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After Empire, After Brexit
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 October 2023
On 1 July 1997, Britain transferred its sovereignty over Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China. But even after British withdrawal from Hong Kong, its residents’ engagements with Britishness did not cease. This chapter explores Hong Kongers’ continued engagements with Britishness in the recent two decades. Drawing from findings of previous chapters, this chapter explains why, albeit the unfairness of colonial rule, rosy impressions of British colonialism linger, and Britishness continues to mean more than just a legal status in post-1997 Hong Kong. It also discusses the contemporary relevance of historic notions of Britishness beyond Hong Kong. What constitutes Britishness is still as much a debate today as it was in colonial Hong Kong. After empire, after Brexit, as Britain searches for a new world role, Britons also search for what it means to be British. Seeing how Britishness existed in multiple, varied forms in 1910–1945 Hong Kong, a colony where whiteness was supposed to matter most, help us unravel what it means to be British today.
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