The Hong Kong week of 1967 and the emergence of Hong Kong identity through contradistinction

This paper builds on the conventional argument that the Hong Kong riots in 1967 were a direct cause of the emergence of the Hong Kong identity. However, in contrast to some theories that credit the development to the growth of the Hong Kong economy and its cultural distinctiveness, this paper argues that the identity was mainly constructed in contradistinction to the Mainland Society consumed with revolutionary fervor. The chaos and violence championed by the more extreme leftists severely hurt the support and sympathy the leftist establishment in Hong Kong had enjoyed in the previous years, and helped the formation of a new identity through a process of negation against radical leftism. This paper also argues that the Hong Kong Week of 1967, initially intended as just a fashion festival, had provided a rallying point for this budding Hong Kong identity. By using the logo 'Hong Kong People buy Hong Kong goods', the Week had helped articulate the new identity for the residents of a city, who had been turned off by the revolutionary rhetoric and extremism. By speaking and acting against a celebration of 'Hong Kong', the leftists' campaign against the Week provided a powerful catalyst for this development.