Instagram while queuing to pay respects to the late monarch

• The 75-year-old subsequently deleted the post and apologised for ‘making remarks of mourning without thinking them through’

A veteran Hong Kong opera star apologised and declared his patriotism earlier this month after his praise for Britain’s late Queen Elizabeth sparked a backlash among nationalists in mainland China.

Law Kar-ying, a heavyweight of the Cantonese opera scene, published a selfie on Instagram from the queue and a message that read: “Hong Kong was a blessed land during her reign.”

Instagram is banned in mainland China, but Law’s post went viral on other social media sites, sparking anger and criticism among nationalists. On September 15, Law took to Weibo to post a video apologising for “making remarks of mourning without thinking them through”.

“My original intention was to express condolences for a late elderly woman, and I would like to appeal to everyone not to overly interpret what I said,” the 75-year-old said.

“I can’t possibly forget my origin and ancestry. That I have been keeping a Chinese passport says it all: I am Chinese, and I love my motherland forever. I am sorry.”

His original Instagram post was deleted. Many of the commenters underneath Law’s Weibo video were not convinced by his apology. Some told him to “learn from his wife” Liza Wang, a veteran actress who was a Hong Kong delegate to mainland China’s top political advisory body for two decades.

Explainer: Who was Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, and what legacy does she leave behind?

Hong Kong actress Carina Lau was also recently criticised by mainland Chinese netizens for her tribute to the late monarch.

This came as many mourners have expressed nostalgia for the city’s colonial past at a time when Beijing is seeking to purge dissent following huge democracy protests three years ago.

Meanwhile, Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper which answers to Beijing’s local Liaison Office, ran a commentary on September 13 accusing “anti-Chinese elements and anti-China media” of “whitewashing colonial rule” by encouraging mourning of the queen.

Agence France-Presse

Question prompts:

• How was Law’s now-deleted Instagram message likely misinterpreted by mainland Chinese nationalists?

• What does Ta Kung Pao mean when it says that mourning the queen’s death is a form of “whitewashing colonial rule”? To what extent do you agree with that? Explain using News, Context, Glossary and your own knowledge.

• Queen Elizabeth’s nickname in Hong Kong is ‘si tau por’, a Cantonese term of endearment that translates to ‘boss lady’

• Some experts see city’s grief for the late monarch as a form of protest against Beijing’s controls

Hong Kong’s collective outpouring of grief after Queen Elizabeth’s death last week is perhaps the most ardent among the former British colonies.

The queen is nicknamed “si tau por” in Hong Kong. In Cantonese, that translates to “boss lady.”

“We used to call her ‘si tau por’ when we were under her rule. It is simply a way of showing respect to her,” said CK Li, a resident who queued for more than two hours to pay his respects at the British consulate.

While Hong Kong authorities have allowed the orderly, sombre shows of respect to continue, this is seen by some experts as a form of dissent against increasingly intrusive controls by Beijing after months of anti-government protests in 2019.

“I would imagine that some people are going there not so much for nostalgia reasons, but as a kind of protest, now that dissent is suppressed,” said John Burns, an honorary professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong.

“Some people, for example, who agree with the kind of universal values that the UK stands for and that were incorporated in our Bill of Rights at the end of colonialism, could participate in this as a form of protest.”

Burns added that while British rule in Hong Kong benefited the city in some ways, colonialism was ultimately harmful due to its hegemony and racism.

Hong Kong police arrest man playing protest song near Queen Elizabeth memorial

Emotions in Hong Kong were running high, said former Democratic Party chairwoman and ex-lawmaker Emily Lau, given the city’s political situation and its struggles in fighting Covid-19.

“There are some who are genuinely nostalgic and have sentimental feelings for the queen, but there are also people who have grievances about the current situation in Hong Kong,” Lau said.

Last week, police arrested a 43-year-old man on suspicion of sedition after he allegedly played “Glory to Hong Kong”, a song popular during the 2019 anti-government protests, near the city’s British consulate as mourners paid tribute to the late queen.

Associated Press and staff writers

Question prompts:

• Using Issue and News, explain how mourning Queen Elizabeth could be seen as a form of dissent in Hong Kong.

• Why might some locals use this form of dissent instead of openly expressing their grievances about the city’s situation?

Context:

• Why do you think the majority of the mourners in Hong Kong were middle-aged or elderly instead of the city’s youth? It is because the middle-aged or elderly spent a significant portion of their lives under British rule and, hence, have more nostalgia for the queen compared to the younger generation, especially those who were born after 1997.

• Identify and elaborate on TWO possible reasons mentioned in Context that explain why Hong Kong’s response to the queen’s death was different to that of other former British colonies. Hong Kong did not gain independence unlike other countries and was instead returned to China in 1997. This may have resulted in stronger feelings of sentimentality towards Britain and the queen. / When Hong Kong was returned to China, its economic situation was much stronger than that of other former British colonies. / In other former British colonies such as Barbados, Jamaica, the Bahamas and Belize, the British profited from the labour of enslaved Africans, whereas this entrenched system of slavery was not common in Hong Kong. (any two)

Photo:

• Where was this photo likely taken? Use Context and your own knowledge to answer. Based on the “With love from Hong Kong” in the drawing and the floral tributes, this photo was likely taken outside the British consulate in Hong Kong.

• Why might an illustration like this be less common in the other former British colonies mentioned in Context? Those other former British colonies do not have the same nostalgia for the late queen due to widespread understanding of the history of oppression perpetuated by British rule.

News:

• How was Law’s now-deleted Instagram message likely misinterpreted by mainland Chinese nationalists? Instead of seeing it as a message to express his condolences, they could have read it as Law implying that Hong Kong was in its golden age under the British and is in a worse state after its handover to China.

• What does Ta Kung Pao mean when it says that mourning the queen’s death is a form of “whitewashing colonial rule”? To what extent do you agree with that? Explain using News, Context, Glossary and your own knowledge. The paper means that mourning the late monarch overlooks other issues such as racism, exploitation and slavery in other former British colonies mentioned in Context. I agree to a certain extent because these are deep-seated problems that still affect many of these countries today. Instances of mourning such as Law’s message could have conveyed the message that British rule over Hong Kong was without its issues.

News:

• Using Issue and News, explain how mourning Queen Elizabeth could be seen as a form of dissent in Hong Kong. As mentioned in News, Ta Kung Pao ran a commentary on how mourning the queen is a form of “anti-Chinese sentiment”. To criticise Hong Kong’s current situation, people are looking to the past. Continuing to pay respects to the queen can be seen as a way of expressing one’s disagreement with the authority.

• Why might some locals use this form of dissent instead of openly expressing their grievances about the city’s situation? With the enactment of the national security law in June 2020, all seditious activities aimed at toppling the central government are banned. For example, the man who allegedly played a popular protest song near the British consulate was arrested on suspicion of sedition. People may worry that openly expressing grievances could get them arrested.