Fewer Hong Kong people are now identifying as Chinese since China blocked Liu Xiaobo from accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, according to a survey released this week.
The Hong Kong University poll conducted earlier this month found that 63 percent of Hong Kong people consider themselves "Hong Kongers" rather than "Chinese, " compared to 57 percent six months ago.
According to the recent survey, 35 percent see themselves as either "Chinese in Hong Kong" or "Chinese, " a drop of 8 percentage points from a similar survey in June.
The poll result that fewer Hong Kong people are now identifying as Chinese and more are now identifying as Hong Konger could have resulted from the fact that the Beijing regime refused to free dissident Liu Xiaobo from prison to attend the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Norway, said Robert Chung, director of the Public Opinion Programme at the university.
In addition, he said, a hostage situation in the Philippines in August involving 15 Hong Kong tourists could have contributed to the stronger sense of Hong Kong identity among Hong Kong people.
The telephone survey collected 1,000 valid samples.