'Ethnic politics' poison society

[DrLeftover]

The idea of Hong Kong ethnic groups has recently gained popular traction in local media and talk shows. The concept originated in the writings of individuals advocating more autonomy and even independence of Hong Kong (an already highly autonomous territory under the One Country, Two Systems regime enshrined in the Basic Law). A vocal proponent of this idea has even called upon the people of Hong Kong to set up their own nation apart from the Chinese mainland.



This has reminded us of the cultural strategy of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taiwan. In the early 1990s, as electoral politics spread across the island, theorists of the DPP had put forth the argument that there were four major ethnic groups in Taiwan: the Hoklo and Hakka peoples, mostly from Fujian province, migrants from other mainland provinces and the island's native tribes. I believe the first three groups are not necessarily independent ethnic groups, as they all belong to the race of Han people, albeit with different linguistic cultures that represent dialectical variations rather than separate languages.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2013-02/20/content_16238553.htm