0
0
Hong Kong is preparing to launch a new textbook that will teach students that the city has never been the colony of the British Kingdom, The New York Times reported. Northeastern experts said that by reviewing the interpretation of the Past of the British Hong Kong, China did not try to rewrite history, but rather reiterate something that always applies to the Chinese government: Hong Kong is a part of sovereign China.
There are many interpretations in history,” said Philip Thai, Director of Asian Studies and Modern Chinese Histors and Modern East Asia.
While modern American scholars have moved towards writing a more inclusive history, which combines various perspectives and not a piece and dryness, the Chinese government encourages narratives that are centered on the country, the word Thailand, namely: England Hong Kong is always invalid; Hong Kong is occupied by the British, but it was never a colony.
Left to Right: Philip Thai, Director of Asian Study Program and Associate Professor of Asian Studies and Xuechen Chen, Professor of Politics and International Relations for NCH in Northeastern in London. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University and Photo Courtesy
Beijing’s comprehensive position is not new, said Xuechen Chen, assistant professor in politics and international relations in the Northeastern’s New College of the Humanities in London. Supported by the fact that after the People’s Republic of China (PRC) became a member of the the United Nations in the United Nations in the United Nations in the United Nations in 1972. Elimination of preventing them from stepping on the road to self -determination caused by declaration The United Nations in 1960 concerning Giving Independence to Colonial countries and people.
As a result, the PRC can claim that if Hong Kong is a colony, it should still be recognized in the UN declaration to have the opportunity to determine his own destiny, Thailand said. Because Hong Kong was removed from the declaration, it was never a colony but the area occupied by the British; Thus, it always belongs to China.
Understanding that Hong Kong is an integral part of China delegitimating not only what Britain has done there, but also delegitimizing any protest for more rights, more self -determination, or interpretation of alternative laws that are different from the Chinese government, Thailand said, Thailand. As a result, this supports the handling of Hong Kong PRC protests in 2014 and 2019.
The official position of the PRC is that because of a misunderstanding about the past of the British Hong Kong, the people of Hong Kong modern irregular and confused, said Thailand; To improve this, China must emphasize the truth as defined by the Chinese Communist Party. That is why China has made a larger effort internally to consolidate and strengthen the legitimacy of the ruling party, said Chen, especially since 2019.
Even one decade ago, China used to highlight its semi-colonial past to build its international identity as part of the third world or as part of developing countries that really suffered from the imperial past,” Chen said.
China used to present itself as a victim of imperialism and foreign intervention who experienced national rejuvenation after centuries of insult. However, the implementation of new textbooks shows gradual changes in domestic narratives and Chinese international identity, said Chen.
When China gained more economic and political weight in regional and international affairs, China began to see itself as a great force, as a great force,” Chen said. “[That] no longer wants to emphasize this identity as a norm taker, as a type of weak international actors, or as victims in global affairs. What China wants to do is create a more coherent narrative, both internally and externally. “
