Contesting nationalism: Global citizenship and Chinese identity in Hong Kong

Shen YANG

doi:10.1111/nana.70050

Contesting nationalism: Global citizenship and Chinese identity in Hong Kong

Shen YANG

Department of Government and International Affairs

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

Abstract

Global citizenship highlights that one's identity transcends national borders, whereas nationalism prioritises individuals' identification with a specific nation-state. In the context of nation-building, tension could arise between global citizenship and national identity. This study examines global citizenship and Chinese identity in Hong Kong, where global citizenship has been argued as a mental territory that extends beyond Chinese nationalism. Through a mixed-methods design that combines latent class analysis, qualitative interviews and a survey experiment, this study reveals the rise of a cluster among young people characterised by strong global citizenship and Hong Kong identities but low Chinese identity between 2019 and 2021. The youth tend to view the global citizenship identity as incompatible with the Chinese identity because they perceive Chinese nationalism as parochial and even as xenophobic. The Hong Kong case elucidates how the perceived conflicts between globalism and nationalism undermine national identity.

Original language	English
Number of pages	11
Journal	Nations and Nationalism
Early online date	20 Jan 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.70050
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 20 Jan 2026

Bibliographical note

An earlier draft of the paper was presented at the 2024 ‘Grounding Global China’ Conference at the University of Melbourne. The author would like to thank the advice from the conference participants and Lianjiang Li. The author thanks Raymond Chan, Lorraine Leung, Ho-kiu and Zhiyuan Ding for their excellent research assistance.

Publisher Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s). Nations and Nationalism published by Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Funding

This study is funded by the Lingnan University Direct Grant (DR24D5) and the General Research Fund of Research Grant Council, Hong Kong (Project ID: 13609524).

Keywords

Chinese identity
global citizenship
Hong Kong
national identity
nationalism

Access to Document

10.1111/nana.70050Licence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Contesting nationalism: Global citizenship and Chinese identity in Hong Kong",

abstract = "Global citizenship highlights that one's identity transcends national borders, whereas nationalism prioritises individuals' identification with a specific nation-state. In the context of nation-building, tension could arise between global citizenship and national identity. This study examines global citizenship and Chinese identity in Hong Kong, where global citizenship has been argued as a mental territory that extends beyond Chinese nationalism. Through a mixed-methods design that combines latent class analysis, qualitative interviews and a survey experiment, this study reveals the rise of a cluster among young people characterised by strong global citizenship and Hong Kong identities but low Chinese identity between 2019 and 2021. The youth tend to view the global citizenship identity as incompatible with the Chinese identity because they perceive Chinese nationalism as parochial and even as xenophobic. The Hong Kong case elucidates how the perceived conflicts between globalism and nationalism undermine national identity.",

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AB - Global citizenship highlights that one's identity transcends national borders, whereas nationalism prioritises individuals' identification with a specific nation-state. In the context of nation-building, tension could arise between global citizenship and national identity. This study examines global citizenship and Chinese identity in Hong Kong, where global citizenship has been argued as a mental territory that extends beyond Chinese nationalism. Through a mixed-methods design that combines latent class analysis, qualitative interviews and a survey experiment, this study reveals the rise of a cluster among young people characterised by strong global citizenship and Hong Kong identities but low Chinese identity between 2019 and 2021. The youth tend to view the global citizenship identity as incompatible with the Chinese identity because they perceive Chinese nationalism as parochial and even as xenophobic. The Hong Kong case elucidates how the perceived conflicts between globalism and nationalism undermine national identity.

KW - Chinese identity

KW - global citizenship

KW - Hong Kong

KW - national identity

KW - nationalism

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M3 - Journal Article (refereed)

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SN - 1354-5078

JO - Nations and Nationalism

JF - Nations and Nationalism

ER -

Contesting nationalism: Global citizenship and Chinese identity in Hong Kong

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Reassessing and Explaining Identity Shift in Hong Kong: Machine Learning Classification and Experimental Designs (重新評估和解釋香港的認同變化：機器學習分類和實驗設計)

Global citizenship and national-subnational identities in Hong Kong

Cite this

Contesting nationalism: Global citizenship and Chinese identity in Hong Kong

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

Reassessing and Explaining Identity Shift in Hong Kong: Machine Learning Classification and Experimental Designs (重新評估和解釋香港的認同變化：機器學習分類和實驗設計)

Global citizenship and national-subnational identities in Hong Kong

Cite this