Abstract
Lacking autonomy, Hong Kong’s constantly evolving identity is a survival technique, allowing it to adapt to the prevailing political climate. Hong Kong is more than a chameleon; its identity is always fluid and transitory. This chapter argues that the evolution of Hong Kong’s identity is accurately depicted in television advertisements by Cathay Pacific Airways, which tell a story of the city’s survival through adaptation to changing political environments. This analysis focuses on Cathay Pacific television advertisements from 1978 to 2007: from one year before Hong Kong Governor Murray MacLehose’s Beijing visit that unveiled the sovereignty issue looming in 1997 to a decade after Hong Kong’s return to China. During this time the corporation remade its identity—from a subordinate service provider for Euro-American consumers to one that helped promote a sense of local pride and belonging in Hongkongers that would strengthen them in turbulent times.
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Wong, W.S. (2018). Transitory Identity of Hong Kong: A Reading of Cathay Pacific Airways Television Commercials. In: The Disappearance of Hong Kong in Comics, Advertising and Graphic Design. East Asian Popular Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92096-2_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92096-2_7
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