The overlapping parallel universes in “His Dark Materials”, the fantasy series by British novelist Philip Pullman, turn out to be the solid reality, in a sense, in Hong Kong today. The fabric of the special administrative region has in no small part been split by controversial narratives peddled by Western forces hostile to China. As a city where two sets of protocols, ideologies, and cultural identities compete with each other, Hong Kong appears to be a city of two tales.
Ever since 2019 when riots erupted, the city has been swirling downward into polarization where residents are, by and large, entrenched in their political and ideological tribes. Every morning, people wake up to two sets of competing narratives in their daily news feed that push their minds further apart into parallel worlds, both politically and intellectually. Social split seems to be a new normal in the Trumpist age.
The seeds of confrontation and suspicion, sown by Trumpist diplomacy between the two largest economies in the world, have rendered Hong Kong a front-line battlefield of the trade war and the subsequent “new Cold War”. When unprecedented civil unrest engulfed the city for months, people found themselves living in constant controversy, both at home and in communities.
Rarely does a Chinese-majority society experience so many upheavals in such a short period of time, both in families and work places, as Hong Kong did in the traumatic year of 2019. The invisible but seemingly insurmountable wall of ideology, or political stance, has cut a rift between siblings and friends, parents and children. People in Hong Kong find themselves trapped in the echo chambers that spawn the intolerant mentality of “friends or foes”.
The talks between China and the United States in Alaska, despite a rocky start, were much welcomed as the first step toward a constructive relationship. Likewise, the resourceful and diligent residents in Hong Kong are turning the tide over the seismic events as they seek political or economic recoveries.
The popularity of the pro-establishment camp kept rising in the first quarter of 2021, a signal that people are yearning for better livelihoods after the double whammy of the social unrest and pandemic. Thanks to the promulgation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong on June 30, the number of crimes related to social disturbances dropped dramatically. Hong Kong is now reorienting its road map to a fair, prosperous, and democratic city after it gets back on its feet. The proposed reform of the electoral system is expected to ensure the smooth operation of its governance system. Now, the promising outlook of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) allows the city’s apolitical majority to aspire to a fruitful Year of the Ox and beyond. In a nutshell, the three-prong solution package pushes the city of resourcefulness and resilience ahead to the right track.
On the other hand, politicians at the far end of the opposition camp find it painful to swallow the hard fact that Hong Kong is now further from their grasp after the implementation of the National Security Law and the initiation of electoral reform. Armed with Western media’s biased narratives toward China, the opposition has been misleading the public through a misinformation campaign. Despite the naysayers taking pains to promote their straw man fallacy with a narrow understanding of “democracy”, the city nevertheless inches toward normalcy through picking up the worldwide practice of ensuring patriots-led governance and safeguarding national security. Now that the central authorities have set several basic facts straight, the city can truly move forward.
Hong Kong must put itself in one piece for a full-fledged recovery. For a brighter future, people must accept the fundamental reality of the city’s politics, nurture cultural tolerance in the community, and step out of the echo chamber, at least every once in a while. Regardless of their political inclinations, Hong Kong people should recognize that the city is part of China, and it deserves a better future than being a battleground for political wrangling and ideological confrontation.
Spotting appropriate patriots for better governance is the initial step, a way of separating the wheat from the chaff. In the long run, the city has every opportunity to knit its partisan social structure into one piece, and encourage the tribal loyalties to pursue common interests. As China keeps rising to greater success, the parallel worlds in Hong Kong will eventually merge in the north, especially in the promising land of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The author is a Hong Kong-based journalist.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.