Hong kong- post-metropolis or post-colonial city?
Dynamic Hong Kong: from a post-colonial city to a post-metropolis
Part 1. Introduction
Hong Kong, once a British colony after the wars, has been well-known as a vibrant metropolitan. After 99 years of British rule, Hong Kong was handed over to China in 1 July 1997. After a long period of western culture instillation, Hongkongers remain confused about their identity in the recent 16 years of post-colonial period. This struggle in identity can be reflected from the city's cultural, economic and social components, that characterize the city as a 'post-colonial' city. On the other hand, Hong Kong being one of international port cities in Asia, has been playing a vital role in the global financial market. Relying heavily on international investment, flux of global travelers and migrants have been constantly shaping the cities' landscape. Thus, the city can also be explained by the post-metropolis model. This paper aims to demonstrate how each model, post-colonial and post-metropolis, could explain the city in different parts. Examples and proofs would be provided from a very local angle, as the author has been living in the city for over 20 years. Finally, this paper closes with the idea of transformation of models in Hong Kong, together with the difficulties in fitting cities into one rigid model and criticism on the representation of the models.
Part 2. The Postcolonial city model
Definition of terms
The term 'postcolonial' has been interpreted in various ways to represent cities. Such a jargon can be understood as simply as "those cities in what were previously colonial societies (King, 2009)". However, Yeoh (2001) argued that the notion could not be that simple and clearly defined but the it can be useful to answer questions about the ways cities resist and being framed by its colonial period. Thus, King (2009) also further interpreted the term as 'a particular critique which not only emphasizes the distinctive impact which colonialism has had on the
Part 1. Introduction
Hong Kong, once a British colony after the wars, has been well-known as a vibrant metropolitan. After 99 years of British rule, Hong Kong was handed over to China in 1 July 1997. After a long period of western culture instillation, Hongkongers remain confused about their identity in the recent 16 years of post-colonial period. This struggle in identity can be reflected from the city's cultural, economic and social components, that characterize the city as a 'post-colonial' city. On the other hand, Hong Kong being one of international port cities in Asia, has been playing a vital role in the global financial market. Relying heavily on international investment, flux of global travelers and migrants have been constantly shaping the cities' landscape. Thus, the city can also be explained by the post-metropolis model. This paper aims to demonstrate how each model, post-colonial and post-metropolis, could explain the city in different parts. Examples and proofs would be provided from a very local angle, as the author has been living in the city for over 20 years. Finally, this paper closes with the idea of transformation of models in Hong Kong, together with the difficulties in fitting cities into one rigid model and criticism on the representation of the models.
Part 2. The Postcolonial city model
Definition of terms
The term 'postcolonial' has been interpreted in various ways to represent cities. Such a jargon can be understood as simply as "those cities in what were previously colonial societies (King, 2009)". However, Yeoh (2001) argued that the notion could not be that simple and clearly defined but the it can be useful to answer questions about the ways cities resist and being framed by its colonial period. Thus, King (2009) also further interpreted the term as 'a particular critique which not only emphasizes the distinctive impact which colonialism has had on the