RETHINKING SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGIONS CHINESE CULTURAL IDENTITIES AND THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA: A CASE STUDY OF MACAU

ABSTRACT

HONG KONG AND MACAU WERE POLITICALLY REUNIFIED WITH MAINLAND CHINA IN 1997 AND 1999, RESPECTIVELY. THESE TWO CITIES CULTURALLY ORIGINATED FROM MAINLAND CHINA, BUT DUE TO THEIR OWN COLONIAL EXPERIENCES, THE CHINESE CULTURAL IDENTITIES WITHIN HONG KONG, MACAU, AND MAINLAND CHINA BECAME DIFFERENT. THE NATURE OF CHINESE CULTURAL IDENTITIES WITHIN HONG KONG AND MACAU WERE HYBRIDIZED, AND THEY HAVE FORMED THEIR OWN CHINESE CULTURAL IDENTITIES WITH THEIR OWN PECULIARITIES.  THE INTERNET IS A POPULAR COMMUNICATION MEDIUM AND IT FACILITATES CULTURAL COMMUNICATION INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THESE THREE PLACES. THE HIGH-SPEED DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY LEADS TO THE VARIETY OF SERVICES THAT EMERGE IN THE INTERNET, SUCH AS DISCUSSION FORUM, BLOG, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, ETC. THESE NEW AND OPEN SPACES SERVE AS A PLATFORM FOR ORDINARY PEOPLE TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES IN DIFFERENT WAYS. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS IN THE INTERNET REVEAL THAT THE DISCUSSION ON CHINESE CULTURAL IDENTITY AMONG HONG KONG, MACAU, AND MAINLAND CHINA EXISTS. THE COMBINATION OF SELF-IDENTITY AND RECONSTRUCTION OF SELF-CULTURAL IDENTITY ARE HAPPENING IN THESE DIFFERENTLY COLONIZED PLACES. SOME LOCAL CHINESE PEOPLE IN MACAU, AND TAIWANESE IN TAIWAN, SHARE THIS KIND OF EXPERIENCE AS WELL. MEANINGS IN DIFFERENT ISSUES VIA DIFFERENT SYMBOLS ARE FORMED AND THEY CAN BE SEEN FROM THE PHOTOS THAT CIRCULATE IN THE INTERNET USING THREADS POSTED IN BLOGS OR DISCUSSION FORUMS. ALL THESE KINDS OF IMAGES OR CONTEXTS BECOME SYMBOLS OF RECOGNIZABLE IDENTITIES. INTERNET USE, THEREFORE, HAS FACILITATED THE CULTURAL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN HONG KONG, MACAU, MAINLAND CHINA, AND TAIWAN. IT HAS ALSO INTENSIFIED THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF CHINESE CULTURAL IDENTITY, SHOWING AND HIGHLIGHTING IN EFFECT THE REMNANTS OF RECOGNIZABLE TRAITS IN THESE TERRITORIES THAT WERE ONCE COLONIZED BY DIFFERENT STATES. IN ESSENCE, THEY MAY ARGUABLY HAVE FORMED HETEROGENEOUS CHINESE CULTURAL IDENTITIES. THIS STUDY PRESENTS THE UNIQUENESS OF THE FORMATION OF MACAU IDENTITY IN COMPARISON TO HONG KONG, AND HOW DIFFERENT IT WAS FROM HONG KONG AFTER THE END OF THE COLONIAL PERIOD. THIS ‘AWAKENING PROCESS’, IT IS ARGUED, PROVIDES A NEW PERSPECTIVE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE ATTENDANT CONNOTATIONS AND EVALUATIONS OF CULTURAL IDENTITIES, AND THE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES USED TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE INTERNET IS RESHAPING THE SOCIAL WORLD. THE RECONSTRUCTION OF CULTURAL IDENTITY IS A GLOBAL ISSUE AND CULTURAL HYBRIDITY IS AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF SELF-CULTURAL IDENTITY IN THE POSTCOLONIAL PERIOD. THIS STUDY EMPLOYS POSTCOLONIAL THEORY, ALONG WITH OBSERVATION, IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW AND ONLINE DATA COLLECTION AND CONTENT ANALYSIS THAT WERE ADAPTED DURING THE COURSE OF THE RESEARCH, IN ORDER TO DISCUSS THIS PHENOMENON