Hongkongers (Chinese: 香港人; Jyutping: Hoeng1gong2 jan4), Hong Kongers, Hong Kongese,[13]Hongkongese,[14]Hong Kong citizens[b] and Hong Kong people are demonyms that refer to a resident of Hong Kong, although they may also refer to others who were born and/or raised in the territory.
The terms Hongkonger and Hong Kongese are used to denote a resident of Hong Kong, including permanent and non-permanent residents. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word Hongkonger first appeared in the English language in an 1870 edition of The Daily Independent, an American-based newspaper.[17] In March 2014, both the terms Hongkonger and Hong Kongese were added to the Oxford English Dictionary.[18][19][20]
The aforementioned terms all translate to the same term in Cantonese, 香港人 (Cantonese Yale: Hèung Góng Yàhn). The direct translation of this is Hong Kong person.
During the British colonial era, terms like Hong Kong Chinese and Hong Kong Britons were used to distinguish the British and Chinese populations that lived in the city.
The term Hongkongers most often refers to legal residents of Hong Kong, as recognised under Hong Kong Basic Law. Hong Kong Basic Law gives a precise legal definition of a Hong Kong resident. Under Article 24 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong residents can be further classified as permanent or non-permanent residents. Non-permanent residents are those who have the right to hold a Hong Kong Identity Card, but do not have the right to abode in Hong Kong. Permanent residents are those who have the right to hold a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card as well as the right of abode.
The Basic Law allows residents to acquire right of abode by birth in Hong Kong, or in some other ways. For example, residents of China may settle in Hong Kong for family reunification purposes if they obtain a one-way permit (for which there may be a waiting time of several years).
Formally speaking, the government of Hong Kong does not confer its own citizenship, although the term Hong Kong citizen is used colloquially to refer to permanent residents of the city.[b] Hong Kong does not require applicants for naturalisation to take a language test to become a permanent resident.[25] However, Hong Kong migrants and residents are assumed to understand their obligation under Article 24 of the Hong Kong Basic Law to abide by the laws of Hong Kong.
According to Hong Kong's 2021 census, 91.6 per cent of its population is Han Chinese,[26] with 29.9 per cent having been born in mainland China, Taiwan or Macau.[26] Historically, much of the Han Chinese trace their ancestral origins from Southern China as Chaoshan, Canton, Taishan, Fujian, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang. For example, in the 1850s–60s as a result of the Taiping Rebellion[27][28] and in the 1940s prior to the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Thus, immigrants from Guangdong and their descendants have long constituted the majority of the ethnic Chinese residents of Hong Kong, which accounts for the city's broad Cantonese culture. The Cantonese language, a form of Yue Chinese, is the primary language of Hong Kong and that used in the media and education.[29] For that reason, while there are groups with ancestral roots in more distant parts of China, such as Shanghai and Shandong, as well as members of other Han Chinese subgroups, such as the Hakka, Hokkien, and Teochew,[30][31][32][33] residents who are Hong Kong-born and/or raised often assimilate into the mainstream Cantonese identity of Hong Kong and typically adopt Cantonese as their first language.[34]
Ethnic minorities
In addition to the Han Chinese supermajority,[26] Hong Kong's minority population also comprises many other different ethnic and national groups, with the largest non-Han Chinese groups being the Southeast Asian community which include the Filipinos (2.7 per cent), Indonesians (1.9 per cent), as well as the Thais and Vietnamese.[30][35][26] In 2021, 0.8 per cent of Hong Kong's population were of European ancestry, many (48.9 per cent) of whom resided on Hong Kong Island, where they constitute 2.5 per cent of the population.[26] There are long-established South Asian communities, which comprise both descendants of 19th and early 20th-century migrants as well as more recent short-term expatriates. There are small pockets of South Asian communities who live in Hong Kong including Indians, Nepalese, and Pakistanis, who respectively made up 0.6 per cent, 0.4 per cent, and 0.3 per cent of Hong Kong's population in 2021.[26] Smaller diaspora groups from the Anglosphere include Americans, Britons, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders. There are also small pockets of East Asian communities, such as the Japanese and Koreans, living in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong population by ancestral origin (1961–1981)
Hong Kong culture is primarily a mix of Chinese and Western influences, stemming from LingnanCantonese roots and later fusing with British culture due to British colonialism (Chinese: 粵英薈萃; Jyutping: jyut6 jing1 wui6 seoi6).
After the handover of Hong Kong, the University of Hong Kong surveyed Hong Kong residents about how they defined themselves. In its latest poll published in June 2022, 39.1% of respondents identified as Hong Konger, 31.4% as Hong Konger in China, 17.6% as Chinese, 10.9% as Chinese in Hong Kong, and 42.4% as mixed identity.[40]
^The following figure is the number of Hong Kong-born Canadians living in Canada, as reported in the 2021 Canadian Census. However in 2001, it was estimated that there were 616,000 Hong Kong Canadians residing in Canada, Hong Kong, or elsewhere.[5]
^ abFormally, the government of Hong Kong does not confer "citizenship". The term Hong Kong citizen is a colloquialism used to denote a permanent resident of Hong Kong. Permanent residents of Hong Kong typically hold citizenship from China or another sovereign state.[15]
^From the 19th century to 1983, British Dependent Territories were referred to as Crown Colonies. Several years after the handover of Hong Kong, British Dependent Territories were renamed British Overseas Territories.
^"Archived copy". www.ocac.gov.tw. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^U.S. Government Printing Office (16 September 2008). "Style Manual 2008"(PDF). Archived(PDF) from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
^Lai Tung-kwok (22 May 2013). "Application for naturalisation as a Chinese national". Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.; quote: "However, it has to be pointed out that the knowledge of the Chinese language is only one of the factors to be considered. This does not imply that applicants who do not know Chinese will be refused, nor will those who know Chinese necessarily be eligible for naturalisation as Chinese nationals. ... At this stage, we have no plan to institute examinations similar to those used by some foreign countries in handling naturalisation applications."
^Melvin Ember; Carol R. Ember; Ian Skoggard, eds. (2005). Encyclopedia of diasporas: immigrant and refugee cultures around the world. Diaspora communities. Vol. 2. Springer. pp. 94–95. ISBN978-0-306-48321-9.
^"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived(PDF) from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)