Democratic Independence: Taiwan’s Story and Hong Kong’s Future

Abstract

The political conflict over Chief Executive selection methods finally turned into a street movement, behind which were discourses that went far beyond universal suffrage. Political discourses filled with ideological overtones such as “Hong Kong Nativism,” “Hong Kong Democratization,” “Hong Kong Nation,” and even “Hong Kong Independence” came on stage one after another. Under the discourse framework of “One China,” these expressions with the suffix of “Hong Kong” used to be exclusive to “Taiwan.” Now, the farce in Hong Kong is already on display before the drama in Taiwan quits the scene and the uproar of “Democratic Independence” has become the “Tale of Two Cities” of Taipei and Hong Kong. As compared to “Democratic Independence” movement in Taiwan, the “Democratic Independence” movement of Hong Kong is only a latecomer, whereas the latter resembles the former in a startling way. How come democracy, an understandable and legitimate appeal, becomes the cloak of “independence”? How could “independence”, a discourse that is filled with nationalism, be embedded in the framework of democracy? Is “Democratic Independence” the appeal for “Democracy” or just a disguise for “Independence”? In this chapter, the author shall start with the “Democratic Independence” story of Taiwan and explore the future of Hong Kong, so as to reveal the mirage and reality about “Democratic Independence.”