April 6, 2014
In both Hong Kong or Taiwan, numerous local people are trapped in the self-identity problem. Even though Taiwanese generally are less attached to the ¡§Greater China Unification¡¨ ideology comparing to Hongkongers, ¡§Cultural China¡¨ remains the largest obstacle that stops ethnic Chinese, whose first language is one of Chinese languages (Chinese is an umbrella language that covers multiple different languages, Cantonese and Mandarin are two of the most well known ones) and enjoy Tang and Song poems, from breaking free from the boundaries set based on ethnicity. Most of the ethnic Chinese find it hard to find the words to answer questions along the line of ¡§You go sweep graves and you have yellow skin and black hair! How can you say you are not Chinese!¡¨ Deep down, they all know that they are different from the Chinese who are from the land that is currently called China in a geographical sense. However, they cannot articulate how Hong Kong is really not just ¡§a special administrative region¡¨ and why Taiwanese could claim to be patriotic when they only love Taiwan, which is not being recognised as an independent country by the international world.
If we strip away the veil of China¡¦s Han Chauvinism, we will find that the ¡§unbreakable chain¡¨ that locks us up in the prison of ¡§ethnic Chinese¡¨ was casted by the Sinology experts in Greater China, as well as in the West. From academics, politicians to ordinary citizens, all seem to have confused Cultural China with Realpolitik. They all describe Cultural China as a massive tree and then follow by the footnote: no matter how tall a tree grows, its fallen leaves always return to their root.
They have in fact presume that modern China is the root of all ethnic Chinese, and all ethnic Chinese are the leaves nurtured by this enormous tree call Cultural China. Cultural China continues to grow and evolve, and its branches and leaves are extending to far reaching land which is part of the growth. All of the seeds from this enormous tree will return to the ground, buried under the soil, the same root of the ¡§mother tree¡¨. Cultural China is being perceived as a organism that will never stop living, as it a drop of water that travels every rivers and oceans around the world and will be recirculated within the system: from a rain drop to the sea, evaporated and becomes rain drop again. This concept essentially includes all the culture that belongs to every single ethnic Chinese who does not live in modern China within one group. This concept also ¡§unified¡¨ the new culture that emerged as East meets West as one, Chinese culture, because such culture is formed by ethnic Chinese: Australian Chinese, Malaysian Chinese, American Chinese, etc are all labeled by the Western world, including modern China, as the branches of Cultural China. On one hand, people keep on emphasizing that Cultural China would never die and China will rule the world, but on the other hand, they influence every single ethnic Chinese in the face of earth that they have to love their own culture (Chinese culture) and have to be loyal to People¡¦s Republic of China, a name that occupies China (geographical name of the land). This is no different from brainwashing.
This explains why ethnic Chinese overseas are particularly incline to accuse other ethnic Chinese who are against the Chinese Communist Party, and often say ¡§Hey, you just can¡¦t deny the fact that you are Chinese!¡¨ They could not break free from the identity of ¡§a seed of Cultural China¡¨ that is imprinted on them. Even for third generation Australian Chinese, who cannot speak Chinese (may it be Cantonese or Mandarin) would suck up with being called ¡§Chinamen¡¨ by White guys but at the same time ashamed of knowing nothing about China. They cannot separate political, racial and cultural China. They probably don¡¦t know the so-called China that supposedly leads the development of Cultural China has missiles that has been aiming directly at its ¡§own people¡¨ across the strait (Taiwan), and they probably don¡¦t know China plays on laws to stop its own people from achieving democracy, either! In their mind, China is something that is formulated based on imagination, so that can never understand why there are ethnic Chinese who would deny to be called Chinese and would object to everything that is related to China.
There is only one reason for the existence of cultural differences between Hong Kong, Taiwan and China which leads to a complete intolerance between all three: Creolisation. Since 1841, Hong Kong was designated to go separate way with China. After British colonial time, there is no way for Hong Kong to be handed over to its ¡§mother land¡¨ in which democracy and human rights are non-existent. After being ruled by Dutch, Spanish, Southern Ming Han, Manchurian (Qing), Japanese and Kuomintang, despite the fact that Taiwan is populated with Hoklo, Hakka and aboriginals, Taiwan has established its own history and culture which is completely separated from China. Therefore, Creolisation is well in placed in both Hong Kong and Taiwan. Even though we share common ancient ancestors and entwining history with China, whenever conflicts between two of these three places arise, people from each location will stand firm to defend their own land and culture against the other party. Hong Kong and Taiwan are both Creole-States. Recently Taiwan¡¦s anti-CEFA movement and its loud and clear voice on anti-CCP are concrete evidence that Taiwan is a nation with its own culture.