Localism in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, localism is a political movement centered on the preservation of the city's autonomy and local culture. The Hong Kong localist movement encompasses a variety of groups with different goals, but all of them oppose the perceived growing encroachment of the Chinese central government on the city's management of its own political, economic, and social affairs.[1][2] Issues of concern to localist camp include land use and development, cultural and heritage conservation on the left,[citation needed] parallel trading and the increasing number of mainland immigrants and tourists on the right. On the autonomy of Hong Kong, many of them advocate the Hong Kong people's right to self-determination, while milder elements advocate for greater autonomy while remaining part of China, and the most radical call for return to British rule or full independence as a sovereign state. Certain right-wing localist camp also advocate for a more aggressive and militant approach in defending popular interests.[3]

Though localist camp with different agendas and ideologies have existed since the territory's transfer of sovereignty, today's movement as a whole emerged in the early 2010s and gained significant traction following widespread protests in 2014 against the Chinese government's decision to pre-screen Chief Executive candidates before allowing them to be chosen by the general public in a 2017 election. Following these protests, a number of localist political parties were formed, organising protests and participating in Legislative Council elections. In the 2016 Legislative Council election, localist candidates won 6 of the 35 seats allocated for geographical constituencies, earning a 19 per cent share of total votes. After the election, the government took legal actions against the localist and the radical democrat legislators over the oath-taking controversy, which resulted in the disqualifications of six legislators, and furthermore, the disqualification of the candidacies of the accused "pro-independence" localist candidates.

  1. ^ "Hong Kong suffers identity crisis as China's influence grows". The Guardian. 18 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Localism: Why is support for the political perspective growing – and who's behind it?". 1 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference clashes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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