Hong Kong is not China. Illustration from “Local Studio HK”. Facebook-based artistic collective Local Studio Hong Kong recently published a set of illustrations titled “Hong Kong is not China“, marking the political, social, linguistic and cultural differences between Hong Kong and mainland Chinese society. While the 22 illustrations that went viral on Facebook with more than 4,000 likes and 3,600 shares have been viewed by some as discriminatory — or even an expression of separatism — the anonymous artists defended their work: 歧視?分裂主義? 算啦,話”我係香港人”都會比人話歧視同分裂。 因為是個人創作,就會是主觀。 香港人可以睇下,用黎打下飛機,同時諗下點樣唔變到中國一樣;而中國人外國人了解下(真係一下)中港有咩唔同。 Discrimination? Separatism? Forget about it. The very claim “I am a Hong Konger” could be criticized as discriminative and separatist. Any personal expression is subjective. Hong Kongers can take a look. You may find it self-comforting and start thinking about how to prevent Hong Kong from becoming like China. Mainland Chinese and foreigners can also take a look and see the difference between Hong Kong and China. Though some of the representations are biased and over-generalising, viewing them alongside the debates in the comment sections on the group certainly gives readers a clearer idea on the differences between the two societies. It also demonstrates the self-perception of those Hong Kongers eager to defend their values against so-called mainlandization, a term frequently used in a negative sense to describe economic, social and cultural integration between Hong Kong and mainland Chinese communities since 2004, when policies such as the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership were introduced by Beijing. The first illustration (on top) marks the difference between Hong Kong and China with insignia representing the two societies. Hong Kong is represented by the lion rock, an iconic hill on the island, while the umbrella icon recalls the ‘umbrella’ protest movement that took over Hong Kong's streets from September to December 2014, aimed at pressuring the Beijing government to grant Hong Kong people the right to nominate and elect the city's top leader. China in stark contrast, is represented by the Communist Party logo and the Gate of Heavenly Peace on Tiananmen Square, the place where Chairman Mao Zedong announced the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, and which overlooked a brutal crackdown on student protests in 1989. The Basic Law in Hong Kong grants Hong Kong people's right to have dual nationalities. This passport illustration is factually correct, but as one commenter pointed out: Shhh…keep it a secret! Actually many many Chinese people hold more than one passport! And many of them are making “patriotic” and pro-communist party comments here on Facebook right now! Simplified and traditional Chinese font. Simplified Chinese characters were promoted by the Chinese Communist Party in mainland China to increase literacy rates after the establishment of the PRC in 1949. In regions not under the CCP's direct rule including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, however, traditional Chinese is the official written language. Many Hong Kongers believe traditional Chinese is more authentic as the shape of the character reflects its meaning. The word “love” indicated in the illustration, for instance, is composed of a number of morphemes including a hand, a shelter, a heart and a friend when written in traditional Chinese script. In simplified Chinese, the heart is missing. Different currencies. Difference body postures while waiting. Some find the above illustration offensive as the ‘squatting’ posture could be regarded as somehow more primitive. Of course, it can be interpreted otherwise, as one commenter joked: Chinese: Healthy enough to squat down. HK: Too fat, knees will snap. Putonghua and Cantonese’ pronunciation of “fxxk your mother”. China and Hong Kong territories. Even this seemingly objective illustration triggered some politicized ripostes, such as this one: No, it's not a good example. Firstly, Tibet and Uyghur region, I support their independence. So for me, I think they shouldn't be Chinese territory either. Toilet hygiene. Many disagree over the generalisation inherent in these toilet scenes: Ha, this is so biased. Try to increase HK population by about 20000% and see if HK people are clean as you think please visit any 公廁 [public toilets] in HK and see for yourself As a former colony of the United Kingdom, Hong Kong drives to the right hand side of the road while mainland Chinese stick to the left hand side. Difference in world view. Many commenters found grounds to disagree with this depiction too: nope. sorry. raised in HK but can't agree with this. this is just an insult with no factual basis.